Tag: Kickstarter

Odds ‘n Ends > Atari action figures, Robo Force comics, NECA stands, Bayformer Grimlock, Grayskull credit card issues

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Kickstarter Plug > Bio-Mechanical Ordnance Gestalts

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I don’t collect many Transformers these days, but if I did, I would be all over this Kickstarter project – BMOG – Bio-Mechanical Ordnance Gestalts. They’re essentially robot toys that break down into component parts that can be swapped around. Why not make them, say, Glyos-compatible, you ask? Because the pegs used to attach all these items are the near-universal Transformers size of 5mm, and  each part of the robot can be used on its own as an accessory or combined to make other accessories – a gun, an axe, a hammer, and more. (It’s worth noting there are other lines, or specific figures from other lines, that also use the 5mm peg, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.) Continue reading “Kickstarter Plug > Bio-Mechanical Ordnance Gestalts”

Just one week left to help fund Cool & Collected Magazine!

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There’s just one week left to go on the Kickstarter for CoolandCollected.com‘s magazine, aptly titled Cool & Collected. The premiere issue – if the magazine is funded – will contain a feature article from yours truly on the long history of Boba Fett action figures, right up to and including Star Wars Black.

As of this writing, the magazine less than $500 away from its target. Here’s some of the content the first issue will contain:

  • CT of NerdLunch has written a thoughtful piece on why we collect the same thing, over and over again.
  • Kevin Decent of Team Hellions gives a rundown of the most sought-after Spider-Man comic books.
  • And Jennifer Smith, author of the upcoming book The Back to the Future Almanac: 1955-2014, offers advice on taking your collection to the next level with movie props!

And there’s more! Contributions from pop culture experts such as:

I’m a terrible salesman, and I know that. (Odd, in that I come from two generations of great salesmen.) But I think it would be totally awesome to get this magazine off the ground, as it looks like a lot of fun. There’s been a void in my life since ToyFare closed, and maybe, just maybe, Cool & Collected can help fill it. Plus it always gives me a kick to see my writing in print. Hey, I’m only human. So here’s that link again: Cool & Collected: The magazine for pop culture collectors

 

Become a backer for Cool & Collected Magazine & read Poe in print!

PGPoA Power Pal Brian Adams of Cool & Collected has created a Kickstarter campaign to produce a new, collector-focused magazine. That in and of itself is a fine and noble endeavor, but to make this extra-appealing to Poesters, the first issue will include an article by yours truly on the history of Boba Fett action figures.

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Remember toy magazines? Remember the feel of the smooth, glossy pages, gleaming with colorful photos of your favorite toys? Remember the breathless enthusiasm, the pithy humor, the fun articles?

PGPoA Power Pal Brian Adams of Cool & Collected has created a Kickstarter campaign to produce a new, collector-focused magazine. That in and of itself is a noble endeavor, but to make this offer extra-appealing to Poesters, the first issue will include an article by yours truly on the history of Boba Fett action figures, right up to and including the Star Wars Black 6″ version.

But you’ll only get to read it if the magazine’s funded, so if this looks interesting to you, head over to Kickstarter and drop a few dollars on it.

Cool & Collected: The magazine for pop culture collectors

Odds ‘n Ends > CollectionDX Summit, Club Eternia goes through, Poe’s Ravens pledge, the return of toy magazine

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  • For any New England-based Poesters, I’ll be attending the CollectionDX Summit this Saturday afternoon in Dracut, MA. If you’re interested in attending, you can check it out here (and please RSVP if you decide to go).
  • The 2014 Club Eternia subscription went through at 115%. Now we can all start gearing up for next year’s panic. (I predict that will be a “One Final Year!” campaign.)
  • For the curious, here’s what I got in the Gothitropolis Ravens Kickstarter: one Raven with the battle pack set, one set of black wings, Quetzalcoatl, and two stands. Quetzalcoatl is the real stand-out among the variants, both for its colors and because it’s more of a lizard than a bird, which makes it a bit more distinctive – in my opinion anyway. Looking forward to adding them alongside the Keeper of the Black Labyrinth.
  • Speaking of the Ravens Kickstarter, here is a cool behind-the-scenes video, along with some photos.
  • Does a defleshed necromancer stares at you while you sleep? If so, you’re either deeply mentally ill, have some strange friends, or you’ve got the life-sized Skeletor bust from Pop Culture Shock Collectibles.
  • Phil Reed of Battlegrip is experimenting with the idea of making the site into a magazine. This comes on the heels of Brian of CoolandCollected will be trying a magazine as well. I find this an intriguing, if slightly counterintuitive, trend. Phil’s reasons are that he misses working in print and having the ability to play with and control graphics and presentation. That’s actually a very good point, I think – websites, especially popular ones, tend to be pretty stripped-down and minimalist and can’t really offer much in the way of variety of content presentation. Obviously, a website that presents its content in a way that’s too visually “busy” is not only a strain on bandwidth for both the site and reader but also tends to be difficult to read online, but perhaps an online magazine can represent a middle way. That said, didn’t ToyFare originally try something like this and it didn’t work? Brian, for his part, acknowledges that magazines aren’t exactly a growth industry right now, but he just thinks it would be fun to make one.
  • The 1966 Batman figures are starting to pop up at stores. I’m not planning on collecting the line, but if I see Batman himself at a store I’m sure I’ll be unable to resist picking him up.

The Gothitropolis Ravens are go

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So, the Four Horsemen‘s Kickstarter campaign for their Gothitropolis Raven and its many variants closed at just over $300,000. As the Horsemen wrote in their note to backers,

It’ll definitely be a jumping off point for the way we’ll promote and pre-sell our action figure lines in the future. We’re certain that others will feel the same way, so prepare to see a flood of new action figure concepts and designs from all over the toy industry hitting Kickstarter soon – including some new things from us.

I find myself wondering how this success compares to what the Four Horsemen invested themselves into, say, Scarabus. If every single Scarabus figure had sold, would they have made anywhere near as much as they did on this project? I’m curious whether this high-profile Kickstarter campaign brought in a lot of people who might not ordinarily have ordered these from the 4H’s own website. There’s no question the 4H were very savvy to keep up interest will all the extras they kept adding, too (although that may partly have been a result of just needing to offer something for all the money that was coming in). Continue reading “The Gothitropolis Ravens are go”

Four Horsemen’s Raven Kickstarter to Begin Friday at 12am

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The Four Horsemen’s long-awaited Kickstarter for the Gothitropolis Raven will begin this Friday at 12am. Obviously I’m on board with this project, what with my name and all. (I only wish we could get a variant head with a pair of red goggles on.)

Details after the jump. Continue reading “Four Horsemen’s Raven Kickstarter to Begin Friday at 12am”

Legendary Monsters Will Soon Be Real

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After several attempts and repeated reductions in targets, Richard T. Broadwater’s cryptozoology-themed “Legendary Monsters” Kickstarter campaign has finally made it.

These toys were first revealed in ToyFare magazine over ten years ago, scheduled for release in fall 2001, but for one reason or another it was never produced. It did face some competition at the time from Mezco’s similar “Cryptozoology” line, which did make it out but fared poorly at retail.

Broadwater’s first two Kickstarter campaigns proved to be overly ambitious. Phil Reed of Battlegrip offered some advice after the last one, and some of those measures appear to have been implemented. In addition a game was added. This time, the project was funded within 24 hours.

I love cryptozoology and these toys look neat (especially the Chupacabras). So head over to Kickstarter and if you like what you see, consider backing the project. You can also check out Broadwater’s Nevermore Toys for more info and photos.

Sightings > The Hero Project

In theory, I could probably write a Sightings post about a Kickstarter campaign for a toy every day of the year. That said, if one goes out of their way to contact me and has a product that looks pretty good, I’ll pass the word along.

The Hero Project is an attempt to create a toy line that captures the essence of heroes. The project’s founders believe “action figures play an important role in children’s social development. They are pathways for kids to act out their fantasies, to work out for themselves the differences between right and wrong and to push at the boundaries of their blossoming imaginations.”

The line will start with Rama. As you may recall, there have been Rama figures in the past (as well as his monkey buddy Hanuman), but the idea is for the “Unibody” format to be used for multiple heroes throughout history:

The goal for the line is $125,000 – very high for one of these projects, but as they explain on the page, “steel molds used to reproduce a figure are expensive and that expense grows exponentially with scale, complexity and quality. A small and simple Pokemon item may cost $5000 to make a mold, $15,000 for Batman or Ninja Turtles figure, and upwards of $30K for most larger scale figures. Ordering a sizable batch of large, multi-part figures is costly and like most people we know, neither of us has an extra large bundle of C-notes sitting around to front the capital.”

As of right now they have only $21K with nine days to go. $21K isn’t bad at all, but it’s not anywhere near what they need. Still, I wanted to help spread the word – you never know what could get the snowball rolling down the hill.

Odds ‘n Ends > Funko POP MOTU?, a TMNT Preview, Rise of the Beasts

  • On their Facebook page, Funko posted the following note on Wednesday: “Today, I just feel like, “I have the POWER”!!!” Could Funko POP Masters of the Universe figures be in the works? I think it’s a definitely possibility, for two reasons. First, we already know Mattel and Classic Media are making a big licensing push for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. And second, I suspect it might only require a deal with Classic Media for the Filmation cartoon rights to make the POP figures. I’m thinking this is happening. And I’m thinking I will buy them all.
  • Pixel Dan has an extremely early preview of Playmates’s new cartoon-based Michelangelo figure (not the Classic figures, just to be clear). I don’t think the figures themselves are due out until late summer.
  • PGPoA sponsor DinosaurToyVault has a big lot of G1 Transformers on sale. He’s going to be doing a big marketing push for these, so be sure to buy what you want now before the rush. And don’t forget, I’ve still got plenty of stuff at my own e-store. Ahem.
  • I was contacted by Plastic Dreams regarding a new Kickstarter project: Rise of the Beasts, a line of Battle Beasts-like  figures that will have movement at the shoulders and removable weapons. They look pretty neat, though I remain a cautiously wary of these indie projects that look so much like licensed toy lines. Best wishes to them, they all seem like great folks doing good work, but I’d feel better supporting something more original. (Yes, OMFG is very similar to M.U.S.C.L.E., but it’s not like there weren’t little PVC figures before M.U.S.C.L.E.–e.g., army men or Marx figures. These other lines are clearly inspired by the iconic designs of Crystar and Battle Beasts.) I’m much more interested in Backyard Legends’ plans for figure dioramas.