Author: Rustin Parr

Guest Review > SDCC Gizmo (Gremlins, NECA)

At Toy Fair 2011 NECA unveiled one of the greatest things I’ve in a very long time – plans for a minimum of four waves or four figures from Gremlins 2: The New Batch, one of my very favorite movies ever! The first two waves were revealed to consist entirely of the different Mogwai, will balljointed articulation just about everywhere they could get it and even articulation eyes! While the line is slated to hit stores in late summer/early fall, it was launched with a sort of “preview” figure of Gizmo exclusive to the San Diego Comic Convention.

Guest Review > Captain Pike and Salt Vampire (Star Trek Cloth Retro, Diamond Select)

“Retro Cloth Figures” have made a surprising come back in the last few years. I’m not sure if it’s because fans of them are now working at toy companies, they’re easier to produce with minimal tooling costs, or that there is a substantial market for them, but most lines can get a couple waves out before disappearing (which is better than a lot of Action Figure lines do these days). The fascination all began back in the sixties when toy manufacturer Mego introduced what was essentially Barbie for Boys – a generic body with cloth clothing and different heads. The twist was ample articulation and a wide berth of licenses, so basically this is what you collected before Star Wars came along and changed the toy industry.

SDCC > Rustin Parr’s Report, Day 3

Friday 7/23

What does one do on Day 2 when the vast majority of exclusive figures on their list were acquired on Day 1? Stroll and go to Panels! And pick up the voucher pre-sale stuff from Matty, of course (incredibly painless and easy – Hasbro, et al, should take note and do the same!).

SDCC > Rustin Parr’s Report, Day 2

Thursday – 7/22

The first full day of the con rolled out comfortably and stayed great all day long!

The one panel I was looking forward to most this year was the Tron: Legacy panel. However, it was the first panel of the day, of the Con, in Hall H which meant two things – one would have to get in line pretty early to ensure a seat and two it would steal the entire morning from Con/Exclusive purchasing. After long debating the last several days I erred on the side of Exclusives – the film will be out in a couple months anyway, but these toys will not. So rather than lust over film, I hauled ass to a booth I saw last night and bought me some MOTUC figures for just over retail, helping to fill in some major gaps.

SDCC News > Rustin Parr’s SDCC Report, Day 1

Wednesday – 7/21

Preview night is always the worst and best day of the con. The first hour is being reminded of why you hate this place and how much better it used to be. Every company has a massive line for figures, the crowds are bigger than the Saturday horde a decade ago and all you can do is fight to survive. But once you find that first purchase (Batman and Joker Nlammoids for $3 each, in my case) the whole thing starts turning around. You get into the fun of the hunt once perusing seller booths and by gum you’ll see some really cool reveals at big companies.

Guest Review > Gruesome Ghosts Minimates Decal Kit

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There are countless reasons why I will purchase just about any Minimate product that comes out, but the ‘customize-ability’ of the figures ranks high among those reasons. So it was with great curiosity that I first read about Luke’s Toy Store‘s set of Ninja Decals for Minimates. Then, after reading Poe’s review, it was great excitement that I awaited Luke’s second set of store exclusive decals: Gruesome Ghosts. Luke Porter was gracious enough to provide not only a decal package but also a set of six figures to review.

Rustin’s Rants > The Good Business of Bad Distribution

Note: the opinions of Rustin Parr do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Poe Ghostal.

mattel logoWith NYCC a few days behind us and Toy Fair a few days ahead, I find myself caught up in the tumultuous whirlwind of being a collector and fan of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics toy line. Wave 9 was revealed at NYCC, which is actually quite darn remarkable considering the series only launched little more than a year ago. However, despite its clear success, DCUC has been plagued by two issues almost from the get-go. In riffing on Toybiz/Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line, not only did Mattel come up with some inventively clever nomenclature (Classics vs. Legends, Collect-n-Connect vs. Build-a-Figure – “what marketing whiz came up with that one,” asks Mr. Seinfeld) they took up the mantle of poor Quality Control. And while I often must buy and return multiple figures before I get a decent enough paint job to open/keep, the real thing that’s got me going tonight is their so-called distribution.

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