Odds ‘n Ends Contest > And the Spoils Go To…

January 25, 2012 | Poe

Y’know, I hate it when I do these contests where I have to pick the winner. I thought about pawning the duty off on Dr. Mrs. Ghostal, but she was watching TV, so no help there. Not really fair anyway, since it’s my site. Then I thought about asking Doc Thomas to decide, before I remembered he was clinically insane. So in the end, I had to decide myself.

This was not easy. There were a ton of excellent submissions. I knew you guys were awesome, but I guess I didn’t realize just how awesome…if I’d thought about it, I would have had more prizes.

First, the runners-up: (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Dark Knight Rises Toy Details, Avengers Toys Hit Retail

January 20, 2012 | Poe

Odds ‘n Ends > MOTUC Sales, Box O Zombies, Toy Hunters

January 18, 2012 | Poe

  • Mattel says that the sales of the Wind Raider were “okay,” but evidently not enough to merit a vehicle in 2012 (though they’re not ruling it out for 2013). Like many others, I’m mystified as to why a sellout of a few hours days translates to “okay.” Apparently, if people aren’t fighting the WSOD for the twenty minutes the item is on sale, Mattel isn’t happy. Bizarre. I’d love an explanation of this. It’s like that toy company exec in The Simpsons episode “Grift of the Magi” when he’s watching people riot at a store where his toy, Funzo, has gone on sale: “I’d still sleep a little easier if I saw some trampling.” CORRECTION: The Wind Raider took three days to sell out. But it still sold out. How is does that make the sales “okay”? Did they want people to order more than they had?…don’t answer that.
  • The creepily realistic Steve Jobs 12″ figure is no more.
  • I think I already mentioned this, but there is a very big, very cool Glyos drop coming this Friday.
  • It’s like a box of army men, but zombies! Check out the Box O Zombies, now on sale for $14.99.
  • I’ve got my own review coming, but be sure to check out Michael Crawford’s review of Spy Monkey Creations’ amazing new, factory-produced, Glyos/OSM-compatible accessories.
  • I’m going to try to write up my own review of the new American Pickers-style show Toy Hunters, but Cool and Collected has a great recap–recommended reading!
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Odds ‘n Ends > OMFG on sale, new Onell drop, Mattel MOTUC sub updates

January 16, 2012 | Poe

  • I haven’t received a single submission for the Odds ‘n Ends contest yet! Is it too difficult, what with the photo-taking and the Photoshopping? I’m willing to consider changing the rules.
  • For those of you who want a set of the flesh-colored OMFG but didn’t contribute to the Kickstarter campaign, they’re now up for sale in October Toys’ online store at $10 apiece.
  • Onell Design has a really cool drop (i.e., sale) coming up this Friday, including their new “Core Block” item. These sales are generally one-time deals (with a few exceptions), so be sure to check it out. It doesn’t say what time, but I think they’re usually at 9pm ET.
  • Pixel Dan has posted video reviews of Shadow Weaver, Fearless Photog and Fisto. On a related note, you can finally see all of Dan’s MOTU-related reviews in one place: http://blip.tv/powerandhonor/ He also has general reviews of toys here.
  • Mattel updates: Demo-Man will ship after the Star Sisters. Also: expect more delays in the future.
  • NECA has a Jason figure from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Here’s his head. I’m waiting/hoping for a new Jason from Part VI.
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Odds ‘n Ends > Rocky, new Identify the Toy feature

January 11, 2012 | Poe

  • Regarding that other case of bad quality control, the retailer, HobbyLinkJapan, has said they will replace it, but are asking that we mail it back at their expense. Unfortunately they’re in Japan, obviously, so this will be a bit of a long process, but I’m hopeful that it will turn out better than the last fiasco.
  • FigureoftheDay.com has the full set of DC Direct’s Brightest Day series 3 for $55, with free shipping. Included are Aqualad, Jade, Hawk, and Dove.
  • NECA has been posting quite a bit about their new Rocky line (preorder at UrbanCollectibles). I have to admit the figures look pretty good, though I’m curious about the hip articulation (if there is any). Is anyone really excited for these figures? JAKKS‘s Rocky line a few years back seemed to do pretty well. The real question, however, is whether NECA will give us a Clubber Lang and/or a Meat figure. (Though personally, what I really want is a 6″, super-articulated, regular Mr. T figure.)
  • I was pondering a possible new entry for “Identify the Toy,” but decided I just didn’t have enough information for anyone to go on. I did a little searching myself, though, and to my utter shock, after three days I actually found the thing for a cheap price on eBay. Once it arrives, I’ll post the whole story here. In the meantime, I’m thinking that rather than simply using the “Identify the Toy” feature for actually helping people identify toys, it would be fun to have people take a photo of a toy, or rather a part of a toy, and then other people have to guess what toy it is. So, let’s get that going! Take a nice macro photo of an obscure toy, or part of your favorite toy, and email it to poe@poeghostal.com. I’ll post it and people can try to guess what it is. Hooray for crowdsourcing!
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Odds ‘n Ends > Wind Raider update, Demo-Man shipping delays

January 6, 2012 | Poe

  • NECA has posted a packaging pic of Deadite Ash, and he looks damned awesome. I’ve been waiting for this figure line since 1993. You can preorder the figures through PGPoA sponsor UrbanCollectibles.
  • Wind Raider update: as it happened, we were actually home when the UPS guy came. He took the box and gave us the tracking number. My wife then called the regular customer service number, as the Escalation Department had told her to do. The regular CS person took the information and then told DMG she would refer it to the Escalation Department with 24-72 hours.  The Escalation Dept. will then email us, presumably with the new order number. The only real question is, what will be wrong with the replacement Raider?
  • On a related note, I have yet to receive a shipping notice for my subscription Demo-Man and Battleground Evil-lyn. Some collectors are guessing that all the Demo-Mans didn’t arrive in one shipment, and Mattel/Digital River are shipping the figures out as they arrive. I suspect that’s exactly what’s going on.
  • Has everyone caught that Chevy Silverado ad with all the toys?
  • Sponsor News: BigBadToyStore has their exclusive G.I. Joe Slaughter’s Marauders and Dreadnoks in stock now. If you want to read a review first before ordering, check out GeneralsJoes. Meanwhile, Figure of the Day has the popular Marvel Select Deadpool for $20 with free shipping.

Odds ‘n Ends > Steve Jobs, Four Horsemen, & Reviews

January 5, 2012 | Poe

Odds ‘n Ends > MIB3, Swift Wind QC errors, 6″ ThunderCats

January 1, 2012 | Poe

  • Darth Skeletor, Overlord of the Sith.
  • I meant to post on this a while back, but some pics surfaced of JAKKS’s Men in Black 3 toys. Looks like JAKKS is giving them the 4″ POTC-style treatment–not sure if there will be 6″ figs. I guess there are spoilers here if you’re trying to avoid them. MIB2 was pretty bad, so I don’t really have high hopes for this one. The original film is one of my all-time faves, though, so I’ll be happy if it doesn’t suck…
  • I managed to submit my entry for the Create-A-Character contest just under the wire (i.e., yesterday, because it had to be postmarked by December 31). I’ll reveal it once it’s allowed, which I guess is after the announce the winners.
  • It appears there’s a very common error on the Masters of the Universe Classics Swift Wind. WARNING: This is an error you might never notice. I’ve colored the text in white so that you can remain in blissful ignorance if you desire. If not, highlight the following text. Please don’t mention it specifically in the comments. The front forelegs (bottom part of the legs, above the hooves) are often two left or two right legs. You can tell by checking to see if the veins are in the same place. I checked and my Swift Wind has this error. If you read through that thread, you’ll find some advice on what to do if you want a replacement, though I think this is probably the best shot. I thought it over and decided this was one of those errors that I might never have noticed, and between that, my general lack of interest in the character, and the effort required to get a replacement, it just isn’t something I want to bother with. I get the fans who say everyone should pursue this to teach Mattel a lesson, but I’m just too lazy in this case. I will admit I’ve occasionally wished I could cancel my 2012 sub, though.
  • The 6″ classic ThunderCats have started hitting stores–I saw them at Target a couple days ago. Overall I’d say the 8″ line is better in terms of design and sculpting, but the 6″ scale is a bit more appealing.

Odds ‘n Ends > DCAS Series 2, Muppets

December 28, 2011 | Poe

  • The big news this week was the reveal of DC All Star Series 2–showing up on Comic Book Resources, interestingly. (Click here to go straight to the pics.) The series includes New 52 Superman and Flash, dark Supergirl from the Superman/Batman storyline, and, at long last, the Red Robin I’ve been waiting for since 2009. There’s been some discussion on Twitter as to “which” Red Robin it is (Dick Grayson from Kingdom Come, Jason Todd from 52, or Tim Drake from the recent eponymous series); personally I don’t think it matters. It’s just Red Robin. And awesome.
  • DMG and I saw The Muppets this weekend. I enjoyed it; I think it was very respectful of the original characters without being too mired in nostalgia, and it had both funny and touching moments. But there were a lot of missed opportunities in the story, and I think it focused too much on the cypher Walter without a real payoff for it. It seemed like the Muppets weren’t the stars of the movie. But hopefully this film was just setting the stage for the next one.

Odds ‘n Ends > Mattycollector News, G.I. Joe Photo Covers, FOC Dinobot Pics

December 21, 2011 | Poe

  • Mattel has announced the January Mattycollector sale, which includes the Sorceress and Fearless Photog, as well as the “Ready to Believe You” Peter Venkman. More interesting is the news that they will now have He-Man, Skeletor, Battle Cat, Panthor, and 6″ Peter Venkman and Ray Stanz on permanent sale throughout 2012. It only took them four years.
  • I have to pick a winner for the Arkham City contest–I’ll do that tonight. Apologies for the delay.
  • I’m intrigued by IDW’s photo covers of G.I. Joe toys for their comics (here’s one, and here’s another one). On the one hand, it’s awesome that they’re paying tribute to the comics’ toy origins. On other hand, the covers are pretty uninspired. A brief Flickr search will come up with better pics (check out Geek Creek and Ed Speir IV, for example).
  • Power Pal Joe Amaro sent along this touching video of James Sawyer of motucfigures.com reviewing the Wind Raider with his son. As a toymaker himself, Joe says “this is the sort of thing that makes it all worthwhile.”
  • Joe also sent along these awesome pics of the Dinobots (via Tformers.com, though they could have originated elsewhere for all I know) from the upcoming Fall of Cybertron videogame: Grimlock, “Slug” (Slag’s new name, apparently? Yuck. Damned trademarks), and Swoop. They all look awesome, and we had better get toys of them. (Preferably not assembled by sweatshop laborers–more on that later.)