Reviews – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Review > Reforged Hun-Dred the Conqueror and Origin Enemy the Dictator (Robo Force, ToyFinity)

On February 18, 2014

Six years ago, I wrote an article in ToyFare #132 about the 1980s toy line Robo Force. It was developed by the CBS Toy Company (formerly Ideal, who, side note, created the original Teddy Bear). Like dozens of toy lines in the 1980s it came and went fairly quickly. In my interview in ToyFare with Robo Force artist Paul Kirchner for ToyFare, he theorized that Transformers, which debuted at the same Toy Fair as Robo Force, crushed any chance Robo Force had.

However, in the 1980s even a short-lived toy line often had a production run that many modern toy companies would envy. And so many children had, among the assorted Transformers, He-Man or G.I. Joes in the toy box, an occasional Maxx Steele or Coptor.

My S.H.MonsterArts Alien Warrior review is up at CollectionDX

By Poe

On February 9, 2014

In Reviews

This has to be one of the busiest weekends ever for PGPoA. Usually I take weekends off. And I even skipped some news, like the new Jetfire and Unnamed One leaks.

Anyway, my review of the S.H.MonsterArts Alien Warrior from Alien vs. Predator has been posted on CollectionDX. (The reason it’s up over there is because it was a sample provided by Bluefin via my CDX connections, and part of my agreement with CDX is that any samples I get from their connections I review over there.)

Short version: great sculpt, fantastic articulation, joints are a little loose, figure is a tad on the small side, possibly my favorite Alien toy of all time.

Battle Armor Lost Predator Review Addendum – Chest Armor Paint

By Poe

On January 29, 2014

In Reviews

Update on my review of NECA’s Battle Armor Lost Predator: I was at my local Toys ‘R Us and found two Battle Armor Lost Predators. One looked more or less like mine, above – missing the blue paint on the torso armor – but the other one looked much better. Not as good as the earlier figure (above right), but much better than mine. So it does appear to be a quality control error.

Review > Battle Armor Lost Predator (Predator 2, NECA) – w/ Sculptors’ Commentary!

By Poe

On January 23, 2014

In Reviews

battle-armor-lost-predator-neca-poe-ghostal-review-helmet

Click on any photo for a larger version

Please note: NECA provided me with the figure for this review. -PG

For a film that grew out of a Rocky sequel joke, Predator and its sequels have proven to have some serious pop culture legs. Matching it with the Alien franchise was – let’s face it – a step up for Predator and a step down for Alien, but it arguably increased the popularity of both franchises. (I still maintain the best AvP media to date was the original Dark Horse miniseries.)

In order to produce as many different Predators as possible, NECA has spent some time mining the “Lost Predators” at the end of Predator 2. Played by Los Angeles Lakers players (who had a little fun with it offscreen), the designs for these characters were mostly variations on the designs from the first two films.

One, however, had a look that was radically different from the rest – the so-called Borg Predator. His armor was more intricate and lacked the tribal look of most Predator armor, more technological. He’s the Yautja Boba Fett. [Ed’s note: That is the nerdiest sentence ever written.]

Review > Joe Amaro’s Hover Disc

By Poe

On January 20, 2014

In Reviews

Once we hit the year 2000 I felt like we could officially consider ourselves as living in “the future.” And boy, has it proved disappointing! No flying cars, no fusion power, no mass production jetpacks, no Ricardo Montalban becoming a superhuman tyrant. Sure, we got the Internet, but at this point I think we can admit that’s maybe 70% boon and 30% curse.

Doc Thomas Reviews > Geihoza and the Geist Glow-in-the-Dark Mordles

By Doc Thomas

On January 12, 2014

In Reviews

I love Mordles. As described at length in my previous review [Review > Mordles Mega-Review (Mordles, ToyFinity)], I am addicted to the little buggers and adore my little demon army. As thorough as my previous review was, I’m back to cover the latest in the series, the awesome glow-in-the-dark (GITD) series, which is available right now at the Mordles store (if they’re not already sold out!). It is, admittedly, a little bit trickier reviewing something like Mordles than other action figures – there’s little to no articulation to speak of (the feet of the larger Mordles do move), and even paint apps are minimal, but these are such spectacular little guys that I have to write about them!

Review > Ggrapptikk Grunt (Power Lords, Four Horsemen Studios)

By Poe

On January 9, 2014

In Reviews

First off, I’d like to thank the Four Horsemen for sending this figure along for review. I only asked for samples of the Power Soldier and Elite Soldier (since I’d missed the sale), so his inclusion in the package was a pleasant surprise. –PG

Revell’s Power Lords were memorable for three things: great designs, ahead-of-its-time articulation, and gimmicks. In bringing the Power Lords back for modern collectors, Four Horsemen Studios has (so far) chosen to do away with the gimmicks. For example, the upper torso of the vintage Adam Power spun around to reveal the otherwise staid Adam in all his blue-skinned, red-veined, bare-chested alien glory. The Four Horsemen plan to offer an interchangeable, fully-sculpted upper torso.

Ordinarily I’m all for getting rid of action features, which often ruin an otherwise great action figure. But sometimes the “gimmick” isn’t really a gimmick, and actually might be a desirable feature. A case in point is today’s figure, Ggrapptikk.

Kidrobot’s Futurama 6″ Hedonismbot has nothing to apologize for

By Poe

On December 29, 2013

In Reviews

Well, except maybe his price…

As regular readers probably know, DMG and I are big Futurama fans. We’re also fans of Hedonismbot in particular, and have been disappointed that he didn’t make it into the Toynami line before it folded.

Reviews > Power Soldier & Elite Soldier (Power Lords, Four Horsemen Studios)

By Poe

On December 21, 2013

In Reviews

The Power Lords has to be one of the strangest action figure lines of all time. It was developed in the early 1980s by Revell, a company known primarily for making model kits. Many of the characters and creatures were designed by Wayne Barlowe, a legendary science fiction and fantasy illustrator and creature creator for film and television.* It was a 6″-scaled line in a 3.75″ (Star Wars) and 5″ (MOTU) world. And for some reason, the figures were loaded with more articulation than would be regularly seen on any other (American) action figure line for nearly two decades.

The line was a seminal influence on the sculptors of Four Horsemen Studios – in particular Eric Treadaway (who discussed it in this interview from the second day of this blog’s existence, December 2, 2007). And so it’s not very surprising that Treadaway and the Horsemen managed to track down the owners of the Power Lords license and brokered a deal to bring the line back to the toy world.

Review > Mordles Mega-Review (Mordles, ToyFinity)

By Poe

On December 1, 2013

In Reviews

Mordles Review by Doc Thomas

Mordles are great. Make no bones about it. These little guys rock.

Others have already conclusively covered Mordles and their origin as part of Ideal Toys’s 1980s toyline Rocks & Bugs & Things, so I wont go into that here (I highly recommend Dinosaur Dracula’s terrific rundown). As far as I know Rocks & Bugs & Things never made it to my native Australia, so I never had the chance to sample the delights therein. Because of the recent popularity of the series and the subsequent insane rarity, I suspect Bloodstone will forever be on my Wants list, but John Kent of ToyFinity has done collectors worldwide a favor and brought back the amazing Mordles, making them easily available in packs in a variety of different colors (often with bonus figures)!

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