Show and Tell > A few neat toy finds

January 31, 2011 | Poe

One of my favorite stores in the Boston area is Comicazi in Somerville. The back room of the store is filled wall-to-wall with MOC vintage toys, from Star Wars to Star Trek to Simpsons to racks and racks of old Marvel and DC stuff, plus plenty of old Kenner figures. I went in yesterday to pick up a MOC Kenner Aliens Bishop and the Kenner Alien/Predator set (mission accomplished, by the way, but more on that later). On a side note, Comicazi has a blog, the ToyNerd.

In addition to the MOC toys, Comicazi has bins full of loose figures, and even a big box full of baggies of random accessories. I nabbed a few of those and picked out four pretty awesome loose figures. Whom did I get? (more…)

Review > Vikor (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

January 31, 2011 | Poe

“Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank the Valley of Gnarl and the founding of Eternos, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Hither came Vikor, the He-Man of the North, black-haired, sullen-eyed, axe in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of Eternia beneath his booted feet…”

–Tu-Tor, Royal Scholar

“Stop filling my little boy’s head with all that nonsense, Tu-Tor. He-Man’s just a myth.”

–King Randor

There’s a persistent, but untrue, legend that Masters of the Universe (MOTU) was originally developed as a toyline for the movie Conan the Barbarian starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which came out in May 1982. This much is true: Mattel entered a licensing agreement with Conan Properties, Inc. (CPI) in July 1981 to produce toys based on the film, and in January 1982, Mattel backed out of the deal.* A month later, Mattel debuted their company-owned Masters of the Universe toyline at Toy Fair. CPI then sued Mattel for copyright infringement and, for reasons I’ll discuss in a later post, lost the case. (more…)

Pic of the Day

January 31, 2011 | Poe

Die Cast Flight

Die Cast Flight by p.o.l.a.r_bear

Mezco is also doing Thundercats figures, apparently

January 29, 2011 | Poe

Really big ones. From MTV Geek (by PGPoA Pal Lemonjuice McGee):

Mezco Mega-Scale ThunderCatsâ„¢ Lion-O

ThunderCats Ho!
Straight from the ThunderCats’ Lair on Third Earth, it’s Lion-O and the legendary mystic Sword of Omens.

This mega-scale figure measures over 20 inches tall from the tip of his upraised, extended sword to the soles of his Thunderian boots.

Featuring 7 points of articulation this mega figure is superbly detailed, perfectly capturing not only the iconic look of Lion-O as he appeared in the classic television series, but the essence, of Lion-O as he proudly raises the mystic Sword of Omens towards the heavens and roars out “Thundercats, Ho!” He comes complete with his impressive Claw Shield and a removable mystic Sword Of Omens.

Lion-O is packaged in a collector friendly window box that allows him to be displayed while remaining Mint In Box.

To preorder, visit:
http://www.mezcotoyz.com/store/default.aspx

The preorder page seems not be working as of this posting. That, or it’s already sold out.

Sy-Klone’s packaging & bio revealed

January 27, 2011 | Poe

Mattel has revealed Sy-Klone is all his packaged, be-bio’ed glory. (Via Facebook)

Sy-Klone’s Bio:

SY-KLONE
Heroic Fist-Flinging Tornado
Real Name: Sy-Klone Son of Dy-Lex

Protector of the Legacy Stones and the Last Defender of Anwat Gar, Sy-Klone joined the Masters of the Universe after the Stones were destroyed and his mission completed. He wears the last remaining TECH vest Armor created by his Gar ancestors to terrorize Eternia after the Great Wars. Its built-in wind rockets allow the user to create powerful vortexes of spinning energy as a defensive weapon or to fly through the air. Sy-Klone has upgraded his armor to also include cosmic radar which lets him sense the physical presence of evil long before others. Sy-Klone’s wind Powers and radar chest make him combat ready!

“Terrorize Eternia”? Were the Gars bad guys in 200X?

Anyway, it’s awesome we got the lenticular chest emblem and an ab crunch.

Vintage Toy Ads > Aliens by Kenner

January 27, 2011 | Poe

For the most part, I think Kenner’s Aliens & Predator toys were pretty cool, even if they weren’t all that faithful to the movies. The various animal-based Aliens were great–I still have my Scorpion and Gorilla Aliens.

The only thing that bummed me out was that they came out a few years after I was really, really into Aliens and Predator. At that time, there were no toys at all–nothing but a few tiny plastic resin figures. I remember gluing on of those sad little things together with my dad’s help, and then trying to play with it. Four years too late, Kenner.

In my humble opinion, the highlight of Kenner’s Aliens line was this two-figure set, featuring a “regular” Alien and a “regular” Predator. This idea would be repeated years later by McFarlane Toys, and just this past month, by NECA (review forthcoming).

Pic of the Day

January 27, 2011 | Poe

Vikor protects the Valley of Gnarrl

Vikor protects the Valley of Gnarrl by Kwehttamm

Poe Goes to Toy Fair

January 26, 2011 | Poe

For the first time ever, Poe Ghostal will be attending Toy Fair this year.

More later.

ToyFare: In Memoriam (Updated)

January 26, 2011 | Poe

I wasn’t quite sure how to memorialize the end of ToyFare. I can’t say it was a surprise; I’ve been hearing rumors of Wizard’s financial troubles for years now, and given the increasing prominence of the Internet as a source for you news, it was less a matter of if and more a matter of when. When I say that, I don’t want to diminish the hard work of the people who made the magazine, especially Justin Aclin, who poured his heart and the contents of a few other organs into every issue (I was thinking his spleen, pervs. Or maybe his liver). (more…)