Pic of the Day

Christmas Bender action figure from Futurama

Christmas Bender action figure from Futurama by popculturegeek.com

Mattel posts Sy-Klone pics

Mattel has officially posted pics of Sy-Klone.

As you can see, he comes with the 200X-style ring, but it’s both removable and sized so that it can be used as a weapon. Interesting.

EDIT: Forget everything I wrote below. Thomas B. below is right, the ring can be pivoted so it surrounds him at the hips like a hula-hoop, which is arguably cooler than it being up over his shoulders. Shame on me for not noticing and doubting the Horsemen. That said, Mattel really should have taken a pic showing that. –PG

But the ring on the 200X figure could be raised up and brought down over his shoulders, so that when he spun, the ring spun in a circle around him. It was a nice effect.

Here, the ring can only attach to his lower back and stick up vertically over his shoulders. Seems a bit pointless. I would have designed a second clasp at the top of the “backpack,” so that the ring could be brought down over his shoulders–though I suspect this would have caused the same problem as the 200X figure, namely, that the clasp wouldn’t have been quite high enough and the ring would hit the shoulders, so it juts out at a slight angle rather than being parallel to the ground. Still, you could either sculpt the clasp a bit higher than the top of the backpack–or have it slide out from the backpack–to solve that problem.

This is a very rare case where I think the Four Horsemen missed a design opportunity. That said, I’ve learned to give them the benefit of the doubt, so it’s quite possible they recommended something like that and Mattel shot it down for some reason.

Pic of the Day

Life is like a box of chocolates

Life is like a box of chocolates by Stéfan

The Sword of Ages: Work in Progress pics

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it looks like I won’t have the new Swords of Ages and Dread Axes until the New Year. However, I should be able to have the sale the first week of January, so try to keep a little holiday cash left over.

In the meantime, I asked SpyMagician of Spy Monkey Creations to take some photos as he worked on the Sword of Ages, so that you guys can see what goes into the process. Check ’em out. –PG

Sculpting

Molding and Casting

Any questions for Mattel?

The time has come, the Walrus said, to ask Matty your questions. Questions due by 11:59pm Monday, December 13.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Malabsorption

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Leonardo T. Dragon sends along this example of douchebaggery. (more…)

Pic of the Day

Enterprise D & NX-01 Edit w Starfield

Enterprise D & NX-01 Edit w Starfield by Dysonstarr