Toy Aisle Trolls > Gotham City Dive

June 21, 2010 | Poe

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. Also, please note: I’m deliberately being over-the-top with my condemnation of these people–I don’t actually wish bodily harm upon them. Just severe mental anguish.

Reader 3B returns with another fine example of humanity at its best:

Man, they don’t quit! I snapped this pick a few hours ago at my local Walmart. My only question is, why would they take two of the most common figures and leave behind the exclusive Lex?

A good question, Mr. 3B. A good question.

Guest Review > The Wonder Twins SDCC Exclusive (DC Universe Classics)

June 20, 2010 | Novelty

The Wonder Twins should be no strangers to regular viewers of the Super Friends in the mid-to-late ’70s. They were the teenage alien replacement to Wendy and Marvin to the Saturday Morning Cartoon lineup. Unlike the two characters who they replaced, the twins had superpowers that were only activated when they touched each other and uttered the catch phrase “Wonder Twins Powers – Activate!” Zan could transform into any form of water in any of the three phases, while Jayna could morph into any living creature. (more…)

Oo-Larr-La

June 19, 2010 | Poe


I don’t know…it reads weird to me. –PG

Holy crap–Gygor IS big

June 18, 2010 | Poe

Via Facebook:

Hey He-Fans!

So one of the big things we wanted to do for the MOTUC line is to introduce figures that never quite made it into the vintage line. Much like He-Ro, Gygor the gorilla made it as a prototype into the vintage line but no toy has been made…until now.

Originally based on the “Big Jim Gorilla” (much like Battlecat or Zoar) Gygor was set to be a large gorilla figure in the 1982 line. While he was cut due to logistics, we are proud to present the first ever MOTU Gygor figure in the new Classics line. Truly, this is what the MOTUC line is all about.

Gygor will be the third oversized beast in the 2010 line and will go on sale September 15th. He will not be part of the subscription (but the beasts will be added to the subs in 2011 per fan demand!)

The final oversized beast/pack for 2010 will be an army builder two pack shown off at our fan panel at SDCC on Friday July 23 at 1:00 in room 29ABC. See you all at Mattypalooza 2010~!

Matty

I don’t know whether this will silent the speculation that Gygor is a retool of the DCUC Gorilla Grodd (Mattel and the Four Horsemen say it’s a 100% new sculpt), but he sure is bigger than Grodd. The torso sculpt is definitely different.

But wait, there’s more! Read on for the bio…such as it is. (more…)

Mattycollector mod speaks out on recurring problems

June 18, 2010 | Poe

For those of you who don’t visit the Mattycollector forums, it appears that ToyGuru has stopped posting as frequently, but another moderator, “Catra’s Wrath,” is a font of interesting information. You can check out some of her posts by clicking here.

I’m not sure whether CW works for Mattel or Digital River–she could just be a fan they hired as a moderator, for all I know. But oddly enough, CW’s posts have provided a more intimate peek into Mattel’s behind-the-scenes thinking on MOTUC. Here’s a sampling. (more…)

Interview > Matt Doughty, Part II (The Outer Space Men)

June 18, 2010 | Poe

You can read Part I of this interview, about the history of Onell Design, here.

PG: So tell me how Outer Space Men came about.

MD: I love toys that go all the way back into the 1920s. Anything that was a toy, I was fascinated. The Outer Space Men came out after Major Matt Mason…

And they were supposed to be kind of like those old Remco He-Man knock-offs–“plays with” Major Matt Mason.

Exactly. But what happens when someone “knocks off” someone else but they are superior to it? That’s sort of unprecedented now. Outer Space Men was so damned cool, it would replace playing with Major Matt Mason. (more…)

Interview > Matt Doughty of Onell Design (Part I: Onell)

June 17, 2010 | Poe

Real Name: Matt Doughty
Specialty: Toymaker
Base of Operations: Onell Design
History: Onell Design is a small, family run toy company that strives to create an environment filled with creative potential. Building out just a little bit every year, each person involved in the day to day operations does their work with a passion matched by a desire to connect with those that enjoy what Onell has to offer, however tiny it may be! Matt Doughty, Michelle Doughty and Marc Beaudette love running Onell, and it continues to grow only because of the incredible people out there who support all the crazy projects they get into! So get ready for more interchangeable figures, 8-bit games, special collaborations and sporadic blog posts as 2010 rolls on…and remember to stay creative!

(more…)