Two things occured to me today as I answered the door in my wheelchair, only to leap up to my feet screaming “IT’S A MIRACLE!!” when it turned out to be the same two Mormons from last week who still haven’t learnt their lesson. (more…)
Toy Aisle Trolls > DC vs. MOTU 2-Hacks
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.
Poester T16skyhopp pointed me to these two travesties, courtesy GTR-prime0088 on the TF2005 forums.
Where to start with this crap? First off, that’s the lame Superman from way back in Mattel’s early 2003 “Batman” days. This asshole couldn’t even be bothered to put a decent He-Man in there. That’s douche-y enough.
Then he puts a Green Goblin body with a first-release(?) Skeletor head on the non-Skeletor side of the second pack, and crams The Leader–THE LEADER–into what’s clearly labeled as the Skeletor side? And this thing was on the shelf at TRU?!
First off, may the jackass who did this be forever stuck in his parents’ basement until the despair drives him to suicide by masturbation. Second, while I try to have sympathy for beleaguered, overworked, underpaid toy store personnel, this is pretty ridiculous.
Pic of the Day
DCUC Plastic Man preview up at Fwoosh
Ever since I stopped collecting DCUC I’ve been remiss in covering it here, especially for those Poesters who remained fans of the site despite my faddish whims. So for those of you who haven’t seen it already, here’s a link to Fwoosh’s preview of the SDCC Plastic Man preview.
For all that can be said about their business practices and the handling of their collector’s lines, I have to say Mattel (with the help of the Four Horsemen) makes some pretty damned awesome toys.
…but good luck getting them.
Also, can we all agree that we hate that the people who get preview samples get the SDCC versions and not the stripped-down ones that will be on Mattycollector? It just seems like an extra kick to the T-spheres. Though I suppose the joke’s on them for Orko…unless Mattel sends both versions…in which case I’ll be obliged to hate them even more.
I’ll Rip Out Your Optikks
One of my favorite theories about Optikk is that he’s just some sort of weird, inhuman creature inside a big robotic suit (a la the Daleks). Spawn board member Dragonblaster took that idea and made it an awesome custom out of it.
Note to Dragonblaster: get a peg on that socket, cast some molds in green and I guarantee the fans will pay for these things.
Pic of the Day
Poe’s Lego Minifigure Diary #1: The Nurse
The Lego Minifigures are starting to show up in stores–and predictably vanishing shortly thereafter. Given my absolute hatred of having to drive around chasing down hard-to-find toys (see: my quitting of DCUC and my insouciance regarding MOTUC shipping costs), I decided to just pre-order a 10-pack of the minifigures via Entertainment Earth.
But while I wait for that to arrive, I did find some packs at Newbury Comics. Now, these are supposed to be $2 at retail, but Newbury always has to rip you off so they hiked it to $4. There were three packs left. Not having the barcode list with me (whose accuracy seems to be hit-and-miss), I felt each pack and quickly realized that, despite what you may have heard, feeling the pack is completely worthless for identifying the figure unless you happen to be some sort of tactile savant. In the end, I just grabbed one, overpaid and left.
The sad result can be seen to the right. Yes, I got the nurse. As I explained to DMG, I am not upset because the figure is a woman. I would have been just as upset with a male nurse. I am upset because it is a NURSE.
Don’t get me wrong; nurses fill a vital role in our health care system and are often under-appreciated. My sister-in-law is about to become a nurse, and that’s awesome. But when this line contains zombies, clowns, robots and luchadores, a nurse is just a bit disappointing.
Still, she looks pretty neat. She comes with two needles (yikes!) and what appears to be the EKG of someone named Dawes. The spike in the center no doubt occurred when Mr. Dawes saw his nurse double-fisting needles.
MOTUC Auction Tracker
Just thought I’d pass on this interesting little link–ComicTrek.net has a Web page that tracks completed MOTUC auctions. It’s a great way to keep an eye on how the market for each figure is doing. They’ve also got tracking pages for vintage MOTU, Sideshow, and other toylines.
Odds ‘n Ends > Arthropod Edition
- So, Voltron is back and Mattel has the toy rights. Thoughts, opinions, bitterly sarcastic comments regarding the availability and quality control of new toys?
- Once again, ItsAllTrue.net has taken an idea I had and beat me to the punch. Check out their interview with Mel Birnkrant, inventor of the Outer Space Men. A must-read.
- And while you’re there, check out their review of the awesome Revoltech Jack Skellington. I’m tempted, despite the price…my NECA Jacks are pretty fragile.
- Any thoughts on the Lion-O staction by Icon Heroes?
- Masters of the Universe will be inducted into the ToyFare Hall of Fame at WizardWorld Philadelphia this weekend. So that’s cool. Also, Scott Neitlich is going to reveal a new MOTUC figure on Friday at the “Big Toy Industry” panel. It’s the September sub figure, and the odds-on favorites on the He-Man.org forums are Roboto and Chief Carnivus. Anyone want to make their guess?
- On a side note, I had to reset the poll because I realized it was only allowing one choice per person, instead of three.
