Mr. Potato Head drops weight, goes from spud to stud

February 27, 2011 | Poe

I missed this at Toy Fair, but apparently Hasbro unveiled a brand-new, slimmed down Mr. Potato Head called “Active Adventures Mr. Potato Head.” I’m all for encouraging kids to exercise more, but are we really going to blame the traditional Mr. Potato Head for encouraging childhood obesity?

That’s not fair. I’m making a logical fallacy here–just because Hasbro is introducing this “Active” Mr. Potato Head doesn’t mean they think the old MPH is a (ahem) couch potato. But still, this seems a bit like an excuse just to sell the public another Mr. Potato Head toy–and grab some good PR while they’re at it.

Also: maybe I’m just resistant to change, but I don’t like the pants. They look like maternity pants. The pants make him look fatter. Are we to assume that the classic MPH is so fat his pants are riding so low on his waistline only his shoes are visible? Or has he suddenly become sensitive about his spudity? I mean, nudity.

On a final note, who would you rather hang out with–MPH or NPH?

(Thanks to PrfktTear for the heads-up on this.)

Pic of the Day

February 25, 2011 | Poe

R7-A7

R7-A7 by Compulsive Collector

Pic of the Day

February 24, 2011 | Poe

Pre-Transformers Shockwave G1

Pre-Transformers Shockwave G1 by Isaac Cortés

Toy Fair 2011 > The Experience

February 21, 2011 | Poe

(l-r: Poe, H. Eric “Cornboy” Mayse, Joe Amaro, Cornboy’s wife Corinna, and Val “JVS3” Staples)

It’s been over a week now, so I should probably try to wrap up my Toy Fair coverage. We’re getting there!

For this post, I’d like to give you a description of my general experience at Toy Fair. This was my first trip to NYTF, and I thought it might be fun to show you what it’s like. (more…)

Toy Aisle Trolls > Tony’s Latest Suit Kind of Sucks

February 17, 2011 | 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.

Nerdbot sends in this fine example of human behavior.

Writes Nerdbot:

I found this gem at a Toys R Us in Queens, New York. It was, as you can see, a Marvel Legends two-pack that was supposed to contain the stealth Iron Man. In its place is… well, I have no idea. Maybe a bootleg Iron Man? Or knock-off Power Ranger? For all I know it could be a cool Japanese import. (With some of the strange swaps we’ve seen lately, anything is possible.) I like that the troll inserted the mystery figure’s throwing star accessories, too. A real mensch.

I shudder to think I may have been within a few miles of this travesty this weekend. What the hell is that thing?

Note the bastard swiped the alternate Tony Stark and Sharon Carter heads, too–it seems all he was willing to leave was Sharon herself. And consider this: slime molds are better practitioners of a moral existence than this petty thief.

Toy Fair 2011 Report, Day 1: Hasbro Collector’s Day

February 12, 2011 | Poe

At this moment I’m sitting in one of the tiniest hotel rooms in Manhattan, my laptop balanced precariously on a window ledge as I sit on a bed. The other side of the room–really a glorified closet–is about eighteen inches to my right.

I’ve just finished uploading about ninety pics from Hasbro’s Collector’s Event today, available on my special Toy Fair Flickr page. Hopefully you were also following my tweets. They’ll be the swiftest form of coverage over the next two days (hence the addition of the Twitter feed to the site–thanks to OB1 for putting that and the Flickr gallery together so swiftly).

And so–as for what happened today. I took the Bolt bus down from Boston; thanks to wifi, it was a relatively swift four hours to Manhattan. After dropping my stuff off at the hotel, I headed to the Times Center in Times Square, where none other than Optimus Prime himself sat parked outside. I spent about four years of my young life looking at cars and trucks and wondering if they’d transform; sadly, even though this was the likeliest moment for such a thing in my entire life, it was not to be–Optimus remained in vehicle mode, caring not how many people grinned as their friends took pics with him.
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