Review > Predator (AvP: Requiem, NECA)

October 15, 2008 | Poe

OK, I’m late to this party, but it fits the horror/Halloween theme I’m pushing this month.

Due to the fact that Predators don’t speak English and really don’t have any sort of defined culture or individual character, I can’t do the whole “interview” gag, so this will be a straight review.

There are some action figures I see and must buy. Usually they’re some sort of incredible combination of sculpting and articulation. For instance, I didn’t think twice about buying NECA’s Alien Warrior from the Alien vs. Predator colon Requiem line, because it was well sculpted and had great articulation and actually managed to surpass, in my estimation, the Aoshima Alien. The NECA Ninja Turtles are another good example.

Other times, though, I’ll see a figure and decide to pass on it for some reason. I forget about it and it sells out at retail. Then, a few months or a year or two later, I start looking at it again online. I start doing searches for it on eBay. And finally, at some point, I break down and buy the damned thing. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Better Late than Never (Updated)

August 14, 2008 | Poe

ODD: Sorry for the late O&E–believe it or not, I clean forgot about it this week until after I’d spent two hours working on the King Grayskull review.

Speaking of which, that seems to have gone over well, so I think I’ll make the “It Figures” a regular weekly feature (probably on Thursdays). I’ll keep the “Inside the Actors Studio”-style format, and in general I’ll try to review new figures, though I’m sure some old favorites will sneak in there too. For next week, though, it will be a choice between the NECA Mousers exclusive, the Hulk Legends Wendigo, and a round-robin DCUC Wave 3. Which would you like to see?

END: I’ll write more about this in a later post, but the case of DCUC Wave 3 figures I received have a surprising amount of quality control problems. I’ve been inordinately lucky, QC-wise, with most of my online orders over the years. Not so this time.

Hal Jordan’s chest emblem is off-center, Solomon Grundy’s right arm has a gap at the bicep, and the tab holding Deathstroke’s scabbard was glued in wrong, requiring twenty minutes of painstaking Dremel work before the sword would slide in. But the most egregious crime is that my Sinestro Corps Sinestro’s chest emblem is smeared. It looks awful. My Robin and Nightwing are fine; however, it’s been reported that many Robins have an over-sized right hand (possibly from a larger figure, like Black Manta), so watch out for that.

After all the discussion on this site over the last few months, it seems I have to eat a little humble pie when it comes to ordering online. If I’d seen these in a store, I would have passed up Sinestro and Hal Jordan, or at least tried to find ones with better paint jobs.

ODD: October will be here in just a couple scant months, and that means Halloween Month here at PGPoA. If you have any Halloween- or horror-themed ideas or requests for posts, let me know.

END: I forgot to mention–congratulations to Dwaltrip for winning the second “Everybody into the Pool” DCUC contest! With his pick of July 31, he came closest to the actual arrival date of my DCUC3 case.

I’ll put up the contest for DCUC Wave 4 very soon…

SDCC 2008 Preview Night

July 24, 2008 | Poe

Just a few comments on what came out of last night’s SDCC preview.

Mattel’s keeping most of their stuff under wraps (except for a few sightings of DC Infinite Heroes) until their panels on Friday, but they seem to be the exception–most companies had plenty of their new wares on display. One thing I did discover–apparently there’s a clear variant of King Grayskull. And here’s a look at the production figure.

Incidentally, Mattycollector.com is now live (well, with a preview page). You can make out some of the exclusives behind the Jughead-like Matty character. I’m really hoping Mattel ran this by Archie Comics first, given that company’s infamous habit of suing at the slightest provocation. (Note: the site seems to be going on- and offline like a yo-yo. No idea why. Keep trying and you’ll get through.)

I’m excited to see these guys. Looks like we’re getting a Foot Ninja, a UTROM (who I almost predicted in my previous post), SHREDDER!!! and a Foot Elite Guard.

Glancing at NECA’s videogame wares (including the protagonist from Prototype), I noticed in the corner some wee figures of Raving Rabbids! Here’s hoping for a three-pack with tons of accessories (I suppose Rayman would probably be in there too).

Pete will have an update on all the newly-revealed Hasbro Marvel goodies later today. The Mattel DC Comics panel is at 11am PDT tomorrow.

SDCC Predictions

July 23, 2008 | Poe

I thought it might be fun to toss out some predictions as to what new revelations we’ll see, toy-wise, at SDCC.

Here are a few of my predictions:

  • DC Universe Classics – I expect the wave six line-up rumored in my earlier post will prove accurate, with Kalibak as the BAF. For wave seven, I’m picking the following names completely out of the blue: The Flash (Wally West, w/ Prof. Zoom variant), Deadshot, Batman (modern), Captain Cold, Raven, Brown Man-Bat BAF.
    Mattycollector.com exclusive: The Question
  • Movie Masters – Dark Knight Two-Face, DK Commissioner Gordon, Keaton Batman and Nicholson Joker.
    Mattycollector.com exclusive: Movie Master Batpod
  • NECA Ninja Turtles – Foot Ninja, Shredder, April w/ opening-mouth Mousers, Triceraton

I don’t know enough about G.I. Joe, Marvel Legends, Transformers and such forth for guesses on those, so feel free to throw some predictions in the thread below.

The Four Horsemen Interview II (Part 1)

June 18, 2008 | Poe

On May 1, Poe Ghostal’s Points of Articulation hit its six-month anniversary. In anticipation of this event, I asked the Four Horsemen if they would be willing to do another interview as they did for the inaugural month of this blog, and they very kindly agreed. I had hoped to post it on May 1st, but the Horsemen were too busy creating awesome toys to get to it right away. I think we can all agree it’s worth the wait.

This is the first half of the interview, focusing on DC Universe Classics and NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’ll post the second half tomorrow.

POE: There are some slight stylistic differences between the early DC Superheroes figures and DC Universe Classics–for instance, Superman from DCSH wave 2. Do you feel Superman still fits in well with DC Universe Classics, or would you like a chance to do another straight Supes figures?

ERIC “CORNBOY” MAYSE: Well, as you’ve probably already guessed from the “Regeneration Suit Superman” revealed at Wizard World Philadelphia a few weeks back, we’re definitely moving forward in attempting to create a definitive DC Universe Classics Superman that will have obvious differences from its earlier DC Superheroes counterpart.

JIM PREZIOSI: When and in which wave that definitive Superman will finally make his debut is still up in the air, but it is coming. (more…)

Mousers in the house(…rs…)

May 23, 2008 | Poe

NECA has finally officially admitted that a Mouser 3-pack will be their San Diego Comic Con exclusive. Not many details yet other than the announcement itself and a couple pics.

NECA was kind enough to send along a ginormous hi-res photo of the Mousers, which I’ve posted below, watermark-free, for your enjoyment. (Click on the photo for the gigantic version, or right-click to save.)

One thing I noticed–it doesn’t look like the mouths open. But NECA wouldn’t do that to us…would they? (The figures in the photo do look like painted prototypes, so I think there’s a good chance they will have articulated jaws.)

Odds ‘N Ends > Authentic Edition

May 20, 2008 | Poe

ODD: Where did all the comments go? I leave for a few days and the comments dry up like Aquaman in the desert. Come back! I promise I’ll be interesting!

END: Good news for fans of NECA’s Ninja Turtles line. First, it appears the line is selling quite well. That’s great news; perhaps NECA will be inspired to create more heavily-articulated figures. Second, it appears to be confirmed that the SDCC exclusive is a Mouser 3-pack. Add another exclusive to the pile I’ll be begging for come July…

ODD: From the looks of the toy aisles when I hit Target or TRU, Iron Man seems to be a rousing success with the kids as well as adults. All the 6″ figures have disappeared, though I notice plenty of those Superhero Squad and dress-up sets. Hint hint, Hasbro!

END: Please join me in congratulating Paul of Toy Bender, who entered into wedded bliss this past weekend. I’ll be joining him in just a few scant months. See you on the other side, Paul!

ODD: The next issue of The Toybox will be delayed until the first week of June, due to a hectic schedule for both Red Kryptonite and me. But I’m hoping to put something together to tide you over in the meantime, as well as expand the Toybox world.

END: The latest issue of ToyFare (which I’ll recap tomorrow) has a big ad for wave three of DC Universe Classics, possibly the greatest wave of superhero action figures since ML6. I imagine packaged pics will show up on the Net soon, though I still don’t expect to see my set until late June. If you think you know better, be sure to enter the contest!

Marcus Fenix

May 17, 2008 | Poe

I’m back, baby!

Spent last week hopping about the country–first to Houston for a wedding, then to Los Angeles to make preparations for my own nuptials. But now I’m back in Boston just in time for the Celtics to have to go to Game 7…again.

When I got back, I made my usual toy rounds and picked up a figure I’d been waiting to see in person: Marcus Fenix from NECA’s Gears of War. NECA isn’t exactly striking while the iron is hot; Gears dropped in November 2006, and even Halo 3 and its subsequent McFarlane toy line has come and gone since then. However, Gears of War 2 hits this fall, so I imagine these figures will find plenty of collector enthusiasm. (more…)

Featured Article > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NECA) review

April 18, 2008 | Poe

(Click on any of the photos for a larger version.)

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird are a classic American success story. They parlayed a strange concept–a comic parodying Frank Miller’s then-popular Daredevil and Ronin comics, but starring anthropomorphic animals–into an empire, with profits that at times exceeded those of the mainstream publishers whose works they were parodying. It’s hard to know where independent comic publishing would be today without the immense success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (more…)