Odds ‘n Ends > Spiffy Edition

April 8, 2008 | Poe

ODD: As mentioned yesterday, we did a little sprucing up here at PGPoA. If you’re curious who the bear in the menu is, don’t worry–she’ll be showing up in The Toybox soon. And has anyone figured out who the “Comics” guy is? If not, you’ll find out if you pick up Toyfare #130 in a week or two.

END: My review of DCUC wave two was over 4,000 words long, so I’m just curious–how many people actually read the whole thing? I’m thinking I may be writing way too much for the attention span of your average websurfer. (more…)

T-U-R-T-L-E Power

March 21, 2008 | Poe

On the half-shell, they’re the heroes four
In this day and age, who could ask for more?

NECA sends along this great hi-res photo of their new TMNT figures in action…man, I can’t wait for these.

NECA will also be selling a special boxed set (limited to 500) of the figures at the New York Comic Con next month.

NECA TMNT (warning: HUGE pic!)

Lord of the Batches

March 14, 2008 | Poe

Before we get to the winner of the contest, I just wanted to pass along the news that NECA has released new images of its upcoming two-pack of Jareth (the Goblin King) and Hoggle from the cult film Labyrinth. I must say, NECA may be taking their famed devotion to detail a bit too far: (more…)

Poe’s Point > MST OK, where are my action figures?

February 14, 2008 | Poe

When I was about twelve, in 1990, there was nothing I wanted more than figures from the movies Aliens and Predator. After all, I had Robocop toys, so it wasn’t as if there were no precedent for action figures based on rated-R flicks. Alas, the first toys from Kenner would not arrive for a few more years, by which time I had moved on to other fads. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Toys and the Chinese New Year

January 24, 2008 | Poe

As with many hobbies, the rise of the Internet has allowed the average action figure collector to understand the intricacies of production, sales, and distribution more than ever before. Fans track and discuss case mixes, variant ratios and shipping schedules. They have favorite sculptors and designers. And with projects like the Four Horsemen’s FANtastic Exclusive, they even get to participate in the development process.

Of course, this heightened awareness also provides collectors with an insight into the sort of issues one would never consider. For instance, we’ve long known that most American toys are manufactured in Chinese factories (for better or, in some recent cases, worse). But what perhaps you weren’t aware of is the fact that, for a week or two in February, all those factories close for the Chinese New Year–meaning the toy companies have to push as much product through as possible before then to avoid serious delays. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Albino Frog Edition

January 21, 2008 | Poe

ODD: PGPoA will be moving to a new Web host soon, so there may be some hiccups over the course of the next few weeks. Do not attempt to adjust your monitor if something goes wrong–chances are, I goofed something up. I’ll have more updates on this later in the week, but there’s a chance the site be offline for most of next weekend.

The new Web host will allow me to split PGPoA, Biggerboat and my other new website (for my wedding, if you must know) into separate domains. What does this mean for you, dear reader? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just makes my life a wee bit easier.

END: Saw Cloverfield over the weekend. Working on the review. Short version: enjoyed it, want an action figure of the monster, but not sure I’ll buy the DVD.

ODD: I finally found my KITT toy. I took some new photos and added them to my earlier review.

END: Mrs. Ghostal-to-Be and I have been playing a lot of Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure. It’s fun stuff, though it’s more of a puzzle game and less of an tc3rsz6.jpgadventure game than I’d been led to believe.

ODD: Much like my recent Batman redeco mock-ups, collector RM did some Photoshop-fu on NECA’s upcoming Ninja Turtles figures. Check it out.

END: The next round of voting for the 2008 FANtastic Exclusive is underway. Cast your vote!

2007: The Year in Haulage

January 2, 2008 | Poe

Happy New Year! I’m working on a very big review of the first wave of DC Universe Classics figures, but in the meantime here’s a quick post to tide you over.

Inspired by Googum, I’ve decided to try and post a list of all the toys I bought or received in 2007. I can’t go into quite as much detail–I don’t have dates and I certainly don’t have receipts (and part of me doesn’t want to know how much I spent). This is mostly from memory, so there are undoubtedly a few holes–I’ll update as I remember things.

Looking it over, it’s pretty clear I became a fan of (read: obsessed with) DC Superheroes.

DC Superheroes/DC Universe Classics

  1. Quickfire Joker
  2. Bane (international variant)
  3. Scarecrow
  4. Mr. Freeze
  5. Blue/gray Batman
  6. Azrael
  7. Bizarro (purple)
  8. Supergirl (blue)
  9. Lex Luthor
  10. Darkseid
  11. Brainiac
  12. Man-Bat
  13. Cyborg Superman
  14. Mongul
  15. Two-Face
  16. Clayface
  17. Catwoman
  18. Gray/black Batman
  19. Classic Detective Batman
  20. Red Tornado
  21. The Penguin
  22. Orion
  23. Etrigan the Demon

Hellboy

  1. Abe Sapien (Mezco)
  2. Hellboy Animated (Gentle Giant Best Buy Exclusive)
  3. Abe Sapien Animated (Gentle Giant)
  4. Movie Hellboy (Gentle Giant)
  5. 12″ Movie Abe Sapien (Sideshow)

TMNT

  1. Leonardo
  2. Donatello
  3. Raphael
  4. Michelangelo

Legendary Comic Book Heroes

  1. Savage Dragon
  2. Judge Dredd
  3. Ripclaw
  4. Ann O’Brien
  5. Marv
  6. Judge Death
  7. Star
  8. Madman
  9. Witchblade
  10. Superpatriot
  11. Conan
  12. Wraarl
  13. The Darkness
  14. Stryker

Marvel Legends

  1. Tiger Stripe Wolverine
  2. Blackheart
  3. Wolverine/Sabretooth Face-Off
  4. Hydra Soldier
  5. Silver Surfer (Hasbro Comic F4)

Halo (Joyride Studios)

  1. Brute
  2. Spec Ops Elite
  3. Master Chief (series 4)

Nightmare Before Christmas (NECA)

  1. Santa Jack
  2. Santa Jack II
  3. Cyclops
  4. Experiment Jack

Miscellaneous

  1. Street Gear Clubber Lang (Rocky III)
  2. 7″ Indiana Jones (Disney parks exclusive)
  3. Fox Sports Robot
  4. Frosty the Snowman (Round 2)
  5. Godzilla 1975 (Bandai)
  6. Identity Crisis Batman (DC Direct)
  7. Hush Joker (DC Direct)
  8. Special Forces Accessory Packs (Resaurus)
  9. Jonathan Papelbon (McFarlane MLB)
  10. Creature from the Black Lagoon (Toy Island)
  11. Pig Cop (Duke Nukem – Resaurus)
  12. Grimlock (Transformers Titanium 3″)
  13. Snowman (Twisted Christmas – McFarlane)
  14. Alien Warrior (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem – NECA)
  15. Ramathorr (FANtastic Exclusive)

Very cheap Nightmare Before Christmas toys…

December 14, 2007 | Poe

Back when Santa Jack was first released, I bought one. Its right leg broke out of the package, so I returned it to the comic shop and got a replacement–whose right leg broke out of the package.

I hate gluing figures, so I just chalked it up to bad luck and gave the figure away for customizing scrap. But this year, I found myself wanting another SJ and went looking for him online.

To my surprise, I discovered him for sale at the incredibly cheap price of $3.25 at Sci-Fi Genre. So for a total of $12, including shipping–the price of one of these figures at retail–I picked up both the first and second versions of Santa Jack. If you’ve been holding off on the NBX figures, check out the sale at SFG.