Square Enix – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Poe’s Point > Thoughts on SDCC 2013, Part II: Star Wars, Marvel, TMNT, Toynami, Mezco, Square Enix

On July 24, 2013

Continuing my thoughts on the SDCC reveals from last week…

Hasbro

Hasbro has four big ~~licenses~~ action figure franchises: Transformers, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and Marvel. I don’t really collect Transformers or G.I. Joe at all (with a few exceptions), so I’ll just comment on the other two.

Star Wars

There was 3.75″ stuff, but I don’t care about any of that. The important thing here is Star Wars Black 6″.

To quote Mordecai, “Yay-yuh!”

My SWB6″ collection will probably be fairly small, but this guy will definitely be in it. I must admit, I still don’t think Hasbro is quite reaching the quality of the best of ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends or Lord of the Rings with any of their 6″ lines…but it’s Han Solo. In 6″ scale.

Pic of the Day > Red vs Blue by nobudius5192

By Poe

On January 7, 2013

In Photos

Red vs Blue by nobudius5192

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Master Chief (Halo, Play Arts KAI, Square Enix)

By Poe

On December 5, 2012

In Reviews

I’ve now played through and beaten every Halo game except ODST (which I’m sure I’ll get around to someday). Halo 4 came out just last month, and represents something of a new direction for the franchise as it begins to explore the “Ancient Aliens” origin of the Halo megastructures. It also begins to (finally!) develop the characters of the franchise’s hero, the Master Chief, and his artificial intelligence-based guide and love interest, Cortana.

I’m not going to pretend that the Master Chief is some sort of deep, memorable character. He’s basically just the most prominent iteration of the Doomguy, only less expressive since you can never see his face. But nonetheless I’ve had an affinity for the Chief since playing through the first Halo.

Review > Arkham Asylum Batman (Play Arts KAI, Square Enix)

By Poe

On November 16, 2012

In Reviews

TheÂ Arkham series of videogames is my favorite take on Batman sinceÂ The Animated Series. Yes, I even like it more than the Nolan films, which are great but are bit too grounded in the real world to really feel entirely like Batman to me.Â Batman: Arkham Asylum andÂ Batman: Arkham City straddle the line between the grim and gritty realism ofÂ The Dark Knight Returns and theÂ Dark Knight Trilogy while still giving us all the “unrealistic” villains like Mr. Freeze, Clayface and even Solomon Grundy.

Both Mattel and DC Collectibles has tried their hand at Arkham-based action figures. Mattel inexplicably allowed someone other than the Four Horsemen to sculpt Batman and several of the other figures, made them all out of scale with DCUCÂ and half of them out of scale with each other, and gave them middling-to-bad articulation. DC Collectibles’ offerings have great sculpting but minimal articulation (although the upcoming Series 4 does appear to finally have ball-and-hinge hips).

So – where can one turn to for fully-articulated action figures based on theÂ Arkham games? For now, the answer is Japan-based company Square Enix and their Play Arts KAI line.

Pic of the Day > Uncharted by DEADPOOLISTHEMAN316

By Poe

On November 2, 2012

In Photos

Uncharted by DEADPOOLISTHEMAN316

Sightings > Play Arts Kai Has Dark Knights that Rise, Return

By Poe

On September 21, 2012

In Sightings

When did the toy world get to busy that I’m completely out of the loop half the time? Anyway, Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai line, which up to know has generally featured videogame-based characters, is expanding into movies and comics, evidently – specifically,Â The Dark Knight Rises andÂ The Dark Knight Returns.

Oddly enough, the live-action-basedÂ Rises figure looks pretty good, but I’m not so sure the PAK aesthetic works for theÂ Dark Knight Returns. And while the pinhead made sense for theÂ Arkham videogame figures, since Bats does have a pinhead in those games, it looks wrong on the DKR figure.

Thanks to Toyark via Battlegrip for the tip.

Pic of the Day > Hadouken by jed fish

By Poe

On May 17, 2012

In Photos

Odds ‘n Ends > PD revs CIEDCUCGAF, SyFy’s Toy Realities, 4H’s OSM, FOTD has AC2

By Poe

On April 25, 2012

In Odds 'n Ends

SuperMom Accessories by happyworker

Pixel Dan has posted his review of the Club Infinite Earths DC Universe Classics Golden Age Flash.
For those who might be wondering, yes, I did subscribe to CIE, but I don’t plan to review them and intend to sell all my figures (with the exception of the Bat-characters, probably). I’m either going to sell them on eBay or maybe just my own store.
The SyFy Channel is developing a couple of toy-related reality shows: “Collection Intervention” will assist desperate significant others in forcing their loved ones to sell off some or all of their beloved collections, while the more interesting and less personally invasiveÂ “Toy Traveler” featuresÂ Shane Turgeon, “the Indiana Jones of toy collectors,” as he jets around the world seeking rare and unusual toys. Do we got anything on this Shane Turgeon guy?
The Four Horsemen posted some new info on their upcoming Outer Space Men release dates.
Don’t forget, Figure of the Day has the entire set of DC’s Arkham City Series 2 on its site for $89.99 w/ free shipping.
Phil Reed at Battlegrip has reviewed a pair of Play Arts Kai figures – Arkham Asylum Batman and Halo Reach Jorge. I’ve had the PAKAS Bats on my shelf waiting for a review for weeks now. I’m evidently lazy. Oh, and I’ve had the PAK Halo Master Chief even longer than that.
I should be able to announce the winner of the Bat-Libs contest either late today or tomorrow.

Odds ‘n Ends > Toy Fair Items of Interest & More

By Poe

On February 15, 2012

In Odds 'n Ends

A few other things that caught my eye at Toy Fair:
Mezco’s stylized Universal Monsters figures. OAFE reviewer and occasional PGPoA contributor Rustin Parr could not possible be more excited for these–he’s planning to get two of each. I’m in for the Gillman, of course, as he’s my favorite UM. They’re due out around September (according to at least one site).Â Pics at Battlegrip.
Jay Cochran of TNI seems concerned about the future of Bandai’s ThunderCats toys; there was nothing new at Toy Fair this year, and the staff wouldn’t comment on its future.Â The cartoon show has been a moderate success and reportedly renewed for a second season, and from my own observation the toys seem to sell decently, so I’m a bit surprised by this.
There will be Play Arts Kai Mass Effect figures, starting with Shepard, Ashley and Garrus. Garrus is great, but Shepard is less exciting since everyone creates their own character, and Ashley? Why no Miranda? Miranda was way more interesting. And–ahem–hotter, for a CGI character anyway. BBTS has these up for preorder.
Of course there’s also PAK’s upcoming Arkham AsylumÂ figures. I note that Phil Reed of Battlegrip made sure to get an upskirt of Harley Quinn (prediction: that will be my most-clicked link today. You’re welcome, Phil!).
I have to admit to being kind of excited by Mezco’s Mars Attacks figure. I just hope it has decent articulation. It appears to have hinged elbows and knees, but the real question is whether the hips/thighs are ball joints. I’m guessing not the thighs at least, since the feet don’t appear to be articulated.
TNI has more pics of the classic Turtles, including the packaging, which is wonderfully nostalgic. They’re due in stores in August at about $15 apiece, so it’ll cost you $60 to put together your Fab Four.
In non-Toy Fair news, Poester Chris Pearce sent me a note regarding his blog Teachable Moments, which has been running a series of posts called Thrift Store Finds. He’s reviewed a number of vintage MOTU items recently such as children’s books, coloring books and magazines, all of which you can check out using this link.
PGPoA art director Mecha-Shiva pointed me to this neat YouTube video of a self-proclaimed “Greatest Toy in the Universe.”Â It’s created by a UK company called Wow Stuff, and it looks rather like the vintage MOTU toy Spydor. I dislike radio-controlled toys, but I’ll admit that thing is pretty neat.
Finally, I just want to thank JediCreeper again for helping out with the Toy Fair coverage this year. Maybe we can get him a real press pass next year…

Sponsor News > DCAS, ThunderCats, Robocop at BBTS

By Poe

On November 17, 2011

In Sponsor News

Just a few interesting items from BBTS’s latest newsletter.

First up is their preorder for wave one of DC Universe All-Stars. This is a really odd line-up, isn’t it? Due out in May 2012.

Next is this incredible badass 14″ Mumm-Ra from Mezco, a companion piece to their 14″ Lion-O. It’s up for preorder for $35 and hits in May.

Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai line is rapidly becoming the Hot Toys of the under-12″ scale. I’m waiting for their Arkham AsylumÂ stuff myself, but they’ve also got Solid Snake and Ninja coming from the first Metal Gear SolidÂ game. Â Up for preorder, due in February.

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