Super Powers – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Guest Post > Interview with Spy Monkey Creations

On July 11, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of talking first hand with the three-headed weapon-making machine known as Spy Monkey Creations, Inc.

Team members Jeremy Sung, Brian Stevenson and Bill Murphy are the minds behind some of the coolest custom-produced weapons and accessory packs for action figure collectors today. And as a fellow collector it’s always a bonus when you can find top-notch items that compliment your figures perfectly. From energy-based accessories to swords and shields, Team SMC has amped up many of our action figure arsenals and have made playing, er, posing that much cooler.

Be sure to check out their store if you haven’t already to pick up some of their current available stock.

Now enough of my rambling, let’s get to the interview!

Pic of the Day

By Poe

On November 1, 2010

In Photos

Princess Diana vs. Princess Leia (297/365) by JD Hancock, on Flickr

List > Five Action Figures Who Cost Us Better Ones

By Poe

On September 10, 2010

In Lists

One of the greatest tributes to a pop culture character’s popularity is to be made into the immortal idol known as an action figure. And while many characters have been so blessed, there are still many deserving characters who remain un-sculpted in plastic.

And yet, while we have no figure of Dutch Schaefer from Predator, Rasputin from the Hellboy comic or Buzzard from The Goon, we do have these obscure or unwanted characters who not only got their own figure, but were given spots in action figure lines that ended immediately after their appearance, thereby preventing a more desirable figure from getting made.

The Annual Interview with the Four Horsemen

By Poe

On December 2, 2009

In Interviews

In what has happily become an annual tradition here at PGPoA, the Four Horsemen graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions about DC Universe Classics, Masters of the Universe Classics and their own FANtastic Exclusive figures. Read on to get the latest from Santa’s not-so-little helpers, Chris Dahlberg, Eric Treadaway, Jim Preziosi, and H. Eric “Cornboy” Mayse.

Mattel-DC Panel News

By Poe

On July 24, 2009

In News

Here are Rustin Parr’s notes from the DC-Mattel panel:

Movie Masters – Now a Mattycollector.com exclusive, one figure a month will be sold starting September 15. Sept: Bank Robber Joker; October: Prototype Batman; November: Harvey Dent; December: Jailhouse Joker; January: Arkham Asylum Scarecrow; February: Sonar Eyes Battle Damage Batman; March: Two-Face. They might do more if the figures sell well.
There will be more JLU singles, 3-packs and 4-packs. Wave 6 features: a more comic-book-accurate Hawkman, a modern Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom in metallic silver, a straight re-release Hawkgirl, and an all-new Firestorm; next three 4-packs: Shazam Family, Doom Patrol, and Justice Guild
DCIH: 6-packs available online and at Walmart, including a 3-pack of Hal Jordan Parallax, John Stewart and SC Sinestro
There will be a 12″ Movie Masters, with one figure sold per quarter on Mattycollector, starting 1Q 2010. The first two figures are General Zod and Christopher Reeve Superman
Mattel is teaming up with Emcee to produce a new line of retro, accurate Mego figures. Called World’s Greatest Superheroes, the first figure, Green Arrow, will be available on Mattycollector this fall; after that, the figures will be sold at TRU and online retailers. The first series is Superman, Lex Luthor in Silver Age purple shirt, Hal Jordan GL, and blue-outfit Sinestro. There will be at least three waves of four figures each.
Brave and Bold: nothing that wasn’t seen in booth photos
DCUC: Four waves plus one Walmart wave in 2010 (that’s entirely in 2010, and doesn’t include Waves 10 and 11). Mattel swears that Walmart has placed considerably larger orders and the figures will be easier to get.
DCUC Wave 10: Beast Boy, Batman (all black w/ yellow symbol and yellow belt) w/ bat-laptop; Forager; Joker; brown Man-Bat; Power Girl; Robotman–opening head so you can see his brain; CnC: Imperiex
DCUC Wave 11: SC Cyborg Supes–couple pieces of new tooling, hands w/ rings; Deadman; variant Deadman w/ fading to translucent legs; John Stewart w/ GL constructs; Katma Tui; the Question; and Shark (Silver Age); Steppenwolf (50/50 green armor vs. Super Powers-style); CnC 9″ Kilowog
DCUC 2-Packs: SC Romat-Ru and Karu-Sil, comes w/ at least one construct; Animal Man and B’Wanna Beast
DCUC 5-pack exclusive to Walmart: Black-and-gray Batman w/ no mud, Superman (normal eyes), Two-Face repainted in Silver Age colors, purple Catwoman repaint, new Silver Age Lex Luthor
Target-exclusive series for Superman/Batman Public Enemies: 6″ and 3 3/4″ inch. The 6″ line-up is “pseudo-DCUC,” a blending of DCUC and animated style, and includes: Superman (normal and metallic variant), Batman (black and gray and blue and gray), Icicle, Silver Banshee, Black Lightning Silver Age, Major Force, CnC: Brimstone (somewhat translucent) Due in the fall (?).

Show and Tell > Paul’s Batmania

By RobotsPJs

On July 8, 2009

In Show and Tell

After doing my Robocop Show and Tell the discussion seemed to focus more on Batman than Robocop. Well, here’s my Batman collection Show and Tell inspired by that conversation. For my Show and Tell, I’m going to do something a bit different. I’m going to show and tell as usual, but there’s a little bit more to the story than what I’ve got here. For the rest of the story, head on over to my blog Toy Bender to get the rest of the scoop. Think of it as the director’s commentary over there.

5 Questions With > Rustin Parr

By Poe

On June 18, 2009

In Interviews

Today we have an interview with a good friend of mine, Rustin Parr of OAFE. Rustin and I first met through OAFE in the early 1990s, and despite living on separate coasts, we’ve met in person many times since then. An passionate if idiosyncratic movie buff, Haunted Mansion enthusiast, and King Leonidas look-alike (well, maybe not the abs, but the face, anyway), Rustin has agreed to bare just a bit of his soul to us here at PGPoA.

Code name: Scott McEachen, alias Rustin Parr, alias Gunstas von Artlefuasdensein, D.D.S.
Specialty: Dreaming Big and Accomplishing Small
Base of Operations: Monterey, CA
History: Began the adventure in gorgeous Hermosa Beach, California, whence an egregious lust for action figuring took hold. A lack of sculpting ability and painting prowess propelled him into the world of Motion Picture production whose frivolities spat the man into the cutting edge of Neuro Marketing during which a healthy imbibing of toys and movies keeps the life juices flowing. It was a hot and sunny day when a close personal friend, the self-titled Lord of the Nazgul, brought together Rustin with Yo Go Re and Poe Ghostal, all posters at the formerly awesome and important/relevant spawn.com message boards, the latter two being founding members of oafe.net. After one particularly long and laugh-riddled evening in which Rustin performed his then-constant desperate rage upon the unprepared Yo’n’Poe towards falsely accused inept waitresses and rightfully, if not righteously accused George Lucas and his modern films, Poe’n’Yo dragged the Froce’o’da’nature into the fold at OAFE where on Rustin continues to this day to be less entertaining than that first eve and less consistent in producing reviews than his editor would prefer. Rustin is survived by his collection projected to consist of over 2,000 individual action figures, 500 hundred vehicle and location replicas 9in varying scales) and hundreds of plus-sized and resin collectibles, not to mention a DVD collection of some 1200 discs.

5 Questions With > MisterBigBo

By Poe

On May 28, 2009

In Interviews

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many interviews with fellow collectors!

MisterBigBo, who comments here occasionally, is a real-life friend of mine who I’ve actually spent time with in person. He’s taken time out of his busy schedule as a brand-new dad to answer a few questions about his toy collecting.

Codename: MisterBigBo
Base of Operations: The Commiewealth of Taxachusetts
History: Regular ‘ole suburban lower middle class kid who grew up in the 80s. Star Wars fan first, but like most boys of that generation I had a healthy action figure collection. I have gone on to become a teacher, a dad, and study traditional Japanese martial arts, but the toys are still there.

1.) What were your favorite toys or toy lines as a child?

Though I started with Star Wars, moved with the trends to Transformers and He-Man for a while, GI Joe was my favorite. The designs and the articulation caused me to stay with the line into junior high, after most of my friends had moved on. As a youngster I had a little of everything: a few M.A.S.K. vehicles, and one or two Sky Commanders, Army Antz, Silver Hawks, C.O.P.S., Centurins, Marvel Secret Wars and D.C. Super Powers, Captain Power, Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos, Battle Beasts, Starcom, Eagle Force. . . those are the faves that I can remember right now . I suppose my tendency these days to collect only one or a few of any given line is a continuation of that trend.

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

By Poe

On May 22, 2009

In Fanmode

Michael Crawford reviews the Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars Militaries of Star Wars Republic Clone Trooper (212th Attack Battalion: Utapau version) Sideshow exclusive 1/6-scale figure. Excerpt: “… this is easily the lamest exclusive ever produced by Sideshow.”

yo go re reviews the Hasbro Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection Battle-Damaged Darth Vader figure from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Excerpt: “The attachable armor isn’t the greatest example ever, but the toy is still fun, and there’s never been a Vader like it before.” (See also.)

Corey Tincher reviews the Mattel DC Universe Classics Parademon (green and yellow version) figure. Excerpt: “… a surprisingly great figure …”

Mattel Q&A Roundup for May 1

By Poe

On May 1, 2009

In Ask Mattel

Here’s your bi-weekly (bi-monthly? I can never remember) roundup of Mattel Q&As for May 1:

Some highlights:

The Walmart wave will have 7 figures, not 5 as some have guessed.
Brown Man-Bat is confirmed for 2009 and will be in his own package, not a BAF.
The Bill Murray sculpt for the Ghostbusters line has still not been approved. (Whether or not they even have the likeness rights was not discussed.)
Mattel is working on re-releasing DCSH Catwoman and Two-Face.
Mattel has the rights to make Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh from Super Powers.

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