March 1, 2011 | Poe
- As some of you know, Ecrater accidentally oversold the Sword of Ages and the Dread Axe of Darkness during the last sale. I chose to honor those sales and requested replacement ones from SMC (after contacting the individuals to make sure they didn’t mind waiting); the replacements arrived over the weekend, but our apartment got flooded AGAIN (fifth time in five years) on Sunday, so there’s going to be a bit of a delay while all that gets in order. I apologize for the wait.
- As I mentioned last week, I’m a guest on this week’s OrccaCast. Tune in to hear some more stories from my time at Toy Fair, speculation on the “secret accessories” for Man-E-Faces and Megator, and find out what this is!
- I didn’t realize that the guy who got picked to direct the next G.I. Joe movie, Jon M. Chu, directed the Justin Bieber movie (as well as two Step Up sequels). Here’s my take on it, though. Of course it could totally suck, but karmically, I’m thinking it might just turn out okay. Plenty of directors got their start directing forgettable movies (or rather music videos, which is really more in line with what Chu was directing).* I guess I’m just saying I’m giving Chu the benefit of the doubt. Of course, I really should see the first G.I. Joe movie at some point.
- Remember, the Scarabus 10-pack goes up for preorder tonight at 9pm EST. I’d planned to get you guys a review of the Toypocalypse Scarabus, but the aforementioned flooding interfered. Fortunately, I found this review on YouTube for you.
* On the other hand, the two directors who come immediately to mind as having started their careers in music videos are Michael Bay and McG, so I could be very, very wrong about this.
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.)
February 17, 2011 | Poe
DSCF0395 by Poe Ghostal
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.
(more…)
February 18, 2010 | Ed Humphries
You all know me. Know what I do. So, you’re probably asking yourselves, why does Poe keep inviting his videogame enthusiast, Lost-obsessive kinfolk round these parts to offer up n00bish takes on something he clearly know next to nothing about? That’s akin to bringing a Master Sword to a Hammer of Dawn fight… wait, that’s a gaming reference. I’ve got to remember my audience.
It’s akin to modeling a new Weeble with 98 points of articulation. It just don’t make sense, son. (more…)
February 15, 2010 | Poe
It would be impossible and way too much work for me to cover all the awesome stuff coming out of this year’s Toy Fair. The awesomeness seems to be hearkening back to the good old days of the early 2000s…anyway, instead of trying to list everything, I’m just going to hit the highlights of the stuff I’m excited about. But feel free to use this as the catch-all Toy Fair discussion thread.
Masters of the Universe Classics
Of course we start here. We’ve had hints and suggestions of all the stuff that was revealed, but frankly, I was never really 100% sure we were going to see Tytus or, even more insane, Gy-Gor–who looks much better than I’d imagined he would as a Gorilla Grodd repaint. Anyway, the reveals were:
Wow. Where to start with all this? (more…)
March 4, 2009 | Poe
Michael Crawford reviews the Mezco Toyz Cinema of Fear 3¾ Inch Jason Voorhees (Exclusive Preview Figure with glow in the dark mask) Toy Fair and online exclusive figure from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. Excerpt: “I want Mezco to make all my 3 3/4″ figures. Please.”
Doug Turner reviews the Diamond Select Toys Battlestar Galactica: Razor Cylon Warrior Toyrocket.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “Fans old and new alike will find a lot to like …”
Jeff Parker reviews the Hot Toys M Icon James Dean (Red Jacket Version) 1/6-scale figure from Rebel Without a Cause. Excerpt: “If you’ve ever wanted a good 1/6th representation of Dean then this is the best so far …” (more…)
February 19, 2009 | PrfktTear
Toy Fair was last weekend, and all the toy companies were showing off all the new stuff we’ll covet and want to buy. It’s a little overwhelming, so Poe has asked me to highlight some of the good stuff coming out this year from Hasbro.
Hasbro has a LOT on their plate. Not only do they have Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming out in June, they also have Transformers: Animated, as well as the Universe/Classics/25th Anniversary line to show off as well. (more…)
February 13, 2009 | Rustin Parr
Note: the opinions of Rustin Parr do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Poe Ghostal.
With NYCC a few days behind us and Toy Fair a few days ahead, I find myself caught up in the tumultuous whirlwind of being a collector and fan of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics toy line. Wave 9 was revealed at NYCC, which is actually quite darn remarkable considering the series only launched little more than a year ago. However, despite its clear success, DCUC has been plagued by two issues almost from the get-go. In riffing on Toybiz/Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line, not only did Mattel come up with some inventively clever nomenclature (Classics vs. Legends, Collect-n-Connect vs. Build-a-Figure – “what marketing whiz came up with that one,” asks Mr. Seinfeld) they took up the mantle of poor Quality Control. And while I often must buy and return multiple figures before I get a decent enough paint job to open/keep, the real thing that’s got me going tonight is their so-called distribution. (more…)
February 13, 2009 | Poe
Happy Friday the 13th! Don’t walk under any ladders today, or go to any summer camps. Let’s see what’s in the news today…
- Topless Robot had a few things to say about the Jason X-like look of the movie Cobra Commander (spoilers, I guess). I kind of see what they’re going for–the plate-face Cobra Commander look, instead of the hooded one–but it doesn’t work.
- Toy Fair 2009 starts tomorrow. We know there won’t be much, if any, Mattel news…anyone know if NECA will be there?
- Does every single toy website have something going on with the new Mezco Jason figure this week? Was Mezco was shipping out review samples like crazy? If so, how about a little love for Poe? Heck, they even gave some to a museum. Oh, and be sure to hit this RTM contest for a chance to win your own Jason.
- Vote on future Marvel Universe figures (Hasbro)
- Mattel has posted most of the slides from their NYCC presentations on their Facebook page (although not the preview pic of DCUC Joker, in case you were wondering–he’s in this month’s ToyFare).
