Toy Bender

I’m back to pretty much not giving a damn about Star Wars toys again, because I have mostly everything I’d want and not much has been shown to get me riled up during SDCC this year. There are a couple of interesting news items that I feel I should report, however. The first is the possibility of a “playset” that would reenact the burning of Darth Vader’s corpse:

Now this set isn’t going to come out, they’re just trying to gauge interest. Still, Hasbro has gotten a little morbid the last few years. First there was torture rack hand, the Lar’s Homestead just before they were shot and possibly burned alive, and now this. Granted, it is kind of neat, but I don’t think I’ll ever have a need for it.

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Apparently the toy collecting world has had some sort of kerfuffle that I was not aware of. Julius Marx of the rather huge toy website Action Figure Insider managed to win the gigantic (and super rare) Anti-Monitor figure that was available at the ‘09 San Diego Comic Con. He posted his victory picture with the title “Lucky Bastard” on Action Figure Insider:

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More He-Man, more Ghostbusters! Okay, Mattel managed to not disappoint too much at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

He-Man

Out of the Masters of the Universe figures announced, there have been more aside from Battlecat that has got my boxers in a bunch. To name but a few, there’s a glow in the dark Scare Glow (I have an original SUCKERS!) as well as a Moss Man that’s actually mossy. Sweet!

Now here’s my dilemma. I really want to get into this line, but I don’t want to have to log into some website at a specific time in order to get the figures, so now I’m really considering getting a subscription in order to get one of each. The only problem is that I might end up with a bunch of figures that I don’t want.

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Let’s continue Toy Bender’s half assed armchair coverage of the San Diego Comic Con ‘09. You know, to be honest that so far I haven’t been overly impressed with much of the news coming out so far. I just wish I was there for the social aspect now more than anything… anyway, here’s some Marvel and DC toy offerings.

Marvel

Marvel had a few figures in their Marvel Universe line that got my attention. In particular, I really dug this Thor:

I also liked Vindicator. I know jack and crap about the character, I just dig the costume:

I’ve also got to get my hands on this here Vision. Combine him with a can of white spray paint and you have the perfect 90s version of the figure. Yeah, I like that “costume” you have a problem with that?

The biggest drawback with the Marvel Universe line so far is that it’s hard to buy them when they cost so damned much at most places, combined with the fact that they are often tough to find for me. Where the heck is Moon Knight and why do I have to pay over eight bucks for him?

Note: Pictures came from MarvelousNews.com

DC

I kind of knew about most of the DC offerings going in, especially for the DC Universe Classics line, but it’s still nice seeing pictures of POWER GIRL. I really want her bad, but is she seriously going to be Wal-Mart exclusive? I’ll never see her!

The Joker is a nice surprise for me, because he’s the classic version of the character that appeared in the most excellent Super Powers line.

The 12 inch General Zod figure from Superman II was a nice surprise, but I’d rather take him in 6 inch format.

Note: Pictures from Toy News International.

Man, the problem with SDCC and this here blog is that I can’t keep up with all the stuff going down. So I guess my best strategy is really focus on what really gives me a boner (toy collecting wise) and ignore the less bonerific stuff. I also figure that you get your news other places and you come here for mostly my take on certain things, so it’s easier for all of us just to focus on a few items.

He-Man

In the world of He-Man, I have three words for you: Battle Fucking Cat

Now I haven’t gotten any of the new Mattel Masters of the Universe figures (He-Mans) so far, mostly because of price. I will however now need a He-Man when he’s re-released, because I can’t imagine a world where I don’t have this new kick ass Battlecat and no He-Man to fight with him. I don’t say this often, but that shit is tight. I’m also digging that Teela in there, mostly because that means now that there’s a female body I’m hoping that She-Ra (Princess of Sexy) will be soon to follow.

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You know, I don’t mean to turn this into an all Star Trek blog up in here, but hot damn Dragon toys has got some great 16/th scale toys coming out based on characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation that are friggen awesome. I also feel justified in that Star Trek is a little cool again, so it’s okay to talk about it. Shewww. The last thing I need is jocks beating me up again.

First up is Captain Jean-Luc Picard:

Make is so, indeed. I think if I got this Captain Picard I’d carry him around the house and hang out with him My Buddy style.

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Playmates released images and details on their new Star Trek figures and I’ve got to admit, amazingly some of them don’t look like total crap!

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McFarlane Toys keeps surprising me with their Halo line. In amongst all the things I don’t want to buy like the stupid Halo helmets, they sneak in something that just begs for my unemployed dollar. First there was the in-scale (to their line) Hunter and now they’ve got an in-scale Mongoose!

Better yet, I checked on Big Bad Toy Store (sponsor of the 2008 Joes for Tots contest!) and the Mongoose is only going to cost twenty bucks. Yeah it’s a small vehicle, but considering prices on toys these days it’s not too shabby. This is especially true for a toy that’s got some neat features like a folding rear seat so you can have some capture the flag action in toy form. Sweet.

I hadn’t heard that McFarlane was planning on making vehicles for the five their five inch Halo line. I’m thinking that the Mongoose and possibly the Covenant Ghost might see the light of day, but its hard to imagine that their are enough people buying these toys to support bigger vehicles at this point. Maybe a few years ago an in scale Warthog might have been feasible. Remember when those huge vehicles and accessories were coming out for twelve inch Joes? Perhaps in the right time something large for the Haloverse could have been a reality, but its doubtful to me that there would be one now. Then again maybe this is a test. Buy as many as you can Halo fans!

The Mongoose is due out in October, so maybe it will cash in on the release of the new Halo expansion game, Halo: ODST.

Marvel Universe wave five info is out and it’s a bit underwhelming overall. Fans of Marvel Comics super heroes will be able to finally get their hands on another villain in the classic looking Electro. I realize there’s a lot of heroes that people want, but why the huge lack of villains? More villains please!

Out of all the figures int his wave I would like to get my hands on a Guardian. I know nothing about him, but I always really dug the Canadian costumes that about four heroes have variations of. Other than that, I really don’t need a modern Sub-Mariner, a refill of Spider-Man, or a repaint of Iron Man. In fact, the repaint bothers me because when I saw that there was going to be a Silver Centurion Iron Man I didn’t think he was going to be a lazy repaint. I want the Silver Centurion Iron Man, not that horrid looking current armor in any form.

Thanks to: Marvelous News

The Marvel Universe figures all come with info from Marvel’s infamous character Nick Fury. But where is Nick Fury himself? Well, he’s the Mail-away figure for the line and Marvelous News got the scoop on how to get him. Instead of having to collect some sort of token like with G.I. Joe or Star Wars, there’s a special method if you want to get your hands on Mr. Fury. It looks like you’ll have to sign up for Marvel’s Digital Comic book service in order to get him. The service comes in two forms, $24.99 ($8.33 a month) for a 3 month subscription or $59.88 ($4.99 a month) for an annual subscription.

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You know what I don’t buy any more? Star Wars vehicles from the original movies. There was a period when I went nuts if I found a B-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Bomber, etc., but once I had them in the early ’00s, I was pretty much set. I’m not one to buy several versions of the same vehicle anymore. I’ve somehow grown an unruly lot of Hoth Speeders without really trying and I don’t want to do that again. However, my policy may change when I see a “new” TIE Fighter in stores which is currently in the works. Hasbro has finally gotten around to changing the interior of the classic fighter of the Empire to better resemble the movie model.

They’d made the change to the wings awhile ago by making them much bigger and thereby more movie accurate, but I didn’t want to shell out 40 bucks for the wings. This interior change to the classic TIE is just what it needed. Combine it with the wings and you have a sure fire purchase. The price better not increase for this change though. The TIE isn’t as value packed as many other toys of the same size.

And while we are on the subject, let me share with you with some sadness from my childhood. Even though I had tons of Star Wars toys when I was a kid, I didn’t have a single TIE fighter. It’s strange and very sad to think that I had hours and hours of Star Wars play time without a single epic X-Wing on TIE fighter battle.

There should be some sort of government mandated reparations for that level of suffering.

When my readers are in trouble what do I do? I slap on my mask, mount my trusty steed, and ride into town and shoot every hobo I see. I also go out of my way to a store in order to see if they have a figure that that reader is looking for.* In this case, it was Last Best Angry Man who did me a good turn when I had been unemployed (the first time). You see, he’d gotten me a figure that I needed desperately at that time. In a previous post he said he was looking for both Ms. Marvels. I had seen them at a Target the other day so I thought I’d make sure they were there or if they’d been purchased. Well they were still there and I felt like a hero when I bought them… until I came home and saw his comment saying he found them on the exact same day I picked them up. Oh well. Maybe I’ll have better luck for Double Dumb Ass.

Anyway, this whole thing made me reflect on how cool the internet could be. Before the internet, I wouldn’t know LBAM and I wouldn’t know he wanted a figure and I certainly wouldn’t have bought them for him. We’d all be isolated in our own little worlds, looking at newspaper classifieds instead of eBay, perusing catalogs instead of online toy stores, and reading ‘zines for all our toy collecting news. *shudder* How barbaric! You’re much better off with the internet and me. If not for the advantages of collecting toys, then for all the porn.

*Okay, I don’t do it for everyone, just you special guys/gals.

Fans of the Marvel Universe line (me) may look forward to seeing or most likely not seeing Wave 4 revision one at their local toy shoppe. Not only does it offer some of the more popular characters in the line that you may have missed before, but there’s some nice newer ones as well. May I direct you toward the awesomeness that is Moon Knight? Sweet chickens in heat, I’m going to need to get my hands on him. I’ve always been a fan of Moon Knight, but not really a dedicated reader of his comics until a few years ago. Even if you don’t like the character or what they’ve done with him, you’ve got to love that sweet ass costume.

Other figures I am on the look out for include black Spider-Man as well as the Hand Ninja, both of which I’ve passed on already. Seriously, the combination of not having steady income and these things being around eight dollars makes these purchasing decisions a lot harder. I know I’m a repeating parrot on this issue, but seriously eight dollars is too damned much for a three inch piece of plastic. I’m guessing that army building is a bit on the decline these days due to price and the economy. Anyway, I’m glad that I still have a little time before good old Captain America classic version is available.

It wasn’t really that surprising that Hasbro recently announced that it’s Titanium line would be ending after ‘09. They certainly haven’t seemed as hot as they were when they were first introduced. What went wrong?

I was really into the line when it first came out, but there were a few things that quickly became apparent. Number one was that there was an endless parade of repaints. Secondly, when the line started getting mixed together with Transformers and later Marvel ones by inept retailers, I was pretty much done with the whole thing. It was insane trying to find new Titanium vehicles in a sea of Beastmaster Optimus Prime peg warmers. Another nail in the coffin would certainly have to be price. At six to seven bucks a pop, comparatively speaking they are a pretty low value to other toys in that price range. I’d much rather have a G.I. Joe figure over a metal ship.

Is there anyone else who is going to miss the Titanium Series ships?

Out of all the characters we’ve seen from the upcoming live action G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra flick, the missing key figure was Cobra Commander himself. Well, here he is:

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