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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Thanks to Comic Con I got a bit derailed on my posting schedule. I want to talk a bit about the Cobra Island seven packs and it’s now super old news. Oh well. Here’s what I wrote anyway:

In what possibly may be the last great release of 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe product and after months of waiting, the Cobra Island seven packs are finally all mine. So what did I think? I’ll tell you what I think!

Assault on Cobra Island (Joes)

Okay, this set’s good and everything, but the only reason I ordered it was so I could get the Cobra pack at a decent price. At five bucks a figure it’s not a bad deal, but I’m not really attached to many of these characters. I really enjoy how they are themed to the mission, yet I’m thinking they could have stuck a more unique figure or two in here to really make this a “must have” set. While I can’t think of any off the top of my head, there are still a lot of Joes that haven’t made it into plastic that should be. Anyway, the only real disappointment in this set is the Chuckles hands. What the hell? He can’t hold anything in his left hand. What kind of infiltration agent can’t hold a briefcase or laptop in his non-gun hand?

Defense of Cobra Island (Cobra):

Now we’re cooking. This set is so tender it’s falling off the bone. I love practically every character in it and especially the Alley Viper. If you’ve stuck around with Toy Bender for awhile you know that I love Alley Viper in a very special way. If he was a real person, he’d be my non-sexual life partner.

I really enjoy the other figures as well and the real surprise/bonus is the battle damaged BAT. He comes with enough stuff to make him into normal BAT if you wanted! That’s super cool. And while I’m not as hot on the Night Creeper, I do like him. I think there’s just something about the hood that throws me off.

All in all both of these sets combined make for an awesome win. Here’s to hoping Hasbro does something like this in the future, to keep the more pure 25th style action coming.

Note: If you want more of a “review” of these figures, I highly recommend LBAM’s review found here. Seriously, LBAM makes me look like a slacker.

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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It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to talk about or even think about Sideshow Collectibles* G.I. Joe line. Why? Because I desire them, yet I cannot have them. It’s the same reason why I can’t watch Night Court any more. (Markie Post, why didn’t you ever write back?) Sideshow released info on two new items of note fairly recently, so I have to put on my reporter hat once again.

Cobra Throne Environment:

I think the 12″ environments that Sideshow makes are really good ideas, yet they have a pretty high price point. Cobra Commander sure looks bad ass in this thing though. I think the first thing I”m going to do when I take control is have a snake throne built. I’d also have a throne made of the skulls of my enemies, but that would only be for special occasions like Easter and Boxing Day.

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Okay, I’ve teased it and now I finally have a couple of pictures of my first “custom” toy. First as a reminder, here’s the pile of puke version:

My stomach hurts. Now here’s my version (click to enlarge):

As you can see, I went with the standard Cobra red and black seen on classic vehicles like the Stun, HISS, and even the Night Raven (this is before I had heard that there ever was a repaint done in those colors). I removed the top catapult contraption. As much as I like catapults, it just didn’t look right on top of this vehicle. So instead, I put a HEAT viper up there. Nothing is scarier than seeing a giant gun wielding maniac dressed all in yellow, nor as deadly.

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I’ve never been that keen on customizing toys, especially older ones because I have a weird thing about “ruining” the past. I do like when I see really good custom figures, but overall it’s really not my thing. The other day I went over to a friend’s house and bought all of his old G.I. Joes and some other figures. Before you get excited, a lot of them were in bad shape and most of them were from the “crappy” Joe era of the early ’90s. Still, I got a few gems like a V2 Alley Viper.

Out of the stuff I didn’t think I wanted to ultimately keep, I fell in love with a cobra vehicle called the Parasite. It’s a Cobra troop carrier rendered in some of the worst and garish colors I’ve ever seen. Here, take a look:

I’m sorry if you puked on yourself, but you can blame Hasbro in the ’90s for that. I saw that this vehicle had potential under those ugly colors, so I took it upon myself to paint it a bit to give it a better look. Sorry, I don’t have any pictures so far, but so far so good. It already looks a million times better and I haven’t even put it back together. After I clear coat it, I think I’ll post some pictures.

Of course, the big problem with this is that it lacks stickers now and nobody does repro stickers for such an unpopular vehicle. I figure I’ll pick up some stickers from other vehicles and use them, because I think it will fit more of the feel I’m going for anyway. I emailed the “Mexican guy” everyone goes to for most of these sorts of things and so far no email back. Hopefully, he doesn’t think I’m some sort of secret agent or something.

I’ve found this project really fun. It’s almost got me wanting to buy more Parasites to repaint, to at least give these ugly things a second chance at life.

Image from: YoJoe.com

Lately, I’ve been trying to stop at more rummage and garage sales in order to see if I could find any cool toys. I normally don’t do this, because I figure that almost anything good has been long gone and the only things that I’ll find are junk and Power Rangers (which I guess they’re both the same thing if you think about it). Lately though, I’ve decided to roll the dice despite the fact I figure I won’t find anything. That’s why I was totally blown away when I found this (click to make bigger):

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This post is actually a post in two parts. This post deals with the story behind a particular figure and the second part can be found at Poe Ghostal’s blog and you must click over there in order to “collect them all.”

Okay, today I bring you this Batman figure:

I’m putting him for a very good reason. In the year 1989 the Tim Burton Batman movie came out that I became absolutely Bat shit insane for Batman. Everything had to be Batman, from my cereal to my clothing. One of the things that I got before the film even came out was a promotional magazine that was all about the film. I seriously spent hours pouring over every picture. One of the advertisements really intrigued me, because it was an ad for Batman action figures that would be coming out and in the picture it featured one kick ass Batman that I wanted with a want to end all wants:

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Well, I went on a big hunt on Monday and managed to find one store in Green Bay that had Joes. I’d nearly given up hope, because I went to two Wal-Marts, Toys R Us, and another Target before I finally found it a few of the single carded figures at what I like to call my, “Magic Target.” I should have just gone there first.

Anyway, I’m curious to find out what you Toy Bendenites picked up so far out of the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra line. Let me know in the comments. Or if you passed on anything, I’d like to hear that too.

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Having fallen in love with G.I. Joes again a few years ago and finding The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe an indispensable tool for picking up stuff off of eBay and at comic/toy shows, I think it’s fair to say I was damned excited about the prospect of owning Volume 2. Now that it’s in my sweaty nerd hands, let’s see if it was worth the wait.

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ATTENTION: This contest is over. Thanks for your interest!

Thanks to the fine people at Krause Publishing, I snagged a copy of The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994 to give away to one fine Toy Bender fan (or ToyBendinite as you often refer to yourselves at the chapter meetings). That’s right, true believers! You could get your very own copy of the premier G.I. Joe collecting by Mark Bellomo. That’s a 26.99 value for free! I’ll be giving my impressions of the book soon, but here’s the quick and dirty version if you’re on the fence about entering the contest: It’s great and you should have it.

There are three ways to qualify:

1. Post a comment below stating what G.I. Joe figure or vehicle is your favorite toy from the line and why. Include your real email so I can get your address if you win.

2. Become a fan of the Toy Bender Facebook page.

3. Follow me on Twitter.

Each of the above items will give you an entry into the contest, so that’s up to three entries! If you already follow me on Twitter and/or are a fan on Facebook, send me a message to WinBigPrizesWinBigMoney@gmail.com telling me who you are so I can give you credit (sometimes nicknames don’t match up, so I can’t remember who is who).

One random person will win themselves a copy of the book! Winner will be announced July 17th.

Thanks again to Krause Publications, publishers of fine hobby books and magazines. They’re also located in Wisconsin like I am now, so Wisconsin pride… or whatever.

A special thanks goes out to Mr. Bellomo.

While cruising the G.I. Joe message boards I noticed that there’s a lot of fans that don’t seem to like many of the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra toys because they are based on what looks like a shitty movie and many of the figures don’t fit into their idea of a Joe universe. At first I didn’t think I’d buy any of the non-old school inspired Joe figures, but I’m warming up a bit to some of them. I must admit however, that it’s not just because they all look pretty cool. It’s been such a long Joe dry spell that I’d pretty much buy anything right now. My new strategy is that if it looks like it fits in with my other figures and it’s cool, then I’m getting it unless it’s highly overpriced like the Marvel Universe line.

Here are some of the figures I’m looking forward to:

1. General Hawk - If you don’t want a Dennis Quaid action figure, you’re a Communist. This movie now has allowed us to have a Mike Brody from Jaws 3D. Or the dad from Yours, Mine, and Ours. You’re choice.

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Today, I present to you a commercial for the little known 1980s toy property known as Centurions by Kenner. I recently became reacquainted with the Centurions when I found their cartoon airing on the Boomerang network:

I had Ace McCloud and my cousins had a couple of the other guys. The Centurions were each themed by a particular environment. You had your sea guy, your air guy, and your land guy. You know, all the dudes needed to get the job done. The Centurions were cool mainly because they were modular, meaning you could switch their weapons and armor bits around via the plugs on their suits or you could even swap weapons and armor with the other characters. You could even buy weapons packs that were sort of like their vehicles for the line. It was kind of like having different Barbie outfits to put on Barbie dolls, but for dudes.

The bad guys were pretty boss on their own, because they were evil cyborgs. Both of the ones my cousins had could be basically split in half, one half was their human side and the other was their robot. It was gross and cool at the same time, so it kind of fit into our whole boyhood worldview at that time.

Sadly, the Centurions never caught on. I’d imagine that their size alone didn’t help. In a world where 3 3/4″ scale figures were king, the Centurions were 12″ giants. It certainly made it hard to integrate them into my play world with Captain Power, Star Wars, and my G.I. Joes. Speaking of Joes, it would be neat to see a Centurion inspired Joe like they did with MASK, but that will probably never happen. Still, with all the tech that the Centurions had, it certainly fit in the world of the Joeverse. What do you say, Hasbro?

By the way, if anyone reading this has some Centurions stuff they’d like to get rid of, let me know. I’d like to fix up my old Ace McCloud as well as get my hands on some of the other cool weapons and figures.

If you want to check out an episode of the Centurions series, I posted an entire one on Robot’s Pajamas.