Entertainment Earth recently sent me an e-mail filled with thumbnails of the upcoming Big Trouble in Little China ReAction figures, and I'm pretty certain it's the best one I've ever received. I've already thrown ol' Jack Burton a nod in the latest edition of Weekly Want, but the entire assortment deserves some time in the spotlight. Here they are in all their glory:
Several of the items highlighted in this installment of Weekly Want left me with my arms flailing in the air like a hyperactive schoolchild. While they also deserve praise in standalone posts, leaving them out here just wouldn't be right. I'm going to shut up now and let the pictures speak for themselves!
Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's thrill-seeking Batman villainess Roxy Rocket is set to join the ranks of DC Collectibles' Batman: The Animated Series toyline this fall. While I failed to think of her when compiling a character wislist for the assortment, I couldn't be happier that she's being included. Even better, she actually comes with a full-sized rocket vehicle alongside several other accessories. This opens up a new "deluxe" scale that could have tons of potential moving forward.
Geez, is it Wednesday already? In the land of Castle Geek-Skull, that means it's time for another edition of the Weekly Want! From amiibo to S.H. Figuarts, let's go over a few of the toy and collectible reveals that recently caught my eye. Hit the theme song!
Oh. There's no theme song yet. Well, feel free to hum one of your own. I suggest a fanciful 3/4 time signature. Anyway, on to the toys!
The first assortment of toys from the 2015 Transformers: Robots in Disguise series is now in stores, and the allure of new plastic 'Bots and 'Cons has proven inescapable. I've been intrigued by the classic aesthetic of the no-nonsense character Strongarm for several months now. I purchased her Warrior Class (deluxe scale) toy without even the slightest hesitation. Let's see if it can live up to my self-imposed hype!
Ahoy there purveyors of plastic, it's time for the first Weekly Want of the year! This Castle Geek-Skull feature is all about highlighting various action figures and collectibles that may have caught my eye over the past week. Early January is usually light for product reveals, but a handful of promising items helped fill the void in a big way. Let's take a look!
Right at the top of my 14 toy highlights of 2014 was Original Comic Book Raphael from the current Teenange Mutant Ninja Turtles toyline. I hadn't given in to the temptation of sweet plastic crack for some time before stumbling across this guy. I assumed it'd be worth grabbing based on positive experiences with the 2012 series' initial assortment, and the sheer novelty of seeing the original comic series represented on store shelves sealed the deal. Now, let's take a closer look!
While the limited availability of various amiibo figures helped draw me towards the craze, staring at pegs filled with nothing but Mario is really starting to wear me out. Online retailers like Entertainment Earth and Amazon have helped pick up the slack, but I can't shake the preference of tracking down collectibles in person. It's a shame that there's no variety in my local stores right now.
I know amiibo figures are only two waves in, but there are plenty of characters that feel completely mythical at this point. I'm not only talking about the elusive Marth, Wii Fit Trainer, and Villager either. I've seen Peach and Pikachu around...and that's pretty much it. Otherwise, I'm drowning in a sea of Marios.
Despite taking a step back from amassing action figures and other collectibles over the last few years, my interest in the hobby has remained fully intact. While staying away has obvious financial benefits, I just can't help myself from checking out all of the latest releases. There were all sorts of tempting plastic-crack goodies in 2014, so much so that I actually ended up spending some cash. Oops. Let's look at 14 toys that inspired me to do so!
I loved seeing Original Comic Book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures on store shelves this year. They aren't as swanky as the NECA versions from a few years back, but they're more than acceptable for their considerably lower price point. When I spotted this version of Raphael on the pegs of Target last month, I threw my money at it and never looked back.
When Nintendo amiibo were first revealed at E3 2014, I found myself thinking they'd make for a neat shelf display if nothing else. Their game compatibility was of little concern. Even so, I was well into a sabbatical from amassing plastic whozits and whatzits at that point. I still tend to want everything under the sun, but I was certain I'd be able to walk away without much of a fight.
Upon their initial release in late November, I still got a bit of the familiar "these are pretty freakin' cool" tinge that fueled many of my past plastic-crack purchases. The drop in quality from the prototype stage may have been off-putting for some, but I'm more than well-versed in the inevitability of such things. Regardless, my initial tune didn't change. I was happy to leave them behind, figuring that I'd have plenty of time to start up an amiibo collection.
Oh, how things change.
Most people around my age are likely to have had great fun with the original run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. Given the series' overarching theme of mutation, Playmates was able to fill its toyline with all sorts of oddballs and monsters. Looking back, some of the releases were straight up disturbing. Let's stroll through memory lane and take a look at 5 of the freakiest oldschool TMNT toys!
At face value, wickedly winged scientist Baxter Stockman is actually rather creepy. That grin is nothing short of unsettling.
Even if they don't realize it, Transformer collectors likely have all the makings of an exceptional Dinosaur Dracula-style Halloween mood table. The core concept behind the TF series already falls right in line with the holiday, and the evolution and experimentation of its toylines has delivered plenty of spooky/scary bots over the years. If I were to assemble a Halloween-friendly Transformers display of my own, it would absolutely have to include the following:
Autobot double agent Punch is able to transform into Counterpunch: a completely different persona that the Decepticons foolishly accept among their ranks. It's like the ultimate Halloween costume contest.
Hey you crazy kids! It's Weekly Want time once again, so let's take a look at some of the new toy and collectible promos or newly in-stock items that graced the interwebs from the end of September through early October! Where does the time go?
The guys over at Sideshow Collectibles really know how to tease. It's not coming out until a year from now, but the Pre-Orders for their Sixth Scale Deadpool figure are now live. The hefty $230 price tag looks to be worth it given the high quality costume and elaborate variety of accessories and interchangeable parts. There are tons more pictures over on Sideshow's site, so check 'em out!
When I saw that Takara Tomy is gearing up to release an Optimus Prime toy that bizarrely transforms into an original Playstation console, it was if they were perfectly summing up my entire childhood. My early years were spent watching the old Transformers cartoon over and over, and my afternoons and weekends were largely occupied with Playstation games as I entered my teens. Regardless of how "out of nowhere" the concept may seem, it was pretty much guaranteed that I'd be all in for Playstation Optimus.
As Hasbro's Transformers team wrapped up its upcoming products panel at Botcon 2014, they teased the audience with a silhouette that looked an awful lot like the original Generation 1 character Superion: the massive combined form of the "Aerialbots" team. Just over a month later, the company kicked off their San Diego Comic Con 2014 showing with a bang by revealing the toy in full! The upcoming Transformers: Generations Superion was shown off at the SDCC 2014 Hasbro Breakfast Event alongside a corresponding Menasor, the famous "Stunticon" combiner. We were also hit with the news that the overarching theme of next year's toy releases would be "Combiner Wars," meaning there are more to come!
"Combiner Wars" is a solid idea for the Generations line, as the combination gimmick is always one of the most clamored for amongst the Transformers collecting community. The sheer number of third party attempts to fulfill that demand over the years — as well as how much cash fans were willing to shell out for them — should make that crystal clear. I can imagine the idea will still resonate with kids as well.
While restrictions such as staying within retail price points in a less than forgiving economy and meeting strict safety regulations might keep them from matching some of the higher hopes of adult collectors, I think Generations Superion and Menasor look promising thus far. There's a nice overall balance between paying homage to the original designs and adding a bit of modern sensibility. As such, I figured it'd be fun to assemble a quick comparison of the new toys with their original counterparts (both toy and character model alike.) Let's go!
Generations Silverbolt (the Aerialbot leader with a fear of heights) looks to have been approached similarly to his 2008 Universe counterpart. I recall that being an unpopular toy given its simplistic transformation. The engineering doesn't look much more complicated here, but I'm sure the ability to combine will do a lot to win over collectors that worry over such things.
NECA recently announced that they will be releasing a 7 inch NES Batman figure, complete with the odd blue and purple color scheme the character sported in Sunsoft's Batman: The Video Game. This honestly caught me by surprise. There are tons of new Batman action figures every single year, and I could have sworn that all of the possible variations were already accounted for.
I'm impressed that NECA managed to find a version of Batman that had previously fallen through the cracks. My most recent experience with Batman: The Video Game was watching the Game Grumps' playthrough, and I didn't think about the possibility of seeing that wacky color palette in plastic form a single time. Even if it feels less "essential" than the likes of Greg Capullo's Zero Year Batman or the Batman: Arkham Knight costume, I'm glad that NECA saw the potential.
Toys and collectibles, am I right? I often want them. For your viewing pleasure, here are a small handful of notable examples from the past week:
Third party toy maker Keith's Fantasy Club is venturing into the world of the Brave series with Captain Shark from The Brave of Gold Goldran. Images of the mold in full color just hit Facebook, and it's looking quite lovely. The face sculpt looks a bit too "mean" for my tastes but this is still a toy I'd love to own. Named "Sencho Barbossa" for legal reasons, the $90 release is expected to hit "in-stock" status on various sites fairly soon.
If you're unfamiliar with the character, here's a bit of Captain Shark in action:
Right around this time last month, we learned that Angry Birds: Transformers would indeed be headed our way. Now, TF fansite Transformers At The Moon has uncovered some trademark applications revealing four character names. So far, we have Optimus Red, Megahog, Bumblebird, and Starsqueel.
If there are indeed toys of these characters — and the applications suggest there likely will be — I'm totally buying a Starsqueel. I don't care how much it costs. I don't even care what it looks like. I'm buying it.
You wanna know why I'm buying it? Because it's named freakin' STARSQUEEL, that's why!
Whoever came up with that name has an open invitation to be my BFF.
That's it for this one, I s'pose. Hit me up on Twitter & Facebook until the next post rolls around!
ZaziNombies LEGO Creations has created a rather beautiful LEGO build of Mega Blastoise from Pokemon X & Y. It's quite an accurate representation, even down to the shading! Check it out:
Bills? Bah! Why pay bills when there are so many awesome action figures and collectibles to buy? Here's the latest Weekly Want:
Funko will be offering a flocked version of their Pop! Vinyl Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon figure as an SDCC 2014 exclusive. This puts the already excellent looking figure over the top. (Side note: flocked toys always make me think of Moss Man.)
