Toy Show haul

Went to a toy show and bought some stuff: here's what/why?

Hot Toys Iron Man Mk4 from the Iron Man  2 series. Guy was selling some Hot Toys for original asking price. So I finally got an Hot Toys Iron Man in the classic suit design, which I've wanted for years. Something about the intricate machinery design at this scale is appealing. The big selling point was the articulated fingers.

Guy had some insane deals. Black Widow Hot Toy for $100! But I could only afford this guy. Glad to have him.

Also picked up a used Storm Shadow to fill out my 1:6 scale Cobra army. Some times the cheap Hasbro figures are a better value than the $200 Sideshow ones. Especially when I don't actually want the Sideshow Storm Shadow, I just want to collect a cobra team in 1:6 scale.

A Meanie Babie because I thought it was cute/amusing. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

And I also got Virus Attack Mr Freeze, which is Mr Freeze's internet crime avatar. Or.... You could pretend, like I plan to, that he's 1:6 scale Mr. Freeze post-losing his body. 

That show could be so weird when it wanted to.

Tankblast and Red Ninja

I've always thought the GI Joe microforce was too expensive for what you got. But since I found a blind bagged two-pack on clearance I thought I'd see what was up. And wouldn't you know, I ended up getting two generic characters which might as well be generic army guy and ninja. Seriously, Tankblast was a character created for this toy line. Which means they just had a plain army guy in green with a bazooka and had to assign him a name because they already had a figure called "Grunt." You know which GI Joe has a bazooka? Bazooka. The one with an actually distinctive look.

Which is a pretty good indication that this type of set was totally not for me. Because blind bags suck ass. Unless they're under $1. But this was exactly $1 so it still sucks ass.

Incidentally, I think in a fight of bazooka vs. sword, bazooka has a pretty good chance unless they start the fight a few feet apart.

Destro

I'm putting together, very slowly, a 1/6 scale assembly of decent Cobra figures. Unfortunately this is a whim and I'm not into paying $200 for a figure when it's just to fill the ranks, so that means many of the Sideshow figures are out unless I really like what they did with the character.

That mean's Destro's out because I think the head sculpts on the Sideshow Destro figures look horrible. I want a Destro that reminds me of the 1980's cartoon, not one that looks like his head is made of a multitude of plates stitched together. No thank you patchwork Destro. There's only a few 1/6 scale Destro figures, and since most of them were designed to cost under $20 they tend to look like a $20 12-inch figure, you know, with the plastic sheen, articulation and dimensions of a barbie doll.

But then there's the Destro that was released for the Rise of Cobra movie. Which has what may very well be the best head sculpt of any Destro ever. It's not ball jointed but due to the GI Joe design, the neck is so it's essentially a ball jointed head for posing purposes.

The suit isn't bad either. Shoes are a little disappointing, but I'm pretty sure I can find better 1/6 scale shoes. The gun is what I expect for a mass release 12-inch figure from Hasbro, but I expected that going in. The one thing Sideshow really has going for it is the accessories, when they bother to include them.

And since this is a Rise of Cobra figure, this is also a Christopher Eccelston 1/6 scale figure, so it has a Doctor Who connection. That doesn't mean anything, but I feel like I'm obligated to mention anything Doctor Who related at this point.

Lady Jaye

I swear I always thought her name was Lady Jaye until the internet corrected me about a decade ago. So anyway, I picked up this figure because 1) it was on sale and 2) I was wondering how Kre-O would handle a female Kreon. And now I have my answer: NOT WELL.

Whereas other block figures usually heavily emphasize painted curves or try to feminize the face, Kre-O has instead decided to pull back and apply those more subtlety, which is a problem on a tiny block figure. With no long hair piece (or any hair piece at all, which means Kre-o's Lady Jaye is meant to be rocking a bald head) this figure very much looks like "guy with really red lips."

Also, this is the first time I noticed the expanded ends of the arms to allow for the insertion of the hand pegs. It makes it look like the figure has flesh colored wrist bands... or a swollen wrist that really should be looked at by a medical professional.

Also: Why the hell do I keep getting Kreons? They're never satisfactory.

The Baroness

So hey, Sideshow toys fairly expensive Baroness 12 inch figure has been released.

I bought it. This is actually only the second 12 inch Baroness figure ever, and the first one doesn't really count because it was the SDCC exclusive 12-inch Sarah Palin Baroness that Hasbro made for the Rise of Cobra movie. This new Sideshow version (bought from Sideshow directly to get the second bonus head) is based on the original Real American Hero toys/cartoons/comic books. That's the more iconic version of the character.

And of course I've been interested in collecting good 1:6 scale GI Joe cobra characters. Well, sorta. I've only got 3. Because I've never been interested in the Major Blud look and I'm not a fan of the Sideshow Destro design. Also, it turns out Cobra Vipers are hella expensive on ebay.

But Baroness... if you're trying to create a patchwork Cobra 1:6 scale collection you need a Baroness. Which is probably why I did buy the Rise of Cobra one when I found it on sale at a comic book store. So now I own both Baroness 12 inch figures...

Let's compare:

Boxes: The boxes are quite different. The Rise of Cobra box is nicer, but it's also a SDCC Exclusive so they probably classed things up for that reason. The Sideshow box looks like it's designed to be disposed of. Very utilitarian.

Rise of Cobra Baroness:

Not many accessories with the Rise of Cobra Baroness. She also doesn't really look like a GI Joe villain. She looks like a generic "lady in leather coat" character from a low budget action movie. And she's designed to wear that coat always, because underneath is a sleeveless faux leather leotard. It's odd that in the promo print included with the box the character has sleeves on her leather jumpsuit, so that's the implied design, but in practice I guess sleeves under a leather jacket was too much for Hasbro. 

As for the head sculpt, this looks ALOT like they just rescaled the sculpt from the 4 inch figure. Because that looked like Sarah Palin and this really looks like Sarah Palin. 

And while I'm glad the hair is sculpted, I'm not at all happy with the design they went with for the hair. Because it's clearly designed for one pose and one pose only. Turn the head even a little and it looks ridiculous.

You'll notice I'm holding the figure up in that picture. That's because there's no stand and the figure isn't the greatest at standing up by itself. I blame the ridiculous heeled shoes they included. They look like Monster High's ridiculous heeled shoes, but are probably less practical. Also, the leather trench coat design is ridiculous. Why would a coat break up into sections like that over the legs? To provide leg mobility? Then you would just wear a leather jacket, not a trench coat. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it does.

Sideshow Baroness: 

Meanwhile the Sideshow Baroness stands up quite nicely. The figure is covered in a shiny black body stocking which nicely simulates the look of the black leather catsuit you always assumed the Baroness was wearing. But they also included armored plating for the chest, legs and arms, which means this figure looks exactly like the art on the original figure's filecard.

And oddly, since this is depicting a cartoon version and not a live action version, the head sculpt looks more realistic than it's Rise of Cobra counterpart. Especially with how they sculpted the hair. And the glasses? Totally removable. And there's even a second head sculpt in case you want that wind swept look to her hair.

There's even a second pair of more traditional looking glasses that the Baroness is sometimes depicted wearing, so you can make her wear the style you prefer. Because people have fetishes about that kind of crap. You also get 8 alternate hands to make the poses seem more realistic/awesome. 

There's a few more accessories that come with the figure although not many more than the Rise of Cobra figure. The sideshow firearms are more detailed and look more realistic though. And there's a stand included to hold the figure up. And the interior box art is also very pretty.

Quick Kick

Man, Every time I think I'm not going to buy another Kre-o they come out with something like this: Quick Kick. You know the most racist G.I. Joe they ever made... probably, they made a lot of racist GI Joes, but this is the racist Asian G.I. Joe. The guy who goes into warzones not wearing a shirt or shoes because he's just so martial arts.

I just had to get it in all its ridiculous beauty. I don't understand why he comes with a chocolate bar but it's probably a reference to a G.I. Joe episode I never saw. Because damn there were a lot of episodes. Like the One where you find out his parents run a Korean grocery store.

Oh hey, GI Joe news I'm excited about

According to the Hot Toys facebook post, we're getting Hot Toy figures of the Rock, Bruce Willis and that Storm Shadow actor. I'm looking forward to this. Mostly for the Rock, although maybe for old man Bruce Willis

The Band!

If you're wondering what I've been doing with all the 1:6 scale figures I've been amassing lately, this is the answer.

I'm not buying a Roadblock

I was interested in getting one of the GI Joe movie Roadblock figures because I figured it would be a neat way to get a 4-inch figure of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. But then I saw the figure in person and I realized the face sculpt made him look far more like Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon.

So it looks like I'm not getting a Roadblock figure until a better face sculpt comes out.

FLASH! AAA-AAA! He'll save everyone of us!

Cobra Commander

So I've been thinking, I won't mind the 6 month delay for the new GI Joe movie if they change the movie so that Roadblock only speaks in rhyme. And in other news I bought a Sideshow toys 1:6 scale GI Joe.

These suckers cost $100+, but I bought mine loose from e-bay, so I didn't pay quite that much. Cobra Commander comes with all his accessories and its a fine figure. All the articulation you would hope for and the costume looks great, not at all like a dude wearing a Halloween costume, which is what you kinda get with the Hasbro 12 inch GI JOE Real American Hero figures.

Zoo Ranger Cobra Commander

Pac Man Ghost costume Cobra Commander

Yeah, compared to that, this Sideshow figure is like the statue of David. (It's art, is what I mean.) Sure, the hood may be a permanent part of the figure's head, but look at the detail of the face that you see solely from the eyeholes!

That is art, man. Pure art. I assume that the other figures in this line are of similar quality, although I can't be certain. So far all the Joes look like regular army dudes and I'm not paying $100+ for that. Once they get to doing the Joes that wore more eclectic garb then I'll look into it. But Cobra Commander has just enough of that flair of ridiculousness that made the 80's cartoon so great. He's wearing a hood for cripes sake.

Anti-Buyer's Remorse: GI Joe Edition

Is there an opposite of Buyer's Remorse? Because the second I saw these guys on the shelf I knew I was going to buy them. Sci-Fi is a nostalgia purchase because he was one of the few Joes I had as a kid. Lifeline I wanted for the insane number of accessories and the fact that in the cartoon he was the pacifist that couldn't even shoot people when he was alone with his stalker girlfriend and Cobra attacked the secluded cabin they were in to kidnap the girl since she was the daughter of rich people.

Saw them, snatched them, and also decided not to get the Zombie Viper. Because compared to these two day-glo character it just wasn't making the cut. Also, why would a infantry trooper wear neon green? Who cares, the more important part is why does GI Joe have two laser specialists? Shouldn't more people have laser rifles? Or is it an expensive and  rare technology? In which case why are they being carried into battle on the back of infantrymen.

Things I didn't know were out

So, like I said, I went to rich people Target. And they had stuff I had no idea they were releasing, let alone that it had come out.

They've brought back 12 inch GI Joes! And one of them seems to have Kung-Fu Grip! A shame I went through my 12 inch figure desire revival 3 months ago. Over it now.

Scout Class (Or small but not key chain small) Star Wars Transformers! If they release an AT-anything I'll get it.

I never wanted a camera that only took video from the POV of a car driving down a Hot Wheels track more than I have right now. Also, even with shitty resolution, good spy camera?

"This? This is just the toy car I carry around for luck. I'm just going to wave it over your top secret plans for luck."

Wall Track. For those people who are either pressed for space in their abode or for people who want a really bad idea for wall decorations. Actuall, if I felt at all comfortable with Taping a track to my wall I might look into this.

And Finally, can I just say that the Arkham City Batman in the Batman Legacy wave looks horrible.

The Two-Face ain't that great either. The Movie Masters Jim Gordon looks awesome.

Red Ranger has to explain to Jeff Goldblum that he can't be the new Black Ranger

This picture is in direct response to Dan's challenge. Of course I only have 2 Power Rangers, so I had to improvise and create my own Power Rangers team. Action Ranger's Power Rangers?

Either way, ball's in your court now Dan.

Oh snap! If I had the crappy Comissioner Gordon figure from the Infinite Heroes line I could have made him... COMMISSIONER ZORDON!

Crazylegs

What? Dude comes with three small guns and that's it? For a Pursuit of Cobra figure that's pretty disappointing. For a 25th Anniversary figure (which, let's face it, that's what this really is despite what the packaging wants to tell you) that's par for the course.

I'm pretty disappointed by that. If I wasn't having mad Crazylegs nostalgia because the original toy was one of the few GI Joes I owned as a kid I wouldn't have gotten this.

But the nostalgia is there, so I did.

Dr. Mindbender

AJ got me Dr. Mindbender for Christmas. And who doesn't love an orthodontist that tested a pain dulling ray on himself and instead rewired his brain to be evil? Shirtless evil!

He's what I've come to expect from the modern GI Joe toys. I think this guy is from the Cobra Island 7-packs, but it's kinda cool to have a toy of an over the top...

He's a freaking orthodontist who specializes in mind control and brain washing. How is that ever covered in dental school?

AJ also got me Duke.

Duke sucks. He's the most boring of all the GI Joes. But he's blonde with a can-do attitude, so he's the main character. Because AMERICA, that's why.

Jungle-Viper

Peek-a-boo!

From GI Joe's current Pursuit of Cobra line comes the Jungle-Viper. I had to pick this up after reading several good reviews about it, and especially after Mario acquired one. The best part about the Pursuit of Cobra line is that you are guaranteed a horde of accessories with each figure. In this case, the Jungle-Viper includes an eight-piece ghillie-suit camo disguise, a huge three-part sniper rifle, two pistols (with holsters for them in the shin and by the hip), spy goggles, and a display base.

The Jungle-Viper looks great completely enveloped in the ghillie-suit, which can be manipulated into various configurations via a series of ball-joints. If you decide you want an unadorned Cobra foot soldier, the disguise is easily removable due to the trusty use of the backpack peg hole. And don’t fret—this figure stands fine on its own even with all the gear loaded up onto it.

Really the only nitpick I have with the figure is something that's become common with a lot of Hasbro 3 ¾"-scale figures, and that’s that the implementation of hyperarticulation can be a detriment to a sculpt of this small a size. The new hinged wrist articulation found on the Jungle-Viper is neat, but it makes the wrists look chunky. Of course, this shortcoming can be obscured creative use of the ghillie-suit blades. Definitely a recommended figure.

Commadant Cobra

Commadant what now?

Hey look, Tuesday Morning had cheap French Canadian GI Joes! You can tell because they have both English and French printing on them. Even on the cheap paper file card that comes with the generic packaging!

And I do like that Cobra Commander's laser blaster just fits into a groove in his back. Was that how it was in the cartoon? Because that'd be awesome.

Otherwise, it's a typical GI Joe figure. But now I've added the Commander to my collection.

Okay, up on the 3.75" shelf for you.

Birthday haul

Yesterday was my birthday and I got a pretty good haul of action figures. As they're all gifts and not purchases I made myself, I figured I'd cover them all at once.

I'm going to start off with a number of figures my brother picked up for me over the last few months, but only got around to sending me with my birthday gifts, so I might as well in include them in this post.



First up is the Jawa & WED Treadwell Droid. I always like adding Jawas to my collection. The Treadwell Droid is a nice addition to justify the cost, since Jawa figures are so small. The Jawa comes with one accessory--a tiny canister--that is meant to fit in its hand (and apparently did quite easily for the original release of the figure last year), but the right hand has since been resculpted so it can no longer hold it. That especially sucks because it's one of those accessories that can get lost easily if one is not careful.



Action Ranger Timmy previously posted about his General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy figure from the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra line. Now I've finally got one of my own. It's a great figure, and possibly the best I've gotten in a long time. The only flaw is there's an odd disparity between the two halves of the head sculpt. The left side is a dead-on likeness of actor Dennis Quaid. The right side looks oddly more like Harrison Ford.



Now to make many of you jealous. Yes, that is Man-Bat from the Wal-Mart exclusive wave 10 of DC Universe Classics, the wave that many collectors are going insane trying to track down. I've been waiting for this figure back when it was supposed to be released as part of the DC Superheroes line over two years ago. It's always great to get a new Four Horsemen DC character sculpt, and this figure really demonstrates how hampered the toy-making team is by having to rely on reusable base bodies as much as possible for the line.



Yeah, Playmates' toys for Star Trek weren't all that great, but I figured I'd at least get the 6-inch scale Spock. Above the waist the figure is fine; the head has a good Zachary Quinto likeness and the arm articulation is pretty good. However, is seems as if rest of the figure was designed to replicate a straight vertical line as much as possible, which robs the figure of character.



Now onto actual birthday presents. My brother got me the Toys 'R Us reissue Insecticons set. I love Generation One Transformers figures, and I've wanted these forever. They were reissued in Japan a few years ago and I could've got them back in for import prices, but I figured they'd eventually get a domestic release. I was right. These are great figures: they are fun to transform back and forth, and they contain more articulation than the average 1980s Transformers. I was also struck by how shiny these things looked out of the box (both the chrome and the plastic). I was almost afraid to touch them.



Mario got me Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars Legacy Collection. Prequel Obi-Wan is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, and as a result I own five figures of the character as portrayed by Ewan McGregor, the most versions of any Star Wars character in my collection. On the other hand, none of those were the classic Alec Guiness portrayal. I had no interest in getting that version in plastic form . . . until I saw this figure. Originally intended for an Obi-Wan-themed Evolutions set that got cancelled, it's one of the best Star Wars figures in recent years, and the best version of the character from the original trilogy. The only problem I have is that the head balljoint on my figure is really loose.



Finally, my friends Janie and Francesca decided to combine two of my favorite things in the world (cats and Transformers) when choosing my gift. The result? Ravage from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. This is actually the first figure I've gotten from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Sure, the alternate mode is crap (it didn't even appear in the movie), but who gets this for that? It's a robot cat!