Monday, December 29, 2014

Minimate Mondays: Captain Archer and Dolim


I stopped watching Enterprise before they got to the Xindi story arc about a planet where evolution has resulted in 8 dominant species from different animal types (birds, lizards, mammals, etc) that work together to blow up South America with a super laser. So I don't know who this Dolim is. But this set came with the rest so now I have a Scott Bacula minimate and that's not a bad thing.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Hot Dog Guy


Hey, so new set of Lego minifigs are out. I've learned from past waves to only get the ones I REALLY want when they first arrive and then wait a few months for them to drop in price. So I picked up Hot Dog Guy because of how unique his costume is. The others, even the Ethnic/Cultural stereotype figures, can wait until the drop in price. I know, I'm shocked I didn't pick up the girl in the Unicorn Costume too.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Snoopy and Louis LaRue


Okay, with Snoopy I'm just bragging that I found one. Because it's Snoopy, possibly the biggest part of my cultural childhood. And he has a Hot Wheel where he drives his house.

As for Louis LaRue, I've been waiting for this guy for a while. He's a mime. But he's also an anthropomorphic car. It's a ridiculous combination and I must win that ridiculousness. The only Cars due cast in this series I want more is the irrate and surly French tour bus. Because stereotypes.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Mass Effect

Oh hey, Mass Effect 1 minimates are at GameStop now. At $5 per figure they're actually a little cheaper than the single boxed Aliens colonial marines vs xenomorph minimates. Yes, these are blind bagged, but thanks to the armor and head shapes it's insanely easy to figure out who is who using the squeeze method.


There's 8 figures in this wave, but since I never played ME1 I don't care about Ashley or Wrex, I never played or got attached to Fem Shep, and the Elusive man looks like a business casual Charlie Sheen clone in the pictures I've seen, so none of them are worth $5 to me. Actually Shepard isn't either, but I want to try putting different minimate heads on the N7 armor. I think it'll make me laugh.

Baron Zemo

Wow, what a horrible paint application.


Monday, December 15, 2014

Minimate Monday: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I wasn't eager to get my hands on the TMNT minimates, but I found some packs at Toys R Us, so why not? 

The first thing you notice when you open them is that these are marketed as keychains, but they're really not. There are key rings included, but they're attached to the minimates by a thin string around the neck which isn't looped or tied with a not. They're relying on the permanence of a neck joint in a toy designed to have the head come off. Oh and the string can be removed without taking the head off I you're trying hard enough. So I'm expecting some kid is going to lose their minimate if they do something like attach it to a bag zipper.  I'm going to assume this whole keychain thing is a workaround so that Diamond can license toys in this scale.

The toys themselves are nicer than I anticipated. I was afraid the Turtles would end up as glorified Battle Beast minimates with extra parts slipping over the minimate base humanoid body. But these are more sophisticated, with the animal body parts and ninja padding sculpted onto the body base. This means the feet aren't removable, but that's a small price to pay for slightly more stability in the figure.



Interestingly, Michelangelo's nunchucks are connected with metal chains. 

Oh and all the turtles have weapon holders sculpted onto their shells. And really the heads and shells are the unique bits since aside from color, the turtle bodies are identical, but they're minimates so you have to expect stuff like that. And I like that the figure stands for the turtles are sewer lids.

The human/robot figures that come with the figures are serviceable. The four arms of the robot foot soldier is pretty cool, and Shredder has a scarred face under his mask, but I'm not getting these figures for the humans. 


Couldn't find a Leonardo figure, which is odd. These 3 sets were the only ones onthe shelves so I snatched them up.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Minimate Monday: Peter Pan set


For the Peter Pan anniversary a few years back they released Peter Pan minimates in 3 different sets. One was the Smee/Wendy pirate ship set I discussed earlier and another was this set of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

First things first, the Lost Boys suck. Not the toys, just the characters in the Disney movie. They completely failed to make an impact and I barely remember they're in the movie. Sure that might be because I've never watched the movie start to finish but I think I've got the gist of things. I wouldn't have gotten this set if it was just made up of Lost Boys, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment.

But then I think they knew that and that's why they put the Peter Pan minimate in this set. Because if you're going to be the type of person that gets Peter Pan minimates then you are damn well going to get the set that includes Peter Pan. And at least he comes with some cool accessories, like a flying stand and a Tinkerbell mini-minifigure he can hold to simulate her obsessive need to be at least 1 foot or closer to him. (A personality trait that does not at all gel with her characterization in the Disney Fairy straight to DVD movies of which she is the star. In those she's a sweet natured eccentric inventor.) although Peter Pan has his dagger so he can straight up murder the dude Peter goes out of his way to antagonize.

I'm not a fan of what I've seen of the Disney  movie. But damn do I love minimates.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Minimate Monday: Black Friday aftermath edition

I got minimates on Black Friday because of course I did!

Look, as much as I enjoy the concept of All-New X-Men (which for the uninformed is that the original X-Men, early in their careers when they are still young and idyllic, are brought to the present and are horrified by what the X-Men and mutants have turned into) the series has kind of lost its way and their new costumes are ridiculous, so I wasn't really too interested in a wave of minimates of the characters in their new costumes with minimate designs that make them all look like adults, not young teenagers. Fortunately Iceman in ice form just looks like any Iceman and I have yet to truly get my hands on a good Iceman minimate. And it comes with a Sentinel, which, let's face it, is a good army builder figure. So an easy Black Friday buy if it's on sale. Also, metal tentacles!


The other set is Urban Yukio and Black Clan Ninja from the Wolverine in Japan movie wave. But if you ignore that it's Urban Japanese Girl minimate and Ninja minimate. So my desire to own more Asian characters as minimates is sated. Although the ninja comes with a slightly curved sword and his sheath is straight so the sword doesn't fit without tearing the soft plastic it is made of.


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Surf's Up Joker

I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw it on a peg at Wal-Mart. And when I did I snatched it up so it could go up on my wall next to Surf's Up Batman.


Monday, November 10, 2014

Minimate Monday: Clerks box set

So the Clerks minimate set available at comic shops, online, and toy stores are in black and white, reflecting the original movie. I'm not a fan of b&w toys, even if I love the Clerks series of films/cartoons. But this Toys R Us set has repainted the figures in full color, meaning they look nothing like they do in any movie. Well... Randall and Dante kinda look like they do in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, but I prefer to think this is a Clerks the Animated series set of figures and they're preparing to do battle with Alec Baldwin as Leonardo Leonardo.




Friday, November 7, 2014

Goth Girl


So... This figure is clearly based on the new spooky girl archetype that has become popular lately. Not quite goth, not quite cynical, but someone who knows is familiar with the darkness but still retains her childhood innocence. Think characters like Emily the Strange, Lenore, or really all of Monster High. Pale white face, black hair with straight bangs, black clothes with a hint of girly lace. This is the kind of character they put on Hot Topic lunch boxes.

And they made a Lego figure of it. Lego is trying to reach out to subcultures! First the hippy, now this! Next up, Lego figure of a Juggalo!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Minimate Monday: Peter Pan Pirate Ship

I mentioned last week that I only buy minimate vehicles if I want the figures that come with them. This is a prime example. The only way to get the Wendy and Smee minimates was to pick up the Pirate Ship that came with them. This made them the most expensive figures to acquire and also meant I would end up with a second minimate pirate ship since this is pretty much just a repackaged ship from the Calico Jack minimate pirate line. (Remember that? I barely do. But if they release more figures I'll snatch them up, because I have a sickness and it's called minimates.)

There's some differences, to be sure. The mast is larger to match the one from the movie and the sails are different, but the base ship is the same. I dunno, I would have just preferred they released the figures seperately.

I'm sure they knew they had collector's by the balls. Who would get Peter Pan minimates but not get the Wendy minimate? Weirdos, that's who.


Friday, October 31, 2014

Wario



Hey, I found the final figure in the first wave of the Nintendo figures, and it's Wario. And he's huge, with 9 points of articulation, most of it in his arms. His feat are stuck in one pose but he has some cut joints at his ankles, so keeping him upright isn't impossible. But I am shocked that they made a Wario figure. And I really like this series, so I figured it would be worth a purchase.

His secret accessory is a coin that he can't hold and can barely stand on its own. But hell, under $9! Not bad.

Weird things I've seen on shelves

What?


Grimlock Potato Head

Actually this one I'm considering getting some day so I have a 1/6 scale Juicebar. But I feel like I own too many Skipper Dolls because they come with the more realistic looking Barbie playsets and accessories. (For the record, I own 1 Skipper Doll. If I ever have a daughter she's going to instantly get a bunch of cool toys.)

Monday, October 27, 2014

Minimate Monday: Munster Coach with Herman Munster


I'm not huge into minimate vehicles. I was once, but after having some in my hands, I realize that they're pretty serious shelf-space hogs and don't contribute that much to a display. That said, I will still pick them up if they come with figures I want.

Such is the case with the Munster Coach which comes with the only Munster minimate... well there's the black and white variant but I'm not counting that. Basically they only made Herman Munster, the patriarch of the clan and who has so many accessories hanging around his neck that his head won't stay on with any reliability. Shame, it's a nice head sculpt and the alternate head is nice. But overall... the inability of having a head stay in place kinda kills my enthusiasm.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Minimate Monday: Survivor Rick and Shot Zombie

I like to call this set: I can't believe they made a minimate of Rick after his hand was cut off . He doesn't even come packaged with an extra hand, just that bandage to represent his stump. He does come with an ax, in case you want to recreate the scene where his hand is cut off and holy crap that's sadistic of the toy makers.

As for the shot zombie, which is the real reason I got this set, they cast his torso, placed strategically under his shot up shirt, in transparent plastic, so you can see the light go through his bullet holes.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Minimate Monday: Prison Lori and Shoulder Zombie

One reason to get this set even if you don't like the Walking Dead is 1) it comes with a minimate swaddled baby and 2) the base body is of a woman in a tight fitting convict uniform and you one day hope to do a Babes Behind Bars minimate custom.

Also, I can't figure out a good way to get the shotgun to fit into her minimate hands and look like she is actually wielding it.

Incidentally, this set depresses me. Unlike the tv show, in the comic books that baby was killed in a gruesome way because Robert Kirkman... kinda a sadist.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Dinobot Slug



I'm suddenly interested in Hero Mashers now that they're making figures of the G1 Dinobots. Unlike all the other Hero Masher Transformers the Dinobots only appear in their dinosaur modes, which is smart because that's the part everyone loves.

Since the triceratops was always my favorite, I picked him up. It's pretty awesome. Now instead of having a robot triceratops that turns into a robot but which I will never transform into a robot because I prefer the look of a robot triceratops I instead have a robot triceratops.



One whose mouth is jointed like in the original toy. Actually most of his joints are ball joints so you get a surprising amount of possibility here. And his limbs are designed to be interchangable with Spider-Man figures, so they're pretty versatile too.

The arms leave a little to be desired.


He comes with a stegosaurus tail so you can try out the Masher/interchangable body part feature, but for me that's kinda an after thought. 


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Mongolian




I'm at a point where $4 for a Lego minifigure seems like a lot to pay. This the 12th wave, so the novelty factor is almost completely gone. But one thing Lego still produces in these sets that I'm compelled to search for, squeeze to find, and then purchase is minifigures depicting over-the-top portrayals of Asian people that could potentially border on the racist end of the spectrum.

This wave that honor goes to the Mongolian. Is it racist: not really, it plays into another ongoing theme in these waves: warriors theoughout history. Still, gotta love any Asian action figure with Asian facial hair.

(A quick reminder: I am an Asian American and I find toys depicting Asians to be fascinating in what they potentially say about how Western culture views Asian people.)

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Alien


My friend Bruce gave me a ReAction alien figure. Not sure if I'm going to keep it in the box or not. Unlike other Reaction figures the lack of articulation is more than made up for in design. Also, there's an action feature. If you pull I the top of the head there's a switch that can deploy the inner mouth proboscis. It's why the head has a rubber band around it, to prevent that piece from popping off and flying everywhere this giving potential customers the impression that the toy is broken.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Minimate Monday: Prison Hershel and Farmer Zombie

Okay, quick ground rule for Minimate Monday: The answer to Why Did I Buy This Toy ™ is always going to be because they're minimates and they're either of a property I have a minimal appreciation for or because I think the figure looks cool. That's all the thinking that usually goes into why I buy minimates. That said, if there's something of unique interest that made me REALLY want a minimate set then I will bring it up.

That said,

I sometime wonder if the reason they package Hershel with the Farm zombie is because they're both farmers. Seems like kinda the easy way to go, like maybe they're running out of steam. Not that I can blame them, when you're doing variants of the Hershel character your creativity reserves are probably exhausted and in desperate need of a break.


Saturday, October 4, 2014

Video Games

No toy blogging, playing Disney Infinity and Super Smash Bros.

Interesting note though, after reading comments disappointed about how few female heroes you can play as in the Marvel sets (2 out of 18 total) I decided to look at Disney 1.0.


So yeah, that's 8 female characters out of 29. And only 4 out of the 18 characters that come with playsets so they get plots and dialogue. Disney 2.0 is 7 out of 30!characters are female and The breakdown for playset characters: 2 women out of 21 characters.

That is pretty screwed up considering how many iconic female characters Disney has, and how large the segment is of Disney Infinity players that are women, girls, and men who like female characters.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Minimate Monday: Plants vs Zombies box set


I wasn't going to get this set, but I have a weakness for minimates when I see then in person. I don't even play this game but c'mon, minimate zombies with minimate plants. 

No, really. I thought the plants were just static figures but they're actually unique minimate bodies that will fit any minimate head... So like this:


Beautiful.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

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.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

AMP Episode 100: 100

Episode 100 of our Articulated Monster podcast is now up. In the end the only thing we did for this occasion was invite Ani to join us. You remember Ani. Probably.





Yoshi

Look, I've picked up the other 4 available Nintendo figures, might as well pick up the other one, right? It helps that Yoshi is a green dinosaur, which is a thing that I like. The bits that make me sad: he only has 5 points of articulation and he's not designed so Mario can ride him. Actually no one can ride him... That's the whole point of Yoshi! Make him so other figures can ride him!

Oh, and his bonus accessory is an egg. A perfectly round Egg that won't stand up on its own because it's too round. Weird.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Disney Infinity 2.0

I didn't love the first Disney Infinity but there were parts I liked. The game designers promised they fixed all the problems I had and then made it all superhero based.

End result: I bought all the figures on day 1.


I may have a problem. It helps that the figures can double as vinyl collectibles and cost roughly the same as some vinyl collectibles but aren't blind boxes.

Pig Costume

So hey, Walgreens has series 12 of the Lego minifigures. This wave was kinda uninteresting to me, but there are a couple I want. The main one was this guy: man in a pig costume. Fortunately he's one of the few I could identify through the squeeze method.

It's a nice figure. One note, the apple doesn't have a hole at the bottom to fit on any Lego pegs, so the figure has to hold the apple by the stem. Minor quibble. Because really the main feature is that this is a man in a pig costume. Or a hybrid pig-man, like island of Doctor Moreau style. Probably the pig costume considering that previous waves have had people in costumes before. Apparently Lego has some weird Halloween costume fascination. And in that way Lego and I are the same.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Ash and Pikachu


I played Pokemon X/Y through to the final boss and then gave up from doing any more because of how frustrating the game became to me. I don't want to fight another low level pokemon, thanks. I've already caught a dozen of that Pokemon. WHY CAN'T I GET A PSYDUCK! But from what I remember, you play a generic character that isn't named Ash Ketchum. But hey, they did make a Pokemon X/Y Ash Ketchum figure wearing some Pokemon X/Y style clothing that I bet he wears in the cartoon if I still watched that. (I'm not that young. Yes I used to watch the Pokemon cartoon, but I used to watch the show in high school and college out of a weird love for all things Psyduck.)

So in a confluence of events: I had a coupon that expired soon and a desire for more Nintendo figures when I spotted this 4 inch Ash Ketchum figure. Hey neat, I thought. I've wanted an Ash figure in the past but they've either had horrible articulation or looked horrible or were out of scale with what I was collecting at the time. This one is decent and has a surprising amount of articulation. There's ball jointed hips and shoulders, some knee and elbow joints, and a ball jointed neck. Unfortunately there are no ankle  joints, so posing becomes a little difficult. Is it too much to ask for cut joints at the ankles so that I can balance what I can do with the ball jointed hips? Also, why can't he hold a pokeballs? Why is there no pokeballs accessory?



The Pikachu is not articulated and only can sit on Ash's shoulder because the backpack has a hole to plug-in his foot.

And sadly, this is not in scale with the other Nintendo figures I own. I mean, looks how Ash towers over Link... I know Link is supposed to be part elf or something, but no.


Saturday, September 20, 2014

Doctor Who, Series 3

So after my little bout of buyer's remorse I opened some of the Walgreen figures I picked up. Specifically the 10th Doctor figure, the Asylum Dalek, and the Genesis of the Dalek exclusive.

The 10th Doctor is pretty good for this scale, although I'm disappointed that the stripes on his pinstripe suit are implied by carved lines on the plastic and not given any blue paint, but I'm sure it would have looked horrible if they had done it. This is him in his coat, which was never my preference for 10th Doctor Toys (I preferred the suit) but it's pliable enough to allow plenty of movement, and hey, 3.75" scale 10th Doctor. It's a surprisingly good likeness for the scale, much better than the 11th Doctor figure which hinted at the idea of the 11th Doctor rather than trying to recreate his face in this scale.

The Asylum Dalek is pretty much exactly like the previous Dalek from this toy line, but with a red marking on it to designate it as "insane." The paint also gives it a grungier look to imply it's inattention to Dalek grooming.

I was surprised by the Genesis Dalek, rather than a repaint, it's an entirely new sculpt. Everything on it is simpler to reflect the lower budgeted time the character represents. I'm wondering if they just used the models for the 5" line and had the manufacturers shrink it to scale. It's pretty dang nice.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Buyer's Remorse: Dalek Edition


Finally found the third series of the Doctor Who 3.75" figures, only at Toys R Us rather than Walgreens. It's cool to see Toys R Us carry Doctor Who stuff, but they're charging $5 more than Walgreens... Although Toys R Us is still cheaper than other places I've seen previous waves at.

And unlike Walgreens, Toys r Us is carrying Wave 2 and a wave of 5 inch scale Daleks. The 5" Daleks cost the same as the 3.75" ones, which is... I don't even have the words.

But it allowed me to finally collect the last of the rainbow colored Dalek designs from season 5.

Of course buying all this stuff ended up pricier than I had expected. So I'm probably going to return some of it, especially if I find the same figures at Walgreens for cheaper. Seriously, some Walgreens have the figures on buy 1 get 1 half off, which makes the average figure half the cost of what Toys R Us is charging... Of course it's difficult to find any at Walgreens so it's a tad moot...

Oh, but I did find two Daleks after checking 5 Walgreens.

Amy Pond


Walgreens is going to carry Doctor Who toys. Part of me thinks this was part of their plan to reclassify thaelves as a British company to avoid paying taxes. But now that the tax dodge was cancelled due to fear od mass boycotts, I can look forward to being able to buy Doctor Who merchandise in a physical atore that isn't Hot Topic.

So far all I've been able to find are some aonic screwdrivers and 3.75 inch Amy Pond. Surprisingly, she features more articulation than her 5 inch counterpart or any other Doctor Who figure in this scale. She has a bicep swivel, ball shoulders, cut wrists, knees, cut ankles, and a head that isn't hampered too much by te sculpted hair. It's a shame that so many joints on plastic in this scale makes the figure feel very flimsy. i keep expecting to tear it apart every time I twist a joint. I feel like half the cut joints are falling out of their sockets. That's the biggest downside. As a plus? The face sculpt isn't horrible.

Fair trade-off? You decide.