Thanks to Topless Robot for bringing these to my attention.
4/29/10
4/27/10
GYFTS: Let's Get Dangerous Edition
One thing the local Swap Meet always seems to have in abundance are video games.
I haven't had a new video game system since the original Nintendo (although my kids do have DS systems so maybe that counts?) but besides the new Batman: Arkham Asylum game ( I WILL own a new system for that one soon - I swear it!) I've really had little use for one. The original Nintendo system was one of the best home gaming systems ever and produced some spectacular games, and mine has not let me down for the decades I've owned it.
One of my all time favorite Nintendo games has always been Ducktales, so when I spotted the Darkwing Duck game last weekend I figured it may be worth a try (both being Disney weekday afternoon duck based cartoon games made by Capcom, of course!)
The game has a very similar play pattern. The basic side scrolling shooter game, you are Darkwing Duck!
You first select your level and spring to action!
According to the wikipedia page on this game, it was based on a Mega Man 5 engine, so you get a very similar vibe to that game as well.
I like the cliff-hanging move DWD does when you jump up to an overhang or a floating air raft or other similar object.
The game is challenging without being a huge massive pain, and without being too simple. The play is fun and even if you have to turn it off and start from square one, you aren't bored with it too soon to want to come back to a specific level. The ability to choose from three initial levels helps.
Darkwing Duck shoots a basic gas gun and can pick up three other special gas guns for extra fire-power. He can also deflect certain objects like knives or bombs with his cape.
Darkwing Duck is a fun character from the early nineties, when superheroes were first undergoing a resurgence in popularity thanks to the Batman movies and animated show of the time. The video game is equally fun, nostalgic and timeless as well, and a fun treat to play in this time when superheroes are as popular as ever.
So when do you think we'll see a Darkwing Duck Begins movie?
I haven't had a new video game system since the original Nintendo (although my kids do have DS systems so maybe that counts?) but besides the new Batman: Arkham Asylum game ( I WILL own a new system for that one soon - I swear it!) I've really had little use for one. The original Nintendo system was one of the best home gaming systems ever and produced some spectacular games, and mine has not let me down for the decades I've owned it.
One of my all time favorite Nintendo games has always been Ducktales, so when I spotted the Darkwing Duck game last weekend I figured it may be worth a try (both being Disney weekday afternoon duck based cartoon games made by Capcom, of course!)
The game has a very similar play pattern. The basic side scrolling shooter game, you are Darkwing Duck!
You first select your level and spring to action!
According to the wikipedia page on this game, it was based on a Mega Man 5 engine, so you get a very similar vibe to that game as well.
I like the cliff-hanging move DWD does when you jump up to an overhang or a floating air raft or other similar object.
The game is challenging without being a huge massive pain, and without being too simple. The play is fun and even if you have to turn it off and start from square one, you aren't bored with it too soon to want to come back to a specific level. The ability to choose from three initial levels helps.
Darkwing Duck shoots a basic gas gun and can pick up three other special gas guns for extra fire-power. He can also deflect certain objects like knives or bombs with his cape.Darkwing Duck is a fun character from the early nineties, when superheroes were first undergoing a resurgence in popularity thanks to the Batman movies and animated show of the time. The video game is equally fun, nostalgic and timeless as well, and a fun treat to play in this time when superheroes are as popular as ever.
So when do you think we'll see a Darkwing Duck Begins movie?
4/26/10
Unidentified Monstrous Organisms
I recently lent an artistic hand to Philip Reed of Battlegrip.com when he asked for some header card art for his first ever custom resin toy!
Dubbed Unidentified Monstrous Organisms, these weird monsters defy description. Philip showed me a few pictures of the beast(s) on his Flickr account...
...and from there I came up with this:
Philip then used my Unidentified Monstrous Illustration to create the header card art!
Finally, here's the entire package, which arrived here today!
Here's the whole kit and caboodle from the back:
And here's another close-up look at that beautiful card art ;)
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't let the monster out of the bag and review him too!
Sculpted in resin, hand painted and made up of miscellaneous and custom made components, this is a pretty oddball monster for sure!
This is Philip's first foray into custom toymaking, and the first custom toy I've ever owned as well, so it's a pretty cool thing to be a (albeit small) part of.
The monster looks like some sort of trash heap come to life (that's is of course a compliment,) and all the funky details and shiny paint really make this guy pop.
Philip gave me this one in trade for the art I did, and he's sold almost all of his stock for this very limited run. Check with him at Battlegrip.com quickly if you're interested in Series One, or keep your eyes peeled for future series releases! No word yet on who'll be doing the card art for those ;)
Thanks Philip!
Dubbed Unidentified Monstrous Organisms, these weird monsters defy description. Philip showed me a few pictures of the beast(s) on his Flickr account...
...and from there I came up with this:
Philip then used my Unidentified Monstrous Illustration to create the header card art!
Finally, here's the entire package, which arrived here today!
Here's the whole kit and caboodle from the back:
And here's another close-up look at that beautiful card art ;)
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't let the monster out of the bag and review him too!
Sculpted in resin, hand painted and made up of miscellaneous and custom made components, this is a pretty oddball monster for sure!
This is Philip's first foray into custom toymaking, and the first custom toy I've ever owned as well, so it's a pretty cool thing to be a (albeit small) part of.
The monster looks like some sort of trash heap come to life (that's is of course a compliment,) and all the funky details and shiny paint really make this guy pop.
Philip gave me this one in trade for the art I did, and he's sold almost all of his stock for this very limited run. Check with him at Battlegrip.com quickly if you're interested in Series One, or keep your eyes peeled for future series releases! No word yet on who'll be doing the card art for those ;)Thanks Philip!
4/23/10
Batman Begins Again
If you want to read the "long story" on this figure, skip to the diatribe past the pictures. Otherwise, just enjoy the toy :)
This is Survival Suit Bruce Wayne. This figure is from the Movie Masters line and although it's labeled as "The Dark Knight," this figure recreates a scene in Batman Begins.
Remember before Bruce decided to be a Bat, when he put his gear together and held a stapler to Detective Gordon's head? Good times.
My favorite part about this scene in Batman Begins is how it's reminiscent of the similar pre-Bat costume scene in Mask of the Phantasm. Bruce is trying to thwart crime, but he just doesn't have the "edge" he'll need; that split second of fear, intimidation and surprise that the bat costume gives him.
He's learning.
Like most of the Movie Masters figures, Bruce comes with an inexplicably large accessory item, in this case a ski mask. If I had any Mego or Retro Action dollies, I'd put it on them. Otherwise it's pretty useless.
The back of the package shows a few more of the new releases in the Movie Masters line, as well as a close-up of Beanieman.
"Criminals are a superstitions, cowardly lot.
I know, I shall go to Vail, Colorado!"
The beanie is made of a soft stretchy rubber and is removable, revealing the excellent likeness of Christian Bale formerly only available on the variant unmasked Batman figure.
The costume has all sorts of details too, buckles and straps and stuff on his belt, and perfectly recreates the movie moment in it's design.
With Alfred on vacation, Bruce decides to do his own laundry.
3 hours later:
"Dammit!"
Good luck to all who are going to run to Toys R Us to find this figure. Be sure your Karma is clean before you go!
And now for my long toy rant. Read on if you need to get some sleep:
Two years is a lifetime where pop culture is concerned. So many toys, TV shows, movies and iPads have been released in the last 24 plus months it's hard to remember the golden days of Spring 2008. A new movie was about to be released called The Dark Knight, and dreams of awesome action figures based on the iconic characters in the film danced in our heads.
In addition to the kid based movie tie in toys, Mattel used The Dark Knight to launch a new action figure line: Movie Masters. Larger collector aimed figures with movie accurate sculpts, this toyline seemed to answer all our hopes and dreams and even gave rise to speculation on where the line could go after The Dark Knight (a movie accurate Keaton Batman, anyone?)
Then the Mattel curse hit. Lead infested toys, scalper speculation about the Joker action figure, QC issues, limited variants, schizophrenic distribution, etc etc etc. The line, although producing some excellent figures in it's short run, soon died of over saturation of a few figures (Joker, Goon) and extreme difficulty in finding some key movie moment figures (maskless Batman, Ghoul Batman etc.)
Mattel had a long list of figures it was planning to release as the line went on, but retailer interest waned when shelf upon shelf of Jokers and Goons couldn't be given away for years on end. Mattel then promised to release them on their website direct to consumers. But after raising the price five to ten dollars depending on the figure, fans of the line felt cheated and frankly robbed.
Then, almost exactly two years after The Dark Knight hit theaters, a strange thing started to happen. On top of the half full aisles of Joker and Goon action figures, clearanced to $4.98 at Toys R Us, new Movie Masters Dark Knight figures have started showing up, unannounced and unexpected - and in Two-Face's case, BEFORE he goes on sale at Mattycollector.com!
The figures people are finding are:
Survival Suit Bruce Wayne
Joker (as he appeared in the Jail Cell escape scene)
Scarecrow (in a suit)
Two-Face
"Night Vision" Batman
Harvey Dent
Some toy collectors are even getting these new figures for $4.98 because Toys R Us isn't paying attention to new or old product; they just see this release as the same stuff they've been unable to sell for years. Some collectors are getting them for $12.99, the retail price these new figures are supposed to sell for. Regardless, Mattycollector.com is still charging $15 plus shipping for the only one they list as "coming soon" (Two-Face is scheduled for a May 17th release,) so either is a good deal.
No one knows how many of these will hit retail or if all Toys R Us stores will get them. But with so many clearance figures hanging around, it's unlikely many stores will want them. I can't see this line being anything more than appealing to a niche market at this point anyways.
Frankly it could go either way; no one cares about the line, so it's plentiful, or the release is limited due to lack of demand, so it's as rare as an online comment praising Mattel's customer service. Only time will tell. And it's been two years already!
Toy collecting is a weird beast indeed.
So good luck to anyone out there wishing to get these figures.
This is Survival Suit Bruce Wayne. This figure is from the Movie Masters line and although it's labeled as "The Dark Knight," this figure recreates a scene in Batman Begins.
Remember before Bruce decided to be a Bat, when he put his gear together and held a stapler to Detective Gordon's head? Good times.
My favorite part about this scene in Batman Begins is how it's reminiscent of the similar pre-Bat costume scene in Mask of the Phantasm. Bruce is trying to thwart crime, but he just doesn't have the "edge" he'll need; that split second of fear, intimidation and surprise that the bat costume gives him.He's learning.
Like most of the Movie Masters figures, Bruce comes with an inexplicably large accessory item, in this case a ski mask. If I had any Mego or Retro Action dollies, I'd put it on them. Otherwise it's pretty useless.
The back of the package shows a few more of the new releases in the Movie Masters line, as well as a close-up of Beanieman.
"Criminals are a superstitions, cowardly lot.I know, I shall go to Vail, Colorado!"
The beanie is made of a soft stretchy rubber and is removable, revealing the excellent likeness of Christian Bale formerly only available on the variant unmasked Batman figure.
The costume has all sorts of details too, buckles and straps and stuff on his belt, and perfectly recreates the movie moment in it's design.
With Alfred on vacation, Bruce decides to do his own laundry.3 hours later:
"Dammit!"
Good luck to all who are going to run to Toys R Us to find this figure. Be sure your Karma is clean before you go!And now for my long toy rant. Read on if you need to get some sleep:
Two years is a lifetime where pop culture is concerned. So many toys, TV shows, movies and iPads have been released in the last 24 plus months it's hard to remember the golden days of Spring 2008. A new movie was about to be released called The Dark Knight, and dreams of awesome action figures based on the iconic characters in the film danced in our heads.
In addition to the kid based movie tie in toys, Mattel used The Dark Knight to launch a new action figure line: Movie Masters. Larger collector aimed figures with movie accurate sculpts, this toyline seemed to answer all our hopes and dreams and even gave rise to speculation on where the line could go after The Dark Knight (a movie accurate Keaton Batman, anyone?)
Then the Mattel curse hit. Lead infested toys, scalper speculation about the Joker action figure, QC issues, limited variants, schizophrenic distribution, etc etc etc. The line, although producing some excellent figures in it's short run, soon died of over saturation of a few figures (Joker, Goon) and extreme difficulty in finding some key movie moment figures (maskless Batman, Ghoul Batman etc.)
Mattel had a long list of figures it was planning to release as the line went on, but retailer interest waned when shelf upon shelf of Jokers and Goons couldn't be given away for years on end. Mattel then promised to release them on their website direct to consumers. But after raising the price five to ten dollars depending on the figure, fans of the line felt cheated and frankly robbed.
Then, almost exactly two years after The Dark Knight hit theaters, a strange thing started to happen. On top of the half full aisles of Joker and Goon action figures, clearanced to $4.98 at Toys R Us, new Movie Masters Dark Knight figures have started showing up, unannounced and unexpected - and in Two-Face's case, BEFORE he goes on sale at Mattycollector.com!
The figures people are finding are:
Survival Suit Bruce Wayne
Joker (as he appeared in the Jail Cell escape scene)
Scarecrow (in a suit)
Two-Face
"Night Vision" Batman
Harvey Dent
Some toy collectors are even getting these new figures for $4.98 because Toys R Us isn't paying attention to new or old product; they just see this release as the same stuff they've been unable to sell for years. Some collectors are getting them for $12.99, the retail price these new figures are supposed to sell for. Regardless, Mattycollector.com is still charging $15 plus shipping for the only one they list as "coming soon" (Two-Face is scheduled for a May 17th release,) so either is a good deal.
No one knows how many of these will hit retail or if all Toys R Us stores will get them. But with so many clearance figures hanging around, it's unlikely many stores will want them. I can't see this line being anything more than appealing to a niche market at this point anyways.
Frankly it could go either way; no one cares about the line, so it's plentiful, or the release is limited due to lack of demand, so it's as rare as an online comment praising Mattel's customer service. Only time will tell. And it's been two years already!
Toy collecting is a weird beast indeed.
So good luck to anyone out there wishing to get these figures.
Team Skeletor or Team Hordak?
A little discussion is raging in the comments thread of my recent Hordak post. I've decided to bring it out in the open and get everyone's opinion on the age old debate: Who is better - Skeletor or Hordak?
Find the poll widget on the right hand side of this blog and choose your side: Team Skeletor or Team Hordak!
I'm with Team Skeletor!
4/22/10
4/21/10
I Horde it Through the Grapevine
I've discussed in length my aversion to Hordak and the Evil Horde in previous posts. Essentially, I always saw them as girl's toys due to their status as villains in the She-Ra cartoon. As such, I never owned any of them as a kid.
As an adult, my aversion to girl's toys has waned (dollies notwithstanding,) and cheap swap meet finds always help ease one into uncharted territory as well.
I found a near complete and pretty well conditioned Hordak at the swap meet a few weeks back. I must admit he's got a really cool design and a great color scheme. He looks pretty darn mean, alright!
My Hordak is missing his cape and a bat wrist band accessory, but he displays well enough with just his armor and the crossbow weapon many of the Horde preferred.
He's no Skeletor, but I guess when you're up against a bunch of girls and that twinkie Bow, you don't have to bring your "A" game.
As an adult, my aversion to girl's toys has waned (dollies notwithstanding,) and cheap swap meet finds always help ease one into uncharted territory as well.
I found a near complete and pretty well conditioned Hordak at the swap meet a few weeks back. I must admit he's got a really cool design and a great color scheme. He looks pretty darn mean, alright!
My Hordak is missing his cape and a bat wrist band accessory, but he displays well enough with just his armor and the crossbow weapon many of the Horde preferred.He's no Skeletor, but I guess when you're up against a bunch of girls and that twinkie Bow, you don't have to bring your "A" game.
Young Justice - Coming Soon!
This was just posted on Batman: The Brave and the Bold's Facebook Fan Page. UPDATE: Looks like Young Justice now has it's own Facebook Fan Page too!No info other than the fact that it is coming soon to Cartoon Network.
I'll be watching.
Oh and I better be able to get action figures of everyone shown here or heads will roll!
4/20/10
Father and Daughter
I first saw this short film over a decade ago at an animation film fest. I have not seen it since. I saw a tweet about it this evening and just the thought of it brought me to tears.
That level of emotional connection is what true film-making, or any artform for that matter, is all about.
That level of emotional connection is what true film-making, or any artform for that matter, is all about.
It's things like this that keep me going.
Batman: Under the Red Hood. The next animated adventure from DC comics. July 27th 2010.
I'm just a skater cat, said "see ya' later rat."
Remember back in 1996 when Playmates released a new line of Flash Gordon action figures, based on a cartoon which attempted to relaunch the franchise to a younger, hipper audience?
Me neither.
Which is why this action figure intrigued me when I spotted it at the toy show I attended a couple weeks back.
"Kobalt the Mercenary comes with everything you see here! Dignity sold separately."
The funny thing is, I spotted this cat loose in a box of toys at the same toy show and was intrigued by his design and my inability to recall from whence he came. He does have a cool Thundercat-ish vibe going for him, and spiked knee pads are always cool (just ask Gene Simmons.) I moved on to another booth and lo, they had him carded for a couple bucks, along with a few more characters from the line!
I talked the vendor down to a buck and bought old Kobalt for the pure novelty of owning the odd figure.
Kobalt was made by Playmates in '96. There were eight figures from the line (according to the cardback,) and honestly they aren't half bad from a design and mid nineties toyline perspective. The cartoon was probably crap though, which is sad because more kids need to know the classics, and Flash Gordon is a classic and an important sci-fi icon who really deserves respect.
In order to stay hip and keen and far out and all that jazz, Kobalt came with a "jet powered" rolling skateboard. Silly yes, but let's face it; all your toys would be more fun if they came with skateboards.
Admit it.
From a design perspective, Kobalt would fit right in with the Thundercats or the X-Men or even the New Adventures of He-Man. He's actually pretty cool. The skateboard really adds to his fun factor, and I am glad I found him MOC in order to enjoy him to his full capacity.
Me neither.
Which is why this action figure intrigued me when I spotted it at the toy show I attended a couple weeks back.
"Kobalt the Mercenary comes with everything you see here! Dignity sold separately."
The funny thing is, I spotted this cat loose in a box of toys at the same toy show and was intrigued by his design and my inability to recall from whence he came. He does have a cool Thundercat-ish vibe going for him, and spiked knee pads are always cool (just ask Gene Simmons.) I moved on to another booth and lo, they had him carded for a couple bucks, along with a few more characters from the line!I talked the vendor down to a buck and bought old Kobalt for the pure novelty of owning the odd figure.
Kobalt was made by Playmates in '96. There were eight figures from the line (according to the cardback,) and honestly they aren't half bad from a design and mid nineties toyline perspective. The cartoon was probably crap though, which is sad because more kids need to know the classics, and Flash Gordon is a classic and an important sci-fi icon who really deserves respect.
In order to stay hip and keen and far out and all that jazz, Kobalt came with a "jet powered" rolling skateboard. Silly yes, but let's face it; all your toys would be more fun if they came with skateboards.Admit it.
From a design perspective, Kobalt would fit right in with the Thundercats or the X-Men or even the New Adventures of He-Man. He's actually pretty cool. The skateboard really adds to his fun factor, and I am glad I found him MOC in order to enjoy him to his full capacity.
4/19/10
GYFTS: Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
Welcome to a new feature here at Toyriffic called GYFTS.
GYFTS stands for Garage Sale, Yard Sale, Flea Market, Thrift Store and Swap Meet. Although I live in California where the summer never ends, and as such I hit the swap meet and garage sale circuit all year, I am officially kicking my GYFTS hunts into high gear with Spring and Summer weather now coming into play and the garage sale/yard Sale season getting some real steam.
Whenever possible I will be hitting garage sales and the local swap meet weekly, and as often as possible I'll be hitting the thrift stores and other such sales in my never ending search for cool toys on the cheap! When I find something keen, I'll post about it here! And the greatest thing about this feature is that even if I am out of town, I can hit up some kind of GYFTS sale and try to bring you something groovy to look at and read about.
So for our inaugural GYFTS post, I've got 27 MUSCLE figures I found at a garage sale while out of town last Sunday. They were all in a ziploc baggie sitting on a table of random household stuff, and I immediately snagged them up - the best part: the woman only wanted a dollar for them all! SCORE!
You 80s kids know what these guys are. Little pink wrestler figurines, each about two inches tall and sculpted in about a million different nameless designs. Until now:
Faceboobies.
ROM the Space Knight.
Jugger Not.
Captain Capefacehead.
Carter Haul.
The Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah.
Dig It Al.
Flag Face.
Shorty McShorts.
Lenny.
Shirtless McGee.
Screw Eau.
Lefty McGillicuddy.
Jose.
Bear Chested.
Starry Starry Shorts.
E. Stir Ayeland.
Nippleman.
Shortcape The Great.
Nailhitter With The Forehead Guy.
Cactus Jack.
Cheeks Calhoun.
Ab Ner.
Harry Thorenstein.
Buffalo Willheim.
Darkhawk.
Arm E. Archer.
Well that's it for my MUSCLE menagerie. I haven't had any MUSCLE figures since I sold off all my original collection back when I was "growing up," so it's nice to see these single-hued goofballs again. Now excuse me whilst I throw them at each other in a grudge match from hell!
GYFTS stands for Garage Sale, Yard Sale, Flea Market, Thrift Store and Swap Meet. Although I live in California where the summer never ends, and as such I hit the swap meet and garage sale circuit all year, I am officially kicking my GYFTS hunts into high gear with Spring and Summer weather now coming into play and the garage sale/yard Sale season getting some real steam.
Whenever possible I will be hitting garage sales and the local swap meet weekly, and as often as possible I'll be hitting the thrift stores and other such sales in my never ending search for cool toys on the cheap! When I find something keen, I'll post about it here! And the greatest thing about this feature is that even if I am out of town, I can hit up some kind of GYFTS sale and try to bring you something groovy to look at and read about.
So for our inaugural GYFTS post, I've got 27 MUSCLE figures I found at a garage sale while out of town last Sunday. They were all in a ziploc baggie sitting on a table of random household stuff, and I immediately snagged them up - the best part: the woman only wanted a dollar for them all! SCORE!
You 80s kids know what these guys are. Little pink wrestler figurines, each about two inches tall and sculpted in about a million different nameless designs. Until now:
Faceboobies.
ROM the Space Knight.
Jugger Not.
Captain Capefacehead.
Carter Haul.
The Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah.
Dig It Al.
Flag Face.
Shorty McShorts.
Lenny.
Shirtless McGee.
Screw Eau.
Lefty McGillicuddy.
Jose.
Bear Chested.
Starry Starry Shorts.
E. Stir Ayeland.
Nippleman.
Shortcape The Great.
Nailhitter With The Forehead Guy.
Cactus Jack.
Cheeks Calhoun.
Ab Ner.
Harry Thorenstein.
Buffalo Willheim.
Darkhawk.
Arm E. Archer.Well that's it for my MUSCLE menagerie. I haven't had any MUSCLE figures since I sold off all my original collection back when I was "growing up," so it's nice to see these single-hued goofballs again. Now excuse me whilst I throw them at each other in a grudge match from hell!
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