Smurfs Up

Some fun shots I took the other day of a Smurf and California Raisin catching some waves.

Spider-Rex

Spider-Rex, formerly mild mannered pterodactyl Pter Ptarker, is not only a real character in the Spiderverse and the comics that explore the spider themed multiverse, but he's also a toy!

 

Conceptually bonkers, I had to have this thing!

It's been noted that Hasbro apparently refurbished an old Jurassic World dinosaur toy from when they had that toy license. That said, there's enough 'new' on this guy to keep him from being a simple cash-grab repaint.

He makes a bunch of roaring and thwipping noises when you push his buttons, and when you push the legs down he launches a web missile from his mouth (not canonical, in the comics he shoots webs from his wrists like a proper Spider-Man.)

He's a bit expensive, running around $45 depending on where you get him, so you will have to really think about it before you decide how badly you need a Spider-Rex in your life. But he's a solid, fun looking toy and you can shoot the missiles at your kids or your cat, so it's probably worth it. 

I'm a big fan of "Super Pets" and animal versions of superheroes, so I really love this guy. It's amazing that he exists, not only in the comics, but in toy form as well! Hopefully we see more of him as time marches on.

Now I need to figure out a decent way to hang him from the wall or ceiling.

Imaginext Bat Tech "The Batman" Batmobile

I was on the fence about getting this Imaginext Batmobile for a few months. I saw it on Amazon and thought I'd make a commitment or not if/when I saw it at retail. Then I found out it's an Amazon exclusive, so I had to decide if I was willing to buy it sight unseen.

Well obviously I finally (bat)caved. And I'm happy I did!

This Imaginext Batmobile is obviously inspired by the new Batmobile appearing in the movie The Batman. It's not a straight riff, though, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's nice to see something with some originality, but I'd also like to see a cartoony yet more direct interpretation of The Batman Batmobile. 

There are some design choices that make this Batmobile a bit of a mash-up. The turbine barreled front end is an obvious '89 Batmobile component and doesn't really fit this overall design. It does light up and fire a bat signal shaped projectile though, so if you're into that kind of thing then this might be a 'plus' in your book.

In fact, the more I look at this Batmobile, the more I feel like it's as if the '89 and The Batman Batmobiles had a baby.

The rear flame element also lights up, and spins when the Batmobile rolls.

I'm usually anti-noise when it comes to toys, as they're generally loud and obnoxious, but I will say that this Batmobile sounds GOOD! The beefy roar of the engine is like music to my ears and was obviously something they paid attention to when they pulled their inspiration from the sound design in The Batman.

This Batmobile comes with a Bat Tech Batman, whos chest lights up via a lightbulb in the driver's seat. I don't like this Bat Tech stuff but it's their current go-to feature so if it keeps the line alive I guess we'll suffer through it. It doesn't come with Spider-Man but his Spider-Buggy ran out of gas so Batman is giving him a ride back to Queens.

This Batmobile is larger than most Batmobiles Imaginext has made, but it's also a two seater and that's always good. It's around $31 on Amazon right now (there was a four dollar coupon that brought the price down a bit) so it's also not "cheap", and the price is probably due to the noise and lights, which I could do without but whatyagonnado?

All in all, I'm glad I have it. I don't buy every Batmobile Imaginext makes, but I really like the movie inspired Imaginext Batmobiles, so my collection would have been incomplete without this one.

Huge Jack-Jack, Man

Sometimes a toy wins my heart by the sheer absurdity of it's existence. 

I absolutely love The Incredibles. The best superhero movie ever. The sequel was enjoyable, but couldn't touch the original by a mile. And both movies (the first moreso) were terribly underserved in the toy department. So when I discovered that Mattel had recently released this Jack-Jack in his gargantuan form as he appeared briefly in I-2, I couldn't believe my eyes!

Jack-Jack of course has ALL THE POWERS, and a few examples have been made into toy form before, but to see his Kaiju-bloated self in plastic sent me straight to the PURCHASE NOW button.

This Jack-Jack is beyond ridiculous and really cracks me up. I never would have expected to see this in toy form in a million years.

 

Pig Man on Campus

 

I found the Masters of the Universe Origins Pig-Head at Target today!

Pig-Head was originally a villain in the 80s Sun-Man toyline, which was not a Mattel creation and other than being similarly styled, had nothing to do with MOTU. 

By the time of the Sun-Man line, I had moved on from MOTU and similarly styled toys, so while I may have had some awareness of their existence, they weren't anything I sought out as a kid.

I of course would love to have any of the original Sun-Man figures now, but somehow have never come across any in my decades long toy collecting career. Fortunately the creators of Sun-Man have teamed up with Mattel and they are now part of the MOTU, via these new Origins releases!

I have not seen Sun-Man at retail yet, but will grab him when I do. A few of his teammates are also in the pipeline, but Pig-Head is by far the best of the bunch. The neon colors and odd helmeted boar head, along with his medieval weaponry, really recall the wild west cobbled together feel of the 80s toylines that took their inspiration in equal measure from the likes of Conan, Star Wars, and "what pieces do we have left over in the shop that we can slap together and call a villain?"

Pig-Head is beautiful, surprising addition to the Origins toyline. Who could have ever predicted this collab between He-Man and Sun-Man would happen in the 2020s? 

Now, if I could only find Sun-Man! 

Thunder Rosa!

 Thunderrrrrrr Rosaaaaaaa!!!!

I've gotten into Professional Wrestling more in recent years than I have ever been in my entire life. AEW is a big reason, I really enjoy how they put on a show. One of my favorite wrestlers today is Thunder Rosa, and I'm happy to have found her debut (as far as I know) action figure at Target the other day!

I haven't opened this one yet but I intent to. The sculpt and face paint look incredible!

Ok, you may have noticed that I've been away from this blog for years. Or you didn't/don't care. Cool either way. But the internet, and how we interact with it, has changed in many ways since I started this blog, and while some of those changes have been flashy and fun for a while, most have been at best antithetical to the reason(s) I started doing this blog in the first place, and at worst completely lacking in any soul or emotional value whatsoever.

Since moving away from blogger, I've lost a lot of the comraderie and brotherhood that came from this format. Not that returning to this format now will ever bring back the glory days of old, but it's not going to be found on Instagram either, so what the heck. Might as well put my effort over here for a minute or two again, and if nothing else, someone might be able to use a search engine and actually find some real heartfelt toy loving content for a change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Little Pony Stranger Things Upside-Down Applejack

Target has been in the reissued My Little  Pony game for a while now. I've been paying them mild attention because my youngest daughter is getting into MLPs, but prefers the original styling. Luckily I find them pretty often at the flea market or garage sales for cheap so I've not yet had to actually buy one for more than a buck or two.

But then I found out that for some yet unknown reason (Season 3 drops this week) they made a Stranger Things Applejack, with the packaging and figure all 'Upside-down'-ized, literally and figuratively.

The pony and package are all blues and faded, and her cutie mark is printed upside-down too.

I love Stranger Things, and this level of left-field marketing hits all my buttons. I was able to find Upside-down Applejack at Target today, and even got her on sale because the retro ponies are a buck-fifty off! Sadly I only found one - I'll either give this to my daughter when she can appreciate keeping it in package or I'll buy a second one for her to open (if I find it again). But for now, I'm keeping Upside-down Applejack for myself.

FYI here is what Right-Side-Up Applejack looks like, which my daughter would probably prefer anyways:

IDENTIFIED:: Who is this guy? TOMY Die-cast/plastic Sweeping Garbage Can

Update: IDENTIFIED at http://ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Forum/index.php?topic=5693.0 - it's a TOMY Whimsical Wheels from 1982.

Original post: I have no idea who/what this guy/gal is, and so far neither does anyone I've shown it to on every online source I have. I even, out of desperation, showed it to my wife!

He is die-cast and plastic, approximately the size of a Hotwheels/Matchbox car or most standard wind--up Tomy toys, but he is not a windup, he is just a rolling toy. Only marked "TOMY © Japan".

He's an anthropomorphic rolling Trashcan with arms, pushing a broom. When you roll him the oblong wheel under the broom makes it bob up and down.

Is he a character from a TV series, or something from a specific or random toyline?

There's one on eBay (not my auction) but the seller doesn't know anything about him either.

I have a feeling he must be a bit character from a preschool show like Thomas the Tank or Bob the Builder, but so far I've found nothing like him anywhere online. He doesn't look old or vintage, I'm sure he's less than ten years old at most.

Can anyone identify him, or lead me in the right direction? Maybe the wheels look familiar to something else TOMY made? Or the diecast/plastic combo reminds you of another TOMY toyline?

HELP!

Fisher-Price Little People Sesame Street SCORE!

I scored so incredibly big time last weekend at the flea market, coming home with all the Sesame Street Fisher-Price Little People stuff you see here for ten bucks!

I've long wanted not only this playset (having never owned it as a kid...I had the non-canon Sesame Street clubhouse which I only learned in adulthood was a repainted western saloon which makes waaay more sense!) but also hard to find characters like Snuffleupagus and Herry Monster. I love  Fisher-Price Little People but I reeeallyy loooove Fisher-Price Little People Sesame Street characters. They're so wonderfully toyetic and charming.

In getting this deal I scored better than I ever could have dreamed. Not only are Herry and Snuffy in mint condition, but I got two Cookie Monster figures, two Big Bird figures, two each of Bert and Ernie, Susan, Gordon (one is a bit beat up sadly), Oscar the Grouch, Roosevelt Franklin, and passable but play worn examples of Prairie Dawn, Grover, and Sherlock Hemlock.

Not to mention a lot of accessories including key pieces like the light post, Big Bird's nest, and Bert and Ernie's beds!

Roosevelt is in pretty good shape, Prairie's paint is pretty faded.

Two different Cookie Monster variations. Right is more aqua in color, and his eyes are part of the molded whole and painted, whereas left Cookie's eyes are a separately attached piece. Anyone know anything about Cookie Monster Little People variants?

I still can't believe my luck in getting not only this set but so many great characters and accessories too, and all for so cheap!

Transformers Bumblebee Movie Energon Igniters Cliffjumper

Ok first things first, HaSBrO...this is NOT Cliffjumper! You gotta stop painting Bumblebee red and calling him Cliffjumper! STOP IT, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

Cliffjumper was a Porsche voiced by the LEGENDARY Casey Kasem. Not a red rattle-canned Beetle! You might as well paint Bumblebee orange and call him Huffer or paint him blue and call him Seaspray!

That said, this Bumblebee Movie Energon Igniters "Cliffjumper" IS a red Bumblebee, which is a cool nod to the G1 red Bumblebee who, in the days before the internet, held a bit of a legendary status.

Like Bigfoot, few had seen it in person, but someone always claimed they knew someone who had one!

I think this guy is part of the second wave of Energon Igniters, but to be honest I haven't paid much attention to them.

I did see and love the Bumblebee movie (don't get me started on Cliffjumper's treatment THERE either!) and I do like this simple cute and inexpensive Transformer.

He has a really nice VW Beetle vehicle mode for this level of Transformer as well.

I was tempted to get this basic Bumblebee in yellow and might now go back for him now that I have him in red. I didn't even know this variant was coming/out there until I spotted him hanging on the toy aisle pegs at Target.

Bumblebee in red. NOT Cliffjumper!

Just a few easy steps to get Bumblebee from bot to vehicle and back again.

I like this basic level Transformer, one you can slip into your pocket and sneak into school where toys aren't allowed.

At least that's what I used to do when I was in school.

Now I sneak them into work but no one cares.

The Energon Igniters gimmick is similar to the old "Key cars", apparently you can get a trigger of some sort with another higher price-point bot (Sold Seperately!) and shoot them across the floor. I would have preferred a cleaner rear bumper without the gimmick but I suppose it could look worse. I'll just pretend he has a cooler full of beer strapped to the rear bumper and is off to drink his sorrows away for being a repainted Bumblebee and not a badass Porsche that sounds like Shaggy Rogers hosting the weekly Top 40.

Marvel Legends Fantastic Four Thing Walgreens Exclusive

Walgreens has been releasing exclusive Fantastic Four Marvel Legends figures for a couple years now. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and even Silver Surfer have all been released at Walgreens while Marvel comics themselves have ignored the first family of superheroes.

I'm only a casual Marvel Legends and Fantastic Four fan, so I didn't bother picking any of them up. I honestly figured they'd never complete the team anyways, so what's the point?

Well, they did complete the team, and they saved the best for last! Had they lead with Thing, I'd probably have bought them all!

I've always had a fondness for The Thing, even without his FF teammates. I loved his solo cartoon back when I was a wee lad, as ridiculous as it is now. I loved reading comics with him in them, I was always of the camp that Thing could beat Hulk. And I used to have the first Marvel Legends Thing from Toybiz, (I remember being so excited finding that one!) as well as a couple Michael Chiklis  Thing figures after the movie came out. But I gave them up years ago. They were ok action figures, but they're nothing compared to this new release. I do still have the smaller scale Hasbro Thing from a few years back, who is cute but also pales in comparison.

This newest version of Thing comes with an alternate head and open/closed hands.

Thing has been thus far a bit difficult to find as there are a lot of collectors wanting him to complete their FF team, as well as casual collectors who just love a big massive orange rock of a lug. Ben Grimm is a massive solid figure and a gem in any superhero action figure collection.

If you see him grab him! This guy is so great, such a gorgeous and detailed sculpt! In all my toy travels, I've only seen him once and of course here he is. Now I just need to decide if I'm going to backtrack and try to collect his fellow Four. But even if I don't, no regrets!