Random Toy Pic :: Super Hero Squad Volcana

I now dang near nothing about Marvel's Volcana except the obvious, she has fire powers of some sort. Regardless, she's a neat transluscent flame-on female super(villain?) and is super cute in Super Hero Squad style.

I think Volcana was only available in a Toys R Us exclusive multi-pack. but don't quote me.

Happy Star Wars Day :: May The 4th Be With You!

Awkwaaaard!

Happy May 4th aka 'Star Wars Day'! While geekdom may be torn between celebrating their beloved franchise today (due to a convenient if not altogether clever pun) and May 25th (the actual release date of Star Wars: A New Hope waaay back in 1977) the rest of the world doesn't give two hoots about your borderline Asperger's and would rather celebrate on the convenient marketing soundbite day.

So who cares what day you celebrate, just enjoy the Star Wars-y goodness you are able to wallow in throughout the month of May (and every day for that matter!)

Yesterday Toys R Us had another of their free LEGO build events. This time, in conjunction with Star Wars Day, they provided a couple micro-spaceships: An X-Wing and a TIE Fighter! The X-Wing is especially cool in this micro size, and as an added bonus the laser cannons can be used as lightsaber handles for your minifigures!

The TIE Fighter is...well...it's a bit jinky. But it gets the point across and makes good target fodder for your X-Wing.

My Toys R Us was only allowing one vehicle per customer (even though the website declared you could build both) but I had two kids with me so we were able to get each vehicle. And who can resist free LEGO?

Not me!

Enjoy your Star Wars day today, May the 25th, and every day!

Lego Joker Mini Mech Bot

In October Toys R Us had a free-build kid's day promotion and gave away this little Joker Mini Mech Bot (sans Pagliacci - I added him myself.)

It was pretty cool, you just went in and they had all the pieces in separate boxes. You just grabbed an instruction sheet and got to building.

You could build it there or toss the pieces into a baggie and build it later. I brought Toyriffic's intern in with me (so I wouldn't be booted out for being too old!) and she helped me build it, but had little interest in the final product. She just likes all the tiny pieces.

As far as the final product itself, at first I though it was just a robot, and there was nothing on the instructions to indicate that it took a minifigure rider. But the more I looked at it the more I realized the small platform was for a minifigure's feet, and the 'handles' on the sides were controls!

This Joker Mini Mech Bot is a great simple little build and really displays nicely. It's also sturdy enough to play with. I don't have a Joker minifigure (yet) so right now it's being used by Pagliacci, who is part of Harley Quinn's gang the Circus Jerks. It's basic, fun, and best of all it was FREE!

I think Toys R Us has done this type of free build thing before, but I never really took notice. But since this one was DC themed, it got my attention, and I'm glad it did. I'm going to try and keep tabs on them from now on so I don't miss out!

Tempting :: Lightning Gremlin

I don't collect Gremlins in any capacity. I have only seen the original movie maybe twice, and the sequel only once in the theatre.

Yet there is something about this new electric Gremlin...toy...that appeals to me.

This thing is hanging out at Toys R Us now and is part of Neca's current Gremlins toyline. Representing a Gremlin in Gremlins 2: The New Batch that becomes electrical (don't remember how or why, as stated above it's been a while since I saw the movie!) I imagine this...figure...really only appeals to the most die-hard fans of this toyline or Gremlins in general.

And for some reason...me.

Anyways, I can avoid the temptation at the asking price of around 12 bucks, but if this thing ever goes on clearance it may be too much to resist.

One Tow Over the Line

The birthday "haul" turns literal with this guy:

This is Hoist. He comes from the Toys R Us exclusive "Back Road Brawl" set (along with a G1 recolored Revenge of the Fallen Mixmaster - more on him later.)

Hoist is a repaint of an earlier movie based release called Longarm. I believe this figure was always intended to be Hoist, and was supposed to be released in the Transformers Classics (later Universe) lineup. But the movie toys have been surprisingly popular and long lived, so Hasbro is sticking with them for as long as they can. Sadly the Classics/Universe line has pretty much fallen into limbo.

So although it made no sense at all from a fan perspective, Hasbro released this figure originally as "Longarm" and painted him to look like a (non-transforming) tow truck that appeared (briefly) in the movie. It didn't make sense, and I (literally) didn't buy it.

Thankfully Hasbro finally wised up and wedged a G1 accurate Hoist into their movie line of toys (albeit packed in a TRU exclusive set with a Bayformer repaint. Sheesh!)

Anyways, Hoist looks exactly like he should - a nice update on his original tow truck vehicle mode, complete in green with gold accents and sporting a light bar and yellow/black "caution" tape on his side. There's no mistaking this Transformer.

Hoist's robot mode is also a great update on his original look. All the right colors in all the right places (although some chrome accents would be nice.) His hook also transforms into a gun which can launch a plastic missile. It is permanently attached to his hand, but word on the street is that if it bothers you it can be unscrewed. It doesn't bother me though, as for now I display Hoist in tow truck mode, so I don't have to worry about balance or tipping or anything. That said, his feet are nice, large and steady, so he stands very well.

UPDATE: After transforming Hoist back into truck mode I noticed that you can not only discreetly leave the missile in the gun when he's in truck mode (great to avoid lost/misplaced parts) but it even fires from underneath his front bumper! Now THAT'S a cool feature!

For me, often the thing that makes or breaks a Transformer is his face. Which is why, for the most part, I dislike Bayformers. Hoist however has a very nice and accurate update to his G1 look (which is another reason I believe the original release of Longarm was meant to be Hoist all along.) He looks tough and cool, and the "corrugated metal" of his chest really brings out his utilitarian role. There's a ton of articulation too ("ton" being a perspective using original Transformers as the ruler from which we measure these things,) so his arms and legs and head and even his torso can move into many different poses. It's amazing what they can do with ball joints these days.

I love these G1 Transformer updates, and I hope once the ROTF dust settles we'll see many more of them. There were a couple I was looking for as the Classics/Universe line ended (Ironhide, Ratchet, and Hound) and they never popped up for me, so I am glad Hoist appeared on my birthday. Although I never had him as a kid, I have fond memories of him from the comics and cartoons.