Slag!

I previously discussed the G1 Dinobot Slag that I found at a flea market...for a dime!

I also previously talked about the new Transformers Animated line of toys, which includes Grimlock, the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinobot transformer of G1 fame.

Well yesterday I had some time to kill in the late morning, and I decided to go to a nearby Walmart.

I was lucky to find the newest dinobot from the Transformers Animated line: Snarl *coughcough SLAG coughcough*




First off, for some reason they have christened this guy Snarl in the new cartoon and action figure series. They can call him Sally for all I care, the fact of the matter is that in G1 lore the Triceratops is Slag and the Stegosaurus is named Snarl.

DUH! Everyone knows THAT!

So anyways this guy is pretty darn cool, no matter what his name is. Like the other Transformer Animated figures I have so far, both modes are solid and look really nice. He makes an excellent Triceratops and an excellent robot...the same can't always be said about most G1 Transformers, which are usually lacking in one mode or another.




Another great thing about Slag is that he's almost exactly the same size as his G1 predecessor in both dinosaur and robot modes.




This guy is a lot of fun. He's part of the "Deluxe Class" of Transformer toys, which means he retails for about ten bucks. Not a bad price at all for such a groovy dinobot!

I know that a toy of Swoop (the Pterodactyl) is planned in the near future. I'm pretty sure the cartoon has yet to introduce the Stegosaurus (the REAL Snarl) or the Brontosaurus Sludge (yeah I know, a "Brontosaurus" never really existed) so they may never be seen in this series. That's a darn shame, becase the dinobots are always cool, and these Animated homages to G1 are extremely well designed characters and toys.

Godzilla Week vs. Mechagodzilla!

This is the biggest guy in my meager Godzilla/Kaiju collection. Standing about a foot tall, this is another Bandai vinyl figure that has recently began (re) appearing on toy store shelves. Also available at this scale is a Final Wars Godzilla which looks pretty awesome at a foot tall.


This is an updated Mechagodzilla from 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. The original Mechagodzilla appeared in 1974, and this one is much more detailed and robotic looking, while still holding true to the "guy in a suit" Godzilla/Kaiju standard.


His arms move at the shoulder, his waist turns, and his head turns at the base of the neck. Just enough articulation, and probably about the same range of motion as the actual suit!


The details are great at this scale, and since he's hollow vinyl he isn't heavy or bulky. He's just big!




Trypticon vs. Mechagodzilla - kinda like a gargantuan game of Rock Paper Scissors:

"I transform into a city."

"Oh yeah? Well I SMASH cities!"
Mechagodzilla FTW!

Godzilla Week Day 4: Godzilla '04

This is another Bandai Godzilla made for the Japanese market. I am pretty sure there's an American version available too. The primary difference is that the American versions seem just a tad larger.

This Godzilla is from Final Wars. The fiftieth anniversary Godzilla movie, released in 2004, was also the last Godzilla film to date and ended the most recent arc of films that began in 2000 I believe.


Final Wars is a fun movie that reminds you: no matter how big a Hollywood budget is, no matter how well written and intelligent a script is, and no matter how "important" an American actor may think he/she is, sometimes all you need for a good time is a guy in a rubber lizard suit.



"Wasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap?"

Godzilla Week Smashes Into Day 3

Today we focus on two great tastes that taste great together.

No, not peanut butter and chocolate.

Imperial toy company and Godzilla!


As discussed in a previous post, I loved Imperial dinosaurs as a kid. Their flagrant disregard for scientific facts, their rock-hard plasticy goodness, their sloppy Chinese child labor paint applications, their hollow throats for Star Wars figure eating fun. And chances are this guy has more lead in his paint than Lex Luthor's penthouse. What's not to love?

In 1985 Imperial began producing Godzilla toys. Somehow I missed them back then, I was probably moving into another toy genre by '85. Dinosaurs were so 1984!

I only recently acquired this 6" guy, and he's kitschy cool - a must for any Godzilla collection.

In true Imperial form, he doesn't represent a specific Godzilla as much as he captures Godzilla's essence. His arms, legs and tail move, giving him thousands of times the articulation of general Imperial dinosaur figures past and present.


And ironically, without any modification whatsoever, this Godzilla already looks Jokerized:


"Why so whatnow? I don't get it."

Godzilla Week Lumbers On...

Today's entry is Bandai's 1954 Godzilla, representing his first appearance on screen. If you haven't seen the original Japanese version of Godzilla, you should. It is much more of a commentary on nuclear weapons (from the only people in history to have a nuclear weapon used against them) and is much more than just a "monster movie." I decided to do black and white images because the '54 film is in black and white.


He's 6" tall and made of vinyl, like the '68 I posted yesterday. He's dated 1998.




He looks just like his movie counterpart, especially when photographed in black and white.




Stupid lizard. Forget about "Yawn-zilla Weak" and bounce on over to Eclectorama for "Joker Week."

Godzilla Week

I decided to make this week "Godzilla Week" on Toyriffic, if for no other reason than to see if I can keep on one topic for a whole week. Another reason is that Blue Oyster Cult will be at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk this Friday. If I get the chance I'd love to go and hear them play "Godzilla."

Oh yeah, and because I really need to talk about something besides Batman. I don't want to sound like a broken record!


Giant monsters, known as Kaiju in Japan, sure are nifty. The granddaddy of them all is of course Godzilla. It's surprising how many representations Godzilla has had since his debut in 1954. He's like a Japanese James Bond.

This is a Japanese imported Bandai vinyl figure, representating Godzilla's 1968 look. There was a recent American Bandai release of the same 1968 Godzilla, which I have seen in stores but do not yet own. The primary difference is that this version has a straighter tail, and may be a little smaller.


I think this is my favorite Godzilla look. He's a bit "cartoony," but he's how Godzilla looked in most of the movies I watched Sunday mornings on the local UHF station as a kid.




ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

And now for something completely different...

Well, not completely. It's still Batman themed.

In honor of my second viewing of The Dark Knight yesterday, I am presenting my Corgi 1950s Two Face Two Tone sedan!



Corgi released one of the best series of Batmobiles (and the only accurate series of villain mobiles) in the early 2000s. This car came out around 2005, near the end of the line's run, when stores like Rite-Aid began carrying them while stores like Wal-Mart had stopped selling the line. This was one of the last ones I found, and one I wanted the most. They were all approximately 1:43 scale, and fit right in along side the now classic Corgi Batvehicles from the sixties and seventies.

The car is clearly a mid-50s high-end sedan, split right down the middle with one side being shiny and clean and the other being all rough and "ugly." They even used a textured paint on the rough side to give it that old car oxidized/rusted look and feel.


There's a coin popping up through the hood, and since you can't flip it they designed it to be pristine on the clean car side and scarred on the other.



The hood opens to reveal more of the engine compartment. Even the engine is asymmetrical. Cool!


Bad Harvey. Rat Rods and Rock and Roll!


Good Harvey. Class act Cadillac. Turn up the Bach.


The detail on this one is great. Even the interior is split down the middle, green on the good side and purple on the bad.

I honestly don't know if Two Face ever drove this car in the comics, but all the other Corgi cars in this series were based on comic appearances. If anyone knows what issue it appeared in let me know, I'd love to compare it to the original art.

Tonight you're gonna break your one rule...

...you're going to go outside in the daylight! Wait...you can't do that "tonight," because it won't be daytime...oh forget it!

This is the recently released/currently available at retail DC Universe Classics Batman action figure. Wearing the blue and grey, with capsule belt and gold background batsymbol, this representation of Batman is more in tune with the pre-movie comic book Batman of the seventies and eighties. No black leather/armor clad love here, this is bright blue tights and muscle - all Bruce Wayne all the time!


The face of his cowl is also painted black, representative of the comic book look of twenty plus years ago. Batman comes with a batarang and a sweet grappling gun that actually unwinds and can be hooked to objects!


POW!


THWIP!



These DC Universe Classic figures are very well articulated. I am not a huge fan of uber-articulation, and I really hate the ball-hips of Marvel Legends fame. DC Universe has given us great articulation without much compromise to the sculpt. Batman can even grip his grappling hook handle with both hands, for hours of wall (or tree) climbing fun!


BTW - tonight I'm going to break my one rule: "Don't see The Dark Knight three days early."

Ahhh, rebellion is so liberating. ;)

Hey General Mills: "Why So Serious?" :P

I previously wrote about the little Batman and Joker figures currently included in some General Mills cereals here in the US.

I later discovered an entry at the Bat-Blog about General Mills’ foreign counterpart Nestle, and learned that they too were releasing Bat figures in their cereals.

No surprise there, Batmania is a worldwide phenomenon and everyone should have a shot at a toy Batman or Joker in their breakfast cereal – step one on the long road to world peace and universal understanding.

What did surprise me was the fact that these foreign Nestle cereals were including a Scarecrow figure not released in the US!


"Call me "Mr. Potato Head" one more time and POW! Right in the kisser!"

This fact further reinforces my conjecture that prudish US consumers are going to flip-out about the Joker being too scary and not an appropriate character for a Lucky Charms freebie. I can see the US corporate meetings now when they decided to nix the Scarecrow figure: “We can’t put that in our cereal, his name is “Scarecrow” – he has “scare” right there in his name - and therefore he’s scary to children. But the Joker, he’s just a silly clown, right? He cracks jokes. Kids love knock-knock jokes. What could be scary about a Joker?”

Just you wait.

Anyways, when I discovered his existence, and realized we were being shafted in the US, I had to add a Scarecrow to my collection. I wasn’t too concerned about getting the other figures, as I didn’t look all that closely and assumed they were the same as the US figures. But I was able to track down a complete set and went for it, which arrived from Australia last Saturday.


Which led to a second surprise: they are all unique figures. The foreign Nestle Batman(s) and Joker are taller and thicker than the US General Mills figures, and they have different action features than their US counterparts too.

"You're way too scary for children. Where's Dr. Wertham when you need him?"

"Come on, seven!"

One Nestle Batman has a waist twisting feature similar to the old Masters of the Universe figures. Twist him back and he twists forward with a Bat Punch! The other has a double-upper-cut feature: both arms pull down and spring up together.



"YES!"




Do not adjust your screen: Nestle Batman on the left - General Mills Batman on the right.


General Mills Joker on the left, Nestle Joker on the right.






Joker and Scarecrow visit the Arsenio Hall show. "Woof woof woof!"


The Nestle Scarecrow (the only Scarecrow) has an upper-cut feature in his right arm.



"Batman is such a wanker."


The Nestle Joker has a kicking feature similar to the General Mills Joker, but the Nestle version’s foot locks in the back position so he can stand upright.

The Nestle figures also have no moving parts other than their action features, while the General Mills Batman I have does have movement in the arm not equipped with an action feature.


"It's fun to stay at the "U"- sideways "S" - "J" - DOH!"

One final thing I just noticed, the Nestle Batman with waist twist action appears to be sporting the Batman Begins Batsuit, while the double-upper-cut Nestle Batman is sporting the Dark Knight Batsuit. It's hard to tell from the pics, but it is very clear that these figures were intentionally sculpted to be different Batsuits.

I only have one General Mills Batman so far, and he’s wearing the Dark Knight Batsuit. But looking at the Lucky Charms box, it appears that the other US Batman is wearing the Batman Begins Batsuit. Nice touch! Kudos to the toy designers involved in these premiums!

If you are a Batfan and like the US versions of these toys you will love the foreign versions as well. I recommend you track some down if you have access to foreign friends or family, or if you can get them off of eBay for a decent price. They are well worth it, and the fact that none of these will be seen at retail in the US (especially the Scarecrow in any form) makes them quite the nice addition to your collection.