Some People Call Me a Spacetrooper...

...some call me a gangster of love.

This here is Maurice...er..I mean a Spacetrooper from the Star Wars Legacy Collection. What makes this guy a "Spacetrooper" is the jet pack, the rebreather tube, and the big f'in hand cannon. Remove all that jazz and you have...

...a regular Stormtrooper!

Slap it all back on and you have a Spacetrooper. Keen.

From the back of the packaging:

"Specialized stormtroopers, dubbed "spacetroopers," are deployed to Zero-G environments, such as areas outside the Death Star's artificially generated atmosphere. They wear specially designed suits that have sealed armor and are equipped with rebreather packs."

If anything makes a Stormtrooper awesomer than average, it's a jet pack.

This Spacetrooper also has a removable helmet. And he looks nothing like Jango Fett.

Awesome.

I found this guy on the clearance aisle at K-Mart, and got him for $2.80. Getting a new "classic" Stormtrooper is pretty cool; getting one with a special non-canon gimmick is fun too - (EDIT: He is canon - according to Chunky B: "A pair of them were in a new hope, even before the special edition days. Plus the head sculpt is a nod to the man who wore one of the Spacetrooper suits in that scene...Joe Johnston.")

I haven't bought a new Star Wars figure in some time. But getting one for $2.80 felt like old times, and that made finding this guy so much sweeter.

How we roll

I spent this past weekend visiting family, and at my nephew's request I brought my orange track along so we could "Race for Pinks." Here's how it goes down: everyone in the family gets a few Hot Wheels, we set up a bracket, and we have elimination rounds up to a final showdown. We flip a coin for lane choice, do a blind pull for bracket placement, the whole nine yards. And of course, since we're racing for pinks, the loser loses their car to the winner.

Yup, that's how three generations of my family has fun when they get together. And people wonder why I'm obsessed with toys.

Anyways, this post isn't about that (I need to bring a camera next time we race for pinks and actually make a post about it someday,) but it is related. See, if you are going to race for pinks, you need fresh wheels. So my dad, my nephew and myself jumped in the car and headed to K-Mart.

That's where I finally found this beauty!

The Brave and the Bold animated Batmobile by Hot Wheels! #42 of 44 2010 New Models.

Even the card is gorgeous. Let's gander at that Batmobile illustration a little longer, shall we?

*drooool.

Even the vehicle stats are character accurate. "Designer: Batman." I love it.

The car is a great Batmobile design. I love the Brave and the Bold cartoon, and this Hot Wheels version of Batman's ride does not disappoint.

The design of this Batmobile feels like the original Batmobile melded with the '89 movie version. Two great tastes that taste great together. I especially love the Bat face up front.

I would have preferred some cooler wheels, but I can't complain. Considering this cartoon only has one more season left in it (totaling a measly three seasons,) we're some lucky Bat-fans to be getting this vehicle in Hot Wheel form.


Oh, and about the race. Everyone who wanted one was able to get a Batmobile from K-Mart, (we lucked out big time and found four!) and none of us were willing to race it out of our collections, so it sat out during the race for pinks. But once the serious racing was over, we did get it on the track and it performed admirably.

Batman would be proud.

Who Watches the Copyright Lawyers?

Tech Deck does it again:


This time the good folks at Tech Deck bring us Nite Owl, or as they label him: "Nightwatchman." Clever.

I ducked into a local Ross to kill some time this afternoon, and I stumbled onto this guy. As soon as I saw him I knew I had to add him to my small army of Copyright infringing Tech Deck Dudes.

Having not purchased a Tech Deck Dude in a long while, I noticed a couple new differences. One, these new Dudes have a base and a plastic "armature" that pegs into their backs. Kinda cool for display purposes.

But the most glaring difference: the decks/feet are no longer magnetic. The deck is now held onto the feet via a peg, with each foot having a hole to place the peg into. Not nearly as cool as the magnetic ability of past Dudes, because they could also be placed on refrigerators and other metal surfaces.

Regardless, I'm glad I found this Watchman Wannabe.

Super awesome bonus, the cute cashier at Ross is also a barista at a local coffee shop.

Me: "You also work at the coffee shop, right?"
Cutie: "Yup."
Me: "I thought you looked familiar."
Cutie: "I'm stalking you."
Me: "I can handle it. I'll be seeing you around then."

With a line like "I'm stalking you," how can I NOT be attracted to her? Looks like I'll be caffiened up and dressing-for-less a lot more in the foreseeable future!

Also, I realize my comeback was super lame.

The Silver Bullet

I just discovered the location of a local bike/skateboard ramp park last night. Remember the good old days when the ramps and tracks were dug and carved out of the dirt in an empty lot or field?

Nowadays kids get fancy million dollar architecture to roll around on. In my day if a ramp was made out of wood it was made by someone's big brother, who likely had zero carpentry skills and absolutely no concern for the safety of others.

Those were the days.

So I think I'm going to drag The Silver Bullet over there real soon and try to relive some of that old school magic.

I think I'm going to break my neck.

Again with the domino mask!

The domino mask is a seriously sexy look.

This is Ms. Marvel, a character my DC-centric self knows nothing about. Pic found at Fernandotron.

Now THIS is my kind of woman.

I think this is the look of the future, and that women should feel free to walk around like this every day.

Forget about piercings and jewelry, domino masks are the accessory of the new millenium. And seriously, besides the fact that the make-up is pure white, there's actually not much more on this fine specimen than most women wear on a daily basis.

I'm in love. [call me!]

Pic found at Articulated Discussion

Batman Under Where?

Like every other Geek in Geekdom worth his Geekredentials, I too got my hands on Batman: Under the Red Hood this week. Under the Red Hood is the latest in a long and almost always awesome line-up of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

So how was it? Amazing. One of the best DC Universe animated flicks yet.

But be warned, it isn't for the feint of heart. Under the Red Hood is pretty damn brutal at times. Many times. But that certainly shouldn't surprise anyone even vaguely familiar with the comic book source material it's based on.

This ain't no Brave and the Bold!

I won't get all spoilery; I'll keep my review here general and brief. The voice talent is great, John DiMaggio (currently best known for his work as Aquaman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold) does an excellent Joker. Jensen Ackles does very well as Red Hood, Bruce Greenwood does a Batman that at times even sounds a bit like Kevin Conroy, and fan favorite Neil Patrick Harris steals the show with some great lines as Nightwing.

And if anyone from DC/WB is listening, based on his appearance here, I think a Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing animated feature length film would be pretty sweet! Just saying.

The animation and action are tops (although there were a few too many 20+ foot vertical backwards jumps and other push physics a little too far, even for a cartoon leaps for my liking,) and the story has some surprising depth and a few great cameos and flashback sequences.

The Jonah Hex Showcase Short before the feature is good too. Not great, but fun. I think the Spectre Showcase Short that appeared before Crisis on Two Earths sort of set the bar a little too high for JH to reach, but it's a nice add and probably seventeen hundred times better than the recent Jonah Hex movie.

I picked Under The Red Hood up at Best Buy, and was able to get the last exclusive copy, which comes with a Red Hood figurine (similar to Crisis' exclusive Owlman figurine.)

A fun little add-on; I wouldn't have worried about it if I didn't get it, but it cost the same as the 2 disc special edition DVD with or without it, so I'm all over the free toy angle!


The second disc includes a featurette called Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson. I'm pretty sure you can guess what that's about; and two episodes of Batman the animated series. I haven't popped that DVD in yet so I don't know which episodes.

Also included is a "First Look" at the next DC/WB animated offering: Superman/Batman Apocalypse. That one should be fun!

Buy stuff by me at Zazzle!