Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 5 :: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Before I get to the 'big reveal' you've all been waiting for, I just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by throughout this year's Countdown. Whether you're a new reader or a seasoned Toyruffian, I hope you found something to entertain you and that you come back during the rest of the year (especially November (my birthday month) and December (Christmas) which both mean lots of new toys!) to read my insane ramblings.

Speaking of insanity, all my Universal Monsters TMNT figures (joined by a couple spare Slash figures who are now zombie minions of Bride of Frankenstein April!) wanted to see you all off in style...

'Y'all come back now, y'hear?'

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for...I once again turn the blog over to Miss Kiss herself:

"So I went outside on this lovely fall day to take this final picture for all you wonderful people....just as a very little boy and his mother (?) come around to deliver the papers. And when heading back inside, my Neighbour walks by with her dog. So Harley was out and about to scandalize the block once again! Ha! Enjoy! And I hope you all have a fantastic Harley-Ween full of belly aches from too much candy and restless sleeps from too many horror flicks!

xxmiss kissxx"

Wowzers.

Once again, a million billion trillion thanks to Miss Kiss for sharing her costume and creation process with us all. She is no doubt in the Great Pumpkin's good graces for all eternity!

And a Happy Halloween to everyone!

Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 1
Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 2
Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 3
Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 4

And don't forget to follow Miss Kiss on Facebook! 

Lego OG (Original Ghost) :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween eve! Only one more fright-night to go before the big dark day!

Today's treat is the original Lego ghost minifigure. He's much happier than the new Monster Fighters ghost minifigure!

Probably because he is unencumbered by the weight of his sins. He also lacks the tapering hood of the new ghost.

'Shall we daahnce?'

Original ghost's 'sheet' piece is also a little more translucent than the new dead kid on the block. But they both glow just fine!

Boo! (that means 'Yay!' in ghost-ese.)

Lego Monster Fighters Ghost Polybag :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

This Monster Fighters Ghost Lego minifigure set was popping up at Target last month; not sure if at press time this is still available on the shelves, but if so, go get one!

My first thought when I saw this set was that the Grandfather Clock would be great for use as a secret entrance for a custom Lego Batcave. I've done so and will post about it after Halloween.

The ghost's 'sheet' piece glows in the dark, which is just awesome.

The ghost comes with a 'ball and chain,' but how his wife became thus enchanted I do not know. HAW HAW!

Halloween Countdown Poisunday 2012 :: Rule 63 Ivy #4

Along with Catman! Awesome!

Invisible Mikey and Metaluna Raph :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

After reviewing all of Series 1 and one figure from Series 2, I just couldn't let 2012's Countdown to Halloween end without picking up more of the Universal Monsters TMNT that I still needed. So I snagged Michaelangelo and Raphael for a really good deal on eBay, both mint on card (which didn't last!)

I now only need Leonardo as The Creature from the Black Lagoon to complete the collection! But on with what I do have:

I'm not generally concerned with 'complete' TMNT figures. They came with so many accessories and were an unabashed 'kids' line (as opposed to modern day 'collector' aimed toylines) so for the most part the only way to find them complete is to find them mint on card. That of course means they are a few to quite a few bucks more than a loose version, and most TMNT figures are easy to find loose and cheap.

But sometimes I have to break with tradition because an accessory is an absolute 'must' - integral to the character/version etc. In Invisible Man Michaelangelo's case, that accessory would be his bandaged face mask. Such a pivotal part of the Invisible Man characterization, a loose IM Mike without a mask would simply not have sufficed.

 "ARRRGH! AAACKKK! OOOOG!"

 "TAA-DAAAAAAA!!!! Now for my next trick, I'll eat a pizza in half."

But mask aside, IM Michaelangelo is pretty spectacular in that he actually has 'invisible' parts! A hand, a foot, and his whole head...

 - which sports a painted on bandana for extra invisible Turtle effect!

Series 2 lacks Series 1's 'glow-in'the-dark' gimmick, but Mikey's invisible bits more than make up for it.

And as per my silly 'realism within the genre' fetish, an Invisible Man Michaelangelo could actually be canon. Maybe Don created a potion for ninja stealth purposes and Mike drank it on accident and voila! Invisible Turtle!

IM Mike is definitely a high point in the Universal Monsters TMNT series', and in the whole TMNT line itself!

I also obtained Metaluna Mutant Raphael (or 'The Mutant Raphael' as the packaging depicts with no sense of irony) this time around. Raphael is my favorite Turtle, and even though I own everything from a Troll Raph to a Toddler Raph, Metaluna Mutant Raph is the wackiest Raph yet.

Still, this version of Raphael could be canon. Krang zaps Raphael with some sort of space ray and Bob's your uncle: Space Mutant Raph!

 Ok, maybe not, but that scenario is far more likely than a mummy Raph!

Although I thought I would like this one a lot, he comes across as sort of 'plain.' I suppose it's because Series 1 all have glowing bits and Mikey up there has neat invisible bits. I do like the hot pink weapons, very 'nineties' of course but fitting for such an oddball alien version of my fave Turtle.

So now all that's left is to track down a Black Lagoon Leo for a good price, which I'm confident will happen sooner or later. Until then...stay spooky, because Halloween is only four days away!

Happy Birthday Darla :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

Today marks a very special day on the countdown - the most special in fact - because it is my daughter's 1st birthday!

In that first year, and in keeping with the countdown's Halloween theme, little miss Darla has been everything from a Jedi to Harley Quinn to Supergirl to Wonder Woman (in preparation for tomorrow's superhero themed birthday party!) and through it all she's remained the cutest baby ever!

Happy birthday my sweet Darla, I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you!

Halloween Countdown Purrrsday 2012 :: Michelle Pfieffer as Selina Kyle

Catwoman unmasked! Michelle Pfieffer as Selina Kyle in Batman Returns.

Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 4

Take it away Miss Kiss:

"All together with the new shorts! I still need to make the garters so the stockings have help staying up."

"Starting the wrist ruffles. And these are the Bane of my existence. I have sewn one of them 4 TIMES! Lots of trial and error."

"The ONE that is done. Seriously hate these things....I will make them work one way or another! I am not too sure how this one will hold up so I am still experimenting with the other."

"THE RUFFLES ARE FINISHED!!! YAAAAY!!! And you know what, after the 4th or 5th time trying new things, I finally got it and they work really well!! I am happy how they look too. Needless to say, the second one was much easier to do."

 "So here are the "Modesty" shorts with the garters attached. Gotta keeps those stockings up!!"


"I am keeping the bra the same as my previous outfit, as I am still super happy with it and feel that making a "family friendly" version of that would mean I should have just made Harley's original one piece suit. My collar piece I made for the original will be kept as well.

I am also hoping to add the cork gun to my props as soon as possible. Looking online and talking with folks about that item as I do not have the skills myself."

Incredible work, Miss Kiss, and I can't thank you enough for this peek at your...creative process ;)

Next week: THE BIG REVEAL, HALLOWEEN, THE END OF THE COUNTDOWN AND HARLEY QWEDNESDAY ALL ROLLED INTO ONE!

Last week: Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 3
And before that: Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 2
And before that: Harleyween Quinndown 2012 Part 1

And be sure to follow Miss Kiss on Facebook! 

I'm Batty and I know it :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

Oh yeah, I just HAD to have this one!

The most important addition to my Halloween collection (Thanks to Shawn of Branded in the 80s!) is the Batmobile from Hot Wheels' Kroger exclusive Halloween 2012 collection (number 3 of 5.)

The card art is cute and a little silly. A haunted gas station. Fill 'er up...with FEAR!

But, like Batman himself, this car could not stay trapped for long! Sayonara suckers!

I admit, I am surprised this car even exists as a Halloween themed variant. With some licenses you assume there's a strict 'no messing with the look/feel/design of the original' edict, and I always figured the Barris Batmobile would be one of those licenses. Yet here we have a purple Batmobile with white scallops and orange windows. The bat symbol is still there, unlike yesterday's Ecto-1 however, so there's that. But I can't imagine any Batman of Infinite Earths driving this thing.

Maybe the Batman of Zurr-en-arrh?

Regardless, this Batmobile had to be a part of my Batmobile collection, and I can't thank Shawn enough for making it possible, and as a selfless gift no less! Thanks Shawn, and to all my readers: read Branded in the 80s daily for more awesome nostalgic fun!

I'm Ecto and I know it :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

It seems every year Hot Wheels releases new exclusive Halloween themed vehicles, usually at Wal-Mart or Target, and often they are little to get excited about.

Well this year they released two that I simply had to have...and made them exclusive to a grocery store that doesn't even exist in California: Krogers!

LAME!

Thankfully co-Cryptkeeper Shawn of Branded in the 80s heard my cries and sent over a sweet Halloween care package that included the two Hot Wheels I would have been un-dead without, some Garbage Pail Kids cards, some Wacky Packages cards and a couple other fun toys to appear on this blog in the future (someday!)

But enough about those things, this is 'Countdown to Halloween,' so let's get back to the countin'!

This is the Ghostbusters Ecto-1, obviously, decked out in black with slime green accents!

Number 4 of 5, Ecto-1 (and tomorrow's car) are the hard to find scalper bait of the series. I never thought I'd get my hands on them!

Now usually I don't like themed repaints, as they tend to be gaudy or uninspired. Especially when they are on specific vehicles that have essentially one singular look, like a movie or TV vehicle.

But I can not only forgive this one, but I HAD TO HAVE IT for two reasons:

1) SLIMER! Green slime, and Slimer on the hood, are actually natural for this vehicle. Slimer may very well have been run over on the way to a ghostly call!

2) Ecto-1 started out black. Remember when Ray pulled up to the firehouse in the smoking pinging popping jalopy? It was (mostly) black.

Okay, I can't explain away the pumpkin on the side, but I do like how it is almost the exact dimensions of the Ghostbuster symbol, like it could have been perfectly placed over the existing symbol and covered it exactly. So there's that.

Thanks Shawn for the great care package and the ghoulishly awesome Hot Wheels! I owe you big!

Tune in tomorrow to see the other monstrous 'must have' Hot Wheel I received!

Halloween Countdown Poisunday 2012 :: Rule 63 Ivy #3

via cosplaycollector.com

Creepshow 'Illustrated Fiction' :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

That's right, when this thing came out in 1982 the term 'Graphic Novel' wasn't as commonly used as it is today. But that's basically what it is. A movie adaptation graphic novel, no less!

Based on...well, you can read it all there on the cover there. Which, when my wife first saw it declared 'I think the creepiest thing on that cover is that kid. He's a little too into that comic book!'

True.

I found this at a garage sale recently and paid all of fifty cents for it. I've yet to read it but I am sure I will enjoy it. I love Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson is of course a comic book legend.

I did like the Creepshow movies as a kid (part 2 more than Part 1,) but haven't seen them in decades.

But glancing at these illustrations, a lot of the memories of these stories in their film form came rushing back to me. This is going to make for a fun midnight read!

AAAHHH! Jeezus, Steve, don't scare me like that!

Oh, and do you see, up at the top right of the back cover: 'Illustrated Fiction.'

And at $6.95, this was a pretty pricey...ahem...comic book...in 1982!

Target Exclusive Halloween Batman :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

You've probably already seen this guy on other toy blogs by now. I found mine way back near the beginning of September, but I had to save him for the Halloween Countdown!

This is the Target Exclusive The Dark Knight Rises Halloween Batman that is (hopefully still) available in their Halloween section.

This Batman is a repainted version of the Stealth Vision Batman that was released with the Battle for Gotham City set (also a Target Exclusive.) The biggest difference, besides the color, is that this one comes with a cape while his Battle for Gotham City version is cape-less.

This is an all around nice Batman - better than most Kenner or Mattel repaints: his armor is cool and not over done, and this color scheme is very Halloweeny yet not too far from something Batman may actually wear. It has a very Batman Beyond vibe to it!  And the cloth cape really adds to this designa nd makes it a worthy costume variant for the Dark Knight to trick or treat in!

Or one could even imagine this is a Nolanverse Azrael or even...you know who...under that mask!

Here's the card back for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Selling for $4.99, this is a neat Batman variant figure and one I am glad to have added to the Toyriffic Treasure Chest.

Halloween Countdown Purrrsday 2012 :: Selina Kyle by Darwyn Cooke

Catwoman unmasked! Selina Kyle by Darwyn Cooke.