Tim Mee Legendary Battle Figures Are...Wait For It...

...Legendary!

Hokey smokes, where were these when I was a kid?

Tim Mee has just re-released their Legendary Battle collection - originally released in 1986 (a couple years after I had lost interest in Masters of the Universe), I never knew these things existed! But am I sure glad to have rectified that terrible oversight. Look at these things - starting with that almost Skeletor above!

But wait, it gets better...

You can't fool me, this is totally Thor! Thor with an axe, but hey, no one said Thor couldn't put his hammer down and wield a different weapon every now and then, right?

Also included in this set is a larger version of the Tim Mee Cave Man, a wonderful sculpt that deserves this larger format. If I could paint worth a damn I would totally turn this guy into Fred Flintstone.

Wait, did I say 'larger format'? That's right, these figures are larger than your standard little green army men (or little orange Galaxy Laser Team Han Rogers) figures. Which makes them that much cooler, and formidable foes (or allies.)

Ok, this guy. I don't know, is he the wizard Shazam or a bearded Superman or just some musclebound Santa wannabe? Who knows Who cares! He's crazy! "I'm Old-Man!"

Then there's this fellow. Man Bat by way of the Evil Horde. Too cool for school!

Lastly we have one who is pretty much a straight across rip-off, even moreso than Thor with axe above...

Dr. Doom! Holey moley I love seeing stuff like this. Easily my favorite of the bunch.

This set comes with 32 pieces, each figure in grey and green. The green is classic (and works PERFECT for Dr. Doom) and the grey is a nice manly color for the more bad-ass of the bunch.

Look out, Mr. Wizard! Someone is casting a giant-wanded spell on you!

Oh wait, it's okay...that's just my intern eating a banana. Carry on.

P.S. I just discovered over at Little Weirdos that these figures are all re-sculpted Marvel characters - which explains their familiarity! Crazy!

Tim Mee Cowboys and Indians and a Happy Thanksgiving too!

Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of the holiday, let's take a moment to recreate a less cooperative meeting between white men and Native Americans, shall we?

More 'traditional' than the Galaxy Laser Team I reviewed earlier this week, Tim Mee also deals in LEAD...I mean...Cowboys and Indians:

When I grew up with these types of Cowboy and Indian figures, just like little green army men, were all over the place. There wasn't a toybox in town that didn't have a ton of these fellows hanging about. You never remembered buying them, they just somehow existed in your toy collection seemingly from day one. They may have even multiplied on their own!

Tim Mee's latest Cowboys and Indians re-issue is this 40 piece set, complete with 20 red and 20 tan colored Cowboys and Indians. I'm not sure how PC these toys are anymore these days, but they are still just as cool in my book and really take me back!

The sculpts are great, clean and crisp just like with all the other Tim Mee offerings.

'TWING! TWANG! You're goin' down, paleface!'

Having just read the Gunslinger series, I am especially fond of the cowboys in this set. "The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed."

'GASP! Don't sneak up on me like that, silly...you scared me!'

'And the valley ran red with the blood of the fallen...'

'BAM! Aughghghgh...it looks like I'm a'headin'...for the last...roundup!'

This set comes with crouching Indians, riflemen, Braves, Chiefs, two-gun totin' rootin'-tootin' shootin' Buckaroos, and even...

'Maverick...I am your father!'

Hey, he doesn't come with this set! That's a Galaxy Laser Team Darth Vader dude! Get him outta here!

This Indian is proabably my favorite, I like the spear and shield.

 I sense a scalipin' in this Cowpoke's future!

I mentioned The Gunslinger earlier. Along with this Dr. Doom looking gentleman from Tim Mee's Legendary Battle set (to be reviewed tomorrow) those of you who have read the books might recognize this scene - the attack of the Wolves on Calla Bryn Sturgis!

I am a much bigger fan of the fantasy/sci-fi themes, but there's something primal about a set of little plastic Cowboys and Indians. You can get yourself a set here, as well as the Battle Mountain they are posed on, which I love using for a lot of my toy picture shoots.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Harley Qwednesday :: Harley Quinn #0

I intentionally avoided discussing the controversy surrounding the production of Harley Quinn #0 when it was heating up the internet a few weeks back, but I think I'll speak to it now that the issue is out and the controversial scene has been nixed. I promise to be brief.

To recap: DC Comics asked aspiring artists to draw Harley attempting suicide with small appliances and a bathtub. The 'winning' page was set to appear as part of the story in Issue #0. Little story info or context was given to the public about the narrative in full, and understandably some people took issue with the concept, focusing primarily on the fact that Harley would be nude (in the bath) and committing suicide (even though she was a member of the Suicide Squad!).

Disclosure and presentation on the part of DC may have lacked sensitivity or foresight, but mostly (and this is just my opinion) I think people over-reacted. As a fan of classic Looney Tunes, Tex Avery, the Three Stooges, and slapstick comedy in general, and as one who felt it was easy to understand what the writers were trying to do even given the limited information they presented, I actually thought the scene would have been funny within the full context of the story. But people got angry and it didn't happen. End of story.

So let's move out of the past and into Harley Quinn Issue #0, with art by seventeen famous (and soon to be famous) artists, available at comic shops everywhere right now!

Harley Quinn #0 is a meta tale that breaks the fourth wall throughout: Harley talks to herself, teddy bears, her artists and even us readers while dreaming of being the star of her own comic book, and imagines said comic drawn by a multitude (17) of current popular artists.

No such dream would have been complete without art (above) by the man who made Harley (along with Paul Dini) from day one: Bruce Timm.

I submit that a page should have also been given to Terry and Rachel Dodson to draw and ink, since they were the artists on Harley Quinn's original comic book run. Why there wasn't any art done by the Dodsons is beyond me - maybe the reason was legal, scheduling related, or maybe financial, but if it was merely because no one considered the idea I take greater issue with that fact than with the suicide page that wasn't.

Missed opportunities aside, the story was pretty cute and sets us up to where the main series will begin. It does not yet explain her Roller Derby costume, but hey...Harley Quinn in a Roller Derby costume. I'm still not overly fond of a full-body-permawhite Harley Quinn, and I am definitively a purist when it comes to her costume. But I have to admit, a Roller Derby Harley Quinn is a sexy beast indeed.

Written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Conner's art graces the cover and the bumper pages within. It's a shame Conner won't be handling art duties full time, because her gals are always cute.

The story presents some fun surprise artists too, like Art Baltazar who provides art to the page that ups the ante on Kevin Smith. Bat-bladder spasm? Psshhh, you fanboys ain't seen nothing yet.

How will fanboys react to Robin's bowel-spasm? Only time will tell!

Other highlights include art by Stephane Roux, Dan Panosian, Walter Simonson, Darwyn Cooke, and Becky Cloonan to name just a few.

Harley Quinn #0 has me hopeful for the series. I'm interested to find out what Harley gets herself up to on a monthly basis. If you've read it, let us know what you thought. If you haven't I recommend it!

Rescue Copter Sea King Helicopter and Troops by Tim Mee

Little Green (or in this case Tan) Army Men. Probably one of the most ubiquitous toys of the past few generations. They are just so versatile. They are action figures, they are background builders, they are firecracker fodder. We all had billions of them and...hey, is that a cowboy over there?!?! Intern, do your job and get that guy outta here! We're talking about Army Men today!

This is the Tim Mee Rescue Copter Sea King and Soldiers set. It comes with 24 soldiers and this awesome helicopter.

Now while I know I owned hundreds if not thousands of Army men as a kid, I never had a vehicle as large as this helicopter. I had the jeeps and the tanks, and sometimes a raft or other watercraft came in those packs mom would buy on those random grocery trips, but I don't think I was even aware that there were vehicles like this available.

Sure, it isn't to scale, but it does have an open door so you can stuff your Army men inside. Or whatever other little toys you might wish to give a helicopter ride to. And the propeller and rotor spin too. A simple but fun addition to your little plastic Army.

My favorite Army man when I was a kid was always the Bazooka Dude. Because...Bazooka! This guy could blow the entire enemy force to smitherines with one shot!

'Come on, Bazooka Dude...let's wrap this offensive up quick. I have a date tonight.'

Corporal Stabby is a fun one too. He ran out of bullets and is putting that bayonnete to good use. 'Anyone up for shish-kabobs?'

'Yeah honey, I know. I know. Yes. Mmm hmmm. I know. Okay, I'll grab some milk on the way home. Yeah, it shouldn't be much longer. Sarge called in Bazooka Dude. Huh? Well, I don't know if he's single, but I'll ask...although I don't think your sister is his type...no, she's fine...she's great. No no no, I don't mean...I didn't mean...ok ok ok...hey can we talk about this later? I really have to get back to wor...hello? Hello? Honey?

Damnit.'

Attack Of The Galaxy Laser Phantom Clone Menace Team Strikes Back Part 2 Electric Bugaloo!

Tim Mee does it again - this time releasing their famous Galaxy Laser Team in four new colors - two colors per pack - with a red and orange pack and a blue and green pack available now to add to your classic collection or to your recently re-released black and grey Galaxy Laser Team collection!

I just went ahead and mixed both new packs together in this photoshoot - in part because my intern was helping and I had to move as fast as possible to prevent all the shots ending up like this one:

...but that's ok. The multiple colors look great together and remind me of my childhood and all the fun monochromatic plastic figures of varying themes I used to mix together and play with for hours on the living room floor or backyard.

Just like with the originals, as well as with the recent black/grey re-release, these new packs feature all the characters you grew up with. The boxy R2 knockoff, the go-go boot clad Darth Vader knockoff, the Uhura wannabe with space-aged cash register, a couple sixties era astronauts, a Chewbacca in cut-offs, Buck Rodgers via Han Solo, and of course the Lobstrocity turtle/lobster aliens.

The sculpts are as beautifully crisp as ever, and these fun new colors really pop.

I wish I had held on to some of the originals I owned as a kid. In fact, I know many survived at my parents' house until only a couple years ago. But a cousin had a house fire, so my mom gave her kids a bunch of random toys to replace some of what was lost, and I think my original GLT figures ended up going to that  good cause. I can live with that, especially since I am able to collect all these new versions today!

"'Harmless space-secretary' my almost-visible-in-this-tiny-skirted ass! Ask me what this button does again...I DARE YOU!"

 Each bag comes with fifty pieces: forty eight characters and two X-wing slash F-16s. Twenty five in each color for each two color bag.

I honestly can't decide which color set I like best. The red and orange are all lava solar spacey, while the blue and green feel more retro little plastic figuriny. Thankfully I have them all, and the black and grey set too, so I don't have to decide.

I think my intern prefers the blue and green set.

The Lobstrocity is my favorite character of the bunch, and is the reason I got a set when they were originally released in my youth. He's just so strange, I love him and the fact that, unlike every other piece in the set, this guy has no known popular sci-fi analogue. I wish someone could track down the man (or woman) who designed this character and give them their due credit for creating, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing aliens in sci-fi toy history.

Get on it, internet!

And stay tuned all this week for more awesome Tim Mee goodness. I got a bunch of new stuff to show you!

Clawful :: Crableg Variant Edition

Clawful is one of my favorite MOTU characters of all time. Why I don't have the MOTUC version is beyond me. Well, actually I've attempted to get him a couple times, and the stars mis-align to keep him out of my grasp every time. A story for another time however...today let's look at an original Clawful that I was able to net!

This is the leg variant version of Clawful, with different legs than the standard Clawful (of which I own the early 2000s re-release.)

The other version I own has Skeletor legs, but this version has Buzz-Off legs. Not sure how these variants were released, what numbers they appeared in, or if either is more valuable than the other. I do know that this version has crossed my path far less than the other version, so I would say this one is the harder to find of the two.

I won this Clawful, complete with his green mace, off of the Pop Pop, It's Trash Culture blog a couple months back. It's nice to have an actual original Clawful again, since he was a childhood favorite. I can now add this original MOTU Clawful leg variant to my collection that consists of the Clawful re-release and my Fuerza T Destructor.

Clawful was a pretty foolish individual in the cartoon, but I always saw him as a formidable sea-based foe for the Masters. And the fact that he did not speak with a Maine accent is a massive missed opportunity in my opinion.

Clawful was one of the last MOTU figures I got as a child before I grew out of the toyline, and I think that also has an affect on his nostalgia factor for me.

BrickWarriors Warrior Pack Wave 1 (and Jester Collection Too!)

What's this? Another series of blind bagged minifigures? No sir, this is a set of bagged (not blind) minifigure accessories by BrickWarriors!

BrickWarriors Warrior Pack Wave 1 Premium Minifigure Accessories. What a genius idea! It seems so obvious - with as popular as blind bagged Lego Minifigures are, it's surprising Lego themselves did not come up with the concept of minifigure accessory packs. But they haven't.

Fortunately BrickWarriors did!

Also, these aren't blind - each pack has a clear window on back, so you know exactly what you are getting.

Inside my Warrior Pack is an Ogre club, a mohawk, a loin cloth, Goblin shield, tribal drum, and the best part - the Ogre armor (more on that one later.)

All of these pieces can be purchased individually on BrickWarriors.com, (as can the Warrior Packs), and right now the Warrior Packs are also showing up at Five Below stores, if you are lucky enough to live near one of those.

There are a lot of different pieces you can find in these Warrior Packs, from Western to Sci-Fi, so you'll probably want to buy a few.

Also available on BrickWarriors.com are many other custom pieces for all sorts of minifigure fun...with one theme in particular that really got my goat going:

Holy macaroni! Check out all this epic Jester stuff! The perfect accessory batch for my favorite Harley Quinn minifigure!

Aw yeah Jester Staff! Harley loves it!

And get a load of this 'Death in the Box.' The bladed jester on a spring can be removed...

...and the lid pops on to become a simple innocent gift, until...

SPROING!

The blade on top is a brilliant design touch. This thing would have been plenty cool as a simple jack in the box, but making it deadly really adds to it's awesomeness and makes this thing the perfect Harley Quinn accessory.

'Hey Harl, check out my new hat. Like it?'

'I love it, Chester. Now HAND IT OVER!'

In addition to the red collar being modeled by Chester the Jester above, I also got Harley a new hat. You can choose a couple different colors to create the alternating dangle look, but of course Harley needs red and black. This new little hat is the perfect alternative Harley hat for those days when two dangles just won't do.

Finally, Harley has a...juggling pin? What's so exciting about a juggling pin?

SNIKT!

The juggling pin hides a removable knife! Another genius design!

Finally, here's that Ogre armor I mentioned earlier, which can be used to make a two-headed Lego minifigure. The possibilities with this thing are endless, and I wish I had gotten a handful of them.

I love this stuff! The concept of bagged minifigure accessories is an idea that should have come to fruition years ago. I know a few folks have been making and selling Lego minifigure accessories online for a while now, but the fact that BrickWarriors has been able to get their Warrior Packs into a retail establishment is just wonderful and a great sign for the future of this hobby.

Be sure to check out BrickWarriors.com to see all the cool custom accessories, and if you can find a Five Below store, look for Warrior Packs there too!