Robins of Toyriffic Past :: Robin Week Concludes

All good things must end, including Robin Week. But if you haven't had enough of that red, green and yellow kid's stuff, check out a sampling of  Toyriffic's past Robin posts!

Batman Returns Tim Drake Robin.


DCUC Robin and DCUC predecessor 6" Batman line Robin.



Toybiz Robin.

The New Batman Adventures Robin.


Redbird by Corgi.

Teen Titans Red X Robins.



DC Infinite Heroes Earth 2 Robin (with DCIH Tim Drake Robin.)

Three cheers for the original kid sideckick!

Bandai Teen Titans Robin Variants :: Robin Week

I wasn't paying any attention to the Teen Titans cartoon or toyline when it was originally released. That's not entirely true - I did pick up a Speedy off the shelves. Otherwise I didn't bother with the Bandai toyline until I started finding them at the flea market and thrift stores years later. Scale is all over the place, and some of the sculpts are pretty off-model, but it was a fun line with a lot of different hero and villain characters released.

In fact, some of the figures saw multiple releases, and variations as the toys evolved and tried to get closer to their cartoon counterparts.

I believe this version of Robin, with a larger anime head, was the first sculpt released. I found this guy at the flea market a couple weeks ago and his paint is a little rough, but he's still a fun figure to have around.

I believe this version of the Teen Titan Robin, with the smaller, more 'animated' head, came later. This guy belongs to my oldest daughter - we've had him for a few years and she doesn't play with him anymore, so he now resides in my collection. For safe-keeping, of course!

Having no emotional connection to the cartoon these figures are based on, I can't say I have a preference for one over the other. They are both fun and uniquely stylized versions of Robin, and that's cool enough for me!

Sheng Yuan BootLEGO Red Robin :: Robin Week

The primary reason I nabbed the most recent batch of Sheng Yuan bootLEGO minifigures was in order to get my hands on this Red Robin minifigure!

Red Robin first appeared in the background of the Kingdom Come storyline, and was an older Dick Grayson operating in a future of out-of-control younger superheroes. Eventually Tim Drake took on the Red Robin costume and codename in modern comicbook continuity to differentiate himself from Damian Wayne's Robin.

LEGO has not made an official Red Robin minifigure, and I can't imagine that they ever will. Thus far this minifigure is a Sheng Yuan exclusive. And a really cool one at that!

Red Robin comes with two bo staffs. He also came with a stand and a little 'symbol' build (not pictured.) Sheng Yuan continues to hit these things out of the park with character selection you will likely never see from LEGO themselves and quality that approaches LEGO level. Not to mention prices at pennies on the dollar!

Red Robin: YUM! indeed!

Disc Attack Robin :: Robin Week

Yesterday we looked at Mattel's 'evergreen' Batman toyline's 4" Tech Glider Robin - today we take a look at the 6" scale predecessor line's Disc Attack Robin.

This Robin was the second to be released in the 6" line. It is obviously based on the Arkham City video game Robin, which makes this guy Tim Drake in disguise.

Mostly the same sculpt as the 6" Strike Shield Robin, Disc Attack Robin has a unique head sculpt that includes a non-removable hood.

Robin also has a plastic cape, which was an interesting choice as Strike Shield Robin had a cloth cape. This plastic cape is easily wrinkled/crinkled and probably wouldn't stand up long to kid's play.

Disc Attack Robin, as his name implies, came with a disc-launcher accessory. It is pretty lame so I didn't bother to photograph it. Disc Attack Robin came out at the end of the 6" line, so he was a little tough to find at retail. I'm glad I did, because even though I lament not getting Strike Shield Robin, between the two Robins released in this line Disc Attack Robin is the better Robin in my humble opinion.

Toy Bloggers United Contest :: WIN SOME TOYS, YO!

Do I have your attention yet?

That's right - you can win some toys! A whole mystery pack of toys, to be precise but still vague.

A mysterious but (hopefully) amazing prize package has been culminated from donations from the following Toy and Pop Culture Bloggers: Cool and Collected, The Harvey Mercheum, The Toy Box, Action Figure Barbecue and myself here at Toyriffic.

But you don't care who contributed the toys (as long as we washed our hands first) - you only care about how to win them, right?

Right.

So do this: Leave a comment at The Toy Box contest page with your real or online moniker. That's it! The contest runs today, Feb 23rd, 2015 through 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 1, 2015. One entry per person por favor. To claim your prize just check out any of the participants on March 4th after 2pm. If you are the lucky winner and your name is announced, simply contact The Toy Box at thetoybox1138@gmail.com.

Once announced, you'll have 24 hours to claim your prize. So hop to it - if you pussyfoot around we'll have to pick someone else. They'll have 24 hours to respond and on and on etc etc ad infinitum. Oh, and sorry to all you non Yankees, but the contest is only open to residents of the United States due to the shipping costs of this giant (you wish!) box of swag.

So hop on over to leave your name or nom du 'net at The Toy Box, and check out all of the cool cats who hopefully washed their hands before touching the toys they contributed to the contest:

Cool and Collected 
The Harvey Mercheum 
The Toy Box 
Action Figure Barbecue.

Tech Glider Robin :: Robin Week

Robin Week continues with Tech Glider Robin by Mattel:

Tech Glider Robin comes from the 4" Batman 'evergreen' action figure line mostly warming the pegs right now. The toyline has just been re-branded as 'Batman Unlimited,' and this Robin has been repackaged with a robot hawk, which looks to be a better accessory than the forgettable glider this guy came with (not pictured, because it's pretty lame.)

I like to think of this Robin as Dick Grayson, but I suppose an argument could be made that this guy is Tim Drake.

This particular Robin's sculpt is a shrunken down and re-colored version of the 6" Batman Power Attack Strike Shield Robin, which I regret not having picked up at retail before the 6" line was cancelled and the 4" line took over. But I only saw that one on the shelves once, and had no idea I'd never see it again.

At least I have the figure in this smaller size and more classic color scheme, as I do like the cartoony style of these figures.

Holy Second Banana, Batman: It's Robin Week!

It's Robin Week here at Toyriffic!

Why?

I suppose it is timely. The Flying Graysons (most notably John and Mary, Dick Grayson's parents) made their television debut on Gotham last week.

And of course Damian Wayne is back - alive and well (and super-powered) - in the pages of Batman and Robin.

It is also rumored (but not officially reported yet) that Jena Malone will be playing Carrie Kelley in the upcoming Batman V Superman movie.

But mostly it's because I like Robin, and have a backlog of Robins to post, and...hey, I don't have to explain myself to you people!

So anyways, today's Robin is Damian Wayne pre-death-and-resurrection. In LEGO form:

This Damian Wayne LEGO minifigure is part of the LEGO Joker's Steamroller (set number 76013) that also includes LEGO Batgirl.

Thus far this LEGO minifigure is the only Damian Wayne Robin I have in my collection. Damian has mostly only appeared in toy form to date in DC Collectible action figure lines, so it was nice to get him in an official LEGO set. I'm not sure how much his death slowed down his merchandising, but I expect now that he's back as a member of the living there will be more mass market representations of him in toy form.

Stay tuned for more Robins all this week!

Playmobil Michonne From The Walking Dead

One of my personal favorite Playmobil custom figures I've put together is Michonne from The Walking Dead. Using a hair piece from a Fi?ures Series 6 pirate and the rest of the parts from a Series 6 zookeeper, I think the likeness is pretty good for a Playmobil custom.

Sadly I don't yet have a Playmobil katana. So in it's place I have been forced to use a pirate cutlass.

Someday I'll track down a legit katana. Until then Michonne will have to fend off the Walking Playmobil Dead with whatever we have on hand.

Joker, have you been working out?

I was perusing eBay the other day when I came across this literal monstrosity, available from a Hong Kong seller:

Simply the Brave and the Bold Pop Gun Joker (which I still don't have and am now reminded how badly I need it!) head slapped onto the Zombie Hitman Solomon Grundy (one of the best action figures ever based on name alone!) body, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts when they come together in this mad fashion! The conglomeration reminds me of the Venom infused Joker from the Arkham Asylum video game in the Brave and the Bold style. And I like it!

Apparently the seller has actually sold six of these, with four remaining available as of press time. I admit I am tempted if for the sheer absurdity of the figure alone. I am also curious how this thing came to be - I don't yet own a Brave and the Bold Joker so I couldn't even say for sure if the head-swap is simple and seamless, or if the seller had to do some cutting, gluing or other adjustments to make it work. And why does the seller have ten Joker heads and ten Solomon Grundy bodies? And what compelled them to swap them all and make them available on eBay?

Enquiring minds want to know!

LEGO 'New 52' Harley Quinn Minifigure :: Harley Qwednesday

Revealed at Toy Fair 2015, this 'modern' or 'New 52' take on Harley Quinn in minifigure form will be available as part of the very expensive and out of my budget LEGO Jokerland set # 76035 - to be released later in 2015.

I hope the set also includes a haripiece in black/red but I don't see any indication of that fact on the box:

I have to admit though, that is one fine looking set! A Jokerland amusement park and Joker, Harley, Batman, Robin, Poison Ivy, Penguin AND Beast Boy and Starfire!!! Not to mention that sweet Batmobile.

I know it's going to be too pricey for me, unless I win the lottery or something. Regardless, I am going to either have to track that Harley Quinn down (like I did for the Dr. Quinzel LEGO minifigure) or wait for my beloved Chinese bootLEGO makers to release one for super cheap!

pic of Harley Quinn minifigure via http://capedcrusades.com/2015/02/15/batman-toy-fair-roundup/

Imaginext Blind Bag Series 3 Battle Santa

When I first saw the Imaginext Blind Bag Series 3 line-up, I thought this guy was just some sort of Cossack Warrior. It wasn't until after I had found them at retail and bought all the ones I thought I needed that someone mentioned that this guy's sword handles looked like candy-canes.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear he was actually a butt kicking Battle Santa and that he was very likely inspired by the Santa in the movie Rise of the Guardians.

All hail the King of the North!

I lucked out a couple weeks ago and found this guy on Target's clearance shelf for 88 cents! Talk about a belated Christmas gift!

Battle Santa is well armed, with two massive swords that attach cleverly to the back of his head-piece/jacket. And as you can see, they do indeed have a festive Christmas vibe, with candy-cane handles and holly-esque designs on the blades.

Say 'Ho' ONE MORE TIME!

Battle Santa is just awesome, and another example of the rampant creativity coming from Fisher-Price and evident throughout all their Imaginext offerings. Series 4 of the Imaginext blind bags are hitting stores now, but some people are still finding fresh shipments of series 3, so Battle Santa may not be totally out of your grasp this late in the game. I can't promise you'll find him on clearance, but he's definitely worth paying full price!

Brainiac Imaginext Figure

This Imaginext version of Superman villain Brainiac has been at retail for a few months now. Not feeling the need to get too deep into non-Batman themed Imaginext heroes and villains, I didn't really feel like I had to own him. And besides, I much prefer the robo-skeleton version of Brainiac. This Brainiac was clearly inspired by the Superman Animated version.

But finding him at the flea market for fifty cents changed my mind.

Imaginext Brainiac originally comes with a backpack with six robotic tentacles. Mine is missing his, but that isn't really important. A bunch of tentacles coming from Brainiac's back isn't exactly comic-book canon.

It would be fun if Imaginext re-releases this guy with an Imaginext version of his skull-spaceship sometime in the future.

Playmobil Wolverine

When I found a set of Playmobil mutton chops in my Playmobil acquisitions, my first thought was of course 'I need to make a Playmobile Wolverine!'

Or at least an unmasked Wolverine aka Logan.

So I did, and it was cool, but THEN I learned that Playmobil actually makes Wolverine claws!!!

I think they are supposed to be a ninja or samurai accessory...but WOLVERINE CLAWS!!!!

So I got my hands on some and now I have an unmasked Wolverine Playmobil figure - with claws.

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do is provide hours of imaginative playtime fun for the under-ten set."

SNIKT!

Of course I had to do an unmasked Logan, since there's nothing in the Playmobil repertoire that even resembles a Wolverine mask, but I tried to mix together clothing colors reminiscent of Wolverine's costume colors as best I could.

If I had the wherewithal, I would 3D print custom superhero masks and other accessories for Playmobil figures. I'm surprised no one is doing so already.

Separated at Birth :: Imaginext Pirate Dive Armor and Bioshock Big Daddy

I have never played Bioshock, but I am in tune enough with pop culture to have immediately known that this Imaginext Pirate Dive Armor is heavily inspired by the Big Daddy character from Bioshock:

Fisher-Price is just killing it with their Imaginext lines!

Not having any emotional attachment to Bioshock, I passed on this Pirate Dive Armor when I saw it at Target a few months ago. I kind of regret having done so, and will continue to look for it and probably nab it next chance I get. If nothing else, it would make a great vehicle for my Imaginext Aquaman or perhaps even Mermaid Man!

Galactus Minifigure by Shang Yuan - Eater of Very Very Very Tiny Worlds!

Another new minifigure release by bootLEGO maker Shang Yuan is this wonderful tiny Galactus.

I don't follow much Marvel, let alone Fantastic Four or Galactus  himself, but you gotta love the Jack Kirby-ness of this guy. 'Dat Headpiece!

Galactus came with this staff/jewel - not sure if it is anything he may have carried around in the comics, but it's a nice bonus. He also came with a base and Galactus-symbol mini build, but I chose to photograph him standing on an official LEGO minifigure base for some reason. Mostly useless extra bits, but at least Sheng Yuan are reigning themselves in from past mini-builds that were utterly useless and ridiculous and just resulted in a pile of inferior bricks in your possession.

Galactus himself is just shy of LEGO quality, and I just can't imagine any scenario where a person wouldn't want a Galactus minifigure in their collection, be they a fan of the Fantastic Four or not. He's so utterly Kirby and everything awesome about the mad comics-fever-dream that went along with all the stuff The King created.

Get one!

Hawkeye Meets Hawkeye :: Sheng Yuan Bootleg Minifigures

Let me make one thing clear - I prefer my comic book archers in green.

That said, I acquired these two Sheng Yuan bootLEGO Hawkeyes as part of the 8 figure lot that included Galactus, Cyborg and a few others. I wouldn't have sought them out specifically, but they are great minifigures in their own rights.

Here are the bases/symbols Sheng Yuan has begun including with their most recent releases. As you can see, in true bootleg fashion the symbols don't always line up. I also just looked back on the official images of these things and realized I built them wrong. That's what happens when you don't include instructions, Sheng Yuan!

I am especially fond of the comicbook version of Hawkeye, specifically because he is a unique release - LEGO hasn't made a comicbook version of Hawkeye.

He may not be wearin' the green, but he does have a great comic-book look.

I'm not sure what version of the movie version of Hawkeye this is - I know LEGO has made a few, and this might be a direct rip-off or it might be unique to Sheng Yuan. Perhaps someone could fill me in in the comments?