Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We here at Toyriffic hope you get tons of candy and NO ROCKS!

BONUS TREATS: My intern insisted on adding some other toys to my ghost shot line-up:

Ghosts and a Velociraptor, because all dinosaurs are dead so they would naturally be ghosts by this point in history.

Ghosts and a puppy! Because even restless souls love puppies.

Ghosts and a pig! Wasn't there something about a pig ghost in Amytiville Horror?

Have a ghostly Halloween!

Random Halloween Toy Pic :: Getting To Know You

Werewolf Problems #347: Never go to the dog park during a full moon.

Imaginext Series 6 Blind Bag Figures Available NOW! :: NOW WITH CODES!

Out of the clear blue nowhere a gentleman over at the Imaginext Generation Facebook page just found Imaginext Series 6 blind bags at a Fred Meyer in Burien Washington! EDIT: And another member has confirmed all the codes:

Godzilla 00 
Amelia Earhart 02
Gnome 04 
Alien 05 
Chicken Suit Guy 06 
Jester 99

Series 6 only includes six figures, and they're an interesting mix. A guy in a chicken suit, Amelia Earhart, a lawn gnome warrior (huh?), a scary-ass jester, a guy in a Godzilla/Mechagodzilla suit, and a four-armed alien.

I have to admit this is a weird line-up, but the jester and Godzilla are must-haves for me. Amelia Earhart is pretty awesome too, to be totally honest.

I can't help but wonder why Fisher-Price only released six in this wave. Are they rushing them out the door as fast as they can to keep up with demand? Or are they running out of steam and or creativity (this wave does seem far less inspired than past waves.) If I had to guess, I'd say they are making smaller waves so they can release more waves closer together to meet demand. Series 1 had ten figures, so they've been dwindling them since day one, adjusting wave counts for whatever reason they see fit. I don't know, but I'll surely be on the lookout for these now!

Random Halloween Pic :: I Got a Rock...Lord

Last weekend I stumbled on a beautiful specimen of Rock Lord-dom. Boulder - the leader of the good rocks!

Rock Lords are stupider than shit but damned if I didn't love them as a kid.

Rocks that transform into robots.

W
T
F.

I really wish I had held on to all of the ones I had when I was a kid. But I didn't, and they rarely show up during my second-hand hunting. So when I found a near minty fresh Boulder at the flea market last weekend for two bucks I had to have him even though i think I might have a less perfect one around Toyriffic headquarters somewhere.

This one even has his gun! The tab that holds it to his wrist is broken but that's not a big deal since I haven't seen Boulder's gun since I was a wee lad.

Boulder....he turns into a rock...HEROICALLY!

Happy Back to the Future Day!

Today, October 21st 2015, is the day in the future Marty and Doc traveled to in Back to the Future Part 2. And obviously they SERIOUSLY screwed up the timestream because...

...while hoverboards are a scientific fact (but not a kid's toy by Mattel...yet), flying cars are not in every garage. LAME!

Oh well. The future may not be all that the movies promised us it would be, but at least toys both past and present are still awesome!

This batch of Back to the Future toys came to me via Mason at D.I Treasures. They were released in McDonald's Happy Meals waaaaay back in the dark ages of 1992.

Here's that kid who touches himself on the train in Back to the Future 3. In a motorized bathtub. because reasons.

And here's the dog on a sparkly train. For other reasons.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go jump in my flying DeLoreon and watch Jaws 19.

AAAHH! Real Monsters The Gromble :: Random Halloween Toy Pic

Aaahh! Real Monsters action figures never show up on my flea market hunts. Ok, not 'never', they only show up ONCE EVER! And this is it: The Gromble.

This guy reminds me of something from The Beatles' Yellow Submarine (and makes me regret giving up my Blue Meanie action figure years ago.) He also looks like he was set too close to a candle as his left ear/fin is a bit singed. He's missing some sort of launchable character that flew from his mouth too, but whatever, he's a goofy looking monster and it's almost Halloween, so yeah.

Imaginext Mr. Freeze 'Dive Armor' Containment Suit

Spotted this Imaginext Pirate Dive Suit repainted into a Mr. Freeze containment suit at Toys R Us today. It is part of the Toys R Us exclusive Gotham City Collection, and they wanted around $20 for it. It is certainly a brilliant re-use of the Bioshock inspired Pirate Dive Suit, and were that not such a perfect toy I'd regret having picked it up in lieu of this Mr. Freeze version. But the Imaginext Big Daddy is pretty great, so I'm okay having the other, and can't really justify having two of them even if one is a Mr. Freeze version. At least, not for $20!

Random Halloween Toy Pic :: Lexington

I find Gargoyles action figures at the flea market all the time. Sadly, 99.9% of the time they are missing their wings, their tails, or both. More often, both.

But when I find them complete I have a hard time walking away from them, even though I only watched a handful of episodes.

This Gargoyle is named Lexington, and I was lucky enough to find him the other day with both wings and his tail too!

Monster High Spectra Vondergeist Minifigure by Mega Bloks

In addition to the Monster High Venus McFlytrap Mega Bloks minifigure, I also picked up the Mega Bloks Spectra Vondergeist minifigure!

What can I say, I am a fan of pale women of Germanic descent.

I like ghosts, so Spectra was a must-have. And she's not just pale, Spectra has the added cool factor of arms that fade to clear. Spooky!

As far as buildable minfigures go, these Monster High Skullection Series 1 girls are pretty great. Spectra breaks down to a hairpiece, head, torso, necklace, skirt and legs/hips. She also came with a tomb shaped cell phone, a bracelet and a base. I have no complaints about the two I have so far, and they only tempt me to buy more.

Except, you know, then I'd have an actual Monster High collection and I'm not so sure I'm ready for that level of girly commitment.

Imaginext Bigfoot

Bigfoot here, with his pet fish, finally came to Toyriffic World Headquarters via a trade with Mason of D.I Treasures!

Originally released in Imaginext's blind bag Series 2, which was somehow a series that blew through my area so fast I completely missed it. Bigfoot is an awesome American legend so it's great to have his Imaginext version finally become part of the collection. Thanks Mason!

But wait...there's something not right about this guy...

HEY! It's just a guy PRETENDING to be Bigfoot! Just like, well, every Bigfoot ever (that ought to elicit some interesting comments!)

You have to admit that it's pretty clever of Imaginext to release Bigfoot as a guy dressed as Bigfoot. It's so meta!

Random Halloween Toy Pic :: Wolfman HAD Nards

Now the only question is, Wolfman has insurance?

My intern wanted me to join in while she was playing with her Playmobil Vet set. She didn't appreciate me adding Wolman to the mix.

I think Wolfman appreciated it even less.

Duplo Batman, Joker and Batmobile!

This blog has been getting a bit too girly lately, so let's bring it back to manliness with some toddler toys!

Duplo started releasing Batman and some of his pals about a year or two ago. It's taken me this long to get some because I like to rely on the flea market for gathering figures which come in expensive sets that contain a bunch of components I don't need around the house. Well, the flea market finally came through in spades the other weekend when I found not only Batman...

 ...but his Batmobile too!

I had seen the Duplo Batman/Batmobile set in stores but never really looked all that closely at the Batmobile itself. I hadn't really thought about it until I owned this thing, but it's amazing that the Batmobile they went with is the '89 Keaton/Burton movie Batmobile. I mean, think about it: 25 plus years later and Duplo goes straight to the '89 movie (this isn't 'inspired by', this IS the '89 Batmobile!) They even sculpted in the machine gun ports, fer-cryin-out-loud! This is literally a toy that SHOULD have existed 25 years ago, just now being slapped on toy store shelves. That's pretty awesome, and I'm delighted to have added this Batmobile to my collection.

Ironically the set did not come with an all black '89 Batman, but a blue-grey batman.

The Batmobile breaks down to two pieces (three if you count the flame.) A wheeled base and the chassis.

When I found Batman and the Batmobile I also found the Duplo Joker. My intern already has a Duplo circus so I experienced that awkward moment...

...when I realized the Duplo Circus contains the Joker in disguise!

Seriously, that's the go-to Duplo clown above, and below...

...is Duplo's Joker!

Sadly my flea market Joker has some scratches on his face - he may have pushed Catwoman too far in his previous toy life. Or some kid stepped on him and drove his face into the concrete. But he only cost a dollar, so I figured he'll do until I can find a cleaner specimen.

Duplo Joker also goes well with the Duplo clowns we already have lying around. He has a built-in gang!

"That disguise doesn't fool me, Joker!"

The Duplo Red Triangle Circus Gang.

Back to the Batcave!

It Came from The Dolly Aisle! Monster High Venus Mcflytrap by Mega Bloks

This blog is being overrun by dollies! Be afraid, be very afraid!

Actually this Venus Mcflytrap (Hello, Mcflytrap? Hello!) came from the Mega Blok aisle, not the dolly aisle, but that doesn't sound nearly as scary.

I wonder if she has a brother named Marty?

And she's not a dolly, she's a buildable minifigure! She's a Monster High buildable minifigure yes, but a buildable minifigure nonetheless. So I get a free pass here, ok?

Also, she's a pretty good stand-in for Poison Ivy. If only her hair were red and not pink. Oh well, perhaps Poison Ivy went through a punk phase in High School.

These Monster High minifigures are pretty cool. The parts interchangeability really enhances the monster theme. Collect them all and make your own wacky creation!

Venus Mcflytrap breaks down to a hairpiece, head, torso, vest, skirt and legs/hips (the legs seem like they'd pop on and off the ball joint pretty easily too, but that's not an advertised feature.) She also came with a tomb shaped cell phone or journal or whatever, a bracelet and a base piece to stand on. Quite a nice dolly minifigure for your dollar, since at the same price as LEGO minifigures you're getting quite a bit more bang for your buck here.

If you like Monster High dollies, you pretty much have to get some of these. If you like buildable minifigures, you'll have to decide if you're man enough to admit you need some of these.

I am.

Monster High Ghouls Skullection Series 1 Minifigures

I recently heard about these Monster High Ghouls Skullection minifigures from Mega Bloks, but only just found them at retail today. My older daughter went through a Monster High phase and I always liked the concept, even if the dolls could benefit from a couple sandwiches.

I found a whole fresh box at Toys R Us and picked up Spectra Vondergeist and Venus McFlytrap. The former because if I had to pick a favorite 'monster' it would definitely be ghosts, poltergeists and general spooky apparitions - no movies ever scare me more than ghost movies - and the latter because she might as well be a teenaged Poison Ivy.

The figures translate well into this pseudo-LEGO-Friends aesthetic. And even though they are only inches high, their limbs are about the same thickness as their larger dolly counterparts. Just kidding. A little.

Spectra is especially awesome because her arms 'fade' to clear plastic at her wrists down to her hands. She was also only packed two to the box, so she may be short packed but I don't know how shipments across the nation are panning out. I didn't count how many of any other figures there were, the only reason I did so with Spectra was because the first one I grabbed had some scraped paint so I wanted to find a better specimen.

Other figures in Series 1 are: Frankie Stein, Ghoulia Yelps, Lagoona Blue, Clawdeen Wolf, and the twins Meowlody and Purrsephone. And in addition to the single packed minifigures, there are larger buildable playsets too!

The best part? These aren't blind-bagged/boxed! You can see who you are getting right there through the clear plastic bubble. What a concept!

Lights, Camera, Movie Star Donatello!

I found a bag of random thrift store fodder the other day and bought it just to get my hands on Movie Star Don! Released by Playmates back in 1992, these figures are...odd. Made of a softer rubber to emulate...rubber, and spotted all over like the Turtles picked up some sort of venereal disease from that 'globe' trotting reporter friend of theirs, this is the first one of the Movie Star themed TMNT figures I've ever owned. And faults aside, he isn't too bad. There are only five points of articulation, shoulders, neck and hips, but the rubberized arms and the plastic ball joints allow for some good articulation and poses. Mine is missing his belt and all accessories, but he's in good physical shape for a turtle of his age, and any scuffs he suffers from add to his 'realism', which was the actual goal of the toy manufacturers when they made this weird TMNT sub-theme. I think.

Q-Pop 66 Batman :: Random Toy Pic

I've seen these cutesy Q-Pop Batman statues at the comic book store, and they're super cute but not something I need to fill my quickly shrinking space with. But when I found this '66 Batman version at the flea market for a dollar (I talked the guy down from his two dollar asking price) well, this thing is heading to work with me on Monday and it's going to grace my desk with all it's cute vengeance seeking glory.