Random Toy Reviews

JoeFest 2024

2024-06-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

Hot on the heels of attending the annual HeroesCon in my home town of Charlotte, NC, the next weekend the family headed down to Atlanta for a quick trip to the Georgia Aquarium. On the way back we stopped in Augusta, GA for JoeFest 2024!

I attended JoeFest the previous year, but was only able to make it on Sunday. It was such a great show that I knew I wanted to attend it again, but this time make it for Saturday. Since we were driving back from Atlanta however, we had a hotel room in Augusta Friday evening. This allowed me to check out some of the free events that took place in the hotel/convention center after the sneak preview night wrapped up at around 8 PM. One the way there I couldn't help notice passing a factory of some sorts that looked like it could have been Destro's place of operations!

When I arrived, I followed the crowd to an area just below the 2nd floor entrance from the parking deck. It wasn't long before staff showed up along with the Sergeant himself, Sgt. Slaughter! I don't recall how many figures were included in this year's parachute drop, but the team up above started to throw figures out to the mob of rabid fans waiting below. T-Shirts were also tossed out, but I wasn't fortunate enough to land any of the freebies. It was fun however witnessing all of the fans and feeling the excite building for JoeFest.

After the parachute drop, the crowed then headed back up to the 2nd floor and down the hall into a long room. They were allowing anyone basically to come and set up their wares for everyone to buy/sell/trade. I had no idea what to expect and boy was it overwhelming. The room really was too small for this amount of people and it didn't help that people were literally sitting in the middle of the floor with boxes trying to sell their items. There were large round tables still in the middle of the room so it was very hard trying to navigate the room. Once I made it down the left side, there was an area that was more open and far less crowded. While I didn't know at the time, this was the panel room were various panels would be hosted on Saturday and Sunday. Sitting by the glass windows that overlooked the sales floor was a huge custom built GI Joe Cobra Mothership. This was particularly interesting to see since Super 7's crowd funding project to build a Cobra Mothership recently failed.

This thing was massive, sitting on a 6 foot (?) table and easily hanging off the edges. I don't know what it was made out of, but it was looked awesome. I tried to walk around the table and get multiple angles of the ship. Very impressive indeed. If a fan was able to craft something so awesome it does make me wonder what Super 7's version looked like in person.

While crowds don't always bother me, I was feeling tired and cramped so I attempted to make my way back out of the room so I could head back to my car. I stopped at one guy's "booth" up against the wall and looked through some bagged figures. I didn't go into JoeFest with a want list per se this year so I was just browsing everyone's offerings, looking for something that caught my eye. Eventually I spotted a near-complete 1988 Storm Shadow. This is the version of Storm Shadow after he had defected from Cobra and joined the GI Joe ranks. I had this figure growing up so I asked if I could remove the container from the corkboard to take a closer look. The figure was missing the black claw and the red sword and priced at $25. I asked if he would take $20 and he agreed. First official purchase was in the books!

I stopped and chatted with another fellow just before exiting the room. He had some cool stuff as well, but what grabbed me was a sealed Cobra Wave Crusher from the 2000 era Collector's line that Toys 'R Us carried. I had the toy once before and the SHARC that it was based on was one of my favorite small/medium Joe vehicles as a kid. I ended up making an offer of $30 which the dealer accepted. The box had some water damage, but I knew I was going to open/assemble/sticker the vehicle so I didn't care. I do have to say it was a little frustrating trying to assemble the toy as it's been a very long time since I've done that. I still have to sticker it and after doing so, I may do an individual post on it.

Finally escaping the room, I made my way back to the parking deck to head home. By this time it was only 9 PM or so, but I was ready to grab some food and get some rest before returning on Saturday for the "main event". I called the wife, got a Wendy's order from the family and made my way back.

Saturday morning came and we prepared to head back to the convention center. My wife and oldest daughter dropped me and my youngest daughter, Winnie, off at JoeFest, then they preceding to go shopping elsewhere. Winnie decided to accompanying me for the day so I wouldn't have to fly solo. While she likes some of the things I like, she is very much her own person and I appreciate her hanging out with her old man for the day. As we made it inside and to the ticket booth to pick up our wristbands, we had a little time before the sales floor opened up at 10 AM. In the lobby a newcomer to the scene had their table set up, Legends of the Hidden Temple.

They had a Kickstarter campaign that was just wrapping up at last year's JoeFest. I enjoyed talking to the creators of this new 3 3/4" ninja themed o-ring series of toys last year, so it was great seeing them again this year. They filled me in on some of the updates to the line and I even got to hold one of the near-production level figures. While I'm not a crazy ninja fan, I love what they are doing and I highly recommend you check them out. If you missed out on their Kickerstarter, you can currently pre-order (some of) their figures over at BBTS.

Also set up in the lobby just outside the main entrance to the sales floor was YouTuber's Pixel Dan and Dan Larson from Secret Galaxy (aka Toy Galaxy). I didn't get a chance to speak to either of them as each time we walked by the table there was quite the crowd and I usually had a destination that I needed to get to.

Once the clock struck 10 AM and we were allowed to enter the sales floor, wow, I was amazed by the sheer amount of vendors. Kudos to the promoters of the show as the layout was excellent. The aisles were wide and I never felt overwhelmed with the number of people navigating the room. We decided to work the perimeter of the room first, which took several hours. Usually I don't buy the first thing I see, rather opting to check out the entire room before pulling out the wallet. However I have missed out on things before by using this strategy so when I saw a loose, complete GI Joe L.A.W. for just $12 I pounced. First purchase of Saturday made!

I had the L.A.W. growing up and while it's not the most interesting playset/accessory for the Joe line, for whatever reason I've always enjoyed this piece. I knew $12 was a great price too and it was in good overall shape so I figured it was a safe purchase. After walking around the show later in the day I realized it was a great deal at $12 as most people wanted $25 or more for theirs.

Up against the end wall was a large spread, courtesy of the Toy Department. I believe I heard one of their people say they were based out of Ohio and were regulars at various toy shows. They had a lot of stuff and their prices were very fair and competitive. I would later re-visit this table at the end of the show, but I first grabbed a loose, complete Night Viper from the Ninja Force subline and a loose, complete Cobra Viper from the Battle Corps. subline. I had neither of these toys growing up and frankly for a long time I could have cared less for the wild, bright neon colors of the figures and their accessories. However over the years I've really started to pay more attention to the latter years of the original A Real American Hero line. Priced at just $10 each, I grabbed them both all the way "bookmarking" other items to come back to later.

As I said, it took awhile to make it around the perimeter of the room. By the time we made it back to the entrance, it was time for lunch. My wife and daughter were waiting for us in the lobby. True to my wife's detective skills, she had already located a place a few blocks away called Taco Cat for lunch. I never will turn down Mexican food so off we went. Located just off Broad Street in the downtown area of Augusta, Taco Cat was a modern, hip even type joint. My wife and I devoured a few tacos each while my girls shared a large quesadilla.

After eating, I had the energy I needed to head back and tackle the vendors on the inside portion of the sales floor. Once back inside we picked up where we left off, walking around looking at the various vendors as well as the independent companies there showing off their brands. One of my favorite aspects of the previous year was talking to said companies. This year however more of these companies were present and most of them had figures and other items you could purchase. This of course made it tough to decide how to spend my money! I like to support these independent projects, but I only have so much $$ to go around.

In the 3 3/4" o-ring arena, I was able to visit several different booths such as Call Sign: Longbow, Skeletron, Maurauders and Delta-17. With the exception of the latter, there wasn't much to purchase by the time I made it around, however I'm very intrigued with what I saw. I hated that I forgot to go back to Delta-17's table before leaving as I wanted to pick up their comic, which debuted at JoeFest.

Skeletron had set up an awesome battle scene on table directly behind their booth that was a sight to behold! Doesn't seeing epic displays like this just help sell the toys even more?

Super 7 made their JoeFest debut this year and it was rumored that they would be unveiling their new line of o-ring style GI Joe figures. Well it didn't take long for photos to hit the interwebs Friday evening of the show. I couldn't wait to see these for myself so we made our way to their booth to check them out. I know a lot of collectors don't care for Super 7's Reaction line of figures, but how will long time fans react to this new Reaction + series? Personally, I think they look awesome and I can't wait to see the final product. Don't know how much these will run yet, but I'm guessing $25-$30.

In the 1/12th scale arena there were also several cool set ups to view. BigBadToyStore was present, not as a vendor per se, but showing off items from partnerships they've made with a few of these small companies. Check out the awesome display for their upcoming Operation: Monster Force series...truly awesome!

The Four Horsemen had a large spread as well. I am familiar with them for their efforts in Mattel's Masters of the Universe 200X series. I knew they had moved on to Mythic Legions and another new line. but they had this small Egyptian themed display that really caught my daughter's attention. I know nothing about this other than it's probably an upcoming line.

In one of the corners of the room (near the Toy Department's booth) was another new comer that I wasn't familiar with, Invincible Toys. I believe these guys were there straight from Columbia, South America! The line they had present with them was called F.I.S.T. and looked pretty awesome. So much so I grabbed one figure (Doom Trooper) and their comic. Look for a more detailed post on the Doom Trooper figure "soon".

On Invincible Toys' table they also had some resign prototypes displayed for a more real world military line, however these were from a different company (which unfortunately their name escapes me at the moment). These are highly detailed, have animal companions and looks interesting. The "villains" however are a little too realistic? An Arab with dynamite strapped to their chest...authentic, yes, but is it out of place?

By this time the day was quickly coming to an end and it was finally time for me to make my final purchases. We headed back to the opposite side of the sales floor over to Eternia Dreams massive booth. I knew going in I wanted to look for a few of the Star Brigade figures in the oversized armor outfits. While I love the carded specimens, I have no room to display carded figures so I was on the lookout for some loose, complete versions. I wound up grabbing Heavy Duty for $15 to go w/ the Destro and Rock 'n Roll I already had at home. We then headed back over to the Toy Department's booth and I grabbed this semi-carded Star Brigade Cobra B.A.A.T. for $20 as well as a loose, complete ROBO-Joe figure for $10.

The only booth that we hadn't visited earlier in the day was located near the middle and turned out to be Crowe Mag Toys out of Raleigh, NC. When we first walked by their booth, Pixel Dan was being filmed while he shopped so I didn't want to bother. Right before we stopped at this booth, I had been telling my daughter that I was really bummed that I couldn't find a loose, complete Cobra Earthquake vehicle. Well wouldn't you know it, there was one on the bottom shelf, in the corner of Crowe Mag's booth for just $60. I snatched up pretty quickly, especially after verifying that the 3 "drop & shoot" missiles were included as these are often missing.

It was 5 o'clock now and the show was ending. We had a two hour drive home and my wife and daughter had been patiently waiting since lunch, so we decided to head out. Before leaving though we stopped back off at the Hidden Force table to grab two really cool prints they were offering. Need to find a suitable place in the man cave for them. This was an awesome show and one that is quickly becoming one of my favorite summer events to attend. I'm already looking forward to 2025's show and next time I'll come a little more prepared. After fiddling around w/ the neon colored Joes I bought, I think Ninja Force and more Star Brigade toys will be on the next year's want list!

Just Trucks: 1999 Chevrolet Silverado Dually (Wave 38)

2024-02-25T21:03:00.000-05:00

Just Trucks: 1958 Chevrolet Apache Stepside (Wave 38)

2024-02-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Just Trucks: 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne (Wave 37)

2024-02-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

Just Trucks: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado (Wave 32)

2024-02-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

Just Trucks: 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne (Wave 16)

2024-02-25T20:59:00.001-05:00

Just Trucks: 1999 Chevrolet Silverado Dually (Wave 16)

2024-02-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: He-Man

2024-02-21T17:17:00.001-05:00

Have you ever purchased a new toy that you really weren't sure about, just because it was the only thing new on the pegs/shelves at the time? I'm pretty sure that is how this figure ended up in my hands! While I'm not the biggest MOTU fan, I do enjoy the franchise and I was excited to see a new iteration show up on Netflix as well as at retail. I knew this series wasn't aimed at me, but I like toys and this line got the better of my curiosity...so here we go!

The line launched in 2021 and while there were different scaled figures released, the core line was based on a 5.5 inch size figure. While the series takes a lot of cues from the classic Masters of the Universe mythos, most of the characters have been redesigned and feature a more "cartoony" look. He-Man for example has larger arms than legs, but somehow the design still works.

He-Man is sporting a new look armor and more of his skin is covered up this time around, no more loin cloth. His chest and legs are covered in dark blue, a skin tight armor perhaps? There are silver armor bits on the upper body, a silver belt around the waist and a pair of silver boots. He-Man is also sporting some oversized wrist bracers. On his chest is a red logo which resembles the new power sword. There is a hole on the back of the armor that allows the power sword to be stowed.

The figure has limited articulation - head, arms and legs basically. This alone will be a deal breaker for some, but it didn't bother me. Sometimes when you add in all the various joints, it breaks up the overall look and feel of the figure and with these being stylized as-is the limited articulation works fine in my book.

The new power sword itself is massive. Both the hilt and the blade are oversized, which to be honest fits with the whole design of the line. The sword hilt is cast in a gold plastic while the blade is silver with a good amount of detailing in the mold itself. Because of the way it attaches to the figure, there is a small 5mm peg on one side of the sword. This detracts from the overall look, even though it's a small detail.

Overall this series just isn't my cup of tea. I can appreciate a fresh take on the classic Masters of the Universe mythos, but this isn't aimed an old timer like myself. The best part of line was that it was affordable, with most figures priced at just $10 USD. Even in early 2024 I've still found toys from this series hanging around retail stores, albeit discount or close out stores. If you like this version of He-Man or the line as a whole, great...for me, I'll put my money towards the Origins line.

Machine Robo Unitroborn Unitrobo: Penguincamera

2024-02-19T20:12:00.000-05:00

One of the smaller sets in the Unitroborn set features a 35mm camera and a penguin. Confused by the odd pairing? Don't be as this strange combination falls perfectly in line with this crazy, but fun series of Machine Robo toys.

This thing is tiny, measuring about 2 inches long. The camera is molded in black and gray plastic and features more detail than I would have thought, especially since it's so small. On the top there is a place for a flash to be attached along with sculpted buttons. The black plastic that wraps around the camera has a textured finish, similar to what you'd find on a real camera. The combination ports are located on the back of the camera.

The other piece to this set is this small, adorable penguin. Other than viewing them at the zoo, I don't know much about these animals. The figure is mostly gray with accents of black and white used on the head. This non-articulated penguin hides the combination ports on it's back side.

To combine the two, simply stand the camera up on the lens as this will form the lower half / legs of the robot. Place the back of the penguin down on the back of the camera and line up the combination ports and push down, this will trigger the spring loaded transformation.

Much like with Bulldozerburger, the combined form is more of a traditional robot. The penguin splits in half to form the top half of the robot while the camera forms the lower half. While the camera lens makes for some pretty good robot legs, the back of the camera gives him some mighty wide hips! There is a small audio equalizer sticker applied to the chest of the robot and like with many of the other releases, the robot's eyes are music notes. The robot arms are short and thin and are not articulated.

So far I've purchased a few of the smaller sets and they have all been fun to mess around with, present company included. The robot proportions are a little off, but if you can look past that you'll find that you have another solid, fun Unitroborn set.

Inhumanoids: Redsun

2024-02-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

The 80's was home to several great toylines and one such was Inhumanoids. Released by Hasbro in 1986, this series of toys features so truly crazy toys. Supported by a short lived animated television series, there was one series of figures released and it featured a varied sizes of toys. The Mutores were heroic creatures that aided the human Earth Corps. One such species of Mutores were the living trees, the Redwoods. Three different toys were released, all the same mold, just in different colors: Redwoods, Redlen and Redsun.

These chunky action figures feature four points of articulation (it's limbs...get it?). The figures are relatively light for their size, each standing at about 4 inches give or take. There are two gimmicks included, the first being light piping.

Located on the top of the figure is a section of green plastic that helps illuminate the eerie looking green eyes of the character. Shine some light directly into this plastic and you'll get some remarkable results!

The other gimmick is that the figure can "grow". The center of the figure is segmented into three sections. Gently pull up on the figure to reveal each section. Fully extended the figure essentially doubles in height, measuring nearly 8 inches tall.

A lot of the Inhumanoids toys are rather simple figures and I don't think they have aged that well (minus the three large 14" tall Inhumanoid monsters), but I found the Redwood toys to be a little more entertaining. Finding boxed specimens on the secondary market can be challenging and when you do find one be prepared to pay, but if you can settle on a loose figure they aren't as hard to find or as expensive.

Greenlight Collectibles: Showroom Floor - 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe RST

2024-02-11T08:57:00.000-05:00

2022 Chevrolet Tahoe RST

Hot Wheels: 2022 Collection - '21 Ford Bronco (Mud Studs #1)

2024-02-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

'21 Ford Bronco (Mud Studs #1)

Hot Wheels: 2023 Collection - Nissan Custom Patrol (J-Imports #1)

2024-02-11T08:54:00.001-05:00

Nissan Patrol Custom (J-Imports #1)

Hot Wheels: 2023 Collection - '76 Greenwood Corvette (Art Cars #7)

2024-02-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

'76 Greenwood Corvette (Art Cars #7)

Transformers Legacy United: Magneous

2024-02-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

One of the greatest things with the Legacy line of Transformers is the sheer variety of characters, or even new characters such as Magneous. Part of the new Infernac Universe, this rocky character draws references from both the Headmasters cartoon series from Japan as well as the Rock Lords from Gobots lore. The latter is one of the reasons I grabbed this figure. If the word Infernac rings a bell, it's because its from a past Hasbro property, Inhumanoids. While not everything has to connect in some way, I've always thought Inhumanoids was already loosely linked to the world of Transformers thanks to the old Sunbow cartoon with appearances by the report, Hector Ramirez.

At first glance this figure does resemble a Rock Lord character, which I'm sure is something the designers were going for. However it you look a little closer, you can see parts of the alternate form, which is essential a rock on wheels. Magneous is an Amorizer, which means you can deconstruct the figure into smaller pieces that can be attached to other/larger Transformers and used as armor. This is the same concept as Weaponizers and Fossilizers. Now if you are looking for what the armor pieces look like when disassembled, I'm going to disappoint you because I don't care for this feature so I've skipped it.

I love the headsculpt of Magneous, the darker colored face plate and the small yellow eyes. The uneven shards on the forehead are also a nice touch.

Magneous can wield his own parks as weapons. The top of his vehicle mode doubles as a shield for defensive purposes. Offensively he wields a pick axe weapon. I do have to admit that he looks pretty menacing all armed up.

The alternate mode is that of an armored truck. If it weren't for the defined windows on the cab, it would be a little harder to make out what the vehicle mode is. The rocky detail, the shading applied looks fantastic. This makes me think how great a modern, proper Rock Lord character could look.

With the Armorizers not having a traditional transformation and with Magneous being a new character, I can see how not every fan/collector would like this figure. I for one however am impressed and I can't wait to see more characters from the Infernac Universe in the near future.

Auto World: 1984 Dodge Caravan - Release 1, Version A

2024-02-05T17:47:00.000-05:00

Mighty Minivans series

1984 Dodge Caravan

Release 1, Version A

Limited Edition

Premium Facts...

* This is the first release of our all-new

1984 Dodge Caravan casting!

* Lee Iacocca headed up

the Caravan project,

helping revive Chrysler from

financial peril. In the first year

alone, over 209,000 units were sold.

BL4/3558

Beige Crystal Coat

WWE Elite Collection Series 95: Shotzi

2024-02-04T18:38:00.003-05:00

Just in time for tonight's WWE NXT Vengeance Day Premium Live Event, we take a look at Shotzi's very first WWE Elite Collection figure.

Shotzi (Blackheart) is one of my favorite female wrestlers. I first started following her when she was in NXT, particularly one of the In Your House shows. Maybe it was the bright neon green hair that caught my attention, or just her high flying wrestling style, she was a lot of fun to watch. This figure is based off her more modern look, prior to her shaving her head in support of her sister who was going through cancer treatments. The only thing missing to complete this figure is her TCB (Taking Care of Business) tank she uses on her ring entrances.

This figure is so striking, from her outfit to her detailed tattoos to the likeness Mattel was able to capture of her. Shotzi is long hair that drapes over her shoulders over onto her back. It's one molded piece and detailed. Her mouth is sculpted open with her tongue sticking out, appropriate for her. I kind of wish she had another head included with her mouth closed. Shotzi has worn a few different ring attire, but this one with the yellow lightning bolt is her signature ring gear. Like most of the woman wrestlers, she has hose printed on her legs and there are several places where the netting is tore.

Other than Shotzi's green hair, she's known for her tattoos. I've seen a lot of wrestling figures' tattoos before, but not a figure with this many. Both arms are wrapped in tattoos, even her chest and stomach! Mattel has done a fantastic job capturing all of this detail. Even better the colors on these tattoos pop, making them look that much better.

I knew she was a fan of horror pop culture so I had fun carefully looking at her various tattoo. I especially like the 'creature from the black lagoon' on one of her shoulders.

Check out that elaborate spider/web tattoo on her belly! While I think it looks great, I can't but help think of how painful that must've been!

Shotzi comes with three accessories, her signature horned helmet and an additional pair of hands. Out of the package she had an open posed hand and one "devil horns" hand. Articulation is your standard fare for an Elite figure. The double jointed elbows were super tight on mine. The rubber knee pads hinder the leg/knee articulation. You can slide them up and down on the leg/thigh a little to increase the range of movement, but not enough to bend the knee to a 90 degree angle.

Over all this is a fantastic figure and it's one of my favorite. The level of detail captured from head to toe is excellent. Sometimes a wrestler's first Elite figure can leave a lot to be desired, but not in this case. This is a solid figure and highly recommended if you are a fan of hers.

Computer Warriors: Romm (w/ PC Board)

2024-01-23T21:17:00.000-05:00

While I have a lot of fond memories of 80's & 90's toys, Computer Warriors is not one of them. I vaguely remember seeing this line, but with it's short life space (it ran from 1989 to 1990) and no animated series to accompany the toys, I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't have a strong connection to this line. That isn't a dig meant towards this line as it does have some great designs. I'd love to dive deeper into the series, however price and availability are issues.

The premises behind the series is decent, but the real star of the show are the toys themselves...well at least some of them. I don't have the cool computer, Pepsi can or even the transformable soccer ball. The only sealed example I could find (and afford) was one from the basic series with that being Romm and his transforming PC Board. The artwork used on the packaging was beautiful and really painted a great picture of what it would be like to play w/ the various toys. Like with a lot of 80's toys, there was a small bio for the character on the back of the packaging.

My first impression upon removing the toy from it's aging blister card was a little underwhelming. The PC Board (that transforms into a glider) was made of a very thin plastic. You'll notice it's gold and yes, it does suffer from GPS (Gold Plastic Syndrome). Shortly after I finished taking these pictures part of the board snapped in half. This is a known issue with old gold plastic so I should have thought to handle it with more care.

In addition to the included Romm figure, there is a small gray blaster and an additional piece that holds the figure in place when in glider mode.

One side of the PC Board has pre-applied stickers that gives it a rather convincing look of circuitry, while the back of the board has molded details. The board is rather small and made of thin plastic, but overall it looks pretty decent. There are small ports on each side that allow the two included accessories to be attached when in glider mode.

The small harness can be attached the bottom of the board allowing the Romm figure to be attached. I assume this was more for storage so that everything could be kept in once place when not in play?

Transforming the PC Board into glider mode is rather simple, just rotate each side down and out to for the wings. Attach the harness to the middle and the gun onto the tip. For the most part, Romm fits snugly into the harness. When handling/transforming the toy, just be mindful of those "hinges" on each side as they can become brittle.

Romm here is the heroic leader of the Computer Warriors faction. All of the Computer Warrior figures are just 2 inches tall with 4 points of articulation - shoulders/legs. The back of the figures are made to look like computer circuitry. I had some photos to show this detail, but they got corrupted as I took these images years ago.

Overall I like the idea behind this line. There were some great toy lines back in the 80's that featured smaller figures (Dino-Riders, M.A.S.K. all come to mind) so I liked the smaller play pattern. Of course I'm also a fan of transforming toys so had this series had better exposure and possibly some sort of media tie in (there was an animated VHS "series" released) then maybe more kids would have been on board?

If you are in the market to acquire some Computer Warrior toys, packaged and sealed specimens can be found on eBay, but be prepared to pay for some of the larger sets.

KO Korner: Double Dragon (Monsterbot Doublecross)

2023-12-05T13:31:00.000-05:00

I can't exactly remember when or who I acquired this nice little piece from, but it's one of the few boxed G1 Transformers KOs that I still have in my collection. From what I can tell, this is a Korean release and is obviously based off the Autobot Monsterbot, Doublecross. In small print across the bottom it says Dae Dong Co. The box is made of a very thin/cheap cardboard. The colors are still quite vibrant. The large black front at the top of the box translates to Tususa Ssangyong Robot, however I'm not sure how accurate that is. The diagonal font across the middle reads "Dragon, the son of fire, who fights for justice!" "He came to us to preserve peace on Earth."

The figure comes nestled inside a very cheap plastic tray. This insert is so brittle you have to take the utmost care removing or inserting the figure. The plastic in the bottom of each recessed area is very thin. You can see the figure comes bundled with two accessories the original Doublecross did not come with, a large red sword and a blue shield. I have no idea of these accessories were "borrowed" from another toy release or are unique to this release. The sticker on the shield appears to be some type of unicorn?

Double Dragon comes molded in a very bright huge of blue, red and yellow. The plastic quality is surprisingly better than I expected. It's not oily or too light feeling, but of course not on par with the plastic Hasbro/Takara were using at the time. The only paint apps are a small black blobs of paint on the eye visor, eyes of the dragon heads and nostrils. There are 3 stickers pre-applied to the chest, but the adhesiveness of these is all but gone on my copy.

Once you wield Double Dragon with his weapons, it's a great looking piece. If you prefer a gun, you're in luck has he can also wield Doublecross' original white blaster.

You may have noticed the lack of wings on Double Dragon and those wouldn't be the only changes made. Other than the missing wings, the top half of the robot is molded very closely to that of the original. The front of the shoulders are missing the raised circles and there are some molded details to the abdomen area that are missing (replaced with the sticker). Even the dragon heads are very close to Doublecross. The KO obviously does not contain the sparking gimmick of the original so you won't find that mechanism inside the dragon heads. The trigger fin on the back of Doublecross has also been omitted on the KO.

The major differences in the mold comes in the bottom half. Double Dragon features a set of generic robot legs and does not have the ability to transform at all, thus no dragon legs or tail halves. The upper legs/thighs however do seem to be the same.

Overall I find this KO to be a quirky, charming addition to my G1 KO collection. I wish that it had the ability to transform, but it's unique colors and weapons helps it stand out as a highlight piece. I haven't really sought out this figure on the secondary market so I can't really comment on it's availability or price, but if you are a fan of KOs in general or just a fan of the Doublecross character, I do recommend this toy.

NECA Toony Terrors: Jason Voorhees

2023-10-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

While I am a pretty big fan of horror, especially 80's slashers like Friday the 13th, I don't often buy horror themed figures or statues. I only have this in my collection due to a customer giving it to me after I made them some killer deals (pun intended) at a NC Underground toy swap a few months back.

I've seen these in the NECA section at my local Target stores before, but never paid them much attention. Now that I have one in my possession, Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) may end up being purchased...maybe even Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as well.

The Toony Terrors line features iconic horror icons in a not so scary manner. Jason Voorhees stands at 6 inches tall and features 5 points of articulation - head, shoulders, hips/legs. I can't place the movie that Jason wore this particular outfit he's dressed in, but it works. His hockey mask looks fantastic. There aren't any cuts taken out of the mask, so I'm putting this one in the part 2 or 3 time period. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Jason is wearing a tattered green button up shirt with what appears to be a blue undershirt. There is a ripped section on his left sleeve. The buttons on the shirt are also blue. His pants are brown and also look a little tattered, a small hole can be found in the thigh of his right leg. To finish it out he's wearing a pair of black boots.

Jason comes included with his trusty machete. The blade has some stylized blue paint to mimmick it shining in the light. It fits snuggly in his right hand, which is posed with a bend at the elbow. His left arm just hands down, which I'm fine with...but his hand is open and looks a little odd.

The back of the blister card features a small background that can be cut out. I'm not sure if I'll end up keeping this, but it's a nice little bonus I guess. Overall this is a fun little figure. If I still worked in an office, I'm sure this would reside somewhere on my desk. In the meantime, I'll have to work Jason in on my horror movie shelf somehow. I believe these retail for $14.99 if you're so inclined to pick one up for yourself. Happy Friday the 13th!

Greenlight Garbage Pail Kids: Frye Day

2023-10-13T09:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! I hope everyone survives the scariest day of the year! For today's post I wanted to share a collaboration between Greenlight Collectibles and Topps' Garbage Pail Kids that I thought was perfect for today's "theme".

Frye Day was included in series 2 of the line and features a reproduction of the vintage GPK card/sticker as well as a 1970 Jeep CJ-5.

For the most part I really enjoy the 1:64 scale vehicles that Greenlight Collectibles has released. The GPK line is hit and miss with the vehicle selection in my opinion, but this is a great vehicle and choice for the Friday the 13th theme. I believe it was in the original flick that one of the caretakers of Camp Crystal Lake drove a jeep similar to this one.

The Jeep has a nice metallic dark green paint with a removable hard plastic top that is to resemble to a soft top. There aren't any opening parts on this vehicle. The rubber tires are thick and have "Garbage Pail Kids" written in white on the walls of the tires, including the spare tire on the back,

I nice little added touch is the inclusion of Jason Vorhees' iconic white hockey mask tampoed on the rear window of the vehicle. I don't think I noticed this until I recently took the Jeep out of it's plastic prison!

How are you spending your Friday the 13th? I might just pull out my Blu-Ray collection of Friday the 13th movies and give the original a spin again. Whatever you do to celebrate the day, have fun and stay out of the woods!

Super7 ReAction GI Joe Cobra Mothership Crowd Funding Campaign

2023-10-12T17:45:00.004-04:00

In recent years it seems like the GI Joe brand has been going through a resurgence with the amount of new product being released. While I haven't really featured much of Hasbro's current Classified line here on the blog, they have consistently been pumping out some fantastic figures...maybe a little too fast? Another company though has been standing in the shadows of Hasbro if you will, producing two different lines based on the Joe franchise, Super7.

Super7 already had a line of 3 3/4" figures called ReAction. These are simple figures with just 5 points of articulation. For the Joes, they are based on the 80's Sunbow animated show and look pretty fantastic. I've had a few figures hanging on my wall, but recently decided to take them down and open them up...and wow! These figures look like they jumped right off my childhood television screen. I'm obviously late to this party, but discovering all of these deep cuts from the show has been a lot of fun.

For a few weeks I've heard rumblings of something big coming from Super7 and then at the New York Toy Fair the curtain was pulled back and the massive Cobra Mothership was revealed. If this looks familiar to you, it should as it was prominently featured in one of the cartoon's openings. A new crowd funding campaign has just launched and I thought I'd share the newsletter email I received. Look it over, then I'll share my thoughts on this project below.

Now’s your chance to join the Cobra ranks with this massive Cobra Mothership crowdfund vehicle! Measuring over 32” in diameter, the Cobra Mothership is custom built to scale with 3.75” ReAction Figures as well as vintage G.I. Joe O-Ring Figures.

A minimum of 4,000 backers are needed to bring the largest ship in the Cobra fleet to life. With additional backers, everyone gets additional accessories to make the Cobra Mothership even more menacing!

At over 32” in diameter, the Cobra Mothership is built to scale with 3.75” ReAction Figures as well as vintage G.I. Joe O-Ring Figures.

With multiple hidden defense turrets and special lighting effects on the forbidding exterior, remove the ship's five top panels to reveal a Command Center with a rotating Giant Globe, an armory to store the arsenal of included weapon accessories, a prison cell with functional handcuffs to keep captives secure, explosives storage on either side of the posterior ramp (to drop explosives on unsuspecting Joes below!), and more!

Since every vehicle needs a crew, the Cobra Mothership will come with an exclusive Cobra Viper Gunner ReAction Figure and an exclusive Cobra Viper Gunner O-Ring Figure, along with an array of weapon accessories, three thruster display stands, and a sticker sheet!

Early Funding Bonus: If we reach our base goal of 4,000 backers by 11:59 PM PT on October 22nd, everyone that ordered by this date will receive two Cobra Escape Parachutes in addition to the Cobra Mothership. Perfect for use with any figure (and even a certain Commander), the soft goods parachutes will be fully functional!

To fill every available seat on the Cobra Mothership, there are two separate Cobra Viper Gunner 5-packs that are also available to fans that order the Cobra Mothership- a Cobra Viper Gunner ReAction Figure 5-pack and a Cobra Viper Gunner O-Ring Figure 5-pack. These troop-building packs are only available for order during the campaign window- don’t forget to add the fearsome fivesomes to your Cobra Mothership crew!

This crowd funding campaign is currently live at the time of this post. At $495.00 this thing isn't cheap, but man I love it. From the limited footage I've previously seen on YouTube, this thing is awesome and I'm sure it'll go down as being another "holy grail" type item for many Joe collectors. What I didn't expect was the inclusion of new o-ring figures?! This will sure entice some of those older A Real American Hero collectors to dip their toes into the ReAction waters. I figured it would be compatible if you will with vintage o-ring figures, but new figures to boot? This will be an interesting campaign to watch and see how it fairs. The size is impressive, but will that deter some people from backing it? If some collector's held off on backing Hasbro's HasLab campaign for the Classified Dragonfly helicopter for lack of space reasons, then surely a vehicle this large will pose some display problems for collectors. That price too...ouch! In today's economy, I can't see everyone that wants one buying it.

If you do want to back this project by the way, visit their site...but hurry, the campaign ends soon!

While I love what Super7 is doing and I give them a standing ovation for continuing to offer 3 3/4" collectors items that Hasbro never offered, this is one that I'll just have to watch in awe from the sidelines. I do hope some smaller vehicles, like the Flight Pods that in the stretch goals, are offered to regular retail at some point. Until then, I've still got a lot of catching up to do with just the regular figures, but what's your take on this massive ship/campaign? Are you backing it? Sound off in the comments!

Hot Wheels: 2022 Collection - Porsche 911 GT3 (Factory Fresh #5)

2023-09-13T19:36:00.003-04:00

Porsche 911 GT3 (Factory Fresh #5)

Of all of the Porsche models released under the Hot Wheels banner, this has to be one of my favorites, if not my favorite. The flat matte black looks great with the gray wheels. This is just a banger of a vehicle and one that I will gladly buy in any color scheme!

Transformers Legacy Evolution: Dinobot Sludge (Core Class)

2023-09-11T19:22:00.000-04:00

I've been sitting on this figure since February where I picked it up from a comic shop while I was in Wilmington, NC for a wedding. I'm glad I went ahead and grabbed it because the initial distribution of this wave of Core Class figures in my area was horrible.

The draw here is that the Dinobots combine. I've never been a fan of this idea (and won't be displaying them this way), but with this combining feature in mind, I do believe we may see these toys released as the Japanese exclusive Dinoforce team. Afterall, those toys did combine (well, the inner Pretender robots did) to form the combiner Dinoking.

I'll start off with saying for a Core Class figure, this isn't a bad representation of the Dinobot, Sludge. It doesn't faithfully re-create the G1 toy on a smaller scale, but you can tell who he's meant to be. Sure, he has dinosaur kibble hanging off his hips and the "wings" he normally has in robot mode aren't attached to his back (they are on the back of his arms), but the sculpt isn't bad. I quite like the head as it looks like the classic character.

Articulation wise the arms do move at the shoulders a full 360 degrees. The legs are attached to the hips with a disc shape joint and allow the legs to move freely, however the dino kibble on his waist will hinder some of the overall leg movement.

Sludge's dinosaur mode (Apatosaurus?) has all sort of issues...where do we start. First of all the tail is almost non-existent. It's more of a stub than a tail. The back legs are also way out of proportion that it throws off the look of the dino. Most of the toy features gray, non-painted plastic. He does feature some silver paint on the upper portion of his back and of course the gold highlights on the back and head. The legs do move, but you're limited in your posting due to short, squatty legs.

If you so choose to combine Sludge with his fellow Dinobots, he does form the lower upper body/waist of the combiner. Getting him combiner ready is fairly easy as you just rotate his arms straight up, fold up the legs and position them on each side of his waist. Doesn't look like much, but once you start attaching some of the other Dinobots it's not a bad design...I just don't like combining Dinobots in my world of Transformers.

Overall I find Sludge to be a charming Core Class figure, but it's not without it's faults. Usually I like to display my Dinobot figures in dinosaur mode, but this is one of those rare cases where I feel like the robot mode is the strongest of the two forms. I think you can pass on this figure (and the rest of the Core Class Dinobots) unless you are a major Dinobot fan or a completionist. There are far better figures in of this price point in the Legacy series.

Tomica: #49 Toyota Coaster Kindergarten Bus

2023-09-10T20:35:00.000-04:00

Part of the Walmart exclusive Tomica series comes an interesting vehicle and showcases just how Japanese and authentic this line can be, Toyota Coaster Kindergarten Bus. I don't really have any commentary for this release other than it's a rather cool looking yellow Japanese school bus.