Review > Hordak (Masters of the Universe Classics)

June 26, 2009 | Poe

By 1985, the original Masters of the Universe line was three years old–a pretty long time for a boys’ action figure brand, if not that impressive next to its big sister Barbie. The He-Man cartoon was at its peak and She-Ra was just about to hit. While He-Man and his arch-nemesis Skeletor had already become cultural icons, Mattel decided the skull-headed necromancer might be getting a little long in the tooth. It was time to up the ante against He-Man and his allies–it was time for the Evil Horde.

While Skeletor and his minions were all based on the same two or three body types, Hordak and his Evil Horde benefited heavily from MOTU’s success: all five of the original 1985 Evil Horde figures received brand-new tooling (and except for Hordak, they were all entirely new sculpts). What’s more, the ancillary fiction (the mini-comics and, later, the She-Ra cartoon) established Hordak not only as being more powerful than Skeletor, but as having been Skeletor’s master (or at least mentor) at one point.

Masters of the Universe Classics Hordak arrives as one of the most anticipated figures in the line yet. While he received an impressive “staction” from the Four Horsemen and NECA, this represents the first new Hordak action figure in twenty-four years.

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It Figures #36 (interactive)

June 25, 2009 | Poe

Today’s It Figures is a little different. In keeping with my current theme of being a little burnt-out and thus a little lazy, I’ve decided it might be funnier if you came up with the punchline for this one. Particularly because I just can’t think of a good one. So let’s see whatcha got!

It Figures #36

Show and Tell > AT-TE by Paul

June 25, 2009 | Paul

When news came out that Hasbro was making an AT-TE I knew I had to have it. This thing is exactly what I would have wanted when I was a kid. It has lots of cool features like firing missiles, a motorized lamp, electronic lights and sounds, and it fits lots of figures. One thing that really helps to make a truly great vehicle or playset, in my opinion, is the ability to hold multiple figures and boy does this AT-TE hold figures.

ATTE1

As you can see, I prefer the Phase I armor of the clone trooper. I have plenty of the Phase II troopers that would look great in this puppy, including some awesome loose clone commanders, but for now I’m stuck on the Phase I. In fact I might buy even more to pack into this thing. (more…)

Mattel SDCC news

June 25, 2009 | Poe

Over on Mattycollector, Mattel has announced its panels for SDCC:

Comic-Con is coming!

For us toy collectors, the granddaddy of events has to be San Diego Comic-Con. The 2009 show starts July 23rd (preview night July 22nd) and runs through July 26th, and this year I’m bringing more cool stuff than ever before!

FAN PANELS
First off, we’ll have not one, but TWO fan panels at the show:

Mattel & DC Comics, a Powerful Partnership
Friday, JULY 24
11:00 AM – 12:00 NOON
ROOM 2

MattyPalooza
Friday, JULY 24
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
ROOM 2

NEW PRODUCTS
Then, visit me at Booth #2845, and you’ll find tons of new toys either just coming on the market or soon to come. We’ll have Ghostbustersâ„¢, DC Universe, DC Universe Classics, Infinite Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, Masters of the Universe Classics, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Disney/Pixar CARS, Toy Story, Hot Wheels, Scene It? The DVD Game, and the insane new Mindflex game — plus a few surprises!

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT COMIC-CON
Products will be sold starting preview night. Customer service and safety is our number one priority, so we’ll have a separate booth run by our Toy Club to handle sales. Lines will only be allowed to get as long as the designated roped-off area, but “fast-pass” tickets will be handed out to reserve your spot later that day. Limits on all exclusives will be six per person, per visit to the Mattel booth.

If you choose to wait in line a second time, you’ll be eligible to buy another 6 figures (there will also be a limit of six figures for online purchases after the show). It should all go very smoothly for the best buying experience yet!

We’re going to have plenty of gotta-get products available for sale, including (click each for all the scoop):

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT MATTYCOLLECTOR.COM
Can’t make it to Comic-Con? Fear not, fair comic fan! You’ll be able to get everything listed above on MattyCollector.com starting at 12:00 Noon on Monday, August 3rd, except these items:

  • SDCC variant He-Ro
  • SDCC variant Buzz Lightyear (with “Andy” on his foot)
  • SDCC Gleek (but the onder Twins without Gleek will be available)

Whew! That’s it for now, but stay tuned to MattyCollector.com, because I’ll have more news as Comic-Con gets closer.

—Matty

Paul’s Peg > The New Wal-Mart Exclusive Evolutions Packs

June 24, 2009 | Paul

Some images have been released showing off the three new Star Wars Evolution three packs that are exclusive to Wal-Mart. The packs are a new Rebel Pilots pack, a new Imperial pilot type of pack, and finally a commando themed pack.

StarWarsEvolutions1

I fell off the Star Wars collecting bandwagon, but recently got back on when I was reunited with my Star Wars collection. I have really gotten into picking up pilots, so these Wal-Mart exclusives are probably going to end up in my collection. I can’t pass up the opportunity to have another A-Wing pilot or another lady Rebel.

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Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

June 24, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Michael Crawford reviews the Hot Toys Terminator Salvation Endoskeleton T-700 1/6-scale figure. Excerpt: “Hard to believe it, but somehow Hot Toys continues to improve.”

Dave Van Domelen reviews the Hasbro Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe class Autobot Skids, Deep Desert Brawl, Autobot Wheelie and Chromia figures. Excerpt: “… pop a wheelie’ sounds just wrong in the context of the rest of this wave …”

Darren Cilenti reviews the Takara Tomy Transformers Henkei C-16 Dinobot figure from Beast Wars. Excerpt: “A very good update …” (See also.) (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends

June 23, 2009 | Poe

odds_n_ends_09

  • Updates to the site might be a little bit sparser than you’re used to over the next few weeks–I’m feeling a bit burnt-out, due to a combination of things (this awful, endless Northeast weather being a big part of it). But OB1 and I are working on a way to add some user-generated content (like Show and Tell) more easily, so maybe some of you guys can pick up my lazy-ass slack.
  • In other news, Big Bad Toy Store apparently sent out an email informing those who had pre-ordered the Movie Masters series with Jailhouse Joker and Harvey Dent that the pre-orders were canceled, as Mattel had informed them MM would now be a Mattycollector exclusive. This is exactly what I’d expected would happen–Mattel has too much invested in the tooling for those figures not to try to get a bit more profit out of them.