Odds ‘n Ends

June 12, 2009 | Poe

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  • I slaved over a hot Photoshop for hours to bring you today’s It Figures, so if you don’t like it, I’ll probably curl into a ball and cry.
  • Every ready for Hordak Day on Monday? And don’t forget Ultraman and Alex Luthor! I’m getting an extra of each for a couple Poesters who live locally, which I don’t mind doing at all, because it means I get to open my figures right away while using theirs for the packaging review photo later on.
  • Mattycollector posted a brief update on Facebook, basically saying they’re back on Facebook, as well as a few new photos of He-Ro.
  • Topless Robot is now full-time and wants your input, because apparently he can’t be bothered to run his site himself. But I kid the self-pleasuring, kitten-endangering guy!
  • Ordinarily, when I get an earworm, it’s just one song or part of a song (“Re: Yours Brains” by Jonathan Coulton drove me temporarily insane for a few days). But for some reason right now, Smashing Pumpkins’ entire Zeitgeist album is running through my head, song by song. Currently queued up to “That’s The Way (My Love is).”
  • I just finished playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2, which I picked up used a couple weeks ago. I want to play Wolverine now, but I’m going to have to wait until someone loans it to me or it’s cheap on eBay, because the next game I’m planning to buy new is Batman: Arkham Asylum (assuming the reviews are good).

Matthew Schultz, Rest in Peace

June 11, 2009 | Poe

I didn’t know Matt, a.k.a. “SkeletonCrew” on He-Man.org, but came across this article about his passing in a daily search for action figure-related news. Matt was a customizer, best known for his work with “COTU World.” He was also an Army veteran.

It’s not often we hear about losing one of our own in this still-young hobby. I offer my condolescences to Matt’s family and friends. Here’s a link to a memorial thread on He-Man.org.

G.I. Joe movie FUBAR?

June 11, 2009 | Poe

Quite possibly.

If so, who’s surprised? This looked like a multi-car train wreck from the words “acceleration suit.”

You know what this is going to be? The new Masters of the Universe. As in the 1987 movie: a rushed film with an incoherent and yet paper-thin plot and little or no relation to the toy property outside of the names.

Disney’s Black Hole: V.I.N.CENT returns

June 11, 2009 | Poe

One of my favorite films when I was a wee tyke was Disney’s Black Hole, and a couple of my favorite toys were Mego’s 3 ¾” inch V.I.N.CENT and Maximillian robots (the humans I couldn’t have cared less about). While they were arguably ersatz versions of R2D2 and Darth Vader, respectively, the young Poe still thought they were awesome and the old Poe retains a nostalgic fondness for them.

I haven’t watched the movie in years, so I have no idea whether it holds up, but I’m excited by this bit of news from MINDstyle:

“The Black Hole” was the Walt Disney Company’s first PG-rated production – big news 30 years ago, but times have changed! Directed by Gary Nelson and starred Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, and last but not least, Ernest Borgnine the motion picture has found a loyal fan base. With this being the 30th anniversary of The Black Hole and only rare limited merchandise available, we were all too excited to be working on a limited edition art toy collectibles (ATC) figure of V.I.N.CENT for collectors.

Everything starts with the concept art. Since there was little content for us to reference, we created the line art with DCP. The process got under way with the sculpting and raw resins as shown here.

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Whether or not I’ll get one will depend entirely on price and the degree to which it’s a “figure” rather than a resin statue of some sort (for instance, will the claws, “feet,” and head retract?), but as of right now, I’m definitely interested.

Thanks to TNI for the heads-up.

Now THAT’S an exclusive

June 11, 2009 | Poe

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While I wasn’t as enamoured of Hellboy 2 as I was the first film (for various reasons not necessarily related to the quality of the film itself), and I don’t collect 3 ¾” toylines, I have to say that this is probably one of the coolest SDCC exclusives this year. It’s a 7″ Golden Army Soldier, in scale with the rest of the 3 ¾” figures, and it even comes with a  Hellboy to mix it up with.

At $30 the set is pricey, though keep in mind, the Golden Army Soldier is the same size as Mezco’s regular 7″ figures, and those exclusives usually averaged about $25–plus you get the Hellboy.

And at least Mezco’s offering all their SDCC exclusives for sale on their website (I’m looking at you, Gleek).

Mezco’s award-winning 3.75inch Hellboy line continues with the addition of the highly anticipated Golden Army Soldier! The Golden Army Soldier stands approximately 7 inches tall (in scale next to the other figures in the 3.75inch series) and features eight points of articulation. He comes packaged with a 3.75inch Hellboy, who comes complete with a base, and his legendary sidearm, the Samaritan. Ships in Late July 2009.