Mattel brings back Manglors!

May 9, 2011 | Poe

No, not really (sorry for getting your hopes up, Manglors fans!).

One of my favorite toys as a kid were Manglors. Made by Ideal in the 1980s, Manglors were rubbery figures, and the idea was you could tear off their limbs and then stick them back on. It didn’t really work out in practice–once you’d torn off the limbs and re-assembled them, they looked pretty sad and were never quite the same. It’s the sort of toy that lasted maybe a week.

Photo from Plaidstallions.com

Memories of those toys came to me today when I saw Mattel’s pics of Swamp Thing’s articulation, with noticeable tearing at the wrist.

Click for larger version

Of course, this is (presumably?) a prototype, so it’s hard to know whether this will be an issue with the production figure. Mattel’s track record has most fans assuming it will be, though.

On a side note, a lot of people are already comparing this to DC Super Heroes Clayface. I must admit to having never encountered any problems at all with my Clayface (knock on wood)–after plenty of display and posing, both of my figure’s arms are dark and there is no tearing. Perhaps I just got a really good one.

Odds ‘n Ends > Mighty Edition

May 6, 2011 | Poe

  • As you’ve no doubt noticed, it’s been very, very dead around here lately. That should change over the next week or so, and much more so by the end of the month. Real life has been interfering, but fear not, I’ll soon nip that in the bud.
  • In other news, the early reviews of Catra, the Faceless One and Battleground Teela are all over the place. Here are the Fwoosh’s, and here are Pixel Dan’s. Remember to hate both VeeBee and Pixel Dan for all these freebies. Because I totally do.
  • The Creative Licensing Corporation spilled the beans on two of NECA’s new licenses: Rambo and Evil Dead II. They misspelled NECA a few times, which seems…odd. So far we know we’ll get Rambo and Ash figures. No shocks there, but I do have to say, of all the McFarlane figures NECA’s redone, Ash is probably the most warranted. McFarlane’s Ash was terrible. And after all the hard work we ED freaks had put into getting it…I used to be VERY into Evil Dead. I tried so damned hard to like that figure at the time, but it was awful. Just awful. Awkwardly pre-posed, barely articulated, and frankly Toy Biz’s Autolycus figure looked more like Bruce Campbell than this one did (OK, that’s an exaggeration). The best thing about that figure were the accessories. Anyway, I have little doubt that NECA will kick McFarlane’s Ash into the stratosphere. A redo that’s long overdue.
  • Oh, I almost forgot: Thor comes out today. You going tonight?

Toy Aisle Trolls > D’oh Joe

May 4, 2011 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Found by: EV

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This, this and this

The Problem: They’ve all been replaced with other figures. I have no idea what those are–anyone know?

Karmic Payback: The trolls’ entire toy collection is melted in a house fire. Also, his house burns down.

Writes EV: “I found this at my Target in Sagamore Hills Ohio. I thought I found a rare Joes at first but to my dismay it was a Troll’s doings.”

Bastards of the Universe > “Bad Day, Part I”

May 3, 2011 | googum


Bill’s bad day is going to go on for a while, but this seemed like a good way to catch up with the cast, since we’ll be introducing a new cast member or two later.

The Sectaurs in this one are a recent eBay purchase, during a local toy drought: I never had them as a kid, although they weren’t bad figures. And the fact that they were made by Coleco goes a long way for me: a Colecovision was my first game system.

Next time: the frost giant cometh! He may or may not be who you think…

Ask Mattel > May 1 Edition

May 3, 2011 | Poe

Damn, I love that art.

Anyway, it’s time for another round of Ask Mattel. (I refuse to acknowledge a corporate mascot by name, nor pretend he actually exists.) My thoughts are in the blue boxes/captions. –PG

1.) Poe asks: Are there any plans to do more Arkham City figures beyond Batman and Two-Face in the Batman: Legacy line?

Yes. We’ll have the next wave at SDCC to show off.

Awesome.

2.) Toyman2581 asks: What is up with those strange yellow lanterns that come with all the Sinestro Corps figures in DCUC and DC Retro action? In the comics, all the yellow lanterns look just like the green ones. (more…)