A blog about action figures and the toy industry in general by writer and collector Poe Ghostal.

3 3/4″ Toy Story 3 Twitch RARE HTF (sigh…)

I could be jumping the gun here. But if the confidence of this eBay seller and my cursory Web search constitute a preponderance of evidence (which they don’t), the one figure I’m really interested in from Toy Story 3, the decently-articulated 3 ¾” Twitch, is going to be very hard to find. This auction is the only evidence I’ve found that this figure even exists.

No doubt he’s packed one to every ten cases.

Prove me wrong, Mattel. (Please) prove me wrong.

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35 Comments

  1. George

    I've seen at Target. Would you want me to buy for you?

  2. Poe

    Sure! But $10 says you never see it again.

  3. PrfktTear

    I think you can buy him at TRU.com. I was actually looking at them after I saw the review for the deluxe sixe (6") Twitch over at Michael Crawford's site. For less than $10, its a damn good toy! I also had a NERDGASM when I saw this electronic talking/moving Mr. Potato Head. Though, my excitement was slightly diminished when I saw the price tag, $50.00. As much as I love the spud, I think I'll wait for a sale or a coupon or something.

  4. I'd wait on it. I see Toy Story being pretty popular this summer.

    Plus, I've heard Twitch doesn't even have a speaking role in the film so I don't know how popular he'll end up being.

  5. Poe

    @jestergoblin: Oh, I think that's already obvious. Twitch=Boba Fett.

  6. Dead Man Walking

    I can sort of see the appeal of this figure: it's meant to be reminiscent of 1980's action figures like he-man, though in reality it looks like it might fit better with The Bugmen of Insecta: http://www.action-figures.ca/bugmen_insecta.htm

    Still, I find the design completely uninspired. No matter how goofy Mattel got, you could see that there was a thought process to the He-Man designs. This guy doesn't look so much like an inhabitant of Eternia, as it does an early 80's knockoff attempt. And I truly find those '80's knockoffs charming (Warrior Beasts, e.g.), but in 2010 I need to see more imagination. Combine that with his "it's-just-a-kids-line" level of detail, and this guy is an easy pass for me.

  7. George

    @Poe:

    I'll go ahead and look, but I won't bet you because I've been wrong before.

    Really Fett Status I dunno.

  8. Mario

    I'm with you Poe. Hopefully we're wrong, but this guy just screams HTF.

  9. PrfktTear

    DMW: I gotta disagree. I think he'd fit in nicely with vintage MOTU or even TMNT for that matter. At least in my 'verse.

    Poe: If I run into this guy I'll let you know

  10. Poe

    @George: Fett-status only in that he'll be a mysterious minor character with a cool-looking design. Not Fett-status in overall popularity.

  11. I've seen the carded version of him at several Wal-Marts recently. I think it has a little less articulation than that boxed version in the pic, but he's also closer to 6".

    You're right though, he's definitely the most interesting new character. Probably due to the MOTU influence…

  12. Interesting that this version has his staff and articulation. I thought Mattel wasn't going to actually manage that.

  13. @Newton Gimmick: I wouldn't put it past Mattel to sculpt in the articulation but not actually give it.

  14. I♥Animeskeles

    @jestergoblin: that would be hilarious AND evil… I wouldn't expect less from mattel.

    Seriously though I'd like a MOTUC Twitch…

  15. Reverend Ender

    Saw him at TRU in Framingham like 2 days ago. He's not so much of a much.

  16. Motorthing

    I'll wait to see the film with my family before I worry about adding YET ANOTHER line to my habit. And seriously….this Guy is going to be cooler than Buzz? No way man…..

  17. I'll be out shopping Saturday morning (if my girlfriend asks, i'm getting a haircut) so if I see any I'll grab it for you Poe.

  18. I got the carded one, and if Twitch is a villain in TS3, it'll about break my heart. Reminds me of Buzz-Off, for some reason; besides being a bug-guy, I mean.

    Not a lot of articulation on the bigger Twitch, though.

  19. Reverend Ender

    Scratch that, I think what I saw was a larger, crapier Twitch.

  20. I'm wondering if this is coming out in the next wave. I didn't see any at TRU yesterday and at TRU.com, I searched for "Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 Movie Collectible Figure" and he didn't come up.

    I'm excited for <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2 Fwww.toysrus.com%2Fproduct%2Findex.jsp%3FproductId%3D3916139&h=80d39″ target=”_blank”>Sparks too!

  21. George

    Fett-Status or not, I found it for you Mr. Poe. I'll email you as soon as I can, but I'm on my way to party. Post pic later..If you like.

  22. Poe

    @George: Well, color me shocked.

    @Scott: Neither of those are as articulated as this figure, but they still look rather neat.

  23. PrfktTear

    @George: You find him out in the wild?

  24. George

    @Poe: Did you receive the picture? My phone isn't working right.

    @PrfkTear:Yea in the wild, though I think Poe is right, they are short packed. Before going back to the Target where I had seen it; I went to every single store that carries this line, and never saw another one.

  25. Poe

    Perhaps these won't be as rare as I suspected, because another friend–who lives locally–also just found one.

    @George: No, I never got a photo from you.

  26. I have one for you, Poe. It was $12.99 at TRU. I'll sell it to you for retail plus shipping. Email me if you want it (I put my address in the url box).

  27. Poe

    @RageTreb: I appreciate that, but my friend who found it locally actually got it for me (this was about half an hour ago) and is just going to drop it by later. I hope you didn't go to too much trouble!

    One thing seems likely, I jumped the gun on the whole "hard to find" thing.

  28. PresidentJuggernaut

    I don't know about this 3 3/4" version, but the larger one and many other Mattel Toy Story figures have sculpted joints that are not actually moveable. What look like ball joints and hinges are often either not real or are simple swivels. It's dissapointing. The 3 3/4" Buzz is a pretty great figure though.

  29. Yeah, I'm a little mystified by that. Why would they SCULPT on joints? Is it supposed to be some sort of irony? Is it because its a toy based on a character from a movie that is supposed to be a toy? I don't get it! Even his wings could have easily been ball joints, but they're not, you can only move 'em up and down.

  30. Agent 86

    Thinkway are making a Twitch:

    http://www.thinkwaytoys.com/MccOurToysV2b.asp?Sel

    Although, Thinkway's Twitch appears to be a larger scale (maybe even 12" which seems screen-accurate even though it doesn't fit the official description for the character) and he still doesn't come with his magical battle staff. It does look like there is decent articulation.

  31. Heli

    I'd be willing to bet that the Thinkway version will be nicer than any Mattel version. Those Thinkway guys make good toys.

  32. CompyRex

    That Thinkway one looks nice, too bad I don't collect 12" toys. I figured "Why not" and just bought the Toys R Us Twitch/Chunk two-pack. Pretty good, yet under-articulated.

    Where are any of you finding this 3 3/4" Twitch? What store and what area? Anyone find any around the Western Pennsylvania area?

  33. Professor Dire

    I got mine in the post today.

    He is a sweet 'Joe' sized figure.

    But he has some rather unfortunate

    shortcommings.

    His articulation is surprisingly good

    and yet lacking. His articulation is

    as follows from the top down:

    *Swivel neck

    *Swivel-hinge shoulders

    *Hinge elbows

    *Swivel forearms

    *Swivel wrists

    *Swivel-hinge hips (45 Degree hip)

    *Hinge knees

    *Swivel calves

    Here is what is sorely lacking:

    (Again from the top down)

    *Wing joints (More on this below #)

    *Waist joint (Not even a cut joint)

    Here is what would have put it well

    over the top:

    *Fix the previous "Lacking" list.

    *90 degree hips with swivel-hinges.

    *Swivel or Ball ankles.

    *Ball neck

    Overall he is a decent small figure,

    but you are paying pretty handsomely

    for the license. The likeness in

    his size is very accurate, and he

    can pe posed pretty well. And most

    importantly he has his "Magic Staff".

    And from what I have seen he is the

    only poseable iteration of this new

    character that does.

    (#)(In fact his wings and the part of his back between them is one piece

    of clear yellow tinted plastic with

    the "hump" between them painted

    green to match the rest of the figure's back. The wings are also

    connected where they overlap, so even

    if you wanted to do some modding to put in joints it will look pretty rough where they would need to be separated)

    I'm going to C/P a copy of this over at the 'Org' as well.

  34. Big Al

    I have this figure, I got him at Wal-Mart.

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