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.

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…

Attack of the Show to Queen Marlena: Drop dead.

April 29, 2011 | Poe

Video Game – E3 2011 – AOTS Exclusive

Is the post title uncalled for? I don’t think so. Poor Queen Marlena.

It looks like AFOS wins the contest, since he guessed Marlena and Stay Puft. A few other people got one right, but not two. AFOS, shoot me an email to poe AT poeghostal.com and I’ll set you up with the gift certificate.

ItsAllTrue.net has some good screencaps of the video. Mattycollector/Facebook will presumably offer better pics later today.

More info from ToyGuru and my own thoughts on the reveals after the jump. (more…)

NECA news > 7″ Robocop, SDCC exclusives

April 21, 2011 | Poe

(Via NECA_Toys on Twitter)

Looks like the long-rumored 7″ Robocop from NECA will soon be a reality. I own the McFarlane version already, and I’m not sure exactly how different this one can be, but hopefully–unlike McFarlane–NECA has a whole line planned. I’d maim a clown for boxed sets of 7″-scale ED-209 and Cain/Robocop 2, but after NECA’s experience with the Balrog, I’m not sure they’re interested in doing another giant boxed figure (though the upcoming Spider Gremlin is a hopeful sign). (more…)

Faceless One on…Facebook.

April 20, 2011 | Poe

Yeah, so, here’s the Faceless One, a.k.a. Nikolas Powers. It’s not stated on the bio, but I assume Danger’s his middle name. I color-corrected the images from the original post while wondering why Mattel didn’t do the same.

An interesting thing about the Faceless One is how similar he is to the Dormant Form Scarabus (and, of course, suffers a bit from the comparison, however much you take into account MOTUC’s consciously retro style).

I’m a bit more excited about the Faceless One than I was about Chief Carnivus, when it comes to the 200X-specific characters, but only because I like the design more.

It’s Sy-Klone Day!

April 15, 2011 | Poe

Sy-Klone Masters of the Universe Classics

It’s that time again! There hasn’t been a major non-sub item since the Eternian Guards pack in January, so it will be interesting to see how today’s sale tests Mattycollector.com.

I think it was probably a bad idea to have three very high-demand items–the Weapons Rack, Panthor and the reissued Moss Man on the same day–but the fact that it’s happening hardly surprises me.

Here’s the link to the all-in-one page.

On sale today:

Good luck to all, and may CAPTCHA not be your downfall.

How to Assemble an Action Figure

April 13, 2011 | Poe

In a follow-up to his insider’s perspective on the King Hsss-shoulder issue, Jazwares Director of Product Development and all-around toy fan Joe Amaro sent these images from the Jazwares factory in China. It provides an interesting look into how action figures are assembled, and why fixing an error like the shoulders can be so expensive.

Writes Joe:

Attached are pictures of some insert molded parts. This is how MOTUC shoulders are made.

Basically it is taking the joint part, putting it into the tool (mold) and injecting the plastic around it. So when the worker pulls them out of the tool the joints are already assembled.

You can see the different parts in the pictures by color, the lighter parts are the joints.

The parts come out of the tools just like models cars come from the box. They are all attached together and have to be cut out. So you can’t just flip a part, they are all attached.

This is why you can’t interchange joints and why it requires a retool.

And to the issue of mixing parts, again, we [collectors] only think of one figure. They look at thousands and thousands of individual parts.

Look at the pictures of bags and bags of pieces. If they are not careful, it is easy to mix up parts.

Packaged Battleground Teela revealed! (w/ bio)

April 8, 2011 | Poe

I’ve recently decided to cut down on the “churn ’em out” aspects of PGPoA–news articles you can get anywhere else and reviews of everything I buy, rather than just the things I’m really excited about. But the exception to both is MOTUC.

Thus, enjoy these packaged pics of Battleground Teela, plus a transcription of the bio.

Battleground Teela

Real name: Teela

After being wounded by King Hssss’s venom, the Sorceress of Grayskull knew her time was short. She quickly arranged a mission with Teela to the Elder’s training citadel in the Polar Ice Cap. Here, the Sorceress revealed Teela’s true heritage: that she was secretly her magically cloned daughter and destined to become the next guardian of Castle Grayskull and its secrets! Although in a state of disbelief, Teela knew in her heart that her mother spoke the truth, and trained with the Sorceress until the venom at last overtook her. Returning to Grayskull as the new guardian, Teela uses her new magic to protect the Power of Grayskull and guard the safety of all Eternia!

Wow.

So why is she blonde?

Anyway, still really excited for this figure.

New Thundercats Trailer

April 4, 2011 | Poe

I actually just watched the original Thundercats cartoon for the first time yesterday, so it’s interesting seeing the twenty-five year difference with the new show. Aside from the obvious–much better animation, storytelling, character designs, etc.–the new show also has a stronger anime feel (though the original show did too–anime just wasn’t as stylized back then).

The other thing that struck me was how similar this felt to the 2003 He-Man cartoon. We have a bigger, older-looking version of the main character, a la King Grayskull, for example. Even the art style, particularly the backgrounds, seems similar.

There’s also a LOT of the Battle of Helm’s Deep from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers, from the archers to the exploding wall. There are worse things to rip off, I suppose.

Is that voiceover at the beginning the same guy playing Hugo Strange in Batman: Arkham Asylum? (I think it’s Corey Burton, but while he’s listed for Arkham City on IMDB, I’m not sure that’s been confirmed.)

Thanks to Topless Robot for the link.