The Real Story Behind 339/1

April 2, 2011 | Poe

Obviously, yesterday’s 339/1 figure was a custom. It was created by customizer masterenglish as a commission for me. You can see a gallery of masterenglish’s amazing customs on his DeviantArt page. One of my favorites is “Swamp Chomp,” who would have fit right in to the vintage line.

The above art, by the way, was created by our own MechaShiva. I asked him to create one of those one-panel comics that appeared on the back of the vintage MOTU cards. He tossed in a couple other well-known MOTU knock-offs for good measure. (He also emailed this thing to me the same day I asked for it, using powers mere mortals like me can’t understand.)

Some other tidbits:

  • 339/1’s head is made from the mustache-less Man-At-Arms head. I was surprised no one noticed that. I guess everyone tossed that head in the accessories box like I did.
  • The packaging image was Photoshopped, but not the way you’d think. Masterenglish created an actual insert that said “339/1 – Wrestling Champion,” but when I tried to get 339/1 into the packaging (ME had left the bottom slit open), it wasn’t really working and I was worried I’d scuff the paint. So I took a photo of the empty package, a photo of 339/1 and then used Photoshop to make it look like he was in the package. I thought it worked pretty well–did anyone notice?

 

New MOTUC Reveals at WonderCon > Leech & Hurricane Hordak

April 1, 2011 | Poe

Posted by Mattycollector on their Facebook page.

I’m psyched for Leech; he was one of my favorite Horde members, and the toothy head looks fantastic.

But…Hurricane Hordak? Really? I can safely say I would have taken any He-Man or Skeletor variant before this figure…OK, maybe not Spin Blade He-Man. (Although even that would have had a certain eccentric charm.)

ThreeA Toys Special World War Robot Portable to benefit Japan – on sale at 9pm

March 28, 2011 | Poe

Onsale only at bambalandstore.com, for $55 usd, shipping is included in that price. Every $ made goes to a Japan quake relief charity ! there is a limit on how many we can make, so once they are gone, they.. gone ! So if your into helping a good cause and getting a damn cool bot, swing by at 9-00am Hong Kong time on the 29th of March.

That’s tonight at 9pm ET. I got both this news and the image from ActionFigurePics–ordinarily I wouldn’t just repost it here, but it’s for a good cause. (That said, do Ron a favor and click on that link anyway, especially if you end up buying one.)

Check out the fine print that says all previous Japanese customers of ThreeA get a free toy! Amazing. It’s been clear for a while now that ThreeA is an amazing toy company, but clearly they’re great people, too.

Great interview w/ customizer Rupert Valero at IH

March 26, 2011 | Poe

I’m sure some of you have already seen the amazing work of Army customizer Rupert Valero, currently serving in Afghanistan. Newton Gimmick of Infinite Hollywood has a great interview up with PFC Valero. Go read it. Then check out Valero’s Flickr feed for more pics of his customs.

I was considering getting in touch with Mr. Valero, but after Newt’s in-depth interview I’m not sure there’s anything else to cover…

Golden Age Batman revealed at C2E2

March 23, 2011 | Poe

(Image from Toy News International)

There wasn’t a whole lot of new stuff at C2E2, but one thing we did see was the prototype for the Golden Age Batman, a figure in the upcoming Batman: Legacy sub-line by Mattel.

Looks great–and I’ll be getting it–but what I really want is that same figure with the yellow oval, to truly match Super Powers Batman. I prefer the lighter gray with the blue, rather than the darker gray used on the DCUC1 figure. Oh, and double-articulated knees and elbows, please.

PGPoA Exclusive > Joe Amaro’s MOTUC Ram-Man Custom

March 23, 2011 | Poe

Joe Amaro has been a fixture of the action figure community for years. Not only is he the Director of Product Development for Jazwares, but you’ve seen his customs in ToyFare magazine going all the way back to the 200X He-Man days. More recently, he’s been producing some of the most mouthwatering MOTUC customs you can imagine, including Skeletor’s Robot Knights, his Bone Throne, and of course, the amazing Castle Grayskull.

Today, Joe has graciously given PGPoA the exclusive reveal of his latest custom: MOTUC Ram-Man!

Here’s what Joe had to say about the process of making the figure:

The original idea was to use the DC Universe Kilowog as the base and try to keep as much of his proportions possible. But as I progressed and studied Ram-Man, it became obvious that I could not. Ram-Man is more stocky and more square. So I went with a mix of the vintage back art, the vintage toy and little of the 2002 version.

The main element that I wanted him to have was to be huge! I wanted him to look like a massive battering ram that would be used to breakdown castle doors. Plus I know when Matty makes him he will be a lot smaller.

In the end I only used some articulation points from Kilowog, mainly the arms, although I did bulk up his arms using Magic Sculpt. Other than that, it is an all-original sculpt using Sculpey and mainly Magic Sculpt.

The King Hssss Shoulder Swap

March 21, 2011 | Poe

As you will know if you’ve gone anywhere near He-Man.org in the last few days, King Hssss, like the first-release He-Man and Roboto before him, has reversed shoulders. Like Roboto, the shoulders were assembled correctly at the factory; the problem is the left and right shoulders were incorrectly stamped “L” and “R” (i.e., the right shoulder was stamped with “L”).

First off, a mea culpa: I didn’t notice the shoulders in my review of Hssss. What’s more, if I hadn’t read about it online, I’m fairly certain I never would have noticed. This is arguably a fault of mine as a reviewer: I’m more of a “big picture” type of person when it comes to toys, rather than getting into the minute details of the aesthetics of a sculpt. When I do get into the nitty-gritty, it tends to make me feel like one of those stereotypical nitpicking nerds you see on The Simpsons or Saturday Night Live. It also makes the reviews run really long, and long articles are something I try to avoid (this post being a bad example). (more…)

Scarabus Pre-Orders tonight at 9pm ET

March 19, 2011 | Poe

I know I really haven’t been covering the FANtastic Exclusive stuff nearly as much as I should be, but part of that is because the Horsemen have been doing such a good job of it on their own blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Still, there’s a major pre-order tonight, so I thought I’d pass the info along. I’m in for the 3-pack. (more…)

King Hssss Day

March 15, 2011 | Poe

It’s King Hssss Day! If you’re still undecided about whether to order him, why not read my review?

Also on sale today:

And here’s the link to the all-in-one page.

Some collectors have been saying three reissues in one month is too much–mostly because it’s a financial burden. I see their point. But, does Mattel have an obligation to space out the reissues to help collectors manage their money better? I would think that as long as the reissues all sold, it’s a moot point; but perhaps multiple reissues favors the wealthier collectors?

Onell Designs’ Rig goes back on sale tonight

March 12, 2011 | Poe

Just a heads-up, Onell Designs’ awesome Rig goes back on sale tonight at 9pm ET (this is the Mk II version, with blue highlights instead of green). I’ve got the first release, and it’s a great toy. I may just get this one too. The first one was $25, so I imagine this one will be as well.