S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah Hi-Res Pics

November 8, 2012 | Poe

In 1995, Godzilla died. As Toho anticipated handing off their Godzilla franchise to America as a brand-new blockbuster franchise (and yeah, we all know how that turned out), they decided to bid farewell to their beloved radioactive dinosaur by giving him a going-away party called Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The film included many references to the original film, including the origin of its villain, Destoroyah – a demonic creature formed by prehistoric crustaceans mutated by the weapon that killed the original Godzilla, the Oxygen Destroyer.

With Burning Godzilla already on the way, it was only a matter of time before Tamashii unveiled the S.H.MonsterArts Destoroyah. He’s absolutely massive – the largest SHMA figure to date – and will cost around $150 (suddenly I’m collecting something getting up into the Hot Toys range…I basically have no non-MOTUC, non-SHMA toy budget at this point). (more…)

The New He-Man Smartphone/Tablet Game is Out

November 7, 2012 | Poe

Apparently I’ve been so distracted by other stuff lately, I missed the fact that the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe iOS game came out on October 25. I just downloaded it and will post my thoughts once I’ve had time to play it. Android versions are reportedly coming too.

In the meantime, here are a few reviews I found via a quick Web search:

Are zipper storage bags destroying your toys?

November 7, 2012 | Poe

Action Figure Fury notes a potential danger to your collection. Evidently, those Ziploc bags we all (well, I, at least) use to store our action figures could be hurting them:

The plastic that most bags are made from are actually acidic. If you are using them for daily life like storing your sandwich for eating later that day then I’m sure that you will survive. But if you are going to be storing your action figure in there for years on end then you might be having some problems later on down the road.

The acid will slowly over time destroy the paint and even the plastic of the figure is you leave them in the bags long enough.

I tried to dig around for more information on this – because as much as I respect AFF, I try not to take things I read on the Internet at face value – but only found this similar post at One Per Case. Both blogs recommend using GTZIP’s “Ultra Clear” line of bags instead of the traditional zipper bags. They’re not cheap, though.

So, any chemists or scientist-types out there who can shed some light on this either way?

Sightings > Disney in talks to buy Hasbro?

November 6, 2012 | Poe

Here’s some new grist for the rumor mill, courtesy MTV Geek: Disney may be in talks to buy Hasbro, thereby picking up some big brands like G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony.

It’s just a rumor at this point, but does anyone else think – if this turns out to be at all true – that it’s all happening a little too fast? First Disney buys Marvel, then Lucasfilm, and now Hasbro? The crossover fan in me (and I’m a big crossover fan – it’s my weakness) is imagining all sorts of cool possibilities, but as someone who’s skeptical that giant corporations are a good thing for the world in general, the idea of one company owning so many different geek properties is vaguely troubling to me. What do you think? Would this be a good or bad thing?

Bill White, 1961-2012

October 29, 2012 | Poe

It’s with some shock that I just discovered that artist Bill White has passed away. A wonderful member of our community (by which I mean geeks at large, not just PGPoA) has been lost. He will be greatly missed.

I didn’t know Bill that well, but Newton Gimmick of Infinite Hollywood did, and has a touching tribute to Bill that you must read. Bill was an active member of many sites’ communities and seems to have been an all-around great guy.

Bill’s greatest contribution to PGPoA was this submission for my old “Ask Matty” posts.

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S.H.MonsterArts is Determined to Put Me Into Bankruptcy

October 25, 2012 | Poe

After The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985), Godzilla vs. Biollante is my favorite Godzilla film of the Heisei era. The plot is arguably the highest-concept idea ever: a giant mutated radioactive dinosaur fights a giant mutated flower bio-engineered with cells from said giant mutated radioactive dinosaur. The film also has a great soundtrack and some of the best special effects, as well as my favorite Godzilla suit (“BioGoji”), of the Heisei era.

Anyway, Biollante is a character who’s only been done a few times, due to her massive size and complicated design. And yet, at this week’s Tamashii Event, we’ve got a prototypes of not just an S.H.MonsterArts Biollante, but an SHMA BioGoji. Given that Hedorah Ghidorah cost $120 and Destoroyah is estimated at $160, we’re probably getting into the $200-$250 range for Biollante.

One caveat: these are just prototypes. Tamashii has a history of showing off prototypes but never making them (e.g., Ultra-Act Baltan I and Kanegon, as well as SHMA Aggregate Destoroyah and Utsuno Ikusagami). So I have a request – if you’re on Facebook, please click here and “like” the above photo. Even if you don’t like Godzilla, do it for ol’ Poe. I’ll give you three Poe-written reviews (with at least one MOTUC) by next Wednesday if you do!

Castle Grayskull Update

October 24, 2012 | Poe

So here’s how it stands right now – the pre-orders for Castle Grayskull [pre-order here] are a bit under halfway there. Personally, I’m not going to panic, or even worry, until we’re into November, because I think a lot of people get paid at the end of the month. Let’s see where the meter is around the first week of November. If it’s still under, then you have my permission to panic.

For the record, I put in my pre-order days ago. No tormented back-and-forth on this one (even Dr. Mrs. Ghostal, by far the more financially responsible member of our duo, told me to just go for it – possibly because she didn’t want me freaking out and spending a small fortune on one at a bankruptcy-baiting mark-up on eBay). So I’ve done my part.

In Grayskull-related news, the irrepressible NoisyDvL5 of ItsAllTrue has created yet another new site, this one tracking all news and info about the Classics Grayskull, at CastleGrayskull.info. I can only sit and admire his energy for this sort of thing.

Also, as they did with the 2013 subscription, the Four Horsemen have issued a personal appeal to fans to pre-order Grayskull:

One of the main things we’ve dreamed of doing since we very first pitched the idea o Masters of the Universe Classics to Mattel is to get the chance to re-create one of the most iconic playsets of all time, CASTLE GRAYSKULL! Well, the time has come, and we’ve got the chance to not only re-create Castle Grayskull so that it fits in with the level of detail and styling of Masters of the Universe Classics, but this thing’s gonna be HUUUUGE! Plus, we’re going to include all of the features and fun details of the original, and try squeeze in as much cool new stuff as we possibly can as well.

Here’s where you all come in. Unfortunately, this incredible playset isn’t going to be cheap to purchase and we understand that. But the price Mattel’s going to be selling it for is the only way we’re going to be able to make it and get it into the hands of Masters of the Universe fans. Mattel has to have a certain amount of pre-orders before they can even have us start building the thing. If they don’t meet the minimum number of pre-orders required to set this process in motion by the deadline, then Castle Grayskull for the MotU Classics line will never happen. It’s as simple as that.

And for those who missed it, here’s Scott Neitlich’s video showing the foam mock-up of the playset:

New OMFG “Blood Rage” Exclusives On Sale Monday

October 20, 2012 | Poe

I know a lot of you are fans of October Toys‘ OMFG figurines (as am I), so I figured you’d want a heads-up on the upcoming translucent red “Blood Rage” exclusive versions of waves one and two, which will go on sale this Monday at noon at Shelf Life. Single sets will be $10 with a two-set limit for each of Series 1 and 2.  Combined shipping available up to the four-set maximum. The Blood Rage editions are exclusive to ShelfLife but in Japan a limited number of sets will be available through Fig-Lab.

On an unrelated note, I’m going to be clearing through a lot of stuff this weekend, so for those of you who catch up on your PGPoA on Saturdays and Sundays, you’re in for a treat.