Odds ‘n Ends + Big Mattel SDCC Reveal tonight (maybe) + contest

April 28, 2011 | Poe

  • In theory, Mattel’s summer SDCC exclusives will be announced tonight on G4’s Attack of the Show. I’ll be busy at that time, so you won’t get my commentary until late tonight. Feel free to use this post as a discussion thread until then. That’s assuming G4 actually airs the segment tonight, but either way, Mattel says they’ll announce the exclusives on Mattycollector.com on Friday.
  • Just for the heck of it: write down as many guesses as you have for the exclusives (across all lines) and I’ll send the one who gets the most right a $15 Amazon gift certificate. If you already know any of them, though, be fair and don’t play. Power Pals also excluded.
  • I still have a gigantic pile of stuff I have to review. I ended up just opening some of it and skipping the review, most notably DCUC Wave 16. I’ve been considering doing less organized reviews, and rather just sort of talking about the toys and characters in general (with plenty of pics). Do people prefer the more organized reviews–do you come for the articulation stats, the assessment of the paint and so forth? Or would pictures + general commentary do the job?
  • As I believe I’ve been hinting, PGPoA is due for a big update in just a few weeks. In the meantime, updates may be a bit spottier than usual.
  • I finished my second playthrough of Dragon Age II last week, and my feelings remain pretty mixed. The story, while thin, did present some tough choices, but the design & gameplay were lacking (I especially hated the repeated locations–the tract-housing mansions–which seemed very late 1990s to me).
  • On a final note, I asked NECA on their Twitter account whether we might see some Portal 2 toys from them. It seems Valve prefers to do their merchandising in-house. Bit of a bummer, but maybe they’ll create some Portal 2 toys of their own (they do have some plush toys).
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Odds ‘n Ends > Wondercon/Joecon Edition

April 3, 2011 | Poe

Wondercon 2011 - Mattel - Batman Legacy

  • My friend Popeonabomb was at Wondercon yesterday, and he took some pics for me – primarily of MOTUC and the Golden Age Batman & Joker. You can check ’em out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/poeghostal/sets/72157626418374964/
  • I’ve been reading the G.I. Joe: Special Missions trade paperbacks from IDW. The concept, as described, really appealed to me–Joes performing “realistic” military missions. I’m enjoying the heck out of them, and between that and the incredible awesome reveals at JoeCon this weekend, I’m now actively resisting getting into G.I. Joe collecting. Which is kind of amazing, because G.I. Joe has been around forever and I never had the slightest interest in it (I was a He-Man/Transformers/TMNT kid). But Hasbro seems to be going balls-out with stuff like this and especially this. We’ll see whether I can hold out.
  • Some news bits from Wondercon: according to Scott Neitlich, Leech will have no other head, his jaw is not articulated, and Hordak’s armor will be vac-metallized (i.e., chrome).
  • As you know, I’ve often discussed expanding the scope of this website to encompass more geek-related, but not necessarily toy-related, topics. I just as frequently have shot the idea down, deciding that keeping a laserlike focus on toys is the best way to keep the site popular. However, I’ve found I do need some sort of outlet for my non-toy geekishness, and to that end I’ve decided to create a spinoff website that will allow me to write about non-toy stuff. All I need is a title…Poe Ghostal’s…Pop…something? I don’t know. As such, I’m holding a contest! Post your suggestions below. If I decide I like any of them enough to use as the site’s title, that person will win a special Sword of Ages variant–purple hilt, black blade! Enter as many times as you want.

Odds ‘n Ends (+ Sword of Ages update)

March 1, 2011 | Poe

  • As some of you know, Ecrater accidentally oversold the Sword of Ages and the Dread Axe of Darkness during the last sale. I chose to honor those sales and requested replacement ones from SMC (after contacting the individuals to make sure they didn’t mind waiting); the replacements arrived over the weekend, but our apartment got flooded AGAIN (fifth time in five years) on Sunday, so there’s going to be a bit of a delay while all that gets in order. I apologize for the wait.
  • As I mentioned last week, I’m a guest on this week’s OrccaCast. Tune in to hear some more stories from my time at Toy Fair, speculation on the “secret accessories” for Man-E-Faces and Megator, and find out what this is!
  • I didn’t realize that the guy who got picked to direct the next G.I. Joe movie, Jon M. Chu, directed the Justin Bieber movie (as well as two Step Up sequels). Here’s my take on it, though. Of course it could totally suck, but karmically, I’m thinking it might just turn out okay. Plenty of directors got their start directing forgettable movies (or rather music videos, which is really more in line with what Chu was directing).* I guess I’m just saying I’m giving Chu the benefit of the doubt. Of course, I really should see the first G.I. Joe movie at some point.
  • Remember, the Scarabus 10-pack goes up for preorder tonight at 9pm EST. I’d planned to get you guys a review of the Toypocalypse Scarabus, but the aforementioned flooding interfered. Fortunately, I found this review on YouTube for you.

* On the other hand, the two directors who come immediately to mind as having started their careers in music videos are Michael Bay and McG, so I could be very, very wrong about this.

Odds ‘n Ends > February 9, 2011

February 9, 2011 | Poe

  • Don’t forget, the Sword of Ages goes back on sale today at 1pm at Poe Ghostal’s Points of Acquisition. There is also a very, very small number of Dread Axes of Darkness.
  • Michael Crawford has released the results for the Poppies–here are the Judges’ Picks, and here are the People’s  Picks.
  • NECA posted some very interesting pre-Toy Fair tidbits on their Twitter feed yesterday. The Predator 2 and Duke Nukem stuff sounds great.
  • It was just about ten years ago that I helped originate “Armchair Toy Fair Coverage” at OAFE. And now, finally, my coverage shall be armchair no longer. I’m looking into some simple-but-useful site updates to make sure you get your news ASAP.
  • Blogger The Fight Nerd sent along this review of the Superman vs. Muhammad Ali statue. It gives a great rundown of this particular moment in comic book history, and he even asked some UFC and Strikeforce fighters who they thought would win the match.
  • PGPoA was featured in a list of the “Best 30 Action Figure Blogs” alongside many other familiar sites.

Odds ‘n Ends > February 1, 2011 (Updated)

February 1, 2011 | Poe

  • I finally remembered to pick a winner in the Parasite/Hawkgirl contest–it was Reverend Ender. Congrats, RE!
  • The blog Collider has hi-res pics of some of the Bandai Thundercats toys. No pics of the 8″ Classics line yet, though. You can also see the full product list here.
  • It looks like Bif Bang Pow‘s second series of Lost figures may not be produced due to low sales. No surprise there. Look, I don’t want to bag on BBP; they seem like decent guys who really love toys. But Mego-style Lost figures was a bad idea from the start. And now Lost itself is pretty passé. To BBP: Please move on to 6″ non-Mego style Venture Bros. figures. (from Island of Lost Megos, via OAFE)
  • And also make a Prince Vultan for the Flash Gordon line–heck, make it Mego style if you have to, I don’t care. But I think we’ve all waited long enough for a winged action figure of Brian Blessed in kitten heels. (I’m deadly serious here.)
  • Mattel has asked a few websites, such as AFI, to put together a list of QC/engineering problems with the DCUC/MOTUC lines and present them, with pics, at NYTF. Since I’m going, I don’t mind spearheading an operation for this here on PGPoA, if people are interested. Let me know below, and if you are, I’ll put up a specific post and email address for submissions.
  • Update: NOW I remember what my last Odd/End was going to be: the Sword of Ages and the Dread Axe of Darkness will be returning this month!

Odds ‘n Ends > Procrastination

January 9, 2011 | Poe

  • Man, I still have so much stuff to get through…reviews of Buzz-Off, King Grayskull, the Outer Space Men, the new NECA Alien vs. Predator 2-pack, the second Weapons Pak, a few Retro Action figures, and a few other surprises…
  • PGPoA was included in a list of the “Top 40 Doll Collecting Blogs” on the website OnlineCollege.org. Fellow blogger Newton Gimmick of Infinite Hollywood also made the list. I won’t bother with the whole “action figures aren’t dolls” thing, mostly because I’m not that self-deluded, and will just be happy with the publicity.
  • I haven’t updated about or even mentioned the big news that THQ picked up the general Mattel license. Of course, the only salient question for most of us is whether we’ll see a MOTU videogame. I say it’s unlikely except in a movie year, unless we’re talking some sort of XBLA game (perhaps a 2D fighter or a TMNT Arcade-style brawler?). But at least THQ didn’t say no outright, and I know for a fact there are some THQ employees who are MOTU fans and will push for a game.
  • You’re all following the daily updates about Scarabus from the Four Horsemen, right? Man, if they can get the QC on these things on par with Xetheus (as opposed to the various Ramathorr variants), they’ll be incredible action figures.
  • Speaking of the Horsemen, this looks interesting.
  • I watched Predators last night, and really enjoyed it. It’s incredibly faithful to the original film…perhaps a bit too much so, to be honest…but it’s fun and pretty well acted, and features the craziest and possibly best Laurence Fishburne performance in a career full of crazy performances. He’s come a long way since Cowboy Curtis…like 80 pounds long, I think. But still the movie wa–WHY THE HELL DID I COME ACROSS THIS WHEN DOING A SEARCH FOR COWBOY CURTIS IMAGES? What is WRONG with people?! The horror, the horror…(quick, connect that quote back to Laurence Fishburne!)

Odds ‘n Ends > Christmas Haulage Thread

December 25, 2010 | Poe

Got some spare time this lovely Christmas morning, so I thought I’d share my own Christmas haulage and give you the opportunity to share yours. Here’s mine:

Dr. Mrs. Ghostal’s big gift was a Kindle, but she also got a 20″ plush Appa from the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, a Funko POP Heroes Batgirl and a Wizard of Oz Toto in a basket.

Odds ‘n Ends > Mattelocalypse Averted

November 30, 2010 | Poe

  • Let’s give credit where credit is due: while the WSOD did make an appearance yesterday, the Cyber Monday sale overall ran much more smoothly than previous months, and there seems to have been an abundance of product available. Only a few items are sold out now, and Battle Cat hung around much longer than anyone expected.
  • DST continues to eek out the occasional Battle Beast Minimate here and there. When are we going to get a real line of these things?
  • The new MOTU vs. DCUC 2-packs are starting to hit. I was thinking I wasn’t going to get them, but I know I will once I see them. I ain’t buying them off eBay, though. Anyone seen them in stores yet?
  • The packaging and constructs for the Hal Jordan vs. Thaal Sinestro set look great, but shouldn’t Sinestro be wearing the Sinestro Corps uniform, and Jordan his modern togs? Or alternatively, shouldn’t the “evil” constructs be green? Still though…great looking set. Why didn’t we get anything like Green Lantern Classics for Batman when Dark Knight came out?
  • A Chinese eBay retailer has some early samples of DCUC 16: Creeper, Robin, Riddler, Mercury, Jonah Hex. I didn’t realize Robin and the Creeper had double-joints until I saw these–that’s awesome. Here’s hoping for a super-articulated Batman down the line. Does Azrael Bats have double-joints too?
  • Speaking of Batman, here’s your question of the day: what’s your definitive Mattel Batman? Is it Zipline Batman, DCSH Batman (blue or black), DCUC Detective Batman or Burton Batman, DCUC TRU exclusive Batman or Walmart Robin 2-pack Batman…? My all-time favorite remains DCSH black-and-gray Batman, but a new modern DCUC Batman–with a black bat symbol, pouch belt, and double-jointed limbs–might top him.

Odds ‘n Ends > November 5, 2010

November 5, 2010 | Poe

  • The Grizzlor early reviews are coming in. You can find Pixel Dan’s review in the previous post, and here’s Fwoosh’s first look. Fwoosh also has first looks of King Grayskull and the second Weapons Pak.
  • The Guess-the-Weapon contest is over and a winner has been chosen. I’ll announce both the weapon and the winner very soon (hopefully tonight, but early next week at the latest).
  • Got a ton of reviews in the hopper–pics are taken, now I just have to the really hard part: the writing.
  • Count Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I among the converted for the new BBC show Sherlock. We’ve only watched the first ep, but it’s fantastic. Of course, due to the lag between the BBC and BBC America, the DVD and Blu-Ray actually come out next week, before the season has even finished airing over here. Oh, and the guy who plays Holmes is named Benedict Cumberbatch. Only in England.
  • Speaking of Sherlock, and therefore Steven Moffat, and therefore Doctor Who, the next Doctor Who figure assortments contains the usual crazy gaggle of robots/monsters/smartly-dressed types. God help me if I ever get into Doctor Who.
  • You should immediately go play Organ Trail, an Oregon Trail tribute game about zombies. It’s awesome.

Odds ‘n Ends > November 2, 2010

November 2, 2010 | Poe

Quote of the Day: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.” –Agent Kay, Men in Black

  • In case you missed it, I was once again a guest on OrccaCast–this time for the whole three hours! Topics include The Worst Witch, the Rodian language, political ads and oh yeah, toys.
  • Hoping to have the reveal of the PGPoA Spy Monkey Creations exclusive by the end of the week, and therefore I’m shortening the contest to end on Thursday at midnight, instead of Friday. So far only one person has guessed correctly. Remember, you can make as many guesses as you want.
  • You know what I miss? The old Mez-Itz. Not the Munny-rip-off ones Mezco makes now, but the old ones that were more like block figures with great sculpting. Mezco should have revived that format as a Minimate competitor, rather than going the “hip” vinyl route. But it’s just one more in the long chain of poor Mezco toy-related decisions, starting back around the time they got the Heroes license. Seriously,  what a run it’s been for them since then: Heroes becomes awful just as the figures come out, The Spirit bombs, The Wolf Man bombs, Kick-Ass has one good weekend, and Scott Pilgrim didn’t set the world on fire either (and even fans of the comic aren’t exactly excited). The filmmakers of The Green Hornet should be worried. Once upon a time, Mezco made some of my favorite toy lines ever–Silent Screamers, Mez-Itz, Hellboy (movie & comic), and the Goon. Now the only thing they can seem to get right is Living Dead Dolls.
  • Anyone else doing National Novel Writing Month? I’m going to give it my perennial shot this year. I’ve only written one sentence so far. But it’s a doozy. Really.
  • You may have noticed the new Amazon and TRU ads on the sidebar. PGPoA is now an affiliate of both. The holidays are coming. That is all.
  • How awesome is it that we’ve got the Bastards of the Universe here now? I mean, seriously.