Toy Aisle Trolls > Rodian Deadeye

April 4, 2011 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Phil of Battlegrip found this sad sight at Target.

Supposed to look like: This

Problem: Rodian was swapped with…some military dude. Is he G.I. Joe? CORPS?

Karmic payback: The offender accidentally swallows the loose Rodian figure while wolfing down his post-trollage-celebratory Taco Bell dinner, causing an intestinal blockage and resulting in a hospital visit that costs him approximately 150x the price of the toy if he’d just paid for it like a non-worthless member of society.

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.

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.

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.)

Ask Mattel > Answers for April 1

April 1, 2011 | Poe

1.)  I bought that He-Man with the furry cape. Great figure, but the bio says he lost to John Cena in Wrestlemania 22. But John Cena isn’t even an Evil Warrior! Are you going to correct this error?

No, John took the cape fair and square, but we hear Tri-Klops has been sent after him to collect a bounty.

2.) Battle Catman asks: What would happen to Charlie Sheen if he drank Giant Green Tiger Blood? (more…)