Review > Granthan Division Rig, Mk II (Glyos)

March 31, 2011 | Poe

[toc title=”Table of Contents” class=”toc-left”] When I first interviewed Matt Doughty of Onell Design, he was hard at work sculpting the Rig (you can even see it under the lamp light in this pic). While I was there, we discussed vintage toys we’d enjoyed, and I mentioned having owned the Macross 4 Part II set of vinyl toys as a kid (I believe my parents bought them at Hobby World Town at the Hanover Mall). I mentioned how fond I’d been of the yellow figure (no idea what his official name is–I’ve never actually seen an episode of Macross), and Matt, being Matt, knew exactly what I was talking about and agreed it was a great piece.

What’s interesting is that the Rig would turn out to be very similar to that Macross figure–a hollow vinyl robot who had the same smooth, chunky feel. The difference, however, is that the Rig, being a product of the Glyos world, would be more than just a bipedal robot. Through a couple of simple twists, it could be two different robots, a spaceship, a tank, or whatever you imagine it to be. (more…)

Vintage Toy Ads > My Buddy & Kid Sister

March 31, 2011 | Poe

Here’s my story about My Buddy. As a young kid I always wanted one of these–not sure why, I wasn’t lonely or anything, never had a desire for a brother. I wanted this mostly until I saw a My Pet Monster, and then I wanted that. But I digress–when I was five or six, my parents found a forgotten My Buddy just laying on the street somewhere. It was in decent condition except the head was a bit loose. My mom fixed it up and, despite my protests, gave it to Goodwill. I think it was intended to be some sort of lesson to me at the time, I don’t know. Anyway, I never did get a My Buddy.

Honestly, my favorite part of this ad is the ABC bumper at the beginning…I must have seen that a thousand times over the years. I miss those Saturday morning cartoon blocks. They seem to have gone the way of the dodo, thanks largely to the rise of all-day kids’ programming on cable channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Battle with Vendor

March 29, 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.

Poester Nerdbot found this sadness in the city that never sleeps.

Upon discovering this, Nerdbot proceeded to have his own battle over Endor–with the store staff.

I just saw this at the Times Square Toys R Us tonight. Some troll apparently returned one of the new Battle Over Endor sets — after replacing the contents with a much older Power of the Force pilot set. After a little Internet research, I found it here: http://www.rebelscum.com/POTF2rebelpilots.asp

I tried to explain what must have happened to some employees. (“But they’re the same.” “No, they’re not. Someone replaced the new figures with these that are probably 6 or 7 years old…” (At that point I didn’t know exactly what they were, but just looking at their poor articulation – and the fact that I had no recollection of them – told me they had to be several years old.))  I think they finally understood, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that set out there again.

Karmic Payback: While the troll is passed out from a combination of weed, absinthe and Doritos, his pet guano beetles escape and eat his right hand.

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.