That’s my Lightray/Orion two-pack you’re making me wait for, UPS! It was supposed to arrive today! Today!
And what’s the deal with that “mechanical failure”? What’s that about?
Toy manufacturing costs to go down in 2009?
We’re all feeling the pinch of rising prices for toys, but could relief be around the corner? Richard Gottlieb thinks so:
It looks like toy manufacturers and consumers may be looking towards some pricing relief in 2009. There are a number of factors that contribute to the cost of toys made in China (and that means most toys). Three notable ones that have affected toy prices over the last twelve months have been:
- The value of the Yuan versus the Dollar
- Salary demands by Chinese factory worker
- The cost of petroleum
Read the rest here.
Pic of the day
Masters of the Universe Classics He-Man by P. Gayatin
News round-up, 12/3/08
- Hasbro G.I. Joe Q&As: TNI, Figures.com, Hisstank
- Behind-the-scenes video about the new Hasbro Millennium Falcon (Hasbro)
- Diamond Select releases photos of their upcoming Borg-themed Trek line. These look pretty awesome. (Cool Toy Review)
- Diamond Select partners with Toys ‘R Us. I guess TRU is serious about appealing to collectors–good for them. This is great news. (DST)
- Color pics of Masterpiece Grimlock and first pics of ROTF deluxe Bumblebee (Seibertron)
- Have you always wanted a M.U.S.C.L.E. man to screw your computer? Your wish has been granted–by Japan, of course. (Topless Robot)
Odds n’ Ends
Apologies for the late Odds ‘n Ends today. I’m down with a bit of a cold, and it took a while to get up the energy to snap the new O&E pic.
You know the drill–feel free to add your own Odds and Ends in the comments section. (more…)
Pic of the day
Watch out, Ralphie! by yours truly
Poe’s note: I came up with this scenario after having these two figures on my desk for a couple days and decided it just had to be immortalized in pixels. How freaking terrifying would that Snowman be in real life? He’s even scarier than Calvin’s snowmen. He’s a long way from Jack Frost, I’ll tell you that.
“Joes for Tots” contest at Toy Bender
The spirit of the season has moved PGPoA ally site Toy Bender to run one of the coolest contests in recent memory: Joes for Tots, in which you need merely donate a toy (preferably a G.I. Joe toy, but any toys are acceptable) to Toys for Tots, take a photo of yourself doing so, and email it to Paul at TB for a chance to win Fabulous Prizesâ„¢. Paul has lined up some fantastic sponsors and prizes, so if you’re the sort of person who needs motivation to get off your butt and do good deeds, now’s your chance.
Toys for Tots is reportedly having trouble getting donations this year, so I wholeheartedly encourage you to participate in the contest!
Pic of the day
Snowman by Ryan Brookhart
Poe’s note: While I usually skip McFarlane toys these days due to their lack of articulation, I had to pick up the Snowman. He’s in the running with the Winter Warlock for my favorite holiday action figure. I don’t own any of the other Twisted Xmas figures, but this guy was a must-buy.
Buy the Power of Grayskull: The MOTUC Controversy
Few recent action figure lines have divided fans so strongly–and bitterly–as Mattel’s new Masters of the Universe Classics. The first two figures, He-Man and Beast Man, go on sale today at 12 p.m. EST on Mattycollector.com, barring any major website problems.
First, some background: in the early 1980s, Masters of the Universe (MOTU) was one of the most popular action figure lines of the time. It essentially ruled the period between the Star Wars craze and the rise of Transformers and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero in the mid-eighties, and many kids (myself included) started with MOTU and later moved to one of those properties. Now we’re all grown up and have become nostalgic action figure collectors, and the toy companies have catered to us with a slew of reissues and revamps of toys from our childhood.
Mattel first tried to capitalize on MOTU nostalgia in 2002. After hiring former McFarlane toy designers the Four Horsemen to do the sculpting, Mattel created an updated line aimed at both kids and collectors, supported by a new cartoon and a comic book. The Horsemen took the original MOTU designs and amped them up, emphasizing the original features from the characters while minimizing their more goofy traits and making the anatomy a bit more realistic. This was arguably the first MOTU controversy, as some diehard fans of the original line were disappointed by the new designs, while more casual fans and collectors who had never owned a He-Man figure were impressed. (more…)
A year of PGPoA
I almost forgot…today marks the one-year anniversary of PGPoA going live! Wow…I wish I could think of something momentous to write, but I’d rather you all just went and checked out the new MOTUC article. But keep checking the site for some great surprises this month!