Mattel SDCC Announcements

July 3, 2008 | Poe

Hey toy fans of all ages,

Well it is that time again. Mattel is gearing up for our really big show down in San Diego at the annual Comic Con July 23-27th 2008.

We’ll be there in full force with the largest booth presence we’ve ever had to meet and greet toy fans of all ages. There will be some fantastic give-aways, fan panels and huge reveals from all your favorite Mattel lines include DCUC, JLU, Infinite Heroes, CARS, Batman the Dark Knight and more. Plus we guarantee a few surprises to help kick off our new Masters of the Universe Classics line- you won’t want to miss out!

And don’t forget some amazing unique exclusives at the show. Details about Lobo, Grayskull, Giganta, McQueen and a few other surprises are below. And be sure to stick around for the biggest news of them all… Starting the Monday after Comic Con, because you demanded it, Mattel will be launching a brand new Collector Website with the latest news, updates, previews and – the big one – EXCLUSIVE action figures from your favorite Mattel toy lines like CARS, DCU and more! Wait – you want more? – this new site will also be the EXCLUSIVE home of Masters of the Universe Classic action figures with a new character available EACH MONTH starting this fall! (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Vitalogy Edition

July 1, 2008 | Poe

ODD: Saw Pearl Jam in Boston last night (OK, the Comcast Center in Worcester, but that won’t mean much to most of you) and am still recovering from three hours of standing and woo-ing. I thought Eddie was trashed by the end of the show, but hey, it only added to the fun. I got to go to the concert courtesy of Mike, my cousin and best man for my impending nuptials. (more…)

Poe’s Point > A little perspective for DCUC collectors

June 30, 2008 | Poe

Where is everyone? Two new posts since Friday and not a word of comment. I suppose I can’t really complain, since I’ve been sort of in toy hibernation myself, anxiously awaiting the arrival of wave three of DC Universe Classics. The waiting has already driven more than one collector over at Fwoosh and RTM insane.

Much of the complaining among the online community is based around Mattel’s perceived distribution problems. In terms of quantity, I understand where that’s coming from–the second wave of DCUC has been difficult to find, though I think it’s worth pointing out that there’s plenty of the first wave around, and it’s probably only fair to wait and see how easy it is to find waves three, four and beyond before condemning the company. DCUC2 could be a fluke (or, as Mattel has promised, more shipments of the wave may hit, particularly at Wal-Mart).

Now, as for the collectors who, like me, are going crazy with the wait for DCUC3…

I was too young to really be aware of how toys were released back in the 1980s. But a cursory look at the historical release lists for He-Man and G.I. Joe reveals I’m apparently a spoiled brat. The biggest year for new figure releases for the original He-Man line was 1984, when twelve new characters were made. Counting vehicle drivers, the debut year of G.I. Joe: RAH featured fifteen unique figures. There were a mere eight figures in the first year of Kenner’s Super Powers line, followed by fifteen the next year and ten the final year.

Since December, we’ve seen twelve figures in the DCUC line. While the availability of these (particularly DCUC2) is definitely a problem, I think complaints about lateness are a bit unfair. If Mattel manages to get out even four waves this year (rather than the planned six), that will be twenty-four unique figures (not counting variants) in a single year–four of them BAFs. Twenty-five if you count Lobo!

That’s pretty good for a mass market line. It will be interesting to see, at the end of the year, the final counts for original DCUC/Marvel Legends figures in 2008. I’ll revisit the topic then.

Hasbro Makes My Short Round Dreams Come True

June 27, 2008 | Paul

shortroundfigure001.jpg

Recently Hasbro released images of their upcoming Indiana Jones figures and they’ve finally made my dreams come true. Way back when I first heard that they were going to make Indiana Jones figures, the figure I had wanted the most (aside from Indiana Jones of course) was Short Round.

Why you ask? Why? Short Round is flipping awesome. He’s only eight years old and he managed to save Indiana Jones life. Without Short Round the Nazis wouldn’t have found the Arc of the Covenant… or at least they would have found it and had their faces melted slightly sooner. Without Short Round the Holy Grail wouldn’t be in the hands of the Nazis, except now that I think about it the Grail couldn’t have crossed the seal anyway… Uh well, without Short Round saving Indy the Russians wouldn’t have been killed by the aliens? Wait a minute. Did Indiana Jones do anything in any of the movies that had any impact on the ultimate outcome of the film besides giving the Sankara Stones back to the Indian villagers?

Regardless, the rest of the figures in the Temple of Doom line up looks awesome, especially Mola Ram. Check the rest of them out on Toy News International.

Humor > Economics Study Claims “Free Parking Prize” Destabilizes Monopoly

June 27, 2008 | Poe

More double-dipping into my old Biggerboat entries for last-minute filler. Enjoy!

Geneva, SWITZERLAND—A group of international economic researchers released the findings of a three-year study this week, claiming that the traditional–but technically illegal–use of the “Free Parking prize” in Parker Brothers’ “Monopoly” board game hopelessly destabilizes the game, allowing players to win by chance rather than skill. (more…)

Robo Course

June 26, 2008 | Poe

While obviously I encourage you to go out and buy the a copy of ToyFare #132, you can now read my retrospective on the 1980s Robo Force toy line on TF’s website as well.

Get ‘Er, Robo!
Robo Force may have suction cups for behinds, but these robot toys never, ever sucked

Hello, Robo! Adios, Robo!
ToyFare looks at the five strangest Robo Force robots and the ones that didn’t make the cut

5 Questions With: TJ Dietsch

June 25, 2008 | Poe

Codename: TJ Dietsch
Specialty: Associate Editor
Base of Operations: ToyFare magazine
History: He comes from the mean streets of Toledo, Ohio where he learned to survive by reading comics, watching hours of TV and playing with toys. He’s somehow, to the amazement of just about everyone but his mom, turned all that into a living–go figure! No pun intended. Or maybe it was.

Please describe what you do at ToyFare. Is this the culmination of a lifelong desire to work with toys or the inevitable result of a misspent youth?

I am the Associate Editor here at ToyFare, I took over when Justin left us briefly. Basically, I read all the copy that comes in and check it for factual and grammatical accuracy. Every now and then I get to write a feature or two (my first was the Iron Man Costume Contest feature in TF #130 which I’m pretty proud of). I also suggest word balloons and help out with things like TTT, Back Page and those wacky next issue ads.

I actually started out at Wizard Entertainment with an internship a few (four?) years ago. After I graduated I sat around my home town of Toledo, Ohio for a while and then got a job in the research department of Wizard for about three years before moving up to my current position. I’ve always like ToyFare, I even remember picking up the first few issues until I couldn’t afford it anymore and I’d read the issues as they came out when I was in research. I’m a big toy fan, I’ve been collecting, opening and playing with action figures since I was a kid, so ToyFare isn’t where I though I’d end up, but it’s been a perfect fit so far. (more…)