PGPoA’s Guide to Third Party Transformers Products

May 23, 2012 | @abuddah

With Playmates’ announcement of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle line based on the 1980s cartoon, the circle of nostalgia for the toy industry is just about complete. The TMNT, Snake Eyes, He-Man, and Luke and Leia have come and gone a few times since the ’80s, but one property has always had a spot on the shelf: the Transformers. Kids love cars, robots and the idea of getting two toys for the price of one. (On the other hand, there are the Go-Bots…)


I certainly loved my original Transformers toys, but even back then I could tell something was amiss. The robots who waged war on my carpet in the afternoon didn’t look exactly like the ones battling over the fate of the planet on TV. The designers had taken quite a bit of creative license in order to get the Autobots and Decepticons into streamlined character models that would be easy to animate. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Did Storage Wars Stage a Big Action Figure Find?

May 22, 2012 | Poe

Dr. Mrs. Ghostal and I got into the A&E show Storage Wars a few weeks ago. I’ve never been one for these reality shows – I’ve never watched Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars or American Pickers and hell, even that one Toy Hunters episode has been sitting on my DVR, unwatched, since January or whenever it aired. But after a comment from Power Pal Ben Leach, I decided to watch a few eps of SW and got hooked.

Of course, like many such shows, you can find no shortage of Internet commentary claiming it’s entirely staged – particularly an episode in which some buyers, Jarrod and his wife Brandi, discover an extremely valuable cache of vintage Mego Super Heroes. There’s a thread about it at the Mego Museum and the consensus is that it was entirely staged; one fellow claims to know the collector who “donated” the figures to the show. (more…)

Toy Aisle Trolls > Transformers Crime

May 22, 2012 | 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@poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: SL

Should look like:

Poe’s Note: I think the orange in SL’s pics is due to the photo, not the packaging or troll activity.

MOTUC Bio Discussion #58 > Battleground Evil-Lyn

May 22, 2012 | Poe

Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!

Battleground Evil-Lyn Bio
Real Name: Evelyn Morgan Powersâ„¢

Cast aside by her secret husband after his transformation, Evil-Lyn sent their infant son into the future and plotted to overthrow Skeletor by releasing his enemies from their dimensional prisons. In a series of miscalculations, she helped free the Snake Menâ„¢, Hordak and Gygorâ„¢ — increasing her adversaries threefold! After Randor and Miro returned from Despondosâ„¢, the Three Towers rose and Evil-Lyn found herself again allied with Skeletor during the Second Ultimate Battleground. At the end, defeated and stripped of her powers by the new Sorceress of Grayskullâ„¢, Evil-Lyn used the Cosmic Keyâ„¢ and the Power of Central Tower to return to the future to find a new life with her long lost child — The Son of Skeletor!

Quite a bit of new information in this bio. First, we learn for certain that Evil-lyn actually married Skeletor at some point, albeit secretly, and they even had a kid. I’m a little unclear on how the events proceeded, but my guess is Evil-lyn got pregnant by Keldor, had the child secretly (probably after Keldor was transformed into Skeletor), sent it into the future (probably with the aid of her father, the Faceless One), then remained an Evil Warrior and began unleashing all of Skeletor’s enemies into the world, each of which backfires on her.

At the Second Ultimate Battleground newly-minted Sorceress Teela strips Evil-lyn of her powers, but she uses the Cosmic Key (doesn’t anyone ever keep an eye on that?) and goes to the future with “the Son of Skeletor.”

The “Son of Skeletor” plot thread may be a reference to “He-Ro, Son of He-Man,” a rejected 1996 cartoon pitch by Lou Scheimer Productions to bring back the He-Man franchise. The cartoon would have featured a teenager named Dare, a ward of King Adam, who could turn into the He-Man-like “He-Ro” using the Power Sword. If you skim through the pitch’s bible (via the link above), you’ll see there’s a lot of talk about the mystery of Dare’s parents. However, Mattel’s Scott Neitlich confirmed that Dare is not the son of Skeletor – which makes sense, since that would have been far too interesting a plot point for these bios.

MOTUC Bio Discussion Archive

The Jesse Ventura Action Figure Conspiracy

May 21, 2012 | Poe

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=85DMl1IZ6oI&h=284&w=500]

Taking a break from speculating about the motives of toy corporations, I love this video. Extremely quotable.

Thanks to Infinite Hollywood for the heads-up!

Mattel Offers Refunds for Yellowed Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men (Updated)

May 21, 2012 | Poe

UPDATE: OK, I finally had time to think it through and figured out a legitimate reason for requesting all figures be sent back in, rather than simply refunding any orders made on Mattycollector upon request.

Let’s say a retailer ordered 100 Stay-Pufts off Mattycollector (by having their staff members each order 10 or whatever, I can’t remember if there was a limit). They could re-sell all 100 of those Stay-Pufts, then get 100 refunds for those orders. Then, each customer who bought a Stay-Puft also requests refunds, and so Mattel ends up refunding for 200 figures instead of 100.

So, I admit I missed something on this one. But I still wish they could make the process of returning the figures easier. (When I had to return my Wind Raider, they requested someone be there when they come to get the package. So you have to have someone home, or take it to work and have it picked up there, or risk leaving it out on your doorstep unattended.) /END UPDATE

Mattel is offering refunds for anyone who bought last year’s SDCC Stay-Puft, which has a QC problem in which the toys are turning yellow. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Mystic Hammer, Build-a-Droid Factory, Warlords & Warriors, Robertcop

May 21, 2012 | Poe

  • Poe’s Power Pal and toymaker extraordinaire Joe Amaro will soon be taking orders for his Tytus-scale Mystic Hammer (they’ll cost around $15 apiece). Follow him on his blog and Twitter for more info.
  • Cartoonist and Poester Bill White has a blog post up about his experience with the Build-a-Droid Factory at the Star Tours gift shop at Disney World. Seems pretty fun, so fingers crossed that it’s still around in 5-7 years when I take my as-yet-hypothetical kid there.
  • I came across an interesting new toy line called Warlords and Warriors. It’s very similar to vintage Masters of the Universe, or rather, the Remco knockoff lines of MOTU, with one twist – the legs and arms will be completely interchangeable. For the record, while I generally have reservations regarding lines that are similar to copyrighted toy lines, in this case I have no concerns because Mattel lost that court case decades ago. You can follow the Warlords and Warriors project on Facebook.
  • Here’s a funny list of knockoff toys. Robertcop is my favorite.