Odds ‘n Ends > Newgistics Delays, MOTUC Grayskull Astronaut, DCAS Wave 3 Lineup

February 27, 2012 | Poe

  • After last week’s surprisingly swift arrival of Fearless Photog, who shipped out on 2/16 and arrived on 2/22, my second sub–the one with the Sorceress, Fisto, Shadow Weaver and the map–has been listed as “in transit” from Nevada since 2/17. A cursory check of He-Man.org’s forums shows other people in the same boat. I like the take by Rob from Topless Robot: “It left Vegas on 2/20 and is now roaming the countryside, on some kind of adventure to find itself.” Once the option to change shipping is available with the subscription center on Mattycollector (whenever that gets fixed), I am switching back to UPS.
  • Over on his blog, Joe Amaro has posted an amazing MOTUC custom of the “Protector,” that bizarre “astronaut” cardboard cutout that was part of the original Castle Grayskull playset. He also posted new pics of his Ram Man custom.
  • BigBadToyStore has posted preorders (including singles) for DC All Stars waves 2 and 3. Wave 2, you’ll recall, will include Red Robin, Supergirl, New 52 Flash and New 52 Superman; but we now know wave 3 will feature Batgirl (version unknown), New 52 Batman, Hawkman (version unknown), and Steel w/ Hammer (I’m guessing it’s a re-release of the DCSH figure, but who knows?).

Odds ‘n Ends > FIO Winner, Some Plugs, MOTU Stuff, Weekly Round-Up

February 24, 2012 | Poe

  • The winner of this week’s Figure It Out is none other than PGPoA’s own art director, Mecha-Shiva! Of the thirteen entries I received this week, eleven correctly identified the figure as the Forbidden from ArtFX’s Final Fantasy VIII toy line.
  • Some quick plugs:
  • if you enjoy taking photos of toys and would like to submit your photos as potential Pics of the Day, join the PGPoA POTD Flickr group. I’ve been able to pull most of my pics from there since I started it, but there are only 35 members, so I’d love some more variety.
  • Don’t forget to check out the PGPoA Store. I’ve got some MOC stuff in there, and I’m looking to add some more stuff soon.
  • Finally, I’ve restarted Poe Ghostal Unpegged. I just needed a place for all my non-toy thoughts, and I really prefer keeping PGPoA toy-specific. But by the end of today, the number of posts on PGU will have tripled. True, two of them are rehashes of old posts from my previous website, Biggerboat…
  • OK, enough plugs.
  • I’ll say this for the bloggers at ActionFigureInsider, they’re not afraid to express their opinions (though they can be a bit sensitive when others do so). JJJason has a post up, “What the Hell Kind of Masters of the Universe Fan Are You?,” where he extols the virtues of the early MOTU minicomics and the “sword and sorcery” conception of the MOTUniverse–an opinion I suspect is shared by many of you. This is a topic I’ve touched on a few times recently, and if you scroll down the post you’ll see my own comment on it. Basically, I’ve come to embrace the goofier and weirder aspects of MOTU since the advent of MOTUC, because I think that’s a big part of what makes it so unique.
  • The Four Horsemen are looking for a few good sculptors and painters. Customizers, now’s your chance to fulfill your dream.
  • Weekly Round Up: This week on PGPoA, I posted a guest review of Megator by Doc Thomas, reviewed Fearless Photog, interviewed Phil Reed of Battlegrip.com, examined the bios of Clawful and Queen Marlena, answered some fan mail about the identity of the new Marvel Legends sculptors, discussed another big new MOTUC QC issue, and posted a how-to article from amazing toy photographer Ed Speir. FIO here, Pics of the Day here.

Review > Fearless Photog (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

February 24, 2012 | Poe

No discussion of Fearless Photog can be complete without first mentioning this article on X-Entertainment.com,* the seminal 1980s kids’ culture website by Matt Caracappa. At this point, anyone with even a passing acquaintance with Masters of the Universe knows the story: in 1985, Mattel held a “Create-A-Character” contest. Children were invited to send in their ideas for new characters, which were then voted on by fans via a phone number. The winner received a $100K scholarship, a trip to Disneyland, and best of all, their character would be made into an actual Masters of the Universe figure.

Only it didn’t happen that way. (more…)

Sponsor News > BBTS has TF, Portal, NECA, Marvel, 1/6, BBP & More!

February 23, 2012 | Poe

Here is a quick update from http://www.bigbadtoystore.com about a ton of new preorders, more cool new arrivals, and our latest sale!

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CLEARANCE SALE

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Several days ago we reduced pricing by 15% to 25% on 4000+ items that are a year or more old.  There are a lot of great older items available, please be sure to check out the menus found on this link:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=7223

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NEW PREORDERS

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“THE AVENGERS” MOVIE MASTERPIECE NICK FURY
Hot Toys has announced a 1/6 scale Nick Fury figure from the upcoming “The Avengers” movie.  This figure comes with a Samuel L. Jackson likeness along with a suitcase with the Cosmic Cube, weapons and much more.  We have him listed at $174.99, $15 off the MSRP.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HOT10385&mode=retail

KM-03 KNIGHT MORPHER CYCLOPS
Mastermind Creations has announced their newest release.  Knight Morpher Cyclops is done in a purple color scheme with his traditional head and an arm replaced by a gatling gun; he will measure about 10″ tall in robot mode and 15″ long in ship mode.  We have him listed at $159.99.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MMC10005&mode=retail

PORTAL APERTURE STUDIOS PORTAL GUN PROP REPLICA
NECA is also producing a life-sized replica of the Portal Gun from the Portal games.  It has both blue and orange lights and is limited to 5000 pieces worldwide; we have it listed at $124.99, $15 off the MSRP.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=NEC11812&mode=retail

NEW THINKGEEK ITEMS – PORTAL, DEXTER, TREK, MORE
We have just listed a variety of items from ThinkGeek, like an Apron and Coasters from Dexter, Hoodies, Cookie Cutters, Bookends and Flashlights from Portal and iPhone cases from Star Trek.  Take a look at these great new items at the link.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=ThinkGeek

LEFT 4 DEAD BOOMER DELUXE ACTION FIGURE
This character from Left 4 Dead 2 is not only sculpted well, but can be taken in half to show his “after” picture.  We have it listed at $21.99.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=NEC11818&mode=retail

MARVEL SELECT IRON MAN MARK VI – AVENGERS RELEASE
For those of you that missed out on this figure the first time around, it is now being rereleased in Avengers packaging.  It will include a display base, and is priced at $19.99.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=DMC11736&mode=retail

(more…)

Guest Review > Megator (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

February 22, 2012 | Doc Thomas

I collect nearly exclusively in the 1/12th scale. For me, it’s the perfect scale – translating to about a foot per inch, it’s the ideal size for strong sculpts with recognizable likenesses and meticulous paint detailing while also allowing one to have a bigger collection in a much smaller space than the average 1/6th scale collection.

That said, I am a huge fan of GIANT 1/12th-scale action figures, and rejoice at toys that are both large and in scale with the majority of my collection. I loved the Spawn movie boxed sets Malebolgia and Violator early in my collecting days, and when ToyBiz introduced BAFs into the Marvel Legends line I was ecstatic. (more…)

5 Questions With > Phil Reed of Battlegrip.com

February 22, 2012 | Poe


PHILIP REED
Real Name: Philip Reed
Base of Operations: Battlegrip.com
History: Philip Reed has worked professionally in the game industry since 1995 and has been a geek ever since he first encountered comics and action figures in the late seventies. He can often be found walking on the abandoned roads of America, head staring down at his BlackBerry as he answers e-mail while avoiding pot holes and spiked pits.

1.) First, the basics: what are your toy collecting credentials? What were your first toy(s), what were your favorite lines growing up, and have you been a lifelong collector or did you lose interest and get back into it at some point?

As a kid I was a fan of Star Wars, then G.I. Joe, and then Transformers. At different stages of the seventies and eighties I collected those toys, but it wasn’t until 2007 that my attention turned to designer toys. In late 2008 I had the idea of creating my own site dedicated to toys — www.battlegrip.com — and since that time my collection has exploded. I don’t really focus on any one line — or even type of toy — but instead grab whatever I think looks fun. (more…)