A Few More Spy Monkey Armory Pics

January 31, 2012 | Poe

I didn’t even realize that the Spy Monkey Armory came with a plug that could be used on Roboto, Trap Jaw and Hurricane Hordak until after I’d taken most of my photos for my review, so here are a few new ones.

One important thing to note is that the plug itself (which is larger than the standard Glyos plug) doesn’t have to be plugged in to the dome-shaped part; it’s removable, with a Glyos Fit Function plug on the other side.

I really like the lightsaber-style effect you get with the translucent blue blade for Trap Jaw.

Moguera & Baby Godzilla join the S.H.MonsterArts lineup

January 28, 2012 | Poe

I’ve been trying to figure out what Tamashii Nations is–evidently they’re “an umbrella label encompassing Japan’s top collectible brands” and, as far as I can tell, they’re run by Bandai.

Anyway, the Tamashii Nations Facebook page has posted new pics of the S.H.MonsterArts Moguera and Baby Godzilla figures. For those who don’t know, S.H.MonsterArts (SHM) is a line of 6″ scale, fully-articulated Godzilla figures. (I’ll be reviewing Godzilla and Mechagodzilla in the near future–once I get through the mass of MOTUC reviews I have on deck.) (more…)

Contest Updates > Odds ‘n Ends, Identify the Toy

January 28, 2012 | Poe

One of the runner-ups to the Odds ‘n Ends contest emailed me to point out I said I’d mail a Sword of Ages to the runner-up. I completely, totally forgot about that, and I apologize. I’ve contacted the runners-up for their addresses and will mail them their swords ASAP.

Also, there’s the Identify the Toy contest. I received one–ONE–entry, which makes me very sad. Fortunately the sender, Josh Flood, got it exactly right:

Ok, so I saw that foot and immediately remembered the toy as a kid. I’m 90% sure that it is the Robotech Zentraedi Powered Armor Botoru through Matchbox. It was released a few times in the 80’s and 90’s. I think the first time was 1986, then again through exo squad by playmates in 1994 or 1995.

So, I’m making three changes for the next round.

1.) At the suggestion of a Twitter follower I’m still trying to find, I’m renaming it “Figure It Out.”

2.) You now only need to name the toy, not the line, manufacturer and so forth. If multiple people get it right, I will pick a winner at random from the correct guesses.

3.) I will also send a Poe Prize to the most funny, creative, or otherwise interesting guess I receive. If you have no idea what the toy is, just go wild and make something up. Perhaps a long-winded description of the imaginary toy it belongs to, complete with a company history. Or a haiku about how you have no idea what it is.

Featured Review > Spy Monkey Armory Series 1 (Spy Monkey Creations)

January 27, 2012 | Poe

Full disclosure: this review will not be entirely objective, because I consider the SMC folks to be my friends. After all, they created both the Dread Axe of Darkness and the Sword of Ages as exclusives for PGPoA.

Fortunately, they’ve created such an incredibly awesome product that I feel no guilt in my enthusiasm.

Up until now, SMC’s accessories have always been produced on a very small scale using resin. The toys were great, but the production runs were small and expensive. But that’s all changed. SMC Series 1 was produced in a factory using durable PVC plastic to create a professional-looking product. (more…)

Mattel Gets Positively Chatty

January 27, 2012 | Poe

Scott Neitlich, a.k.a. “ToyGuru” of Mattel was posting quite a bit on the Mattycollector forums last night.

First up is this new “director’s commentary” on the Masters of the Universe Classics line, starting with King Grayskull. This seems like a neat, fun idea. There’s no real new info here–most of this has been hashed out before in interviews and so forth–but I’ll be interested to see the discussions of later figures. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Draego-Man and Kobra Khan Pics & Bio, S.H.MonsterArts Updates, DC Direct Dark Knight Rises figures

January 26, 2012 | Poe

  • Mattel has posted pics and bios of Kobra Khan and Draego-Man on their Facebook page. Who’s the Great Black Wizard…? Scott also added this commentary: Draego-Man really filled out the package. The wings are detached as is the tail to fit inside the blister, but they all easily snap in. He comes with the flame on sword. We are working on finding a home for the unreleased sword and whip accessories, perhapes with a future figure. The massive wing span and all the deco hits he needed forced us to reduce a few accessories to keep him as a $20.00 figure. We would rather remove the shield than have to remove the wings or tail! The all new bio [is] based on the Horsemen’s backstory! The shield art was also supplied by the Horsemen from their concept sketch sent to our design team! Draego ships in April as part of the 30th sub (not the main Club Eternia Cub) with some limited day-of stock for non sub holders.
  • Bandai Japan’s S.H.MonsterArts line is my new obsession, so I was happy to hear the latest news that Moguera will be released in late May, and the SpaceGodzilla special effects pack featuring crystals and an articulated Baby Godzilla will ship in June. The Moguera will cost $87, which is more expensive than any SHM figure to date (lots of theories as to why, but it’s probably just due to all the accessories). Given this line’s obsession with accuracy and devotion to depicting these kaiju as fully as possible, I strongly suspect it will be able to split, especially since, to the best of my knowledge, no previous Moguera toy has been able to do that. The crystal/Baby Godzilla set will cost $44, which is actually cheaper than any accessory kit thus far. The better news is that there may be a U.S. distribution for one or both items, which should bring the prices down.
  • DC Direct is doing 6″ Dark Knight Rises figures, meaning that they will once again be competing directly with Mattel; first the Arkham games, now DKR. DCD pretty decisively won the Arkham battle, but if the Four Horsemen are behind the DKR Movie Masters and Mattel actually puts a little money into the production side of things (a big if there), they could win this battle…especially since the DCD figures appear to be pre-posed a la DC’s World of Warcraft and God of War figures. (Via Toynewsi)
  • In the same article, DC also announced series 3 of Arkham City, due in September 2012 and consisting of a regular Batman, Ra’s Al Ghul, Clown Thug, Azrael, and the Penguin.