Odds ‘n Ends > Rocky, new Identify the Toy feature

January 11, 2012 | Poe

  • Regarding that other case of bad quality control, the retailer, HobbyLinkJapan, has said they will replace it, but are asking that we mail it back at their expense. Unfortunately they’re in Japan, obviously, so this will be a bit of a long process, but I’m hopeful that it will turn out better than the last fiasco.
  • FigureoftheDay.com has the full set of DC Direct’s Brightest Day series 3 for $55, with free shipping. Included are Aqualad, Jade, Hawk, and Dove.
  • NECA has been posting quite a bit about their new Rocky line (preorder at UrbanCollectibles). I have to admit the figures look pretty good, though I’m curious about the hip articulation (if there is any). Is anyone really excited for these figures? JAKKS‘s Rocky line a few years back seemed to do pretty well. The real question, however, is whether NECA will give us a Clubber Lang and/or a Meat figure. (Though personally, what I really want is a 6″, super-articulated, regular Mr. T figure.)
  • I was pondering a possible new entry for “Identify the Toy,” but decided I just didn’t have enough information for anyone to go on. I did a little searching myself, though, and to my utter shock, after three days I actually found the thing for a cheap price on eBay. Once it arrives, I’ll post the whole story here. In the meantime, I’m thinking that rather than simply using the “Identify the Toy” feature for actually helping people identify toys, it would be fun to have people take a photo of a toy, or rather a part of a toy, and then other people have to guess what toy it is. So, let’s get that going! Take a nice macro photo of an obscure toy, or part of your favorite toy, and email it to poe@poeghostal.com. I’ll post it and people can try to guess what it is. Hooray for crowdsourcing!
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Mass Effect 2 Figures Under New Management

January 11, 2012 | Poe

After nearly a year in limbo, the second series of Mass Effect 2 figures is now available for preorder. The manufacturer–or perhaps just distributor?–is a company called “Big Fish Toys” (who have a rather spare Web presence at the moment). These seem to be the exact same figures as those DC Unlimited had planned for series two, but Bioware famously swore never to work with DC Unlimited again. So who’s Big Fish Toys, exactly? I’d love to know the story behind this.

Oh, and Big Fish will be reissuing the first series of figures, too. I’ll be curious to see whether the quality is higher than DCU’s attempts–see the Shepard, Grunt reviews at OAFE.)

Anyway…it’ll be hard to resist a Legion and a Garrus, but I want to see the quality and articulation on them first.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Marvel Super Zeroes

January 11, 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: Calbretto

Calbretto writes: “I found this sad display of toy trolling at a Zellers in Toronto, Ontario. I guess the secret in Secret Wars is that Dr. Doom and Absorbing Man have been swapped with Batwoman and the Punisher. The saddest part is that Punisher doesn’t even have any hands.”


Wind Raider Update > Mattel: No Replacement Wind Raider

January 10, 2012 | Poe

When we last left our heroes, they had been asked to return the gun-less Wind Raider–in as annoying a fashion as possible–and then call to confirm the pick-up. After that, they were told, the Escalation Department would contact them within seventy-two hours to confirm the shipping of the replacement.

After confirming the pick-up, there were no emails or any communication whatsoever for three business days. Finally, Dr. Mrs. Ghostal calls Mattel’s customer service, who inform her there are no more Wind Raiders and that they had already(!) processed a refund for for the order for $47.20.

“How much?” asked DMG, noting a distinct problem with that sum.

“Hold on,” said the woman. A minute passes. “OK, I’ve set up a second refund for an additional $11.75.” For the shipping, you see.

Wow. Just…wow.

So. No Wind Raider for me, evidently. Bear in mind, had I known this was how it would turn out, I might have kept the gun-less one in the first place. Now I have a refund, but no Wind Raider.

Awesome.

What is going on with MOTUC? (Updated)

January 10, 2012 | Poe

The last update we got from Mattel on Demo-Man was on January 4: “MOTUC Fans, we know you’re all wondering where Demo Man is and we’re tracking down the shipment as you read this. The minute we have confirmation, we’ll post it.”

Yesterday, Fearless Photog was added to the Mattycollector website, with a January release date (which he still has as of 4:34pm ET). (more…)

Review > OMFG Series 1 (October Toys)

January 10, 2012 | Poe
 

l to r: The Phantom Shithouse, King Castor, Crawdad Kid, Multiskull, Stroll

You may remember October Toys as the makers of the Z.O.M.B.I.E. minifigures I reviewed way, way back in October 2008. In that review I said the figures reminded me of the M.U.S.C.L.E. toys of the 1980s. It seems OT’s fondness for M.U.S.C.L.E. was even greater than I imagined; four years later, we now have OMFG!

OMFG (which stands for–ahem–Outlandish Mini Figure Guys) began as a Kickstarter project. With a goal of $11,000, the project made over $15,000 by its deadline. As a $25 contributor, I was guaranteed two sets–the flesh-colored set seen above, and a Kickstarter-exclusive black set. (more…)

Poe’s Bad QC Luck Continues

January 9, 2012 | Poe

I finally went to open my MonsterArts MechaGodzilla this weekend–only to discover he had no eyes.

Now it’s a race between this and the Wind Raider as to which replacement item gets here first. Any bets?