Some new pre-orders I jumped on

December 19, 2012 | Poe

BigBadToyStore has posted two pre-orders I’ve been waiting for:

I, Grimlock, am the sovereign.

I, Grimlock, am the sovereign.

Fall of Cybertron Grimlock. If this website had a slightly different tone, this is where I’d type “**** AND YES.”

Finally. I haven’t even played the videogame yet (want to, though), but I know I need this toy. The vintage Grimlock remains my favorite toy of all time, and to be honest I’ve never found any of the later versions to be the Millennium MOTU-style “revamp” I wanted (Classics Grimlock was close, but no cigar). I think this one might be it. I’ll have to wait until I get it, though.

I must admit there’s a part of me that’s very tempted to start buying all the Fall of Cybertron toys because it’s a self-contained, in-scale(?) sub-line. I’ve already got Shockwave, though I still need to open and review him. On the other hand: money.

Anyway, the BBTS pre-order page is here. You can also get Blaster if you’re so inclined.

Next up:

aliens-asst

Did Bill Paxton approve that likeness?

So let me get this straight. In the next six months, I will own fully-articulated Dutch, Predator, Hicks, Hudson, and Alien Warrior figures. The only thing I need now is a way to somehow transport these back to 1989 to give them to my childhood self.

I can’t tell you how damn happy I am that the Alien has mid-foot joints. Anyway, order page is here.

EDIT: Bill Paxton sure did approve that likeness, thus confirming his status as an awesome dude.

Odds ‘n Ends > Rising action figure prices, articulation debates, Hoverboard disappointment, Pacific Rim

December 13, 2012 | Poe

odds_n_xmas

LOT of ground to cover today folks, so let’s get right to it.

–ODD–

Phil Reed of Battlegrip recently posted “Five Reasons Why Action Figures Cost More Today.” Phil knows what he’s talking about and you should check out the whole thing, which focuses largely on economic factors such as rising labor and materials costs. But one thing that interested me was the first comment on the post, which mentioned the declining birthrate in Western countries. That reminded me of this post by Richard Gottlieb that I read recently, “U.S. Birthrate Plummets; Look for Fewer Children in Four Years.” Richard begins the article with, “If there was ever a case to be made for marketing toys to adult end users…” Hasbro has clearly embraced this idea, but if I had to guess I’m willing to bet there’s still a struggle going on at Mattel between the generations over how to approach the collectors’ market. (more…)

NECA’s AvP:Requiem Alien Warrior: Still the best 1/12th-Scale Alien figure?

October 25, 2012 | Poe

Bear with me here. My favorite “Alien” design is the one from Aliens. That’s solely because it’s the first film of the series I was exposed to, it’s my favorite, and because it’s awesome.

Those who argue the more psychologically-creepy design from the first Alien is superior have a strong argument too, given its smoother, phallic-shaped head. (more…)

Sponsored Review > Engineer (Chair Suit) (Prometheus, NECA)

October 12, 2012 | Poe

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Prometheus is not a good movie. It’s a bloated, pretentious, incoherent mess of a film. However, I thought the aesthetic aspects of the movie were great, and that’s where this figure comes in.

I had high hopes for Prometheus. I’ve been a fan of the Alien franchise since I was eight or nine years old, and one of my favorite mysteries of that universe was the story behind the so-called “Space Jockey” (Prometheus calls them “Engineers”) in the chair on the derelict spaceship.

This unexplained and yet crucially important part of the Alien universe was so compelling to me. What was that thing? Was that long nose the trunk of an elephantine alien, or simply a breathing mask of some sort? Why was its bio-mechanical body, particularly its ribs, so similar to those of the xenomorph? What was that giant cannon-like structure it was sitting in, and why did he seem to be organically fused to it? Prometheus promised to answer some of these questions. And it did, I guess, but in an at best incomplete and at worst completely unsatisfactory way. And it was really poorly written, too.

But no matter – I’m not here to review the film. The fact is, regardless of how it got here, I now have an action figure of the Space Jockey – something I’ve always wanted but never imagined I’d have. Now that I’ve got him, I can imagine he’s whatever I want him to be.

(more…)