- Images of Marvel Icons waves 5 & 6 (Marvelous News)
- Michael Crawford reviews Hasbro’s Cloverfield monster
- Star Wars Q&A Round-up for December 5 (Rebelscum)
- For Monte: Design sheets and photos of unreleased Sigma Six Adventure Team sets (Hisstank)
News round-up, 12/5/08
- Packaged and out-of-package photos of MOTUC Skeletor (TheFwoosh)
- Preview of Diamond Select’s quarter-scale Darth Maul (Figures.com) I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since we were first introduced to this incompetent excuse for a Jedi.
- Packaged pics of McFarlane Halo 3 Hunter (Figures.com)
- Cloverfield monster figure review–hey, somebody had to buy it. (Action-figure.com)
- First pics of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra toys (Toy Bender)
- Cure for yellowing white toys found? (Toy Bender)
- Hasbro’s CEO Brian Goldner wins CEO of the Year (Market Watch)
News round-up, 12/3/08
- Hasbro G.I. Joe Q&As: TNI, Figures.com, Hisstank
- Behind-the-scenes video about the new Hasbro Millennium Falcon (Hasbro)
- Diamond Select releases photos of their upcoming Borg-themed Trek line. These look pretty awesome. (Cool Toy Review)
- Diamond Select partners with Toys ‘R Us. I guess TRU is serious about appealing to collectors–good for them. This is great news. (DST)
- Color pics of Masterpiece Grimlock and first pics of ROTF deluxe Bumblebee (Seibertron)
- Have you always wanted a M.U.S.C.L.E. man to screw your computer? Your wish has been granted–by Japan, of course. (Topless Robot)
News round-up, 12/1/08
Merry Christmas-time, everyone! Or happy holidays, if you are of a non-Christmas-celebrating persuasion. Or happy secular time of celebration, good will and consumerism for you atheists.
You’ve no doubt noticed we’ve made a few little design changes to the site. Hope you like it! I want to thank webmaster OB1 for his tireless work on the site. Let us know if there’s anything you particularly like or don’t like–PGPoA is a continuing work-in-progress.
And now on to your regularly scheduled news…
- Add comic book writer Gail Simone to the list of people who have had dust-ups with Shocker Toys. Somehow the topic came up at Simone’s creator forum at Comic Book Resources, Shocker Toys responded and the situation escalated from there. (via RTM)
- Can anyone explain this Shortpacked to me? Wait–never mind, Willis did it himself. (Toynewsi)
- The Marvel Legends Nemesis wave pops up overseas. Is a new avatar for OAFE‘s yo go re in the cards? (Action-Figure)
- MOTUC He-Man and Beast Man go on sale at 12 p.m. EST today on Mattycollector.com. I’m hoping to have another post about this topic up later today.
- Hisstank has in-hand photos of the G.I. Joe: Resolute Duke, Cobra Commander, Cobra Trooper and Blowtorch figures.
News round-up, Thanksgiving Eve edition
- Cracked.com has a list of The 20 Stupidest G.I. Joe Vehicles Ever. As a kid, I was a loyal Cracked reader over Mad, back in the day when Cracked boasted Don Martin and John Severin, who drew the best movie parodies. Also, I need a personal, life-size Cobra Pogo Ballistic Battle Ball. (Thanks to MisterBigBo for the link)
- Enormous Frazetta-based Conan statue on its way from C.S. Moore. (Toynewsi)
- Extensive photo review of MOTUC He-Man (Figures.com)
- China’s toy makers face bleak Christmas as factories shut down (Telegraph.co.uk)
- Hasbro Marvel Q&A What’s up with that Punisher hint at the end? (Cool Toy Review)
- Want the heads-up on all the big Black Friday deals? Check out blackfriday.info
- G.I. Joe wave 13 released So are these based on the comic, the show, or what? (Hisstank.com)
- Mighty Avengers trailer (YouTube)
News round-up, 11/24/08
- Diamond Comics will be offering pre-orders for sets of DCUC action figures, much like online retailers have been doing for months now. (Toynewsi)
- Better photos of Revenge of the Fallen Soundwave figure. I love how nerds are avoiding this “spoiler” like the plague. Look, it’s just a toy–it’s not going to give away the plot at all. And it’s a a toy of a robot from a sequel to a movie based on toy robots. Did you really enjoy Transformers enough that you can’t bear the thought of knowing what happens in the sequel? Here’s a hint: there are robots who turn into things, they fight, and stuff blows up. (Tformers.com)
- G.I. Joe Hard Master review and modern Blowtorch revealed (Hisstank.com)
- Hot Toys announces license for movie Hellboy 12″ figures, rendering all previous 12″ Hellboy figures worthless (Figures.com)
- Spock is dead on. Kirk looks like the dad from Flight of the Navigator. William Shatner and Bruce Campbell–two men whose faces are just impossible to capture in plastic, for some reason.
- MOTUC He-Man and Beast Man go on sale one week from today…
News round-up, 11/22/08
- The Fwoosh has a great early review of MOTUC He-Man. Again, my jealousy knows no bounds.
- New, high-res photos of Masterpiece Grimlock. Looks fantastic. (Tformers.com)
- Action figure sales up 1.2% for first three quarters of 2008 (Playthings.com via Fanmode)
- Target exclusive Clone Wars program (via Rebelscum.com)
- G.I. Joe: Resolute Cobra Commander figure image. Looks pretty cool. (Hisstank.com)
News round-up, 11/20/08
—New G.I. Joe 5-packs on the way “[…] bringing characters back to the fold that new collectors may have missed the first time around” including Snake Eyes. Did anyone miss Snake Eyes? I don’t even collect G.I. Joe and I own Snake Eyes. Looks like it’s a different sculpt, though.
—2008 “Worst Toys” List They’re all just toys with safety issues–talk about boring! I miss Reverend Rose’s list of “warped toys” that will condemn your soul to eternal torment.
–Figures.com has a Gears of War toy giveaway going on. You’ll be able to enter once the site finishes loading tomorrow morning (seriously, the ads on that site are out of control). On a side note, can anyone tell me where the series 2 Marcus has more articulation than the series 1 fig?
–CornerStoreComics is having a big sale on DC Direct figures.
–With the economy sliding down the tubes this year, there are going to be more than a few kids going without toys under the Christmas tree. Do your part by donating to Toys for Tots.
Pic of the Day
Mercenary Wraith by Ed Speir IV
MERCENARY WRAITH
All apologies for the lack of updates–a combination of a busy week and a general lack of items of toy-related interest is to blame.
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I don’t collect any G.I. Joe figures. However, I’m always interested in a great toy (for instance, I own the Sigma Six Sky B.A.T.–that thing is just a cool). And I have to say this guy looks awesome:
I know nothing about the character, although the short bio on Hasbro’s site sounds pretty cool:
MERCENARY WRAITH was known for years by the G.I. JOE team and the COBRA organization. Each group hoped that the skilled spy and fighter would choose to join them. In the end, DESTRO was the only one who discovered what MERCENARY WRAITH truly lived for: chaos and destruction. MERCENARY WRAITH doesn’t care about causes or sides, right or wrong; he cares only about the next mission or battle, the next chance to cause harm. Using stolen technology, he acquired a stealth assault suit that makes him virtually invisible. He is protected from weapons fire by impenetrable ceramic plates and is an expert marksman with the built-in forearm cannons. The only flaw in the suit is that an outline of him can be seen if he moves too fast, but by then he is so close to this target that you only get a quick, shadowy glimpse before MERCENARY WRAITH makes his move.
He looks and sounds like the Joe-verse’s Boba Fett, specifically designed to make geeks go wild. Heck, I’m surprised he hasn’t given Snake Eyes a run for his money in popularity.
Anyway, he’s such a cool-looking toy that I just might have to get him…if I can find him. He’s so cool I assume he’ll be shortpacked or otherwise impossible to find. For those of you in the Joe loop, when is he due out?