Odds ‘n Ends > Lego News, Po-rtal-tato, JLU

December 16, 2011 | Poe

  • There’s been a lot of Lego news this week. First off is Lego’s new girl-oriented brand. I’ve seen some knee-jerk reactions from geeks that the sets are too girly and that it’s wrong to characterize Star Wars/Indiana Jones sets as solely boy-oriented. I agree with the latter statement, but after reading the article,  I don’t think that’s what Lego is saying at all. Lego seems to have done their research on this. Girls and boys don’t play the same exact way all the time, and I’m interested to see whether Lego has indeed found a way to appeal to girls more.
  • There are also going to be Lord of the Rings Legos. My initial response was, “Did they make those years ago?” But apparently not. As much as I love the movies, frankly I’d be more excited if these were based on the books instead–I’d love a Tom Bombadil playset. But I suppose the movies are more marketable. And maybe we’ll get a videogame.
  • Dr. Mrs. Ghostal thinks this Portal 2 PotatOS Science Kit is the coolest thing she’s ever seen.
  • PGPoA contributor Monte has a post up at PGPoA Power Pal Generals Joes about the most overrated and underrated modern G.I. Joe figures. For the most part I have no idea who any of these characters are.
  • Check out the latest teaser from Spy Monkey Creations. Here’s a hint: Hammer of Chalybeous w/ Glyos fit/form function. Sweet.
  • Mattel is considering producing the last six tooled JLU three-packs for diehard collectors. The catch is that, due to the low production numbers, they would cost $50 apiece. Not being a diehard JLU collector, I can’t imagine paying that much for those figures, but I’m the guy (reluctantly) paying $60 for the Star Sisters, so who am I to judge?

Review > Gandalf the White (Return of the King, ToyBiz)

September 21, 2009 | Poe

Gandalf is my favorite literary character. Oh, there are other ones I’m very fond of–Ebeneezer Scrooge, Randolph Carter, Dick Diver, the Continental Op. But when it comes down to who I’d like to share a beer (or in his case, a glass of red wine) with, Gandalf’s my man.

In fact, without Gandalf I might not be an adult action figure collector–it was Toy Vault’s line of figures based on The Lord of the Rings (the novel) that drew me back into collecting just after I started college. While the toys may look a bit quaint, and looked quaint even for the time, they were great figures and clearly created with a great love for the source material.

Of course, along came the movies, starting in 2001, and what was once a beloved secret treasure of geeks became a billion-dollar, Oscar-winning franchise.

While I do love the movies, I still love the books just as much, if not more. But Ian McKellen portrayed Gandalf so incredibly close to the literary version that I couldn’t help but love him too.

Toy Biz’s Lord of the Rings line, already fading from most collectors’ memories, was easily the best 6″ line of movie-based action figures ever made, and perhaps the best movie-based line ever made, period. The figures featured top-of-the-line sculpting, great articulation, huge character variety, and tons of accessories. (more…)

Pic of the Day

September 8, 2009 | Poe

Ni by Nickwheeleroz

Poe’s note: I’ve been thinking about the ToyBiz Lord of the Rings line a lot lately…this was an incredible line. Marvel Legends-style articulation on near-McFarlane level sculpting and paint apps, incredibly character variety, all in scale with one another, PLUS NECA made the full-scale Balrog…this is Shambhala, people.