Colonel Raines' Toy Chest

Ideal's Kent and his Cosmic Cruiser from 1978

2012-01-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I am still obsessed with random 70's toys and for the 1st article of the year
I bring you Kent in all his glory.

I was lucky enough to stumble across this fine example of late 70's Star Wars knockoff mania.

His name is Kent and he is from the short lived 1977 -1978 line by the Ideal toy company called "STAR TEAM". These were a mixture of rehashed versions of their 60's line Zeroids and trying to make quick buck off of Star Wars hysteria.

The line consisted of 4 figures and a recycled Zeroid space ship called "Star Hawk." The 1st 3 figures Zem 21 (C3p0), Knight of Darkness (Darth Vader), and Blue Zeroid (R2D2) are fairly common on the after market today. The Star Hawk shows up a bit less frequently.

The last piece released in a desperate attempt to squeeze a few more dollars from George Lucas' pocket was KENT AND HIS COSMIC CRUISER. This piece seems to have been released in very limited quantities and is almost wholly forgotten in the collector market today.

He is therefore very difficult to find in any condition.

I was lucky to get Kent mint in his original baggie with original instructions and sticker sheet.

So...being the crazy fool I am...I stuck those stickers on the Cruiser as fast as
I could peel them off the 34 year old sheet that has yellowed with age.

Kent's Cruiser is just a retooled Evel Knievel Sky Cycle, but maybe Kent has magic powers to breathe in outer space with no covering on his cockpit.

For more info on Kent and his friends, please check out plaidstallions.com and toysyouhad.com. They each have a nice spread on this ridiculous bunch of toys.

Excel Toys' Little Legends of the West

2011-07-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Excel Toys released these "Little Legends" in 1973 and 1974.

The only have 4 points of articulation and have static pre-posed legs.

Sometime in 1974, Excel added articulation and sold the line to Empire Toys, who produced many Legends of the West figures, horses, and wagons till 1980.

These "Little Legends" differ from their later articulated cousins in
not just movement, but in sculpting and quality.

These earlier figures are made of a higher quality plastic than the
later cheaper dime store style pieces released by Empire.

The major differences in the sculpting is that Cochise

and Wild Bill Hickok have longer tunics

and Buffalo bill has on a long coat and stripe pants like his 9" cousin.

For more info and pics from the Legends of the West lines from Empire and
Excel check out this link.

My Backwoods Toy Shed

2011-04-07T14:39:00.001-07:00

My parents moved out to the middle of nowhere a few years ago and got a nice sprawling piece of land to house all our insane collectibles. They turned the old barn into a guest house and a storage facility for all of their stuff. My mother has a large collection of books,tea pots and Koala bear memorabilia. The step dad has a massive model train collection in many different scales with 2 large layouts in the barn. The last time I had a permanent setup for my toy collection was in college. It has been in and out of storage units and people's garages for the last 10 years. The previous owner of the property had a fancy shed he used as an office with air conditioning. My parents were using it for storage, yet after a couple years I finally convinced them to turn it into a storage/show space for my toy collection.

By the time I had talked them into letting me use it, I was moving 3000 miles away to California. We quickly put up shelving and walls and a tables with whatever was left around the property. In person it is a really cool site to see being surrounded on all sides by plastic characters blankly staring at you from oblivion. I was never satisfied with the unfinished look, so I have been drafting plans for a massive overhaul of the shed into a more dynamic display space. We are adding in a roof and painting the walls. It will be more like a model train layout with a large table going around the circumference of the shed. You will be able to walk though the middle and see and play with all of the playset dioramas we are going to build, very similar to the Harry Potter Lego setup. There will be custom shelving built for each toy line to display each line's uniqueness. A lot of my collection is with me in California and I will be moving it slowly to be in the new shed setup. I am hoping to get the table and the ceiling done when I visit at Christmas. But, until then, here are pics of the the shed as it looks today, cluttered and ridiculous.

The view from the door.

The view from above.

From the side

Harry Potter Lego Diorama

Kenner's Police Academy

Pee Wee's Playhouse by Matchbox

Blackstar by Galoob

5" Marvel Figures from the 90's by Toy Biz

Marvel Legends by Toy Biz

Filmation's Ghostbusters by Schaper

Rambo by Coleco

Mego's Eagle Force

Kenner's Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

Kenner's M.A.S.K.

(Still need a bunch. These are the ones left from childhood.)

Starting Lineup by Kenner

The Simpsons by Playmates

Star Trek by Playmates and Art Asylum

McDonaldland by Remco

Matchbox's Fighting Furies

Spawn by Mcfarlane (Why do I still have these??!!)

Sectaurs by Coleco

Lord of the Rings by Playalong

Lord of the Rings by Toy Biz

G.I. Joe Air Craft Carrier by Hasbro

Misc Crap

Well...that's all the crap I was able to cram up on the makeshift shelves. Tons more stuff in boxes and and with me in Cali. Will update with California collection pics soon.

"Don't give me no back talk sucka!"

2011-04-07T14:11:00.001-07:00

When I was 9 years old, there was one man in the world I loved more than any other. His name is Mr. T. I had the cereal, the figures, a custom Cabbage Patch type doll, the sheets, a tent, and a whole slew of other merchandise that was available at the time. He has since grown into a mythical legend to me and I was lucky enough to meet this wonderful man back in 2000 at a Mall event for TV Land. I smiled from ear to ear when I got my moment with Mr. T. Looking back on all the merchandise of the time and thinking about how crappy that new movie was, I thought it was time to rediscover the wonderful 6" line of A-team action figures by Galoob.

For a great history of the company, check out this site Lewis Galoob Toy Inc.

As one of their 1st action figure licenses, Galoob tackled

the ever popular comic book style A-team TV show.

The show was going strong in 1983 when the first of the 6" toys was released.

Here is a great commercial for them from Europe.

I can remember going to the old Lionel Playworld and pickup a set of figures way back in '83. I don't think these were very hard to get back when they were 1st released and hung on the shelves for quite a long time. I think this attributes to the fact that their are so many carded version of these figures that are widely available on the internet today.

The line consists of 9 figures, 2 vehicles, and 1 playset.

There are 5 good guys

and 4 bad guys.

There are also variants of the figures that

were sold overseas with different paint decos.

The figures are a bit cartoony, bulky and have limiting articulation,

but they have a unique charm and I just can't get enough of them.

Let's start with the main man Hannibal. I have always loved George Peppard from his movies and great shows like "Banacek." But, in the A-team he let all of his hammy glory come to the forefront. He always seemed a bit too old for me to be in such and elite team, but I loved everyone of his perfect plans.

Hannibal came with one of two heads.

The more common is the one on the left with

the generic, not so accurate, sculpt.

The one on the right is a little harder to come by, but shows

Galoob's attention to detail in changing the head during

production to look more like Mr. Peppard.

He comes with various weapons and equipment

ready to use in his next big scheme.

My only complaint would be that he did not come with

any of the cool disguises that he used so often in the show.

That would really had made this figure stand

out from the generic into the fantastic!

There is a Euro Variant figure with different colors,

but I haven't seen one up for sale in a long time.

Next is our crazy friend Howling Mad Murdock.

I have many a Dwight Schultz action figure between his time with

the A-team and the various Star Trek series, but this is my favorite.

I love the rye look in his eye that he could do something nuts at any moment.

He has a pretty good face sculpt for the time right down to his sly grin.

He comes with a ton more gear to fool around with and piss of B.A.

The variant on him has a yellow jacket and gray pants.

This was only released overseas and can be a bear to find.

1 of the vehicles for the line was made for Mr. Murdock.

It is the Combat Attack Gyrocopter.

The copter comes with a Murdock figure of it's own

and you can press a button on the middle

of the copter and make the propeller spin.

There are also 2 bombs that can be dropped via the lever at the bottom of the seat.

Here is Face.

The good looking rogue that secured all of the

A-team's gear when they were out on a mission.

He was played perfectly by the ever charming Dirk Benedict.

The figure is a decent representation of what Face

would have looked like with a few extra pounds on him.

The Euro variant has an inconspicuous orange

jacket for all of the teams stealth missions.

The head sculpt does capture Dirk's irresistible smile.

This man needs no introduction...

This was one of my favorite figures growing up and

is an excellent representation of Mr. T's image at the time.

This B.A. Baracus figure is the gem of the line.

The sculptors at Galoob must have paid extra attention to this little guy.

He comes with a ton of tools and a seriously bad attitude.

He is perfect right down to the gold chains, super high socks, rings, and tattoos.

His hand are even balled into a fist ready to punch

out any sucka that gets in his way.

This is one of the figures I have kept in my room for most of my life.

If you get 1 figure from this line...you know what has to be.

B.A. also gets his own vehicle.

The Off Road Attack Cycle.

This is his rugged 3-wheeler with a trailer that

holds a repeat action Flame Disk Shooter.

I don't quite remember anything like this from the show,

but it is a cool accessory to the line nonetheless.

The last member of the team in the plucky reporter Amy Allen.

Amy joined the team in the pilot episode when she hired the boys to find a reporter who had been kidnapped in Mexico.

Melinda Culea stayed with the boys for a bunch of episodes, but she fought with producers to make her more than the "girl in distress" and they promptly wrote her off the show.

At least she got herself a figure...sort of.

The Amy figure is the bad egg in the carton. Her head sculpt did not come out to well and it looks like they A-team has befriended some sort of mutated Kristy Mcnichol.

Well...you can't have an action based figure line without some Bad Guys.

Since the show was episodic, there were very few recurring villains.

It looks to me that Galoob took a look at the bad guys from season 1 of the show and created some great generic figures for the A-team to battle against.

The Bad Guys are even less articulated than

the A-team and they share all of the same accessories.

My favorite of the bunch is Viper. He orange feathered

mullet just screams 80s bad guy.

He is even wearing a classy yellow and green outfit

to display his toughness for all to see.

He comes with the same accessories as Face and a sweet Uzi.

This bald one eyed badass is Python. He looks to be the muscle of the group.

His orange mustache just squeals righteous indignation.

His mother must not have raised him very well.

He comes with all the same stuff as B.A.,

including his tool chest filled with instruments of evil!

Rattler is the evil Native American who was abused

by the system and is taking out his revenge on the world!

Rattler has a great generic native head sculpt is equipped
with Murdock's gear and a handy grappling hook.

The last of the Bad Guys is Cobra.

He look to be based on the villan from the pilot episode

played by the great character actor, Sergio Calderon.

He looks ready to assault the world with all of Hannibal's gear.

Now to the prize piece in this short lived line.

The A-team Command Center Playset.

The playset had limited release around the world and is very scarce today.

The one I have is not complete, but they go for a ton

on the secondary market complete with the box.

It is, without a doubt, one of the rarest action figure playsets of the 1980's.

It comes with a ton of accessories. A computer console, a meeting table with barrels as chairs, a work table for B.A., a ladder to the escape hatch on the roof, an elevator, a cot to catch some shut eye, boxes of supplies, etc.

It took me years to get one and I still don't have it complete.

It is very fragile and you should probably not let any children play with it.

This is probably why it did make it out into the mass market.

The final word on this line..

If you are a child of the 80s..there will always be a special place in your heart for Mr. T and the A-team. This is a property that seems to have good legs and should carry on entertaining the multitudes for decades to come. The figures are a mixed bag and have plenty of sculpting and articulation issues. There is very limited posing you can do with them and it very difficult to get any dynamic scenes going with these guys in any of my toys displays. But, to their credit, Galoob took a chance on their 1st licensed figure line and came up with a nostalgic winner! The toys are cartoony, but fun! Their barrel chests cry out to the heroism and hedonism of the bombastic "Me" Decade. These will sit on the shelf very well next to my Rambo and Commando figures of the bygone era of the Vietnam Vet soldiering the world with retribution using their unique militaristic talents.

Oh, how I miss those days...

Magnum P.I. by LJN Toys

2011-04-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

"One of the cliches of my profession is that to get information from a bartender you have to slip him bills of various denominations. Bills that you can't afford with pictures of unfamiliar presidents and usually for information that isn't worth it." - Thomas Magnum

That pretty much sums up one of my all time favorite TV shows. A poor handsome rogue living off a rich man and solving crimes on a beautiful landscape.
The best of macho escapist fantasy.

I was a huge fan of this show as a kid and have been rewatching it on Netflix as an adult and I love it even more. I am a sucker for the roguish detective shows of the 70's and 80's.

The plots were never too deep or involved and the show plays
out a bit like a comic book or maybe a romance novel,
but the ever present magnetism of Tom Selleck
pulls you into the world of the show and never let's you go.

Naturally, since the show was a huge hit, merchandise was to follow.
There is all kinds of Magnum crap around from that era, but the best piece is
the action figure and Ferrari put out by LJN in 1982.

I remember seeing these sit on the shelves for some time back then. Most of the kids I knew were going after the Michael Knight and K.I.T. set rather than this one.

I am sure my mother and every other red-blooded American female
at the time could have had lots of fun with this figure set.

Over time this set has become kind of rare and is very difficult to find in
good condition with the roof attached and the Magnum figure unscathed.

The best thing is to find a boxed example and open it....
which is easier said than done and can be extremely pricey.

Magnum is your basic 3 3/4" figure of the
time with a Megoesque body style,
a sweet stache, and a wide eyed hangover look.

The Ferrari is a beauty. A deep red with chrome wheels and
a sweet Magnum P.I. sticker on the back.

I am very happy to finally be in possession
of such a great piece of 80's TV nostalgia.

It has been a long wait, but well worth it.

Now to find a way to move to Hawaii and live on the
beach next to some mansion and hang out
with girls in bikinis for a living.

For more info on this great set,
check out the 3 3/4" Archive and Plaidstallions.com.

"He wants you to be his Master!"

2011-03-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

So...

I have been collecting a lot of toys from the 1973 to 1976 period lately
and have stumbled across some great lines in the process.

One of my favorite's that I am into at the moment has got
to be Kenner's Duke The Super Action Dog!!

I only have one of the sets so far, but I wanted to highlight this little known line from 1974.

This is one of the great pre-Star Wars Kenner lines from the mid 1970's
that fits in well with Steve Scout and his larger cousin, Steve Austin.

Here is what I know...

This line was an original property, like the Steve Scout line,
and had no comic, movie, or TV basis. It was just a fun line
for kids who wanted to have a dog to master.

Duke is of the highest quality, like the other
Kenner products of the time, well sculpted and articulated.

It was only produced by Kenner for a couple of years and most
of the pieces are tough to find on the secondary market today.

If you have any more info on Duke....let me know.

Also, check out more pics and info at
The Duke Headquartes and
great catalog scans at Plaid Stallions.

"I ain't no Fortunate One"

2011-03-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Let's go back to the early 1970's shall we...the popularity of G.I. Joe in the 1960's is eclipsed by the continual groaning on of the Vietnam War and the escapist fantasies of Super Heroes and Apes taking over the toy marketplace. This put Hasbro in a tough place and they reinvented Joe throughout the 70's to get away from his military past.

Let's set the mood here:

So it is 1974 and the Vietnam War has been bloodily dripping along for over 15 years and we are finally seeing an end to the horror of that awful war. Popular entertainment takes a step away from the edgy and experimental to find a more muted sensibility in this time of change with a harkening back to the simpler days of yore of the 1950's.

It must have seemed like a perfect time for Mattel to come out with
a Military line of toys called "Heroes in Action."

Needless to say...these did not go over very well in the United States at the time and were shunned to European obscurity where they had a much broader
fan base in places like France and Italy.

(Photo Credit by David D. of Oahu, Hawaii)

These were passed down to me years later by an older cousin of mine and I loved the "RAT-A-TAT-TAT" lever action on the bottom of the figure that simulated gunfire. Even at the time these figures seemed oddly out of place in the grand cultural scheme of popular boys toys.

I have been recollecting this line for a little while and will do a full article on them in the near future. For a quick info fix on these guys check out the ever glorious Plaidstallions.com.

But...I digress...

This brings us to a new discovery I have never seen in
relation to this unpopular line of figures from 1974.

During my daily eBay rummaging...I came across and auction for 5 Lever Action Military figures from the now defunct LJN Toys, makers of Thundercats and the early WWF figures.

These looked oddly familiar and yet was I really gazing
at a knockoff of the "Heroes in Action" line?

I looked around every nerd website and forum I could find
and there was zero information on these little gems from 1975.

So I snatched them up at the Buy-it-Now price and didn't think twice.

I have learned to pull the trigger on impossible to
find items whether I know what the hell they are or not.

So...here is what I know about these "Heroes in Action" knockoff figures from LJN.

They are slightly larger than their Mattel cousins.
Just shorter than a 3 3/4" GI Joe figure.

They are made of a cheaper plastic and glisten with
the plastic shine you only get from a Hong Kong 5 and Dime.

They each have have 6 points of articulation, which is an
improvement on the Mattel "Heroes" that only have 3.

They do not remove from their bases like the " Heroes" do.

And...that's about it.

For now these are mystery toys lost in time.

But, they are a wonderful treat for a nerd like me
that is always looking for something different and
something I have never seen before.

If you have any info on these guys
or know what they are called.

Please...drop me a line.

Toy Fair 2011

2011-03-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

New York Toy Fair 2011 has come and gone. It was a bit of a lackluster year.

There were only a few things I was really excited
about that were shown on the showroom floor.

So....here we are...

Colonel Raines' Must Own
Guide to Toy Fair 2011

First and foremost...I will be getting all of these suckers.

The Presidential Monsters from Heroes in Action. That Lincolnstein is to die for.

Don't forget Barackula!

On the Hasbro side of things...

This is the final Storm Shadow I will ever need to buy.

Mega Bloks surprised me by showing a new piece coming this Fall
to the line I am most into at the moment...

The Smurfs arch enemy Gargamel.

If you haven't seen this line. You should look it up.

I fainted when a friend 1st sent a picture of this incredible line to me.

Lastly..

The toys that are close to as great as sliced bread...

Bif Bang Pow showed off the next few waves of Twilight Zone figures.

Just drool and enjoy.

These are a dream come true.

For great pics and coverage of Toy Fair check out itsalltrue.net and figures.com.

I'm Back Baby!

2011-03-03T12:34:00.001-08:00

After a long hiatus from my toy yacking enterprise....I am back to remind the world of forgotten action figure lines from the past 40 years. My website crashed and so I am back to the blogger and will be updating as regularly as I can. I have had a busy last 6 months hanging out at Disneyland and working hard at building up some missing pieces in my collection.

The piece I am most excited to have acquired in the last few months is the
Empire Legends of the West Frontier Town Playset.

This is only 1 of 3 I have ever even heard of that have survived the test of time.

A very lucky find indeed.

"Well I just saved the world, the whole planet, for about the millionth time, free of charge, so yeah, shoot me...I kept the clothes."

2010-08-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well...the new series of Doctor Who has come to an end and the 11th Doctor Matt Smith has saved the day. Luckily for the articulated plastic loving fools out there like myself, a whole slew of NEW Doctor Who toys has finally made it's way over to the States.

This is truly a great time to be a Doctor Who fanboy. We have been treated to a pile of San Diego Comic Con Exclusives as well as our getting our hands on the 1st wave of Series 5 figures and lots of new Classics.

Over the last 4 years, Doctor Who action figure collecting has finally reached it's golden age. We are getting figures and playsets we never thought possible and characters that have never been done in any toy format.

It all started when Mego was commissioned by Denys Fisher over in England to make an action figure line for the Tom Baker era of the show in late 70's. These figures were 1" taller than their American Mego pals, which makes replacement parts a little more difficult to come by on the secondary market. There were 6 figures in the line and the very 1st Tardis playset!

The figures had some scale issues and are more akin to dolls than action figures. These are very collectible today and command hundreds of dollars apiece. Mint and complete version are becoming very hard to find.

Many a year passed and Doctor Who fans had to limp through the beginning of the John Nathan Turner era with no new action figures to represent the Doctor and his friends seen on the screen in the early to mid '80s.

With the demise of Colin Baker and the cancellation of the series looming, a small toy company in Wales called Dapol released a whole line of action figures based on the 7th carnation of the Doctor, his enemies, and friends. In contrast to the old 9" Denys Fisher/Mego figures, these were scaled to down to a more 80's acceptable 3 3/4" scale. The bad news: the sculpts on the figures in this scale are lame and a bit freakish. The good news: the world's 1st classic Tardis interior playset for the 25th anniversary of the series!!!

They made a few classic Doctors, Tom Baker and John Pertwee, and a few classic villians, but sadly, the show went off the air in 1989 and the toy line died with it.

16 years passed with only a cheesy FOX made for TV movie to satiate the rapid Whovian fan base. Dapol re-released some of their old toys to specialty shops in the late 90's and early 2000's. But, this did little to cultivate a new toy based Who collecting frenzy.

Lucky for us, thanks to this brilliant man, the Series returned in 2005 with high quality in all aspects of the production. Whether you like Russell Davies or not, he brought back the fun, wonder, and intrigue of Doctor Who and created a fury of excitement in all corners of the globe.

I watched the Series as a kid and loved Tom Baker and he was my Doctor until Chris Eccleston and David Tennant stole my heart away. I think the new series of Doctor Who, that has been running continuously since 2005, is one of the finest programs made for TV in the world today. It has everything lacking in modern television: heart, enchantment, excitement, and a fantastic perspective on humanity. The torch has now been passed to a new staff and a new Doctor. There have been a few bumps along the road with the new season, but it tries to keep up with all of the ideals set forth in the new branding of the series in 2005.

And if you haven't watched Matt Smith's Doctor, you are in for a treat.

So...toys, toys, toys.

As you know, with the new series came a ton of new toys.

There have been hundreds of figures and variants put out over the last 5 years and Character Options keeps surprising us with a line full of depth and attention to detail.

So having attend SDCC yet again this year, I was able to see all the new figures first hand.

The figures were a bit pricey, but it is too hard to say no to these lovely little toys.

The exclusive I was most excited about was the
11th Doctor with the new style of Dalek from the current series.

The Doctor comes in casual mode sans his lovely professor coat and Dalek comes in nice burnt orange, the 1st of the new "Rainbow" colored Daleks toys. At $20 bucks a figure...these were hardly a bargin. But, the sculpting on these figures perfectly represent their TV counterparts.

The full body real scan is used for the new line of toys and it really
brings an accuracy not seen in many TV based action figure lines.

The Dalek looks to have gained a little height and weight in the new series as you can see compared to the Russell Davies and classic Daleks.

The new pure blood Dalek puts that old human based Dalek to shame.

Also released during the con...

were two variants of the 5th Doctor, Peter Davison.

The two pack has the 5th Doctor with a new hat (woo hoo!!) and his arch nemesis the Master.

The 80's Anthony Ainley Master has a nice, if not vacuous looking, new head on the old John Simm Master body from 2008.

The Peter Davison Doctor has his celery on his lapel and a new non-removable hat. It looks big and dorky atop his head. This along with the regeneration 5th Doctor marks the 5th variant to use parts from the original 5th Doctor sculpt.

The single pack regeneration Peter Davison has the clothes from the final episode of Tom Baker's reign. The outfit is well tooled and is a fine addition to the regeneration set of figures. Is a new variant Tom Baker from his final season in the works...me thinks so!

Speaking of Doctor Who Classics...SDCC was the 1st time a couple of the new Classic Boxed Sets were released in the US.

This is the Tardis I have been waiting for with baited breath. This is the 1st Doctor and Tardis Box Set from the very 1st DW epsiode. How can any self respecting Who fan not be interested in this toy? This Doctor was previously released by himself...but I waited the long months to get him with his very own Classic Tardis.

This Tardis was emulated in the new series of Doctor Who. As you can see, the 11th Doctor's Tardis is a bit bigger than the classic one. The 1st Doctor Tardis is much like the other Classic Tardis' with no interior and very weak lights and sounds.

This is still a well made toy. Who ever thought we would have this many Tardis' to play with when Character Options 1st got the license to produce toys based on all incarnations of Doctor Who.

Also released was the long anticipated 11 Doctors Box Set.

This has variants of all 11 Doctors and the 1st time we get a 8th Doctor figure from the 1996 movie.

Some of the variants are better than others. The Good: Tom Baker and the 8th Doctor. The Bad: the 7th Doctor has a giant head that barely fits on his body.

Lastly, underground toys brought a handful of cases of the new Series 5 Wave 1 figures. The Doctor's new companion, Amy Pond, sold out each morning of the show very quickly.

The sculpt on Amy was done just like the Matt Smith figure using real scan technology. I always thought the basic Matt Smith 11th Doctor figure was the best Character Options figure to date...but now that his companion has show up...she is giving Matt a run for his money.

Amy is sculpted with a neutral face and stance. Is almost perfect to the quizzical look she gets on the show when trying to live up to the high acting standards of her co-stars.
She has knobby knees that look a bit weird on such a realistic figure,
but I am very happy to have the articulation.

Her head doesn't move to much because of her beautifully sculpted hair.

My Matt Smith figures finally feels complete.

I will soon be getting the rest of the figures in this wave
and will update this when they arrive.

If you are looking to buy these guys right now check out these sites:

whona.com

impulsecreations.com

drwhomerch.com

Also, a great resource for all kinds of Doctor Who Toys is doctorwhotoys.net.

San Diego Nerd-a-Thon 2010 Recap

2010-07-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

A look back at last weeks nerdy event.

Now that I have recovered from the craziness of Comic-Con,
I can reflect on all the nerdy goodness that came my way
at this years overpopulated convention.

1st off...the best part of the convention was meeting
new fanboys and toy geeks like myself and sharing
the ridiculous plastic fever that overtakes everyone
to garner all of the Con Exclusives.

It all started when I met up with my new pals Paul, Steve, and Junior
at the Hasbro ticket booth at 7am Thursday morning. We stood in line for 2 hours
to get tickets to buy toys later in the day from the Hasbro booth. (Don't ask.)
We then headed over to another line to stand and wait for a chance
to get a ticket to buy some more toys from another booth.

All in all a good nerdy start to a long day of lines and toy buying.

We got a lucky break early as Junior charmed his way
into the front of the Hasbro line and the 4 of us were
able to pick all of our action figure treasures.
As you can see, Junior has his hand full of crap and it was only 11am.
We spent the day buying and hoarding as many
exclusives as we could afford and get our hands on.

The second and third day were more of the same while
trying to fit in a few panels here and there.

Check out Paul's recap of his comic-con journey: Comic-Con Video.

I know there is a lot of info on the web about comic-con,
so I will spare you any more bull plop.

Let's just talk about the new toys!!!

Here are the highlights that thrilled my nerd soul at the con.
(Sorry about the crappy pics. I didn't have the patience to take great ones.
Too many slimy nerds in my way.)

The coolest booth to me at the con was TRON!
I love the movie as a kid and am very excited about the new on in December.
They had nice booth with a life size Light Cycle and tons of Tron toys on display.

There are going to be a ton of Tron figures and vehicle coming out.

My favorites were the 6" and 3 3/4" lines.

The AFX booth had the new old school Outer Space Men from the 4 Horsemen on display.

I am a huge fan of the old late 60's line of 6" figures,
but they have scaled these down to industry and collector standard 3 3/4" size.

They don't compare to old line and have a bit too much in common with DC Infinite Heroes line than I would like, but I will reserve judgement till they are in my hands.

The new Gentle Giant Star Wars reproductions of the original figures
in 12" form were the coolest toys at the entire convention.

I don't even collect much Star Wars stuff anymore, but these babies are a work of art.

I talked to folks at Gentle Giant and they are interested
in producing all 92 of the original Star Wars action figures.

The only problem in that they are $85 bucks a piece!?!?
Sorry. Cool toys, but not that cool.

Not going to go into too much Doctor Who in this post,
but they did reveal the Classic Sonic Screwdriver
at the Underground Toys booth.

My 2nd favorite toys on display were the Bif Bang Pow Twilight Zone retro figures.
I was very sad out how crappy the prototypes looked,
but when I saw the actual production figures at the con I flipped my wig.
(More on them later.)

I bought the 1st six figures and am very excited about the new stuff coming later this year.

They made Burgess Merideth from "Time Enought at Last,"

I can now die happy.

Mattel had their usual booth filled with amazing non essential toys. Don't get me wrong...I love their stuff...but I won't cry if I don't end up getting it from their stingy online site.

The Ghostbusters were out in full force.

The cartoon stuff looks good...

...and Rick Moranis finally gets his Key Master toy.

On the He-Man side of things...

Bow from She-ra was jaw dropping...

and these guys were kinda cool too.

The best thing at the booth was this drool worthy Hall of Justice display.

Thanks again Matty for the cool toys this year!

And finally we come to my favorite toy booth from every Comic-Con....Hasbro.

There was a lot of amazing stuff on display and the
Hasbro peeps are always accommodating and cordial.

Here was my fav stuff...

The Black Panther from Marvel universe.
Can't he splash a little color into that costume? He is so militant.

John Byrne Cyclops and Phoenix.
Brings back my dorky comic book reading past.

Carnage. How many of these in how many scales can 1 man have?

Nick Fury from the Iron Man movies. Very slick.

Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes from the New Joe line.

Super detailed and super cool.

Check out the Hoth Display in the Star Wars booth.

Wish I had time to make one of these.

Well...that's it...most of the other stuff was the same old, same old.
But if you love Hollywood douche bags mixing with super weird nerds...
Comic-Con is the ultimate event for you and Klingon loving nerds like me.

All this aside...
The important thing is I got back in time early
enough to help win the sweet LA softball championship last Sunday.

Go Meat!

What have you got for me this time...

2010-07-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

So...San Diego Comic Con is just a day away and
I am getting very excited about all the amazing
Doctor Who exclusive figures that are waiting for me there.

So...to tide us over till then...here in the 2nd entry in my
Doctor Who Month Special: the new 11th Doctor's Tardis.

This was just released here in states in the last week or so and
as you can see, right off the bat, it is much more detailed
and interesting than the last two Tardis' that were released.

This Tardis looks a lot like the 1st Doctor's
Blue Box from the early 60's tv show.

A bit of a throw back to give the young
dashing Matt Smith a bit of weight and gravitas I imagine.

I mean the guy dresses like a professor from the 1940's,
right down to his cool little bowtie.

This Tardis has all the light and sound
features of the original David Tennant Police Box.

This is a breath of fresh air coming off the
disappointment of the last two half-assed classic Tardis'.

Yes, the phone even pops out in this version
and it doesn't impede the door movement!

Matt looks fantastic hanging out in
front of his little timey wimey device.

If only we had Amy to hang out with him?!?!?
Hopefully we will be able to get her at the con
if those stinkin' Brits ever feel like sharing their toys with us yanks.

Here are all the Tardi together. Are they just precious!

Overall...great job Character Options! This makes my 11th Doctor feel complete.
Keep all the DW goodness coming!

Now hurry up and release the sweet Tardis interior playset already...

Drool...

Be back later in the week with more DW and Comic-Con updates.

Come Ce-le-brate good times...come on!

2010-07-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

In honor of our independence from those English jerks back in 1776,

I bring you some really crappy dime store Heroes of the Revolution figures from 1976.

These figures were made by RT toys and released through Five and Dime

type stores to celebrate the bicentennial of our wondrous country.

Here is a great ad for them from the amazing collection of toy catalogs at plaidstallions.com

I was only 1 at the time, but from what I have been told,

there was all kinds of bicentennial hoopla going on and stores

were filled with all the Americana gee-gaw you could get your hands on.

I am a self-professed nerd and was obsessed with the

found fathers growing up. I even conned a cool Presidents ruler from my

6th grade History teacher he had kept in his personal collection for ages.

It only went up to Harry Turman!

Though I was too little at the time to get these originally,

my nerdish leanings have forced me to obtain them for my little girly dolly collection.

I was also lucky to obtain a SWEET Uncle Sam figure from Fun World Toys

that came out in the same year, so I am gonna throw him in with these guys.

(Please note. The figures are not complete. They are

missing a coupleof sweet 18th century hats.)

First and foremost. The father of our country.

The 1st President of the United States, Mr. George Washington.

This figure of Mr. Washington is a bit plump.

Maybe once he and the fellas crossed the Potomac

they hit the local all-you-can-eat buffet before

they continued on to kick the British out of our New World.

Next is your old pal, Ben Franklin.

Besides his wonderful visage gracing the $100 dollar bill,

he also invented bifocal glasses and the urinary catheter!

Thomas Jefferson has become somewhat of a

pariah of the founding fathers as of late.

But, despite the bad press he has gotten

because of his interracial affairs etc...etc...,

still...he was a pretty amazing guy.

He only...you know...wrote the Declaration of Independence,

sent Lewis and Clark west, and masterminded

the Louisiana Purchase.

Just sayin'.

Here is Mr. Paul Revere, known for his patriotic

Midnight Ride warning on the impending British threat.

He looks a bit odd in the sculpting on this figure.

Maybe he is just making funny faces for the camera.

John Paul Jones is remembered as one of the

1st naval military heroes of our country.

He once proudly exclaimed, "I have not yet begun to fight."

Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death,"

still resonates with any freedom loving American like myself.

He was a fervent advocate of American Independence.

Nathan Hale was Americas 1st spy and a famous revolutionary soldier.

"I regret that I have but one life to life to lose for my country."

That is so badass.

Daniel Boone was well known as an adventurer and explorer.

He is remembered as one the 1st great folk heroes in our history.

Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette was a famous general in the Revolutionary war.

He later went on to fight in the French Revolution as well.

Last but not least is the one of the great symbols of our country, Uncle Sam

HE WANTS YOU...to be the all that you can be and run out

and collect these cheap specimens of American pride.

The dolls themselves are cheaply made in a Megoesque style

and have a very difficult time standing up in their puffy boots.

They are bit bloated and a little stiff.

But, what the heck, their cheap and really feed

the nerdy little patriotic revolutionary need

I have to belong to such a fantastic and perhaps

unattainable dream of a life of freedom.

For more info and pics...check out megolike.com.

So Many Character Options...

2010-06-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to do a piece about the wonderful Doctor Who toys by Characters Options for quite some time. Other toys have always gotten in the way. But, July 2010 is shaping up to be Doctor Who Toy Month, so I figured it was time to start spotlighting this line, culminating with the big release of exclusives at this years Comic-Con in San Diego.

We have been blessed over the last few years with a glut
of Doctor Who action figure merchandise and this year is no slouch.

My toy nerd pal Tim and I started collecting
these a couple of years ago and collectively we have amassed
quite a lot little plastic British time travelers and his friends.

Tim is very obsessive and collects every known variant in all aspects of this line.

The Colonel...

...is more focused on Fried Chicken, Agrarian Economics, and
the new Series 5 toys and the Classics figures and playsets.

So...

We got lucky this past month and were both able to score

the 7th Doctor and 4th Doctor with their respective Tardis'.

First off....my favorite Doctor, Mr. Tom Baker.

When this 4th Doctor/Tardis combo box set was
announced months ago, I almost fainted at the prospect
of having a in scale detailed Tardis for this goofy man-child.

My expectations were high, but then we got word
that the interior of the Tardis would not be decorated
like the old 9th/10th Doctor Flight control Tardis...

...my dreams felt like they were being stepped on
by some snaggle-toothed penny pinching middle manager.

Ugh.

The closer the release date came the less
excited I was to own this little blue box.

I finally opened this sucker last night and even though I am disappointed in the lack of any interior...I am still blown away by how great the Tardis looks!

It is not much of a playset.

It does have the regular old Tardis light sound effects,
but other than that is just a really cool accessory.

Though Mr. Baker does looks very dashing coming out of his Tardis.

The blue seems to be about right for a Tardis from that time period
and the scale looks smack on to me.

(But, you would have to ask Tim...he is real expert/nerd)

Onto the 7th Doctor.

Just because the show went down during his tenure
doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a nice little Tardis
to toodle himself around the Universe.

His Tardis is just like Tom's. No interior, but a great accessory
for this underappreciated and undersized Doctor.

I really dig that brown jacket!

This Tardis has an actual phone in the phone box
like the original Flight Control Tardis.

The only problem is that it inhibits how far the left door can open
and the Doctor has to shimmy his way into this Tardis.

Again...not a playset...just an accessory.

Overall I am very happy that Character Options released these blue boxes, even if it was just thrown together and not the same quality as 99% of the Doctor Who products.

Within the next couple of weeks we will have the 1st and the 11th Doctor's Tardis'.

Oh my poor sad wallet.

I will sign off with a fun video of my favorite Doctor.

Private Eyes Are Watching You...

2010-06-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

At the ripe old age of 6, I inherited a vast collection of 70's toys from a family friend who was much older. It was a treasure trove of action figures and accessories from all the major lines of the 70's. A G.I. Joe army box, Mego Batman and Robin, Mattel's Heroes in Action, the LJN S.WA.T. Playset, etc. I was already spoiled with too many toys from the early 80's from my newly divorced guilt ridden parents, so being the toy glutton I was I wrapped my arms around these old figures and quickly assimilated them into my already busting toy chest.

For many years, I have been recollecting all of the lost glory of that toy coup I rangled at such a young age. The only survivors of my youth were the Mego Batman and Robin who I treated with the same respect I would have the Lord Jesus himself.

Yet, the figure I missed most was the no-handed Über detective J.J. Armes.

J.J. Armes is a real life detective who lost his hands in a childhood accident. By the early 1970's, he was the most famous detective in the world with a long list of celebrity clients.

In 1976, the Ideal Toy Company (1 of my favorite vintage companies) wanted to somehow get in on all of the toy money being made by Mattel with the Six Million Dollar man line, so who was a popular real life bionic man.....why Mr. Armes of course.

It was a great idea. Here was a famous real private eye for the kids to look up to and he also had all kinds of fancy gadgets and guns that turned his disability in to an asset.

Ideal released 1 figure of Mr. Armes with interchangeable hands and weapons.

They also put out a SWEET van called the Mobile Investigation Unit.

Sure it was just the Evel Knievel Scramble Van with new stickers...

...but they added a huge claw on top for J.J. to grab all the bad guys.

As well as a computer, ladder, and satellite dish.

The van is well constructed and can take a good beating from even the roughest of terrain in your backyard.

The figure is of the classic 70's style.

He is 9" tall very proportionate with a large barreled chest. The head sculpt is pretty close to man himself, but they softened up his features and made his grin very approachable.

Onto to his accessories...

J.J. comes with a monogrammed suitcase full of hand replacement for any type of investigation.

He's got hooks, a sword, a gun/hook, suction cups, and a magnet hand for all his varied detecting needs.

Ideal did a great job with J.J. and brought the world it's first major disabled action figure. It is very sad that the C.A.M.P playset seen in the Ideal catalog never saw the light of day. For some great shots of the prototype, check out the great website plaidstallions.com.

I am very happy that J.J. and I have been reunited after all of these years apart.

We had a lot of fun back in the early 80's kicking Steve Austin's ass in the

back yard and burying his bionic corpse in the mud.

In my heightened age, J.J. Armes and the M.I.U rest safely on the toy shelf with other remnants of my toy chest that got lost in all the moves and all the houses and all the time I've wasted in the horrific process of "growing up."

The A-team

2010-06-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

In honor of the new movie coming out tomorrow,

I thought I would share a few thoughts

on the new A-team movie figures by Jazwares.

I was a huge fan of the TV series and Mr. T is my personal hero.

(I even had a Cabbage Patch type doll of him my parents found at a arts fair back in '84.)

How could one not love the cartoony antics of the varied A-team members.

I mean George Peppard in all his hammy glory.

Mr. T's over emphatic delivery of all of his lines.

Murdock's homoerotic insanity.

Face's incredible 80's corvette and wardrobe.

Cars blowing up an flipping over.

What's not to love?!

I am very sceptical of the new movie,

but I must say when I saw them smash B.A.'s van

in the trailer...my ticket was sold!

I found these figures a couple of weeks ago

at my friendly neighborhood Target.

Luckily I got to choose them right out of the case...

the paint jobs on these guys are terrible!!!

I pulled out the best Hannibal of 5 in the case and

the best B.A.and grabbed the Van and got out of there.

All of the rest of the figures had really bad paint jobs.

I am still searching for a well painted

Face and Murdock to put in the back of the van.

Be very careful when you pick these guys up.

I saw many a Hannibal with only half of his beard painted in.

At 1st glance the figures are your standard 3 3/4" design.

But, once I got them out of the package I was very happy!

They have very proportionate bodies and constructed

in a natural way with wide shoulders and hips that

is different from other figures in this scale.

The van is a nice addition to this small line.

It looks great aesthetically, but has a few small problems.

The sliding door to the van doesn't stay in place

very well and falls off quite easily.

Also, the grill on the front of the van is made of very soft plastic

that gets bent out of place in the package.

It has a really cheesy light and sound feature that are hardly worth mentioning.

It is also a bit out of scale with the figures.

The team looks like a bunch of twelve year olds that

stole their pops van for a night out.

But, B.A. does look sweet in his famous ride...

Jazwares has a long way to go with their paint applications and there scaling.

Yet, a good first effort into the world of licensed human toys from this young company.

"Let's load up and go save little Jimmy.

He's been running numbers and is in trouble with mob."

"I love it when a plan...blah, blah, blah, blah."

Butch + Sundance + Hollywood Nonsense = Great Toyline

2010-05-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

First.....watch this:

Aren't you sorry missed that piece of cheese from 1979.

It is not quite the classic with Redford and Newman,

but it did yield some beautiful collectable toys.

It's 1979....the newly Toy Giant Kenner is buried in the Star Wars craze

and is looking for new licenses to make a killing on...I've got it!!!!

A crappy sequel to a classic movie that was made a decade later. Brilliant!

Now...to their credit....the western genre had been all the rage

in the sixties and early seventies....it just looks like Kenner

was a little late to the party and grabbed onto to whatever

property came along that they could force

western style toys down our little throats.

What came out of the mind of the folks at Kenner

was some really nice looking figures and horses

with good articulation and fun action features for the time.

The line consist of 5 figures with 7 points of articulation.

Each comes with a gun and nifty button on their backs

to make them quick style draw their gun out of their holsters.

The packaging has some of my favorite card art from any action figure line.

A great western feel that was very well done by Kenner.

Th figures vaguely look like the actors from the film

and are just generic enough to stand apart from the cheesy movie

and feel like they are their own historic line of toys.

My favorite piece in this little line is the Western Cafe playset.

It is taken from the Mos Eisley cantina mold from

the Vintage Star Wars line and has a really cool westen feel.

It come with a cardboard backdrop of the cafe

and a cardboard cutout of the bartender.

This is a very difficult playset to come by and was released

at be end of the line when Kenner was trying to expand this line

and merge it with a more historical character based line called "The Real West."

This line did not receive retailer support

and was not put into production past the prototype stage.

See Kevin Lentz's 3 3/4 inch archive for more details.

As you can see, the figures look great in the playset

and are ready for a little showdown with Marshall Lefors.

Here is a shot of the back on the packaging

minus the playset with great descriptions of all the characters.

The only thing I am missing is the Mint Wagon.

It too is rare and hard to find complete.

Overall a great classic line from a toy company at the top of their game.

Of course they later used the molds and the figure styles

for their very popular Indiana Jones line from 1981

The line is a somewhat compatiable

with the other Western lines of the time.

Empire's Legends of the West are a little bit bigger.

And the Gabriel Lone Ranger and Zorro lines are a little smaller.

But, go ahead and crowd all your figures

in this cafe and have a rootin' tootin' good time!

Little Legends of Action Figure History

2010-04-20T15:54:00.001-07:00

In the 1970's, western TV shows and films were going out of fashion and taken over by a love of modern country culture with glut of exploitation films about rednecks, truckers, and country singers. Even though the popularity of this genre was waning, luckily for us toy nerds there was a renaissance of Western toys in the 70's with the introduction of a new action figure scale,

4" poseable characters.

Hot off the heels of the larger scale Johnny West and Lone Ranger lines, the now defunct toy company Excel made an 9 1/2" line of figures based on old Western legends from the 1800's. Simply titled "Legends of the West," this line was a dime store alternative to the mass-market lines from Gabriel and Mattel.

They first released figures in a 9 ½” scale in 1973. I am no experts, but as far as my research can tell there were about 11 figures and an in scale horse made for this line original line. The cool fact about these is that they made 4 female figures: Annie Oakley, Belle Starr, Calamity Jane, and Pocahontas. These figures are high articulated like their Lone Ranger cousins and feature well made accessories and clothing.

If you are a diligent toy collector you should be able to track down most of the line fairly cheaply and easily. The hardest figures to come across complete are the horses, the females and Deadwood Dick. The most common figures are Jesse James and Wild Bill Hickok.

Sometime during the period of 1973 to 1975 Excel decided against popular action figure opinion at the time and shrink their Western figures down to a 4” scale. I am not sure why they did this unless it was to save money on all of the fabric outfits and hats or so they could make a more varied line of horses, wagons, and playsets.

The 1st set of the now dubbed “Little Legends” from Excel hit the shelves in 1973 and continued till 1975 when the mold and idea for the line was transferred to the Empire Toy Company, a subsidiary of Carolina Enterprises Inc. The Excel version of the Western heroes are the 1st articulated figures the smaller action figure scale that would become popular with Star Wars and GI Joe a few years later. The early figures featured articulated arms, heads, and waist, but the legs were static and pre-posed. They later articulated the legs and expanded the line to include 6 figures and 3 different types of horses.

The transfer of the line to Empire Toys was the best thing to happen to this little line that could.

From 1975 – 1980 Empire produced a wide range of figures and horses and accessories for their newly titled,” Legends of the West” line of 4” figures. By the end of the line they produced 16 character figures, 5 types of horses, and 5 Wagon playsets with tons of accessories. There are many variations in the coloring of the figures. Some figures were repainted and used as an accessory for some of the wagons.

Here is a list of items for the line I know to exist:

Figures

Cowpoke

Arrowhead the Indian Squaw

Buffalo Bill Cody

Wild Bill Hickok

Davy Crocket

Cochise

General Custer (Very Tough to Find complete)

Cavalry Scout

Geronimo

Bat Masterson

Billy the Kid

Jesse James

Wyatt Earp

General Santa Ana

Deadwood Dick

Annie Oakley

The packaging changed over time. Here are the two types I have found.
(NEW INFO FOUND. SEE BELOW.)

Horses

Indian Action Pony (White and Brown)

Peddler’s Wagon Horse (Grey and White with a Red Hat)

Fire Wagon Horse (All White)

Other Wagon Horses (Brown and Tan)

Pinto Horse with Saddle (Brown and Tan, Black and White)

There are slight variations in the articulation of the horses. Some with jointed legs, some without.

Wagons

Buckboard

Covered Wagon

Fire Wagon

Peddler’s Wagon

Stage Coach

Each wagon comes with a million accessories. They are all the same color depending on which wagon the came with. There colors are tan, brown, dark blue, black, lime green, and yellow.

General Notes

There was an amazing playset that was advertised for this line but I have never seen an example of it outside of old toy catalogs. I mean it is just a piece of cardboard, but look at that thing!!! (FOUND! SEE UPDATE BELOW!)

I will kill to have that prototype.

The toughest figures to find are the ones at the end of the line stamped 1980. They are Cowpoke, Arrowhead the Indian Squaw, General Custer, Cavalry Scout, Geronimo, Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid, General Santa Ana, Deadwood Dick, and Annie Oakley.

These sat around Dime Stores till the mid 80’s and you can find good MOC and Boxed examples of most of the figures.

The Excel Little Legends are very difficult to come by and a lot of them come from sellers in Europe.

Here is the catalog that came with all the wagons.

So...in short....The 1st smaller scale action figure line in history are dime store Western figures with paint flaws and fragile rubber band construction. But, I love them and so will you.

Get out there and start collecting these classic figures.

UPDATE 3/3/11

I have found a few more variations and information to add to this article.

The Frontier playset has been found!

It is huge and makes an incredible display for the figures.

I was very lucky to have found it in such great condition.

So far I have found 4 different versions of the figures carded.

2 by Excel and 2 by Empire. from 1974 to 1980.

I also found 2 versions of the 9" horse boxes. 1 by Excel and 1 by Empire.

Excel 1973

Empire 1975

Also...I got sent a pic of a store display by a fellow collector.

I have also found 3 different versions of the Firemen from the Fire Wagon playset.
They are variants of the Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok figures.

Please let me know if you know any other info about this line I haven't mentioned.
I love discovering new things about this old forgotten toy line.

The Raggedy Doctor and his bowtie.

2010-04-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

I spent this past week in New York for my birthday and was fortunate enough to be there when the new stars of the BBC series Doctor Who came the Apple store in Soho to do a Q + A.

The first of the New Series 5 Doctor Figures hit America on Tuesday and my friend and I went to the great Forbidden Planet Store in Union Square to pick them up and take them to Soho and try our luck to get them autographed by the Doctor, Matt Smith, and his new companion Amy Pond played by Karen Gillan.

Well...as luck would have it...we were the first ones to pick them up at the store and once we made it to the Apple store all the nerds were very jealous.

The figures are gorgeous. I expect nothing less from the great people at Character Options in England. The first set of figures is a two pack depicting the 11th Doctor in his transition clothes in his first episode "The Eleventh Hour."

The Q + A was great and we got to meet Steven Moffat, Matt, and Karen at the end and get their autographs.

We even got interviewed by BBC America!

So check out Tim and I nerding it up for all the world to see.

Right Here

And yes these figures are well worth it. Go and buy them now!

Location:Rugby Dr,West Hollywood,United States

"Listen to them. The children of the night. What music they make."

2010-04-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

I was really young when the Classic Monster Fad of the mid 70's hit the toy stores with a glut of merchandise. I came in really late to the game in 1980 and all I had was the Remco Dracula and Frankenstein that I got on markdown at the old Lionel Playworld. Over the years they got destroyed and all I have left to remember Dracula by is his black pants and the memories of his glow-in-the-dark head and hands that used to haunt me in my room in the middle of the night.

Recently, I have gone back to collect many of the 70's monster figures I missed and have discovered a huge world of monster toy nerds and very collectible figures.

Let's start off with my favorite piece of Monstermania.....The Mego Mad Monster Castle.

This is a very rare vinyl playset by Mego from 1975. As you can see from the box it folds and opens up into a castle with an interior monster labritory and four really cool parapets that make the castle even more imposing. I had always dreamed of having this playset having seen it in many old catalogs. But, of course it is one of those rare Mego sets that is very difficult to find in any condition and if one does come up for sale it goes for a lot of $$$.

This past year I was lucky and got this playset with everything except the lab table. Luckily, it comes easily in many of the Mego Planet of the Apes playset which are fairly common. And here she is.....

Ok....it is just a cardboard cheesy vinyl playset...but I love it! The creepy vines coming up from the ground. The sweet lab equipment art on the inside.....the DRAWBRIDGE!!! I mean come on...how can you not love this playset.

Now...how to accessorize this baby?

Not with wimpy Mego Mad Monsters....

I always thought they looked to silly and not daunting and scary enough to go with this creepy castle.

So..then....the Lincoln International Monsters?

Super cool and funky, but very expensive and hard to collect.

What I really wanted was a classic movie monster to go with this wonderful old playset. I did a bunch of research and the Remco Monster Line from 1980 fit the nostalgic monster kick I was in.

The Remco Monsters are based on the Universal Horror Films of the 1930's. The are officially licensed and are incredibly detailed and sculpted for figures from that era.

They each have a button on the back that squeezes their arms together to grab their unknowning victims. The head and hands glow-in-the-dark and they are highly articulated in the Mego style. The are about 1 inch larger than their Mego cousins and are about a million times better!!!

The best part of the Remco collection is a Monsterizer lab table that can be used to charged up the monsters and make them ready for a full night of glowing.

The Monsterizer fits in very well with the Mad Monster Castle and it looks like they were born to go together.

This collection also has a Creature from the Black Lagoon and Phantom of the Opera figure, but,they are very expensive and elusive.

Don't worry. They will soon be mine.

This all just puts me in the mood for an old movie. I am going to go and watch Lon Chaney scare the pants of somebody in The Wolfman.....

Ooooowwwwoooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Beyond the Rim of the Star-Light

2009-04-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

I can't say I didn't spend my childhood watch reruns of the Original Star Trek series and that I am a huge nerd for all of the various lines of Star Trek toys. So....I really did try hard not to want or like or having anything to with JJ McCraps new Star Trek revamp or dream sequence or toilet paper or whatever the heck he filmed that will be coming out on May 9th. But, as you will come to find out, I am a sucker for a really cool action figure playset idea.

So our friends over at Playmates Toys have gotten back the license to produce figures etc. for the new movie. I have nearly all of their old line of Star Trek toys....so I figured I would give them a shot.

Sure the naysayers and whiney purist are up in arms that Zachary Quinto sucks and why the heck is the Harold and Kumar guy playing Sulu. I can't say that I don't feel the same way. When that first trailer came out and the kid was like....."Look at me...I'm James Tiberus Kirk," I wanted to puke. But, then the second trailer came out and all of the little sneak peaks and the pictures of the toys and playsets....

and I GOT ALL CAUGHT UP IN THE SUMMER MOVIE FURY.

That hasn't happened to me in ages. It feels good to be one of the nameless masses that are blind to the Hollywood Machine and it is revolving door of soulless crap. I really am excited to see a movie directed by JJ Abrams. What has happened to me?

Anyways...have you seen these toys or what? Of course you have. These were just released this past week at most Walmarts and Toy R Us'. I have yet to spy them at Target, but I am sure to see them there soon. I had decided going in that I would only collect one of the scales, either

3 3/4 inch

6 inch

or 12 inch

That decision lasted about 3 seconds when my pal Tim and I found them Friday night at midnight at Walmart. We walked in as they were closing and BAM!!!!! A whole endcap full of the little 3 3/4 inch figure and all of the 6" figures except for Spock. Now......BE CAREFUL!!! The paint on the guys is either great or horrible. Take you time shopping around for a version of each character. We luckily found a good version of all 1o of the little figures and decided not to get any 6 inchers and save those for another day. BIG MISTAKE. I should have picked at least a few of the up.....cause of course the Uhura is hard to find anywhere else in that scale.

We also picked up the Bridge playset and the Transporter playset at the Toys R Us that time forgot on Saturday.

First impression:

"Well...they could have been worse."

Once I had them all together in the playset with all their pieces:

"Pretty freaking cool!!!"

I am very excited about the prospect of getting a piece of the bridge or transporter playset with each of the figures. Of course it will take months and over 20 figures to complete it, but hey...."You had me at Hello."

The Bridge playset comes with a vinyl mat to put all of the various console pieces on and you can roll it up and save it for another day. That is the one really crappy part of the playset that needed to be remedied.

So after a trip to Michael's and getting:

1 can of spray adhesive.
1 piece of black foam core
1 Sharp Knife
and a bunch of glue.

We will have a stationary nicely displayable and moveable bridge playset for all of your little Star Trek friends.

UPDATE:

So this line was cancelled before I got to post this blog. Here is the rest of the playset and figures we will never get to have.

"I'm sick of runnin' from these wimps!"

2009-03-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

From out of Greek Mythology and into the late 70's Sci Fi Comic Cheesfest comes my 2nd favorite character from the dazzlingly timeless and politically incorrect (Thank God) movie "The Warriors," directed by Walter Hill. Now being a self professed super duper movie nerd, I have seen this movie around 100 times since I was a little mismatched nerd school boy in the early 80's. I remember finding a vest at a garage sale and pretending to be Swan the War Chief of the gang while adventuring in my neighborhood. Why? He got the girl. What else has been the aim of my life besides collecting toys and reading dictionaries? That being said, I had a heart attack when Mezco came out with their earlier Stylized line of figures back in 2005.

I collected the whole line and had all of the exclusive figures...blah...blah...blah. But, I was always bothered by the way Mezco has with taking an amazing property and "Making It Their Own" by exaggerating the source material.

I mean it is real sweet and cute that I can get a deformed Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Doll to sleep with at night, but I hated it in regards to the human characters in this film. A few months after I got all of the figures, I sold them to pay the rent when I was on sabbatical in Florida. I really haven't missed anything but their collectibility ever since.

Now onto something important. Are you listening?

Summer 2008. San Deigo Comic Con. My second year in a row missing this wondrous event, and I hear that a new realistic super articulated Warriors figure is going to be on sale!!! I jumped for joy and took back anything bad I had ever said about Mezco. (Hey...I loved those old Popeye figures...doesn't that count for anything? I swear I won't say anything bad about your crappy Heroes figure line.)

As I am sure you know the Red Faced Baseball Fury was limited to 200 figures worldwide. Ugh. But, I luckily had a friend who pulled a favor with the Mezco guys and got me one for face value at the Con. It has been sitting in the bottom of a drawer in my room as to not damage it in any way until the day I have the balls to open it up.

And boy does it just sit in that drawer...

Finally, months and months later the rest of the first wave of figures came out and I got my dirty little hand on The Warriors wanna be Bad Ass "Ajax." The character was portrayed by the great character actor James Remar.

WOW!

Now this is what an action figure should be. Take the 9" Mego style cloth clothes and tons of articulation and give the sculpt an ultra realistic look. This is what you end up with, one of the greatest action figures ever made.

I am still gushing over these and they have been out for months now.

I just can't get over the fact that they were actually made.

Even in this crappy economy there has to be room in your heart for a $35 hyper articulated homophobe figure like "Ajax" here. Each figure is limited to 1979 pieces worldwide.

So hurry up and by them!

The details...

40 points of very useful articulation.

Detailed cloth outfit with a sweet vest and dirty pants.

3 sets of hands for all different kinds of ass kicking.

Handcuffs, baseball bat and an articulated stand.

My only complaint would be his feet.

They are good, but not great when it comes to posing him with out his stand.

So...will I ever grow a pair and open up this amazing Red Faced Fury?

Maybe.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!!!"

2009-03-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Now here is a line of toys I totally missed when they came out in the early 2000's. I remember seeing Scooby and all his pals and villains at Toys R Us and everywhere else and wondering why I would never buy them. They were great figures and the sculpts were incredible for an animated line at the time. But, I was too busy with my Playmates Simpsons collection and my Toy Biz Lord of the Rings figures, so I didn't have any time for Shaggy or Daphne or Velma. Anyways, years later I run into a friend of mine who also happens to be a huge toy nerd himself and we reminisce about the old Scooby Doo line by Equity Marketing and he opens a whole new toy world for me. Come to find out...this line is alive and well in the UK and has now been taken over and revamped by the great toy company Character Options. They went crazy and made a Mystery Mansion Playset and extra villains for Scooby and the gang to fight! How could I resist??? I mean I love this cartoon and I am a sucker for any good toy line with a playset. So...here we are... hundreds of dollars later and half way into my Scooby Doo Collection.

So here is a peek at my new obsession......Scooby-Dooby-Doo!!!

The Mystery Mansion Playset

This is a UK Exclusive and very difficult to come by in the States. Be prepared for a hefty shipping charge when you look for this baby on Ebay. At 1st glance the playset is spectacular. A perfect scary mansion that looks just like all of the ones from Scooby Doo that I remember.

In the classic fashion, the playset opens up to reveal a detailed interior with many play features. Another great job by Character Options.

Now on second glance....hmm...wait a minute....the Mansion seems to be a tad too small for the figures to fit comfortably in. Oh...CRAP!! This playset is about an inch too small on all sides. Don't get me wrong...the figures look great in it....but they don't really fit upstairs, except for Velma. Also, the playset is fairly delicate. I wouldn't let my 4 year old nephew get a hold of this. It is fantastic for display, but not so great for kids. The action features are well sculpted and look great, but are a bit lame and dated for such a promising toy company.

The figures from the UK are not as articulated as their American cousins, but are perfectly sculpted and add great depth to this collection.

Next up for me...

The Mystery Machine. Man is that thing collectable and expensive.

2009-03-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

So...I have been collecting toys since the late 70's and have been a member or a lurker on most toy sites since the dawn of the internet. I collect all kinds of traditional Toy Lines as well as some old forgotten ones from my childhood. Information is difficult to come by for certain toy lines, so I thought I would spotlight some well loved and obscure toy lines that don't get a lot of play on the net. Enjoy!