Final Girl Film Club - Uzumaki

I don't keep up with very many blogs on the Internet. I'm sure there are tons of things I'd be fascinated by and would be enriched from their reading, but for every one of those there's 100 pages of American Idol commentary and dancing hamsters so the risk is just too great. Well, I was delighted to discover, through friend of the Preserve doctorkent, the wonderful horror blog of Final Girl. Better still, she runs a monthly virtual film club, wherein a movie is suggested, everyone goes and sees it and writes about it, and fun is had by all. Well, the posts are due on March 1st, so true to form I'm just under the wire with this, my first one. Check out my review of Uzumaki, and if you're at all interested you should be able to score it from Netflix. Heck, it's probably just the one copy that's making the rounds, so treat it well!


Posted by charlie on February 28th 2010, 12:27 AM
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Masters of the Universe Classics - Battle Cat

I've been pretty busy adding all manner of new updates to the Preserve, building out the Transformers Animated, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and MotU Classics pages. I didn't want to break out of the Toy Fair theme too much, but since Battle Cat just arrived yesterday I had to! This is the first 'oversize' figure to come out in the fantastically popular Masters of the Universe Classics line - and we saw several others featured at Toy Fair that we can also look forward to in 2010. The Horsemen have done a great job updating this most noble of mounts, and the Cat looks appropriately ferocious and commanding. Good thing Cringer stuck with He-Man during his long difficult quest, for the rewards of that dedication were many! The reunited Sword of He instilled Cringer with the Power of the Universe as well, allowing him to repeatedly carry He-Man into battle on his back...hmm maybe that's sort of a raw deal after all. Click the image below for the full gallery of this new beautiful figure.


Posted by charlie on February 27th 2010, 11:07 AM
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Toy Fair - Shocker Toys

I've been visiting with the Shocker Toys guys for a few years now, both at Monster Mania in Cherry Hill NJ and at the Toy Fair festivities every year. This year they were looking really strong, bringing with them an expanded Mallows line (which are selling really well) and their prototypes for wave 3 of their Indy Spotlight line. They also told me that their earlier waves of Indy Spotlight are about to go mass retail, so keep an eye out! Click the image below for their 64 image gallery.


Posted by charlie on February 26th 2010, 09:00 PM
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New Preserve Contest - Win Stuff!

The good folks at Hasbro have sent us an awesome box of current G.I. Joe and Transformers product, so that we may pass the fun along to you, the readers of the Preserve! Thing is, I can't just make it that easy, I mean - how would I decide who gets what?

Here's the deal - starting today you have 2 weeks and change...let's call it March 12th (Friday) to play the contest:

• Think back over the past year (or really, back as far as you need) for your craziest personal toy hunting story. (Driving to another state, working in the stock room because you were short on cash, sleeping overnight outside a store, etc)
• Make it entertaining, but as true to life as possible
• Email it to contest(at)parrygamepreserve.com with 'preserve' in the subject someplace.

I'll round up the entries and nominate a few winners who will get some of that pile of loot! It'll probably break down like:

• 1st place - Ice Dagger
• 2nd place - Sideswipe and Mole Pod
• 3rd place - Storm Shadow and Combat Heroes set

All entries must be received by the end of the day on Friday March 12th, and I'll have the winners figured by that following Monday. Good luck!
Posted by charlie on February 25th 2010, 05:15 PM
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Toy Fair - Shidonni

My favorite part of Toy Fair is also what makes me glad that there are still physical 'brick and mortar' book stores: that you often end up finding things you never knew you were looking for. Every year I hope to stumble upon a company that embodies that ideal - a cool product that is in some way something new that I've never seen or heard of before. This year, Shidonni is that company.

They are based in Israel, so traveled a long way for the show, but were exited to demo their product. They have software that allows kids to rapidly and easily design their own virtual world and animal, and animate it with intuitive and fun tools. The really brilliant twist, however, is an additional service that they have just started providing several months ago. They will create a hand made, one of a kind plush animal based on the design that was created in their software. Now a child can have a physical animal that they themselves designed, and that was handmade by skilled craftspeople just for them, shipped in a special container with remarkably fast turnaround and at what is honestly a very reasonable price.

This is a simply fantastic idea. I would have loved this as a kid with my huge stuffed animal collection - heck I love it now - and they are executing it wonderfully so far. It does feel like one of those things that might have trouble scaling, but I think that for the volume of sales they would aim for, that they will be able to keep up through moderate and planned growth of their production facility. I am certainly always saying that the demands of mass production are resulting in the low quality of product these days, so this handmade trend is a welcome sight. It was a real pleasure to meet with the CEO of this innovative company, and I wish him and his idea all the best in 2010.


Posted by charlie on February 24th 2010, 06:48 PM
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Toy Fair - Mattel

If you ask me, the Mattel Event and subsequent showroom wanderings were the highlight of the Toy Fair. They have done a fantastic job of parlaying their solid brands into the jewels of the mainstream industry over the last 2 years, and their enthusiasm and purpose continued unabated in 2010. Click the image below of 'Toy Guru' Scott Neitlich with the Masters of the Universe Classics display, for the full index of all of the great products that I had the chance to see during the Mattel visit!


Posted by charlie on February 23rd 2010, 08:47 AM
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Toy Fair - Mezco Toyz

Time for another set of galleries from Toy Fair, this time featuring our friends at Mezco Toyz. They had a few early Kick Ass figures on display that looked great, and also let us know that their Mezitz line is selling really well. As a result, nearly 1/2 of their booth was made up of an expanded Mezitz line, and they are definitely worth a look. Click the image below to be taken to the index of the Mezco Toyz galleries!


Posted by charlie on February 22nd 2010, 08:50 AM
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Toy Fair - NECA and their Robert Patrick Homunculus

Last year at Toy Fair the visit to the NECA booth was both exciting and frightening to see how amazingly lifelike and perfect their new Arnold sculpts were for the Terminator line. Well, they've done it again this year, showing off a pair of perfect Arnold figures in T-800 garb. What really sealed the Robert Johnson-esque deal, however, is their new Robert Patrick. The figure we saw is just so perfect, and you better believe that I need the liquid-metal version that's totally reflective, but still has the perfect shape. Click the uncanny image to check out my gallery index for NECA! (and hit up 'general' for Terminator pics)


Posted by charlie on February 21st 2010, 01:22 AM
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Toy Fair - Tonner and their Doctor Who and Torchwood

I think that it's been about 2 years since we heard that Tonner was working on the Doctor Who and Torchwood lines, but not a single figure was to be seen until this very show. Rumors abounded about the trouble getting the likeness of the figures approved by the BBC but the holdup is finally over and the first 4 figures were on display at Toy Fair! Click the image of Captain Jack to check out the full Tonner gallery.


Posted by charlie on February 20th 2010, 02:47 PM
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Toy Fair - Joojoo

Have you ever seen a plush pirate ship? Well if you have kept up with our Toy Fair coverage from years past you have, at the excellent company Joojoo! I am of course a huge fan of their products, and was delighted to see that they had brought with them a plush Noah's Ark this year, complete with the man himself and a number of pairs of animals. They also have introduced a new line of their plush animals that have embroidered eyes instead of the more 'realistic' plastic ones - without the plastic they are then safe for even younger kids. Click the image below for shots of the Ark and the rest of their booth!


Posted by charlie on February 20th 2010, 07:55 AM
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Toy Fair - Lego Galleries Complete

I stated a wrong number last time with the Lego images, and there are actually about 1,025 of them in 23 galleries - no wonder it took so long! Well, they are all finally in place, and I'll work on the additional notes over the next few days. For now, Click Here to go directly to the grid-index of all of their lines, then click on a line to see all of the sets pictured. Enjoy!


Posted by charlie on February 19th 2010, 12:13 PM
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Toy Fair - Lego Kingdoms

The year just wouldn't feel right without a new excellent Lego castle, and that's just what their Kingdoms line has delivered! Click the image below of set #7946, King's Castle to check out all of the products that are coming up later in 2010 for this sub-line.


Posted by charlie on February 19th 2010, 09:20 AM
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Toy Fair - Lego Harry Potter

Well...ok I admit it, I've read all of the books. There I said it in this nice public forum, and no I don't feel better about myself! Whatever your feelings on the boy wizard may be, he and his friends have made some people gobs of money, so let's hope the same is true this season for Lego! Click the image below to flit on over to the 37 image gallery of Hogwart's finest architecture.


Posted by charlie on February 18th 2010, 07:44 PM
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Toy Fair - Lego Creator

The Lego Creator line is now available for your edification and enjoyment. Check out the number of products that are on shelves now, along with three excellent sets that we will see in June. Here is a 'Ferocious Creature', set #5868 Crocodile that is just adorable.


Posted by charlie on February 18th 2010, 01:34 PM
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Toy Fair - Lego Coverage Starts

Having taken another 500 pictures in the Lego booth on Sunday morning, I'm still getting them all slowly pushed up to the Preserve, but for now you can check out the City, Bionicle, Ben10, Cars and Atlantis galleries in full. I'm taking a little longer with these in order to add annotations next to most images indicating the set, price and month of release. Hopefully it's helpful! A shot of the glorious pre-production package of the new Atlantis set #8078 - Portal of Atlantis is below.


Posted by charlie on February 17th 2010, 06:11 PM
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Toy Fair - Puppetoys

Not much time to post right now, but here is a killer video from the Puppetoys booth. The creator is a 30 year veteran of the FX biz and it shows in his creations and his mastery of the puppet! It was an honor to meet them and I'll write more about it soon.


Posted by charlie on February 17th 2010, 08:07 AM
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Toy Fair - Hasbro Gallery

Ok, I'm finally getting a little caught up, and the Hasbro gallery has been posted in full! Click here to be whisked away to my grid-index of all of the great brands that were in the showroom. Keep an eye out for the new 'big AT-AT', seen below!!


Posted by charlie on February 16th 2010, 08:17 AM
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Masters of the Universe Classics - Today at Noon

Just a quick reminder while I'm in the midst of the Toy Fair event, that the next wave of Masters of the Universe Classics will go on sale at mattycollector.com today at noon! This will mark the first release of a 'large figure' so we'll see just how fast that sells out. Good luck!


Posted by charlie on February 16th 2010, 07:31 AM
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Problems Resolved

Ok, it seems that I've finally gotten a handle on the various problems that brought low the Preserve these last several days. Now I have a ton of Mattel, Lego, Playmobil and Hasbro pictures to post, so here goes!
Posted by charlie on February 16th 2010, 02:17 AM
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Toy Fair Waits For No Man

Good morning Preserve readers. Question - when is the very worst time of the year to be having website trouble? Answer - right now! I'm working on resolving the issues, but it's causing my coverage to be a little delayed. While we're all waiting, there is a partial Hasbro gallery in place, so you can go get your fill of Littlest Petshop, Iron Man 2 and even some new G.I. Joe products!
Posted by charlie on February 15th 2010, 10:51 AM
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Toy Fair Day 0 - Hasbro Tour

Well Preserve readers, Toy Fair has begun already this fine Saturday with the traditional 4 hour Hasbro showroom tour, and we have 900 images to prove it! I'm still getting the gallery together, but in the meantime here are a few points of interest:

• The Marvel Universe will see a 19" Galactus figure
• Transformers are focusing more on the depth and breadth of their history with their upcoming Generations line, starting with Drift and Darkmount from the IDW universe, and a great Thrust with new wings
• Power core combiners featuring two gestalts out of the gate, with a scout sized 'leader' and 4 legends class limbs, which auto-convert into arms or legs accordingly when attached.
• Toys R Us will see Masterpiece Grimlock
• San Diego Comic Con Exclusive - Blaster and tapes reissue
• Pursuit of Cobra figures pushed back, but basically all figures seen at last JoeCon should make it out by 2011
• Sarge is SDCC exclusive, and will be at the show.
• Star Wars - new vintage figures to arrive at $7.99 from all 6 movies
• Rocket Firing Boba Fett is special mail-away...available after all these years.
• New AT-AT $100 figure, over 2' tall - will have vintage box as RU exclusive.
• New forceFX lightsabre with removable blade, so hilt can be used as prop - very cool

Posted by charlie on February 13th 2010, 10:51 PM
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Transformers Animated - Electrostatic Soundwave

I wanted to get the second half of the pair of new Transformers: Animated figures posted so as to bring balance to the toy list. Today let's take a look at Electrostatic Soundwave! I am so totally smitten with the re-imagining of Ratbat as having a keytar alternate mode. I admit that I didn't quite catch all of the tv shows that supported this line, but I really hope there was some Ratbat/Keytar rock-out scene - more than enough to encourage me to go back and catch up on my viewing.

As always, click the image for additional shots of this repaint of Soundwave and his bio and features. Also - Toy Fair begins tomorrow! Get ready for coverage direct from the top-secret Hasbro showroom starting around 5pm after the conclusion of my tour!


Posted by charlie on February 12th 2010, 08:34 AM
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Sega Master System - Strider Import

Today's post is a great example of why I really need to keep pushing on cataloging the Preserve in the sort of methodical, overly-detailed way that I'm slowing attempting. I've been working on the full U.S. Release library of Sega Master System games, since there are only just over 100 of them to collect, and have just a handful of spots to fill in. It's a little tricky purchasing games on line because sometimes you end up with the 'Import' version of a cart that can often look the same at first, but the multi-lang back of the package is the giveaway.

Well, I think back in the day I wasn't so picky with this particular collection, and sometimes I'm surprised - like with today's Strider! In pulling this guy off the shelf and snapping a few pics, I realized that this is really the Euro version, go figure! Granted I can find no sign of a non-multi-lang cart on eBay, so for all I know there wasn't a strictly 'US' version - but hence the research and the hunt. That's probably way more obsessive detail than anyone needed, and it's still a fantastic game and cool to see the Master System version, so click the image below for a few more angles and the back-of-box write up. De Meester wacht!



Posted by charlie on February 11th 2010, 08:34 AM
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Masters of the Universe Classics - Moss Man News

The next wave of Mattel's blockbuster Masters of the Universe Classics figures is racing towards us like an expensive freight train, scheduled to hit on the 16th of the month...just to keep us all on our toes. This month we'll be able to get Trap Jaw as part of the Eternia membership, and Battle Cat will be the 'special' figure, and looks great! Of particular note for the still-distant March 15th sale is an announcement that Mattel just made last night concerning their evergreen-fresh addition to the line:

MOTU Fans,

You overwhelmingly asked for the ears of Moss Man® to be unflocked and we listened… we stopped production of the flocked ear version, made a change, and Moss Man™ will forevermore have unflocked ears. Now, all 2010 Club Eternia™ subscribers will automatically get the version with unflocked ears as their March figure!

But because we produced a small quantity of flocked ears before making what’s called a “running change,” we will sell both the flocked-ear and unflocked-ear versions as separate items on March 15th. That means there will be two separate product pages, one with flocked ears and one with unflocked ears, so you’ll need to be careful that you order the one you want. Again, there’s just a small quantity of the flocked-ear version available, and we’re expecting them to go quickly.

Other than the flocking, the figures are identical. Both versions will have an evergreen fresh scent and an alternative 2002-inspired head designed by the Four Horsemen. Your chance at both happens right here at MattyCollector.com at 12:00 noon Eastern/9:00 am Pacific!

—Matty

So there you go - sounds like there is a nearly impossible chase variant, and that they will both go on sale at noon on the 15th. Good luck!


Posted by charlie on February 10th 2010, 07:51 AM
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Batman - The Brave and the Bold: Green Arrow

More Batman: The Brave and the Bold figures join the Preserve, this time the flamboyant marksman Green Arrow! He's packaged with a serious looking crossbow in this set and certainly looks ready for business. Click this image for more shots of this excellent single-packed figure from this line.


Posted by charlie on February 9th 2010, 09:22 PM
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G.I. Joe Modern Era - Beachhead vs. Serpentor Combat Heroes

I'm trying to fill in the gaps in some of the year-old coverage, especially in the G.I. Joe modern era collection where most of it is laying around but you wouldn't know that from looking at the Preserve! Well, here is Beachhead vs. Serpentor, in Combat Hero scale! These figures are especially near and dear to my heart now that Hasbro themselves has confirmed with us through our very own Q&A that the scale is not going to continue going forward. Click the image below for more angle of this great set of little figures.


Posted by charlie on February 8th 2010, 09:03 PM
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Nintendo Entertainment System - Duck Hunt

Time to add the third of my classic Black Box NES games to the Preserve archives. Today we take a look at another Light Gun (Zapper!) game, Duck Hunt! Remember how your dog would laugh at you when you missed a duck? Heck you have three chances, how can you miss? And no standing right up to the TV and putting the gun against the screen, what are you 8? Oh yeah, you are, but that's still cheating!


Posted by charlie on February 7th 2010, 11:58 AM
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Transformers: Animated - Freeway Jazz

Hasbro has really thrown the fans of Transformers: Animated a bone by revisiting the line and bringing out the late edition, thought to be canceled figures just when we'd all but given up hope. Seeing national distribution, and suddenly about all I see in the stores currently, are the two figures that make up wave 6, Freeway Jazz and Electrostatic Soundwave with Ratbat. Granted they are repaints of existing characters, but it's great that we get a Ratbat figure, and that he is a keytar - excellent! Today I wanted to feature this latest Jazz - click the image below for his full gallery and bio.


Posted by charlie on February 6th 2010, 09:01 PM
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G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra - Doc

Having finally returned to vintage posting in earnest here at the Preserve, I do assure you that it will continue. However, there are still a number of excellent modern day products and worthwhile news reports that keep cropping up, so I have to at least sprinkle those back into the vintage coverage as we proceed.

In particular, I have been greatly anticipating the new G.I. Joe line - rather a 'sub-line' of The Rise of Cobra which is to be known as The Pursuit of Cobra and have added an icon for it over to the right - with the red stripe. The first figures to hit from this line are, interestingly enough, exclusive to Toys R Us - I'm so glad TRU is doing such a great job in partnering with Hasbro! According to some dedicated Joe sites, the Pursuit of Cobra line is being pushed back until Fall 2010, but I suspect we'll have a lot more to say about this after we meet with Hasbro a week from this Saturday. In the meantime, check out this fantastic new TRU exclusive figure, and the first figure in the Pursuit of Cobra series, Doc! After being a mail-away special several years ago, it's great to see him get a larger release, and you just can't beat that amazing color scheme. Click on the image for his full gallery, and get ready for our Toy Fair coverage starting in just over a week.



Also, you have to wonder which Hasbro execs get to have their fingerprints on the cardbacks. Check out the bio cards for this cool ongoing feature


Posted by charlie on February 5th 2010, 06:33 AM
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TurboGrafx 16 - Bonk's Revenge

I know it's been a little heavy on the TurboGrafx 16 this week, but I only had 4 games back in the day and I wanted to get my entire original set posted. Well, today completes that journey with Bonk's Revenge, the long awaited sequel to everyone's favorite headbanging Caveman. Created by the Red Company in Japan, where it was called PC-Genjin 2, Bonk is up against King Drool III, descendant of the first big boss. With most console systems, developers learned how to squeeze more out of the hardware as the months slid by, so we see a more advanced and slick presentation in this sequel. Maybe eventually I'll pick up Bonk 3 but there's definitely a premium with that, being the final installment in the series and having come out in 1993, near the end of life for the whole platform.


Posted by charlie on February 4th 2010, 01:25 PM
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TurboGrafx 16 - Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

The game that everyone had, because it was the pack-in with the original TurboGrafx 16 console, was Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. It isn't a bad game, and had some bold colors and characters, but I think that history has decided that as far as launch titles go it wasn't as strong as it needed to be. The overworld/underworld motif is cool, where you have a right-scrolling platformer in the colorful overworld, but face nightmare creatures in your nova suit when in the underworld. Each 'Zone' consists of an over and underworld and then of course a boss fight. There's a lengthy backstory for the game, which is actually drawn from an anime TV series called Mashin Eiyūden Wataru (as the game was called in Japan on the PC Engine).

Given that I'm lacking the cardboard outer sleeve for all of my 4 original games (though I think this one did not have that outer layer, or an interior HuCard clip), and that you really don't see them come up even on eBay all that often complete, I was bemoaning the lack of back story for any of my titles. Then, last night I realized like a fool that it's right there in the first page of the instructions! Well, I've gone back and updated the Blazing Lazers and Bonk's Adventure pages with their fun intro information, if anyone is interested.


Posted by charlie on February 3rd 2010, 07:24 AM
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Nintendo Entertainment System - Excitebike

Another 1985 release title, hence "Black Box" in the parlance of our times, is Excitebike for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This title not only had fast paced jumping and racing action with great little engine noises, but had the amazing feature of being able to build your own tracks! Choosing from a pretty cool set of jumps and other track features, you could design some truly unplayable layouts, but it made for amazingly long and repeated play value for this game. The simple interface and quick-to-play UI kept things moving even before everyone's attention was corrupted by the internet. This game won a lot of my time back in the day, so click the image below for pics of the original set.


Posted by charlie on February 2nd 2010, 08:44 AM
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Captain Power - Powerjet XT-7

This isn't a new addition to the Preserve, but in keeping with my marathon of vintage features I really wanted to be sure that Captain Power was represented, since I haven't talked about it in a few weeks. This still stands as my favorite bit of Toy Technology to ever fall within my experience, and I'm delighted to be a part of the CP online community. Click the image below for pics of my original Powerjet XT-7 - yet another line that my Dad discovered originally and brought home for us to enjoy!


Posted by charlie on February 1st 2010, 06:21 PM
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