Journal Archives from June 2011 |
Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Prowl
Well, the new Transformers movie has been out for a day now, and the reviews and earnings are pouring in. So far, the consensus appears to be that "it is better than the second one" which somehow is a compliment. Well, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it's not the same or worse than the second one! So, on the strength of that, and that the 3D is supposed to be pretty well done, maybe it is worth the time and effort to see in my local mini-mega-plex. It's also earned about 16million so far, and it will be interesting to see what that number grows to after the holiday weekend. In the meantime, let's finish up the 6th and final Legends class figure from the Reveal the Shield sub-line of earlier this year. Here we have Prowl, in his great G1 colors! Click the image to see a few more angles of this figure, that I certainly never saw in stores! Posted by charlie on June 30th 2011, 06:04 PM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Megatron
Well, today is the day. Today you can go to the theater and spend $15 and watch the third installment of the Michael Bay helmed Transformers franchise crash into the big screen at 100mph. I'll probably end up going - though do hope I can find a Cine-Mask first - and I hope that Hasbro makes piles and piles of money from this film. You have to expect, of course, that when it does make all that money that they will immediately start working on the 4th one. This could be interesting, if both The Beef and Bay stick to their promises of leaving the franchise with their trilogy all ... neatly wrapped up. Well, personal problems with the movies aside, I say again that I'm delighted they have made so much money for the Big-H, and have at least introduced the brand to a new generation of kids. Now what remains is to help them understand that Optimus Prime is a good and noble soul, who believes in freedom for all sentient beings. Not, as the movies would have you believe - this one in particular - a violent murderous psychopath. But, having not seen it yet, I'll stop talking about things I don't understand! Instead, let's take a look at another Legends scale figure from the Reveal the Shield line. This is a very special figure, in that it's the first time in ages and ages Hasbro has had the guts to release a Megatron that is a gun, and not only is he a gun but he's in the form of his original Walther P-38! Yes, it's like a mini-version, and of course has an orange tip, but I'm still very impressed by this figure and glad that they took a chance. Maybe all their new Michael Bay money helped them grease the right palms, and let something like this make it to retail? If so, then all is forgiven! Amusing note - the back of the package lists it as Blaster Mode. Oh, how long that was probably debated by the legal team! Posted by charlie on June 29th 2011, 07:17 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Trailcutter
You may better know this figure as Trailbreaker, of original 1984 G1 series fame! Seems this is another case of Hasbro not being able to secure the rights to the classic name (or opting not to for some reason) so now we have Trailcutter. They have, as seems to be consistent with this scale of figure now, done a great job capturing the shape and proportions of both the classic vehicle and robot modes, which is a testament to their eye for history as well as modern day manufacturing practices. Click on the image below for more shots of this classic 'bot! It was something of a surprising revelation when I noticed that tomorrow is already June 29th, which means that Transformers: The Lament Configuration opens in theaters tonight at midnight. I for one will be unable to go, as I've not seen the Robo Power 3D Cine-Mask in any of my local stores, and I will only pay $15 to see this spectacle if I'm properly decorated. However, I'm sure a huge percentage of the American populace will in fact see it over the coming days and months, and it will be fascinating to watch the numbers roll in. Congrats, Hasbro, on another brilliant cash cow! Keep the cool stuff coming. Posted by charlie on June 28th 2011, 08:57 AM Comments(2) Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Legends Starscream
We're within sight of the premiere of the third installment of the live action Transformers romp, so of course this is going to be a Transformers heavy week (admittedly, most weeks are). We'll start off with another of the hard-to-find Legend class figures from the tail-end of the Reveal the Shield line from earlier in the year. Again - I never found these fellows at retail, but had great luck with the goodly online sellers who work directly with Hasbro's distribution centers. Click the image below for a look at the beautiful G1 colors that Starscream is sporting, and feel free to compare them to what's on the big screen in a few days! Posted by charlie on June 27th 2011, 02:20 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Marshall's
I'm out of town this weekend at the Solid Sound festival in North Adams MA so the update via iPhone is by necessity brief. Of exciting import, however, is that inkeeping with the roadtrip tradition of visiting stores outside of the usual rotation, new and exciting discoveries can be made! Given that my small town has but a TJ Maxx, and one that hasn't gotten the full compliment of end-of-line RTS Transformers, I felt a stop at a conveniently located Marshall's was in order. It turns out that the sighting reports were true, and while no Scout class Windchargers were to be found, I did find one each of Voyager Grapple and Lugnut, and even two copies of Deep-Dive! Well, I left one DD there for one-eyed-Willie, but the rest have joined the Preserve. Photos once I'm back at Headquarters! Posted by charlie on June 24th 2011, 10:08 PM Leave Comment Share |
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Babylon 5 Guest Stars Stay Classy
I was inexplicably delighted last night, during what is becoming a daily B5 viewing ritual, to find that Richard Moll and Tony Steedman (better known, perhaps, as Bull Shannon and SO-crates Johnson) found themselves on opposite sides of the plot of 'Hunter, Prey'. The parade of obscure and cult favorite actors shows no sign of slowing! In watching the episode and trying to get a perfect shot of them together, I started to believe that they weren't even on set at the same time, as their few shared scenes were shot with clever cuts and closeups. Oh, such is the difficulty when working with marginal B-listers in 1995! Inspired by this inability to get a good group shot, and being too lazy to use anything other than poor lighting and my iPhone (clearly the best vehicle for capturing video) we have above the result. Stay tuned for further marginally exciting trips down memory lane, to the mid '90s, for a show you never watched and guest stars only I seem to care about! Did he say what I think he said?! Posted by charlie on June 23rd 2011, 08:06 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers Biennial Comic Store Display
It's becoming somewhat of a ritual for the Preserve that we set up a snazzy Transformers-related window display at the local comic shop in advance of a new live-action movie. That's right - in celebration of the next Michael Bay helmed installment in the juggernaut Transformers movie franchise, I've at least found a bit of a silver lining in creating this display. As you would imagine, I had an assortment of Transformers figures from the last several years sitting around so it was perfect timing to haul them over to the shop where legends are sold and set them up for the enjoyment of one and all! I think it's sort of like putting up the Christmas tree if you weren't yet in the spirit that holiday season - it often does the trick and brings a person around. So has the installation of my new display made me stop and realize that the new movie is almost upon us, and that I should probably give it a fair chance. It's important to stay properly informed, if nothing else! Posted by charlie on June 22nd 2011, 08:13 AM Leave Comment Share |
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TJ Maxx Finally Comes Through - Offer Expires While You Wait
There have been a number of hunting reports over the past year which would indicate that Ross stores have started to serve as the dumping ground for mostly-unreleased Hasbro goods. Waves of figures in both G.I. Joe and now Transformers have been finding discount release on that retailer's shelves, weeks if not months after being written off as another product that got left on the cutting room floor. Seeing as the closest Ross store is about 100 miles away from my house, that was a tad frustrating from a hunting angle...until now! No, a new Ross didn't spring up overnight from the twisted remains of a Woolworth's or anything. Rather - for the current round of Transformers surprise clearance items, it seems that all of the 'discount' retailers are getting to share in the love. Reports indicate that Ross, Marshals as well as the venerable TJ Maxx are at last all getting a taste of the goods, which finally opens up the possibility that I might see one or two of these! I'd been checking my TJ Maxx off and on for two weeks, with no success, but the carrot that keeps the hunt alive usually turns up eventually, and today was that day! I was most excited to see a Hasbro-laden flatcart in the midst of the admittedly scaled down non-holiday toy area, and noticed right away that a case of Voyager Reveal the Shield figures was sliced open yet not unpacked. My enthusiasm was quickly quashed when I pulled out a Battle Blades Optimus Prime instead of a Grapple or Lugnut. Silently cursing the ability of my local store to even screw that up, and finding no further Transformers related cases on the cart, I did a double-take as I saw the fabled Wreck-Gar on the shelf, next to a pair of Nitro Bumblebees and a Perceptor. Now - given that I tend to treat toy aisles the way rainman counts cards in Vegas, all these things puzzled me. Only 4 deluxe figures - someone was here first, but why would anyone leave a Wreck-Gar, and was there another case of the 'rare' Voyagers that was purchased wholesale by another collector after he sliced them all open to check the contents, leaving not a trace? I stood and stared and pondered for what I'm sure was a long enough time to draw the attention of any bored staff watching the in-store security cameras, but hopefully made all right with them when I bought my single deluxe Wreck-Gar, and put it on my TJ Maxx card. Here, then, is Wreck-Gar! He talks some TV! Find him if you can! Rather, you need to find two! That means I'm one short! Come on TJ Maxx get it together! You check in, but you don't check out. Posted by charlie on June 21st 2011, 02:59 AM Comments(3) Leave Comment Share |
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Press Release - Lego Super Star Destroyer Executor
Press Release: Lego has been making impressive Star Wars sets for years now, but it's always exciting when a new mega-set is announced. Well, we have just that sort of pleasure now, because they have sent word about a new Super Star Destroyer set which really lives up to that name. Click through for more details on this new 8 pound, 3,152 piece work of art, and how you need to put it on your holiday shopping list starting right now. Read More Posted by charlie on June 20th 2011, 10:50 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Press Release - Mezco Toyz Giant Batman Mez-Itz
Press Release: Another summer exclusive from Mezco Toyz and this one is really a sight to behold. They have made a 20" Batman Mez-Itz for us all to look upon with amazement, and amazing it is! Click through for more details on this new figure, and how you can add it to your collection! Read More Posted by charlie on June 17th 2011, 08:23 PM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Gold Bumblebee
Where there is an Optimus Prime at any certain scale, you can be fairly certain that a Bumblebee figure is not far behind. Such is the case in wave 4 of Legends figures in the Transformers Reveal the Shield line. What's cool, though is that we aren't just getting a regular old yellow Bumblebee, but we're getting Gold Bumblebee! I like to believe that this is Goldbug from the 1987 Throttlebot sub-line in the original G1 toy line. I have to imagine that's exactly the case, but that the clever people in marketing decided that a new character wouldn't sell as well as one they've already made and remade a hundred times....well, I do wish they'd take a chance now and then, but it's still great that the figure got made. Heck, for all we know the name 'Goldbug' is unavailable due to the vagaries of copyright law, so this works out just as well! Posted by charlie on June 16th 2011, 08:46 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Transformers - Reveal the Shield - Optimus Prime (G1)
The tail end of the Legends figures from the Hunt for the Decepticons / Reveal the Shield ConfusingNamed (tm) Transformers product range from 2010 / 2011 was another batch of figures that have permanently eluded me in stores. As such, I turned to the good folks at BigBadToyStore to hook me up with a complete set of all six of these hard to find figures. And today, I'm finally getting them added to the Preserve! Here is the good-looking Optimus Prime with G1 styling. After all the movie designs, it's always like a breath of fresh air to see the classics - so click through for a few more views of this great mini figure! Hasbro's ability to add detail to these small figures has improved markedly over only a few short years, and this figure is a great example. I'm glad that I was able to track one down, in some manner at least! Posted by charlie on June 15th 2011, 07:21 PM Leave Comment Share |
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Press Release - Mezco - Limited Edition Lion-O
Press Release: San Diego Comic Con is so soon, it's hard to believe. As such, our pals at Mezco Toyz have sent word of their Summer Exclusive #7 - a variant of their amazing 20" Lion-O figure! Click through to see more info about this figure, and how he can join your collection. HOOooooo! Read More Posted by charlie on June 14th 2011, 06:51 PM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Iron Grenadier
Well, it sort of awkwardly straddled a weekend, but let's finish up the rundown of the wave 6 figures from the G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra line. The last figure in this subset, #1120, is the Iron Grenadier! Hand picked by Destro for their awesomeness and powers in magic (not that second one), these are some seriously elite Cobra soldiers. This guy comes with a pile of accessories, to which we have grown accustomed, but my favorite has to be the depleted turnbinium ammo backpack. That's almost cooler than an 'alternate head'. Posted by charlie on June 13th 2011, 07:39 AM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Cobra Viper
We've been on Joe overload this week, so a little more won't hurt, right? I figure we're making good progress through wave 6 of the G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra figures, so let's keep that party going with the latest version of the iconic Cobra Viper! This figure has the vac-metal, shiny face plate, akin to what we saw in the Hall of Heroes version, and appears to be an all around solid figure. Interestingly he's packaged with one of the giant 'play action' firing weapon things, that in theory kids demand. This was a clumsy feature that had mercifully been lacking from other releases in the Pursuit line, but I guess we didn't get off scott free. Still, it's a great figure on it's own merits, and well worth your time if you can track one down - which I hear is still no easy task! Best of luck to the troop builders, and to the collectors who just want one, and have a great weekend! Posted by charlie on June 10th 2011, 07:14 AM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Rock Viper
And now for the troopers. Wave 6 of the G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra line is absolutely chock-full of troop-building fodder, to the tune of 1/2 of it's generous assortment of 6 figures. That's right - we get three Cobra soldiers of various types and configurations, perfectly suited to padding out your evil ranks. Let's start with figure #1118, the Rock Viper! The list of 'combat gear' for these figures, found on their bio cards, continues to be massively long and detailed. However, we've yet to see another card that breaks the 4th wall quite as badly as Temple Guardian Snake Eyes and his 'alternate head'! What we have with this Rock Viper is basically a mountain climber, complete with the sort of gear you'd want for such an endeavor. Click through to see some more angles of this detailed new figure, and read the full bio! Posted by charlie on June 9th 2011, 06:00 AM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Crazy Legs
Next on the list of wave 6 figures from the G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra line is Crazy Legs! I'm always so pleased by the 'code names' of many characters in the Joe universe, and I'm certain to not be alone in classing this one near the top. I think what makes it even better is the hilarious pose they have him striking in his package. Click through to learn more about D. Oliver Thomas from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and what makes him yet another invaluable member of the G.I. Joe team! And yes, I assume the pose is supposed to simulate a free-fall before the parachute is pulled, but I like to think of it more like he's doing a delightful interpretive dance, with Gung Ho and Shipwreck clapping wildly and cheering him on. Posted by charlie on June 8th 2011, 08:45 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Air Raiders - Wind Razor Battle Dasher
Here's one from out of left field, what with the deluge of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and G.I. Joe: Pursuit of Cobra figures that we've been swimming through lately - it's Wind Razor! A Battle Dasher from the 1987 Air Raiders line by Hasbro! This vehicle from the Tyrants of Wind (bad guys!) is piloted by Sergeant Razorback and Private Dak, and can achieve a maximum speed of 200 knots on its stabilized jet stream. Be sure to click through and learn more about this great addition to the Air Raiders line. While you're there, check out 'part three' of the pack-in comic, one page of which came with each vehicle in this series! Posted by charlie on June 7th 2011, 02:58 AM Comments(6) Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe Q&A #2 (2011)
This just in! Our replies from Hasbro for the latest G.I. Joe Q&A have just arrived, so read and enjoy. All three of our questions were answered - thanks! Check them out below: G.I. Joe Q&A #2 (2011) Preserve: Fuzzy hair vs. molded plastic hair. Does the team have any thoughts on preference, and relative easy/difficulty of designing the different styles? Hasbro: Fuzzy hair has trouble nowadays because under certain tests, it can be rubbed off and washed away, giving the toy a mangey look. So, for most figures we go with molded hair. Preserve: You acknowledged in a previous q&a that some Walmarts were not supporting the line, but that you were in talks to reverse that. Is there anything you can share with us about the status of that retail support that we might see for the remainder of 2011? Hasbro: We are pleased to say that WalMart has increased the number of stores that will be carrying GI Joe in the Fall. I can't quote the exact number but the increase is significant and many fans who were having trouble finding figures should be able to find GI Joe in their local WalMart later this year. Preserve: We've touched on this topic in the past, but I felt it may be time for an update: is there any collaboration with Larry Hama in the new line, what with his renewed involvement with the Joe universe via his ongoing comic series - perhaps input into the file cards or other character design elements? Hasbro: Larry is doing some great stuff with IDW on the comic book line and we are always excited to have him engaged with GI Joe on any level. However, we aren't currently collaborating with him on product. Thanks to the team at Hasbro for their answers - and that's great news about WalMart! Posted by charlie on June 6th 2011, 06:23 PM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Snakes Eyes Temple Guardian
I am always going on and on about what a great value I feel the recent G.I. Joe figures are, given all of the astonishing accessories that each figure includes. When you look at something like a Justice League Unlimited figure, at the current $9.99 price point in Target - where you're lucky if you get a single cartoony accessory, the value of the $7.99 Joes really shines through. Now, granted, they're going for a different style and concept with those JLU figures, so no offence to Mattel, but money is money, right? Inkeeping with my keen observance of these great pack-ins with the Joe figures, I'm definitely digging 'Temple Guardian' Snake Eyes from the newly released Wave 6 of figures in the Pursuit of Cobra line. Something amusing, though, is the care with which they enumerated these myriad accessories on the lengthy bio card for SE this time around, going so far as to mention the 'alternate head' as part of his Combat Gear. While I'm all for completeness, I was a little jarred by the step outside of the 'believable' nature of the cards, as this seemed to speak directly to a feature of the plastic toy rather than the suspended-disbelief action hero. Well, maybe I'm just being picky on this Sunday evening as I type this, but I felt I had to at least mention it! Click the image below to check out this latest version of ol' Snake Eyes, and be sure to read the (not really) controversial bio! Posted by charlie on June 6th 2011, 02:02 AM Leave Comment Share |
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G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra - Croc Master
It's been a long time since I've seen any new figures from the G.I. Joe - Pursuit of Cobra line on my store shelves. It's a shame, too, since this line started out so strong, and with so much collector interest and demand. Sadly the same pattern that we keep seeing with Hasbro and with retailers happened once again - too many of the early cases were ordered, the pegs began to warm with figures, and the ordering spreadsheet-bot never decided to get wave 3. At least - that's how it seemed around here. In fairness my local Target did have a wave 3 display, for a few days, and that quickly vanished and was the last I'd seen of anything other than Arctic Destro and his wave 2 brethren. I finally broke down and bought the full set of wave 6 figures (oddly enough, available before wave 5...) from bigbadtoystore.com (a fine establishment!) and wouldn't you know it but saw the entire wave at my local Walmart not a week after my package arrived. Well, no matter! I'm still glad to have these figures to be able to feature them on the Preserve, and add them to our photo archives. Today we're taking a look at Croc Master - that former burglar alarm salesman who found a higher calling in the Cobra organization. Click through the image below for his full bio, and more shots of this new, and hopefully in-stores-now, figure! Posted by charlie on June 3rd 2011, 02:43 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Masters of the Universe - Eternia, 1986
Thanks are due to Poe Ghostal for bringing this to our attention, and most assuredly are also due to youtube user sammyb7883 and his Dad. Seems that in 1986, a mall in Indianapolis had the single greatest piece of toy marketing I've ever had the privilege to see. The new technology of consumer grade home video cameras, and a father's enthusiasm to document his young family resulted in this amazing piece of history. I think Ultra He-Man collectors now have a new grail piece: the 1986 room-sized magical marketing playset! Posted by charlie on June 2nd 2011, 06:52 AM Leave Comment Share |
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Masters of the Universe Classics - Catra
It's funny to me how the hard-core Masters of the Universe fans and collectors are, now days, clamoring over She-Ra figures, whereas in the past they were more the domain of the more rare broadminded and all-encompassing collector. But, being part of the fan-favorite MOTU Classics collection, every figure that comes down the pipe is met with tremendous fanfare and joyousness! Well, here we have the May 15th figure in this long running and popular line - Catra! A long way from the hilarious gimmick character that we all remember from the cartoon - who made meow-noises and Manimaled into a panther - her bio makes her most specifically noble! Check out this figure by clicking through the image, enjoy her bio, and get one for your collection today! Posted by charlie on June 1st 2011, 02:56 AM Leave Comment Share |
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