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The Before: Re-Consolidating the X-Collection June 2022

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Walt

Dropping the ball on covering Eclipso: The Darkness Within, but c’est la vie…writing for myself, so not too big a deal, no?

The Memorial Day holiday through me off a bit; as well as general "real-life" stuff, as well as some minor "physical labor" displacing some "writing time" and "mood" and such.

Figured as a filler non-content post, I’d post a couple "before" pics, focusing on my pre-HoX/PoX collection of X-Men.

xmen_from_2yearsago_june3_2022b

These 15 shortboxes house my pre-July 2019 X-Men collection, as of my May 2020 sorting/consolidation.

A little over two years ago, I lugged these all downstairs and put them on a rack. Other than grabbing several issues last August or so for the Chris Claremont signing, they’ve remained basically untouched…

…to now be hauled back up the stairs once again.

Because even though I’ve barely touched the boxes’ contents themselves…I’ve been pointedly whittling down my "missing X" list for the past two years. And the time has finally come to re-consolidate stuff…and see where I now actually stand in terms of what’s missing.

And perhaps THIS time actually get data input into an inventory app to begin actual record that way of my collection!

xmen_from_2yearsago_june3_2022a

I doubt I’ll have as many photos as two years ago that I took during the project, but time will tell.

I’m guestimating that overall I’ve likely got at least 2-3 shortboxes’ worth of issues to work into these, and some definite shuffling to do organizationally to better "prepare" for filling out runs and such.

Hauling these boxes up also marks the beginning of some longer-range plans and expectations, as well as a bit of a weird feeling in the gut as I begin a "takeover" of "The Cave" in a way I’d never actually wanted the "opportunity" for.

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Filed under: 2022 Non-Review Posts, 2022 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Pulling Out the Past: Mechwarrior Dark Age ‘Mechs

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Walt

A little over a week ago, I hauled a bunch of stuff out of a storage closet in the basement to get at my old Mechwarrior: Dark Age miniatures.

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Based on the state of the plastic bins I had them in, I probably hadn’t had any of these OUT of the bins since 2006 at THE most recent.

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But with a recent re-interest in Battletech, I was eager to get these out and see what ‘Mechs I had beyond the Spider (Dragon’s Blood faction) and the Atlas. (These I absolutely specifically recalled as my favorite/most memorable!) I remember being at a panel at Origins in 2002(?) with a couple friends and getting to see prototypes of these, and it was the Atlas that most impressed me.

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Once the game actually came out, there were four of us in particular getting the game–the two friends I’d gone to the convention with, and another friend we’d made that school year; and it became "tradition" for us all to meet up on Fridays after we got out of class for the week and go to the game store for a booster (or more) and then back to the dorms to play.

I recall the four of us largely "claimed" a faction (mine was Dragon’s Blood) and we’d try to trade favorably to each other to beef up the respective factions, while also maintaining other faction(s).

mechwarriordarkageminis03

I had bins labeled for Dragon’s Blood, Spirit Cats, Bannson’s Raiders, and Misc. So with possibly-faulty memory, I must’ve had the Spirit Cats and Raiders as "secondary" factions. I do recall the Atlas was NOT "my" faction, but as a "unique" and the one that had most ‘sold’ me at all, was an absolute "keeper" for me!

mechwarriordarkageminis02

I also remember one weekend late my senior year coming across a stash of cash I’d tucked into a graphic novel and thought I’d lost…which put me in position to–along with the other guys–splurge big-time on boosters as we all bought about 10 boosters apiece!

Plenty of nostalgia there, combined with having bought the Beginner Box last year, and a few weeks ago hunting down a copy of the main A Game of Armored Combat box, as well as several of the current-edition "print-on-demand" editions of Battletech novels. I completed reading D.R.T. a few days ago…the first actual novel I think I managed to read/complete since sometime in 2019! (A shameful fact given how many books I used to read regularly…albeit less shameful in that at least I’m reading…if only comics!)

Battletech definitely seems to be a new "phase"/mini-obsession for me. And "recent mini-obsessions" is a topic I may cover specifically soon, detailing a bit more…though some may be repetitive of this post.

Time will tell, though!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

PCS TMNT Villains Statues

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Walt

Over the weekend, I happened across something that REALLY caught my eyes: some TMNT villains statues that looked a LOT like the Marvel Gallery and DC Gallery statues from Diamond. Except these are PCS (or Premium Collectibles Studio, apparently).

I’d been somewhat aware of them from seeing a Green Ranger thing at a GameStop in early 2020 before the shutdowns. But then seeing these, I remembered (vaguely) having seen something about these coming up, though I’d completely forgotten about them.

pcs_tmnt_villains_boxes_fronts

Initially, I shrugged them off. Kinda cool, but where would I put them? Besides…the GameStop I saw them in did not have Shredder. So I passed on them.

Later that evening I found that Shredder was available to order online for pickup in-person at a GS just a few minutes away, so I pulled the trigger on that and let it go.

pcs_tmnt_villains_boxes_backs

The more I thought on it, though, and after watching some YouTube reviews of these, I decided I indeed wanted all four.

And when I went to pick up Shredder, I lucked out–they also had Bebop and Krang. If I was only to get two total, it would’ve been Shredder and Krang; but why not get the other two?

While they did not have Rocksteady in stock…another GS–the one I initially saw these at, at the local mall–did. So…back to the mall I went, and picked up the fourth and final for this wave.

pcs_tmnt_villains_bebop_and_rocksteady

Like the Diamond Gallery statues, these are relatively simple to get out of the packaging, which is great. They’re secured and centered within the packaging like a Funko Pop; but the plastic packaging splits apart to release the statue easily once out of the main box!

pcs_tmnt_villains_rocksteady

And of course, that made them all the better to get out of the packaging. They’ll very easily go back into the packaging should I ever want to do that, so absolutely got them all out to be displayed free-standing!

These are a pretty good size, definitely larger than NECA cartoon figures, but similarly cool. And far EASIER to locate/acquire!

pcs_tmnt_villains_bebop

As statues, they’re already posed and have no articulation…but they’re display pieces, about as any NECA figure would be, so just as well!pcs_tmnt_villains_shredder

Shredder‘s base–unlike Bebop and Rocksteady‘s–is the edge of a building, so he doesn’t actually "blend in" as well with the others (their bases look like they’re in the Technodrome!). Taken totally alone, it works; but might’ve been cool to get two bases to choose from.

pcs_tmnt_villains_krang2

As I saw mentioned in one of the YouTube reviews, this Krang can 1. stand on its own even without its base and 2. looks quite excellent alongside the NECA figures.

pcs_tmnt_villains_krang1

While I’m not 100% enamored with the Android Body’s pose (it looks a little too much like it’s reaching out to stagger forth after some braaaaaains) it works well enough.

All in all, these are some great little statues! Especially for the price–at "only" $49.99, they’re slightly under the price of a NECA two-pack. Buuuuut as said NECA packs are scarce and even rarer to come by, and these are significantly larger, these are a welcome value, and an excellent alternative if one doesn’t want to hunt those figures!

I’m a bit torn now on whether I want to seek out the turtles themselves. Had I stuck with "just" Shredder and Krang, the turtles would’ve been definite no-gos for me. Adding Bebop and Rocksteady, though…they’re tempting. And my "OCD" kinda wants the turtles since they should pretty much be in-scale with these, and "complete the set" and all that.

But then, I saw and am also interested in Goldar and Rita Repulsa from the Power Rangers line…especially if they have or will have Lord Zedd. I have enough actual figures and figurines of the Rangers themselves. But the villains I have less of, and would be more willing to have without "needing" to get 6-7 Rangers!

And looks like there are some GI Joe ones, which I figure would be more appealing at this point than the Classified line and withOUT the stigma of more Target-EXXXCCCCLLLUUUSSSIIIVVVEEEE-ness.

The primary issue for me is shelf space and these are already prompting me to consider some innovation and changes to my space to accomodate stuff in a better way!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Alas…Legacy and Soul of Chogokin are NOT Fully Compatible

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Walt

About a week and a half ago, Bluefin/Bandai had a VERY well-placed/targeted ad on Facebook…one of very few, but where–when done like this–I’m entirely open/receptive to.

They were having a sale…and highlighted the Soul of Chogokin Titanus.

I read some reviews and came to find out that this thing was supposedly essentially the Legacy Titanus, and was oh-so-proud of myself for "discovering" that it was PROBABLY something where they had this line separate from actual Power Rangers or Super Sentai or whatever; some kinda technicality in branding/packaging…but that with this sale, I could get the physical item I’ve long sought.

legacy_mmpr_soul_of_chogokin_titanus_box

Well, at first I was gonna wait a few days, but then decided I’d absolutely kick myself if I "missed out" for the pricing, so with gritted teeth, I ordered the thing. It turned out that my initial plan to wait til my next paycheck WOULD have come one day AFTER the sale ended…so, reinforces the "better just buy it NOW" mentality (for better or worse).

When this arrived last Thursday, I was actually surprised (and momentarily a bit worried!) at how small the box seemed…but apparently this required a few easy pieces’ additional assembly than the Legacy version.

legacy_mmpr_soc_titanus

But it assembled quite well and looked pretty much as I expected…though taking some getting used to with it having the lighter-colored extremities!

A little less than 3 years ago when Toys R Us was closing down in the US, I came across (and purchased) some sort of Black Series alternate release of Titanus. It was what was available, it was a steal of a price…and I didn’t think I’d ever find a "regular version" then for under 6 times what I paid for the "Black" version.

legacy_mmpr_titanus_black

Of course, maybe if I’d paid more attention I’d have seen there wasn’t SO MUCH difference. And it’s still a darned cool piece to own!

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But these monsters are, from the outside (and largely inside, too!) the same monstrous beasts of plastic and metal!

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The black is certainly black rather than dark gray on the black and gold one, but physically, these seemed to be the same sculpts, the same mechanics for assembly, etc.

And so over the weekend, I set about assembling the ultimate piece, some 11 years in the making for me since getting "into" the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TOYS.

The Ultrazord, in proper colors, would be mine!

legacy_mmpr_dragonzord_chest_wont_fit2

Buuuuuuuuuuut…

The cavity within the chest piece that opens out from Titanus’ chest, where the Dragonzord chestpiece is supposed to rest/connect?

Nooooooot big enough. The OUTSIDE seems the same, the way it opens out seems the same, but it’s like this is specifically sized for a different version of the piece (the Soul of Chogokin Dragonzord I’m sure). But WHAT A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!

And it’s not EVEN like it’s the issue with the Dragonzord tail connecting…I don’t think I even realized it WOULD until watching a YouTube video. But this is almost a focal piece, very front, and center…and it’s NOT compatible.

legacy_mmpr_ultrazord_sorta

Additionally, the piece that clips onto the Megazord chest–over the Pterodactyl–is the same size/shape…but lacks a tiny little clip piece, so doesn’t actually connect.

Two small differences–not visible and certainly not even a factor UNTIL YOU TRY TO BUILD ULTRAZORD. In this pic above, I took the piece from the Black Edition Titanus to minimize the gaping…emptiness.

So, Tuesday I went about "disassembling" the would-be Ultrazord back into the very nice, presentable Zords. Titanus back to dinosaur mode as pictured at the beginning of this post.

legacy_mmpr_megazord

Legacy Megazord, probably the most iconic (and certainly MY favorite, period) Megazord.

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And Legacy Dragonzord, which is probably my favorite individual Zord…even if it’s incredibly unnerving how easily this one comes apart.

legacy_mmpr_shelf

Finally, to close off this post, here’s a photo of the Zords back in place on their shelf/display area. Yes, you do see the Tigerzord and the Thunder Megazord…neither got singled out for this post, as they’re a "generation" beyond the obvious focus of the original Mighty Morphin Ultrazord for this post.

As said…while incredibly disappointing to not be able to just have a great Ultrazord build to sit on the shelf…I suppose it’s probably just as cool (or cooler) having the much more commonly-used iterations of the Zords on display.

And perhaps SOMEday I’ll eventually complete the Legacy collection with a "regular" Legacy Titanus (I’m sure not likely to spend the $800+ it’d likely cost me now to get the Soul of Chogokin Megazord and Dragonzord!) I’m not even likely to spring for the Legacy Titanus, really…not with what I’ve paid now for two nearly identical versions as-is! (if I find an opportunity locally to Northeast Ohio for an in-person exchange someday, I might be willing to arrange a trade).

BUT I am still very glad to have a normal-looking version of Titanus on the shelf…that alone’s more or less "worth it" to me, given recent "retail therapy" going on anyway…

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

DND Icons of the Realm Adult Red Dragon

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Walt

I’ve long been a sucker for giant-sized "miniatures." Heroclix Galactus back in the day. vehicles and such in Mage Knight. And even miniatures in general, whether D&D, Mage Knight, Heroclix, Warmachine, Warhammer(/40k), etc.

A year or two back, I bought a (used) box of the D&D game Attack Wing or such (the D&D version of the one Star Wars game)…just for the DRAGONS.

So when I recently learned of an upcoming giant-sized dragon–the Adult Red Dragon–from the Dungeons & Dragons Icons of the Realms line, I was all for it.

dnd_icons_of_the_realms_adult_red_dragon_front

The box wound up being significantly larger than I’d expected! But that also made the figure itself larger than I expected…and i’d been a BIT worried about its pose with the wings, whether they’d make the overall figure seem too "skinny" or be opened out and adding depth and "size."

dnd_icons_of_the_realms_adult_red_dragon_view1

I needn’t have worried overly much. This thing is huge.

Appropriately enough, I had a "nano mini-fig" D&D mini handy to pose with the dragon.

While still surely out of scale, it at least shows what a couple-inches-tall figure looks like dwarfed by the dragon!

And in the background you can see a Heroclix Sentinel, as well as the lower part of The Spectre.

dnd_icons_of_the_realms_adult_red_dragon_view2

Here’s another angle with the figures isolated on a different shelf…

dnd_icons_of_the_realms_adult_red_dragon_view3

And another angle to create the illusion of a greater difference of size!

This is probably my favorite of my dragon "minis" thus far–though the Mage Knight dragons have a lot of nostalgia for me, and are still cool artifacts from the past for me and NOT something I’ll be looking to part with anytime soon.

But all the more for the price I paid–my math was broken, so it wound up even cheaper than I’d mentally budgeted despite having the discount %percentage correct–this is an amazing figure, and I’m really looking forward to the Adult Blue Dragon now, and even considering other Adult _____ Dragons. A definite "grail" piece, though, would be the Mage Knight Apocalypse Dragon…but that was a limited-edition thing 16-17 years ago, let alone now!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Is the Plural of ‘Galactus’ ‘Galacti’?

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Walt

I recently learned of a new 10" Funko Pop 10" figure of Galactus. When I went to (pre?)order it, I discovered a new-ish Heroclix Galactus as well, and wound up ordering that. Had a bit of a mishap but eventually sorted stuff out and got it from Amazon.

I then finally ‘pulled the trigger’ and ordered the Labbit figure, spending more than I should for something so tiny but figured it was cheaper than 2 individual blind boxes, where I’d still only have a 2:20 chance of even getting Galactus.

galactus_as_of_march_2021

And so the Galactus sub-collection stands updated. There’s another newer Mystery Mini that I’ve been unable to find to purchase individually online, and I am not about to drop $6/box on a bunch of blind boxes for characters I’m not even interested in. There’s also a large Galactus from the toy line for the 1990s Fantastic Four cartoon that I don’t have. And From pictures online, I think there may be another Heroclix Galactus that I’m missing.

But I’m quite happy with the collection I have…there’s a fair bit of memories wrapped up in these, as well as the relative coolness (to me) of having even this many in one place.

I have memories of visiting a Big Lots with a friend probably senior year of high school or my freshman year of college and getting the Galactus from the Silver Surfer animated series line. And there was the botched Origins Game Fair trip that helped lead to my first Gen Con trip to Indianapolis that also kicked off what’s been 16+ years of guys’ weekends with those friends.

I’m pretty sure the Marvel Legends Galactus was my first build-a-figure (with the Sentinel and Apocalypse waves following). And the (I believe) Toys R Us-exclusive electronic talking Galactus from the 3.75" Marvel line at the time remains one of my earliest most expensive toy purchases prior to 2019.

The Mighty Muggs figure is one of my favorites from that line and reminds me of the friend that introduced me to the figures. This is the same friend who bought one single Labbit box on a whim and pulled the Galactus one (As I recall, he only wanted Galactus or Deadpool).

The Mystery Mini is one of my best-luck "pulls," from buying a single blind box of some villains wave. And the regular-size Funko Pop Galactus involved a pre-order and then driving to a GameStop to buy in-person thus getting the figure a couple weeks earlier than projected from the order, where-ever that was through.

While I have far more Robins, Supermen, and Thanos…Thanoses…Thanosi…figures of Thanos…Galactus seems to be a sort of premium, epic sub collection on my shelves, and thus showing off this latest configuration of the display!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

A Couple Waves of Super7 TMNT Ultimates

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Walt

In continuing to show off still-packaged figures, we’ve come to the Super7 TMNT Ultimates line.

Wave 1 arrived sometime last year; and Wave 2 only juuuuuuust arrived a few days ago!

super7_tmnt_ultimates_wave1

Though they’re still packaged, I absolutely love the display aspect for these! When one factors in the slip-cover AND the cardboard box around that, let alone what you see here…these are clearly designed FOR display!

These things are HUGE compared to the original, vintage figures they’re modeled after.

And I really dig ’em…from this first wave, Baxter Stockman is easily my favorite…despite my never having cared for the fly motif. But there’s a certain bit of nostalgia there as he’s one of the earlier non-TMNT-themselves characters I acquired as a kid, and I remember the specific trip getting him–I was annoyed because Dad wouldn’t let me open it in the car…I had to wait til we got home. And we were stopped at a train crossing for one of THE SLOWEST TRAINS EVER. I think it even slowed to a stop and then reversed…one of those.

super7_tmnt_ultimates_wave2

These are even MORE premium-priced than the NECA figures. These individually are only about $6-7 cheaper than the NECA 2-packs.

And yet, they’re TMNT so I’ll make an exception…I wouldn’t pay $45 for just any figures, that’s for sure!

But I’m ALSO willing just for the sheer SIMPLICITY of getting them.

Place order, and wait.

That’s it. From the start.

No chasing around to half a dozen Targets 20 times or so. No stress, anxiety, frustration, and other feelings that should not ever come into play as an adult collecting adult collectibles.

I’m looking forward to additional figures in this line, as well as (eventually) finding the shelf space and opening these and displaying them loose!

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

A Couple Years of The Lightning Collection

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Walt

Despite it being pretty much my absolute favorite tv show for a time back in the ’90s–particularly 7th/8th grade–I never really had any of the TOYS from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

I had a fair bit of licensed stuff–folders, paper pads, stuff with imagery from the show–but other than a McDonald’s White Ranger/Falconzord from the movie, it wasn’t really until maybe 2009/20010 or so that I got a Megazord or my own, and it was awhile before I discovered and acquired any of the Legacy Collection line.

Then a couple years ago the MMPR property apparently was sold, and Hasbro got the license and rather than continue with that, they started their own line…the Lightning Collection. lightning_collection_mmpr_sides

Due to already having a (for me) huge collection of MMPR stuff that doesn’t even fit onto TWO shelves’ space combined…I’ve been acquiring Hasbro’s Lightning Collection figures when they’ve had the Mighty Morphin’ characters. I don’t care for the later iterations…MY sweet spot, my nostalgia-spot, is Mighty-Morphin’! I’m also loathe to pick up on anything based on the Boom Studios comics, as I still–FIVE YEARS LATER–refuse to buy stuff from them in my one-man-protest against their handling of the initial release of their MMPR comics.

lightning_collection_mmpr_full_nonlightning_collection

Anyway…for lack of shelf space, I’ve yet to OPEN my Lightning Collection figures. And since they’re pretty much display-ready as-is, they’ve remained in their packages, as I’m showing them off here.

lightning_collection_mmpr_basics

2 years in, having just received an apparently-out-of-print/out-of-production Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger (bought as "not mint" and I expected a beat-up box but even the BOX is in as good or better condition than the others!) I now have all the Rangers I’m interested in.

Red, Blue, Black, Pink, White, Yellow, and Green.

Also have Goldar from (I believe) a Gamestop release (though I’ve seen the character elsewhere since, so I’m not sure now if it was exclusive or exclusive-for-a-time). And Lord Zedd was–along with the White Ranger–part of the initial wave a couple years ago, if I recall correctly.

While they might LOOK cool, I don’t need any variants like a Dragon-Shield Red Ranger or such. Just HAVING the single-figure packs of these characters mean pretty much the only other figures I might care for would be a single-pack Rita Repulsa, Finster, Squatt, and Baboo.

Yet those might be just as well in multi-packs or such.

Ditto for putties–army-building generic figures seem to me to be better to be part of a multi-pack than taking up limited slots in single-figure assortments. And simply AS generic things, better to get in bulk anyway!

lightning_collection_mmpr_twopacks

With the White Ranger being a single-pack figure from the start, when I saw a Green Ranger (albeit "Fighting Spirit Green Ranger") I leapt for it. Bonus…it came with a Putty! I wasn’t about to buy multiples just to get more Putty figures, but hey…I only ever had a single Foot Soldier with my classic TMNT figures, so hey…it is what it is.

Later there was a 2-pack release of Putty Patrollers that I got; though of all the figures, this is the only one not to have a window box display! Perhaps it was cheaper that way; and for bulk generics, it’d make sense. I only ordered the single pack, though as I type this I consider perhaps I should have ordered another.

Then there’s the Lord Zedd & Rita Repulsa pack. I’d actually more or less FORGOTTEN that I had a single-pack Lord Zedd when I ordered this; but not being aware of a single-pack for Rita, and being annoyed at lack of other similar-price-range figures being available to purchase from NECA, I ordered this from Gamestop partly out of spite toward NECA.

lightning_collection_mmpr_deluxe

I’d come across this deluxe pack/2-pack of Alpha and Zordon at some point and snagged it. I don’t recall if it was from Walmart or Target, but I suspect Walmart.

More recently I snagged the Pumpkin Rapper and King Sphinx deluxe packs. Given the general lack of villains ANYway in Power Rangers toys, I hadn’t really even NOTICED the lack of villains in the Lightning Collection.

Most of the "monster of the week" ("monster of the DAY?") monsters were largely forgettable and hardly as enduring as the Rangers themselves, or the "main" villains. Forgettable–so why do them at all? On the other hand–as an "of the day" or "of the week" there’s a HUUUUUUGE quantity of these things to have made!

On one hand, I could almost say that with some of the single-pack figures "out of print," they could be re-released with some villains a la NECA’s TMNT 2-packs. Buuut…already having all the Rangers, I would hate having to re-buy them just to get a villain.

If they re-released the Rangers as 2-packs (i.e. Red & Yellow, Black & Pink, Green & Blue) that wouldn’t really affect me. I could see them doing Ranger vs. Putty packs…which would not be ideal for ME but at least passing on Putty figures I wouldn’t be passing on unique monsters.

I’ve also snagged several of the Lightning Collection "prop" releases: White Ranger Helmet, Red Ranger Helmet, Power Morpher, and Dragon Dagger. I’d gladly buy a Lighting Collection counterpart to the long-outta-print Legacy Collection Power Sword. I don’t think I’d care for any of the other weapons outside of POSSIBLY the White Ranger Tiger Dagger (Saba?). And other than a Green Ranger helmet, I don’t know that I’d necessarily care for the other Rangers’ helmets. Particularly with my vastly-decreased display space for anything. (decreased due to sheer volume of acquisitions the last 2 1/2 to 3 years).

I’d also be VERY interested in Zord releases, especially toward an Ultrazord. But I suspect some of what made the originals and Legacy Collection Zords work was Bandai and Hasbro may simply not have the ability to duplicate that? Who knows.

Because I’d taken the photos anyway…here are closer-up images of the current-configuration of my Mighty Morphin Power Rangers shelves.

lightning_collection_mmpr_full_nonlightning_collection_left

The left part of the main shelving…

lightning_collection_mmpr_full_nonlightning_collection_right

…and the right part.

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

A Year of DC 3.75"/4" from Spinmaster

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Walt

Last year, I started seeing some new DC action figures from Spinmaster. (Also from McFarlane Toys). The Spinmaster figures are smaller–3.75" or 4" scale, I’m not actually certain which…but considerably smaller than 6"/7" figures like the DC Multiverse or Marvel Legends figures.

Due to increasingly limited shelf-space…and already having a shelf jam-packed with loose Superman figures–I didn’t immediately open the Superman that I got. And then I chased down a black suit, bearded variant. And then over the past year, I’ve occasionally snagged another figure as my eye’s been caught.

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Having the "actual" Superman (Rebirth-era without the trunks) I’m not bothered by other variants. I’m actually hoping for a version WITH the trunks! I’m not overly-keen on Lex Luthor, but liked the appearance with the packaging and actually having the "logo" for his name. The "tech" Superman or whatever reminded me of the Cyborg Superman, so while obviously not that, I snagged it. Captain Marvel, Flash, and Aquaman were cool. After the Mattel 3.75 Infinite Heroes Wonder Woman standing out in my mind as one of those figures that would not stand on its own, I only got her figure to go with Superman and (separately) Batman.

But it’s been more than clear to me that Spinmaster‘s (and DC‘s!) HEART lies with BATMAN. Soooo many more figures, where the general DC ones seem–by comparison–to be token action figure presence to claim presence, perhaps to maintain a license or some such? Stuff over MY pay grade.

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Robin (Tim Drake) is one of my favorite comic characters, and over the last few years I’ve wound up with quite a collection of Robin figures and such.I like to think that these variant Robins are intended to be the various characters–Tim, Damian, and Jason, at least.

I finally caved recently-ish and snagged the most NORMAL-LOOKING/most-comics-accurate-looking-to-me Batman. Nightwing and Catwoman for obvious ties to Bat-stuff.

And an apparently armored Batman putting me in mind of Dark Knight Returns, but perhaps intended more as Batman v. Superman. Whatever. It’s bulky and cool.

Then there were some of the big, bulky villains! Killer Croc, Bronze Tiger, King Shark, and Man-Bat.

Somewhere along the way, spotted Talon and figured for this line, and being (relatively-speaking) pretty cheap (1/3 to 1/2 the price of the larger Multiverse scale figures), I’d rather have more characters, so grabbed it. Same for Killer Moth. I even grudgingly bought Batwoman figuring she’d go well with a grouping of Detective Comics: Rebirth characters at least.

And that golden Joker…happened across that and initially figured I’d get it as "trade bait," but have since more or less settled on keeping it for the heckuvit, at least for now. There’s another Joker variant that I may keep an eye out for as well. Despite this, I still think it’s rather stupid to have limited chase variants in action figures; but all the more when they’re functionally UNPAINTED figures merely done in some alternate color plastic!

But as said…with this scale and the possibility quantity-wise, I’m more ok with stuff than I’d be if these were DC Multiverse or such.

And these are just "basic figures," without getting into any of the multi-packs and such that have even more recently caught my eye.

I see plenty of activity in a toy group I’m in on Facebook about the Multiverse figures…but I feel like I don’t/haven’t seen much of anything for this line.

Fine by me–if the only figure(s) being "chased" for this line ARE the solid-color-unpainted variants, that leaves more of the actual figures for me to be able to get without dealing with…shall we say…"resellers."

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Filed under: 2021 Non-Review Posts, 2021 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Alien/Predator Shelves as of 2/8/2020

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Walt

I posted a couple weeks ago about discovering the Alien Collection toys from Lanard.

I had not initially bought the APC vehicle, but did wind up going back for that. I also purchased a $10 MegaConstrux egg thing shaped like an Alien egg that came with a packet of slime/ooze with pieces to build two "minifigure" Xenomorphs.

I also came across a couple online listings for classic Kenner Aliens figures, and got a "regular-sized" Alien Queen as well as a Gorilla Alien and a Bull Alien.

All together, my once rather sparse shelf filled up fast to the point of nearly overflowing. Such that I may end up moving the Predators off just to have a little more room for the Aliens…but time will tell!

Anyway, though I’ve shown off the collection in the past, here’s the most up-to-date version of my Aliens/Predator shelves!

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The figures and such get the top of the shelving unit for the maximum amount of space and to accommodate the rather large size of the Queens.

While I’m pretty sure I’m missing a couple books, I do at least have most of the Alien/Aliens line of novels, and most of the Predator ones, though I’m missing the Dark Hors Press (DH Press) novels as well as the most recent anthology and film adaptations.

Though for the moment Mage Knight and MechWarrior: Dark Age still share the shelf…a major MW acquisition last year means that series is going to have to get its own space…which will also allow a little more space for the Alien/Aliens books and such.

aliens_collection_february08b

The graphic novels have their own space on a different, larger bookcase to allow for the size of the Library Editions (and even the regular-sized graphic novel editions).

Adding purchases from the latter part of last year in, there’s no longer room for the films to all share the shelf, so I had to move the individual Alien films and a couple misc. items elsehwere. (Perhaps they’ll help replace MechWarrior on the novels’ shelf?)

As it is, I left the Alien Anthology blu-ray set and the newer films.

I’m not sure if Dark Horse is going to continue their full-size collections of the older Aliens material, so I’m not at all in any hurry to replace the omnibii.with those…though I’d prefer the newer format. Time will tell!

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Filed under: 2020 Non-Review Posts, 2020 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, showing off the shelves, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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