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Star Wars Angry Birds: Rise of the Telepods

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Walt

darthmaulpig01I’ve been seeing all the licensed Angry Birds stuff for ages–ESPECIALLY the Angry Birds Star Wars stuff. More recently I’d been seeing these Telepods ones…apparently a sub-brand. On closer look, apparently they’re minis that have a digital code so you can “scan” them into an app; essentially “unlocking” the character at a specific time of your own choosing.

I’ve already been amassing a small collection of Angry Birds on my desk at work…some of the “eraser puzzles,” a stress-ball, a couple Mash-‘Ems, a clearanced plushie, even a giant magnet. So when I decided to check these out, they seemed a natural addition…with the added bonus that they’ll affect gameplay in the new Star Wars Angry Birds app.

Surely a ‘phase’ for me, but for now, I’m enjoying increasing my arsenal of these little guys, and mainly (presently) looking to find the Boba Fett Pig.

swabtelepodsweek1

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Classic Collection Leonardo – Out of His Shell

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Walt

While it seems lately I have waaaaay too many figures that have remained in their packaging (I need to work on a shelving system to display ’em), the Classic Collection Leonardo is one that I almost immediately opened up (He’s currently on display at work above my cube).

classic_leo_01

One of the first things I noticed–and the MAJOR disappointment–is the shoulder joints on mine are STUCK, and do NOT move up and down–though they look like they’re supposed to. So the arms are stuck being held outward at a rather awkward pose, rather than being able to have them down closer to the character’s sides. I felt like I was going to break the arms off trying to get either joint to move, before giving up and settling (for now).

classic_leo_04

I do like the stand the figure comes with, as well as the hands’ ability to actually grip the swords. Not the best grip ever, but satisfactory, especially in the face of the shoulder-joints’ issue.

classic_leo_05

I like the coloring and shaping of the figure overall. While not a huge fan of the mask’s rigidity on some of the figures, the shaping on this figure is much more to my liking. This image also shows that shoulder-joint: it’ll swivel, but won’t actually move up/down.

classic_leo_02

I like the detail on the scabbards, though I don’t remember the character ever having the blue strap in the cartoon. It works well enough with the general color scheme here, though, emphasizing that this is indeed Leonardo. The scabbards are one piece, but “plug in” to the shell, and the piece is easily removed, though thankfully doesn’t seem QUITE “fall-out” easy to remove.

The shoulder issue really limits the playability and posability of the figure; I very quickly lost interest in playing with posing due to that, as the character is quite limited with arms stuck straight out perpendicular! I intend to “research” the issue before I’ll buy any more of these–if it’s a common issue, I probably will hold off. If it’s just a glitch on the figure I got, I might try to work it loose and see what I can do with it from there.

all_leonardos

While–again–I’m not a fan of variants on the figure within the same “line,” here are the “main” Leonardo figures from four different lines.

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Newest TMNT Toys: Ninjas in Training and Classic Leo

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Walt

Last weekend I FINALLY tracked down the Ninjas-in-Training Raphael & Michelangelo 2-pack. I’ve come across the Leonardo & Donatello one several times since first seeing it, but this was the first (and so far, only) time seeing this one.

raph_mikey_front

I also–after deciding that $60 is just WAY TOO MUCH to spend for the “classic” Party Wagon–opted instead to buy the larger-size “inspired by the 1988 cartoon” Leonardo figure.

classic_collection_leo_front

I don’t like the premium pricing on this line…much like the other “Classic Collection” “reprint” figures, these seem to ONLY be available at Toys R Us, so there’s no “competition” and such from Walmart and Target to keep the prices lower.  But over the past year of seeing these, the idea of them has grown on me, especially for there only being four figures so far that I know of…with Bebop and Rocksteady coming sometime in the near-ish future.

raph_mikey_profile

Here’s the profile from the card back for Raph & Mikey…

classic_collection_leo_back_2

Though the packaging takes a bit of the color scheme and such of the original 1988 figures, the card back for the larger Classic Collection figures definitely makes no pretense of being classic itself…just “retro.”

classic_collection_leo_back_3

And here are the four turtles. I really like the look of Michelangelo…especially for the realistic weapons–actually dangling while not in motion, as opposed to the rigidness of other toys’ iteration.

classic_collection_leo_back

And of course, the card back in its entirety…

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TMNT Toys 2013: Leatherhead and Ninjas in Training (Leo & Don)

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Walt

I finally managed to find Leatherhead the other day. I think I might’ve been happier if I’d found him weeks ago, before learning of the existence of several other figures I actually do want, though.

Still, he’s a rather ugly (yet cool) figure…and makes me wish I had the original so I’d have all 3 versions.

leatherhead_front

The card back is much like other recent ones…nothing ‘new’ to this that I haven’t already shown on other posts, except of course the profile:

leatherhead_profile

I also came acrros the Ninjas in Trainin: Leonardo & Donatello, but due to budget didn’t feel comfortable picking them up at the time. I did, however, take a couple photos…if only as “proof” to myself that I’d actually found the things once, should they prove to be a massive pain in the butt to find later (much as Leatherhead did).

NinjasInTrainingLeoAndDon_front

Also, I wasn’t entirely enamored with the figures…they’re “cute,” but not nearly as much as the 2003 line’s version of the young TMNT (and that line crammed all 4 into one package!).

I don’t like the idea of splurging only to have 2 of the 4 turtles, so IDEALLY I’d like to find both 2-packs at the same time or have time/money to hunt several stores to find ’em in the same day.

NinjasInTrainingLeoAndDon_profile

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TMNT Toys Through Time

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Walt

I recently discovered a new version of the Halftone app, Halftone2, which basically combines the original Halftone app with a frames app I had been using.

Rather than show off the various turtles in a bunch of individual photos, I had some fun messing around with the new app, with the results you see below.

The three different sets of turtles:

tmntfigures-all

And then the individual turtles:

tmntfigures-leonardo

tmntfigures-donatello

tmntfigures-raphael

tmntfigures-michelangelo

And then all the figures together by turtle:

tmntfigures-all-byturtle

Now, if only I had recognized the value in the figures a few years ago based on the original Mirage comics designs, I’d be alllll set!

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Looking forward to more new TMNT toys soon!

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Walt

In the packaging for the TMNT Classic Collection figures, Playmates included a mini catalogue of sorts, showing some of the existing and New (“coming soon,” I take it?) figures. Several stood out to me, outside of stuff I’ve covered previously in this blog based on the card backs of figures I’ve already seen:

upcomingtmnt-leatherheadandmousers

I saw Leatherhead at a Walmart a week or two ago, BUT the packaging was mangled, and the blister pack was actually TAPED to the card with clear packing tape. Granted, the figure itself was there, but if I’m gonna pay full price, I darn well wanna open the thing MYSELF! (Plus, I like having the cards–especially for the “profile” bit!.)

I don’t recall if there was ever a Mousers pack in the 2003 line, but I absolutely LOVE the idea of being able to get a couple packs and have a little mini-army of the things!

upcomingtmnt-battleshellturtles

While I’ve refused to partake in purchasing any of the ‘variants’ so far for the turtles themselves, I do fondly recall the “Storage Shell” TMNT figures from the original line (especially much preferring the sculpts and coloring!) so just for “old time’s sake” I could see “shelling out” for a Battle Shell Leo or Raph.

upcomingtmnt-ninjasintraining-leo-donnie

…and I QUITE enjoyed the “baby TMNT” 4-pack with the 2003 line…I assume these will be the counterparts to those, but split into two 2-packs instead of all 4 crammed together into one pack. I’ll probably get these if I see ’em.

upcomingtmnt-ninjasintraining-raphmikey

I’d sorta prefer a Leonardo/Raphael pairing and a Donatello/Michelangelo pairing. But since I’ll want all 4 whatever the case, and likely wait until I can buy BOTH 2-packs at once, it’ll be a sorta moot point in the end.

I really don’t care for any of the vehicles except the Shellraiser, which I have seen ALL OVER THE PLACE price-wise; it’s varied from about $22 to $35 offhand, and as I remember the original “Party Wagon” being about $20 and the 2003 Van being $20, I don’t much like the idea of paying the higher-$20s, though I’ll probably settle for the $23-24 range. It’s honestly the only vehicle that really “makes sense” to me or has any interest for me at all.

I also continue to have no intention of tracking down any of the random mutants; I’ve seen Snakeweed several times and have left it on the pegs…and have no interest in the one spider or cockroach.

Ultimately, I’m just thrilled to see the potential variety finally getting there…though I just hope I can actually FIND these, rather than pegs choked with endless “pegwarmer” variants of the turtles themselves!

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TMNT Classic Collection [Toy Review]

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Walt

The other day after work, I decided–on a whim–to stop by a Toys R Us to see if they, by some chance, had the new Leatherhead TMNT figure. While they did NOT…what they DID have surprised the heck outta me.

A new “Classic Collection” line of TMNT figures I’d not heard/known ANYthing about coming out!

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-all

Of course, I had to buy Leonardo…my “classic” favorite turtle…and typically, if I ever give in and buy “variants” of a turtle, I go with Leonardo.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-leo

…But then, since these ARE re-issues of the original figures…and I can’t FIND my original figures…yet had my 2003 Turtles and 2012 Turtles here in my room…I splurged and bought the other three:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-don

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-raph

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-mikey

The card back is identical on all the figures, with a mostly classic look…except for the Classic Collection blurb, a contemporary “About the Turtles,” the nickelodeon logo, and a lack of clip ‘n collect “profile card.”

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-back

The front of the card looks like what I remember from the original figures:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-front_top

And the “origin” of the turtles also looks like what I remember from the originals.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-origin

As said, this About the Turtles is new/contemporary:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-info

I may yet opt to snag Splinter and Shredder for the heckuvit–to have all 3 versions of them as well. But for now I just wanted the four turtles themselves.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-figures

I did NOT see the “Party Wagon,” though if I do, I fully intend to buy it (provided it’s–IDEALLY–NOT a $39.99+ item! I would expect $25-$30ish!).

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-vehicles

All in all, I’m mostly satisfied with the figures themselves. The belts are significantly looser than I remember, which is a big drawback–Raphael in particular is ready to lose HIS just standing around!

I do like that the weapons all come on the original “sprues” or whatever–the flimsy brown plastic–you have to bend/twist/break the pieces apart yourself! But this keeps with the classic-ness of the figures.

I also QUITE like that the packaging does NOT include ANY annoying twist-ties and such…the figures and weapons simply popped RIGHT out (with some applied pushing/pulling/folding the plastic inside-out).

$12.99 is a bit steep for these–they’re slightly smaller/lower “quality” than either the 2003 or 2012 line (the current 2012 line being about $9/ea). BUT for being classic, and NOT carried in Walmart or Target or such that I have seen, the extra $4 is still worth it on the whole over paying higher premiums for original or 2010 25th-anniversary editions of the turtles themselves on the card.

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Supermen, Batman, and Thanos

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Walt

Several weeks ago, I came across the Injustice Superman figure at a local Walmart. The thing looked pretty darned cool, and with the sheer LACK of quality 3.75″ DC figures, splurged and bought it.

dc_supermen_batmandkr

Later, looking for the Injustice Batman figure, I came across this Dark Knight Returns Batman. I opted to go ahead and buy it, figuring it’s way cheaper than trying to track down the older DC Direct figure.

And last week I found the much-less-cooler-looking-than-I-thought-I-remembered Superman in New 52 mode. Still, not wanting to have to HUNT for the thing later or pay a premium online, went ahead and bought it. I mainly hate how small the “S” on the chest is for this figure….pretty much everything else looks fine to me.

While on the figure-hunt, I decided to also get another one I’ve had my eye on for YEARS: the Marvel Select Thanos!

marvel_select_thanos

I’ve been interested in this figure for a number of years now, and happened to see it at a couple different comic shops, for what I believe is “retail price” for the Marvel Select line.

And with the character’s mounting popularity of late, I did not want to get “shut out” of being able to acquire this figure at retail price, so went ahead and finally pulled the trigger on buying him.

I think Thanos is now competing with Galactus to have the most “versions” in my collection–in addition to this, I have the 3.75″ Marvel Universe figure from a couple years ago, and the Thanos from the line based on the ’90s Silver Surfer animated series.

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TMNT (2013) Toys – Baxter Stockman

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Walt

After about 10 months of casually “keeping an eye out” and pretty much thinking this line had been given up on, I FINALLY found a new TMNT figure that WASN’T just a variant of one of the four turtles themselves!

I happened to be in a Toys R Us looking to see what DC Unlimited/Batman Unlimited/DC Classic figures they might have and at what price, and happened to notice unfamiliar-looking TMNT figures (some sort of camo/zip-line variant). But when I looked on the back of the card for THOSE, I noticed a couple other new characters as well…so actually looked through all the figures on the pegs.

Other than the zip-line turtles themselves, I found Baxter Stockman…and bought him on the spot, despite Toys R Us typically having a significantly-higher pricing than Walmart or Target (turned out to only be a few cents, though…I later saw Stockman at Target).

baxter_stockman_front

Offhand, this is probably my favorite Stockman figure to date…sure, he’s got that crazy battle-suit, but it sure beats the mutant-fly of the ’80s line or mechanical spider-body/human-head of the 2003 line.

baxter_stockman_profile

The profile fits what I know of the character from the current animated series.

tmnt_goodguys_assortment_baxter

No new TMNT-allies that I’ve seen, which is a shame…not that I really can consciously think of any from episodes I’ve seen so far that would particularly qualify. Here’s hoping Casey Jones shows up in season 2 and gets a figure soon, though!

tmnt_badguys_assortment_baxter

One of the other cards showed a Rat King figure and some other random mutant in addition to the figures shown here. I have no intention of buying Snakeweed, and really have no particular interest in other randomish “mutation-of-the-week” mutants. Rat King is a possibility for an impulse buy. I’m looking forward to a Leatherhead figure, though, if they actually put that out!

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New Super-Toys

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Walt

Over the last several years, most of my action-figure purchasing has tended to be Marvel–I’ve mainly avoided the 6″ or whatever the “Legends” scale is, having come to GREATLY PREFER the 3.75″ scale. I won’t get into all my gripes about the lack of DC figures in that scale just now, though.

I’d recently posted about spotting a new line of Justice League figures at Target, and I believe I’d planned to avoid them entirely. Of course, seeing them every time I’d visit the toy aisle, I grew a bit weak and eventually gave in since they were recently on sale.

newsupermantoys

Along with Batman and Superman (I might snag Lex Luthor if I ever see that figure again), I also picked up a General Zod and Superman from Big Lots.

I’d almost bought a Zod and Superman a couple times several weeks ago, but I was rather irked at the pricing of the figures as well as wanting “standard costumes” and not any of the many Superman variants or a General Zod special-suit variant that I didn’t at all recognize from the few trailers I’ve seen.

Big Lots often has ‘scaled down” versions of the “main” toy lines…they LOOK like they’re basically the same figures as what you can buy at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us…but more generic packaging, smaller bubble on the pack, and it’s just the figure, no accessories. AND they’re $2 cheaper than Walmart‘s Man of Steel figures, and HALF the price of “regular” Marvel figures at all three of the big retail stores.

Since I don’t even WANT any of the accessories offered…Big Lots won the day. I’ve not seen ANY other villains offered in the line…which continues–as always–to be one of my biggest disappointments with the movie-tie-ins. The Marvel toys are done better, having the “movie series” and “comic series” in the mix, allowing for figures that may not technically have anything direct to do with the film, but that add variety to the overall toys available.

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