Marvel Universe – Thanos

I was almost sure that I had missed the bus on picking this figure up.  It is almost a rare occurrence to see Marvel Universe figures on the pegs these days.  But what do you know?  I stopped into my local Toys R Us on my lunch break this past Thursday, and not only did they have a decent selection of figures I was interested in(Gray Hulk, Rhino, Colossus), but they had 2 of these guys!  The first one had horrible paint apps on the Infinity Gauntlet(this one has much better apps).

Thanos has long been my #2 favorite villain(Apocalypse is #1), ever since my early days of comic collecting.  We’re talking well over 20 years!

I was pretty excited when I first heard Marvel characters were getting the 3 3/4 treatment, as Marvel has a long list of characters that needed to have a decent action figure counterpart.  But I figured I’d only end up getting old Thanos here, on the secondary market at an inflated price.  So a fateful trip to TRU on my lunch break landed me a figure that I needed for my collection.

The paint looks pretty good, and the likeness is great as well.  That’s the one thing I like about these bulky characters…it feels like your getting your money’s worth when you plop down $10(TRU prices), for a single figure.

He has a pretty good range of motion, and his weight is pretty well-proportioned, so he’s not top heavy.  The joints on this one aren’t loose, nor are they too hard to pose.

Even though the Infinity Gauntlet was a story from over 20 years ago, it is still to this day, associated with Thanos.  And that is pretty sweet, as it just makes this figure that much more awesome.

I will need to get a few shot’s Thanos and Apocalypse together, which will be a showcase of awesomeness!  If you see this figure in your travels, I would highly recommend that you consider picking him up.

 

2014 Casey Jones

This is one of 4 TMNT figure I have purchased from the new series that I had yet to open.  I finally broke down, and was able to open him up a few nights ago.

I was pretty excited when I saw this figure hit the pegs, and snagged one the second time I saw one(didn’t have the dough the first time around).

 A lot of differences from the Casey from the old series, but I really like the updated look.  At first I was unsure if I liked it, but after seeing him in recent episodes, he has become one of my favorite characters, besides the Turtles themselves.

And on the back, you can get a view of how he looks on the show.  The face paint definitely makes the character, I don’t know, a little more dark?  In the show, Casey is a high school hockey player, which may also play a part in why I like the character somuch.

As you can see, he comes with a few accessories, including a removable mask.  The goalie blocker is not removable, which is fine, since it not able to be lost this way.  I only wish that he came with a goalie stick like he has in the show.

Another cool thing about the character, is that in the show, there is a reference to the creators of the Turtles on Casey’s hockey gear(Laird on the blocker, and Eastman on the goalie stick).

 I’m happy that that they gave Casey a bit more articulation then the other non-Turtle figures of the first wave.  While not super-articulated, Casey can be posed nicely.

Casey’s shoes also double as kind of like roller blades in the show, and that is reflected on the figure.  While not movable, they are molded onto the feet.

 I give him a 9.9 out of 10!

 

Storm Shadow Version 2

I ended up selling those 3 Game & Watch games on Ebay, which gave me some spending cash in my Paypal account.  I was able to get 2 items, and one of them is what you see below.

This Storm Shadow has been on my want list for a while, but for some reason, I never actively pursued the figure.  While the first version of Storm Shadow is iconic in it’s own right, this version means more to me.  This is one of those G.I. Joe figures that I had multiple times.  I know it seems odd to say that I had multiples of the same figure, but I never had more than 1 of the figure at any one given time.  This was a figure that went through heavy play, and probably got lost outside on more than 1 occassion.

What drew me to this figure more than anything, was his attire.  It’s a weird arctic camoflauge, which to my nine year-old self, was pretty darn cool!  Also, the forearm tattoo is pretty sweet as well.

I was able to get him close to 100% complete.  All that he is missing is his claw accessory, and one of the elbows has a crack(but that’s far from a huge issue with me).  So for $5.50(plus $3.00 shiping), I’d say that I got a decent deal.  I’ve added a figure that was on my list, I got it for a reasonable price, and I was able to purchase it by selling some games I didn’t really have a need for(that I made a pretty decent profit on as well 🙂 )

Next time we’ll see where the majority of the money I made went to.

ALF Collectible Figures – Augie with the Family Dog Neep

This is a line I have been wanting to start collecting for a long time.

I remember when these hit the shelves, and my brother and I both had 2 each.  That meant that we had over 60% of the entire line.  There wasn’t much to the toys themselves, but for some reason I always liked them.  Each figure had no articulation, and came with a vehicle as an accessory.  The one exception is Augie, who came with the “family dog” Neep, instead of a vehicle.

On card, they’re not too expensive, but you’ll need to look around to make sure you’re not overpaying.  The example I have may have been resealed, as I spotted a hair inside of the packaging, and the bottom of the card seems to point to it being re-glued.  But this isn’t a huge issue, since I don’t consider this an investment.  I think I love the card just as much as the toy itself.  I would like to get the complete line MOC, but if I can find them loose at the right price, I’ll pick them up as well.

Augie is ALF’s little sister, and I believe this is derived from the animated series.  I haven’t seen any of the animated episodes in years, but I have been watching the live action show recently, and I haven’t heard any mention of her.  Although I just watched the pilot this morning, and he ALF did mention Skip.  I’m not an ALF expert, but I am a fan.

These figures were released in 1987, and manufactured by Coleco.  Coleco had some pretty cool licenses in the 80’s, but went out of business in 1989.

If you look closely on the back of the card, it states “Manufactured for Coleco Industries, Inc. Amsterdam, NY 12010”.  Well, Amsterdam is a short 30 minute drive from my house.  I am in the area frequently, and have been aware of the Coleco factory for years, but have only recently did more than just drive past.

The above photo was taken by me on a recent trip through Amsterdam.  Even though the company has been gone for more than 20 years, the logo is still on the side of the still-standing factory.  I figured some of you would appreciate this little piece of toy history, as I found it pretty interesting myself.

Transformers Generations : Fall of Cybertron – Ultra Magnus

So, it looks like I’m finally going to do a figure review(my version of one anyway), on the new(er), blog here.

And it should be no surprise that it’s a Transformers figure.  And this one is somewhat special to me.

You see, when I went to see TF – The Movie, I came out with Ultra Magnus being my new favorite Transformer.  While the original is on my want list, I could not pass this version up.  Sure, I need a Optimus Prime for my collection, and even though this is a repaint of the Optimus from this series(with a different head sculpt), I prefer Ultra Magnus’ color scheme.

I think the artwork on the card is fantastic, and that was originally what caught me eye.  As you can see, he comes packaged in robot mode.  But if you know me, I always like to start with vehicle mode, and I’ll continue that trend here.

His alt mode is a Cybertronian Truck, which is no different than Optimus.  While it’s not as iconic as a big rig, it still looks pretty neat.  The figure directions weren’t completely useless, but there were a few parts that didn’t really make sense, so I had to figure out about half of the transformation without them.

And as per usual, I think the figure looks best in it’s robot mode.

For some reason, I really like this photo.

UM comes with a blaster and sword,  The back of the card says that the two combine, but I wasn’t digging it.  However, I do like the fact that Hasbro did include both weapons.

The cost of these figures has gone down a little on these, not clearance, mind you.  But they are a ittle more comfortable on the expenses.  I also had a discount offer from where I ordered it.  In all, I paid around $10 total(well worth it).  Now, I know I won’t be getting the new Metroplex(that would be pretty sweet though), so I just need to pick up Starscream, and I think I’ll be set for a wave or 2.  😉