Combat Belt Batman - BTAS

Batman: the Animated Series was an amazing cartoon show. I really enjoyed it and the toy line looked fun, but I already had so many characters from the Batman movie toys I didn't dive into the line to deep. The first Animated Series figure I got was Combat Belt Batman. This is a gimmicky figure done right! Once you remove the "action feature gear" he is just a standard Batman. I'm posting about this figure  today because I got him in my Easter Basket many years ago. (Happy Easter if you're of that persuasion)

Combat Belt Batman comes with a snap on belt, a spring-loaded missile launcher that attaches to the belt, a grappling hook and rope that can be launched, a giant Batarang that can also be fired, and a set of snap on hand cuffs. 

Like the Super Powers and movie figures, this Batman comes with a cloth cape that clips around his neck. The cape is very large and can wrap around his shoulders. This cape is also one of the nicest quality toy capes I've ever seen on an action figure Batman.

I played with this figure a lot. Here he is putting the cuffs on the Joker. This figure will always have a special place in my collection. He was such a great representation of the character from the cartoon. I even used him in the animated series this blog is named after... Action Figure Adventures. Follow the link to see him in action and voiced by Batman writer Doug Moench.

Tusken Raiders (Sand People) - Star Wars

The Tusken Raiders were one of the first figures I ever army built. I was so happy when I had three of them as a kid. I still often buy them at yard sales. Sometimes labeled as Sand People, which is what they were referred to in the movie, these tan figures have one of the best sculpts from that first wave of vintage Star Wars figures.

 The Tusken Raider is the only figure in the entire line to have their hands sculpted in a position so that they look like they could ride a bike. This is cool, because it allows you to pose them holding their gaffi sticks above their heads. This allows kids to recreate that classic war cry shot from the movie I don't have a gaffi stick, so it's not pictured. Like many figures from the original line the Tusken Raiders also came with vinyl capes.

I'd love to see the Sand People raid  the city of Tusken in a possible stand alone movie. Maybe it could be a plot point in the rumored "Yoda movie".

GI Joe: Retaliation - Opening Day

I saw GI Joe: Retaliation on opening day and decided to post about it. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I'm going to focus on the freedies I picked up. I saw online that they were handing out specially packaged 3D glasses, so I took an old pair with me so I could keep these sealed. Not that they will ever be worth anything. Just a fun keep sake.

They were also giving out these posters in the lobby. The bad side features an advertisement to per-order the Blu-Ray at Walmart. The poster is printed in black, white, and gray with a few red highlights. The poster shows off most of the characters from the movie.

I won't spoil the movie, but I did enjoy it. I felt it was more true to the spirit and story of  the GI Joe comics. It's nice to have Cobra Commander look like Cobra Commander. The ninja battle on the mountain was very cool. I did find the 3D to be kind of annoying at times. There were a lot of scenes were part of the shot was blocked by someone's shoulder or a beam and it was weird having these objects feel so close to me. It really is a shame they wasted so many important characters in the first movie. I'm hoping for a third.

Armatron - Z-Bots

This little robot was my favorite toy from the Z-bots line. I didn't know that these robots had names as a kid, but with the power of the internet I know it's called Armatron. In Elementary School my one teacher used to allow us to earn "play money" for doing various things. Then at certain times of the year we could cash the money in for candy or small toys. I bought this guy in 3rd grade when I was at the height of my playing with vintage Star Wars figures phase. This little droid helped the Rebels out of many sticky situations.

Armatron is a predominately white robot with two legs, a football shaped body and twin chin guns. It has a small "head" on top of the body with that appear to be eyes.

The Riddler - DC Universe Classics

The Riddler was one of the first DC Universe Classics figures I ever picked up. He is from the wave of figures that included parts to make the collect and connect Bane figure. I'm previously posted about just about all the other characters from that wave. This Riddler figure is dressed in his green body suit covered in back question marks. He has a purple mask and gloves. The only accessory the figure came with was a gold question mark cane (not pictured). This figure is pretty generic have only a unique head. The head sculpt is nice... he has an interesting smirk.

Domino - Toybiz

Well it's spring time. Flea Market season is here. Unfortunately it's been pretty cold here in Pennsylvania so far this Spring. It even snowed today. Over the weekend I went out to the flea markets, but didn't find anything. I decided to check out the thrift shops today. I hit up the Goodwill that just opened next to my Toys R Us. I didn't find anything so I checked out Slavation Army. I've never really had luck there with toys, but today I found a carded 90's X-Men figure.

Domino is a member of the X-Force Team and is a weapons expert. The card mentions her "Twin Weapon Arsenal".  Domino comes with two silver missiles that clip to her legs and two black guns that can connect to make one weapon. The missiles are spring-loaded and can be launched from the guns. Domino has shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee articulation. Her elbows are swivel cuts, so her arms can move in and out but not be straightened.

The card was in fairly good shape, unfortunately the people used packing tape to attach the price tag to the card back. They had the figure priced at $3.99 but all toys were 50% off today. I love looking at all the figures on the card back. This figure is from late enough in the line I didn't have two many figures that apear on the package. There are two figures on there that a friend gave me from his childhood collection when I was in college. I ended up giving those figures to my buddy Tony from Action Figs & Things.

 Domino with were Twin Cannon, loaded with one of her missiles.

 There was also a Mystique trading card as a free pack-in.

Mosquitor - Color Blanks

I have been recently buying and making costume figures using the Rose Art Color Blanks. A while back I made a couple of Masters of the Universe themed figures. I kind of got started on these guys after Pixel Dan posted about Color Blanks during his Advent Calendar. I sent him pictures of my Spikor and Man-E-Faces. Both of them were done using marker on the plastic figures. I decided to sculpt and paint a custom Mosquitor for Dan as a birthday present.

I forgot to photograph him as normal, so this photo was taken in the parking lot of the post office. He's made using the triangle headed Color Blank. I sculpted on details like his eyes, nose, and belt. I sculpted him a little gun and the tip of his nose is a tooth pick. Dan shows him off in the video below.

Alien Queen - Kenner

I remember seeing Aliens for the first time. It was during the Blizzard of '93 and I was snowed in at my best friend Derek's house. It blew me away. As soon as I found out there were Aliens action figures I had to get a bunch. The next Spring I asked for the Queen, Scorpion Alien, and Lt. Ripley for my birthday. I lucked out and my parents got me all three.

 The Queen is huge and features three sets of arms. The Queen also features a number of awesome action features. (And that's coming from a guy who doesn't really like action features in his action figures.)

 

There is a button on the Alien Queen's hip that activates a tail whipping action. The Queen has an enormous tail that has an amazing spiny sculpt. The tail is so big and long it actually comes as a separate piece in the packaging.

 

There is a rubbery bulb underneath the Queen's head ridge. When you squeeze it the air pressure makes the Queen's smaller mouth pop out from her main mouth. This is one of the coolest things the Aliens do in the movie. It's so great that they could incorporate the feature into one of the toys.

Epic Combat!

My buddy Paul, who is a toy reseller, recently gave me a second Queen. He and his Dad bought tons of Aliens figures back in the day and have been sitting on them to resell. When he moved recently the bubble from one of the Queens fell off the card back, So since it's not carded anymore Paul gave her to me. Above you can see the packaging. I love the display on the card back showing off the other toys. Below you can see how the Queen, her tail, and the Chest Burster  accessory are all packaged in the bubble.

The Queen came with a little hard plastic Chest Burster. This little baby Alien was always fun to use with a Vintage Star Wars Taun Taun. If you have Han's Open Belly Taun Taun you could stick the Chest Burster inside.

Prequel Astromech Droids - Star Wars

The Star Wars Prequels introduced fan to lots of new Jedi, Aliens, and Droids. Today I'm taking a look at a couple of Astromech Droids released in the Episode III toy line.


R4-P17  helped Obi-wan Kenobi with his star fighter missions. This particular droid really makes his comment about not remembering ever owning a droid even stranger in Episode IV. R4 uses the same mold as pretty much all the Astromechs. He's painted up in a rusty red and white paint scheme. He has some gun metal details. I wanted to get this guy because Obi-wan is one of my favorite characters and R4 is a side kick to him of sorts.

The Episode III R2-D2 came with many accessories. He has little clip on rocket boosters and a giant mechanical arm that can attach to his dome. The arm moves when you turn his head. I kind of hate the robotic arm, but the boosters are a nice accessory. He has a pretty standard blue and white paint scheme. R2 also has a little tan weathering at the bottom of the figure.

R4-M6 is a droid that never got any screen time yet he gets an action figure. After I bought Mace Windu's Jedi Fighter vehicle I decided to get his Astromech as well. I kind of wish that all droids with a round dome were R2 units and all the ones with the block tapered heads (R4-D4 from Ep IV) were R4 units. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but what is the difference between an R2 and R4 unit if it's not their head?

This last droid is a custom figure. I had an extra R2-D2 and decided to paint him up as an extra droid. I painted all the silver parts bronze and the blue parts green. He's got a "Fighting Irish" feel going on. I haven't named him. I'm not sure if he's an R2 or R4 unit.

The Faceless One - MOTUC

The Faceless One is one of my favorite characters created for the 200x He-Man cartoon. He's powerful, interesting, and important to the back story of other characters. He was not a top priority for me when I first started collection MOTU Classics, but soon I just had to have all the figures.

The Faceless One is a great blend of new and reused parts. He looks really evil and very imposing. He comes with an awesome "glowing" Havoc Staff and his magical Ram Stone. Some people have complained that his face is too detailed for a guy called Faceless. I don't mind. Most times nicknames or code names take a feature to the extreme.

 

This guys has cool looking armor and awesome accessories. He's not a must have, but is so great.