Mariner - Mortal Clash Review

Not to long ago I reviewed a figure from a line of anime inspired characters called Mortal Clash. Today I am reviewing a second figure from the line, Mariner.. I think this guys is pretty cool. I've included a couple pictures of the boxed toy.

 

 Merman from MOTUC even made his way into this Mariner video.

TMNT Snow globe without the globe

One year for my birthday I got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles pencil taped to the outside of a wrapped present. The art on the pencil was pretty standard looking cartoon art, but all the turtles has red masks. At the time I didn't really understand this, later I learned of their comic origins. Instead of an eraser the pencil has a little snow globe that contained Michelangelo and glitter.

I had it for years and eventually the water all evaporated. So in middle school or high school I decided to crack it open and take a better look at the miniature TMNT inside. I've had him ever since in a box of miniature toys that could be used as "action figures" for toys in stop motion animations.

You can see him is the promo shot here for our animated series Animation Creation along with many other small toys.

Matty's SDCC's Most Wanted Sale

So all month MattyCollector.com is running their SDCC's Most Wanted Sale. They are taking 10% off their essesial items and have some other reissue items available. I like to support the line so I decided to get a 2nd Wind Raider becuase I really want more MOTUC vehicles. I didn't have Vikor or Sy-Klone so I needed to order them. I have been thinking about ordering some of the "essential" figures so I don't have to keep digging mine out of the display case to animate, plus I thought if kids come over they could play with them. I got duplicates of  He-Man, Battle Cat, She-Ra, Bubble Power She-Ra, Swift Wind, and Hordak.

I picked up the two Ghostbusters (Ray & Peter) that they keep in the Essentials Collection because I have wanted to get the all the Ghostbusters in the 1st movie jumpsuits. I also picked up one of the most hated packs in the history of MOTUC,  Mo-Larr vs Skeletor pack. I actually already own it, but I wanted one to open. Being a toy collector and a stop motion animation enthusiast, Robot Chicken is awesome to me. My still sealed Mo-Larr vs Skeletor pack is the very first MOTU Classics toy I bought. It's what sucked me into the line, followed quickly by the Skeletor vs Lex Luthor comic pack. So now I have a loose Mo-Larr and I'm giving Skeletor a different head and he will be used for animations and for kids to play with. I put the Alcala Skeletor head that came with Demo-Man on my comic pack Skeletor. It's a big three way trade.

So, the credit card bill was pretty big, but this stuff is a load of fun. I should be reviewing some of this stuff before long. I am going to be away next week so there will not be any major updates. I'm hoping to have internet access, but since it is not guaranteed there will not be any major video reviews.

Shazam! Thunderbolt

As part of a line of Super Hero themes cars in 1979 Corgi released the Shazam! Thunderbolt. This yellow low rider racer features lighting bolt decals, a miniature Captain Marvel at the wheel, and his magic word on the side. I got this car from a neighbor kid who game me all his matchbox and hot wheels cars when he outgrew them. It shows it age and the fact that it's had two owners.

The decals are a little worn and there is a lot of paint wear on Captain Marvel's head. Three is a small silver lighting bolt on each side of the cockpit, and both of them are also snapped off. As a kid I hard a hard time understanding the whole Shazam! / Captain Marvel thing. It wasn't until i got older that I figured out that Shazam! is the magic word to turn Billy into Captain Marvel and not his name. What a dumb copyright issue anyway.

Hurricane Hordak - MOTUC

Hurricane Hordak is the newest figure in my MOTUC collection. He was a quarterly varient that I passed up or missed out on when I first go into MOTUC. I happen to win him in a give-a-way being run on JTMitchell87's youtube channel.

 

 

Hurricane Hordak's batwing blade of doom.

I liked how Hurricane Hordak ripped though a sheet of paper with this weapon in the vintage toy commercial.

Hurricane Hordak's final weapon.

Action Figure Adventures - Episode 7

Usually I get these episodes posted first thing Saturday morning, but I was so busy reading stuff online about new toys revealed at SDCC that I didn't get to work on the blog right away. Then the mail came and I got some fun packages. Then my buddy Dave wanted to get lunch at the Trenton Farmers Market in NJ, so now it's afternoon.

Anyway, this is the 7th episode out of 8 total! Everyone involved in this project has waited so long for the release of the series, and now we only have one more week before the entire show has been released. Let me just say that this is probably my favorite episode.

In the first episode Robin inspired the heroes to find a way to freedom. Since then they have tried escaping via the window,  the drop ceiling, the stairs, the trash shoot, and by riding the giant. The heroes are getting desperate. Scoop and Barbeque turn to Sgt Slaughter hoping he can whip the heroes into shape and come up with a new plan.

At the same time Chuckles who has been through some crazy adventures in the ceiling gets a break. He stumbles across a concert and gets a chance to just enjoy being where he is for a change. Nobody knows how to throw a party like a Kenner Vintage Star Wars party.

Check it... Episode 7!

Action Figure Adventures Ep 6 Eggs

It's Friday and I'm waiting to see the new He-Man figures that are going to be revealed in less than an hour at SDCC. While I am waiting I figured I better get this weeks instalment of Easter Eggs and Notes written up. So here a few things to look for or think about on a second viewing of 6th Episode of Action Figure Adventures.

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2:11 "The other place"... finally there is a connection between the dorm room and the place where the toys are dumped in the opening of the show

2:52 The Giant really hasn't been involved in the show at all since he brought Robin into the room and opened him up. (He gets a bit of screen time in this one) Because I (myself) was a character in the show I told Derek I didn't really want to be a voice in the show. I though it might be weird (at least for people that know me). I did end up being one of the Tiger Force Flunkies, but they have a small part and I disguised my voice somewhat.

3:55 We watched a little bit of the Big Easy before making Brian voice Gambit.

5:32 There is a picture of the real Mr. T. on the far left side.

7:26 Derek remixed the Adult version of Robot Parade by They Might be Giants for the Episode

8:50 When Craig provided the voice of the Robot God he used the "In a World" announcer guy voice. Derek later added the electronic echo effect.

8:54 The return of the Cloner. She was the first character that Chuckles met in the ceiling. Her backpack is actually for Luke Skywalker to carry Yoda during his jedi training.

9:22 Derek agonized over the sound of Chuckles kicking the Robot God. How do you make a sound for two plastic toys hitting each other, but still make it sound hard?

9:47 Outback's voice was one of the last ones we recorded for the show, and held up production. According to his GI Joe bio he is from Wyoming but how could we pass up having the guy named Outback be an Aussie? We has a lot of trouble finding an Australian in the US to do the voice for us. We were lucky to get James to do his best impression. James owns my local comic book shop, Cyborg 1.

9:54 I used that Star Wars backpack for a couple years in college until it fell apart. My roomate always refered to it as "The Backpack of Justic". I had one Proffessor who would always say "Grow up man! You're going to be a teacher. One of the other Proffessors in the same department (who I worked for) always said he loved it because he could pick my backpack out in a pile of
bags. So he'd know if I were in the building.

10:44 Outback's hat isn't really his. Derek wanted him to leave something behind in the backpack as a sign. I thought it would be weird to have him leave his backpack in the backpack so I gave him a Crocodile Dundee hat that belongs to a GI Joe bad guy.

11:25 In case you never noticed before... this shot makes it obvious that the 1982 straight arm Scarlett figure used in the show has a broken waist piece. You can easily see the metal t-hook that attaches her legs to the rubber band inside the figure.

13:18 I bought the "Robot God" at a store called Quakerhead on South Street in Philadelphia. At one point in time I had planned to do animations using a bunch of Gundam robots as the armored costumes for a group of vigilantes. That didn't go anywhere beyond some early idea. The toy was used in the Too Many Robots episode of our show Animation Creation. He actually fell while animating that show and and his hip broke. It made him little harder to animate for this series since he really only has one leg.

13:27 The Robot God doesn't seem to mind damaging his disciples while he tries to eliminate Chuckles.

17:21 Derek hates it when I put my room mate Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen poster in the shots.

18:23 The memorial has gotten pretty big over last 6 Episodes and doesn't show all the character who have meet their end.

Jonah Hex - DC Universe

Of all the DC Comics characters Jonah is one of the last figures I would have ever expected to own. I just don't care for western comics. I'm not even a huge fan of western movies, although I've seen a lot more of them than I've read western comics. I still haven't read the first five issues of the New 52 All-Star Western I bought months ago when I got the first five issues of each of the New 52. I didn't see the Jonah Hex movie and I see just about all the comic book movies.

Anyway, Jonah Hex was part of the DC Universe wave that I needed a complete set of to build the Collect and Connect Bane. He's a nice figure. Good articulation and nice paint apps which make him look dusty. He comes with two guns, One can be holsters on his hip and the other gets slung over his back.

 They did a nice job with the sculpting details on the scared side of his face. It's very gross and nasty.  From what I read about  the character he was branded with "The Mark of the Demon" by an Indian tribe he was an honorary member of and then angered. Did the branding go wrong? I don't see a "Mark", I see an f*ed up face.

To date, I think the only book I've ever read that included Jonah is Crisis on Infinite Earths. I read online that after his death his body was taxidermied and he was part of a traveling show. How bizarre and disturbing. I'm not a fan of dead bodies.

Jonah Hex: Hey Dent, starting interviewing plastic surgons.

Harvey Dent: Why?

Jonah Hex: Trust me your gonna need a good one.

GI Joe TV Table Tray

A buddy of mine, Paul (who is one of the Tiger Force Flunkies in Action Figure Adventures) called me from a yard sale to ask me if I wanted the GI Joe table tray for ten bucks. I told him yes and he picked it up for me. I had seen this back in the day at least once in a store, and of course on yojoe.com.

 The top surface has plenty of space to eat or draw or place a laptop. It features a cool battle scene that features a number of GI Joes and their vehicles. The legs are kind of short it is clearly designed for a child.

The main focal point in the artwork is Recondo, Chuckles, and Lt. Falcon. In a way it is an odd miz of characters. In 1987 when it was released Chuckles and LT. Falcon were new, but Recondo is a much older figure. All there of these characters are based directly off their packaging art.

If you look carfully at the solders behind them in and out of the Tomahawk you man notice that none of them are acutal GI Joes. These "Green Shirts" are generic characters the artist created, Their apearnaces do not match or even really clostly resenble any specific GI Joe character. Other than to say that most of the original group of Joes wore green outfits and helmets.

The Tomahawk Helicopter is one of my all time favorite toys. If I had to part with everything in my toys collection but one item, it be this awesome helicopter. You can just barely see the pilot, but he is based on the character designs for Lift Ticket. He has the red helmet, red shoulder pads, and dark green uniform.

 

Flying above the Tomahawk are the GI Joe Conquest Jet and Dragonfly Helicopter.

 The last little piece of art that makes up the top of the tray shows off the USS Flagg Air Craft Carrier and Sgt. Slaughter's Triple T Tank. It's kind of a shame we can't really see Sarge the way the painting is composed. It is very clear that the artist was looking at the toy of the tank. Notice the clunky hitch that most GI Joe land vehicle have as well as the white tabs sticking thought the black engine cover at the back of the tank.

Griffin - MOTUC Review

The first time I saw a Griffin in the 200x MYP version of the He-Man cartoon I was blown away. They were huge and menacing. Naturally I was very excited when Mattel announced that they were making one for the MOTUC line. When I heard they were using the Battle Cat buck I was a little disappointed. There is just no way for it to be as menacing using that buck. The body just isn't tall enough. I understand their need to keep costs down and reusing some of the part helps. I also understand that a lot of fans wouldn't want to pay even more for a Griffin, so this is what we have to work with.

 I'm just going to say that even though it's a little smaller than I'd like, the Griffin is an awesome toy. It features an all new head with an articulate mouth, Swiftwind's wings, new armor,  a new double tall, and chicken feet for it's hind legs. This is a really cool creature.  I love how angry the Griffin looks. With the little eyes and the hair on the top of it's neck standing up. The shading and colors on the body and wings are great.

I had to include a picture of Beastman riding the Griffin. Without him Skeletor could have never harnessed a fleet of Griffins to transport his evil warriors into battle. The Heroes really have no defense for flying creatures this powerful. Beastman is able to control the Griffins and all wild beasts. Beastman fits nicely on top. I wish the saddle fit the Griffin just a little bit more securely. It moves around just a little bit more than I'd like.

Here is an other angle of the Griffin's nasty looking face. It's ready to tear some heroes apart. The Skeletor figure on top the Griffin is from the Lex Luther vs Skeletor comic 2-pack with the Alcala head form Demo-Man. The front of the saddle is shaped nicley, you can make it look like the rider is holding on.

I liked this angle also, so I'm throwing in this photo also. Skeletor's sword almost looks like it is glowing.