Awesome Toy Blog

Just a reminder that the SDCC ATTENDEE preorder for the G.I. Cobra Ninja Viper opens tomorrow at 10AM PDT.  The Non-attendee pre-order is Friday, May 20th at 10AM PDT.  Check out the preview page (or if after 10AM Thursday – the sales page) by clicking the icon in this post.  Yo Joe!

Launched this past fall on Disney XD, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has been bringing the adventures of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk to TV screens across the world.  The series has become a favorite of both kids and adults alike. It’s on my short list of programs I’ve been keeping up with.  On April 26th the first 13 episodes of the series will be available in two volumes on DVD by The Walt Disney Studios.  Volume 1 includes episodes 1-7 and an exclusive looks at the evolving characters and a sneak peak of season 2.  Volume 2 includes episodes 8-14 and a second peak at season 2.

If you’ve not caught the show, Iron Man, Captain America and other heroes from the Marvel Universe save the Earth from various threats including everything from rampaging robots to alien invaders.  Check out a clip of the show below.

These DVDs will be available in store this Tuesday, April 26th or are available to pre-order now on Amazon.com (Volume 1, Volume 2).

After being tricked into exile in space by the Illuminati, the Hulk returns to Earth following the death of his people and his pregnant wife on an exploding space craft.  Once in Manhattan he seeks revenge on those who sent him into space in the first place.   The World War Hulk figure is part of the Marvel Universe line, shipping in Wave 12.

The first Marvel Universe Hulk figure sorta stinks.  Unfortunately that mold was used to make a Red Hulk, a Grey Hulk, the Secret Wars comic-pack Hulk.  World War Hulk is a brand new sculpt.  A brand new, awesome sculpt.  This figure is quite good and serves as a great example of how improved the Marvel Universe line is.  There is one complaint on this figure though; Hulk comes with these great weapons…an awesome ax and sword, but he can’t hold them!  The handles of the weapons are too small for his hands, an unfortunate miss.

Vikor , a great warrior from the north was chosen by the Goddess to help protect the Sword of He while Eternia waited for a true heir to King Greyskull to be born.  He also looks alot like Conan the Barbarian.  Vikor was the MattyCollector Masters of the Universe figure for January and has the distinction of selling out in 3 or 4 minutes, then having Matty announce that half the shipment was delayed with a second sale going live the following week.  The MattyCollector experience is always something new.

But once the appropriate hoops have been jumped through, you realize that Vikor is an excellent figure.  He’s got a great sculpt, awesome deco, and fantastic detail work (those are real metal chain links hanging from his wrists).  The figure is well articulated, but not overly so which would result in a floppy barbarian – and who would want a floppy barbarian?  I’ve really got nothing bad to say about Vikor, he’s in my top 3 Masters figures to date.  I’d say this one is so good that even if you’re not buying any Masters of the Universe figures; this one is worth a purchase as a stand-alone generic barbarian.  He’s awesome.

After the events of ‘Secret Invasion’ Normal Osborne becomes head of S.H.I.E.L.D., renames it H.A.M.M.E.R.; and obtains an Iron Man suit.  Branding himself as the ‘Iron Patriot’, Norman Osborne plays the role of hero as his Goblin personality struggles to dominate him.

Between the dedicated Iron Man line and the many versions of shell head in the Marvel Universe line, I often feel that the market is over-saturated in Iron Men.  I mean, really, I’m just sick of seeing the same 5 armors clog the pegs.  While a repaint of one of the Iron Men figures, Iron Patriot at least stands out and is someone different under the mask.  I’ve got no complaints really and the design is interesting enough that the figure stands out on the shelf.  If you were paying attention this summer, you may have even been able to nab the variant; Iron Patriot with the mask removed.

From the 2nd series of Lego’s wildly popular collectible mini-figures, today we’ll take a look at the surfer.  This series of mini-figure had identifying barcodes on the package backsides, making it easy for collectors and iphone-owners of the world to identify which figure was in the blind bag.

These mini-figs are like crack; or maybe like pokemon – you have to have them all.  However in each set of 16 figures there are some ups and downs; fortunately the surfer is one of the ups.  The surfer dude is clearly a character; down to the details.  He has a scruffy yet effortlessly cool look about him, with his sun bleached blonde hair.  A smirk across his face, board in hand; he’s ready to hit the waves.  All these small details are what make the mini-figures so good; they’re not generic at all.

Part of the newest ‘branding’ of the Star Wars line, the Vintage Collection, this C-3P0 was released on a replica of his original card back.  C-3P0 was released in the first wave; a thematic wave consisting of characters from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’

Overall, the Vintage figures have been quite good from a sculpt and deco perspective.  C-3P0 is not different in this regard.  However, C-3P0 stands out for a different reason in that most of the features of the figure aren’t referenced at all in the packaging.  This C-3P0 features several removable panels; his face, his chest plate, his thigh, and a back panel can be removed to show an array of wires.  This is definitely cool and makes this 3P0 different from most others.  But at the same time, this is a bit peculiar as there’s no point in Empire where these parts of 3P0 are removed.  The Vintage collection figures were a steal over the holidays at $6 a pop, even at the normal $8ish this one won’t disappoint.

Davros, the creator of the Daleks, is rescued from a cryogenic  prison by his creations when he is needed to cure a deadly a Movellan virus.  Fortunately, the 5th Doctor is on hand to stop the Daleks’ evil plan in the classic Doctor Who story ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’.  This Davros figure is part of the newest Doctor Who box set from Underground Toys featuring the 5th Doctor, Davros, a Dalek and a Supreme Dalek.

This is the first Doctor Who Classics Davros figure released, and it is top notch.  The Dalek base is quite nice and even features an opening panel; as seen in the episode when some repairs are completed on Davros’ chair.  The sculpt on Davros himself is quite good, however the wires on his head are a bit thick.  I’m not sure how robust thinner ‘wires’ would have been so that is likely the reason for their size.  They are separate pieces and can be removed if you find them distracting, but really they’re not bad.

This is the final figure of the boxset to have a ‘Figure Spotlight’ which gives me the opportunity to look at the set as a whole.  If you’re a fan of the Daleks, this set is a no brainer; the Davros and 2 Daleks are worth the price of admission and you get a bonus 5th Doctor figure.  If Daleks don’t float your boat, its a tougher proposition as there really is only one truly unique figure in the set, Davros.  The ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ boxset is now in stock and available from Entertainment Earth, check it out.

The Supreme Dalek is part of the new ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ boxset from Underground Toys.  This set, which has been the focus of the past few figure spotlights, includes a 5th Doctor figure, a Dalek, the Supreme Dalek and Davros.  This Dalek sports a gloss black and white color scheme.

Ok, it’s another Dalek figure.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s spotlight the Dalek figures are good and well worth the cost if you’re a fan.  I’m curious as to what makes this Dalek the ‘Supreme Dalek’.  I know that at Taco Bell adding the adjective ‘supreme’ to something essentially means it has sour cream; but since this box set was dairy free, I have to assume the Daleks don’t use the same convention.  Part of me thinks that it really arrived from Dalek Bob just starting to refer to himself as Supreme and his Dalek friends just went along with it instead of confronting him.  Essentially everyone else bought into the Supreme thing and then you have it.  Maybe he’s Supreme because he’s shiny?  We’ll never know why this Dalek is the Supreme Dalek, but he is.  And he’s a good toy, so buy him.

The ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ boxset is now in-stock and ready to ship from e-tailer Entertainment Earth.  Be sure to check it out.

The 5th Doctor story ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ finds the Daleks plotting to rescue their creator Davros from a frozen prison to find a cure for a Movellan virus.  This Dalek figure is part of a new Underground Toys boxset featuring this Dalek, a Supreme Dalek, Davros and the 5th Doctor.

Daleks have proven to be a solid seller for Underground Toys and with the vast history of Doctor Who there are many paint schemes to pull repaints from.  There’s not a whole lot to say about the Dalek figures at this point, the sculpt is solid and its a great toy.

The ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’ set is now available from Entertainment Earth.