Aug 31, 2014

Looking back on MOTUC's 2010 Roster.

2015 is going to make it and since it's "the final year" I'm going to be checking out the remaining years of MOTUC (Basically, 10, 11, 12, and 14 since I've already done 08-09 and 13) not in one rant... of course. This time it's time for 2010. The year that brought PoP into the picture.

Adora: B+My Third MOTUC Figure, technically fifth but she somehow arrived earlier than King Randor and Reissue Skeletor. Her appeal is mostly from the fact that she was Purely Filmation (when Filmation Rights were unavailable, but some legal loophole allowed her to look Filmation.) and she was meant to be the 2009 December figure. The Mer Man delay bumped her off to 2010.The Bottom of her tunic is not that accurate and her painted hands tend to chip off.

Battle Armor He-Man: B-
The First He-Man Variant of the Line. While I'm glad we're lacking action features, a small part of me misses the Battle Damage feature. One Real complaint that I have is that Mattel left out the Power Sword (same thing they did on 2011 with Skeletor) which is a bit lame. I mostly bought him to have a Plan B Adam in case the line didn't last long enough to make an Adam.

Trap Jaw: A+
This figure is Incredibly awesome. It has the 2-for-1 factor with the whole Kronis pieces included. He has all of his attachments and looks like a Vintage Trap Jaw with some extra details (like the mangled maw)

Battle Cat: A+
He-Man's Trusty Steed and Eternal Companion (except when he goes to outer space) has come to Classics and DAMN! he IS Big. I was happy using the 200X Cat, even if it was slightly too small, but it was functional. The MOTUC Battle Cat makes the 200X Battle Cat look like a tiny tiger.
One nitpick that I have is that his head tends to lower on its own.

Mossman: A
Yes, he is a reflocked Beastman. (Sadly, I seem to have misplaced the vintage head... I don't care about that head, but it bothers me that I lost it!) Luckily for me, he comes with a second head that is not a repainted beastman head.

Evil Lyn: B
Since we got Teela, she was expected. She pretty much reuses all from Teela except the head, weapons and the Stand for Screech

Wun-Dar: B
He-Man in Zodac Armor with a loaf of bread... Nothing to write home about. If you have He-Man and Zodac, you KNOW what to expect. A nice piece of MOTU myth and legends made reality.

Weapons Pack: B-
A nice throwback to the vintage pack, but swapping some items that hadn't been made yet (small White Ax, Man-e-Faces Gun) for other items.

Optikk: B+
First New Adventures Figure... Shame that he started the Tradition of Reusing freaking Trap Jaw''s EVERYTHING!! for NA dudes. Vintage Optikk's thighs were closer to Blast Attak's than Trap Jaw's.

Tytus: F-
Puny for a Giant, with a lot less articulation than a normal figure, lame ass weapon that doesn't work like the vintage version. Figure can't hold his weapon without dropping his arm.
She-Ra: C
Dayum! Adora came out in 2010 AND got her powered up form in 5 months... Meanwhile her brother is still waiting for Adam... She looks VERY Filmation-like for some odd reason... Sadly, she's unable to ride Swift Wind or Battle Cat, then there's the issue of putting her head in her body. (You need to warm the head before pushing it into the body) She was so flawed that Mattel was FORCED to do an actual variant of her to give us a She-Ra that can Ride Swift Wind.

Keldor: B- Turns to A- with the Third Weapons Pack
Skeletor before Skeletor.Mattel went the cheap route with his swords and tried to justify it in a ridiculous way. He totally needed the Melting face head.

Count Marzo: B
First 200X Villain (who had a Filmation Origin) and creator of the 200X Head controversy.
People complained about his head. I only complain about Mattel billing me twice and then keeping the shipping money from THEIR mistake.

Orko: A
The Court Jester was the SDCC Figure with a Fabulous Accessory. It's so fabulous that if it holds a sword aloft, it becomes He-Man! Orko is cool and IN-SCALE with the figures!

Mo-Larr vs Toothless Skeletor: B
Decent Novelty Item (better than the 2014 Novelty Items) that eventually made it to big lots! and allowing customizers to get a cheap human buck to use. Other than that this set is a bit sucky.

Whiplash: A-
I went paint crazy on mine and turned him into a 200X inspired Whiplash. I'm not a huge fan of his Vintage look. I wish he had more 200X in him, because carbon copies of vintage figures can be a bit boring. The repaint and 200X head helped make him cooler.

Chief Carnivus: B
He was mostly made out of Beastman with a few new parts, because all furry beings must share the Beastman buck! He's not that awesome in the grand scheme of things, but he is a OK-ish!

Roboto: B-
A cool figure that got a lot of well deserved crap because of some serious issues: Cracking Torso Plastic and Reversed shoulders. On a more positive side, his action feature works!

Gygor: B
Big Lemon Lime Ape. Can't do the 4-legged Gorilla stance. I skipped him because Ididn't give a damn about him. Got to see one in person in late 2012 and now I regret not getting one.

Grizzlor: A
Nope! No sculpted hair on him. Aside the reused pieces from Beastman. They stuck to tradition and made him FURRY!! with real faux fur... While he looks vintage, he has plenty of pieces to make his 200X Look (minus the Face Armor)

Christmas King Grayskull: A
Custom fodder for a 200X He-Man and a decent replacement to the hyperbreakable King Grayskull: Original Flavor. He comes with two new Power Swords: Starry Version and Neo Half Swords... BTW he was the last figure to have a Half-Sword...
He-Man, Skeletor, Adam, Faker, Wun-Dar, Mo-Larr's Skeletor?
Oh yeah! King Grayskull's half swords were NOT compatible with past halves! He also has a big blue ball.

Weapons Pack #2: C
Seems that we got two in one year! The items were a bit lame this time around... But we got a stand for Zoar... They went TOO Character specific in many items.

Buzz-Off: C
Not a guy that I'm to excited about because he is ultra vintage. Had Mattel given us the @#$% 200X Head as an extra, maybe I would have liked him a bit more. Right now he looks like Liza Minnelli's love child with a balloon.


Aug 30, 2014

The Human Race: The Review

A while back, I won a contest from Topless Robot regarding the site's Editor, Luke Y. Thompson and his role on the Movie The Human Race. I won a Poster from the movie and a DVD signed by the Cast.

Let me get this out of the way... THIS IS a B-Movie. If you decide to watch this movie, Keep THAT in mind... Also, remember WHO is doing this review... A guy who was able to say good things about The Room.

Let's start with the Movie...
Have a Trailer:


So, if you watched the trailer, that's pretty much the plot of the movie. 80 people in only 1 comes out. Race or die. Touch the grass, you die. Stray off the path, you die. Follow the arrows or you die. You have several characters. Most of them have no names. Really, if you check the IMDB page you'll see that characters have names like Orange Vest, deaf male, deaf female, Stressed Out, the Priest, etc. Basically no names, just vague descriptions of the characters.
Check out this tidbit of Trivia:

Filming took place over a 4 year period. Initially the film shot for 7 days, then took a 3 month break. Then it shot for another 2 days and another 3 month break. The shooting schedule continued like this until the film was complete.


Take that into consideration too, when watching this movie.

The movie starts in one direction by telling you the back stories of SOME of the Racers. then the Race starts and everything goes to Hell... Figuratively speaking. Humanity does its best at being asshats during terrible situations... Especially this one that blows heads off for not following some arbitrary rules that only make sense to the sick minds of the "Game Masters" and not to the racers.

I'm not doing a play-by-play for this movie since the plot is incredibly simplistic and doing the play -by-play would spoil way too much. All I can say is that there are a few VERY Messed up moments. Some Hilariously bad lines... (Orange Vest delivers the worst of them all... Then again, LYT is used to reading some disturbing lines from weird erotic fan fiction...) Some decent Fight Scenes... The one with Eddie McGee is incredibly awesome, to me it was one of the best parts of the movie.
The ending is worthy of M. Night Shaymalamadingdong.
The only thing I can say is that Topless Roboteers might laugh or go WHAAAAAAAA? when the Deaf Guy describes Orange Vest. (Methinks, Deaf Guy is not a fan of Topless Robot's I Read your Fan Fic.)

This is a Love it or Hate it Film... I'll be honest, I was expecting something below Sci-Fi Channel's crappy movies like Rajin' Cajun Redneck Alligators or something, but it was a bit more entertaining than I thought. Then again, I was also playing a game of Spotting all the scenes where Orange Vest showed up... Kinda like where's Loo-Kee?

Now SHOULD YOU WATCH THIS MOVIE? Yes, but only if you stumble upon it. There's no need to actively hunt for it. You could enjoy it or want your 88 minutes back. It's not Uwe Boll bad.

Aug 27, 2014

It Came from the toy chest: Skeletor: Rubenized Edition

New Adventures Skeletor, voiced by the late Campbell Lane has Finally gotten a Figure in Masters of the Universe Classics...

I don't think I need to do an Intro to Skeletor... Do I?
OK, so once we get Skeletor out of the package: The Nightmare begins.

Bloated armor, no neck, the shoulders seem a bit off, and hyper gummy hands.
Skeletor can't hold crap with them... also his Staff has a very thick shaft that warps his gummy hands!

Now that we are in Total Darkness and I won,
Who needs Beastman and Evil Lyn when I have
my new best friends Ben and Jerry!
As you can see,  I'm getting the complaints out of the way before tackling the Figure in the rating part of the review.

I understand that Mattel was trying to save some money while making this variant that had a lot of new Tooling. Sadly, the design team *cough*Ruben*cough* made a ton of bad choices with Skeletor. I'll start with the armor.
It's not supposed to be Armor, but his flesh. Skeletor has a NON-REMOVABLE cape which could have allowed for design to hide the armor tabs on the back (and made Skeletor look less bulky.)  Nope! The next issue is on the neck. Battle Armor He-Man, Count Marzo and a few other figures have a longer neck peg that Mattel design did not use on this Skeletor who has an overlay on his neck, which can ride upand make the already nearly neckless Skeletor look like he has even LESS Neck. The worst offense is that he has tabs as if his skin was removable, but they glued the Armor... there go my plans to make a NA Faker...

To be fair, not all is Doom and Gloom with Skeletor. Warning! Impending Crotch shot of an undead Blue Cyborg. they finally did a proper Male Underpant piece that works like undies and not a loincloth or a Skirt... Here's hoping that Brandon Sopinsky can pull it off for the remaining female figures!!

Holy crap! I have said something nice about Ruben Martinez... Seems that the Total Darkness event is seeping into the real world...

Had Skeletor not been cursed by the bloated Armor; he'd kick a LOT MORE butt than he does now.

He-Man: Really? People think that you're me?
Faker: Of course they do! All I have to do is end my speeches
with some holier than thou moral and Until next time!
He-Man: Dang you ARE Good!
Faker: No, I'M EVIL, Until Next Time!
I gotta say that the NA Havok staff looks cool, even if it's pretty much a one color piece. I think it has a mild wash, but I can't be sure of that.  The Other Accessory is the Fakeminator Head, which looks fantastic on Faker! If I had a Battle Armor Faker, that Battle Damaged head would be perfect for him... I'm almost tempted to paint the normal Faker head in the same Orange as the Damaged head.
Put that Cookie Down! Get to da Choppa! NOW!



 Now for the part we've been waiting for: The Ratings part:

Articulation: Mine has a few poa blocked, due to the armor. (Neck, abs and partial movement of the shoulders.)  Feet were stuck thanks to wet paint. 3.5
Paint and Sculpt: The new parts are fantastic and the paintjob is superb. Had a few paint chips on the feet, because of the stuck joints 4.0
Accessories: Helmet (seriously considering blu tac, because it falls off at awkward times when posing him. Cool Havok staff, but with a thick shaft. Translation, only Skeletor 1.0 can hold the NA staff. It's funny, He-Man's NA sword also has a thicker shaft.
KICKASS FAKER HEAD WOOOOOOOO!!
4.5
The Overall Score for NA Skeletor is 4.0 which is pretty good for such a flawed figure. Had he not had the issues that he had, he might have scored somewhat higher.

As an added Bonus: a Total Darkness Side Story Man out of Subs:
While Spector was away from the Timeline and the main story was moving forward at Diary of a Dorkette. He forgot to do the Club Eternia Sub Drive for 2015... Luckily the He-Fans and She-Ravers picked up the slack, (seriously, what am I going to do after MOTUC ends?) and Club Eternia barely made it. Fellow Time Travelers have come and gone while trying to save their worlds. What's a man to do when he's beyond the reach of time and has become Eternal?

Last Time on Dragon Ball Z... I mean Eternia:















He-Man: I have the power!
 Skeletor: YOU! You will no longer stand between me and my destiny!
 He-Man: But I will! I told you that it's always between us!
 Skeletor: I ache to smash you out of existence! To drive your cursed face from my memories forever!
 He-Man: Enough talk!
 Skeletor: YES! Let this be our final battle! 

He-Man: You've been saying that since 1987...
Skeletor: So what!? This time I shall be victorious!! 
He-Man: the day I become a Country Singer and begin to wear Skinny Jeans will be the day you'll win!Skeletor: When you become a Country Singer, I'll get into Techno and THEN I'll Kill you!

Few years Later and a Total Darkness Event!















Skeletor: I told you I would get into Techno!!
He-Man: Don't tell my heart... I'm not doing this...
Skeletor: Damn right, you're not! I won! I won! I freaking won!
I came in like a wrecking ball! 






















Madame Razz (reading): Then, Skeletor walked towards his musclebound and sweaty rival. He swiftly removed He-Man's hairband and released the younger man's blonde locks. "You look more handsome this way" said the overlord of evil. He-Man was about to protest when a mechanical finger pressed against his lips. "I'd kiss you, but my current lipless state won't allow me to." Oh deary my!
Spector: Do you like it? You haven't reached the best part...
Broom (thinking): Oh, Madame, what mess have you gotten us into... It was Out of LIME!! If I read another horrible yaoi fanfic about He-Man and Skeletor, I swear I'm going to snap! No it's not a wood pun!
Madame Razz: There's... More? Oh deary my!
Spector:  Of course there's more! You will be able to read it all since we're all alone in here!

Madame Razz: Oh deary my! Razzle Dazzle, Weary Lime! Let me return to my own time!
Broom: Wait for meeeeeeeeee!
Spector: Hey Mop! I found volume 43!
Broom: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!


To be Concluded

Now for the Behind the scenes stuff.
-This spawned because of my jokes about He-Man becoming the MOTU Billy Ray Cyrus on my ancient NA He-Man review. I had the whole Evolution of He-Man and Skeletor pics planned for the review. I had a Spector story ready as well as an extra one shot, so I combined them.

-The reason why Spector is writing Horrible MOTU fan fiction is a tongue in cheek nod to Toyguru (creator of Spector) who happens to be the main writer in Official MOTUC fiction (Mini comics written by Scott Neitlich)

-I chose Madame and Broom as the victims of Spector's writing just to make the I'm going to snap comment. Also, Madame's magical screw-ups could justify her ending up beyond the edge of time.

-The whole yaoi fanfic thing is a nod to horrible writers who started their careers by writing horrible erotic fanfics... *cough* E.L. James*cough* Speaking of E.L. James, do you know what Fifty shades of Grey was BEFORE being Fifty Shades of Grey? A Horrible Twilight Fanfic (Reference to Edward who was in the past story) that was called Master of the Universe... Since Skeletor calls himself Master of the Universe in the 1987 movie... you see where I'm going with this.

-While not intentionally, pairing He-Man and Skeletor also works as a nod to the old and tired, He-Man is gay joke.

-The Original Spector story involved the DKR Batman and Spector being stuck in the Edge of Time. Spector was supposed to annoy Batman... Asking for spoilers about Total Darkness, trying to set up a God Damned Batman reference. 

It Came from the Toy Chest: Flutterina, not Fluttershy

Yes, I often confuse both names. Eh, In any case I finally have Flutterina: The Princess of Power version of Antman! In the NU 52 Flutterina's role is very similar to that of a certain Flower Girl from the Slums... I will not cry... Curse you Jenova!!   Erm, where was I? Sweet B... erm, Flutterina who I already established to be the PoP Antman on a previous rant. Well, she's here in Classics now...


 Where to start? I have to be honest, I feel ambivalent about her, especially during this last week that the sub was in danger and we could have ended the line WITHOUT Queen Angella. Luckily, we dodged that bullet and Club Eternia made it to 2015. She's not exactly a most wanted figure for me. But now that I have her in hand, there hasn't been that much difference on how I felt before.

Articulation:
Flutterina has the Standard articulation from a MOTUC Figure... With the addition of the wings. Like most recent PoP figures, she loses the boot cut. the head Articulation is mostly hindered by the wings.
3.5

Paint and Sculpt:
Miss Flutterina has a bunch of new pieces starting with her torso. this torso is designed with plugs for her wings. Most likely to be reused on Sweet Bee, Angella, and if they make Veena and/or 200X Sorceress they could reuse it.
The hair is sculpted in a way that it drapes over the wings, but it allows for them to move. As mentioned in the articulation section of the review; this limits her articulation. She's got brand new bracers and boots based on her toy. The wings seem to be toy based too, but if you flip them backwards, they can almost work as her Filmation wings. Her color palette is based on her Filmation look. I have ONE complaint about her... The Wings. They look like they were made out of foam sheets for a Flutterina Cosplay instead of being Flutterina's real wings. The paint job is well done (aside some slop on the left wing) 4.5


 Accessories:
Flutterina, for a change comes with an offensive weapon, a Pink repaint of the Battleground Teela Sword. She also comes with the Generic PoP Shield.
4.0


Overall:
Flutterina gets an Overall score of 4.0 which is super great for a character that I'm a bit lukewarm about. While she lost points on articulation, the sculpt captured her look perfectly... Aside the wings. Part of me wished for veins on the wings. I'm pleasantly surprised that design didn't screw this figure up...



Clamp Champ is Mr. Flutterina

It Came from the toy Chest... Oh Deary My!

Madame Razz is Finally here...



For the first time ever we have an OFFICIAL MATTEL MADAME RAZZ toy. Princess of Power Fans were jumping with Glee when she was shown... Is she worth it? Let's find out...
If you're clueless on who is Madame Razz, read this ancient rant of mine!
We saw her at NYTF and she had a few issues that were not fixed by Mattel. Her cape looks a bit like Ray Fillet's wings. Her boots ended up unpainted at the shins.
 Out of the Package, Madame Razz looks pretty much like Madame Razz, but in 3D. Let's talk about her Articulation:
 As you can see, she is a Smaller Character... Taller than Kowl, Loo-Kee and Orko. She shares no parts with other figures, which means her articulation is Unique.
Her head is on a Ball Joint... a Male Sized Ball Joint...

I'm sorry for the nightmare fuel!
 Yes, you can put Male Figure heads on Her Body and you can put her head on Male figure bodies... Nightmare fuel coming up!!

On the Freaky Pic, you can see how she pairs up with other characters scalewise... More on that later. She has no ab crunch, but Females lack that PoA in MOTUC, so nothing new here. Her waist swivel should be called an Underboob swivel. Her Arm articulation is similar to Orko's.
Ball shoulders, Ball elbows, wrist cut.
Her legs are a bit different though.
The Thighs are Similar to Battleground Teela's because there is no thigh cut for her. The Knees are ball jointed like Mantenna or Modulok.
Her ankles are ball jointed to simulate the boot cut.
with that said, she's a bit awkward to pose, due to her body's shape. Her joints are also super stiff. It scared me a few times while trying to pose her with Broom. 4.0 

Meanwhile, her paint and sculpt are mostly phenomenal. I mentioned the boot issues. Fans warned Mattel but it was too late to fix. A bit of paint chipped off her cape. Luckily I was able to fix it with a bit of paint. (I ended up painting my boots and the edges of her cape)
The sculpt is obviously 100% new and captures her Filmation look pretty well!.
4.5

I'm flying, Jack!
On the Accessories Department, Madame Razz is a bit lacking. She only has Broom. (funny that we didn't have to pay extra for him as seen with Hordak and Imp.) 

She sorely needed some sort of Flight stand to pose her as she should be: Flying Broom.

I'm not sure if I'm doing it right on the flying pose, but It's nifty that her Feet fit Broom.
In accessories she gets a 3.0 and that's OK since Broom has a little bit of Articulation. CAREFUL!! his joints are a bit tight and he is red, but painted brown.

Madame Razz is a great figure to have if you're a PoP fan. I do have a small issue. I don't feel she's a $25 figure. She barely reaches a bit over a Normal figure's waist. (Her hat creates the illusion of more height. OK, I get the whole new tooling and all that, but Mantenna had a ton of new Tooling, was larger than an average figure and cost the same as a normal figure... Then we have the paint issues that Mattel couldn't fix. Breaking out the paints yet again on a seemingly overpriced figure is a bummer. We then only have Broom as the single accessory. Seriously, couldn't we have gotten an Imp form with Madame?
Since I hace to rate her, I'd say she's a 3.83 but she could've been a bit better.

Screw the Rules, I have Battle Armor Broom!

Aug 26, 2014

Club Eternia 2015 is a go!!

We did it!! The Final Year is happening!!

MOTUC 2015 Club Eternia®: You Did It!

Posted by Admin on August 26th, 2014
By Tara Z.
Yes, you do have the power! The fans have spoken, and it’s official… we’ve reached our subscription goal for the final Club Eternia®! That means we’ll be seeing Lizard Man, Ninja Warrior, Huntara™, club-exclusive Oo-Larr®, and the rest of the lineup for 2015.
King GrayskullIt’s been an amazing journey for the Masters of the Universe® Classics line, starting in 2008 with King Grayskull™ at San Diego Comic-Con, followed by He-Man®, Beast Man®, Skeletor®, and all the others leading up to this final year. We can’t wait to get started on 2015, when we’ll wrap up the vintage and A-list characters and the “Fall of Eternia” mini comic storyline. We thank each and every one of you who subscribed and made it possible. We’ll have more news about the rest of the lineup in the months ahead, so make sure you sign up to get email updates!
Club EterniaClick here to register for email. Or, join us onFacebookTwitter,Google+ and in our Fan Forums. And don’t forget to subscribe to ourYouTube channel for sneak peeks and more!



That is all folks!!! Multibot, Angella, everyone is coming!!



Aug 25, 2014

8/25/2014 Odds and ends: No more John Hammond and Disembodied Cobra Strikes

I'm terribly saddened by the news of Lord Richard Attenborough's death.
Over 90% of you know him because of this:


He was also Santa Claus, so I will remember him for that too. I had a JP Book reference, but it would be a bit tasteless. So, instead, my best wishes to his surviving Family.

Sticking to the theme of Death, this is super messed up:
Chinese Chef chops Cobra to prepare a plate and the disembodied Snake bites him to the death!

So, basically, Snake got its Revenge by killing the Chef that was going to cook it...


I mean Even Bear "My advice is 85% likely to kill you" Grylls has mentioned MULTIPLE TIMES the dangers of Snake heads after being chopped off their bodies!


I guess not everyone can be as badass as a mongoose.



Why is George R.R. Martin not writing books and uploading videos to Youtube?

Oh, it's the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge... Still, he could've fallen when the icy water fell on him. He almost hit his face with the edge of the pool too!

PEOPLE HAVE DIED doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge... That sucks, but if George RR Martin dies because of it, All hell will break loose. I can almost picture the bitching and moaning about an incomplete saga.

Aug 24, 2014

Why is it important to sub up to Club Eternia 2015

So, we know the subs are 10% down. There's the idea that it's all a conspiracy by Mattel to get more money out of the customer base. Here's the thing: If we don't reach the goal that Mattel has set, we'll get no figures. Best case scenario for a sub failure would be having Lizardman, Ninjor, Huntara and Oo-Larr offered as quarterly figures with the Snake Armor He-Man vs 200X Hssss as a Comic Con item. We may lose the Snake form for Hsss and we WILL Lose the Robot Knights for Skeletor. Angella would have NO CHANCE IN HELL if the sub doesn't make it... (Mai waifu needs her mommy!)


 The Horsemen have been taking some of these figures that were low new tooling in the 80s (like Ninjor) and overhauling them to be more awesome. Hell, they made Blade and Gwildor look Badass and closer to their Film look than the vintage toys, which let's face it are a bit crappy in their accuracy to the source material.
This fan-made pic was circulating FB
It shows more or less what we WILL GET on 2015
including some out of sub items like the Hover Robors
Do we want to end up like 200X where we never got a revamped roster of ALL the figures? Not even with the complementary "Stactions" from NECA we got a full roster.

I'll be honest: I don't like ALL of the Vintage Figures. I've mixed feelings towards some of the vintage figures: The Space Hippies (Comet Warriors), The Ancient Beyblades (Energy Zoids), Extendar, Blast Attack, Sssqueeeze, Tung Lashor,Saurod, Ram Man, Gwildor, Hurri Hordak, BS Hordak, Terror Bra Skeletor, Flying Fists He-Man. All of those figures worried me when talking about having them in Classics.

I have been Pleasantly surprised with most of them (that have been released or at least shown prototypes of) Heck! Most NA Figures have been Pleasantly Surprising (aside some that suffered from Chronic Rubenitis)

Speaking of Ruben Martinez...
Good Riddance!
He's no longer involved with MOTUC. He's involved with the WWE toys... The Andre the Giant from the Elite Series 29 was a figure he worked on. The one with the infamous wig.

Well, MOTUC has been freed from "Mr. fat armor for NA Skeletor's SKIN is a great idea!"
That's another reason to sub up, right?

I know this whole "sub or die" mentality that Mattel has is counterproductive and it sucks...
Sadly, that is how Mattel wants to play the game. If we want MOTUC figures we have to sub up. Period.

Not subbing because of Economic reasons, is something I understand and respect. On the other hand, not subbing to "spite Mattel" or to "teach Neitlich a lesson" gets us nothing. You know what's going to happen?
Mattel shuts down the line and would be the THIRD Strike on MOTU's record. (NA and 200X being the first two)
Neitlich and the rest of the MOTUC team get shifted to other brands. Look at Ruben as an example. He was moved to WWE. Who wins here? No one. Who loses here? We do.

If you can afford to get the sub, do so. The fans have kept this line going DESPITE Mattel. Let's not give them a chance to pin the failure of the line on us, the fans. We have about a day to reach our goal...

If you haven't subscribed yet and want to, head to Matty Collector's site and buy the sub. Or, if you're lazy, here's the link for the MONTHLY Subscription. If you want to save a little bit more on shipping you can use QUARTERLY Subscription, where they ship you the items, each quarter (3 months).


Aug 23, 2014

Odds and Ends: 8/23/2014 Capaldi Doctor, Bye bye Kari, and Mattel's Sub-a-thon.

Let's get the Mattel stuff out of the way... Yesterday, I posted the Message from the Fourhorsemen about the Subs being in Danger. Well, Cornboy pitched in and bought a Sub Yesterday.

Every Sub puts us closer to the goal. Now is not the time to worry about "Mattel conspiracies" or if "Scott Lies". That will not get us the figures. Reaching Mattel's goal will get us the figures.

Once again, if you haven't subbed up but want most of the figures, you should consider subscribing (if you can afford it)

Keeping up with the Matty news, I want to congratulate fellow member of the Council of the First Ones Podcast, Kelly Edmonds for being one of the two winners of the Show us your She-Ra contest from Mattel at SDCC. She, and the other winner got a 2015 Subscription to Club Eternia. Let's help them get their prize by helping the subs reach the 100% mark.

Still on the whole Club Eternia 2015 thing, I woke up and THIS was floating around Facebook. This Boob pic is supposedly a leak from the April 2015 MOTUC Figure; that we WILL NOT GET if the Sub does not make it through.

I understand the plight of Cherry Pickers (being one for MOST of the Line's life)
but right now, if we don't reach the goal, there will be no cherries to pick from...
and this one right here is one that I've been waiting for a long time. (The wait was made even harder when mai waifu arrived.) I need my Toy mother-in-law!!


Series 8 will air sometime today and my Cable Box FINALLY acknowledges Peter Capaldi as a Doctor... Too bad it keeps locating episodes with Matt Smith, or David Tennant  when I look for "Peter Capaldi". If my freaking box would tell me exactly WHEN will the new Episode be, this would be a lot easier. Wait... Future me tells me it's around 8:00 PM EST... but I don't trust future me... he can be a dick sometimes.


On a sadder note, Mythbusters kicked Kari Byron, Tori Bellecci and Grant Imahara off the show.
Before anyone brings out that rant from 2010 where I complained about the build team overtaking the show, Recent episodes of Mythbusters have been rather dull and The Build Team has been what has made them bearable. Then again, Cars, Bullets and Booms have been the main topics for a long time, this making the show dull...
Supposedly, the show wants to return to the Season 1 Format. The show's been on for 11 years... Holy smokes! Will they bring back some Folklorists, focus more on builds, actual myths, and maybe new Mythterns? Guessing not... I'm predicting current format, but entirely about Jamie and Adam... Future me refuses to tell... Is it that bad? I mean, WILL IT BE THAT BAD?

Aug 22, 2014

2015 Club Eternia Subathon Round 2 Has Begun!

Are you ready for the Final Push for Club Eternia 2015? This time we need to reach the 100% in order for it to go through. We're so close to reach the goal, yet so far away. We only need 10% for the goal to be reached...

Here's what the Four Horsemen had to say Yesterday:

2015 MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS SUBSCRIPTIONS!

Hey all of you Masters of the Universe Classics fans out there! Well, as I’m sure you’re well aware of by now, we got some pretty unsettling news this week. Even though during the San Diego Comic Con it looked like the 2015 Club Eternia subscriptions were selling really well and it looked as if we were going to sail really easily right through the end. We were all amazed at the huge amount of support fans were showing for the line. The 2015 Club Eternia looked like such an early success at that point that we’d even already been discussing with Mattel what we were possibly going to do with 2016 MotU Classics line-ups.

Unfortunately, things seemed to have stalled out just before the end of the original end date for the subscriptions, and we ended up about 10% short of the goal needed to make the 2015 line a reality. We’ve seen people speculating that this might be some sort of ploy by Mattel to boost sales even farther over the percentage needed, but that’s simply not true. We discussed the actual numbers with Scott Neitlich (Mattel’s own ToyGuru) yesterday, and we can assure you that we are indeed just a small amount short of hitting the goal needed to make the 2015 Club Eternia subscription happen.

We’re about 90% there and we just need one little extra bump to get us over the edge. Obviously that’s where you come in, He-Fans and She-Ravers! If you’ve already bought a 2015 Club Eternia subscription – thank you! But your work here isn’t done. Please help to spread the word and let other people know that it’s not to late to jump onboard and help to make MotU Classics one of the most spectacular action figure lines in toy history.

The 2015 MotU Classics: Club Eternia subscriptions are going to re-open tomorrow, Friday, 8/22 at 9:00 am pst, and close on Monday, 8/25 at 11:59pm pst

I mean c’mon… Did you ever think you’d get a Madame Razz or Broom figure in MotU Classics? What about Lizard Man? Gwildor? A New Adventures She-Ra? That awesome Tung Lashor? Mermista? The fan-chosen Huntara? If we don’t make that subscription happen some of those figures may never see the light of day, and we might have to shave O-Dawg’s head just to make us all feel better.

So please, if you can, go over to http://www.mattycollector.com/ tomorrow and sign up for your MotU Classics: Club Eternia subscription! Let’s wrap this thing up with a bang, not a whimper. Thanks a TON!!

Jim, Eric, Cornboy, Shane, Sherri and O-Dawg

-FOUR HORSEMEN TOY DESIGN-

While the Message by the Horsemen mentions SOME 2014 figures, they have a point. Classics has given us Characters that we've been wanting since we were children. Marlena, Adora, Shadow Weaver, Sea Hawk, Madame Razz. Mara, Oo-Larr, Shadow Beast, etc. They have improved on vintage figures like Tri-Klops, Mantenna, Man-at-Arms, the upcoming 2015 Ninjor (depending on the sub making it), the Earl Norem styled Snake Body for King Hssss.
we have one last year of figures to get and if we don't make it we will not get these figures.

Imagine what the Horsemen could do with Dragstor or the Energy Zoids. We have seen how they have improved some vintage toys and there's plenty of characters left. (From both MOTU AND POP) The only way we can get to see what the horsemen can do with them is by buying the subscription.

We know more or less  who's coming on 2015. The remaining masters of the universe figures, and the remaining princess  of power figures are the main attraction in the subscription.  If you're still on the fence but once most of the remaining characters and can afford the subscription you should consider getting one. Tell your friends... we need those numbers.

Again it doesn't matter if you believe that the threat to the sub is real or if it's Mattel marketing tactics. The issue is we need to reach the goal; not whether Mattel  is telling the truth or lying.

This is it the final year. its not only the final year for Masters of the Universe Classics but the end of an era. This might be the final REAL He-Man toy line we get. Any future lines of MotU may be based on the new DC Comics or the movie (if it ever happens) heck this may be the final He-Man toy line in our lifetime. (Ignoring the minis and novelty giants) let's end this with a bang not a whimper. in the words of Scott Neitlich" buy a sub"



Aug 21, 2014

It Came from the Toy Chest: Neitlich missed the point of a Filmation Hordak

Well, by the Title you can guess that I'm going to Review Imp, The Horde's shapeshifting mini spy.
Imp was a very popular character in She-Ra Princess of Power. He was Hordak's pet/sidekick/Little Friend, who turns into stuff... Like Beast Boy, Imp keeps his palette when shapeshifting. Unlike Beastboy, Imp can transform into objects.
The Little Bat Pig Thing has been Classicized in MOTUC...

So, without further ado, let's tackle Imp!



The joke was that both Imp and Derpy
have similar eyes... Yes, Imp is smaller
than a blind bag MLP.


Articulation:
Since he is a little guy, like Kowl and Loo-Kee, he gets a LOT LESS Articulation than the Average MOTUC.
2.0

Paint and Sculpt:
Many Imps seem to have a peculiar issue in their paintjobs... They look a bit Derpy um, odd. The Sculpt is 100% new. No parts reused here.
4.5

They look so nice together. Third party customizers
can help with a better head for Hordak.
Accessories:
Imp comes with no Alternate modes, which was a stupid idea of Mattel not to add any... for those of you who DID go to SDCC and were not screwed out of your mini chests; I am jealous of you.
Imp also comes with a Hordak figure as an accessory.
4.5

Yes, I know the figure IS Hordak and the Accessory is Imp, but let's face it: Most of us bought the set BECAUSE of Imp and not Hordak.
so, let's rate Hordak...

Articulation:
You've seen my past three Hordak Reviews, right? Original, Hurricane, and Kool-Aid? Well, you have a rough idea on what to expect with this one.
4.0

Paint and Sculpt:
the pegs look similar to Trap Jaw's. Only his left arm is removable.
This is basically Vanilla Hordak in Filmation colors... Mine's a bit sloppy around the back of the boots, his belt and on his mech-arm.
With that said, there are a few new pieces sculpted... and Design got to screw them up... because Ruben is an... eh, take it away Little Jack!
Seriously, Most of the figures with items that plug into their forearms (Roboto, Trap Jaw, Hurricane Hordak, Horde Prime, Spikor) Use THE SAME STYLE OF PEGS to allow interchangeability among the figures. This Hordak uses a mirror image of the Hurricane Hordak Arm Cannon. You'd expect the Hurri-pieces to work with him...

Staff is useless and looks unfinished.
because of Ruben's genius, we can't do it... Someone should make a MOTUC Figure with his likeness and call it Mediocror: Evil Master of Mediocrity. Reversed Forearms, thighs, with accessories in similar shades of green.
3.5

Maybe it was on purpose to stop any Karg Customs?
Accessories:
a 200X Staff because Screw You! An Extra Arm Then there's Imp.
4.0
Overall:
The Duo gets an Overall Score of  3.75 Because of some hiccups in design (translation Ruben screwed up... AGAIN!!) Good thing 2015 figures are 100% Ruben-Free. Mattel dropped the ball by not giving Hordak the accurate head. Accessory selection (the Staff) is a bit weird as well. Now I know where the Silver WP repaint Crossbow can go to. Hell, I would have axed the staff just to get another Imp form.

P.S. BUY THE 2015 Club Eternia SUB!! Available Tomorrow at Mattycollector.com 

While, it's a nice gesture, they should have saved it for Light Hope
who WAS VOICED by Lou Scheimer. Hordak was voiced by George DiCenzo
(Bow, Pirate copy of Bow)

 To break all the white on Hordak's face I used Pearlescent white on some parts of his face and ears (mimicking the patterns on Normal Hordak's face.) The difference is subtle, but looks nice enough.

Aug 20, 2014

Neitlich's Filmation List... It's pretty much complete!

I guess everyone remembers my Nepthu: King of Turds rant.  Well, for some reason, I revisited that rant and a post from Emiliano Santalucia's blog. There he talks about the Turd King himself, Nepthu and about an e-mail exchange with Mattel's Scott Neitlich. The conversation, which you can read on Emiliano's post, was about Cartoon Characters in MOTUC.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:
Icer
Fang Man
Vultak 
Plundor
Nepthu
Shokoti
Masque
Strongarm
Batros
Various Trollans

She-Ra: Princess of Power:
Shadow Weaver
Horde Prime
Octavia
Scorpia
Sea Hawk
Dylamug
Huntara
Col. Blast
Madam Razz and Broom
Light Hope

New Adventures of He-Man:
Mara (REALLY NEEDS THE SUB TO HAPPEN in order to be made)

Figures whose names are in green are figures that we either ALREADY HAVE or are coming in 2014.
Those with their names in Yellow (orange if we wanna be technical) depend on the 2015 sub to make it. Those in Red, well, those are MIA.

The Tinfoil hat wearing side of me sees a pattern here. Neitlich pushed his wants over the wants of everyone else... Yes, I will still argue that Nepthu is a wasted slot (Plundor is another one too, but his fanbase is 6 times the size of Nepthu's)

As much as I'm not that big fan of Lizard Man, he has a following. The Hover Robots were a nice addition. Sadly, the Robots will be the first casualty if Club Eternia 2015 doesn't make it. (I know that I'm sounding like a Mattycollector Club Eternia Pitchman, but I want to complete the POP Roster... and Ninjor, cause he's freaking-A!! and MEGABEAST!!!)

but let's remove the tinfoil hat and go back on topic: Yes, I'm glad that Lizard Man and the robots have a chance to make it (assuming we get the sub.)  BUT, aside Nepthu and Plundor... (I'm still hung up on those two) and Vultak being a POP Character, the Filmation list is somewhat decent.

The NA fan in me is disappointed that we will never see Master Sebrian (I know he's not toyetic enough, but now we have a Thinner buck!!) and Crita is up in the air... Kinda like that Unleashed Doomsday...

No Freaking way! There could be hope for Crita... I AM NOT SAYING THAT SHE IS COMING... Only hoping that she does, because of the Teela/Evil Lyn dynamic between Mara and Crita.

Of course we have people complaining about this bit of news. Yes, I know Mattel said that it wasn't going to happen. Now it did... At least they ARE Releasing the kickass Unleashed Doomsday... Which is very tempting even for me to get... He killed Syouperman! So, that Doomsday stunt gives me hope to some non-vintage MOTU characters in 2015.

Funny how getting a bit of news in the middle of a rant changes the entire thing. I was going to complain about Mara being MIA if the sub doesn't make it, but the Doomsday thing gave me a bit of hope...

Now, I understand some people believe that Mattel is manipulating us.( to an extent I totally agree) That is not relevant right now. The important thing is that Mattel has us by the balls Metaphorically speaking with this whole sub thing. They NEED/WANT X amount of subs sold. If we don't reach that number we're screwed, as simple as that. We have this weekend to reach that goal and that's all that should matter.

Aug 19, 2014

Club Eternia only reached 90% Subs will be extended for the weekend.

We did not make it... We were 10% short of the goal.
Here's a message from Neitlich:
Hey He-Fans and She-Ravers,
We are sooooo close! 2015 subs ended with about 90%. A great showing but not quite close enough to go forward. With the end of the vintage line (redone in Classics) in question, we truly do believe in our fan base. We’re going to reopen the subs for an extension window from Friday, 8/22 at 9:00 a.m. PT through Monday, 8/25 at 11:59 PT.
Now is the time to rally! If everyone who sub’d last year would renew, we’d be golden. If you’re on the fence or were thinking of cherry-picking, remember… if the sub does not get that last critical 10% there won’t be a line to cherry-pick.Club Eternia
So please, let’s all come together! All MOTU fans of all eras truly make Classics the greatest MOTU (if not all brands) toy line of all time! I know we can do it! If you’re holding out, remember, unlike any previous year you pretty much know exactly who you’re getting, with our absolute promise to finish the vintage MOTU line, MOTU variants, original POP characters, and A-list New Adventures and media characters.
Let’s come together and make this happen! We really believe in our fans, and we’ve got one last chance. All our cards are on the table… it’s time to go all in!
Subscriptions open Friday, 8/22 at 9:00 a.m. PT through Monday, 8/25 at 11:59 PT.
Here’s (hopefully) to a great 2015!
Scott “ToyGuru” Neitlich

So, we have ONE MORE WEEKEND to get that Final 10%...

I'm confused: Why not open the subs tomorrow or Thursday to make sure we reach that extra 10%?
Right, we're dealing with Digital River.

If you haven't subbed up, do so... It would royally suck to have the line end without Angella (the last Core Rebellion Member and completes POP's Wave 1), Multibot (who should be able to fuse with Modulok to create MEGABEAST!!), Dragstor who would help Complete the Horde, Blast Attack and Sssqueeze to complete the Snakemen, Saurod to complete Both the Evil Warriors AND the "Movie Trio".

Do we need to end the line with Plundor and Nepthu and miss out on the remaining characters that are needed to complete rosters?

Aug 18, 2014

Club Eternia 2015 is on the Final Countdown...

In a few hours (11:59 PM PST to be precise) the 2015 Sub Period will end...
If you're a MOTUC collector, can afford to buy a sub and have not done it yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? Buy the sub!! Don't be fooled by Matty's own stupidity... I captured the pic before Mattel removed it when they realized their stupidity.

If this was meant to be a preemptive congratulations message in case we made it , Mattel should have added a "We Failed" message as well "to cover all bases". If we truly made it and they screwed up by uploading this, then... all I can say is:


I'm anxious, but at the same time a bit worried. Which means that the worry has been doubled!
I can't take this at face value, BECAUSE I don't know the veracity of it. I really hope that we actually made it. Now we wait...

And good ol' Scotty Neitlich drops in some bad news:

To clarify for the conspiracy theorists out there: every year we prepare emails for both "we did it" and "sub did not go through" much as the same way t-shirt companies prepare shirts for both teams that "win" the Super Bowl so they can instantly sell shirts when the game is over.
Last year the DC sub did not hit the min and it did not go through. The "DC we did it" campaign was scrapped and never shown.
Right now we are actually quite a while off from the goal for motuc. If we don't catch up (to be as transparent as possible) Ninjor, Lizard Man, Huntara and the "snake" two pack will become quarterly releases and Oo-lar will be sold at Sdcc.
Obviously we would prefer to have the full year program, but much as the DC sub last year, unless we hit the min, our pre created "we did it" campaign will just be scrapped. We have to prep it ahead of time to be ready (due to bandwidth and approvals).
Hope that helps clarify! We are factually a lot farther away then we would care to be, so if you are on the fence, today is the day, lets make 2015 happen!
See? This is what I meant when I said:

No, Scott, we're very likely not going to hit the Minimum if we're 23% below the goal with less than 4 days. That's not THE BEST sub sell in to date!! We only got a Measly 1% increase from Tuesday to Thursday...  As much as I hate scare tactics, this message may have had the opposite effect, making fence sitters consider not subbing... If the Sub doesn't make it I'm blaming you, Scott D. Neitlich for posting that message on the .org!
waiting sucks... I wish I was a Purple Gimp with SEX on his oversized wristwatch...


Because of the Title of the rant... You knew it was coming!!

Aug 17, 2014

Expendables 3... meh.

Let me start with the Musical Tribute to The Expendables by Jon and Al Kaplan.


My first complaint about The Expendables 3 is the chorus of the Musical. PG-13... An Expendables movie with PG-13 rating is wrong... That's what we got here... a Pussified version of the Expendables... Very little blood, no over the top kills that would have made its 80s origins smile with glee. In fact, I find the action an INSULT to what the Expendables is supposed to be: A Tribute to the 80s action movies.

My second complaint is the waste of Talent: Jet Li... Less than 5 minutes of screen time and he doesn't even go Jet Li on bad guys. Wesley Snipes: Does a bit at the beginning, makes a Tax Evasion joke, then a few scenes at the final battle. Half of it he spent it playing dead. Terry Crews: MIA for plot reasons.
Anthony Flags was pretty much playing Donkey from Shrek but with a Spanish Accent. Before anyone reminds me that Antonio Banderas played Puss in Boots; I am aware of that.

My third complaint is related to references... There weren't that many. We had the Snipes Tax Evasion bit, a reference to Bruce Willis being out of the movie, a reference to Demolition Man, a long scene being set up so Ahnuld could say


The new kids got nothing on references... No jabs at Kellan Lutz's Sparkly Vampire past was unacceptable... This is a movie series where CHUCK NORRIS gets to make a reference to the INTERNET CHUCK NORRIS!!


The new kids were:
Nerd (hacker) who climbs because he needs to climb in the final battle
Boxer who shoots well (because the guy playing him is a boxer)
Sexist "Feminist Tough Girl" stereotype because she insults men by calling them Men in a very condescending manner played by a Female MMA fighter.
Sparkly Vampire who wants people to forget he is a Twilight.
That's all we need to know about them... and how much we should care about them... Heck! I cared more about Mr. Hunger Games dying in Expendables 2 than I did for the new kids in 3.

If I could describe this movie in one sentence I'd say: Expendables 3 is the SNES version of Mortal Kombat of the Expendables series.

Please, movie gods, allow for an R-Rated DVD cut for this film!! 
Don't bother with this watered down TV-Edit version of The Expendables. Rewatch 1 and 2 instead.

Aug 16, 2014

War Machine down! Dog had nothing to do with it...

A few days ago, Duane "Dog" Chapman said that he was going to hunt down Jon Koppenhaver, AKA War Machine, for beating up Christie Mack (war Machine's former girlfriend) and another dude.
So, California Police caught him in a Hotel on Simi Valley. Dog the Bounty Hunter was nowhere near him. He was far more busy "aiding" the Police at War Machine's house where they were removing Exotic Snakes. I'm glad that the guy was caught, but I am disappointed that Dog didn't do any of the capturing...


I know this will sound wrong, but I kinda wanted to see a Dog vs War Machine Battle... (My money was NOT on Dog BTW...)  Mostly because after all that Twitter Bravado and chest puffing, nothing happened. Dog didn't show up at the right place... Now the question is: Was Dog's info wrong, or did he "get" the wrong info ON Purpose... I'm not saying he's a coward, but it's too "convenient" of him missing out on capturing this guy after all the show he put on.


Aug 14, 2014

Odds and ends 8/14/2014 Kowlometer vs Shark week and Bear Grylls

Shark Week, looks like you jumped the shark with your BS mockumentaries... Voodoo shark, Zombie Shark... Hell! The Sci-Fi Channel did it better by having Sharknado on Shark Week... Yes, Discovery Channel, you were beaten by Sharknado...

I was a bit un-enthused by Shark Week and I confirmed why. I'd rather have Bear Grylls taking people to do the man vs wild thing...
Wait... He is DOING THAT!? and he's taken Zac Effron, Ben Stiller and Channing Tatum!? Hopefully they didn't drink their own pee... Yup! Bear Grylls has a new show that is pretty much the same thing as the Jake Gyllenhaal and Will Ferrel episodes of Man vs. Wild. Now if I could find out WHERE they are showing this. *one Google Search later* Oh, it's on NBC... Need to check it out then...

Final Kowl-O-Meter before the end of the Sub Period... After Today's update, we'll be flying blind to the Final Year of MOTUC or Crash and Burn with the line ending in 2014.
This was sent by Mattel last Tuesday... This is the first year that Mattel has spent time doing promos for this line... they had the nifty toy ad, the A Song of Ice and Fire rip-off ads, now they're mentioning the pros of subscribing:
Like getting all the characters at a lower price.
Not all characters will have Day of Sale... Ninjor will NOT HAVE DAY OF SALE...

The only thing we have not seen is the usual "Neitlich begathon videos"... It feels weird.

Without further ado, here's the Final Kowl-O-Meter update before the end of ths sub period...
You can totally start panicking now. 77% is all we got.
I am definitely worried that the sub might not make it and that I'll miss out on Multibot, Angella, Perfuma, Dragstor, Ssssqueeze, Saurod, Mara, the Laser variants of He-Man and Skeletor...

Meanwhile Neitlich seems to be in La-La Land.
He-fans, orgers, She-ravers and I guess Pixel Dan,
So obviously for those following the Kowl-0-meter the 2015 sub is doing great. In fact, very good chance we will not only hit the min but we may hit the min plus xx% that is the cut off. The 2015 sub could very well sell out. We do have a cut off point above and beyond the min of tier 2 (min needed to move forward at all) due to material purchase and other logistical stuff.
I only say this as historically we have had a huge boost on the last day. If you are waiting until the last day, just keep in mind potentially there might not be a last day.
Great news that we are doing the best sub sell in to date! Just don't want anyone to miss out. There could be a cut off. (Not a scare tactic, just the facts.)
To making 2015 happen and being part of it!
SdN

No, Scott, we're very likely not going to hit the Minimum if we're 23% below the goal with less than 4 days. That's not THE BEST sub sell in to date!! We only got a Measly 1% increase from Tuesday to Thursday...  As much as I hate scare tactics, this message may have had the opposite effect, making fence sitters consider not subbing... If the Sub doesn't make it I'm blaming you, Scott D. Neitlich for posting that message on the .org!!

Sub time really puts me on edge... I just spotted a gray hair that wasn't there this morning!!

Really, if you're on the fence and can afford the sub, buy it!! buy it NOW!!

you can go Monthly or Quarterly... Let's kick this subs ass and get the remaining MOTUC figures!

Aug 13, 2014

It Came From the Toy chest: My Little Model Kit

The My Little Pony POP Kits are finally available in my neck of the woods. They're half Model Kit, Half Marvel Super Hero Mashers.
There are Normal figures like Twilight Sparkle and Deluxe Figures like Pinkie Pie (who come with a lot of Accessories). Once you open them up, they're stuck to a "Tree" (No, not Fluttershy)
and you need to remove them and assemble.

Assembly is stupid easy: Pop the pieces in pop in the mane and tail. (Wings if your pony is a Pegasus or an Alley Corn)





You pop out the accessories (if Any) Then you play! Yay! Just not with the Playful Scale Ponies, since these gals are smaller, and a bit too stylized... They kinda look like Robotic Ponies. There's some weird stitching on the wings and manes. The joints seem to have some weird "Heart Pegs" or "Heart Buttons"

You can also assault your pony with stickers... I have to say that Pinkie having a Mustache Sticker is a nice nod to the bronies!



But at the end of the day, I cannot recommend these. They are yet ANOTHER different scale for them that cannot work with ANY Previous MLP FIM items. They also look a bit cheap. I know they ARE Cheap, but they look almost like Bootleg Cheap.

If you get these, try to get the Mane 6 to have a somewhat cohesive display... The good thing about these is that they're customizable, so you could make your own Pony Characters if you'd like to.
The Accessories that the Deluxe Ponies (Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy) have are pretty nifty.

SOME can be used in Other Toylines and they even work better than the MLP Wedding items.

I cannot rate these as normal toys since they are Model Kits for Little Girls (4+) or People who suck at Model Building Kits.

MLP: Customization is Magic
You either love these, or HATE these. There is no Middle ground with them... I think I may stick to the "Blind Bag Scale" minis and the Playful scale Ponies.

I'm confiscating the Tea and Cookies for the Great Rebellion, because 80s Mattel!


If these Ponies aren't your style, their accessories CAN
WORK with MOTUC. The cookies may need to be repainted.

War Machine is in deep deep trouble...

No, not the Marvel Character... I'm talking about the MMA dude, Jon Koppenhaver... Police are looking for him because he was allegedly involved in an assault in the early morning hours of Friday in Las Vegas. One of the individuals involved is his former girlfriend, Christy Mack; the other individual involved is Corey Thomas.

I know that I normally don't post these kind of news, because I'm not much of a fan of MMA...
The reason I'm posting this is:

er... I mean:
Dog and Beth on the Hunt... But yeah, Dog the Bounty Hunter wants to go after War Machine.

This reeks of Publicity stunt and I fear that the Dog, the Big Bad Dog would get his ass whipped by War Machine... Beth better watch out too since the guy may have no issues with beating up women.
So, long story short; Methinks Dog may be biting more than he can chew.

Aug 12, 2014

Huh!? It's not Just a Box! Phantom Pain has better boxes now!

The Cardboard box is back!! You know, that thing that I missed from Metal Gear when I reviewed Ground Zeroes? I missed it so much that I even wanted a cutscene cameo of it after Hideo said that they were going to be super serious with the game...

Well, there have been a few videos floating about The Phantom Pain...

Fulton Recovery is back!! (I hate having to drag folks to far away areas to safely recover them.)
Also, Fulton Sheep!!

But best of all, the Cardboard Boxes RETURN!!


YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! and I mean Herbal Essences type of yes!! The one thing missing from Ground Zeroes that I totally needed has happened! Not only that, but the box has a couple of new tricks with it... Those tricks will make playing the game more fun (especially when recruiting troops for Mother Base.) I loved using the Ass. Creed Hay Bale on Peace Walker! Need to use the box cannons, but need to play a co-op game first...

NOW I'm Excited about the Phantom Pain... All we need is a reveal of Big Boss fighting a Metal Gear and I'll be happy.

5 days left for Club Eternia 2015... I'm entering Panic Mode!

We are 5 days away till the end of the line, or keeping it alive for the Final year...
I'm in Panic mode because the Kowl-O-Meter is only at 76% and that's not good... We need 24% more to reach our goal and get the final year to happen.

What do we lose if 2015 Doesn't Make it?

For starters, we miss out on:
Rotar, Twistoid, Blast Attak, Sssqueeeze, Saurod, Dragstor, and Multibot from the Vintage MOTU Line. We also miss out on the 5 remaining MOTU variants: Flying Fists He-Man, Terror Claws Skeletor, Buzz Saw Hordak, Laser Light Skeletor and Laser Power He-Man.
We miss out on the remaining PoP ladies:
Angella, Perfuma, and Peekablue

We also miss out on Mara, the Final Fan Favorite Figure and any other surprises that Neitlich could shove on the sub or outside of it... like the rumored Mini sub, etc.

Also, we lose a chance at getting the most comprehensive MOTU line complete... If we can't even complete the roster of vintage figures with this line... Hell, if we don't get 2015, MOTUC would end without completing the first wave of figures in all eras.

It would royally suck if the line ends before 2015... If you haven't subbed up and you want to complete MOTUC (and can afford to sub); you should sub up! Do you want to end the line without MEGABEAST!? I don't... I never had MEGABEAST as a child... Allow me to correct this sin from my past...
Buy the sub...