It came from the Toy Chest: I'm invited to a Royal Wedding!

I have been invited to a Royal Wedding!!

You had to expect that cause there's no Royal Wedding sets on MOTU, GI Joe, Transformers, DC or Marvel toys...
I'm going to tackle the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Pony Princess Wedding Castle playset.

Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza

As you can see it features 2 Ponies... Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor... who is no other than

Thanks for the explanation, Twilight...

Stickers... FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-

OK, so I have a lot of assembling to do, so Listen to a song where Twilight explains more about Shining Armor...

OK so the Castle is finally built. Let's get it on!

So you can see that the castle is done, it has a door that swivels on its bottom  side, like most castle doors with a drawbridge (or Jawbridge) some decorations, a Piano (non-functional) for somepony to play Here comes the Bride... A small Table a Teapot and 2 cups, Cake... Keep it away from Pinkie Pie... A Chandelier, rings for the bride and groom, tiaras, Mi Amore Cadanza's Necklace,a  Purse, the Bouquet, a comb and a swing for the lovebirds to watch Celestia raise the moon. a Butterfly friend that looks familiar...

I wouldn't recommend putting a Pony where I've placed Rainbow Dash for this picture.
She's too heavy.

The Playset has a few pegs where you can put some "Friends" (The little animals that come with most ponies) or Spike... The Purse only works on Mi Amore Cadenza... The Bouquet works on almost everypony. The reason WHY I LOVE this playset is because it's pretty small but has plenty of space for Many ponies!



I must mention that the two ponies included are Pretty Special! Shining Armor is the First Colt on the FIM Line... You know who could reuse that buck with a new Earth Pony head?

Eeyup!
Also, Cadance's body... or if you want to use her full name Mi Amora Cadenza could be used on WINGED UNICORNS... *cough* LUNA! *cough*
Now that I've gone through all the stuff, it's THAT TIME AGAIN!! IT'S RATINGS TIME!
I'll do the Ponies first, then the Playset itself.

Articulation:
Both Cadance and Shining Armor have a single point of Articulation on their heads. Normally this earns them a 1.0 but using the Pony curve it's a Full 4.0

Paint and Sculpt:
There is little paint on the figures. (Cutie Mark and Eyes is where the paint is at. everything else seems to be molded in appropriate colors.) Their accessories have a little paint. Both Shining Armor and Cadance have sculpts that are NOT your Average Pony mold... as I mentioned before.
4.5

For the Honor of Love... By the Power Above! I have a pony! a Macho Pony!

As you can see on a video above, Twilight shakes her stuff to Cadance...
Twilight's butt looks like a Chikorita

Accessories:
Here I have to split the evaluation cause Cadance has more stuff than her Husband!

Cadance!
She's got her necklace, Tiara, Ring, Veil, Cape,Purse, Bouquet, Animal Friend... That gets her a 5.0


Shining Armor has his plastic Tuxedo, tiara and ring. 4.5

Overall:
Cadance gets a 3.5 without the pony curve, with it she gets a 4.5 

Her Hubby, Shining Armor, ranks a bit lower 3.33 without the curve. Ponifying the score he gets a 4.33

The Playset itself:
As I said, the playset may be small but it has enough space to display some ponies... The swing is functional. The assembly was pretty easy, but those accursed stickers...
I'd have to give it a 4.0 It's pretty good, but the stickers are a bit of a pain and it's a bit hard to display the cake AND the Tea set... also why add a set of accessories that these ponies CAN'T USE!! Looks like I might steal the tea set and use it on another line... a 7 inch line of scantily-clad men...

I really need a Celestia that is IN SCALE with Everypony else...

If you're into ponies, this set is for you! If you don't like Ponies, then this set is NOT for you... OBVIOUSLY... I might borrow the cake and tea set for Bow the Butler or for the next MOTU Christmas pic! Now I have Sorceress, so Duncan might get some company...

Twilight Sparkle: in real life
The sounds you hear in the background are from my brain being Michael Bay'd
Can brains explode TWICE? Cause mine is going by the 42nd explosion 

Back to the pony review!! Now, if Hasbro makes a Playful Ponies scale Derpy, and a Big Macintosh then this would be 20% cooler... Need to get the CMC, Zecora, the TRU set with DJ-Pon3, TG&P Trixie, and NIGHTMARE MOON! and the Canterlot set with yet another Twilight Sparkle and Spike...

The next He-Man Cartoon needs to step away from the 12 pack

By that I mean the first two Masters of the Universe original waves:
Beastman
He-Man
Man-at-Arms
Mer-Man
Skeletor
Stratos
Teela
Zodac
Evil Lyn
Faker
Man-E-Faces
Ram-Man
Trap Jaw
Tri-Klops
(Cause Zodac is sporadically used and Faker, well aside from a weird Faker in one episode of Filmation and a cameo in 200X he's got nothing.)

Before you mention Sorceress, Orko, Adam and King Randor as "breaking the rule" they were made into toys MOSTLY cause of the toon... (still a bit iffy on the details) and some wave 3 and 4 toys made it to the cartoon... so, you're thinking that my argument has been made invalid...
Now let's find the core characters from Filmation:
He-Man
Teela
Man-at-Arms
Ram Man
Stratos

Skeletor
Beast Man
Evil Lyn
Trap Jaw

On 200X it's pretty much the same thing. Maybe adding Buzz-Off and Roboto to the mix for the heroes and for the villains Whiplash and Clawful.

Where's Rio Blast, Snout Spout (to be fair he showed up on She-Ra), Ninjor, Scareglow, etc.
Those are the guys that Mattel needs to have the cartoon people to focus on... They want to SELL TOYS, right? then why keep the focus ALL The time on the same cast?

Now I'm NOT saying, Ditch the wave 1 and 2 people... What I'm saying is that they should introduce these later wave characters early in the show. Clamp Champ is supposedly Randor's bodyguard, well, USE HIM AS HIS BODYGUARD in the background before dedicating an episode to him!!
Scareglow, now that's a perfect character for a "Halloween" episode. One of the Earlier episodes could have Rio Blast as the stranded survivor from another world who stays with the heroes until he can find a way to go home. IF Marlena is from Earth in the new toon, she could empathize with him and we get a Marlena Origin flashback.
Ninjor, Jitsu, Blade, Saurod could get their episodes while teaming up with classic MOTU villains like Webstor, Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops and Kobra Khan. I mean BeastMan can screw-up so many times until Skeletor makes a bunch of loincloths out of him...

But, but, character development... It can be worked while showcasing a different character every week! Heck! Introducing The Mighty Spector in a "montage Episode" to explain any plotholes form Past Episodes. "A Spector did it..." There I even gave you the Episode's title and all that...

I know it kinda reeks of "Buy the toys" but at the same time, we NEED to flesh out those other characters!
Maybe it could turn people into fans of those "later characters" that right now aren't THAT popular.  In any case, utilizing those guys can help expand the universe, which IS A GOOD THING FOR MOTU!!

I need a team to review this movie... ASSEMBLE!!

I'm doing a review of The Avengers...

No, not THOSE Avengers... THE OTHER Avengers!! You know, Earth's Mightiest Heroes... and before you load a clip of the Cartoon series I'm talking about the Live action 2012 movie...

 These guys...
Now I give you two options:
A) you read the long winded review where I'll say how much I disliked Scarlett Johnasson
or
B) read the short review for the movie that should be called Ironmanhulk3 thorCaptainamerica2 featuring Hawkeye and Scarlett Johansson pretending to be badass.

Obviously since you are here you know that Option B is not a valid option. So where do we start:
Required viewing Material before Avengers:
Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk (the one with Ed Norton... who was replaced in Avengers by Mark Ruffalo)

So this movie begins at the end of those all movies... and if you saw the post-credits scenes in all of them, you may have noticed that they were setting up stuff for this movie, like Loki escaping his fate, the Cosmic Cube and all that...) Luckily we don't have to waste a lot of time on character development because we spent 5 movies on it... Cap is still adjusting, Tony Stark is well, Tony Stark, Hulk... he's been in remission cause Banner's keeping the beast within him, well, within! The Avengers are assembled... they fight evil and they win... Is it spoilers if we say that the heroes win on a superhero movie?

This is a Joss Whedon Film...

Yes, THAT Joss Whedon... So expect some witty remarks from the characters and various pop culture references and good action scenes plus some interactions to use as development.

Now, after Rewatching Ironman 2 and now watching The Avengers, I must say that I DON'T LIKE ScarJo as Black Widow.

This is why she's here...

It's nothing Personal against Scarlett Johansson. It's just that she doesn't look like she's a tough Russian assassin/spy who is always in control of the situation (as seen on the info gathering scenes). She is EXCELLENT at portraying the weak, helplessness that makes the villains reveal their plans to her. In the action scenes where she's supposed to be using her awesome kick-ass KGB Skills her expression seems more like a deer caught in headlights than "I'm going to kick alien butt all the way to Uranus."

ScarJo is not amused at my feeble attempts at comedic insults.

Mark Ruffalo, Banner #3... was pretty good. Personally I prefer Ed Norton as Bruce Banner, but Mark does a Pretty good job as Banner.

The rest of the cast is pretty good and spot-on to their characters as seen in previous movies. You can nitpick a few things here and there (invisible headsets, 15-20 minutes of Iron Man trying to fix an engine.) but the movie was pretty enjoyable... If you haven't seen it, you should.

Now since The Avengers worked pretty well as a Superhero movie, DC is most likely to follow suit...

Here is where we hit a MAJOR SNAG... DC's inability to see the Universe beyond Bats and Supes...

OK, so they made a Green Lantern movie with ScarJo's ex... Ryan Reynolds!

ScarJo is not amused by my Ryan Reynolds mention.

Having a Justice League movie when the only DC Characters explored in Film are Supes, Bats, and Hal Douchebag is very likely to suck... especially since Christian "Mad Dog" Bale isn't coming back for a JL movie. Superman may not be the same actor from Man of Steel, then we'd have to sit through Aquaman and Wonder Woman character development... not to mention Nu Bats and Nu Nu Supes.

Even if they do the Just-Us League, they'd still have to explain Wonder Woman and the Most likely Apokoliptian Invasion, cause let's face it, an invasion from Apokolips is the only threat that would require the main DC heroes to join forces... AAAND we land on Justice League is ripping off Avengers...The other option is a Starro attack, now that would be different, but I'm not too sure how it COULD work...

Now with all that said, Team movies are a bit hard to work because the members of the team need time for development and exposure, otherwise we get things like Wolverine and Friends, Wolverine and Friends 2: United, and Wolverine and Friends 3: The Last Stand...

So, I have to say... AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!! for the sequel... Most likely against a Mad Titan who worships Mistress Death...

Now THAT is a real Spoiler... Mah bad!

Post-Power-Con thoughts

Power-Con 2012 was a memorable one for MOTUC fans... We got 3 1/2 reveals and Señor Neitlich dropped an Atomic Bomb on us...

We'll get to that later.
The Reveals were:
For the MOTUC Vintage Era, Representing the Sssssinissssster Ssssssnakemen we have
SNAKE FACE!!
For the Filmation Sets, Representing the Princess of Power Cartoon, the Tentacled Evil OCTAVIA!!!
For the New Adventures Team we have the Space Mutant who is as fast as Lightning!! KARATTI!!
You can see pics at Toynewsi's site!

The 1/2 of a reveal is a weapon for a big bad Vintage Character... who is a good guy and has super reflexes and his weapon of choice is a Clamp made for a Champ! CLAMP CHAMP IS COMING BABY!!
Now for the Atomic Bomb of the reveals...
Spike! Roll the clip!

A MOTUC CASTLE GRAYSKULL!!

I know, I've ranted about Playsets before and their importance... Now MOTUC is getting a Grayskull most likely based on the Prototype made by Mark Taylor... The Vikor creator guy...

Well, there are a few snags, but IT'S GRAYSKULL!!

The thing is that we'd have to pre-order it around the time of New Yourk comic Con which is in 2-3 weeks... and we need about the same number as subscriptions for 2013... also it's roughly $200 + shipping and Handling

It will be most likely based on the prototype which is kinda cool!

Which is Kinda cool and all that, BUT it has the biggest "Flaw" that I see in MOTUC. Sticking TOO Close to the Vintage toys look instead of combining the elements from all versions to create an "Ultimate version" of the character... In a Way Castle Grayskull IS a character... One that would benefit from getting an "Ultimate Version" instead of doing a re-do from a past version.
To be honest, I'm kinda glad that it's leaning towards the Vintage Grayskull, cause that one has more Playability than its 200X counterpart. But if I worked for Mattel had an unlimited budget and could create an Ultimate Grayskull, Here's what I WOULD DO: (This is something I did around the time of the Playset rant, but did not upload. It was made LONG before Scott Neitlich had dropped the playset bomb on us)

I know it's a Logistical Nightmare!

Let's Start with the Outside of the Castle:
While THE MOST ICONIC Look for Castle Grayskull is the FILMATION VERSION, I did nto went with that version.

Mostly because we already have an Official Classics Grayskull on Scareglow's Reliquary. That's the reason why the Outside of the Castle looks like that. As you can see I've got the Castle's Jawbridge a bit elevated. there's a reason for that. (More about it when discussing the INSIDE of the Castle.)
The pics have some measurements: 50 Inches tall by 35 inches wide, which would make it into a GINORMOUS Grayskull. (roughly 7 MOTUC FiguresTall and 5 MOTUC Figures Wide) But since that would be TOO BIG... but admit it a Grayskull THAT size would be SWEET! I'd suggest a smaller 38 by 26
which is roughly  (5 MOTUC by 3 1/2 figures wide) and at the same time it would be as big as the original suggested size FOR THE ORIGINAL MOTU FIGURES!! (Part of a crazy idea I had for this was that if Mattel made another MOTU line in the same size as the Original figures, they could make a castle BIG ENOUGH for both scales... Buying the Castle at retail for the smaller figs, while buying a MOTUC Conversion Kit for the Castle on Mattycollector.) Now back on to the Ramp for the Jawbridge. Aside it being a nod to Filmation it also helps to have the Castle Elevated and create a faux abyss as seen in multiple media (Filmation and MYP Cartoons) Not to mention an extra Level for the Castle! (Roughly 1-2 figures tall, depending on which of my two proposed sizes you go by...)

But let's face it it would be pretty sweet!

Now the Inside is a bit harder to tackle, because I want an ULTIMATE GRAYSKULL, not one of the 2 versions Redone. I want it to go beyond that. But at the same time I HAD to sacrifice a LOT of Stuff.
The Filmation version of the sorceress' throne had to be axed, due to the "basement level". I also had to eliminate the planned Crystal room from 200X because it would have been Next to the Dungeon and it doesn't make sense to have the prisoners so close to what you have to protect the most on the Castle.
So let's take a look at my "Ideal Grayskull interior"! (drawing not made to scale)
We'll start with the Basement, where your Heroes can train using the combat trainer (like in the vintage Castle) using their own weapons or the ones from the 2 Weapons racks (one like the one released on Matty and on the Original Grayskull, and the second one based on the smaller Rack that was a cardboard insert on the Original Castle) The Dungeon is obviously on the basement. (Based mostly on the 200X Version with a sculpted version of the vintage Dungeon insert. Can be placed on the wall or on the floor)
If you go up the Elevator to the second Level (Ground Floor) you'd find the Throne with the secret trap door that would dump the invaders to the dungeon, a place for the Grayskull computers (sculpted based on their vintage look... not shown) Also you could have the Grayskull "space suit or Robot" on this floor (or any floor) The Ladder can be placed on any floor... (Once again, the drawing wasn't made to scale, my bad.)
"Level 2" is pretty much the second level of the 200X Castle. Here is where the Electronics would be, the little chamber with an Orb Holder PLUS Vac Metal versions of the Power sword and Sword of Protection. Also, not shown here, a "Portal to Etheria" could be added (Modular, of course in case you'd rather have it on the "ground floor" or anything.

Obviously, the towers would have the Flag and the Laser turret.

The Last Update I'd do to this would be having a "false wall" to cover one figure on the Castle's basement... That figure is...

And that's what I'd do for an Ultimate Castle Grayskull... Assuming I worked For Mattel and the MOTU team had infinite resources to do one like this... Sadly, this sucker would be EXTREEEEEEEEEEEMELY Expensive...

With that said, All I HOPE for this MOTUC Grayskull is that we get a Kickass castle, and that all the stickers and Cardboard cutouts are made as 3D Plastic items. (Also that it is made at least as big as the 200X castle) and if for some Miracle, the Talon Fighter and Point Dread are made that they can be Modular and FIT on a Castle Grayskull Tower... And I wouldn't Say no to a MOTUC Battle Station like the 200X Battle Station.


Now, back on track with the main issue here:
We have a set of reveals that covers MOTU, POP and NA... something that rarely occurs in MOTUC... I mean look at the 2013 Line-up so far:
Ram Man Representing MOTU's Heroic Warriors
Netossa Representing POP's Great Rebellion
Jitsu Representing MOTU's Evil Warriors
Fang Man Representing Filmation and MOTU's Evil Warriors
The Fighting Foemen 3 pack Representing Other 80s stuff AND Possibly The Powers of Grayskull
King He-Man representing the Heroes on the He-Ro: Son of He-Man new faction...
Snake Face Representing MOTU's Snake Men
Octavia Representing Filmation and POP's Evil Horde
Karatti, Representing New Adventures' Space Mutants
Clamp Champ Representing MOTU's Heroic Warriors
Geldor Representing MOTU's Mini Comics Other Villains
This is so far the most diverse MOTUC Line-up we've had! NOW THAT IS AWESOME!!
And there's a HUGE Possibility of a MOTUC Castle Grayskull, assuming that they get the Quota of Pre-Orders needed for it to happen...

Castle Grayskull, THE ULTIMATE CARROT in MOTUC is practically within our grasp! Hopefully the details at New York Comic Con will not Disappoint... Sure, I set my bar too high with my Imaginary Grayskull (that wouldn't fit on my Actual shelves...)

Hopefully this will be the Booster shot that the line needs to kick some more butt, at least until I get Glimmer...

Hey! What The!? Hey hey hey! What's going on here?

Mr. Belding Kicks ASS!!  Dennis Haskins better known to most of the world as Principal Richard Belding from Saved By The Bell...

I already used the Hey hey hey! What's going on here? on the title...
Apparently he is a Wrestling fan...

Not only that, but he actually KICKED ASS at another Wrestling venue...
That's Principal Belding Kicking Ass... I'm repeating myself cause I still can't believe it!!


An Art book with no pictures!? What the HELL!? the Ontario College of Art and Design assigned  one pictureless book for their "Global Visual and Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800" class... WHAT THE HELL!? The most important thing on an Art History book is the PICTURES!! Paying $180 dollars on an art  book with NO PICTURES!?

Apparently I'm no longer an International fan for Mattel anymore. Did someone at Digital River opened up a History Book? Let's see how this goes... Don't want to have to buy Mekaneck and Dragon Blaster Skeletor from resellers... Not trying to be a jerk, but it took them 3 1/2 years to figure it out!


Cause I still can't believe that Mr. Belding is now Mr. AWESOME!!

Cause Mr. Belding...

It happened... Bella ad Edward are back together... I, I, uh... OK I kinda wished she had cheated on him with sharkboy... cause Twilight! As long as we don't read news about Taylor Lautner dating Mackenzie Foy... That would be too creepy... or beautiful if you're Stephenie Meyer!

Thundercats... Rebirth and Redeath: a rant

Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! can sum up my feelings when the 201X series was canned. Why did the revival fail? I'm no expert, but here's my 2 cents!

The Cartoon:
It started pretty good. It felt a bit too "200X MOTU" than Thundercats... Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE 200X MOTU, but I experienced its demise due to Cartoon Network's ass-backwards ways... I'm talking of their no ads for He-Man, slot shuffling ways that snuffed MOTU and caused the end of the show and Toyline... Well, Thundercats had it kinda bad as well. When it was on Friday Nights, Cartoon Network had a no rerun rule when they stopped airing the episodes mid-season... No Reruns for Thundercats, but they aired the Hell out of Adventure Time and Regular Show... (they still do) At least when they shifted the show to Saturday Mornings they repeated the Episode on Sunday... Unlike He-Man who got SOME reruns... not on all episodes during season 1. Thundercats vanished after the first half of the season and when the season ended.
26 Episodes... (13 less than 200X MOTU... CN REALLY wanted to kill the show!) The show had some flaws... It wasn't perfect, but it was enjoyable... when you could ACTUALLY SEE IT!!

You've noticed that I've compared the show to He-Man's 2002 Revival (and eventual Re-death). It's no coincidence...
"I am Lion-O, Prince of Thundera, Defender of the Secrets of The Tower of Omens. This is Snarf, my fearless Friend. Fabulous secrets we-"

Thundercats learned a lot from 200X MOTU, but in the end it was fated to die like 200X MOTU...
It went Darker than its 80s Counterpart, It got some more Eastern features incorporated on the redesigns... what Mattel folk would call "anime Hyperdetail" I still hate that Lion-O is wearing PANTS!! The characters are similar to the 80s counterparts but stuck on certain roles:
Lion-O: The Reluctant Leader
Cheetara: Love Interest
Tygra: the Douchebag Rival
Panthro: Cranky Veteran/Mentor
Snarf: Pet
Thunder Kittens: Kid Sidekicks

I have no problems with that, even when they were playing the roles a bit too cliched. Just because I like it doesn't save it from being a slight flaw.
Filler episodes were good, but some of them were OBVIOUS filler Episodes. Personally I would have skipped the whole Tookit Sidequest...( It kinda felt like a videogame sidequest... a rather long one) and the Forest of Magi Oar if it meant advancing the story.  Between the fillers and the long time of T-Cat Absence between season halves, the story felt like it dragged on and on.

I must admit I loved the nods to the 80s show and the fact that Lion-O's "anointment trials" were a LOT shorter here. The problem with the show's direction started the moment the series became a "fetch quest fest" Have one Fetch quest turn into a second Fetch quest and then going on and on...

Now we need to look at the other side of the Equation: The Toys...
they were not Perfect, but they were NOT Crappy! they had their issues, but bad QC (as in exploding crotches, reversed limbs on entire runs) wasn't one of them.
The first issue is that they were made by Bandai of America. (who isn't well known as a maker of awesome toys... aside from the Power Rangers Zords.)

Some Bandai of America stuff!

These point out WHY I'm not fond of Bandai of America. Weird action features, Dem Screws! and last but not least: Characters are not in scale with each other!
Now Bandai tried a different approach to the line:
3.75" figures based on the new show, 6" figures based on the new show and a new 8" line based on the 80s show... Probably riding on the coattails of another 80s Nostalgia driven Toyline... Then the 8" line became a 6" line and then the lines died... Does anyone see the problem here?

There's 4 Different toylines... 2 for the new cats and 2 for the classics.
The 3.75" was the perfect size to have vehicles and playsets... Also the 6" Mumm-Ra could work with the 3.75" cats. The biggest blunder on this scale was the lack of villains... Sure we had Mumm-Ra, Grune and Sslythe, but no other villains... (Modern counterparts of Jackalman, Monkian, Vultureman or Rataro)
At least the core cats were made... (Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro, cheetara, Snarf and the Thunderkittens). the 6" guys weren't so lucky. No Snarf or Thunderkittens or any other villains than Mumm-Ra.

Now the Classics lines were a totally different, yet similar story.
The Classics Line was very obviously trying to cash in on the Nostalgia cake that Mattel is enjoying with MOTUC. So, if Bandai is trying to get on the Nostalgia action and maybe bring some MOTUC customers to their side, what would you do?
a)Make Thundrecats IN-scale with MOTU classics
b)Make the Thundercats on a size that they can't be displayed with ANY OTHER LINES

Bandai chose B... cause the vintage Thundercats were "larger than MOTU Figures" Thus Lion-O and Tygra were made... They weren't THAT Bad, for toys made by Bandai of America. I mean they DID PUT A LOT OF EFFORT ON THEM... they gave them a decent range of Articulation (Tygra needed ab artic though)

Bandai decided that 8 inches wasn't working so a change was needed... also Cheetara was going to be the 8 inch line-killer... who hasn't shown up yet, I guess she killed it before showing up!
The change was:
a)Make Thundercats IN-scale with MOTU classics
b)Make Thundercats In-scale with EVERYTHING EXCEPT MOTU Classics

Once again Bandai chose B!

And I've already reviewed this line before... both Lion-O and Mumm-Ra! I've mentioned their pros and cons.

Still, Bandai made a lot of mistakes with these lines. Weird scales on the classics, DEM SCREWS!!, Articulation pins in different color than the pieces they were going in, paint issues, gummy weapons, lack of villains, etc.

While they can't be compared to Marvel Legends or even MOTUC; The Thundercats lines were one of the better lines that Bandai of America has made... They tried to have a sense of scale between characters AND they tried to get the main cats on the new line! I would NOT call these lines "crappy"... I know of another Toyline that I could call crappy...

I don't mean this as an attack to a certain brand manager who likes to wear purple spandex, but those Green Lantern toys were MEGA CRAPPY!

Now back unto the main topic:
A cartoon that was barely aired, a toyline plagued with several issues... Where have I heard that before?
I dunno, maybe if Cartoon Network had more spots advertising the show, or if the episodes were aired more than once... maybe, we could have gotten a second season. The death of the show is what bothers me the most. but it's OK cause we have plenty of Annoying Orange now...

the Tragedy of Princess Glimmer

Ah, Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon, the Princess whose real name eludes me... Cause she hasn't gotten a MOTUC figure...

This is Glimmer, the guide who Lights the way!
The Real Leader of the Great Rebellion!!

As I said, she's the Princess of Bright Moon, so that would make her mother Queen and her father King... and That little fact made her parents targets to the world conquering Evil Horde... They kidnapped her father, captured her mother and poor Glimmer was left off to fend herself. She gathers a few people who are extremely pissed of at Hordak and his Evil Horde, cause they're evil and are pillaging and looting the heck out of Etheria. These folks are what we know as The Great Rebellion!!

-"Hold on a minute! Isn't Adora the Leader of  The Great Rebellion?"
"I thought Glimmer was the brat of the group!"

I was half expecting that. We WILL Get there... So here we have Glimmer a girl who became an orphan in a sense... Both of her parents prisoners of the Horde. Robbed of her Childhood, Glimmer is pretty much forced to "grow up". Some of her so-called childish behavior could be due to her sill being too young and robbed of her childhood. Now to make matters worse, an usurper takes her spot as "Leader of the Great Rebellion!" I'm talking about

I'm talking about the Former Force Captain of the Evil Horde who is a real flake... Come on! she's trained her whole life on Horde Warfare. I'm sure that she'd be pretty useful in Battle... But there's always something with her not showing up for battle.

Bow: "Oh no! the Horde is attacking Bright Moon! We need to do something, Adora!"
Adora: "Sorry, Bow! I'm riding the cotton Pony!"

Castaspella: "Adora! I was wondering if you could ask your brother to come over!
Adora: "uhhhh...  Sorry, Casta! I'm watching a Spector Who Marathon..."

Sure, the Adorites will probably say, those are her lame excuses in order for her to transform into She-Ra... and that ISN'T The POINT!! The point is that once Adora and She-Ra joined the Rebellion, Glimmer became a Sidekick... and one easily replaced to boot! Cause she was "Demoted to Extra" in the later episodes of the Cartoon...

This is why Bow freaking LOVES the Great Rebellion! 

Glimmer is pretty much the Princess of Power version of Midge...(as in Barbie's Best Friend) but without the whole getting knocked up and watchdog groups complaining about her being preggo without a ring on her finger... or some other crap like that! Also Midge was replaced as Barbie's best friend... and is nowhere to be seen in her current movies... kinda like Glimmer!

Now I have to tackle the Snout Spout in the room... Masters of the Universe Classics... Y'all knew it was inevitable. It was stated pretty much on the very second sentence of this rant!! There is very little Princess of Power in MOTUC... I've already mentioned how most of  the Vintage MOTU characters that were key players in the cartoons have made it to the line, while POP is severely Lacking...
I mean, would the Vintage MOTU fans be OK if they had:
Prince Adam
He-Man
Thunder Punch He-Man
Battle Cat
Teela
Skeletor
Sy-Klone
Stratos
a 3 pack of He-Ro, King Grayskull,Vikor
Shokoti

I bet you'd be pissed cause there is no Man-at-Arms, right? Well, that's the problem with Glimmer!
She's important to the canon, due to her role as First Leader of the Great Rebellion. She's a Wave 1 She-Ra Character (like her or hate her, you can't deny her importance) SHE's as important to She-Ra as Man-at-Arms is to He-Man (except the fact that she doesn't know She-Ra = Adora)

This actually proves my theory wrong!
I never expected to see people cosplaying as Angella

To make things WORSE Adora theoretically gets BOTH of her Love interests... (Sea Hawk if you go with the toons, Bow if you go with the toys and his perverted fantasies... Cause he's NOT GAY!! No, really, he is not!) Glimmer won't GET ANY!! Her Toon Love interest is really obscure... also What a super original name he had... Romeo... and her Toy love interest never made it to Toy form cause of Potato salad...

I still can't believe how such an important character is being left behind... It's not like we had to wait 4 years to get Man-at-Arms or Teela!  With that said, Glimmer is a character too important to be left behind... Sure, it's cool to have Star Sisters or Netossa (on 2013) but getting Snout Spout or the Meteorbs is not as awesome as Getting MAA... Yes, I'm repeating myself here just to emphasize her importance. No matter how annoying, or childish she might seem, her role in Etherian History is VERY IMPORTANT and that's why she deserves more attention than the Vikors, Demo-Men, Laser-Lots, Fighting Foe Men, Gygors, Cy-Chops, etc.
Now, don't get me wrong, those guys are cool and all that, but if the line ends without Glimmer representing the PoP side of MOTUC, I'm going to be VERY pissed off.

I'd like to point out that having Glimmer being Jealous of Adora's role on the Rebellion was roughly 70 episodes too late! Seriously, 86 episodes into the show and NOW Glimmer feels jealous of Adora?
It kinda feels like everybody hates Glimmer!

Man, Battleship Really DOES SUCK!!

I finally sat down and saw Battleship: the movie... I already knew it was going to suck, but I didn't expect it to suck this much! there will be spoilers...

OK, the movie stars that guy from John Carter or Gambit from X-Men Origins:Wolverine... There's also Eric Northman from True Blood, Jedi Master Qui-Gon or Aslan, Rhianna (blegh!), some swimsuit model, and some other people no one seems to care about... and by no one I mean me!

Here's the Plot: NASA sends some signals to a planet that has the same characteristics as Earth. Some dude that no one cares about makes a joke about this being like Colombus and the indians but we are going to be the indians... foreshadowing... oooooooo!

we are now with Gambit and Eric Northman hanging out on a bar, where Eric makes Gambit look like a loose loser. He sees the swimsuit model and tries to get into her pants, but she wants a chicken burrito... Very important! So, Gambit tries to get a burrito at a closed convenience store. Now that doesn't stop him from breaking and entering into said store... cause getting laid is reason enough for breaking and entering. He gets TASERed and arrested, but he gives her the burrito. Now Eric Northman is pissed off at Gambit and forces him to join the Navy...

Sadly there was no reference to this song in the whole movie. There's some celebration in the Navy... Some Navy World Cup thing... just an excuse to have an America vs Japan Soccer match. Some Japanese dude whose name is Yugi

that's the only character whose name I remember... As I was saying This Yugi dude kicks Gambit in the face. Gambit and Mr. Northman discuss strategies and Gambit does the Penalty kick (and fails.) making America lose against Japan... in Hawaii. Swimsuit Model is apparently some sort of Doctor and she's going to marry Gambit if he asks her hand in Marriage to her father. Sounds easy, right?

Why hasn't anyone spliced this audio with images of Aslan... or Qui-Gon is beyond me...
As I was saying, Gambit got into a fight with Yugi in the bathroom of the USS Missouri (a Battleship... Ooh! clever!) instead of asking for Swimsuit's hand in marriage. Now they're going to kick him out of the Navy... after the marine exercises!
So we've got a marine exercise interrupted by...

Like it has always been on Battleship!

And now the "fun" Begins! 5 Alien spaceships land on Earth. 4 on the Pacific and one on Hong Kong...

Pretending to be a Michael Bay movie... The Ship that crashed on Hong Kong...

Back to the Battle of ships. Rhianna (ugh!) Some dude and Gambit check out the crashlanded stuff and the alien ships come to life. They create a Forcefield that encloses the "game area" and they shoot the crap out of Eric Northman's ship... cause he had to film a season of True Blood or something... The ships are being sunk by alien missiles that look like the pegs from the game.

Gambit goes kamikaze on the alien ships but is stopped by his crew: Rhianna (blegh!) some ginger dude that I've seen somewhere but can't quite put my finger on it and a dude from Power Rangers... (The recent shows) and they save the Japanese, including Yugi... and now they have to fight the Aliens...
Aliens destroy stuff. Meanwhile, Dr. Swimsuit Model is helping a veteran who lost his legs to stop being a sourpuss. They are forced to leave the area by cops cause Aliens are attacking. Later they meet the other guy... the one from the beginning of the movie with the lame joke about Colombus... him.

Back to Captain Gambit and his eclectic Crew!They caught an alien! They take off his helmet and he's a weird humanoid... thing! More aliens come and rescue this one. Nothing worthwhile except maybe one Alien channeled his inner Chris Brown... (Too much of a low blow?) They discover that Aliens are sensitive to sunlight and they use that AFTER taking too long to set up a nod to the board game. The Aliens sink their ship and they use the Battleship from earlier in the movie to kick some alien butt... Now Captain Gambit asks Qui-Gon for Dr. Swimsuit's hand in marriage, but the Jedi Master says no, but wants to eat a Chicken Burrito with Gambit... END credits! There's a post-credits scene which I will not spoil... Not spoild the post-credits movie after spoiling the whole thing seems pretty douchy so here it is! More Aliens!! In Scotland!

I saved you the trouble of watching the whole thing! I guess it's not much of a review when the title is called: "Man, Battleship really DOES SUCK!!"
Heck the videogame of the Movie is not EVEN a Battleship game! It's a Call of Duty clone... Why!?

Did I LIKE ANYTHING from the movie? I chuckled at the whole "Burrito to get laid" scene. I found the scene where the alien punches Rhianna somewhat amusing... (which musn't be translated to "I love women getting beat up!") I mean, aside her singing she's pretty well known for being an abuse victim by (her ex-now-current-boyfriend or something) Chris Brown. I found it pretty ballsy to throw an indirect nod towards that incident... (My extreme dislike of Rhianna has nothing to do with it...) in a "oh no you didn't just do that" kind of way.

Everything else I LOATHED!! The Plot, the Aliens, Rhianna, pretty much made the movie unenjoyable...
Why am I singling out Rhianna as an object of loathing? Simple: What she represents. She is there because she's a popular singer and they need to fill in those seats somehow. In a way I am glad that they didn't get Michelle Rodriguez for that role... (It would fit her stereotypical "tough chick role" that she is typecast always.) At the same time I would have gladly taken Michelle Rodriguez over Rhianna.

Why couldn't they have done a movie about a Naval War Game? I still stand that Down Periscope was a better Battleship movie than Battleship... If you want to describe this movie in just one word, swap the p in Battleship for a t... then remove Battle... or keep it if you'd like to...

It came from the Toy Chest: I'm Pie-Winning!

Cause every day is a PARTY!! and now the parties are going to be LARGER!! Cause I got a Fashion Style Pinkie Pie!!

Twilight sparkle is the best Gatling gun! 

Now my Fashion Style Rainbow Dash won't be alone... 2 down 4 to go... 5 if we count the Elusive SDCC Derpy... who is on this scale.

She's gonna throw a BIG PARTY!!

 And like the Smaller Pinkius Piecus Jumbo Pinkie Pie is pretty much a normal MLP Fashion Style Pony should be... Let's get to the Ratings part
Articulation:

 Pinkie only has 1 Point of Articulation and is due to the rooted hair. I already complained about the Ponies' lack of articulation before. Almost 30 years and no improvement in the POA!As an Action Figure collector Pinkie would get a 1 here... but since it's the MLP Standard that would translate to a 4 in a MLP collector scale.

 Paint and sculpt: 

 Well there's not much to talk here... She's pretty much molded in pink and the extra stuff is tampographed. Her sculpt is similar to the standard MLP stuff... The rooted hair makes her look not too show Accurate... 3

Still no Gummy... but she has Cupcakes!!

Accessories:
Pinkamena Diane jumbo Pie brings a brush, a set of 5 barrettes (one with real soft goods ribbons), a tiara, shoes, a saddle to carry a tray(w/lid) full of CUPCAKES!! 13 accessories that I would not get too much use from... OK Maybe the Cupcakes...

  
4.5

If I tried this pic with any other Pony it would
be weird, but screw Physics, I have Pinkie Pie

Overall:
As a normal Action Figure, we know that Pinkie Pie sucks! 2.83 is her score compared to a MOTUC or a Transformer or a GI Joe... which isn't fair cause she's a PONY!! Using the Special Pony curve she gets a: 3.83!

Excuuuuuuuuse me Princess! a LoZ series review

Legend of Zelda, the TV series... Infamous for "butchering" the precious Legacy that is The Legend of Zelda... To be fair, there wasn't THAT MUCH of a Legacy back then. Just the first 2 NES Games...
and THIS was what we had as Story:
Evil Pig-Monster-thing Ganon owns the Triforce of Power and wanted the Triforce of Wisdom. Princess Zelda hid her Triforce inside 8 dungeons before she was captured by Ganon. Zelda's maid, Impa, located a young courageous man (Link) to recover the Triforce pieces and Save Zelda.

Link saves Zelda, Kills Ganon, becomes a Hero. Now a second quest awaits him... There is a THIRD Triforce... (well, it should have been expected cause it's the TRIforce, not the BIforce) and he has to save Princess Zelda's ancestor... wait for it... Princess Zelda... (Ancent rule of Hyrule dictates that all girls born of Royal blood be named Zelda after the Original Zelda... the one Link has to save now) But most of this does not appear on the cartoon... cause that is mostly based on the first game.

So, how can a cartoon butcher this so-called Legacy since the story from the cartoon is very close to the first game (with some liberties taken of course). Also this show was mostly written by Bob Forward...
Yes, THAT Bob Forward... He wrote some of the cooler She-Ra Episodes!
Horde Prime takes a Holiday, Sweet Bee's Home (More references to that IF/when I get MOTUC Frosta), Flowers for Hordak,
He also wrote THE PROBLEM WITH POWER!! One of the best He-man Episodes!! How could this go wrong!?


As you can see the intro doesn't spare you from the infamous Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess!
The cartoon doesn't stray far from the original premise. There are some liberties taken cause of the cartoon format. I also must remind everyone that this is an 80 Cartoon... Which helps explain some of its drawbacks.

To be fair, the people behind this show only had THIS as a storyline:
"Evil Pig-Monster-thing Ganon owns the Triforce of Power and wanted the Triforce of Wisdom. Princess Zelda hid her Triforce inside 8 dungeons before she was captured by Ganon. Zelda's maid, Impa, located a young courageous man (Link) to recover the Triforce pieces and Save Zelda."

So, the Storyline became something like this:
Evil Pig-Monster-Thing Ganon owns the Triforce or Power and wants the Triforce of Courage that Princess Zelda owns. Link is tasked to protect the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon with help of Princess Zelda and a fairy named Spryte.


We had NAVI long before NAVI was born... and Sprite wants Link... BADLY... She might be 3 inches tall, but she makes Frosta look like a prude.

Spryte was also voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, but I haven't found a pony to match her Spryte voice.

Ganon is your generic 80s bad guy. He moans, complains, tries something, gets foiled by Link and/or Zelda, tries again.
Zelda gets kidnapped a few times, but she's not completely helpless (She's saved Link's butt a few times.) She can be incredibly bitchy at times though
Link is cocky, arrogant and desperate to get in Zelda's pants. He's not like the videogame Link. To be fair, Link never had any personality... He's just really brave and does everything in his power to get the Triforce back. (this is pre- "break into your house and destroy all of your pottery, harass your poultry, lawnmowing for money" Link that everyone loves. So, I don't really get all the complaining about this show "ruining" Link as a character.

I Had vague memories of this show when I began this undertaking... 99% of them were EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME PRINCESS!! and remembering enjoying it more than I did the Mario show. (I dare say that I enjoyed it even MORE than Captain N: The Game Master... except the Captain N Episodes where Link appeared)

It's Not the best 80s cartoon, but it is enjoyable. I thought that the three hours and few minutes of Zelda would have been a horrible chore, but it was more pleasant than I thought. If I were to rate it in a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is crap and 10 is awesome... I'd have to give The Legend of Zelda a 7.1 rating... By the end of the thirteenth Episode I wanted more... Looks like I'll have to hunt the Captain N episodes where Link and Zelda show up...

Haley Joel Osment can see the first man on the moon!

I know that this is a bit of old news but Neil Armstrong is dead. He died of complications after a bypass surgery.

82 and humble... I salute Mr, Armstrong, a hero for Humanity.

Now, Haley Joel Osment is also watching a cool actor, a powerful actor, one who singlehandedly saved a crappy Ben Affleck movie... and he also VA'd the only non-sucking character from a crappy Ryan Reynolds movie...

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, Michael Clarke Duncan is dead and this sucks.

He died of heart issues. He will also be missed.

May they rest in Peace

The Sub should NOT BE the ONLY WAY

Buy the sub or MOTUC dies! Yes, I fell victim to the promotion. I DID NOT BUY a sub (Logistics, no guarantee on getting my items) now I'm going to try and ramble about the system, it's pros and cons (in my eyes) and why sticking to this system as the only solution will be the downfall of the Line!!

Now, how did the sub came to be?
 Back on its first REAL year of the line, 2009, Super fast Sellouts, Red Screen of Death, Server issues were plaguing Mattycollector... This made getting product Hard. Luckily Mattel thought of a way to SOLVE the issue until they could upgrade their servers for those who wanted ALL of the MOTUC figures available. A Subscription. The first one went into effect for the latter figures of 2009 (Tri-Klops, Teela, Scareglow and Randor IIRC) and one for 2010 (where you'd have all the 2010 figures delivered to you and as an added bonus you got an extra not really free figure delivered for you... Wun-Dar, the Wonder Bread He-Man... cause the sub Membership costs the same as a 13th figure.) This was meant to complement the sales on Matty every 15th. Matty still wanted traffic to their site, hence the additional items like Variant slots, Weapon packs and Beast Slots. The first beast was Battle Cat... who sold out pretty fast, cause it's FREAKING BATTLE CAT!!

 People missed out on Battle Cat and wanted an option to add the "bonus Figures" and "Beasts" to the subscription. So, Mattel did this by incorporating the beasts and variants into the 12 figure sub... They claim that they couldn't and STILL CAN'T DO TIERED SUBS... They couldn't have made the variants and beasts their own sub for people who want all, buy both subs, people who only want beasts and variants could have bought the  B&V sub, people who want the 12 figures, no beasts or variants could have bought the normal sub. Mattel couldn't do that it was "ALL" or Nothing... even though it's never ALL-IN cause Weapon packs, vehicles and some figures (SDCC exclusives, KG 2.0, BP She-Ra) were non-sub items. Cause they need people to visit Mattycollector (and hopefully buy other stuff while they;re there.)

So, 2011 had its all-in sub and so did 2012... He-Man's 30th anniversary. Mattel made 6 additional figures to celebrate this anniversary. (I've talked about them in the past already. Photog, Draego, Spector, SLL, Cy-chop and Castle Grayskullman) Fans asked for a separate sub for them and guess what? MATTEL ACTUALLY DID an EXTRA Sub... what they couldn't do for variants and beasts when implemented was now doable...

 Mattel became complacent with the sub-system... What was meant to be a "MacGyver" to fix the server issues transformed into Mattel's main focus. Less risk for them if everyone is locked in for 12 figures Beasts + variants. Little effort on their part, cause everyone is locked in and there is no fear of "left over stock" aside the "small percentage" kept for Day of sale. Now having the Day of sale is very important. People who collect the line and did not subscribe for whatever reason SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE PRODUCT (preferably from Mattel). Now Mattel wants to ELIMINATE the DAY OF SALES... cause there is even LESS risk for them.

This MAKES SENSE in a way. For Mattel, but at the same time is a double-edged sword. Eliminating the Day of Sales is basically eliminating old customers who cannot subscribe (due to whatever reasons) new customers who could be potential subscribers AND Current subscribers who'd like to have an extra of some characters and/or beasts. Now how can the customer base grow when the only chance for it is in 2 weeks during July? Eliminating the Day of Sales Eliminates the Need for the SHOP on the Mattycollector site. (Which is the main reason for the site to even exist...) A store that's only open for 2 weeks a year? that makes no sense!

The Sub only works for the Completist. Not for the person who wants some figures, because there's the extra hassle of selling "the unwanted ones". Selling the Product is Mattel's job, not mine. It kinda feels like Mattel is passing the risk factor on the customer... and that's not cool... turning fans into resellers. Why this is bad for Mattel?

Let's pretend that I'm a MOTUC collector and subscriber but my main interest is Vintage MOTU and I want Granamyr.
I don't want the Star Sisters, Slush Head, Shadow Weaver, Griffin, Snake Men  2 pack, Frosta, Dekker, Procrustus, Horde Prime, SMAA, and Filmation Randor.
To move the Sisters I'd have to take a hit... Maybe Sell them at $40+ shipping to be able to get rid of them.
Sure I could recoup SOME of those hits with Shadow Weaver but that's 10 items I'd have to sell cause Procrustus comes in December... That's $270 out of $510 (without shipping) Roughly HALF of the total cost of the sub that I MAY or may not recover by reselling. I could buy almost 4 Granamyrs had I not been forced to buy these characters that I don't want. Here's the thing: If they DO eliminate DoS and stick to sub only, I'd be forced to buy stuff that I DON'T WANT in order to get what I WANT... or pay a lot more from resellers... which means even LESS of my money for Mattel.


Sub Pros:
-You get to order all 12 figures,  the Beasts & Variants
-Subscription exclusive figure
-Extra stickers (if available)
-slightly lower price on items  vs Day of Sale customers (difference is very small once you factor in the Sub Exclusive. and non-existent if they go to Sub-Only)
-chance to Pre-order some non-sub stuff (NEW)

Sub Cons:
-If you're not a completist, you're forced to buy stuff that you do NOT want.
-If you want extras of a said character or beast you MUST DO a separate order (You're screwed if they go Sub-Only and Kill Day of Sales)

I know that there are more pros to getting a sub than there are cons, but that is not the issue. The issue is he feeling that the Non-Subscriber Money is not good enough for Mattel.
There was a time where Mattel wanted the items to last for a few weeks so "every collector could get them". Now items are a failure if they don't sell out in 10.seconds.flat? How does that make any sense?

Eliminating the Day of sales will be a step in the wrong direction and could end the line sooner than expected, which is something we don't want as demonstrated on the save the line for 2013 where fans got Saurod and Blade's actors to chime in (and beg for MOTUC versions of their characters)... no not THAT Blade... the one from the MOTU Movie...

Again, if you can subscribe and are happy with getting ALL the figures, then do so. That is NOT what I'm complaining about. My rant is more on "How Mattel painted themselves into a corner by making a temporary solution The only way to buy their product".  To further understand their logic would mean that we'd need to speculate about sub numbers vs production numbers and a bunch of statistics and economics info that I don't have or want to deal with if I had the info. We'd need to figure out WHY the subs dropped and that's another topic for another rant (that I hope I don't have to do)

Sorry for the lack of pics or video distractions, but this is a more serious topic to rant about.