Feb 27, 2015

Only Sulu, Chekov, Uhura and Kirk are left...


Not the best way to end February, but I'm afraid to say that Leonard Nimoy has passed away.
The man behind Spock, Master Xehanort, The Narrator in Seaman for the Sega Dreamcast, Galvatron in Transformers: The (much better) Movie, Dr. Jekhyll and Mr. Hyde on the Pagemaster and many other roles... but most of them involve Spock in some way. He is also rumored to have done some of Unicron's lines in Transformers: The (not a crappy Michael Bay) Movie.



Spock was able to knock down Logan with a Vulcan Nerve Pinch... (yes this was a comic and Wolverine recovered, but Spock beat Logan with one move.)









While you may no longer be tied to this realm, Mr. Nimoy, I echo the salute of your character Mr. Spock. Live long and Prosper in this new plane you're in. Thanks for all the hard work to entertain generations.


Feb 26, 2015

Ducktales WOOHOO!!

Is getting a rebooted series on Disney XD...

but for the 21st Century... Color me intrigued...
Now that I mentioned the bit of news, it's Rantin' Time!

-I'm afraid of CG being used... Or a mega Stylized look (as seen on the new Mickey shorts).
-I fear the Remixed theme... Dubstep versions... AWHELLNAW!!
-I fear redesigns on some characters... Launchpad is the one who I'm very worried about.

Now for the Good!
-Blathering Blatherskite!!! a 21st Century Gizmoduck!? THIS I HAVE TO SEE...
-Donald will have some more appearances than he did in the 80s? This I want to see. I always felt that Ducktales needed a bit more Donald.
-This could open the door to ANOTHER show that I'd love to return!

And not to mention that Ducktales was a nice part of many peoples' childhoods... and a part of





Ooh! we surely could use a return of some of those Disney afternoon shows.
(especially if it means the return of a show with Greg Weisman at the helm.)

Feb 25, 2015

Brandon Sopinsky of Mattel dropped us a bomb.

The new guy in charge of design, Brandon Sopinsky is the Matty go-to guy now doing the Matty videos. In his latest video, he dropped us a bomb...

If you watch the video you'll see Point Dread! Guess SOME of the rumors were true!
Check out THAT TEELA...
She has a nice badonkadonk... and that means only one thing: Teela + Nice badonkadonk = Filmation Teela!

Here's the thing: Seems that the new Point Dread is roughly one and a half figure tall...
Not quite as big as I wanted it to be, but I'm not sure how well it compares to the vintage one.

I KINDA Like it, but the rumored $150-$200 tag scares me a little bit... Mostly because I'm mostly indifferent to the vintage Point Dread... Now the only thing that is tempting me to buy it is DAT ASS!! Yeah, it sounds sexist as Hell, but I don't give a damn!!
You all know how I say that 9 out of 10 times I choose 200X designs over Vintage? This would be one of those 1 out of 10 times.
Dayum! Filmation Randor, Teela, MAA, Marlena, Adora, Orko, Cringer, Sorceress, Shadow Beasts, the entire MOTUC POP Roster... (and we have some people bitch about a few 200X items in the line.)

But yes, FILMATION TEELA... The One Teela I dreamed of getting as a child is now happening in Classics... IF RUMORS Are True. If they are true, then this Teela will be sold in Scalper prices on Mattycollector... but you get an additional Point Dread and possible Talon Fighter with her.

I don't want to guess the Secondary Market Price on Point Dread and Bootilicious Teela. Seriously, People have complained about paying $100+ for a Teela on eBay and Mattel gives us a Teela that we'll have to pay OVER $100 to get on Matty.

It Came from the toy chest: Wibbly wobbly Lamey wamey toys

Don't buy. Buy and you're dead. They are tempting. More temptier than you can believe. Don't pick them from their pegs. Don't put them in your cart. And don't buy. Good Luck!


If you've seen a certain show from across the pond...(get it?) then you have probably guessed the reference I made with the introduction... Along with the Title.
I got a pair of Doctor Who toys (on Clearance) when I was doing the research for my recent Action Figure Woes. I hadn't had time to review them and when I did, (last night) my files were corrupted and I lost the video review... I even appeared on camera doing an awful Doctor impression...
That is why there are stock photos of the MOC items.

I will not even bother with a standard photo review because these toys are crap!

I already had an issue with the Doctor not having the Sonic Screwdriver. That's like having a He-Man without a Power Sword, or a MASK driver without the Mask! Seeing as the Doctor is SMALLER than a GI Joe, losing the Sonic Screwdriver is a huge risk for loose collectors... The paintjob on these is sloppy especially on the humans. I skipped Amy Pond because all the Ponds had something horrible going on with their faces. I swear one of them had an eye on her forehead. It vaguely looks like Tennant, from some angles after squirting lemon juice in my eyes.
These figures have slightly below average articulation... for a collector line. They do have more PoA than some current kids' line.
The Doctor only has 12 PoA. Nothing below the knees.

Now I'll talk Dalek:
MEGA FRAGILE THIN PIECES. The eyestalk on mine broke and I lost a bit of range in the articulation while gluing it together.
For a cheap children's toy, the Dalek is serviceable. The Whisk arm and Plunger are on ball joints, while the Eyestalk can move up and down. (like a lever)

If I were to rate them:
The Doctor's scores would be:
2.5 in articulation
2.0 in paint and sculpt
2.0 in accessories
2.17 overall

The Dalek's scores would be:
5.0 in articulation
4.5 in paint and sculpt
0.0 in accessories.
3.17 overall

The Daleks seem to be the least crappy in articulation and sculpt... For a Dalek. They hit the right notes there. The lack of accessories is no big issue, since it's a Dalek. Having breakability issues makes me not able to recommend it.

Even at $6 these are not worth it. They are smaller than most figures, and larger than Hasbro's new crappy offerings. Not compatible with anything hurts display options and the poor QC makes them WORSE than a Happy Meal toy.

It's a shame. I wish we could get good Doctor Who toys aside the nifty role play items.

Feb 24, 2015

Marvel seems to be going SJW for their Spidey Casting choice...

There's a rumor going on that the Spidey that will appear in the cinematic universe is not going to be white. I vaguely mentioned that Spidey needs to be the real deal and left it at that.

If the rumor is true then Marvel has lost it to the SJW crowd... the ones who don't read comics, but bitch and moan about Power Girl's Boob Window, or why there aren't any gay trans Filipino ice powered heroes who are also furries on their spare time... to name a VERY small niche group. (nothing against homosexual trans furry Filipinos) I'm OK with using established "Minority" characters... or if needed making a new one. What I LOATHE, HATE, DESPISE and not enjoy is taking a white character and changing his race or gender "just because"... or "Diversity!!"

If you google "Who is Spider-Man?" the definitive answer is Peter Parker. (Green Lantern always points to Hal Jordan, even though there have been many after Jordan and one before him.) the cinematic Spidey needs to be the Iconic Spidey... Even in the dead Ultimate Universe, Peter Parker was Spider-Man for 11 (real world) years... Until Marvel went SJW and killed Parker to replace him with a black latino kid. Axel Alonso can say that this is not a PC move, but it totally is. Many aren't buying this charade. (sadly there are a bunch of gullible fools who are buying it.)
In order for even Miles to exist, the world NEEDS a Peter Parker to exist.

People are not tired of Peter Parker... Those who say they are should not be believed. They are pushing the SJW agenda. Especially if they mention Donald Glover or any other actor who doesn't resemble Peter Parker. Now the thing People are tired of is RETELLING THE EFFING SPIDER-MAN ORIGIN ALL OVER AGAIN!!
IF I were to introduce Spidey into the Cinematic Universe, I would have done an adult Spidey... We don't need the High School Parker drama all over again. (I already mentioned this in a past rant.)
Now with a "Veteran" Spidey we HAVE enough reason to eventually add Miles Morales to the mix.

But going into the article itself, one tidbit made me laugh out loud...
“I really feel strongly. Sony has an opportunity to beat Marvel and DC to the punch with a major black comic book character. Like I mentioned last week, the emails that leaked were perceived as racist in some quarters. I really think that’s going to play into things.”

This is the train of thought that is hurting the comic book industry (and their film counterparts)
FOX already won that battle with the Horrible F4 Reboot. But even Before that DC had a Horrible movie with a Black Lead... Catwoman anyone? And while not exactly a major black character, Blade was the first good Comic Book based Movie that lead to where we are now. But that's not the real point I want to make. The idea that we're looking at a character's skin color instead of making a GREAT Super Hero Movie is what is worrisome.


Feb 23, 2015

Action Figure Woes: What's worse? Crap on the shelves or empty pegs?

Recently, I've been able to see the toys department of various stores and a few Toy Stores and what I saw was depressing. Craptacular 3 3/4" Hasbro Toys with barely 5 points of articulation demanding the same price as past MARVEL UNIVERSE Figures with GI Joe-esque articulation. In some stores there were Derp-eyed Leias and Greedos from SWB... In others, some Ewan MCGregors Obi Warming shelves. Few dregs from the Marky Mark movie... 1 or 2 rat traps. Long story short, it was sad... The girls aisle didn't fare any better. Very little Pony aside from redos of the Mane 6. a few Littlest Pet Shop stragglers but the Equestria Girls stuff was scarce...

The Mattel side didn't fare any better. WWE figures and SOME Hot Wheels seem to be the only thing moving. DC's Total Heroes seem to keep those pegs warm and toasty! Seeing a Max Steel straggler with a huge clearance tag brought a tear to my eye. The pink aisle is not that good either...
Monster High and Ever After High are peg warming... In one of these retailers, the MH Dolls were gathering DUST!!

Playmates... I've barely seen nick turtles stuff. Only the movie stuff and that is peg warming the hell out of everything. The worst part is that I NEVER SAW ANY OF THE CLASSICS at Toys R Us... The store that has them as exclusives... No 80s Toon Turtles nor 1990 TMNT movie Turtles. Not even a Rocksteady or Bebop...

I've seen a few Power Rangers stuff, from Megaforce and Super Megaforce... No Dino Charge stuff yet.

The sad thing is that some of these stores have reduced the size of their toys department. It seems like action figures and dolls are becoming a thing of the past and it saddens me a little bit. Then again, seeing how companies are making crappier product and expect people to pay the same price as better toys they made a few years ago pisses me off.

This scares me since toyfair had a lot of cool toys coming from funko, hasbro and other companies that will have to struggle with the shrinking toy aisles and lack of general appeal from children (and some of the toys shown can be considered niche lines to SOME Adult collectors.)

Feb 20, 2015

AquaMomoa might be the only good thing of Not Quite Justice League...

I HATED Gal Gadon't as WW. The picture of her in the drab WW suit confirmed my fears... Then again, I'm a bit wary of Batfleck...
So, I'm or was uninterested in seeing where this would go until I saw this:
I have to admit, this looks a lot cooler than Gal Gadon't as Not so Wonder Woman. It has me a bit interested in watching the Justice League Movie that is totally NOT a Justice League Movie.

But, we're at the House of Rants, where I'll bitch and moan about stuff...
Let's look at the Infamous Super Friends Aquaman for a moment...

Let's see if you notice something that the Zack Snyder movies seem to lack...

I'll give you a hint it Rhymes with Color or Colour if you're European or Canadian...

All I see is faded Flesh, black and what it seems to be a brass/gold colors very muted...
Where's the Orange and Green that Aquaman often wears?
Also, is it me or does that Aquaman look more like Roman Reigns cosplaying as Khal Drogo than it does Aquaman?

Even the lame talk to fish thing can be made cool...
Now don't get me wrong, the design looks cool... It's just that it's not AQUAMAN... Not to mention that Momoa as Aquaman is a very WTF choice... Seriously, the man screams VANDAL SAVAGE more than Aquaman... This is interesting, because Momoa has this badass thing about him and thanks to Superfriends, Aquaman needs A LOT of badassifying just to soften the stereotype of Aquaman sucks.

200X Sub is confirmed...

Old News is old... but Starting Monday, the Sub will be on Sale.
You must pay a $26 Fee to sign up for it. In exchange you'll get the 200X Head pack... Basically, you pay for the heads, when subbing. Same as past Club Eternias... and the Club Etheria mini sub.

Here's the rundown on the entire sub...
Yes, that's right! The one thing that couldn't be revealed on the Neitlich Era is now possible...
Holy crap!!

Here's the Rundown...

Callix in July
Evil Seed in August
Sub Exclusive Head Pack is sent in August with Evil Seed for subbers.
King Chooblah *(Kulatak Elder) in September... looks like I was wrong.
Ceratus in October
Queen Grayskull *(Veena: The First Sorceress) in November
Prahvus in December

You can go for Monthly, or for Quarterly. If you have a Club Eternia Sub in 2015 and want to save on shipping, remember to choose the same options as your Club Eternia subs so they can be combined in August.

As the Pharaoh known as Atemu would say in the Horrible dub by 4Kids: HUH!? WHAT'S THIS!?
The Head pack includes a Head for Clawful... We knew that. Snout Spout... 2 years after I got a third party head, but at least we have one with a non-rotten trunk... Roboto... (We should have gotten a full variant of him, not just a head) we knew this already. Sy-Klone... Looks like I'll have to repaint that head to match my figure... (will have to do some blending of multiple gold paints for him...) Buzz-Off... No mask... D'Oh! but we knew that... GRIZZLOR!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? WE ARE GETTING THE BADASS 200X GRIZZLOR HEAD? I hope this is not a mistake and we ARE getting that head, because I want, no I NEED! that head!




Yes, I'm doing the Crash Bandicoot victory dance as well!

Feb 19, 2015

Heist, Heist, baby!

Ugh! Really? I get to open up with a craptacular MS PAINT pic of a bundle of Vanilla Beans and Ice Cubes being behind bars?

People may interpret this wrong, but in any case, here's the correct interpretation:

VANILLA ICE ARRESTED!!
Yes, THAT Vanilla Ice... The same Vanilla Ice who did the Ninja Rap...
The Same Vanilla Ice who stole the Baseline from this song:


He also was on a Season of the Surreal Life...


among other stuff... Like House flipping.

Well, he got arrested for Burglary. Something about him stealing furniture, pool heater, bicycles, and other stuff. Cops found the stolen items on Ice's place...


Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not condoning the act of stealing BECAUSE it WAS Vanilla Ice. I'm just surprised that ICE would bring the stuff to HIS PLACE... That was boneheaded!

Whatever happened to that Max Steel Movie?

I recall something about a Max Steel Movie being Filmed. I even heard that Andy García was involved in it... Something something the movie was meant to be released sometime this year...


There seems to be NOTHING GOING ON WITH THIS MOVIE... It's almost as if it was shelved... like the Roger Corman Fantastic Four movie...

I never got to see the second season of Max Steel... It was never aired on Disney XD...
Toys are reaching the clearance bins... I'll bite once they reach the We'll pay you but just take them, PLEASE!! Bins... and that's uncertain since I'll be getting a 200X Roboto head with the upcoming 200X mini sub, so I've no real need for a Max Steel head.

All of this effort put in for nothing? I kinda wanted to see the movie... I mean it couldn't have been as bad as Battleship... could it? Hopefully we'll hear something on Spring 2015.

Feb 18, 2015

Plays with Squirrels now hangs out with Raccoons?

This is some pretty cool news! I enjoy Will Friedle's voicework as much as I enjoy watching him on Boy Meets World. Now he is going to be playing Starlord on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Animated series. Sure, he's no stranger to playing Heroes before...

He's also been Bumblebee, Deadpool, Blue Beetle, among others.

He may not be a regular in Girl Meets World...(yet) but at least he is getting some cool gigs... Besides, the Universe owes him a big one after the dumbasses at Cartoon Network killed this piece of awesome!


Not only that, but he is also joined by another Thundercat... Kevin Michael Richardson as Groot...
NU Shredder is Groot...


Of course some dumbasses will whine about a VA not making him THE Character...
The reply of many who KNOW the characters will mention people like Kevin Conroy being THE BEST GOD DAMNED BATMAN EVER!! Or Mark Hamill being THE Joker... So, yeah! Go kick some ass, Mr. Squirrels!

Feb 17, 2015

Odds and Ends: America steals from GI Joe, Gex could come back

America: F-Yeah! and all that... Well, according to this site, America is trying hard to harness the power of Weather to wage wars in the future... Does this sound familiar?

Oh yeah! I gave it away in the intro. But the whole thing reeks of a Cobra plot...

What's next? Cold Slither? Seriously, when we have the US Military ripping off the plotlines of 1980s Children's cartoons, we must be reaching the bottom of the barrel in military strategies...

Square Enix may allow their crowdfunded platform to use some of their Dead franchises to be revived... You know what Franchise I'm a bit interested in?
Gex! But only if he's on a new 2D adventures... I'm not a fan of the 3D Gex games, to be honest...

There is another game I'd like for Square to revisit, but this would be nearly impossible for the crowdfunded platform to revisit this game and fix a lot of issues...

Yup! I'm talking about Xenogears! The infamous game where people want you to kill God.

But back to Gex: It would be cool to see a new game, especially now that 3D games can work the camera better and we have better graphics... (I would prefer a 2D game, but I think the majority would rule in favor of a 3D game.)

Perfect story there, mate! But we'll have to wait and see if anyone with enough knowledge to make games remembers GEX!!

Feb 16, 2015

What the Hell Hasbro!?

Pinkie Pie popping out of a cake? What in the name of Cthulhu are you thinking!?
image from Equestria Daily
Seems like Hasbro has a new MLP themed board game.
It's the Poppin' Pinkie Pie game.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a cartoon character aimed at little girls popping out of a cake like Erika Eleniak in a Steven Segal Movie...

This is a case of Toy company not thinking things through... or is it?

I am starting to think that Hasbro is doing this on purpose, because let's face it this Clop Material Pinkie is the perfect gift for a Brony whether their stance on clopping.

Then we have the target audience that is little girls who will not get the Pinkie being a stripper angle that this toy is (un)intentionally creating.
Now here comes the Problematic part.

Remember the dumb Florida Moron? Now, picture that fake outrage and add some Me-Soggy-Knees because it's a female pony jumping out of a cake and you have a perfect storm of First World Problems and manufactured rage. Think about it:
A toy designed for Little girls is making something sexist as a Stripper coming out of a cake to be fun! Wait! Did you say a toy for Little Girls is promoting Pornography!? BAN THE TOY! WE KNEW IT BROWNIES ARE PEDOPHILES! Before anyone can say Slippery slope, I say: Look at the past outrages on toys that have been "banned". They go for the kill before looking at the whole picture. In this case, it's hard to defend it.

The only positive outcome for the possible manufactured rage is that it'll sell like hot cakes. Quick money for HASBRO. Then people will flip it on eBay for an even quicker buck!
Remember the Mattel Nimbus 2000?

In any case Stripper Pie is not yet available...

Feb 15, 2015

NYTF Matty MOTUC reveals and stuff.

On the 11th, Mattel gave us a Little Caligar teaser of the 200X mini sub that was rumored...
Seems that Evil Seed AND Ceratus may be the starting guys on this sub...

This means that I may need to buy a second Ceratus to make a 200X Whiplash and demote my Mostly Vintage Whiplash with 200X head to Generic Caligar for Ceratus...

(As of the moment of writing this part of the rant, no official SUB Announcement has been made. You can easily add 1 + 1 and reach to Orange being the correct answer here.)
The whole 200X sub is making me feel like Jessie Spano...

On Friday the 13th... The worst day to get laid EVER!! Mattel sent the subscribers this image on an e-mail... a NYTF Reveal of...
A figure already revealed by Scott Neitlich before he left... Now don't get me wrong, Sssueeeze looks cool... a bit TOO Vintage for my tastes... Especially that Lazer Tag training Bra/Armor.
It's cool that we get an e-mail with a sneak peek to a figure, but this would have been a better way to toss in a teaser or two about upcoming figures. Like say BS Hordak's belt, or Mara's boot to name two figures.

Now that we're on the 15th the reveals have begun to appear...

200X sub? Confirmed. Callix, Evil Seed and Ceratus confirmed it. The sub exclusive is the infamous head pack...

Yes, I know. The 5 heads are: Clawful, Buzz Off, Sy-Klone, Roboto, and Snout Spout.

The Club Eternia Reveals are Mara and Peekablue. Mara looks amazing. Peekablu,  well, I can only use Two Words to describe her. Mara... Hoo boy! She's the Star of the show. As I feared, she's got the Ambassador and vintage proto looks  combined. (Not the Toga look) On the other hand, her ponytail looks cool and is not made of Stiff plastic. Also, the efforts to get a Crita figure have been doubled!

Peekablue looks a bit like Katy Perry but her weapon is a bladed fan... Needs two of those and a toothy clone!
I just read Peekablue's bio and I want to kick the bio writer in the gonads. Even if he works for company known as an LJN offspring.

I loved all of these reveals... There is something I also have to say: THANK GOODNESS THE HORSEMEN DID THE RIGHT THING BY DOING 200X EVIL SEED. A cloaked Artichoke is not Original, nor cooler. ASPARAGUS CARNAGE FOR THE WIN!!
Callix, who I wasn't that interested in... I'm now a believer!! The ax is also a crossbow? Coool!
Ceratus, well, I needs 2...

I'm surprised that we are getting 2 MOTUC females so close to each other. Peeks is on July and Mara in August.

With the official announcement of the 200X sub, the rumors that Veena was held back because too many females and is the September slot for club 200X, mean one thing: Club Eternia's Final slot is open for someone that is not Vintage MOTU, or Vintage PoP to get. The fear that Dare is closing the line grows stronger every day. Hopefully, they decide to screw Dare and give that slot to Crita.

Feb 14, 2015

Top 14 Females needed in MOTUC

Ah, Valentine's Day... Love is in the air... Seeing couples being together on this special day mostly sponsored by Jewelry stores, the Candy and Greeting Card Industries. I guess Flowers and Motels are popular too... Well, then there's also the loners on V-Day who LOATHE this hyper saccharine day that is full of legitimate and illicit sex... But since this is the House of Rants, let's do MOTU!!

Seeing that Valentine's Day is the 14th of February... Here's the Top 14 Women needed in MOTUC in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

#14: Drissi:
The Secret Princess of Primus, according to New Adventures of He-Man Writer, Jack Olesker.
I'm a fan of her and she's basically the NA Beast Man but more pleasing to the eyes. Mattel has most of the pieces to make her in MOTUC easily!!




#13: Hunga the Harpy:
I never said this list was a MOTU Hotties list. Only Females, which means that even disgusting Hunga can make it to the list. She would need a lot of new tooling, but having a non-Horde Female Villain is awesome!


#12: Starchild:
Weird, creepy glowy child... It was hard trying to find a picture of her WITHOUT He-Man looking like a creepy pedo around her.
She would have been a way better choice than the Pharaoh of Suck!
Besides it was either Starchild or Alisha from the Christmas Special!


 #11: Dree-Elle:
A very important Filmation character, who can totally reuse the Orko buck... I just can't believe that ever since the announcement of Filmation Rights acquired, we have NOT SEEN HER immortalized in Plastic. She is basically a new head on the Trollan buck!!
Seriously, releasing her and Montork would have been an easy way to reuse that little Trollan buck and make some money.





#10: Hawke:
A Female Avionian Warrior and Sister to Stratos. The reason I chose the 200X Look was to differentiate her from Delora, who should totally be Filmation styled.
Then there's the whole adding some 200X love to the line since it already looks VERY FILMATION HEAVY (counting that PoP figures are pretty much in their Filmation looks.)






#9: Delora:
As I mentioned with Hawke, Delora should grace us with her Filmation Look. The more Human look of Delora, vs the more bestial Hawke could be attributed to the whole Human Delora from the mini comic or Ladybird books... (Not sure which one right now) Something something Duncan builds her a Flight Suit so she can be with her Husband the Flying Ape Stratos. Filmation look also helps to make an easy Filmation Hawke! (Headswap/repaint)


#8: Queen Andreeno:
Buzz Off is not a King Bee! Beefolk need their Queen Bee! She was heavily ignored in the Neitlichverse. (I'd make a Toyguru writes like a misogynist, seeing that this is another female character he offed, but that's a rant for another day.)
She would be the perfect vehicle to bring Ambrosia into play and a second Buzz Off head that doesn't look like a Balloonpire.
#7: Illumina:
Emiliano Santalucia's creation for the 200X Comic that was cancelled before her first appearance, not to mention the TRUE WINNER of the 2012 "Fan Poll". Geldor stole the election!! Now that Neitlich is gone, Mattel should seriously consider trying to get her made. Not only this would be seen as an Olive Branch between Mattel and Emiliano, but she looks awesome! Blue Hunter Elf kind of character looks cool! She's also an MVC Comic Character, so that covers that corner of 200X.




#6:Melog:
Basically the She-Ra's Faker. I'd like all 3 modes, but I'd expect only the middle Mud Woman look. (the larger Mud Monster Mode COULD be made using male buck pieces, but for the sake of this list I'll use the feminine middle mud form). Must of the muddy look can be achieved by paint, if Mattel is a bit too lazy to have the horsemen sculpt a mud buck for her.





#5:The Enchantress:
If you've read my not rant but really long-winded timeline for MY Fan Continuity, I did have a somewhat reasonable role for this character.
The idea of an evil Bird themed magic user is cool. Something something disgraced Sorceress apprentice, something Miro. Boom! She is also a rather easy to make character for Mattel, since we already have most pieces for her.

#4:Despara:
Before I hear the alarms going off about a Variant making this list, hear me out! The only reason she is here is BECAUSE she looks so different to the MOTUC Adora that we can pass her off as a Different character. Since Despara is basically a disguise, one could argue that After Adora defected, Hordak used a second person inside the Despara outfit to keep Morale High. or something. Hell, I wouldn't put it past him to use a CLONE of Adora to use as Despara II (Which I may use in my fan continuity)



#3:Granita:
I found the MOTUC Rock people lacking... They are cumbersome to pose and take ridiculous amounts of space! The sad part is that these Stoned Space Hippies are missing their Stoned Space Hippie Girl! Also, They are all family... Stonedar is her father and Rokkon her brother... Interesting... The question is who is her mother and how do Rock People reproduce? OK, those are TWO questions!

#2:Veena:
There is a rumor of a 200X Subscription and that she is LIKELY to appear. (So, while I don't think we'll see a 200X Sorceress, the Preternian Sorceress would still allow me to do "Dear Princess Celestia" jokes.) She would help round up the Powers of Grayskull cast without touching the Neitlichverse characters...

#1:Crita:
This list wouldn't be complete WITHOUT Crita! Since Mara fills the Teela Role in New Adventures and she IS coming in 2015, then we NEED the one who is on the Evil Lyn role in New Adventures. If Mattel goes the Filmation route with Perfuma, then we have Crita's Skirt in Classics. Some creative parts reused and some new pieces would give us this wicked NA lady!






The list seems to be Filmation heavy BECAUSE Filmation used a LOT of Female characters in their shows. Some on this list Personally, I could live without, but they do have some demand... Kinda like Lizard Man, who I didn't care for (still don't) but people liked him.

I'm not saying: DO ALL OF THESE AT ONCE!! kind of thing. Just showing that there is plenty of stuff for Mattel to release BEFORE trying to look into the Neitlichverse characters that were created roughly a year ago. These 14 ladies have a lot more seniority than Hans Hammer Holder, Robo Woman or Man Crystal. Heck! that's not even touching variants like Snake Teela, 200X Sorceress, Teela-at-Arms from DC, NA Sorceress, Diplomatic Armor Marlena, Savage Catra, etc.

If there's plenty of Female Figures that are Needed in MOTUC, then thee is a buttload of males as well. Most of NA's Roster is MIA, so there you go. There's plenty of Filmation males left too! then we have Songster from the Power Tour, we have a few 200X male stragglers like Sortech, or the infamous ABC giants. All characters created BEFORE 2008 should be a priority for Mattel for these Anthology lines. (MOTUC and the Not MOTUC but compatible with MOTUC theoretical 2016 line)




Feb 13, 2015

It's not alright! The Lifetime (Television for womyn) version of SBTB

Based on the infamous book by notorious Stab Artist: Dustin "Screech Penknife Powers" Diamond, I got to see the Lifetime Original movie about Saved by the Bell.

Not even two minutes in and Fake Mark Paul Gosselaar pulls off a Zack Morris Time Out! Just to be stopped by The Stabinator himself! Or the kid playing the Screech! I have to say, that was a pretty clever move movie! Yup! this movie will try to paint our Bayside Dork who in reality was a bit of a Douche in a sympathetic light, while painting Mark-Paul as an evil douchebag.

32 minutes into the movie we're back to the beginning... This thing will not loop on itself... right?
Luckily it didn't loop on itself. It just kept painting the rest of the cast as villains and Screech as the victim... Until Screech says: NO MORE! He beats up a dude for calling him Screech! (Stabman begins)

It kept going on with the whole Poor Screech angle... and my verdict is It STINKS!!

The fact that Lifetime made a movie about a book ghostwritten by a guy who, according to Dustin Diamond himself, exaggerated and made up some stuff speaks leagues of how bad this is.

This was slightly better than The Room, then divide that amount by half and you get a better result.
Then the cast looked NOTHING like the characters they were playing...

I should have just Watched Friday the Thirteenth and done a review about that...

To wash off the horrible taste of bad SbtB from this stupid TV movie, have a bit of Jimmy Fallon!

Feb 11, 2015

Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Flee to Marvel when you can!

Apparently, the Facebook Spidey is out!! YAY! I'm not a fan of Andrew Garfield as PETER, but his Spidey was OK. But that's not the real good news...
The good news is that the NEW NEW Spidey will debut in the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE!! Sony finally saw the light and decided to join forces with Marvel to bring back Marvel's Flagship character back home.

Rumors are saying that The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man would make his first appearance on Captain America: Civil War. There were a few rumors going around when this deal was a theory that Marvel was hoping to do an older Spider-Man that has been around the block a few times and not the Teenage Rookie route... Well I have the perfect Actor to do that:


Yes, I want Tobey back just for this.


All jokes aside, here's why I agree with a Seasoned Spidey. (Doesn't have to be Tobey Maguire. That was partially a set up for a Civil War/Satan's Alley joke)

As I was saying, Here's why a "Seasoned Spidey" works better:

-No need to drag on Origin stories. Just a 30-90 second Flashback with a mild narration by Peter when talking with whomever (Cap/Tony, whatever) Basically condensing whatever origin story they want.

-His Street Level Vigilantism has kept him in a lower profile, with The Bugle being the only Newspaper really covering Spidey (MENACE, blah blah blah!). He's done it for a few years. (Started at 17, but he's now in his 20s) This can allow Marvel/SONY to bring some low level villains into the fold. (Thinking of folks like Shocker, Rhino, etc.)

-They could say that Fury tried to recruit him once, but Spidey refused. Spidey didn't trust SHIELD (something, something, SHIELD covering up the truth abut his parents' deaths... Or that some of OSCORP's funding was from SHIELD and Richard Parker stumbled into that.)

-Where was Spidey during the NY Battle with the Chitauri?  While he was not SEEN during the events of The Avengers, the movie can say that he DID help with the rescuing of civilians and taking them away from the battle zone. He couldn't stay and help because some policemen tried to take him down. (Spidey is a menace JJJ influence) Something something Protecting MJ and Aunt May from Chitauri or something.

-Where was he during the events of A2:AoU? Something, something, Daily Bugle assignment or the plot of one of the Spidey movies got in the way.

-Showing the ropes to the Rookie is a bit condescending when we are talking about MARVEL'S FREAKING FLAGSHIP CHARACTER! I'd rather have the Loner learns the value of Teamwork thing than having the Rookie learn the ropes. It would also help to take a jab at DC with their BvS movie and eventual Justice League by having Spidey play "the Batman" but with a sense of humor.

One more thing: The MCU Spider-man NEEDS TO BE PETER PARKER!! Not Ben Reilly the Spider-Clone, Kaine, Miguel O'Hara, nor Miles Morales, the SJW approved replacement of Spidey. If Sony and Marvel want to bring Spider-Man into the MCU, then we need the REAL DEAL!

Feb 10, 2015

Matty BS with SoKGS...


You know that King Grayskull: The Ecto Cooler Variant is $30... A Figure that is basically King Grayskull 1.0 (and non-removable armor), but with the Removable head of 2.0 casted in a Green GITD Plastic but only comes with a sword, shield and Axe. Not even a pair of Half Swords or the Orb from the Santa Variant...

Well, there is only one thing that comes to mind when describing this situation:



OK, that too, but what I mean is Spirit of Hordak. Zero new tooling, less accessories than the Normal Version of the character and it was overpriced. Well, Spirit of King Grayskull being at $30 makes him RIDICULOUSLY OVERPRICED!! My original plan was to get two and then get a He-Man head cast in GITD paint, but seems that it'll be cheaper for me to simply get a He-Man, Paint him in GITD Paint and add gloopy bits with hot glue or something to make a Slime Pit He-Man That way I skip King Overpriced. Seriously, even at the 2015 $26 for subbers and $28 day of sale, King Grayskull's Spirits would still be a bit TOO Expensive! I know I may get him on an other occasion... (and that would be THE ONE SoKG, because those two dollars are what put him over the threshold... At least Failmation Hordak had Imp as an incentive... and the cannon arm being interchangeable. Now that I know his green is Hard to match with other GITD stuff, his armor is non-removable, then I've zero need for a second one.)
He looks a bit cool, but I have bigger fish to fry this week. (especially those who live on THROUGH THIS ARM! If you know the reference, then you know who I'm hunting!!)

Update:
The so called culprit for the $30 price is supposedly the GITD Plastic... and that they ordered a lesser amount than normal.
Really?
Really??
RE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEALY!

That's what they're going with? Really? Once again, Mattel's shortsightedness astounds me.
They made less than normal amount of figures... Just like they did with Sea Hawk, Fang Man and Ninjor...


No one ever thought: Hey! Let's give them a Twofer! Let's have the KG with Removable cape and the new 200X He-Man head in GITD Plastic! That way they will buy TWO and have Spirit of KG AND Slime Pit He-Man! That way we can sell MORE OF THEM!!

Feb 9, 2015

Point Dread Rumors... The Rant

It has been a series of whispers going around the MOTUverse since the Departure of The Guru of Toys. Some say Snake Mountain in 2016 or beyond, but others mention Point Dread for 2015...
Point Dread has been on the Horsemen's mind and Mattel's ever since they were pitching Grayskull. You can see Point Dread's parapet on one of the pictures. There's a little He-Man head poking out the window to show a sense of scale of the thing.

This worries me. Another year that Mattel is overloading Q4 with a ridiculously expensive item. It's not so much Point Dread that worries me... It's The Talon Fighter what Scares me the most.

If I recall correctly, the Talon Fighter is a two-seat vehicle. Do the math... An item roughly as big as 1.75 Sky Sleds with a base slightly bigger than the area of the back end of the MOTUC Battle Ram.(Roughly based on how big the vintage items were compared to the Vintage Grayskull and using the MOTUC Grayskull as a scale reference.) I'm smelling an even more expensive item than the Battle Ram WITHOUT adding in a figure. If I wanted to be a dick, I'd add a new character in here... Seriously considering Zanthor the Enforcer since he's a Zodac redo with a new head. That would tie in to the Point Dread story where THE Cosmic Enforcer takes He-Man to find the Talon Fighter.

Could you easily justify paying $150-$200 (based on some of the rumors) for a Point Dread and Talon Fighter, when Castle Grayskull is a $300 item? ($250-$275 if you preordered it) Think about it. That is the likely pricepoint that Mattel would use. The bulk of the money would be invested on the  Talon Fighter itself since Point Dread is basically Two kinda small plastic shells (that theoretically would need as much plastic as a set of the Tiered Stands) and a little plastic computer piece, which is also another small shell. I can See the Talon Fighter on its own going into the $45-$55 price range and it would be reasonable. (The Wind Raider was a $45 item and that vehicle is supposed to be bigger than the Talon Fighter.) Now if we add Point Dread then based on the size and the fact that PD is basically two shell pieces with very little extra paint job needed then it should not cost more than $90 for PD and the Talon Fighter. Anything over that FEELS a bit ludicrous IF they simply redo the vintage playset and vehicle scaled up to classics.


About 15 inches tall. It would Reach the brow
on Castle Grayskull
Then again, I've always felt that Point Dread is ridiculously small. I understand the top part being small so it can be perched atop the tower on Castle Grayskull. What bugs me is that the BOTTOM part of the "Playset" is ridiculously small. To me, a DECENT Point Dread would need to be rather big. The idea of Point Dread being a bit big comes from the storybook: The Power of Point Dread.

So, I'm thinking: My Ideal Point Dread (Note: I NEVER OWNED The Vintage PD. I played with one during the late 80s and was repurposed as a cave for Panda Khan by a friend of mine. I didn't know of the MOTU aspect of that little cave/castle thing back then.) as I was saying, my Ideal Point Dread would have the top work just like the vintage PD. But it would need a LARGER BASE... Inspired by the mountain He-Man and Zodac climb to reach the Talon Fighter. Depending on the size of the MOTUC Point Dread (IF it gets released) I may or may not need to buy a Tim Mee Battle Mountain playset for plastic army men... If the MOTUC Point Dread was the size of the Tim Mee Battle Mountain and included the Talon Fighter, I'd say that it would be easier to shell out the $150-$200.  But this is me getting worked up over a rumor that may or may not happen. We'd have to wait one more week until Toyfair to learn the truth!

Feb 7, 2015

G.I. Joe may be working overtime fighting crime!

Some rumors have been circling around the Third GI Joe movie...
Crimson Twins, Tomax and Xamot from Extensive Enterprises might make an appearance.
Seriously all we need is Dreadnoks and Sgt. Slaughter to appear and we'd have all the Joes I'd need to see on the screen....

That is not all! Hasbro released a very special character in their 25th Anniversary line in 2008.
Yes, We're talking about Kenner's Mobile Armored Strike Kommand's Matt Trakker!


Holy CRAP! John M. Chu is out! Remember how he chickened out of MOTU to make a Bieber movie and a Jem movie that I am a bit afraid of watching... Now we have DJ Caruso, who has directed TWO Thank God for the Beef movies.(Disturbia and Eagle Eye)... But MASK!!!!

Hopefully this will lead to a MASK Spin-Off... Which, to be honest, MASK is the movie series that Michael Bay should have directed.

And... If a MASK movie ever materializes, I've got the PERFECT Scott Trakker!!


This could be the way for Hasbro to make an Expanded Toy Universe... TF4: 5 minutes of Dinobots, 7 minutes on how The grown up dude was not statutory raping Marky Mark's daughter explanation! has planted the seeds... Remember the whole Transformium thing... Rainbow Dash gun, anyone?

What's not stopping the MASK team using that tech on their vehicles... Something something Cobra supports VENOM as their research branch on Transformium stuff or something.


Seems they may be heading into that direction, or at least a MASK revival... Look at what the Trademark sleuths have found!
Hasbro is applying for new MASK related Trademarks...

Feb 4, 2015

It Came from the Toy Chest: Duncan Strikes back with the Battle Ram

What the Hell!? a White Mailer for an item from 2014?
That's so 2013!
Looks like I've got ALL the MAA Flavors now: Vintage, 200X, Filmation and Snake MAA. Remember that I won an Extra MAA on a Contest and I repainted his armor in Snake Hunter MAA colors to use the SMAA Head on it while keeping the 200X Buck with the Mustache head of the new MAA. I had the Other MAA as my Vintage MAA without the Stache for Flashback MAA. That leaves the First MAA Stache Head which I repainted in a reddish brown color to use as a Filmation MAA.  That head is going to hit the body of THIS MAA to make a Filmation MAA, while the 200X Head that this MAA has will alternate with the Stache head to have a Helmetless 200X MAA...

Holy crap that was a mess of MAA... I suppose only Sorceress is happy about this.

But before the Figure Review, I must rant about one thing: The Odyssey that was getting this... or was it an Iliad?
I made my order on the 4th of January and everything went fine and dandy... One week later, I call to see what's going on with the package and Surprise Refund Email shows up. Of course they will not refund shipping even if it was their fault. So, now the wait.

Round 1: I call CS, explain my situation. Something something "invalid address" I try to get Escalations to verify the issue.  I keep getting the invalid address issue, but I remind them that this has been the same address I've used for the site. They check it out and ask me to redo the order. I told them that I had to wait until I had the funds from the refund to do the order.

Round 2: So, got the refund of the first order, minus shipping. Had to go through CS attempting and failing to order one for me. Escalations had to try and do the order. They couldn't do it until they did the exact same thing as I did on the Original Order. (The one with the so-called "invalid address".) Now I have to wait. I know that I've been a bit overdramatic when DR screws up (which sadly is a bit too often. Not just on Matty stuff, but in general.) and I must say that the CS folks that I dealt with were very helpful and had to suffer through the agony that is USING the Matty site. In the end, Escalations was able to pull the order. Now we wait.

in the end you don't have a TRUE FILMATION MAA and
a TRUE 200X Helmeted MAA.
Back on Topic: The Man-at-Arms figure.
He's basically the Palace Guard buck in Filmation MAA Colors with a Filmation Head.

Articulation: Same as the Standard buck. Seriously, it's the MAA Buck with the Keldor boots, therefore same Articulation as Man-at-Arms or a Palace Guard.
4.5 just like the original Man-at-Arms. Here the ankles are a bit tighter!

Paint and Sculpt: The Head is what makes this Duncan special. Everything else is basically reused from MAA or the Palace Guards. El Cheapo to make. There was a bit of slop on his shoulders from his armor... 4.5 It's weird that this Duncan has a brown stache, but when he puts on his helmet, his stache turns black! PS: I ended up repainting the fur on his chest armor in a lighter brown so it combines better with the body. (This was before photographing him...)

Accessories: Aside the Freaking Battle Ram, Duncan has: His Mace, His gun and a Palace Guard Mace... Yes, that's right! He loses the CG Sword, but gains another Mace... *facepalm*
Not counting Battle Ram: 3.5

Overall: I'm torn. I like the head and the buck, but I feel it was Unnecessary. They could have done someone or something else to entice people to get it. YET ANOTHER MAA!? This is pretty much the third MAA Variant we get. And it's a MAA Figure that you could have easily made all the way back in 2011. I KINDA see why he was there, but it still is YET ANOTHER MAA that doesn't look THAT different from past MAA figures. I think that even The Yellow clad Tug of War Dude would have been a better choice than ANOTHER Duncan. Tug of war dude only needed a new head. Or a new hairpiece if we follow the Spector Angle. So he gets a 4.17 as his score.
This is the real reward... 2010 me is so jealous right now!

WTF IS THAT FACE! The eyes are at crotch level...
Now for the Pièce de résistance: The Battle Ram! As we already know, I hope you have your Sky High, otherwise you won't have a TRUE Battle Ram. The BR comes with a War Sled, which is a Sky Sled, but Evil! I was surprised to see how well this sucker rolls! It can go pretty fast on a smooth surface. I may recommend some Sticky tac under the wheels if displaying because it gains momentum real fast. Like the Sky Sled and the Wind Raider, the Stickers are now 3D... that includes the weird face on the back of the Ram.
FINALLY! An Evil vehicle!!
It can fit up to 4 figures. I removed Teela since it looked like
Adam was having a bit of Secret Butt fun with her.

Now to discuss the Firing Missile Action Feature. I fired the missile various times and by doing MATH! I figured out the average flight distance of the missile. The average flight distance is 4.55 feet. The lowest point being 37.25 inches and the furthest 61.75 inches. (Which is roughly 3-5 feet)
Not so bad for a Missile with a large floppy and pretty much flat tip. So that IS Impressive.

I do have a few nitpicks: The platform on the back, while a cool addition, it seems like it can barely hold a figure. DON'T PUSH YOUR LUCK WITH RAM MAN!! Also, it can hold a female figure but the female figure can't hang on to the handles without warping her hands. Not being able to display Duncan with his weapons on the ram. You have to take everything off in order to have him ride it. the last nitpick is having to double dip in order to get a Battle Ram "Just like we remember." I mentioned the Sky sled stuff above, but I had to reinforce the point.
Other than that, AWESOME! The Battle Ram is Amazeballs, PERIOD! Expensive, but fun!








It Came from the Toy Chest: He's a Lizard and a Man...

Lizardman has arrived.
I'm not a fan of the character. He shows up on Strongarm's episode... He also shows up on an episode where Orko runs away...(The rarest gift of all) There he's all brown and has glasses. He looks at Teela all like: "Hey! I was reading Fifty Shades of Grayskull! We should totally reenact the book!"

He has another Appearance, I think... That one almost everyone remembers... Song of Celice...
Where he tried to have sex with an unconcious Sorceress.

So, this guy is VERY Popular among Filmation fans. Unlike a Certain Bum who became Pharaoh and then a bum once again... then King Hsss gave him magic or something. Now to be fair, Lizard Man had a lot of potential to become a figure. It didn't happen in the 80s, but it happened now.

In the Neitlichverse, if you're somewhat reptilian, you are related to the Snakemen. So, basically, Orko killed Lizardman if he helped in the Ultimate Battleground. Our heroes! Committing Mass Genocide!

Let's crack him open and talk Lizard Man!!


Articulation:
NO AB CRUNCH stinks more than having to eat a Monkey turd sandwich au jus with a nice Skunk anal scent glands salad and a diarrhea shake... that is very poopy! Then we add no ankle rockers to the mix followed by a rigid static tail and we have a clusterbomb of ASS!! I'd drink a beer right now, but that would be a bit too obvious AVGN reference. For a guy who is supposed to be as athletic as Spider-Man, Lizard Man is way too static.
2.5

Paint and Sculpt:
I told you so!!
He reuses some Modulok parts... Seriously, his arms CAN pop off just like Modulok!! Not so sure about his legs and I won't try on him! His open palm hand can cop a feel perfectly. Put Lizard Man's open palm on any MOTUC Female boob... Perfect fit.
He looks alright... heh heh! I HATE that his Tunic is non-removable. On the other hand, the translucent hands for the webbed areas and painted fingers was a bit clever!
4.0

Accessories:
MYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAH!
He has a Bone Sword similar to the one used by Skeletor in the Episode: The Dragon's Gift... The one with Granamyr... (Save mah daddeh!) The other Item is: The Diamond Ray of Disappearance!!(add echo effect for this), so as you can see, Lizardman has no weapons for himself. Everything else is Skeletor's... the Diamond Ray of Disappearance glows in the dark!!



2.0
Modulok is now 20% cooler!

Overall:
Lizard Man gets an 2.83 as his final score. Why the low score? The Lack of accessories, 2 out of 2 are for Skeletor, so Lizard Man is empty handed. The limited Articulation for an Athletic character hurt him a lot. Not to mention that for a $28 + S&H figure he is simply a bit lacking... Insert the "You have been weighed, you have been measured" speech from A Knight's Tale! Now, to be fair, the odds were against him, because I'm not a fan of him. 20015 has started in a very underwhelming way. The only GOOD THING I can say about having Lizard Man in hand is: Bring on Ninjor and the 200X Snake Armor He-Man vs King Hsssss pack!

It Came from the Toy Chest: Present from Matty?

When I ordered the 2015 subscription, Mattel's former MOTU Brand Manager Scott Neitlich, promised me and all the people who subscribed BEFORE SDCC 2014 a present in the form of Stackable stands.


Timeo Matty et dona ferentes...
Getting these was a pain in the neck... They were MIA for a while (alongside Lizard Man) but the story is not as painful as the Battle Ram one.

So, let's see how they work. The stands kinda look like those tiered podiums in competitions. You use the same pegs as in the Castle Grayskull or Snake Mountain Stands that I do not own, so this is a new experience for me. You use the little peg placer/remover tool and put your pegs into the stand. Then you put the figure on the stand using the pegs to anchor the figure to its foot holes. The figure shall stand with no issues whatsoever... In theory.

In practice is a bit different. I used my Reissue Skeletor on the Dragon Blaster body, seeing as he has the loosest ankles in all the land. The figure fell down immediately. The stands do NOTHING to help figures with weak ankles... I know it's wrong to look at a gift-horse in the mouth, but I pity the fools who actually PAID for these pieces of crap that can't do what they were advertised to do! $15 + Shipping and handling for these useless bits of plastic is one hell of a rip-off! No wonder they were giving them away for free! A Piss stained rag full of crap of the entire staff of the Chinese factory who made these would have been a better present... (I should have written the review BEFORE watching an AVGN marathon... my bad) If you got them free with your 2015 sub, well, you should feel better than the poor souls who BOUGHT THEM!!

 Do yourself a favor and avoid these like the plague!!