Okay so if you've been paying attention you'll notice that we don't really collect superhero toys, but since we've had the store, we've had plenty pass through our doors. So when the entire wave of Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure Spider-Man figures were available to us, we couldn't pass on the opportunity to document the set. 

Not quite sure why Spidey is getting a new wave of ML figures after the last wave centered around the movie just sat on shelves. Though the figures included in this wave are by far cooler than those. The breakdown: 

• Classic Spider-Man w/pulled-up mask head, extra hands and a slice of pizza
• Anti-Venom
• Spider-Man 2099
• SpiderGirl (Warriors of the Web)
• Spider Woman (Warriors of the Web)
• Daredevil

I'm a little confused as to why Daredevil got thrown in there, but apparently he was in desperate need of a release as my friend told me his last release was pretty hard to come by as some sort of WalMart exclusive and the figure itself was embarrassingly scrawny.  

Each figure came with a part of the Build-A-Figure Hobgoblin villain and unlike recent previous waves of Marvel Legends figures, there's no figures released without a piece of the BAF figure and there's no variants (at least that I know of) of figures that come with a piece that would have you end up with an extra double piece if you wanted to get everyone. 

The packaging has done a good job at showing you which figures come with what part of the Build-A-Figure which is helpful. This has been done on the last few waves of Marvel Legends figures, I believe since they've switched over to the "Infinite Series" which as far as I can tell is just a way to differentiate previous ML figures from newer releases. 

It's not always the case with BAF figures that it's what people want most out of the wave, more times than not, it's just a nice added bonus figure once you've collected all the others. But with Hobgoblin, he seems to be very sought after at this point, demanding quite a high price in the secondary market (as there's no actual direct market for him) as this wave has just started hitting retail. 

The first figure, (both in how he's listed on the packaging and in popularity) is the "classic" Spider-Man. He comes with four extra hands, an extra head with his mask pulled half up, Hobgoblin's left leg and of course, a slice of pizza. 

It's nice to see when companies as big as Hasbro and Marvel get to throw cool/funny things in with toys or their packaging, and that slice of pizza fits in very well with Spidey. Obviously having to eat on the go as a superhero means you have to get what's available to you, and in New York it's either that or figure out how to use chopsticks while upside down. 

The extra head with the mask pulled up obviously is to be paired as often as possible with the slice of pizza, as are the open-palmed hands. The other hands are fists and Spidey's trademark "rockstar" web-launcher position. While the hands were easy to swap out for photos, the head was a bit tricky to get back on when switching. 

The only thing I had a problem with besides the head was how confusing this much articulation was for me. People that collect Marvel Legends figures (and most other 6" figures that are similar) are looking for tons of articulation. Having the figures is one thing, but being able to put them in exactly the position you want as well has become crucial for most collectors. Getting Spidey in the perfect mid-swing pose while avoiding a charging Rhino figure is something that people feel gypped if they don't get to do. 

So while countless points of articulation may be the standard now on these ML figures (and especially Spider-Man), I feel like I need a simpler figure that I can just pose easily and throw up on a shelf. But honestly I'm in the minority there and I'm okay with that. 

I'm actually not familiar with Anti-Venom, or as we now call him "Auntie-Venom", but I'm always impressed with the larger figures. Just something about a hunk of plastic that you could really hurt someone with along the lines of the vintage JLN WWF wrestling figures or even the Marvel Select hulk figures. I'm guessing that the price point of $20(ish) evens out between the amount of plastic used for a smaller figure like SpiderGirl and larger ones like Anti-Venom here. Looking at the wave as a whole, rather than a cost per figure when it comes to production I'm sure is how we're able to get figures that if you look at it as a cost per figure probably leaves little to no profit margin on these big guys.

Anti-Venom as large as he is doesn't come with any accessories, but is packaged with Hobgoblin's left leg. Not that Anti-Venom needs an accessory with those crazy claws he has on either hand. 

I make it no secret that I love repaints, and though I don't remember the Venom version of this sculpt, just the fact that I know venom is the opposite color scheme (mostly black with white paint apps and a red mouth) I already like this guy. Sorta like how I would probably never buy a Darth Vader figure, yet I have the white one from the comic pack they released a few years ago. 

As far as articulation, he may have the exact same amount of articulation as Spider-Man, but the size makes him a little more manageable as he's not as flimsy. 

While fans of ML figures may have been looking for some other character and might consider Anti-Venom a stretch, or possibly see this as Hasbro/Marvel looking to squeeze some extra cash out of this mold, I think he's my favorite out of the wave.  

I'm going to stop telling you how little I know about these figures. But I do remember Andrew and Matt telling me how amazing (pun intended) that the Spider-Man 2099 comic was when it came out. So I've always had a fondness for any of the 2099 figures or books when I see them. I actually really like this Spidey too, I like the colors and how menacing he looks with this design. 

His frame for the most part is the same as the Classic Spider-Man figure, with different hands and possibly a different head, but I'm not certain on the head. He comes with a little cape made of web, which is kinda cheating cause if you think of it, no one else gets to just make a cape when/if they feel like it. But I guess they needed some other ways to distinguish his design enough from the original when they came up with him that adding a cute little cape was an easy way to do so. 

He comes with a couple Hobgoblin parts, the right arm and the flame sword. Which kinda sucks because of how his hands are, if you were just buying him you wouldn't be able to put that sword in his hand and have him hold it as well as the Hobgoblin's arm can. 

It looks like he's a much-awaited character as well and one that people that aren't collecting the entire line seem to be looking for. That's understandable as he's pretty cool even in package. 

There's been a trend on these new Marvel Legends Infinite Series waves where they come up with snazzy nicknames for characters, usually when they're releasing variants of figures in a wave. So they can show two figures under one title and switch them in or out as the line progresses. But luckily they've released both figures at the same time that fall under the title "Warriors of the Web". I feel like that was a compromise between someone that wanted to call these to "Women of the Web", but got shot down because that sounds like it should be action figures based on porn stars. 

But I'm assuming the added names is so that if a SpiderGirl is released say in a previous Marvel Legends wave, an easy way to refer to her or find her both internally at Hasbro or for stores selling her (or even in the secondary market) would be these titles. Searching for "SpiderGirl Marvel Legends" may turn up a couple different figures, but "SpiderGirl Marvel Legends Warriors of the Web" will give you exactly what you're looking for. 

So yeah, the first of the two Warriors of the Web is SpiderGirl, a smaller figure that's evening out the plastic that was spent on Anti-Venom. She's a really good sculpt, but again the amount of articulation with her makes her hard to get the pose I wanted and have her stand at the same time. I kept coming up against bowlegs that I couldn't figure out how to get rid of. 

SpiderGirl comes with no accessories but really doesn't need them, she's pretty sleek and adding anything to her would just seem unnecessary. She's got little bracelets that fit on pretty well and don't detract from the overall design. While they're instantly noticeable, they're not distracting. Which I've heard is exactly what a girl wants in a bracelet. 

SpiderGirl comes with Hobgoblin's head and wings. 

Spider Woman is the other Warriors of the Web figure and comes with the torso of the Hobgoblin build a figure. 

Other than the head and hands I don't think there's much difference between her and SpiderGirl. I really like the open flowing hair and the deep red/maroonish color of the costume she has. Other than that same, gripes and praise for her as I had for the preceding figure. I think she photographs better and took a couple extra shots of her because of it. 

She also has no additional accessories, but again, none are really needed. 

Daredevil is forever a dork. I can't see past that horrible Ben Affleck movie. And now, Batman shall suffer that fate too. How that guy keeps getting work is beyond me. He ruined Gone Girl and Argo (I know he did more than act in it) and this Daredevil figure as well. I'm sure if I took the time to get into some Daredevil books I might change my tune, but I've never found the character to be interesting and since he can't read this review I'm not worried about saying so.

Daredevil comes with his trademark batons that can be stored on the holster on his leg. They also combine together to form one larger whackin' stick. 

My friend was right though, the figure's sculpt is impressive and hopefully fills the void in many peoples' collections. His pose in the package is questionable, but kinda how I see him when I think of him, contorted all weird and whatnot.

Daredevil comes with Hobgoblin's left arm and a bomb for the BAF. 

I don't remember the last time I did a BAF, possibly the Rocket Racoon from a couple years ago. I've never completed one of the larger guys and I guess I've never done one this size as well. I had a hard time getting this figure's head on, just like Spider-Man's and this one was even harder because of the cowl that the loose head is rattling around in. 

Once built this figure is very impressive and was definitely a good idea to make this figure the BAF in this wave. He's got a evil and somewhat cocky smile that pretty scary.  The mechanical wings/backpack are a real nice touch and come with a smaller hilt version of the flame sword stuck into the center of the top of the backpack. 

I had a lot of fun posing this figure and taking pictures, so I'm sure that folks looking to pick him up will feel the same way when they complete him. 

All-in-all, a pretty great wave of figures and a worthwhile payoff with it's Build-A-Figure character. Grab a set when/if you can. Don't be discouraged if you can't find them at retail for a couple months, most Marvel Legends waves are like that where the first few months everyone is looking for them so they're almost impossible to find at retail other than any figures that may be doubled up in a case (in this particular wave it's Classic Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099) but then once everyone has finished buying them for themselves and trying to make money off of them on eBay, they become common place. As the secondary market dies down in prices, they will become easier to find at retail. 

Near the end of summer Liz decided that she wanted to film a commercial and she wanted to do so in Prague. I had nothing better to do so I decided to tag along. And by "tag along" I mean I went a day early and shopped my butt off. 

I was excited to see what all the Czech Republic had to offer so as soon as I was situated I found a nearby shopping plaza and looked through the various toy shops that were in the area. 

It was very surprising to find out that these stores all carried a large quantity of Gormiti figures including loads of stuff that never saw release here in the states. The figures that caught my eye right away were the 5.5" figures. The only Gormiti figures that were released here were the mini 2" figures that resembled Battle Beasts. If you remember, we did a "month" of these figures on the previous blog. You can find those entries here. 

I know that Gormiti had never made it too big here in the States so it's no wonder that most of what I was seeing was new to me, which is a weird feeling now-a-days with the internet showing you most everything months before it's released. Most of the stores had items that can be found at any Target or Toys R Us here, with a few random European items here and there. My purchases were just a few of the new Lego Minifigures blind bags that hadn't been released here in the states yet and three of the 5.5" Gormiti figures. I didn't want to take a chance at losing any pieces so they all stayed in their packages until we got back home. (Instead of sitting in the hotel room playing with our new toys we went and checked out one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I ate a chipotle brownie.) I got the first two figures in the first shop I spotted them in after a very confusing broken English conversation. And as frustrating as that always is, I have to remember that they're the ones that learned a second language and I'm the idiot in their country trying to figure out how to communicate. 

When we got back, I decided to send a picture to my #1 5.5" toy identifier to see if he'd heard about them or had ever seen them before. I assumed, like most folks here in the US that he hadn't... 

He has still not paid. Which is fine, I'm okay with keeping these figures. I don't know if it's obvious through the pictures but the bird figure is my favorite. There's just something about the color scheme that I really dig. And wings, he has wings. 

Each figure has something either that they're holding or part of their hand/fist that is spring loaded in their arms that can fire off through a button on or around their elbow. These things have a hair trigger, but luckily aren't too powerful (I'm looking at you, Madballs Head Poppers). The packaging is serious and required a pair of scissors, much like packages that contain small electronics. So let's see, they're 5.5", not released in the states, and have projectiles built in. I feel like I'm forgetting something. 

OH YEAH! They have magnetic articulation! I don't know if any other major toy company is manufacturing action figures with this sort of articulation, but it's so smart and lets you interchange parts from figure to figure, it just makes so much sense. I know it does limit the figure in some instances, but for me, I'm all about it for 5.5" figures. 

I had only recently seen indie toy casters using this technique and my first figure that I owned with this articulation came from Man or Monster? Studios. So of course he came out to play with these guys eventually. (Side mini-review of that figure! We got a purple and green variation of the B.A.R.F. figure and he's one of our favorites to have on the coffee table to look at. Such a pretty piece, Brandon really knows what he's doing both from a creative standpoint and a craftsman. We recommend watching his Instagram, FB, website or whatever you can to try and get yourself one of his figures.)

Though now looking at photos of the Gormiti packaging I can tell that they boast about this, but again if it ain't written in 'Merican, apparently I can't read it. So it was a surprise to me when I opened the first figure and the head fell right off. It was a good surprise. And immediately I opened the other figures to start swapping out parts. 

Overall I think the figures were really well done. Though a bit pricey, but everything we came across in Prague seemed a bit more expensive than here in the states. And living in Chicago that's a bit shocking as we thought WE had one of the most expensive cities for tangible goods. But it's okay cause I could only spend so much money in a weekend. Besides, we didn't have enough luggage to bring back a ton of toys. Just now realizing I could have bought more luggage while there. 

Well Prague was awesome, it was a super weird experience and we're glad we got to go. If you want to see the commercial that got us over there just watch Agent Carter or a Lifetime movie - you're bound to see Liz peddling some Lyrica. 

After the toy photos I'm gonna post ALL the photos I took while there, feel free to force yourself to a slideshow of our trip. 

Liz: Everyone should go to Prague. 


I sound like a real asshole.

Starting off the list with G.I. Joe, it's my favorite toy line so it gets special treatment. G.I. Joe: Resolute did what the original couldn't do; it gave a gritty and realistic look at military characters. For the story, Hasbro hired British comics author, Warren Ellis (The Authority, Transmetropolitan, Planetary) which helped give Joe the realism that it long deserved.

The episodes were first aired online in the spring of 2009 on Adult Swim Video and were approximately 5 minutes each in length. The episodes were later compiled and shown in its entirety on Adult Swim just a couple weeks after it's online debut.

Resolute showed fans of the brand what a world of G.I. Joe would look like combining elements of both the original comic book and the original cartoon. Within the first few story moments fans saw a named-character death and a major city laid to in ruins. We were also treated to a ninja showdown that is inevitable in any incarnation of G.I. Joe. However this time, there's actual blood. Actually, I saw an early version of the duel between Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow where the amount of blood was on point with the animation style, but ultimately it was scaled back to maintain the TV-14-V the show held.

Speaking of the animation style, fans of anime will appreciate this show's style. It's very obvious a studio that specializes in anime was used, as it gives off a very Ghost in the Shell or Cowboy Bebop feel. I know that this may be a deterrent for some, but having the series done in this style definitely makes this the version of G.I. Joe to show anyone who thinks the original show was too corny or passive. While I'm not an avid fan of anime, I feel like this style choice was good for G.I. Joe and helped bring it to a more mature level.

The toys that were released for the show were sprinkled into the 25th Anniversary line of G.I. Joe figures, getting a few box sets and a couple single carded figures here and there. They fit in well with the other Joe figures being released at the time so they could be included or kept separate depending on your collecting habits. It should also be noted that G.I. Joe: Resolute was released between two other short-lived G.I. Joe shows (G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 & G.I. Joe: Renegades), but while it was by far the shortest of them all, it's length ultimately resulted in a fast-paced story and action that a lot of shows take way too long to ramp up to.

Being released between the other two G.I. Joe cartoons I mentioned, Resolute's character designs share similarities with what came before it as well as the show that aired after. While G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 was heavily inspired by anime as well, it was more flamboyant with it's designs than Resolute. Eventually with G.I. Joe: Renegades, things eased off of the anime stylings and went for a somewhat realistic and more simplistic look, all the while returning to the franchise's roots of laser rifles instead of actual bullets that harm humans (unlike the very lethal bullets shown in Resolute).  

Out of all the shows mentioned within this article, G.I. Joe: Resolute - with its short episodes - is the quickest payoff and a good stepping stone for people looking to follow our advice and delve into the world of revamped 80s cartoons.


My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010 - present)
4 Seasons, 91 Episodes (at time of this article) 

Don't run away. Come back. No one's going to hurt you. If you're a guy, you're not going to turn into a 'Bronie' just by reading this section. It's okay, I have fears of watching this show too just because I'm a male and there's a term for male fans of the show. So that should tell you that right off the bat that I'm writing this some what in the dark. However, the fact is that there has been such a huge movement (in fact one big enough to spawn a term as well-known as 'Trekkies') that the show has to be mentioned.

MLP: FiM started as one of the flagship shows for Hasbro Studios' venture into the world of broadcast television back in 2010, starting their partnership with Discovery Communications to form the now-defunct cable channel the Hub Network. While the Hub Network has been disbanded and now fully a Discovery Communications channel named Discovery Family, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic remains a staple of the station and will continue in 2015 with a fifth season.

A couple years ago I did work on a team that was responsible for some My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic content. I helped create artwork and design for toy marketing collateral, not directly for the show itself, but it did require me to read an episode's script. While reading that episode it was pretty clear that the level of character development is really what makes this show appealing to the millions that tune in. Each character on the show is unique and has strengths and shortcomings that separate them from one another. No pony is interchangeable for the others in any given situation. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if faced with danger, Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash would react very differently. I'm sure the original show from the 80s kept most of the cast pretty interchangeable as far as characteristics; ponies were scared of the same things like rain and mud while good at the same things like running and giving compliments.

Ask any fan of Friendship is Magic and they'll tell you that humor is a huge part of the show. From clips I've seen it reminds me a bit of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends and The Powerpuff Girls. Smart, cute humor. While those references may be lost on someone that stopped watching cartoons in the 80s you should be made aware that cartoons are much funnier and much, much smarter now. Shows now are being made by people that grew up watching the originals just like you and me. Just as humor has evolved in the past few decades, it helps having a background with these shows and characters as a jumping off point for these new creators.

The toys that have been on shelves for the past few years that coincide with the show have been very impressive as well, both in the quantities but also the designs of the characters. You have to hand it to Hasbro for being able to command such a large section of a toy aisle with a toy line born in the 80s while Thundercats, G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe have either very little or absolutely no presence in toy aisles. (But that won't keep any of those titles off this list...) It's a testament to the fans and the writing/animation/voice actors of Friendship is Magic.

I'm probably going to take my own advice and watch the show. Let's meet back here and compare notes!


Transformers: Prime (2010 - 2013)
3 Seasons, 65 Episodes

There have been plenty of Transformers series both within the United States as well as exclusive to Japan since the brand's first incarnation in the 80s. And while Hasbro and Takara do their best to keep some iteration of Transformers on the shelves backed by either a television series or movies, a lot of those have been just that, something to keep product moving.

But once in a great while a Beast Wars / Beast Machines happens and we're given a wonderful storyline, deep character development and classic good vs. evil struggles wrapped in ground-breaking digital animation. If you're not getting it, I'm saying that if you missed Beast Wars & Beast Machines you should go back and watch them too, but this write-up is about Transformers: Prime so let's move on.

Fresh off the heels of Transformers: Animated with a very similar cast, Prime shared some key points with Beast Wars as it stars a small cast of Autobots stranded on Earth (in a very G1-ish desert, no less) not only just looking for other Transformers that might also be stranded, but Cybertronian artifacts as well. The one thing that Prime can boast that Beast Wars couldn't is the presence of human allies. Both with a liaison to the US government and a group of three pre-teens that represent the lesson-learners in the series. Having humans in a Transformers show usually is the most annoying part of the series, however Prime pulls it off and actually makes the kids likable and useful members of the team while their relationships with certain Autobots become important to the storyline.

The show often places the Autobots as the underdogs against an ever-looming Decepticon threat, sometimes quite literally. Starting off the series with a heartbreaking event that carries consequences throughout the rest of the show effectively pulls the viewer in and makes for a great binge watch this series, much as you would any HBO or Showtime saga.

Transformers: Prime was also a show that helped kick off the newly formed Hub Network and lasted just about as long as the channel itself. During its run it won multiple awards including 4 Day Time Emmys for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" and "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program".

Finishing out the series with a season focused on beasts and adding the subtitle "Beast Hunters" once again mirrored Beast Wars / Beast Machines. The warring factions also bring the fight back to Cybertron to finish things off, another similarity to the previous CGI shows. When the story changed, so did the toys, introducing new "Beast Hunter" retools and repaints of the stars of the show. I was personally very impressed with the Megatron figure that was easily shifted into a shark-type alt-mode without straying too far from the original design from Prime.

From the very first time you hear the grand and ominous title sequence to the last moments of the final episode, Transformers: Prime delivers a wonderful revamp of an 80s brand that we had all long been waiting for. (That was in case they needed a quote for the back of the DVD box set...)


He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 - 2004)
2 Seasons, 39 Episodes

Speaking of a great TV show opening sequence - the opening for this new version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe makes it obvious that this show is going to move a bit quicker than the original. With a shift in fighting styles to one that's more inspired by martial arts, there's a lot more action in this version of MotU but it's paired brilliantly with much more story as well.

In this updated version of MotU, origin stories are given for almost every character that we start the show off with as well as those we met along the way. While origin episodes are usually revered as the most interesting, it's was in large part these origin episodes that we missed out on in the 80s. But the origins we did get back then were usually just as silly as the show as a whole. These glimpses into their backgrounds help you understand each character's motivations, starting with one of the most important origins as we watch brothers in a long overdue battle. With almost twenty years between the two shows' air times it gave the writers enough time to dream about what they'd do with the large cast.  

This incarnation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe gets credit for actually distinguishing Prince Adam from He-Man as their character designs and voices are completely different. Unlike the original, this show assumed viewers weren't idiots and could keep up with the complex idea of a secret identity. I mean, can you figure out if this is Prince Adam or He-Man? I know I can't!

I feel like now's a good time to reiterate that I'm not trying to argue that these revamps are better than their original 80s counterparts; the purpose of this article is to make people aware that there are newer shows that deserve attention. Let's all take a deep breath and put down the torches.

Late in 2012 Nickelodeon released the first episodes of the revamped (and definitely ramped-up) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon to high praises from fans new and old. The show even re-cast the original voice actor for Raphael for this incarnation's.. Donatello?! It's okay, it works here and helps give you a nostalgic feeling while watching an entirely new show.

The story is pretty much the same, four turtles hanging out with a rat fighting some angry dude with scars on his face. But now with a few twists and turns as well as a ton of winks and nods towards the original show (particularly when creators are unable to utilize a character from the 80s show due to rights issues). The thing that's glaringly different about the new Turtles is the design and feel of the show. If the 80s TMNT show was all skateboarding and pizza, then the new show is graffiti and smartphones (with it's fair share of pizza). It seems as though a battle has been won between the show's designers and artists over what a corporate marketing team would assume that "kids these days" want to see in a show and action figure line. The result is a sleek and clever show with equally impressive character designs.

One of the things that makes the show interesting is that characters change constantly, both physically and in certain aspects of their personas. What could be a cute and cuddly pet one day might be a dangerous foe in the next episode. And just because a character has mutated once doesn't mean that there isn't a second or third stage for them as things progress.

The toy line has done very well over the last couple years, commanding quite a bit of attention from fans all over the spectrum. It's nice to see that the toy line has stuck with Playmates Toys in every incarnation. Though the cartoon that was released in the early 2000s didn't receive as high of praise as the current show, Playmates Toys kept that toy line fresh and just as inviting as they ever have, exactly as they're doing with the current line.

You have to hand it to Playmates Toys and Nickelodeon for working so closely together: soon after the hilarious LARPing episode aired, Playmates delivered figures of Mikey the Elf, Raph the Barbarian, Leo the Knight and Donnie the Wizard. Cooperation like this, and giving viewers and collectors additional toys based actual story lines and costume changes from the animated series is a great way to keep both the show and toy line alive. 


Thundercats (2011 - 2012) 
1 Season, 26 Episodes

Thundercats is hands down my favorite revamp out of all the shows mentioned here, and by far the most underrated and neglected of all of the 80s properties that saw new cartoons within the last decade. In mid-2011 the show, comprised of a perfect mix of Japanese anime and western animation, aired on Cartoon Network. Though it was received very well by new-comers and old-school Thundercats fans, the show's viewership just wasn't enough to support the original plan for 52 episodes and it was eventually was trimmed down to just 26. The show would never see a second season.

Though the show did the best it could to wrap up before its premature finale, a lot of loose ends were still left unanswered. But don't let that deter you from delving into this new version of Third Earth. The storyline that we do get in the short series is very well crafted and sprinkled with a bunch of wonderful self-contained stories that play into the over-all story arc. The fact that I can remember that the show's Art-Director was Dan Norton, should give you some idea as to how beautiful the cartoon was. Probably too well done for being a episodic cartoon. The art in the new Thundercats was worthy of a full-length animated movie.

While this show is vastly different from the original, the characters you're looking for are all there for the most part. A much smarter story has been crafted to give them all a reason for being there. The original voice of Lion-O from the 80s cartoon is there once again as the father of Lion-O and Tygra (that's right they're brothers!) and even with that switch, no voice actor seems out of place. Well, maybe Snarf's - as he's no longer annoying. He actually doesn't talk at all! That alone makes this show worth watching.

The plot is just about as grim as the first one, but now it turns out that the band of Thundercats that we know as the main cast are renegades on the run after their magic-based civilization is destroyed by attacks by the mutants and Mumm-Ra with the use of technology. While on their journey to find certain artifacts in hopes of defeating Mumm-Ra and returning the kingdom of Thundera back to power, the cats run into all sorts of characters, both helpful and not-so-helpful. Through the various adventures, the show's writers do a great job at explaining why things are as they are - the origin of Mumm-Ra's pyramid of darkness alone is amazing.

The toy line that accompanied the show was well executed and though there were only a couple waves of figures and vehicles, still did it's best to give collectors as many characters as possible in the short amount of time. Since the second wave didn't get as wide of a release as the first, many of the second wave figures have fairly high prices on the secondary market.

One final note before finishing thoughts on Thundercats and this article as a whole: someone out there has to back me up that the update of Panthro for this show was based heavily on the character Jet from Cowboy Bebop. There's so many similarities including character design. Both characters are pilots/drivers/mechanics and the voice talents are very similar (though not the same actor).  You tell me once you've seen it what you think. But for now - here's a photo of them looking in a mirror.

Upon first seeing these figures for the new Transformers cartoon I had no idea what to expect. I'd only loosely been following images online; I had seen Grimlock when people pointed out that the pre-production figure was spotted in the bonus footage on the new Transformers 4 blu-ray and I was all over the Combiners series when someone came into the shop and told me about them. So seeing figures for the first time in the store was a huge thing for me as it rarely happens that you see a figure for the first time in person rather than countless production photos and packaging mock-ups leading up to the figure's release. 

My main focus when picking up Transformers are what I call the "ten dollar" level, or as Hasbro has named them, the "Deluxe Class" of figures. I should probably give in and call the figures by the name given to them by Hasbro as that size of figure hasn't cost $10 in about a decade at least. And if you're in Chicago, things cost about $2 more at our Toys R Us and Target locations. That being said, I rarely look to the smaller figures as I don't consider them toy "cannon" (who wants a tiny Optimus when all the other figures are inches taller than him?) and it helps that I'm not a completist when it comes to newer Transformers figures. But this being the first time I saw the new line in person, I checked the aisle for everything I could find. There were no larger (Voyager Class) figures to be seen other than quick-change Bumblebee and Grimlock figures. But when looking at the smaller figures I saw they were keeping with the quick-change for the $8 range as well. One of the three or four figures I saw was Underbite. 

In the package he's in his alt mode of some sort of Cybertronian vehicle, but just by the product photos on the back, I knew I couldn't pass him up. When transformed he turns into a stubby little demon animal creature that was probably the most adorable Transformer I had seen in a while outside of entire lines where the purpose is for the toy to be cute. But how could you pass on a little demon with an underbite!? You can't. So you buy it and open it immediately. 

The quick-change feature on the figure works both from alt mode to animal/robot and back. By squeezing the back "hips" or rear fenders the figure converts automatically. It's hard to not do this continuously, but when he all of a sudden had a hard time staying in animal/robot mode, I did what I could to align his parts so he could transform properly again and gave it a rest. I do have to give some props to the team that came up with the ability to have the figures not only quick change into their alt mode, but to have the same feature change them back again. I think the quick-change feature started with the figures from the fourth movie and they probably all did the same thing, I just never opened one to see this in action. The last quick-change figure I had was the mid-sized figures from Machine Wars, and those only went one way seamlessly, transforming back you had to do a few parts yourself here and there. 

I don't know if the show has aired yet or not, all I've seen so far online was a preview with Bumblebee and his team in some junkyard. But I've got big hopes for Underbite. He definitely reminds me of this show's iteration of Ravage - but I'd love if they went extreme one way or another with his character/voice. Either make him a mindless pet that doesn't speak, but communicates with grunts, or make him a very conniving genius, a la Shockwave, that speaks with a very regal tone. I'd love it either way. 

One last thing to mention before ending this is that all the figures in this line carry a unique Transformers branded QR Code of sorts, cleverly mixed in with their allegiance symbol. As the packaging shows you can scan this and unlock different characters, abilities and weapons in the app Hasbro has released to accompany the toy line. I personally know that this is something that has been in the works for quite some time and I'm glad to see it happen. Further integration between physical toys and those (damn) video games that (those damn) kids are playing now is a great way to get old farts like me to stop complaining and using the word "damn" so much. 

I don't know why I thought I'd never see one of these, let lone get a chance to own one, especially with us owning a vintage toy store. But sure enough, not soon after we opened our doors did this guy (these guys) waltz right in. I remember rediscovering them every few years and sending pictures back and forth with Sean about how cool they are. 

But getting it in and getting the chance to look at them in person really was a life goal for me as far as collecting goes. I don't know much about the show they came from, like most other folks in the states we know the Lion Voltron (Voltron III) and Vehicle Voltron (Voltron I) but our exposure to this guy has been minimal if any at all. So I was super excited to get one in the package and the chance to put this together into what can only be described as a super skanking robot form. 

But, before I had the chance to do that, I had this package and a couple other Go-Bots boxes on the counter at the store, getting ready to start taking pictures for this entry when who comes along with two giant containers of water? That's RIGHT. None other than the nefarious LIZ. This freakin' jerk... this jerk sets both water things down facing me on the other side of the counter and from the looks of it, deliberately knocks one of them over onto everything sitting on the counter. 

Once everything was dried and my overreaction to all of that was over with, I got to pull these guys out and take pictures of (play with) them. Don't worry, everything was fine with the boxes and our relationship, no water damage on either. 

So as the box shows, you can put any of the robots in any spot on the combined form, including the legs that come completely off of the robots in order to form the legs for the larger combined form. The photos that were taken for this entry had about a two month pause between when I tried to figure out how to take the robots apart and reassemble them combined, and when I actually figured out how to do it. It wasn't like a constant struggle for two months, I just took a break due to frustration. That's a good thing too because of how fragile these guys are, I wouldn't have wanted to get all huffy and forceful with them, possibly breaking parts of them. 

Oh, except I totally did. And I should mention now that these are for sale. So I took a $250 item down to a $200 item just trying to take pictures of it for the blog. The parts that broke aren't crucial to holding the robots together in any form, but still pretty annoying when you break anything. What I broke was on the parts that slide out on the torso to allow for the legs to come off. Snapped three different parts when trying to move that part on the blue robot. Sorry, Blue-Bot. 

Each robot, while similar in overall build, carries it's own unique characteristic starting with color. The black robot has a diamond-shaped head and his symbol is red in a weird shape that almost looks like a fish. Again, I know nothing of the storyline, so those symbols could possibly bear some significance to the robot and any powers they may have had in the show. The red robot's head is round and he carries a white also confusing shape for his symbol. Blue-bot has a rather boxy shaped head and his yellow symbol almost looks like a "B". I doubt it is, but if it is, it probably stands for "Broken Blue-Bot". Again, sorry about that. 

So stacking these guys in totem formation was pretty satisfying, locking everything into place. This took some serious toy engineering to construct these guys, and I tip my hat for whoever suffered through the logistics of these guys. The feet all have slots for the other legs to slide into and an extra gray part (though two of these were missing one each and only one robot had both) to slide the second pair of legs through when in the combined form. Then if you notice in the close-up photo of the combined legs/feet, there's a circular portion on the bottom of each foot that is there to help interlock them together. Seriously great attention to detail. 

Each torso that slides open allows for another robot's head to fit inside there before closing up again, allowing for the totem stacking to stay in place with little effort. But in doing so, makes it hard to take it all apart without breaking it. Or maybe that's just me. 

Though I'm super glad to have gotten to see this in person, I wish I hadn't devalued it in doing so. Hopefully whoever this goes to next will just keep it displayed and not feel the need to take it apart and put it together numerous times. He just can't hold up to too much more. I mean, he's 30 years old as of 2014. That's when things start to go down hill. 

Liz: You make us sound like a couple of toddlers who own a toy store. 

This figure was a nice surprise during a recent TRU trip, whereas I've been ignoring most of the Star Wars stuff that's been released since they have started onto the Black Series (love the packaging, but for 3.75" figures I'm not a fan of designs we've seen over and over again.) and stopped releasing cool space figures and aliens now that the Clone Wars line is done. 

But from the looks of it, I'm guessing TIE Fighter Pilots play a big role in the upcoming 'Star Wars: Rebels' television show. Which is good and bad news for me as I really like collecting TIE Fighter Pilot figures. I'm assuming this goes back to my weird need to collect repaints and having grown up owning an AT-AT Driver figure, eventually seeing that there was a similar uniformed figure but in black sort of sealed the deal. 

If you've seen the new SW Rebels merchandise hitting shelves you've probably seen that there's a few 18" figures and even some larger figures including the Vader that's been on shelves for close to two years now and some new named characters from the upcoming show. Again, I usually breeze over the Star Wars stuff, but always make it a point to at least take a look, and I'm really glad I did. This figure, though limited in articulation is very impressive. It has the same amount as the standard Hasbro Titan series with 7 points of articulation; neck, wrists, shoulders and legs. Though if they would have stuck with the five that the original Kenner figures had, I would have been fine with that. 

A figure that comes in at this scale pulls it off of a regular action figure shelf and grants itself space on entertainment centers, book shelves or office desks. This series is a really smart release on behalf of Jakks Pacific (surprisingly not Hasbro) as it uses very little plastic and has limited articulation which keeps it's price point right around $20 so that it's accessible to kids for play and collectors (such as myself) wouldn't think twice about picking this up at that price point. While Hasbro has led the way, and obviously has done very well, with the Titan series of figures, Jakks Pacific has taken note and released some great figures in the same vein. This figure in particular gives off a very regal feel when displayed, arms at his side - as if he's awaiting orders to jump in his aircraft (commonly know as TIE Fighters, less commonly known as Twin Ion Engines Fighters) and engage the Rebels. 

I should mention that I also really like the packaging guidelines for the new show's merchandise, the sleek new Stormtrooper helmet along with the hard edge orange and blue splatters on top of a very mechanical gray really stand out on the shelves - possibly in part to the tendency of Star Wars products to favor darker color schemes. 

Liz: Now I want Thai food.

So a few weeks ago Uncle Brad and Aunt Karen came up to hang out and visit the store for the first time. After donating a bunch of stuff to the store and taking it all in, they then began to look at what could be fixed. One of the first things Brad tackled was pulling all the weeds out of the little square of ground right outside our store. They suggested we plant some flowers and about a week later Liz did just that. 

Part of the daily chores here now includes watering those flowers, re-setting the wire fence around it that people keep running over when parking and throwing out about a metric ton of litter that gathers in that spot constantly. Recently when picking out the trash, I noticed a peculiar rock that seemed to be somewhat out of place and brought it in the store for further inspection. Little did I know that the "rock" that I had collected was actually from Planet Quartex - a Shock Rock, a rock warrior with awesome might!

He sort of reminds me of a mix between the little guys from Batteries Not Included and a Gorgon from Zelda. We actually came across him because we got a couple Rock Lords in the store and were looking them up to price them, but when looking on www.tfu.info at all the Rock Lords listed and saw him there, we had to buy him instantly. Luckily there was one on eBay for a reasonable BIN price so now he's hanging out in our personal collection being the cutest rock-based toy we have. 

He's one of those guys that you can't help but be happy around. He's always got a smile on his face and rarely, if ever, speaks a word. Seriously, go make friends with a rock (whoops, sorry - Rock Lord), they're perfect companions. 

A lot of people today would laugh about the thought of Tonka/Bandai making a line of transforming rocks back in the 80s, but honestly kids loved these things. Most kids actually get into rock collecting at one point or another and while most of the rocks they pick up are of the boring brown variety, Tonka and Bandai gave kids a wide variety of colorful rocks that just also happened to transform into robots. Although there were a few gray and brown rocks included in the line as well, there were figures with translucent parts and really pretty color schemes. Rock Roller here being part of the later. Who wouldn't want to find a blue and white swirl rock in the wild? That shit would be the prized possession of any boring rock collection and you know it. 

While we're still somewhat on the subject of silly things that transformed into robots in the 80s, I want to point out this scene in Big where Tom hanks tells all the bigwigs at the toy company that buildings aren't cool alternative forms for alien robots. I feel the same sentiment could have been given towards transforming rocks. 

And while that may have shut up all those high-powered 80s executives that were out of touch with the common boy (ew), Mr. Hanks doesn't know what he's talking about. 

That's a few building toys that any kid from the 80s would have killed for. And they probably could have used their transforming rock toys to do so. Well, now that we're all thinking it, Death by Rock Lord stoning should be seriously looked at by each state as a new form of euthanasia if they carry a death penalty. I'm not saying that I'm in favor of or against the death penalty - but honestly if I had to go, I'd be happy if Rock  Roller here was the last thing I saw. 

Liz: Seriously stop running over the fence.

...and all we got were these lousy awesome Be@rbricks and vinyl monsters! We got to do some hunting in the city including a very hectic trip to Toys R Us Times Square and Toy Tokyo. 

These are the items we picked up for ourselves at Toy Tokyo, though we got a few items on the trip for the store too! Come check out what's new and see our wicked tans (burns) we got from hanging out on the beach instead of running around the city! 

When the new wave of TMNT figures started showing up online I spent way too much time driving around to find them. Slash was definitely the one out of the new four (Slash, Newtralizer, Dojo Splinter & Rahzar) that I was trying to get, but I've done each character in the line thus far so finding any of them would suffice. 

I found Dojo Splinter at a Toys R Us first, then Slash and Rahzar at a Target and finally Newtralizer at another Toys R Us.  All within the span of three days. I did actually call a Toys R Us to see if they had any of these figures. Sorta went analog on this one.

Maybe it was the fact that I found him last, but Newtralizer quickly became my favorite out of the four figures in the new wave. I should probably admit that I've only seen a few episodes of the show as of this review, so I wasn't familiar with Newtralizer nor did I know if he has even shown up in an episode yet. However, the bio on the back of the card did a good job at explaining his character and really made him stand out as a figure. The fact that he was imprisoned by the Kraang and is now a bounty hunter that collects their tentacles as trophies is pretty rad/gross. 

The hunter/collector aspect of the character design is a great nod to the Predator franchise as well as his frisbee-saw type weapon that he sports. On top of that, the reptile pattern on his chest forms a really cool (and more than coincidental) skull design. 

With the release of this figure there has been a slight variation where the knife sheath on his leg, the knife and the frisbee weapon were released in black. Right now it's not apparent which, if either, is the rarer of the two. As you can tell from the photos I have the gray version, but I picked up the black version just the other day for a friend that was also looking for the new figures. On a related note, Slash also has a slight paint variation, where either three horns on his chest/shell are painted yellow, or three of the horns on his skin/neck are. Though they knocked this figure out of the park, there's a couple items that were left un-painted that seem weird when you notice them. There's a blade affixed to his tail as well as a belt of pockets along his left ankle. If I actually get around to painting those tentacles pink, I should probably take care of those as well. 

But for now, I have a hard time putting this figure down. He looks great in any pose and threatening in most of them. I can't recommend this figure enough. Pick him up if you see him, you won't be disappointed. And though the normal hollowing-out of certain parts of the figure is a little more apparent on the underneath of his tail, I still gotta say I appreciate anything that helps Playmates keep the costs down and the MSRP at or below $8.99. 

We are watching Scandal right now, so let's see how hard it will be to get Liz to chime in here. 

Liz: OMG THIS CARD IS FAKE. DAVID ROSEN PLAYED THEM! Gah I looked down for a second and now I don't know what's happening. I'll come back to this when someone starts making out with someone else.

Even though Spiral Zone has always been one of my favorite cartoon properties from the 80s, I've never owned a figure other than a few pieces that were incomplete that ended up on eBay. However, we recently picked up a set of figures that included a complete Duchess Dire figure that I was super excited to add to our personal collection. 

The Spiral Zone figures are approximately 6" tall and have loads of articulation. They also broke the barrier for figures with real cloth accessories where that was traditionally reserved for 8" and 12" figures. While the figures have a painted base of underclothes, their gear and uniform are cloth and plastic. 

Duchess Dire was the token female for the bad guys known as the Black Widows. Odd that the Black WIDOWS didn't have more female characters, but at least she led them. Oh wait...no she didn't. That would probably be too much for her. Instead, she was the Assignment Expert which basically means she stayed back at base and told everyone the details of all the fun stuff they got to go do/break. Buuuut I'm getting too preachy with my outlook on feminism in vintage toy lines. I'll stop there. 

All of the members of the Black Widows were infected and, you know what, here's an article on Wikipedia if you don't know what that is. I'd pretty much be retyping stuff from there. 

So back to the figure. Duchess came with a helmet that has an antenna on one side, a piece of chest armor, boots (one of which had a holster on it), a laser rifle, backpack that contained a net and a grappling hook and rope. The amount of accessories and attention to how they fit on the figures in this line was very impressive. Just the holster on the boot alone is something that most figure designs still to this day haven't seen. It was a good use of space on the figure and worth a mention. 

I also really like the nickname quoted on her gear as it gives some story to them all gearing up to go cause havoc and grabbing the right stuff in their lockers. I only assume that this was a result of people grabbing the wrong items when heading out and getting pissed about it on the field. 

If you get a chance to pick up any Spiral Zone figures, they're definitely worth the price if they're complete. I know I'll be hunting for more, or at least for parts to complete the two figures we have for sale in the store right now (pictured below in a weak battle against Duchess). 

Random facts about Spiral Zone; 

• Sam and Crank watched every episode of the show on lunchbreaks a few years back when they both worked at Devil's Due. 
• Sam went as an "infected" member of the Black Widows for halloween probably back in 87 or '88. His sister put hairspray on one side of his head and used lipstick to add all the red infected parts on his face and arms. (I'm searching for a picture of this. Also, no one knew who I was.)
• Spiral Zone has one of the best theme songs from the 80s and most of you folks are only going to hear it for the first time right now (video below). ♪♫ "Darkness, has fallen, on the victims, of the Zone."♫ ♪

Liz's facts about Duchess Dire/Spiral Zone;

• Sam made me watch the theme song to this show the other day and then looked at me like I was supposed to say something.