This week's comic ad features one of my favorite toy lines of all time, Shogun Warriors! You can see some of the super-cool Shogun Warriors toys that were available in the late 70's. Buy 4 and you'd get a free Shogun iron-on featuring most of the 24" Jumbo Machinders: Daimos, Great Mazinga, Raideen, Gaiking, Godzilla and Rodan! (Dragun is missing from the iron-on.)
I have many great memories of those Jumbo Machinders. Of the robots, Daimos was my man, and my brother had Raideen and Great Mazinga. We also had the two monsters, Godzilla and Rodan. Godzilla was my childhood buddy... I was probably only 3 or 4 at the time, so I'd carry him around much like a teddy bear, holding his clawed hand with my hand. Rodan was my brother's Shogun monster. With its gigantic wing span, it was quite the impressive beast. Alas, Rodan did not fare particularly well; I accidentally broke the rubber band in his neck and that was all she wrote.
As an adult, I've collected a few of the other Jumbo Machinders, so you can probably expect to see them in a Toy Tribute eventually. They're amazingly awesome toys, even today. Check out this commercial on YouTube... classic!
The Star Trek: The Next Generation figures from Diamond Select Toys really rekindled my Next Gen fandom. And I've been eagerly awaiting this Enterprise D; it's my favorite Star Trek ship and it has needed a good, modern toy for quite a while since the old Playmates Enterprise D is pretty antiquated according to today's standards. So let's see how this ship shapes up!
Stats Company: Diamond Select Toys Size: 16" long Price: $35 at Big Bad Toy Store Packaging: Boxed
Looks: Overall, this ship looks fantastic. It's far more detailed than the Playmates Enterprise D (not to mention the Playmates Enterprise from the new movie) both in sculpt and paint apps.
The sculpt features excellent proportions and a lot of really cool aztec sculpting. They didn't skimp on the details: the Main Bridge looks great, the shuttle bay doors have cool textures, and even the Battle Bridge and docking latches underneath the Saucer Module get their props. As far as accuracy goes, I don't have any really detailed specs to compare this toy with the "official" Enterprise D, so I used the specs in the Star Trek Next Generation Technical Manual. I found the toy to be quite accurate for the most part. There are a few discrepancies but they're so minor that you'd only notice if you were comparing the toy side-by-side with blueprints. For example, the detailing on the emergency egress doors doesn't seem to match the specs. But again, these issues are incredibly minor and only the most obsessive fan would catch them. (So what does that say about me?)
There are a lot of really nice paint apps here, with hundreds of windows and lifeboats individually painted. The ship is a nice gray color which is great because toy companies tend to make the Enterprise stark white for some reason. And there is also a lot of really great detailing, like the Starfleet insignias, phaser arrays, and the Enterprise registry number. Like the sculpt, they don't skimp on the paint apps as even the Battle Section forward phaser array underneath the ship gets detailing. If you look really closely, you'll see that some of the windows overlap aztecing that they shouldn't, or some paint apps have worn because of the aztecing. But you can't tell without really studying the ship very closely; the overall effect is excellent.
Special Effects: Updated: When I first wrote this review, I didn't know to set the sound effects from Try Me to Play, so I thought there was only one sound effect. Not so! Thanks to an anonymous dude's comment (see below), I realized that there are 15 sound effects when you press the Main Bridge, which also light-up the navigational deflector, Bussard ramscoops, warp nacelles, and Main Bridge. The sound effects include some of Picard's famous lines (like "Tea, earl grey, hot" and "Make it so"), a transporter beam, red alert, phaser fire, and warp effects. They're actually really nice, but the Picard lines don't sound much like Patrick Stewart.
Accessories: This Enterprise comes with not one, but two display stands! The extra stand allows you to display the ship with Saucer Module separated from the Battle Section. Both look great, sporting the Next Gen Starfleet Emblem at their bases.
Another nice touch is that the ship comes with plugs if you want to hide the stand holes underneath the hull.
Value: I was surprised at the quality of the sculpt and paint apps. It looks almost like a high-end model rather than a production toy. And you get a lot of toy for your money. At 16 inches in length and 12 inches in width, this thing dwarfs the similarly-priced Playmates movie Enterprise. Not only that, but the two bases also help to make this toy worth the money.
Coolness: The coolest thing about this ship is that it features a separating Saucer Module. And there aren't any weird latches that would screw up the sculpt; the Saucer is held to the Battle Section by high-powered magnets. (A side note, the magnets really are "high-powered". So don't set this thing on your computer tower or television or you might get some nasty side-effects.) The separating sections and dual stands open up some interesting display capabilities. And this ship looks fantastic on the shelf. Don't put the Playmates Abrams Enterprise anywhere near it... there's truly no comparison.
Overall: The awesome sculpt, detailed paint apps, impressive size, neat sound effects and fun separating sections make this Enterprise D quite possibly the best Enterprise D toy ever made. And taking pictures of this thing is so blasted fun, you should expect some Toy Pix featuring Enterprise D sometime in the future. Let's hope Diamond Select cranks out more ships... I'd love to see an Enterprise C!
The new Transformers movie seems to cause some contention among fans. It seems to be either a love it or hate it sort of movie. So let's see what you think about it in this month's poll!
Here are the results of June's Poll:
How well you think the new GI Joe movie will turn out, based on what you've seen so far?
Man, I was lucky to get Hordak. Not only did the MattyCollector server fail when I tried to order it, but it also sold out in less than an hour, quicker than any other MOTUC figure (despite the increased production run). Is it worth all the hub-bub?
Looks: Hordak is arguably the best-looking MOTUC figure to date. Like others in the line, Hordak's sculpt is awesome in that it's not only an update to the old sculpt, but also manages to tug on the nostalgia strings by maintaining much of the vintage style. Paint apps are done pretty well; I especially like the silver detailing on the armor and the bone-like skin coloring on the face. And the black/red/silver color scheme really makes this figure pop on the shelf.
Unlike DC Universe Classics, the reused parts here aren't tiresome (at least, not yet). The upper arms, upper body, and upper legs are all from He-Man, and the loincloth is from King Grayskull. Everything else is new, which significantly differentiates Hordak from the other figures in the line.
Hordak's "tummy" is flat like his armor, which makes the armor look like it's in two pieces. He looks great with the armor on, but take it off and he looks pretty weird. Still, it's an acceptable trade-off.
Articulation: Hordak has the same articulation as everyone else in the line: ball-socket neck, ball-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, hinge torso, swivel waist, ball-hinge hips, hinge knees, swivel shins, and hinge ankles. The hood restricts neck movement and the armor restricts the torso. Other than that, the figure moves really well.
Accessories: MOTUC has been known to be pretty skimpy in terms of accessories, but Hordak is the exception to the rule. He comes with his signature crossbow as well as a cool staff. Not only that, but he comes with a dragon buddy! I've always loved animal buddy accessories (dating back to Mutt and Junkyard), so that's a great way to win brownie points with me.
Hordak's armor is also removable, and the hood is a separate piece which opens up display possibilities. For example, if you have a few extra Hordaks, you could display them sans hoods and have evil Horde troopers! But with the popularity of this figure, good luck getting extras.
Value: At $20 a pop, these MOTUC figures are tough to justify at first. Still, the quality of the figures is pretty amazing, so you get what you pay for. In Hordak's case, the extra accessories sweeten the deal a bit.
Coolness: Hordak is a pretty awesome figure. The Evil Horde was always one of the coolest "teams" in the MOTU line, so this figure already has a lot of coolness going for it. I love the sculpt and the vampire-esque color scheme, both of which make him one of the most distinctive MOTUC figures on the shelf. I'm not sure if I'll throw my beloved Mer-Man under the bus and say that Hordak is the best MOTUC figure, but he's certainly a step above the rest.
Overall: The complaints of slightly less than perfect mobility and a somewhat steep price tag are minor and don't detract from the awesomeness of the figure as evident in the incredible sculpt and nifty accessories. Six months into the line, Hordak proves that MOTUC still delivers. I can't wait to see what the Four Horsemen have in store for us in the future.
When I watched the first Transformers movie, I gave it a pretty good review. Basically, I loved the robot designs and the action, but most of pretty much everything else left much to be desired. So is Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen similar?
Very much so, except jacked up a notch on both the good and the bad. Here's a synopsis, courtesy of IMDB:
Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.
Let's start with the positive, shall we? The action and special effects are among the best of the year. The opening action sequence is awesome beyond words, and anytime a robot is on the screen whupping butt, I'm happy. Sideswipe's fighting is probably my favorite as he uses a super-cool "skating" fighting technique (it's cooler than it sounds, trust me).
The robot designs and renders are also incredible. I had my doubts about Devastator and Ravage, but both are visually awesome. Soundwave is also pretty sweet. But the absolute awesome-est of the bunch is probably (spoiler, highlight to read) Optimus at the end of the movie when he combines with Jetfire. That's an action figure I'm really looking forward to.(/spoiler) Basically, the movie is visually stunning whenever a robot's on the screen.
But almost every other aspect about the movie is truly atrocious.
The plot has holes in it of sufficient density to gravitationally collapse upon themselves and form black hole singularities. For example (spoiler): In the beginning of the movie, what is Bumblebee doing wasting his firepower just sitting there in a garage when he could be helping to destroy the Decepticons? Why does Sam not tell the Autobots about his shard even though the other shard was so important as to have a government facility dedicated to it? (/spoiler) The plot is virtually nonsensical. And it's peppered with ineffectual and juvenile comic relief that Bay just tries to pound into your head at every opportunity. The absolute worst was (spoiler) a gag about Devastator's balls. I'm not joking.(/spoiler)
Almost all the characters have annoying personalities. The dialogue is terrible; the acting, worse. And although I like the look of the robots and how they fight, their personalities leave much to be desired. Some of the robots are cool like Optimus, Megs and Starscream. I even like Wheelie; as comic relief, he works pretty well. But all the other speaking robots are annoying at best. Right after Sideswipe takes out a car with super-cool roller-blading action, he lets loose with a horrible one-liner that ruins any that coolness he previously had. Jetfire is an incompetent fool who (spoiler)is nothing more than extra armor for Optimus.(/spoiler) And Skids and Mudflap are robotic incarnations of Jar Jar Binks.
The directing is similarly bad. The scenes flip back and forth, leaving you little time to catch your breath or even appreciate the importance of what's going on. And the camera is constantly moving. Constantly. Bay, for whatever reason, can't seem to calm himself down enough to just do a static camera shot. It's so bad it induces motion sickness.
Overall: This movie is both one of the best movies I've seen this year in terms of action and effects, and one of the worst movies in terms of acting, dialogue, directing, and characters. And that's saying something considering I sat through Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li. I give the movie a generous 2... the visual spectacle saves it from totally bottoming out.
UPDATE 6/28/2009: I've been thinking about why I loathe this movie so much. I'm usually a big fan of bad sci-fi movies. I love kaiju flicks, Bruce Campbell movies, etc... as long as it has aliens, monsters, or zombies, I'm happy. TF2 has some of the coolest aliens around, so why all the hatred?
When a movie maker tackles an effects-driven movie (whether it be about spaceships, kaiju, or, in this case, robots), he should know that what makes that movie cool are the effects. The director should step back and let the effects carry the movie if he's unable to supply a decent plot, interesting supporting characters, or effective cinematography.
As an example, take Godzilla: Final Wars. The movie makers obviously knew what people wanted to see: Godzilla whupping tail. The plot was in shambles and the characters were two dimensional, but that didn't matter. What was important was Godzilla, and the movie makers realized that nothing they could create in terms of plot or characters could compete, so they let the kaiju action take over. Perfectly acceptable. As another example, JJ Abrams was able to create characters that could hold their own against the special effects in the new Star Trek film, so it's justifiable that so much time was devoted to them.
However, Michael Bay is no JJ Abrams. The horrible characters and crappy plot he created for TF2 were atrocious... which is fine, as long as they don't take away from the robot action. But tragically, Bay thought that they merited more screen time than the robots themselves, which they did not. That's why I hated this film, because Bay thought that he was better than the Transformers.
This week's comic ad is a tribute to one of my favorite childhood comics: Boris the Bear. The comic was a parody of popular fads; Boris was a bear with anger management issues who would fly off the handle and gun down entire genres of characters just because of their trite and cliched existence.
The first issue showcased Boris' slaughter of anthropomorphic animals, especially the endless ripoffs of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that were so prevalent in the independent comic circuit (and he wasn't too kind to the Turtles themselves, either). I loved the comic, probably because I was so engrossed in the independent comic scene at the time. And part of the appeal of these indy comics was the mature violence... of which Boris the Bear had an abundance.
Boris doesn't seem to be doing all that much these days (although there is a website that has a few recent publications). But that first issue is a classic.
I've been vacationing in New York City the past few days, and no trip to New York is complete without a visit to the Times Square Toys R Us. Most of the toys there I had seen plenty of times before (although it was surprisingly well-stocked). But the one surprise was this Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight toy line which I had never before seen.
I've only watched the first episode of Kamen Rider, but I really dig the costume designs. Kamen Rider seems kind of like Power Rangers except with a bug theme and motorcycles, all of which seems pretty cool, so I decided to pick up two of the figures: Camo and Dragon Knight.
Stats: Company: Bandai Size: 4" Price: $10 (Kamen Rider figures can also be found online for $8) Packaging: Carded
Looks: I'm surprised that Bandai managed to get this level of sculpting detail in these figures. The detail work in the helmets and armor is quite nice with plenty of cool touches like the minuscule details in Dragon Knight's dragon gauntlet. But the proportions are way off: the helmets are too small, the torso is too wide, and the hips are too weird. I wish Bandai would stick to the proportions of the Super Legends line.
The paint apps are surprisingly sharp. In particular, the paint apps for Camo's "eye vents" and Dragon Knight's grill and bug eyes are very precise for any toy manufacturer, let alone Bandai. There isn't much, if any, slop happening here. But unfortunately Bandai was a bit stingy with the paint: Camo's chin and armor should have silver and red paint and Dragon Knight's armor isn't painted on his back. This sort of laziness makes otherwise great figures seem cheap.
Articulation: Both Kamen Riders have 9 points of articulation: ball-socket neck (limited), swivel shoulders, swivel wrists, ball-socket hips, and hinge knees. The articulation is just enough to make them ride a bike, but ball-socket shoulders would have increased the playability of the figures.
Accessories:Camo -Dragon Knight - Camo's weapon is a yo-yo, of all things. The yo-yo concept works perfectly with his chameleon theme, mimicking the lizard's tongue. It's goofy yet fun and distinctive... I like it.
Dragon Knight's weapon is a sword. It's nothing special.
Both figures also come with a card which I assume you feed through a reader in a card/battle game a la YuGiOh. The cards are pretty much useless to me, but I dig the Biogreeza illustration on Camo's card. Whatever "Biogreeza" is.
Value: The $10 each I paid for these figures is crazy. For the rating, I will assume they retail at most locations for $8, which is more reasonable, but still too much. I'm not sure how Bandai justifies it, but such a small figure with very few accessories does not warrant this price tag.
The Red Team!
Coolness: I love the "Power Ranger"-esque look and feel of the costume designs. Camo's chameleon look is really cool and his costume has plenty of great details that convey the theme (like the red horns on the shoulder pads). The yo-yo is the icing on the cake. Dragon Knight's bug knight theme is also cool... he looks like Ambush Bug with an attitude.
Overall: Kamen Rider Camo and Dragon Knight are really cool figures with great sculpts, but they could have been so much better. Bandai's lazy paint apps and exhorbinant price tag put a damper on these figures. But with its attention to sculpting detailing and added articulation, it seems like Bandai is moving in the right direction.
I've been watching the Glyos toy line for a while now. While I'm not into "designer toys", I've always thought Glyos was cool, I was just resistant to start collecting yet another toy line. But sites like Fans of Pheyden and BattleGrip, featuring awesome pics of Glyos figures in action, gradually wore away my resolve. Besides, I would only be purchasing one of these figures... no big deal, right? So I ordered this Naras Buildman.
Looks: I love the familiar, yet ambiguous design of this figure. The style of the sculpt has hints of Micronauts and Samus Aran, yet still differentiates itself enough to be an entirely different character. This ambiguity makes the figure much more fun.
And what's even more interesting is the fact that you can switch around parts. You could buy 3 of the exact same Buildman, swap around some parts, and build 3 entirely different-looking figures.
The paint apps are pretty good. There's a bit of slop in regards to the black lines, but nothing too bad. The strong colors make the figure one to notice on the shelf.
Articulation: Buildman has a good deal of articulation for a figure of this size: swivel neck, shoulders, forearms, torso, hips, knees, and ankles. Total, that's 12 points of articulation... not too shabby, but ball-in-socket articulation would really make the figure come alive.
Accessories: Buildman comes with a few extra parts, which I suppose count as accessories. These parts can be used to create a jet pack or a blaster arm, take your pick. While the flexibility of the extras is welcome, I think a mini-blaster would have been awesome.
Value: $8 for a 3-inch figure seems a bit pricey, but it isn't that bad considering this is a small-scale production toy. It's not a fantastic deal, but the figure is priced low enough that collecting the line isn't cost-restrictive to those of us on a toy budget. Also, the plastic is of good enough quality that when you pop off the parts you don't feel like the peg is going to break.
Coolness: I wasn't expecting Buildman to be this fun. Every point of articulation on the figure can be popped-off, and every part can fit in every joint. Swapping out the parts to create different characters is a blast, and I've spent a good deal of time just experimenting with the extra parts to see what I could build. In fact, it's a bit difficult to get through this review because I keep playing with the figure. I'd love to buy a hundred of these things and create endless Buildman morphologies.
Overall: I haven't had this much fun with a figure in quite a while. I could spend hours just swapping out parts. And the figure looks great, with a design that's unique yet familiar. I was expecting to buy only one of these Glyos figures, but now I'm hooked. Damn you, Onell. And the worst part is, since I'm late to the Glyos party, I've missed a bunch of incredibly awesome figures. Oh well... better to start now and not miss any more!
Back in 2003 when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returned to the airwaves in a more Mirage-friendly cartoon, Dreamwave picked up the license to make comic books based on the cartoon. Despite some of the most interesting and dynamic art ever seen in TMNT comics (by the legendary LeSean), the series was very short-lived, lasting only 5 issues. This comic ad features a two-page mini-poster depicting a storyline that never made it to press: The Turtlenator.
I assume this story arc would center around the Turtlebot (a mecha Ninja Turtle from the new toyline). Or maybe this was supposed to be an updated version of Metalhead. Unfortunately, we'll never know; the comic was canceled before the first installment.
The failure of the Dreamwave TMNT comic is up for conjecture. I suspect that poor choices of storylines killed the comic before its time. The first four issues were rehashes of stories already told in the cartoon; the fifth was the first original story but featured a crazy psychiatrist as the antagonist. And it was as blah as it sounds. Truthfully, the Turtlenator storyline was the one with which they should have started. It had the potential to be an interesting, independent storyline. And people love wacky villains fighting the Turtles.
It's too bad this series never saw the light. I'm sure with LeSean doing the pencils, we would have gotten some awesome Ninja Turtle action!
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This week's comic ad features one of my favorite toy lines of all time, Shogun Warriors! You can see some of the super-cool Shogun Warriors toys that were available in the late 70's. Buy 4 and you'd get a free Shogun iron-on featuring most of the 24" Jumbo Machinders: Daimos, Great Mazinga, Raideen, Gaiking, Godzilla and Rodan! (Dragun is missing from the iron-on.)
