Don’t Mess with the Yellow Track Suit

It takes some guts for a dude to walk out of his home wearing yellow sneakers. Trust me, I’ve done it. Its one of those situations where the image in your head is a lot cooler than the actual execution. Perhaps it would have translated better if I had accessorized with either yellow nunchucks, an Nth metal mace, or a Hattori Hanzo sword. Or perhaps I should have just realized that it is a very special club that gets to don … the yellow track suit.

Metron’s Chair – the Redux

A quick refresher: AFi’s own, Vader, has created a Web site that aims to convince Mattel to add light-up features to the upcoming Mobius Chair that will be packed with DC Universe Classics fan’s choice Metron. Take note, corporate execs, the facebook page has three quarters of a hundred likes! Regardless, I had to ask in my last installment: what’s wrong with the chair Metron already has? Or should I say: “chairs”? You guys made some fun suggestions for alternate divan options. Well, obviously I had nothing better to do than get sucked back into a Metron’s Chair wormhole. So here ya go Fourth World nerds . . .

Evolutions: Super Powers

There exists a passionate band of action figure anthropologists who are quite certain that the Big Bang for super hero parumplasticus populus [Latin: little plastic people] occurred in 1984. It isn’t that articulated super heroes (albeit more primitive) did not exist prior to the emergence of the Super Powers. They did. {see Kingdom: MEGO, Species, World’s Greatest Super Heroes} But through natural selection Super Powers quickly became the dominant species. And that legacy endures. It has taken almost 30 years for a population with an appropriate level of inherited traits to surface that distinguishes itself as the clear descendant of the Super Powers family. That new species is Mattel’s DC Universe Classics. Let’s compare…

Metron’s Chair

Surely you’ve been made aware of the upcoming DCUC subscription fan’s choice oversize deluxe figure Metron . . . and his chair. Now that we, the fans, have witnessed fully the extent of our power over the toy industry we push for more! To date, we have not seen images of the sculpt of Metron’s chair but an effort has been made to get Mattel to include light-up features. AFi’s own, Vader, is leading a charge and has created a Web site to get his message out. But I have to ask: what’s wrong with the chair Metron already has . . .

The Bent Knees Version

Clenching MEGO Comic Action Hero Spiderman in a small fist is not my earliest action figure recollection but it is the most vivid. Part of the reason this figure stands out amongst my other fond childhood toy memories is that it was only by the grace of my older brother that I was allowed to play with it in the first place. My brother is three years older than me and was well positioned to mandate things like what toys I was allowed to play with. That’s probably not too unusual. But it went beyond that. He dictated what characters I was allowed to “like”. For instance, he “liked” the Hulk and I “liked” Spidey. God forbid, I be caught “liking” Hulk. Same went with Star Wars. My brother got to “like” the bad guys and I got the good guys. These arrangements were called “deals”.

MOTU Action League?

Just one of those “let’s throw them in the case and see how the fans react” teasers. LOVE for them. Do it!…

Yoda Studio

Everyone knows that you’re supposed to remove your lightsaber when you enter a Yoda studio.

(This blog is just a pre-SDCC test of the WordPress mobile app.)

Exclusive 2011 AFi Tee Shirt

Get yer smokin’ hot 2011 Action Figure Insider exclusive tee shirts! Just in the nick of time for the San Diego Comic Con the folks at AFi have designed a new tee shirt for all you more style conscious nerds. Be the envy of geek hordes everywhere as you proudly show off your allegiance to the most awesome action figure site on the interwebs.

Plastic Man Goes to Phoenix Comicon

For as long as I have been going to comic conventions, unassimilated friends have asked: “Are you going to dress up?” (That’s their way of asking if I was going to Cosplay.) My answer was always the same: “Pssh, no!” That is, until now. Despite my mock derision, I’ve toyed with the idea of joining the Cosfray for years. Being an “ain’t no half-stepping” kinda guy, its taken me a while to gather all the pieces. But things finally came together for a Phoenix Comicon debut of my first Cosplay adventure.

Han Shot First in my New Custom Cantina Booth

So, I’m kinda into stuff related to the cantina scene from Star Wars Episode IV. A lot of that has to do with all the kooky aliens that populated the place. But, perhaps even more than the denizens, what makes that particular segment of the original Star Wars trilogy memorable is that really cool stuff went down there. We see a lightsaber deployed in battle for the first time. Luke meets Han and Chewie. After his surprise encounter with Greedo Han Solo defines awesome by quipping: “Sorry about the mess.” How fun is it to recreate some of that magic in 3 3/4" scale?

Hindu Mythology, Yoga, and Action Figures

Its fun when worlds collide. For instance, I love action figures. And I love yoga. You would be correct in assuming that those are two hobbies that don’t have much crossover. But thanks to a company called Kridana a bridge was built between my obsessions. Unfortunately, Kridana has come and gone. But let me at least pay a little tribute to an outstanding effort, albeit a few years late.

Looking Back: Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica

At the risk of jeopardizing some geek cred I’ll admit that only just now am I watching the ’03-’09 reboot Battlestar Galactica series. Based on all I’d heard I knew it’d be one of those epic television viewing experiences and I did not want to rush into it. I decided to start by rewatching the original series. My other motivation to start in 1978 was that I had been collecting the vintage Battlestar Galactica action figures and knew I wanted to blog about them. I felt compelled to reabsorb the television series from which these figures sprang.

I Heart Silver Surfer (and Galactus, too)

There has always been something I’ve found fascinating about Silver Surfer’s origin story hinging on a wanderlust inspired act of self-sacrifice. There is something I enjoy about his less-is-more aesthetic. There is something I relate to in his unassailable yet melancholy morality. He is a loner, reclusive and suffering. At the same time he is soulful and capable of great love. I really feel that Jack Kirby succeeded in creating a character that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the greats in the pantheon of mankind’s collective mythologies.

Evolutions: Wicket

Recent primatological findings lend support to the theory that humans evolved, not from an ape-like ancestor, but from Ewoks. The dominant view amongst scientists concerning the origin of anatomically modern humans is the "Out of Endor" hypothesis. It is estimated that Humans and Wookies branched off from their common hominid ancestor, the Ewok, about 5 – 7 million years ago. Or, in the vernacular: a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Vintage Guilt: the Blog

Last year AFi forum member, H-Balm, started a thread called “Vintage Guilt.” This was an intriguing title. He made the point that, once a line ends, the amount of existing carded samples of a given figure are now, quite obviously, limited. And each time a collector decides to open one of these, the rarity of carded samples increases. So H-Balm posed the questions: have you ever done this and, if so, did you hesitate and did you felt guilty about it? A good discussion followed.