Hey.
How are you?
Cool. I’m fine, bordering on good.
Feel like talking toys and stuff for a while?
Alright. Let’s do it.
First and foremost, an Earth-Shattering UPDATE!!!
If you’ve ever wondered what one of your favorite (most loathed?) Internet toy personalities is doing at any given moment, perhaps even every given moment? Well, as of this date in the Year of Our Lord 2010, you can.
We now return you to your previously read blog…
That picture of me up there is way out of date. I haven’t had hair like that in a few years. Remember when I told you about my somewhat ill-fated hiking trip? That day, my wife snapped a picture of me sitting on a bench looking at a map of the trail. It was a shot from slightly above and slightly behind me.
Yep. And no one had had the heart to tell me.
Two options at that point; fight it (and eventually lose) or embrace it. I chose the latter and, for the last two years, I’ve rocked the Statham cut. Turns out it was a great move. No maintenance and I’ve got the head for it. Who knew? If you’re a fella starting to lose that fight, I recommend giving in and busting out the clippers. It’s liberating.
Anyway. Toys.
I don’t know about you, but not very much about this hobby excites me anymore. I think that’s good, though, because what I am into, I’m really into. When I look back on how many lines I used to collect, it’s barmy. There was no way I could possibly have liked all that stuff enough to justify owning it all. And when I think about the money, so help me, the money, forget it. Let’s just look forward, shall we?
Character Options Classic Doctor Who line will get as much of my money as it wants until it goes away. The figures are universally awesome (and so’s the show if you’ve never experienced it) and I have no problem shelling out what I must to buy them. I’m a relatively new Whovian, so I consider myself lucky to have found the show now when all the beautiful toys are coming out. For the longtime diehards, this must seem like the end of a nigh eternal journey. Remember how we Classic Trekkers felt when Playmates put out that bridge crew set? Double it and I think that’s how first edition Whovians feel now.
It’s a great line, and a great show. You’re missing out if you haven’t given it a try.
Have you ever collected a line, for a long time even, and couldn’t conceive of buying something from that line now?
That’s me with G.I. Joe.
And Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
And Marvel Superhero Squad.
Speaking of that last one, my Star Wars collecting is down to just three categories, at this point; Jabba’s Palace figures, Ewok figures, and absolutely everything Original Trilogy in Galactic Heroes form. The new AT-AT is awesome, honestly, all the GH vehicles are, and I can’t wait for the Kohl’s(?!) exclusive AT-ST. It’s interesting how, in the end, I don’t think any other property Hasbro has tried it with has lent itself so readily to the "Heroes’ format the way Star Wars, particularly OT Star Wars, does.
Even the Uncle Owen Galactic Heroes figure is cool, for Piett’s sake.
As I said above, Joe may have been honorably discharged, but Transformers have made something of a comeback with me. Disinterested since Beast Machines, I retroactively got into the Animated line and I really like it. Rodimus and Ironhide were great late additions, but I think they also serve to remind us the line isn’t really complete…and probably never will be.
Talking about complete lines, one of my all-time favorite lines features not only a team of awesome core heroes, but also specialists for every environment, a team scientist/inventor, and even a team documentarian.
"But I thought he was out of G.I. Joe…?"
I am. I was referring, of course, to Rescue Heroes.
Duh.
Have you ever bought something just for the shit of it? I did. Today. Picked up two The Corps! 2-packs, mainly because they have holsters now and one of the guys looked like (the real) Nick Fury. Holsters. Isn’t that sad? Anyway, they’re alright. I’ll probably get my six bucks worth.
If you’ve read me here at AFI for a while, you know that I’ve reviewed a few movies here. The Star Trek one seemed to go over quite well. I really enjoyed doing them and would like to do more. I think I shall and we’ll see how you like them.
I think Jeremy Padawer is a good guy and really gave it his all on Jakks Pacific’s WWE line, especially the classics, but do you think he’s able to look at what Enrique Ruvalcaba and Mattel are doing and acknowledge everything about the new line is better than everything about the old one? I bet, secretly, he is.
Besides, Jakks still has the UFC line and I think they’re pretty cool. Couture’s proto looks horrid, though. Hopefully that will be fixed before it hits the pegs.
Extending the tangent, I hope TNA stills exists before Wave 2 of that line hits the pegs. Yikes.
Do you have any pets that aren’t a cat or a dog? It seems, once we become adults, instances of non-catdog pets become scarce. What do you have? Anything?
Is there a line you wish would come back, exactly as it used to be, so you could continue right on buying it? For me, it’s Playmates Star Trek. I ache over what they put out for the last movie. What a lost opportunity for nostalgia, line extension, consistency, and sales that was.
Mezco Popeye; that’s another one. I can’t tell you what I’d do to see that come back. You’d never speak to me again.
By the way, what the hell is going on with Mezco these days? Do they still exist? It doesn’t seem like it. It amazes me they used to do so many things I loved (Popeye, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Reservoir Dogs, Hellboy) and now, if not for the emo dollies, it looks like they’d be out of business. People often lament the passing of Palisades, but at least they went out doing what they did. I feel like Mezco is dying a slow, tortuous, death where little bits of it wither, blacken, and fall off.
Definitely makes me sad. I wish they’d do something I could get behind again. It pains me to think we never got their Dick Tracy line.
Am I the only one surfing the Web on my iPhone in bed before going to sleep most nights? I can’t be.
Think there will be a new wave of Godzilla figures from Bandai Creation this year? I hope so, but it’s not looking good.
Does anyone else not understanding this recent spat of new MEGOs and MEGO-like lines a’tall? I get the nostalgia when it comes to stuff like Mattel’s Retro DC-o-ramas or whatever they’re called, but why, in 2010, would I want a new line of a new property in this form?
What’s next? The Edsel hybrid? iPods you have to crank? What the hell…?
Getting back to Popeye, I can’t wait for the 3-D CGI movie, which will almost surely be can of dung, for one reason; the merchandising. I’m really hoping for some new Popeye everything.
Did you see the Dexter figures at Toys R Us? What do you make of that? I’m against any form of censorship, but there is such a thing as propriety, and the packages actually identify him as a serial killer. Yes, Freddy and Jason are in that aisle, too, but…I dunno, they’re obvious bogeymen whereas Dexter, even if he is killing the "right" victims, is just a normal man who brutally murders people. Does his fictitious nature make it OK? If it were a figure of John Wayne Gacy in a clown costume would that be too far, or would that be OK, too? I kinda feel like Dexter is a little much for TRU but, if he goes, the Freddies and Jasons should probably go, too.
Anyway, while you ponder that, I’m gonna shove off. I had a good time talking to you; hopefully you did, too. We’ll have to do it again soon.
-JJJ
could not agree with you most now a days just the old stuff one use to collect seems to be been there done that. though still plan to get the jabba throne and the atat. dexter the figure is for adults not for kids doubt full a little kid is asking for a dexter figure. as for a toy line would love back . M.a.s.k for would love it to return all the way to finaly produce the shark that never got a u.s release or so the legend goes .
Rogaine is doing the trick for me for the time being, but if the day ever comes when my hair lets go, I hope I have the guts to go full-on Joey Lawrence. But I’ll probably just get a hair transplant.
I want the SOTA Street Fighter line to come back. They got most of the characters, but another wave or two would have completed the line.
As far as hair goes, mine’s receding, but no actual bald spots yet. I don’t know if I could rock the bald look. As a guy who doesn’t really use any product other then shampoo/conditioner, I don’t know get the whole metrosexual thing. Hair is simple. Wash, comb, cut (at a barber not a stylist) and repeat. That’s it.
I’ll be all over the Popeye stuff too. Funny you mention him, I just bought a Popeye frame recently for my kitchen.
As for things that I hope to see down the line (wishful thinking probably) would be an entire Hanna-Barbera line of merchandise, that I could find at a brick & mortar store and not scour the internet and 20 different Web sites.
I’m still into the DCU Classics line, and probably more so now because my nephew is starting to get into them somewhat. He’s been coming over my place for a couple of years to just play with them, but now wants some figures of his own. He loves the Lego Batman game (there really should be a comic)and wants the characters in the game. I’ve actually given him figures from my collection (some that I really liked too), while buying others. Trying not to spoil the kid, but I love the enthusiasm he shows for it. Bought him a container so he can store them & keep them in one place.
I was willing to give him more figures, but he just wanted these particular ones. Down the line, I’ll probably give him figures from waves I don’t really care for but just want the collect n connect figure.
As for me, I’m into most of the lines/waves thus far. Maybe one line out of how many I really couldn’t get into (Trigon figure wave). I just one day would love for Mattel to make a Superfriends-style Bizarro. That’s the one hope that keeps me looking, keeping me excited for every new wave announcement. Perhaps it’s a false hope, don’t know.
There’s a new wave of Bandai Creation Godzilla figures currently showing up at Toys R Us. They’re all reissues though: First Godzilla, Final Wars Godzilla, and Rainbow Mothra. The new packaging is pretty cool. Sorry if you knew about these already and were emphasizing “new” figures.
I did not know about these, so cheers. I may pick up the Mothra.
Just the three figures, though?
Hey man! Thanks for checking in! And you’re right, it HAS been too long. Now I need to get something up. First off, couldn’t agree with you more on the Character Options “Classic”‘Doctor Who’ stuff. It’s all been amazing, and being one of the ‘first edition’ fans of the show, it’s been a long time coming. I’m headed to London this weekend, and I remember my first visit there 30 years ago. Since I’d never seen a thing here in the US for merch, I assumed there’d be stalls of ‘Who’ toys on every street corner. Hardly. I found some Viewmaster Reels and a chocolate Easter egg in a TARDIS shaped box and went home despondent. I never thought I’d see the day the action figures I’d wanted since I was a kid would be on loads of shelves all over the city. Oh, and yes, I have heard about that ‘Dexter’ action figure at Toys R Us. What is this world coming to? Honestly.
Hey all,
I do think it’s too much to remove Dexter from the toy aisles of TRU. Especially when it comes to him being completely fictitious. While I agree in propriety, let’s not see Ted Bundy, or Gacy figures… I do think this is pushing it too far in the other direction. How is Dexter any different than the Joker? Megatron? Punisher? etc? If Dexter were a real person I would totally agree, but not in this case. At all.
With regards to Dexter, I think the only people buying the toy will be those who know who he is anyway, so I don’t see it as too much of an issue.
Hair-wise, I’m hoping to be ok. My dad started losing his hair before he reached 30 (where I am now), but I’ve heard it follows the maternal line and my mum’s dad had a full head of hair when he died a few years ago. But yes, shaving is the only real option once it starts to go.
As far as toylines I’d welcome back, while I loved Mask when I was younger, the two I’d really want are a little more recent – DC minimates and Mezco’s Hellboy comic line.
I agree with you on the Mego figures. Personally I don’t see the attraction at all.
Jo
I have a couple of non-cat/dog pets. We have 2 alligator lizards we caught in our yard. Both have grown to about 10-12″ now. We’ve had one for 2 years and the other just about a year. We keep them in my daughter’s room. She named them “Buddy” and “Ryan”… actually she named Buddy “Miley” but we just started calling her “Buddy” and it stuck.
I just yesterday surrendered my cockatiel of eight years to a rescue (note: do not ever get a bird unless you can give it the attention you would a child). I’d arranged it over the past two weeks, which is sort of why I asked the question in the first place.
I didn’t give up my bird for this purpose at all, but I’m considering getting a corn snake, which would be about the polar opposite of a bird in terms of need for attention and constant care.
-JJJ