Vintage Kenner Star Wars - The Original 97

OK - maybe not the original 97, but a good chunk of them. I have some work to do to eventually complete the collection. But figured a good blast from the past would make people smile.

The Simpsons - World of Springfield

Playmates Toys came out with a helluva long standing series of Simpsons toys. I think they covered about every character, minus the celebrities. While I was always a fan of the Simpsons, never watched it religiously. I managed to snag this lot via Ebay for cheap.  Don't know where to begin with naming them all. Suffice it to say, my two favorite characters were Groundskeeper Willie and Smithers.

Gentle Giant Retro Cantina

If you hadn't seen Gentle Giant's reproductions of Kenner's original vintage Star Wars line, your missing out. More recently, Gentle Giant offered a reproduction of the Sears Cantina Adventure Set, which was a basic cardboard cutout cantina, but it came with the four cantina figures (Greedo, Walrusman, Hammerhead, and the infamous tall, blue Snaggletooth).

Shown below are the 12 inch scale adventure set. The box itself made it worthwhile to purchase. Also shown is the instructions sheet.

Finally, had the Cantina sit back for a cool one and some music. Included are the 12 inch Blue Snaggletooth and Greedo from Gentle Giant, the Momaw Naddon (Hammerhead) from Sideshow, and the Kenner/Hasbro Cantina Band set with six different instruments. My original intent was to have the Gentle Giant Han Solo in there as well, but since it is the small head variant, getting harder and harder to find, I couldn't take him out of the package quite yet.

Lego Friends Make Their Stand During Zombie Apocolypse

I saw a friend (who has two girls) make a Facebook post about gender driven toys. My response was to just "mash them up." In this case, my daughter and I took her collection of Lego Friends, a bunch of Walking Dead MiniMates zombies, and the Lego Village to create a all girl last stand in the zombie apocolypse. It was a blast. I also added a bunch of weapons from the Lego Lord of the Rings sets.

Barzso "Last of the Mohicans" Playset

Happy 2013! It's good to be back. What is my New Year's resolution? Do a post every Sunday and Wednesday. That should be easier to keep than losing weight or drinking less. Just kidding...it isn't work if we do something we love. Anyway, Sunday and Wednesday posts, weekly, are my resolutions.

First off for 2013...a great playset from Barzso (www.barzso.com) from the late 90s? "Last of the Mohicans" starring Daniel Day-Lewis and  Madeline Stowe is one of the most amazing movies I have seen. This is one of the few examples where the movie is better than the book. I tried reading the book after the movie....snooze.

Anyway, sometime, early in Barzso's history they gained the rights to do a licensed playset about the film. Mind you, there hasn't been a licensed plastic miniature playset in several decades. The first time I bought this set (yes, the first time - sold it to make money, and then missed it) I paid a good chunk for it. The second time, much less, but this time I am not selling it again.

So the playset includes six character figures, Huron Indians, Mohawk Scouts, and British Regulars. The six character figures include Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe), Madeleine Stowe as Cora Munro, Jodhi May as Alice Munro, Steven Waddington as Major Duncan Hayward, Wes Studi as Magua, Eric Schweig as Uncas, and Russell Means as Chingachgook.

The Huron village portion is pretty cool...longhouse and many accessories. In the movie, this comes at the end as Hawkeye barters for the release of Cora.

The British regulars and Hurons come in handy to recreate the scene where the British leave Ft. William Henry and are ambushed by the Hurons.

The best part of the playset is the rock ledge where Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook stand up to Magua as he is taking Alice as his bride. No spoilers here. You have to see the movie.

What's a Greedo? That's a Greedo!

I met one of my best friends in second grade when I brought a Greedo action figure to school. He asked "What's a Greedo?"

I showed him Greedo. We've been friends ever since. That was 33? years ago. So when Gentle Giant came out with their 12 inch retro Kenner replica,...Hell Yeah! I got a Greedo.

What's a Greedo? That's a Greedo!!!!

I have an update to this coming soon. Big surprise...stay tuned!

Weekend Find - November 17-18, 2012

I have pre-ordered plenty of toys over the last few years, because, quite frankly, I never see them on the toy shelves. I can't remember the last time I purchased a McFarlane NFL football figure at a store. They are usually picked through, or arrive months after release.

However, I still go to Toys R Us and Target at least once a week, just to look around, see what might be out there. And every once in awhile, you find something completely unexpected. Even with everything on the web these days months in advance, you can still get surprised. That happened this weekend. And because of that, I am going to try and start a new segment on GI Jigsaw to go out and find the unexpected.

In this case, I had already been collecting S.L.U.G. Zombies. SLUG stands for Scary Little Ugly Guys. They are 2 inch, hard rubber/plastic zombie figures with silly names like Grave Lincoln, instead of Abe Lincoln. Find out more at www.slugzombies.com. Made by JAKKS Pacific, they are reminiscent of MUSCLE Men, the wrestling figures of the 80s. The zombies are green. The zombie hunters are tan.

So far, 4 series of SLUG Zombies have been released. I accidentally stumbled on Series 4 at Target a few weeks ago. Series 4 has not made it to online retailers, like Entertainment Earth or CMD Store yet, so finding that was a great surprise. This weekend, as I was perusing Target, I noticed something odd that hadn't been shown on any website....a zombie that looked like Santa Claus, and a snowman. I quickly picked through the packs hanging from the pegs. CHristmas themed SLUG Zombies!!! Where did those come from? Retailing at $3.99 a pack, I grabbed two complete sets. There were four packs of Holiday SLUG Zombies. Altogether, there are 8 individual Christmas zombie figures. The tan Zombie hunter in each pack is a re-release of a figure already made.

So...here...we....go!

Back of the pack, showing the checklist of all the figures.

Frozen Fright (Snowman) and Johnny Hammer-Stix (Little Drummer Boy).

Hungry Humbug (Ebeneezer Scrooge) and Nutty Nate (Nut Cracker).

Santa Claws and Eli the Expired Elf.

Ralph Reindeer and Surprise Demise.

These were fun to find. Once again, totally unexpected. I will catch you all up on the first four series of SLUG Zombies soon.

With that, I am curious to see what I can find in the next weekend or two.

Happy Hunting...good luck on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.