Friday, September 5, 2014

ERTL Cannonball Run

I loved the Cannonball Run movie as a kid when it came out. Can't believe it was way back in 1981 when it was released. To this day, I have a burning desire to drive cross country in a race as fast as I can.

Looking at IMDB, I realized that I had forgotten what a great cast it was - Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Sammy Davis Jr, Adrienne Barbeau, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Terry Bradshaw and Jackie Chan. Outstanding!

Anyway, I remember riding my bike to the local 7-11 to get the ERTL Cannonball Run "matchbox" cars. They included Burt Reynolds and Dom Deloise's Ambulance, Jamie Farr's "Sheik" Rolls Royce, the Hawaiin Tropic car, and Sammy Davis Juniors Ferrari. There is also a brown Porsche but not sure whose it is - is it the two ladies? I'll have to rewatch the film. Anyway, I recently purchased the Rolls Royce.



And here are some more I pulled off of Ebay.






Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Austin Miniatures Western Figures

I've posted before about my love of "army men playsets" from Marx, Barszo (www.barzso.com), Conte (www.conteco.com) and Toy Soldiers of San Diego (www.sdsoldiers.com). But there is a new player in town.

The company is called Austin Miniatures: www.Austinminiatures.com

The first set of Cowboys can be ordered in two different colors - grey or buck skin. If you take a close look, some of these Cowboys look strangely familiar - characters from Tombstone and The Outlaw Josey Wales.



Austin miniatures also released a new set of WWII Marines - Each bag consists of 12 figures from six poses.



But the REALLY cool part of their product line is the western town buildings. Their buildings include the Two Story Saloon with Awning ($120), Two Story Saloon with Balcony ($120), Corner Building ($120), Livery ($125), Church ($120), Jail ($100), One Story Saloon ($100), General Store ($100) and Undertaker building ($100). They look awesome and they have a hefty price but look fantastic.


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Star Wars The Black Series 6 Inch - Series 3

Trying to catch up, but Hasbro's 6 Inch Black Series - Series 3 has been out for a couple of months now - well, at least it is supposed to be out. I have only seen it once at retail - and that is only Obi Wan Kenobi from Revenge of the Sith. I haven't seen Bespin Luke or the Stormtrooper out in the wild yet. I likely won't. I have yet to see Boba Fett from Series 2 out in the wild. That's why I preorder from Big Bad Toy Store.

Anyway, Series 3 is a decent set. First, it has the Stormtrooper...Hasbro resisted for awhile, but it looks like they are going to start shipping 4-packs of Stormtroopers for army building. That's better than a Greedo or Slave Leia army. More on that later. Also included in Series 3 is Bespin Luke and Revenge of the Sith Obi Wan Kenobi. All three of these figures rock. I enjoyed the prequels. Didn't love them, but definitely enjoyed them. I really like Ewan MacGregor's portrayal of Kenobi. The fourth figure is a carry forward from Series 2 - Han Solo. Not sure why they picked him, but there are plenty of him hanging on the pegs.







Along with Han, there are plenty of Greedo's and Slave Leia's hanging on the pegs. Hope that doesn't discourage the big boxes from ordering future series. If the popular figures can't be found, it is a good sign that things are selling well.

Series 4 is already out - and I have possession of it. Will be posting those in the future. 


Monday, September 1, 2014

Zica Toys Six Million Dollar Man 3-3/4" Series 1

You know, if it wasn't for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers, I would hit stretches for weeks where time got away from me and I didn't post. Anyway, doing some catch up work here.

First of, there is a renaissance of sorts going on with 3-3/4" retro Kenner style figures. Super7s ReAction line is awesome...more on that later. Bif Bang Pow released their Black & White Twilight Zone figures which are fantastic as well.

The focus of this post is Zica Toys' Six Million Dollar Man Series 1. Steve Austin - astronaut - a man barely alive...yes, you know the drill - it was the intro to the awesome 70s show, starring Lee Majors.

In this series, you have Colonel Steve Austin in his red jumpsuit, blue jumpsuit variant, and Bigfoot. I remember loving the show, and I remember bigfoot. I just don't remember details. May have to binge watch in on Netflix. Anyway, here are the figures.






The knees are articulated, but the elbows are not. The figures are a lot of fun. Will have some more photos shortly of them unpackaged.

A Series 2 of six figures was scheduled which included Oscar Goldman and Barney Miller. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to lack of preorders. Maybe they can make a smaller series with just 2-3 figures. An Oscar Goldman would be awesome. And a Jamie Summers Bionic Woman, but rumor has it, that character license belongs to a different entity and they aren't selling the rights. Bummer.



Thursday, August 21, 2014

League assignment: Cryptozoology!

This week’s  League assignment: Cryptozoology!


 First question – what the hell is cryptozoology? Well, I’ll tell you what dictionary.com says:

cryptozoology
[krip-toh-zoh-ol-uh-jee]
noun
1.
the study of evidence tending to substantiate the existence of, or the search for, creatures whose reported existence is unproved, as the Abominable Snowman or the Loch Ness monster.

So what to write – well, since this is a toy blog, I asked myself….”self, what kind of toys are focused on cryptozoology.” I went to Ebay and typed in “cryptozoology.” Let’s see what happens.

Believe it or not, Mezco released a series of cryptozoology figures – big foot, mothman, and jersey devil - they are all listed between $60-75.






There was a Kickstarter campaign for an action figure line called Cryptids. Unfortunately, it wasn’t funded. It was pretty darn cool so I hope the owner of the campaign figures out how to make it a reality in the future.




Some other ebay search results included a plush chupacabra and Loch Ness monster.




Interestingly, I liked the Cryptozoology Toob. You’ll see these in arts and craft stores like Michael’s and AC Moore, and they are small tubes with a theme of toys like dinosaurs, cowboys and Indians, etc.



Of course, Big Foot seems to have plenty of items. Most recently, the new Six Million Dollar Man figures from Zica Toys.



Before that, the Marvel Legends “Sasquatch” from Alpha Flight was always one of my favorites.



I’m sure there are more – since cryptozoology is the study of these, I will continue to do some more research.



Other Leaguers write about their studies:


Monday, August 11, 2014

League Assignment - TOP 10

League Assignment.


Top 10!

My top 10 is about my Top 10 toys as a kid that were not Star Wars or GI Joe.

10. Playskool Sesame Street blocks. Not sure why this made such an impression but I still remember it.



9. Fisher Price Sesame Street – it was just cool for a 4 year old.



8. Weebles Wobbles Treehouse – cool sculpting



7. Six Million Dollar Man Repair Station – the rubber arm skin, the bionic plates, and a repair station that turns into a rocket.



6. Giant Tinker Toys – my brother and I made more weapons with these than one can possibly imagine.



5. Big Trac – won this at my dad’s company summer picnic. Only thing I think I’ve ever won.



4. Starbird – random Christmas gift. Oh so cool.



3. Marx Navarone – Marx playsets go vertical. This one was hard to beat.



2. Mattel Shogun Rodan – random gift, and rare to boot. Today, this toy commands top dollar.



1. Mattel Shogun Godzilla – Not as rare as Rodan, but so much fun. Fist shoots off, flicking tongue, and wheels on the feet to get around. And a winning smile.






Other Leaguers!


















Late late late League Assignment - SDCC CONtemplation

League Assigment:

CONtemplation.
SDCC 2014 is a wrap. What peaked your interest most this year? What was a disappointment?




I’ve learned to take SDCC and New York Toy Fair with a grain of salt. They show a lot and many come to fruition, but many do not. It is usually the ones that don’t get made that pain me the most…this is especially true of Marvel Legends. Every year prototypes get shown that never get made (Iron Man’s Rescue is a prime example).

This year’s SDCC was a little strange. I was hooked to the matrix…I mean the internet, waiting for all the big reveals. They came a little slow and when all was said and done, I was…well…meh!

But there were two big reveals that totally got me doing cartwheels…not easy for a 43 year old.
First – Gentle Giant Jumbo vintage GI Joe – A Real American Hero. I love the Jumbo Kenner Star Wars figures that GG has been doing the last few years. They are 12 inch reproductions of the original 3-3/4 inch figures we all know and love. I really love these because each figure takes me back to a nostalgic memory. Despite the incessant complaining on collector’s forums, I love this things.

So when GG displayed the vintage 12 inch jumbos of the 3-3/4 inch GI Joes launched in 1992, I was again doing cartwheels…with round offs this time.

The first five shown are Snake-Eyes (Commando), Stalker (Ranger), Zap (Bazooka Soldier), Grunt (Infantry), and Rock N Roll (Heavy Machine Gunner).

Photos from YodasNews.com







The second item that caught my attention was the new Star Wars Black Series 6 inch figures.
I’ve been collecting all of these. Was absolutely thrilled to see the 6 inch Wampa with Luke and Taun Taun with Hoth Han Solo. Bossk and TIE Pilot were outstanding as well but the beast packs were high on my list.





The only disappointment was Super7 not revealing any new lines. They are coming out with great Kenner vintage style sculpts for many properties. A great lineup already on the way - everyone is waiting for what's next.


Other Leaguers!