Marvel Legends - The Ant Man Series

I haven't seen the Ant-Man movie yet. I really want to. When you have kids, Ant-Man often gets vetoed by the Minions movie, which was pretty corny and entertaining anyway.

At least I got ahold of the Marvel Legends Ant-Man series. This is a really nice set that has a great Ultron Build-A-Figure as a part of the series. The Ultron comes from the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. Interesting that they did him as a BAF, and not his own figure, but who cares.

Anyway, this series includes the movie Ant-Man, Wasp, Bulldozer, Tigershark, the Grim Reaper and Giant Man (who is the same size as everyone else). No worries though. I think what I liked the most about this set was Bulldozer who completes the Wrecking Crew set. He was teased as a chase figure a few years back but never materialized, until now. And he is an impressive figure. I also liked the Tigershark figure because he looks cool and his name is cool. I don't know much about him - will have to consult the oracle - otherwise known as the Marvel Encyclopedia.

Anyway - here they are. Soon, I will unpackage them to add more to the blog and build the Ultron as well.

McFarlane Walking Dead Series 7.5

Not sure why this was done the way it was, but who cares, we get more Walking Dead figures from McFarlane. Series 7 included Carl Grimes 2, Michonne, Gareth and Mud Walker. Series 7.5 was a series of repaints with some great extra features.

I don't mind repaints if they are done creatively, expand the story and figure line, and add a few new accessories.

Series 7.5 is pretty cool. You get a Woodbury Assault Rick Grimes repaint from Season 3 in his flannel shirt, and you get a great Cell Bloc Flu Walker. It is based on the Glenn figure with a different head. It was very nicely done. We need more walkers especially as future series seem to be character heavy.

The other three figures are exclusives - First, Hershel Greene with flu mask, severed head, and katana sword, exclusive to Target. Second, a flu mask grave digger Daryl, exclusive to Walgreens. Finally, there is a new Sheriff Rick consisting of Series 1 body and Series 2 head with Sheriff hat.  These figures definitely add to the collection.

The only complaint is distribution of the exclusive figures. I have not yet seen Daryl and Rick, and traveled all the way to Minnesota (HQ of Target) to find Hershel. Just kidding. I was in Minnesota for a wedding, just happened to stop at a Target and find Hershel. I have yet to see him out in the wild around where I live. Others have had better luck.

ReAction Jaws Figures...and Jaws himself!

I'll be honest, the first time I saw the movie Jaws was last summer. Luckily, I watched it heading home from a beach vacation. It was as scary as everyone said it would be.

Great timing, because Funko and Super7's awesome ReAction line just released their Jaws figures which include Brodie, Hooper, Quint...and....da dah....da dah...Bruce the shark himself.

The packaging is adorned with the iconic movie poster art.  Even if you aren't a ReAction figure collector, you have to get your hands on these.

The only thing missing is a bigger boat.

Hot Toys Hulk from Avengers Movie

This Hulk figure from Hot Toys for the first Avengers movie is awesomely huge.

 

That is a 12 inch Gentle Giant Greedo figure in front of it.

 

Intergalactic Trading Company

I started working on another toy collection book using software from www.blurb.com. The focus of the book is my favorite toys from my childhood through college (1971-1993). While I was outlining the different toys and chapters, I remembered ordering vintage Kenner toys from The Intergalactic Trading Company.

They had loose and boxed figures, and they still exist today, both as a brick and mortar store in Florida, and an online presence as well. I remember how much I enjoyed leafing through their huge monthly/quarterly? catalog.

1655 Timocuan Way, Longwood, FL 32750
(407) 831-8344

Well, I was on their website three weeks ago, and tonight it isn't working - hopefully just maintenance.

As part of the book, I wanted to get some photos of the catalog. I actually found one on Ebay. It sure brought back memories.

SERIOUS NOSTALGIA - Gentle Giant's GI Joe "Grunt"

Many collectors have enjoyed the Gentle Giant Jumbo Kenner Star Wars line over the last 3-4 years. Those reproductions of our favorite 3-3/4" line at 12 inch scale have been a great trip down nostalgia lane.

I've been hoping GG would give the same treatment to Hasbro's GI Joe: A Real American Hero figures that were first released in 1982.  Last year, GG displayed them at NYCC and SDCC. The current lineup (all up for preorder) include Grunt, Rock-N-Roll, Stalker, Snake-Eyes and Zap.

At this time, Grunt was only a SDCC exclusive. Instead of a large repro card like the Kenner Star Wars figures, this figure came in a great 1960s GI Joe footlocker box.

When I finally opened this up, it totally took me back to getting that first GI Joe: ARAH figure. My first one was Short-Fuze, the mortar soldier. Anyway, this figure's looks is dead on the original,and so much to have at 1/6th scale. Can't wait for the rest.

CONtemplation (Thoughts about San Diego Comic Con)

First of all, sorry I've been off the grid for awhile.

Well, San Diego Comic Con has come and gone. I was anxiously awaiting new reveals from multiple companies and well, there really wasn't anything new. One would think the SDCC would be as hot as New York Toy Fair in terms of getting people excited about new things. This year was not the case. In terms of my favorite toy lines, here is what I saw:

Gentle Giant Star Wars- no new Jumbo Kenner Star Wars figures except Jabba the Hutt. This line is either dead or on hiatus for awhile as GG looks at other properties to Jumbo-ize - like Super Powers, Secret Wars, and GI Joe.

GG did have a "Droids" (cartoon) R2D2 and Boba Fett exclusive for the con. 

Gentle Giant GI Joe - No new reveals, though Grunt was the SDCC exclusive. Rock N Roll, Snake Eyes, Stalker and Zap are already up for preorder. Hoping Scarlett, Short Fuze, and Flash are coming.

Star Wars - very little new stuff shown, likely to keep new The Force Awakens secretive closer to the launch of the line on September 4th. Fans were disappointed. Hoping for some reveals at Disney 23 expo  www.d23.com coming in mid-August.

Hasbro Star Wars 6 Inch Black Series - No new reveals except for the Force Awakens TIE Fighter pilot and a 6 inch scale TIE Fighter. OK - that was cool, but rumors around the price tag was $170. Might be a little too much. The Hasbro exclusive was a First Order Stormtrooper. Pretty cool. Will likely be an troop builder when the rest of the line rolls out.

Speaking of TIE Fighters, Sideshow revealed a 1/6th scale (12 inch figure) TIE Fighter. Holy smokes! Price was not revealed.

McFarlane Walking Dead. No new figure reveals. TV Series 8 and Comic Series 4 were displayed. Fans already knew these were coming months ago. Rumors around series 9 include Beth, Sasha, Dale (torn apart), and T-Dog were going around. Hope it's true. Been wanting a T-Dog for awhile. I still need to watch the Panels for the Fear the Walking Dead and Walking Dead Season 6. The trailers were released for both. Very cool. Hoping Fear does well enough to garner some figures.

Marvel Legends - no new reveals. They have several series coming out this summer. Really good ones with great Build-A-Figures to include Ultron with the Ant-Man series, Rhino and Hulkbuster. In the past, Marvel Legends were so hard to find, now they are flooding the market and killing our wallets, but great figures overall.

NECA - Aliens. Nothing really new except a Red Queen Genocide Alien and some Alien: Isolation figures from the video games. They are cool. Are we ever going to get more Marines?

No new Game of Thrones from Funko.

No new ReAction figures from Funko. Everything announced at Toy Fair has hit the streets. Nothing left for 2015? I must say they have had a stellar lineup, releasing over 180 figures, 140+ unique in 18 months. Fans should be satisfied, though we never are.

So overall, no new surprises. Maybe that is a result of the internet era, but in years past there were always some new reveals. Not this year. It was just kind of 'Meh, except for the deliberate absence of Star Wars.

Hoping D23 and NY Comic Con are better.

C'Mon Funko ReAction team - I know we are spoiled - but looking for a whole set of Aliens figures - to include APC, Queen, Power Loader, Hive, Dropship, etc.