This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[bane]

11 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Well,  it took me just two weeks shy of a year to get it finished, but I'm happy to say that at long last I have finished cleaning and re-assembling my Terror Drome! The biggest  surprise is that I was able to get it completely disassembled, cleaned with some Dawn dish detergent and a toothbrush, and reassembled, all without breaking anything.  I was sweating putting the walls back in those tabs, but I got it done. 

 There's a spot on the front that looks like it may have been burned, so I need to get that sanded and taken care of. Also I didn't get new decals, the old stickers still look pretty good, so in the interest of not driving myself crazy I just left them on. I'm satisfied with how it looks for now.

This year's KYiana GI Joe fest is weekend after next, so I plan on picking up some troops to fill it out, and maybe a couple of Ferrets, a Stun, Claw, etc. I'll post better pics once I have it fully manned. 

 

 

Are those movie posters in the back originals?

[F For Fake]

51 minutes ago, bane said:

Are those movie posters in the back originals?

For the most part, yes! The Blade Runner poster in the lightbox is an original from the Final Cut release, it's one of my favorite Struzan pieces of all time.  The Aliens (all black) is an original rolled one sheet, which took me a while to find in nice shape because most one sheets were folded back then. I picked that up about 20 years or so ago, maybe more. The international Aliens poster (Ripley holding newt) is a reprint, but I used that for signatures. I've got several of the marines, Bishop and Newt. I don't like to get sigs on original posters, but reprints are great for it!

[whisp]

13 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Well,  it took me just two weeks shy of a year to get it finished, but I'm happy to say that at long last I have finished cleaning and re-assembling my Terror Drome! The biggest  surprise is that I was able to get it completely disassembled, cleaned with some Dawn dish detergent and a toothbrush, and reassembled, all without breaking anything.  I was sweating putting the walls back in those tabs, but I got it done. 

 There's a spot on the front that looks like it may have been burned, so I need to get that sanded and taken care of. Also I didn't get new decals, the old stickers still look pretty good, so in the interest of not driving myself crazy I just left them on. I'm satisfied with how it looks for now.

This year's KYiana GI Joe fest is weekend after next, so I plan on picking up some troops to fill it out, and maybe a couple of Ferrets, a Stun, Claw, etc. I'll post better pics once I have it fully manned. 

Now you need some C.L.A.W s  to hang on the doors and Ferret s for inside.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

Congrats! Looks awesome! @F For Fake

[F For Fake]

1 hour ago, whisp said:

Now you need some C.L.A.W s  to hang on the doors and Ferret s for inside.

Yup, that's the plan! Hoping to pick some of each up at the Joe show in a couple of weeks, along with a Stun to gas up outside!

[F For Fake]

39 minutes ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

Congrats! Looks awesome! @F For Fake

Thanks man, I'm just happy to finally have it cleaned up! It's been sitting in a laundry room gathering dust for nearly a year, silently mocking me every time I walk by. It had suffered long enough!

[Buzzetta]

Lego 10265 Ford Mustang 

At $150 I was leary about picking up the Ford Mustang as I have never bought any of the larger cars before.  However after Lego fixed some of the printing issues with the stripes on the blocks and given that this is a set that never goes on sale AND Lego was offering double point rewards... I closed my eyes and clicked the order button. 

I am extremely happy that I did.  This was one of the most enjoyable builds I have ever experienced.  There are a LOT of new tricks in how to arrange the parts to this complex build.  I mean, part of the engine block is crafted using technic pieces and a horse bridle from the castle sets. The seats are composed of castle and wooden fort brick pieces in that sand color to emulate leather contours. 

Last year, I finally sent my 2001 Mustang to go retire and play on the racetrack with all the other Mustangs before I bought a Jeep.  I have always had an affinity for the car and the brand.  This is going in my cabinet or on display in the office.

Specs from the Lego site...

Discover the magic of an iconic 1960s American muscle car with the LEGO® Creator Ford Mustang, featuring dark-blue bodywork with white racing stripes, bonnet scoop, printed mustang grille badge, GT emblems and 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires. Developed with input from Ford, this authentic replica comes with optional add-ons for customization, including a selection of license plates, supercharger, rear ducktail spoiler, beefy exhaust pipes, front chin spoiler and a nitrous oxide tank. You can even adjust the lift of the rear axle for an extra-mean look! Remove the roof panel or open the doors and you have access to the detailed interior with handsome seats, radio, working steering and a mid-console gearshift. Store items in the trunk or lift the hood to reveal a detailed big block 390 V8 engine with battery, hoses and air filter detailing. This advanced building set has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience full of nostalgia and makes a great centerpiece for the home or office.

• Authentic replica of a 1960s Ford Mustang featuring dark-blue bodywork with white racing stripes, air scoop, 5-spoke rims with road-gripping tires, and a selection customization add-ons.
• Open the doors or remove the roof panel to access the detailed interior with handsome seats, radio, mid-console gearshift and working steering.
• Open the trunk to store items and lift the hood to reveal a detailed Ford Mustang V8 engine with battery, hoses and air filter.
• Also includes a printed mustang grille badge and 2 GT emblems.
• Customize the Ford Mustang with the included supercharger, rear ducktail spoiler, beefy exhaust pipes, front chin spoiler and a nitrous oxide tank.
• Choose from a selection of license plates.
• Lift the hood to check out the realistic engine detailing.
• Adjust the lift of the rear axle for a real mean look!
• New-for-March-2019 special elements include 5-spoke rims, 2x8 brick with bow, 1x3 mustang logo tile, 2x4 bow with ‘GT’ Emblem.
• Measures over 3” (10cm) high, 13” (34cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Buzzetta

[miraclemet]

a tale of two dealers... 

Dealer #1 had a nice sealed MIB Centurions figure listed with a fair price, but also an OBO and as I was considering making an offer it disappeared so I checked with the seller to see if it had sold off-line (since he's a toy dealer I assumed he had a stall/shop or did shows). He tells me no he still has it, but he noticed that the tape was likely a re-tape so he pulled the listing to give it a closer look and that he'd be relisting it once he was sure about the tape situation. 

 

Dealer #2 had a MOC Transformer G1 Beachcomber listed with a low starting bid that I was watching, and as it got within a day of close I made my plans to put in a snipe bid to get entered late so to win it. But as I looked closer at the "Vintage 1985 Hasbro" Beachcomber I realized that all of the signs of it being a china knockoff were there and contacted the seller as such (again, a seller who seems to mostly deal in toys/vintage toys). I gave him some pictures showing the added mis-fonted text in the transforming description and the typo in the character card (along with the mis-placed peg punch). 

Not a word back from Dealer #2. No change to his listing. So dennisbarley goes on the no buy from list. 

Oh and Dealer #1 decided that the tape was likely a retape, and relisted with a dropped price and an accurate description. 

So I hit the BIN with Dealer #1 and moved on from Dealer #2. 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by miraclemet

[comicwiz]

Many of you who have tolerated me over the years probably know me best for my hardline stand on certain topics. One of the things I find as a community of comic collectors who ended-up on different collecting journey's over the years (this one, seemingly involving the collecting of toys) is we all seem to share an affinity for giving people their rightful dues. We might even have been blindsided when we became aware of the ill-treatment people working in the trenches and for the big publisher bullpens recieved, namely in the ways of lacking credit/acknowledgement, and in some cases deserved royalties and legacy's revoked on works they produced. I realize there are people in both camps, the other side claiming they got what they agreed to. And I don't want to broach that divisiion that exists in our collective understanding, as much as I want to draw attention to the fact that for the most part, these are people who weaved the nostalgic tapestry we now enjoy, and were able to allow us to create such fond memories around the stories they wrote and illustrated.

This might have all been somewhat tolerable for someone who has donated to charities like the HI, but when I began collecting toys, I realized things were far worse in that industry than in comics. It's not only that the industry was built and operated with zero marketing incentive to share the spotlight, but the lack of willingness for grown men collecting in the modern day to even share who these artists were (if known) was an almost unimaginable act of betrayal to those who brought us so much enjoyment in our childhood. As adults who collect these toys, and with a steeped understanding of how we could undo the wrongs of the past that occurred in the comic industry, it felt so important to share and celebrate these artists and their work, and to give them their proper tribute, acknowledgement and dues.

Luckily, three collectors decided (for their own reasons, and not necessarily sharing my own personal views and biases) to take the journey to share the stories of the people who were a part of Kenner's illustrious toy-making history, particularly as it relates to their collective efforts to produce some of the greatest toys ever made for the Star Wars toy lines. If you've ever wondered about the people involved with making these great toys, I ask that you buy this fantastic, timely, and much needed publication, with the hope it takes a big step toward allowing us all to be better acquainted with the men and women who were able to play such an important role in bringing that "toyetic" appreciation into our playgrounds, homes, along with all the memories we formed around them, and which we continue to show an appreciation for to this day as adult collectors.

The book is called Engineering an Emprie: The Creators of Kenner's Star Wars Toys and is now availalbe to be purchased directly online. I got my copy yesterday and can't wait to start reading it!

Edited July 15, 2019 by comicwiz

[Yorick]

@comicwiz Thank you.  I have always thought that it was a shame never knowing the names of sculptors of my favorite toys.

[fantastic_four]

The next Haslab project is up, although oddly it isn't on the Haslab site, it's on Hasbro Pulse.  It's Transformers Unicron, which I'm not at all familiar with.  From the description he sounds like the Transformers equivalent to Galactus.

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-war-for-cybertron-unicron

[F For Fake]

16 minutes ago, fantastic_four said:

The next Haslab project is up, although oddly it isn't on the Haslab site, it's on Hasbro Pulse.  It's Transformers Unicron, which I'm not at all familiar with.  From the description he sounds like the Transformers equivalent to Galactus.

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-war-for-cybertron-unicron

WHOA, that is impressive.

You are correct, voiced by Orson Welles, Unicron was introduced in the 1986 theatrical Transformers movie as a planet-sized villain. He's sorta like Galactus, only he's a planet that eats other planets, rather than just a giant dude in purple underwear with a tuning fork fetish that eats planets.

This is pretty impressive. There was a Unicron toy released several years ago, I think part of the Energon line, and it was pretty sweet, but the scale was still very small. And rightfully so, it's hard to make a planet-sized toy. This looks pretty amazing. I haven't been buying new Transformers but this may force my hand.

[fantastic_four]

How is he supposed to scale with other Autobots?  I looked for an image of Unicron next to Optimus Prime and couldn't find what his scale is supposed to be.  In the Marvel world Galactus's scale varies, but he's usually drawn with most heroes coming up below his mid-calf level.  Is Unicron that big next to the Autobots?

[F For Fake]

2 hours ago, fantastic_four said:

How is he supposed to scale with other Autobots?  I looked for an image of Unicron next to Optimus Prime and couldn't find what his scale is supposed to be.  In the Marvel world Galactus's scale varies, but he's usually drawn with most heroes coming up below his mid-calf level.  Is Unicron that big next to the Autobots?

Yes, he's enormous, like, planet sized, so the Autobots are able to, like, transform and drive around inside of him like a city. The final fight mostly takes place inside of his head, and there's plenty of room for Rodimus, Galvatron, and some other . He's biiiiig.

Looks like for comparison's sake, this toy is about 4" taller than Fort Max, who was the biggest TF toy of all time. That's big, sure, but maybe not $600 worth of big.

Gonna have to ponder this...

[F For Fake]

Here's Unicron eating Galvatron and the final aforementioned battle. Big guy!

[Buzzetta]

3 hours ago, fantastic_four said:

How is he supposed to scale with other Autobots?  I looked for an image of Unicron next to Optimus Prime and couldn't find what his scale is supposed to be.  In the Marvel world Galactus's scale varies, but he's usually drawn with most heroes coming up below his mid-calf level.  Is Unicron that big next to the Autobots?

This is a no brainer for me...

It's an easy pass. 

Unicron has been made before albeit in a smaller scale standing at around 16" I believe.  That mold has been reused several times over the years since 2010 and a reissue is up for preorder on BBTS in green.  Is this worth $575 though? The difference between this and the barge (at least in my opinion) is that the barge had never been made before in any format.   The Haslab Unicron feels like an upgrade from previous iterations that have been frequently released. 

He is a few inches taller than the last Fortress Maximus so let's look a price point comparison.  Fortress Maximus was released a couple of years ago at a MSRP of $150.  It is still in stock on websites like BBTS and on sale at $120. HERE Now, to be fair Unicron seems about double the size as far as just plain bulk.  So let's make Unicron $240... Ok... ok... ok... you have the exclusivity thing... and the reduced number thing.... throw in another $150...   

I am still not at $575. 

To me this is definitely something that should be around the $400 mark especially when the demand calls for 8000 units while the barge merely needed 5000.  Also consider that the Transformers is a shared Hasbro property with Takara making it 'in house'.  Star Wars was a licensed property.  There is no way I can justify $575 for this when I feel it should be cheaper than the barge. 

Easy pass for me... and this is from someone who loves him some Transformers. 

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by Buzzetta

[fantastic_four]

36 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

Also consider that the Transformers is a shared Hasbro property with Takara making it 'in house'.  Star Wars was a licensed property.

Sheesh, didn't think about that.  It also sounds to be a likely reason they went with this instead of something else related to a licensed property.  It ALMOST makes me hope they don't meet the quota.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

I still think Optimus MP-44 is way overpriced

[Buzzetta]

1 minute ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

I still think Optimus MP-44 is way overpriced

If price point on Hound is the trend moving forward then I am not picking up any more MP Transformers. 

I think that Hasbro sees the price that 3rd Party Transformers are actually commanding and receiving and believe that people will pay that for Hasbro / Takara product.  The problem with that mindset is that there are many 3rd Party Transformers that collapse at market and fall to a deep discount.  The ones that have lasting power at those higher price points are actually releases of characters in MP scale that Hasbro has not made yet or will probably not make like the FansToys Kup / Koot MP Scale.  That figure seems to be increasing in value actually. I have one and it seems to be of better quality or of the same quality as a Hasbro / Takara.   

 

There is speculation that on some of the Transformers sites that the first 10 backings for this came from the Chinese Knock Off Companies so they can do what they usually do and release a cheaper version down the road.  

[Buzzetta]

2 hours ago, fantastic_four said:

Sheesh, didn't think about that.  It also sounds to be a likely reason they went with this instead of something else related to a licensed property.  It ALMOST makes me hope they don't meet the quota.

I am rooting against this.  Yes, I am not getting one anyway.  However, if this is successful then it will justify kicking up the price point on other things.