Friday, January 21, 2011

Cool presents of 2010: The floating exclusive

2010 was a year with a lot of different toy winning contests, I didn't win most of them but I did won a couple of very cool ones. Of those, the obvious winner was the Ode to Orko contest that the Action Figure Blues Forum did.

This was my entry.

And when my fellow members of the forum voted, my stupid poem was victorious. Who knew? Anyway, all the way from Australia, I got this:



Yes, this toy went from the US to Australia and then to Argentina, if I could only cash in this toy's frequent flyer miles I could probably travel the world for free.



Orko is tiny and very nicely done. Probably my favorite version of Orko, the hat is not removable like the vintage version but that's OK, I always thought it was kinda silly, since the Orko from the series kept his hat on all the time... If I recall correctly he had an issue with showing his true face or something like that... I'll have to check the archives. Anyway this figure is, a couple sloppy paint apps aside, probably the Orko I wanted when I was just a little freak, so I'm very happy with him.

Orko also came with the best accessory of the year!



Awesome! And even the accessory had accessories:



Adam came with an alternate (angry He-Man) face and two purple power swords, a complete one and half one. I will, of course, display Adam with the innocent looking face. The original Adam being an exact repaint of He-Man always seemed odd to me.



Actually I loved this "accessory", since I always have a debate with myself every time I have to get a Prince Adam or a Keldor or a character like that. Since they have two identities and the other one is being displayed I really don't like to have them on the same shelf. I wouldn't display a Bruce Wayne and a Batman together. That's my rule (And I broke it several times in the past, so I think is more like a guideline). So, since Prince Adam came with a character I needed, that avoided any internal quarrels with my other more... compulsive... sides. Good for you Mattel!

Since this is a MOTUC figure they kept the rather... delicate... choice of wardrobe that the original Prince Adam had... But don't worry I won't make a joke about it.

Who am I kidding?



Thanks to the AFB Forum for this awesome present! You should join that great forum now! When they are not giving stuff away, they are still some of the funniest dudes on the web...

Until next time.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Cool presents of 2010: JLU's Holy Grail

Is that what I think it is?

I mean, it looks like it...

But, can it be?



Because, I guess it looks like a JLU Green Lantern Hal Jordan, only 100 or so were made by Mattel for their employees as a X-Mas present and it is almost impossible to get...

So, is that what I think it is?



Of course not, silly, it's not. But it sure looks like it.

Actually what you see here is a custom Hal Jordan specially commissioned by a friend of mine. And now he's a proud part of my collection. Aside from a few inconsistencies in the paint (and the fact that the head is glued to the body), this Hal Jordan looks perfect, shinny and fits perfectly with the rest of the JLU Corps.

What a better way to start my "Cool presents of 2010" week?

And if you are thinking that this Hal Jordan looks way better than the one Mattel gave us as a way to keep us quiet. You would be right my friend, you would be so right.



Until next time.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I told you they were coming, dammit, I told you!

But did you listen? No! You just stood there with your Internet porn and your pop corn and your Porky's soundtrack and now it's too late!

Too late I tell you!



Because Kawaiiju wave 2 (Sneak Attack wave) are now gone. They were limited to 10 unique sculpts and designs by Charles "Monsterforge" Marsh (I've talked about him before, and I'll talk about him soon too). This wave was so limited that a strict policy of only one figure per person was applied. I was one of the very lucky ten. The figures came with an original Art Card and were placed inside a blind bag, so what did I get you may ask... Well, see and find out, just like I did!



First the art card... then the toy. His name is Skwachu, and he attacks with Tornado Fist Smash. That's how much I know...



And here's the man... ehm... Monster himself. I really like Skwachu, but he was not my favorite of the set (I'm telling you this, to avoid sounding too sweet, after all, I have a rep to keep). And that's the thing with blind bags, you can control what you get, and I get that idea, it hits me with the same nostalgia as MOTU stuff. I always loved to collect cards as a kid, so this is kinda like that.

Of course I like Skwachu, because every monster Charles manages to pull out of his... Ehm... His imagination is amazing. Plus, I already have two animal/reptile Kawaiiju and a robot Kawaiiju and a giant Kawaiiju so, getting a more mineral/elemental Kawaiiju (he looks like a living mountain in the art card) is awesome.

Here's a pic of the happy family (and a few guys that were just hanging there...)



This great little thing is also the first toy I got this year, and that's how you can tell is going to be a good one.

I know I don't update this blog as much as I should, but the end of the year was pretty chaotic. But I will start this new year of Freak Studios showing some of the best presents I got in 2010, I hope you enjoy, there's still plenty of toys out there.

Hope you started great too!

Until next time.