Cool presents of 2010: My chemical romance

This presents thing is running a bit longer than I thought but what can I say? People seem to love me for some strange reason.

Some time ago I received a box in the mail, the box was from my good friend (and former high priest of geek) Reis. First of all I have something to tell you Reis, you can't retire from the Church of Geek, the Church of Geek retires you. Anyway, he didn't quit the game, he just got another (secret) blog to show of his toys. I can't tell you the name of the blog or add a link to this post, but HEY (that's a clue, check the links, wink wink), that's not my problem.

All I wanted from Reis was some help to get the only missing piece in my Batman: The Brave and the Bold Action League collection. The super elusive Chemo deluxe set. Well, he got it like it was nothing (thanks to his "enhanced toy senses" I was told) and sent it to me. The awesome thing about Reis is that when he sends you a toy, he doesn't just send you a toy. Check what I found when I opened the box:



But maybe I'm not being clear... Let me show that again, this time in slow motion and without the box:



(What were you expecting? A video? It's a still picture, there's nothing slower than that...)

But check that out! I got all kinds of goodies, including my very first Minimate, a wind-up ET, Vintage Ram-Man, a super articulated tiny Batgirl and Boba Fett! I was in Toy Heaven. And when I saw the main course I was in... Ehm... What's better than Heaven? New Genesis? Well OK... I was in New Genesis!



I mean, look at that awesome piece of plastic! He's not as articulated as Grodd who had ball joints in the shoulders and a removable helmet, but the detail, the expression, the tiny bubbles, Oh my Highfather, the bubbles!

I just love this toy!



And he loves me back... Or wants to kill me, whatever. This finishes the BBATB Action League line, Mattel decided to change it to DC Universe Action League, I'm waiting for the first wave of those, but they already did a White Lantern Sinestro and a Black Lantern Firestorm, that I'm not so happy about. I mean, I know Blackest Night was huge like, twenty minutes ago, but c'mon. a White Sinestro before a Green or a Yellow? That's lame Matty, super lame.

But don't worry, I'll still get them, but you can be damn sure that I'll complain about it. Because that, my friends... That's what makes me a true geek!



That, and the lack of personal Hygiene...

Until next time!

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.

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.

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.

Counting... Ehm... Drinking Crows

1)
I have reasons to buy most of my toys, I'm freaky like that. And also over-analytical, my wife tells me that all the time. I usually don't rely on impulse and use logic to take most of my decissions. I just add my desires to my reasons and 2 plus 2 is 4.

2)
Also, I have that kind of twisted mind that can find a logical explanation to the irrational, so I'll convince myself (and quite surprisingly other people too) that those toys need to be bought, by me. In other words, 2 plus 2 is 4 because I want it to be.

But 3)
Sometimes 2 plus 2 is 5. Sometimes I jusy have to say "fuck it" and buy a toy just because.



This is the 6" Drinky Crow figure by Tony Millionaire.

I wasn't very familiar with the weird and awesome art of Tony Millionaire when I saw this figure, but, for some reason (that I still can't point out, dammit!) I really wanted this figure.

But hey, I have this video that will give you some background of the character:



After seeng that I would have gotten the figure for sure, but I didn't need to since I had it already on a package coming my way.

The figure is really accurate and funny. It comes with interchangeable eyes, and a bottle of booze (with removable cork, tell me that's not awesome!). The only down side is that the package had a twistie that cut through the paint in the bottle. You can see it in this pic.



But I'm still displaying that way because, let's face it, what's a Drinky Crow without his drink?

Until next time.

Super Stylized Post

In a futile attempt to catch up with my MOTU Classics posts, I'll talk about two figures at once, if I do a couple of this, I may be able to catch up by the time we get the Snout Spout, probably, in 2016.

But I'll try not to cheat too much and both figures will have something in common. Let's start with Count Marzo:



Marzo is an original character created for the 200X TV series. He was a third sorcerer, a little less powerful than Skeletor, but with more power than Evil-Lyn. Plus, a weird accent from eastern Europe and an inclination for evil goatees (see here).

Marzo is a great figure, and, as a fan of the 200X toy line, I was more than happy to get him. Mattel said he was rushed in the production stage and that's the reason for the "Super Stylized" hair. There will be no more of this non-sense from now on, they said. Well, I, for one, like it a lot.



Some cool things, like his new hand created to hold the mystical gem that gives Marzo his powers, or the amazingly cool looking sword really seal the deal.

Next figure is even more controversial:



You thought I was going to talk about Chief Carnivus, didn't you? Well no, I'll write about him sooner or later, but the debacle of the 200X peaked with Whiplash, so I'll talk about him.

You see, Whiplash came with an extra head, a 200X inspired extra head.



After the release of the figure Mattel officially "retired" the 200X aesthetic for good. Why? I don't know, tooling costs? To screw with the fans? I really don't know anymore, feels like I don't know who you are anymore, Mattel!

Probably, somebody got pissed, 'cause some money on extra tooling was spent only to get a look that's not classic at all.



But I really don't care. If the Four Horsemen, the creative team behind the redesign of the character, changes it completely in the revamp, and gives you an extra head to avoid the classic one in the "Classic" line. Well, they are trying to tell you something. And I think is this: "The original head looks dumb! So very very very dumb! Oh God is it dumb!" (I may be paraphrasing there a bit).

This figure was never one of my favorites and I think it wasn't because of the stupid looking head the vintage toy had. But the new head was created for a more massive body and doesn't look entirely right in these buck either. At first I thought it was a different shade of green, then I realized that the head was just a tiny bit too big, and the proportions were off because of that.

I still think that 200X face looks cooler, so I'm sticking with that one.



The head swap was a real pleasure, the head popped out immediately and was replaced just as fast. But the tail was a different story, I had to make it fit the two holes in the back and, man, was it hard. Once I got them right I found myself staring at a great looking figure, just not the best in the MOTUC line.



Until next time.

Garbage covered awesomeness

When my good friend (and super awesome artist Charles aka Monsterforge) had to send me some King Kens for a custom. He also told me "I made something for you", when I read that, I'm not proud to admit it, I jumped up and down clapping like a little girl. And although I know his customizing skills are incredible, I'm also a child-like idiot that would shriek everytime someone gives him a toy.

But I wasn't prepared for this:



That, my friends, is Muck Man from the vintage TMNT Playmates line, and he never looked better.



You see, the old turtles line had some amazing sculptors and the detail this figures have is amazing, but the paint apps weren't really all that. Usually, the sculpted details were painted the same color as the rest of the figure, because it was cheaper that way.



But Charles was able to bring all those details to life, and man, Muck Man is (literally) covered in them.



Also, Charles struck a nerve with this one, because he knows I'm a sucker for Ninja Turtles Toys! So, this figure is going to my Awesome Toys Display (yes, I have one of those).



And Charles, I can't thank you enough for this. You are an awesome guy and a great artist... But now I hate you a little bit, 'cause I really want to comission all the TMNT vintage figures in this style, and even if you are up for it (there's only like 130 of them), I can't pay the estimated 750.000 billion dollars it would cost (the money was calculated according to the awesomeness of the final product), you bastard!

And because I'm pretty angry right now, I'm going to post this picture of you!



Ha! Revenge is a bitch, no?

(I love you, man!)