Toy Spotting

Avengers....Congregate and Socialize!

2012-01-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Name: Avengers Alliance

Publisher: Marvel Entertainment, Disney Interactive
Developer: Playdom
Release Date: Coming Soon
Game Genre: Social Online
System: PC Facebook

Description: A casual online game experience for everyone but with over 100 Marvel Comic characters to keep the fan boys happy.

Links:
http://play.dm/2wPIa
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-01-08/marvel-comics-facebook-avengers/52456414/1
http://kotaku.com/5874353/assemble-your-very-own-avengers-team-on-facebook

TM & © 2012 Marvel & Subs.

Join the Lost Saga!

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Lost Saga
Publisher: OG Planet
Developer: Unknown
Release Date: November 2009
Game Genre: Online Brawler
System: PC

Description:

Links:
http://www.ogplanet.com/main.og
http://lostsaga.ogplanet.com/en/intro.og

The Many Faces of The Transformers

2011-11-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Name: The Transformers

Manufacturer: Takara / Hasbro

Toy line: Microman & Diaclone / Transformers

Release Date: October 1984

Description:

Links:
http://www.seibertron.com/
http://www.tfw2005.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/barutazaru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Transformers_TV_series

Viva Les Schtroumpfs, Smurfs und Schlümpfe

2011-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: The Smurfs / Die Schlümpfe / Les Schtroumpfs
Manufacturer: Dupuis & Schleich
Toy line: The Smurfs by Peyo
Release Date: 1959
Component Materials: PVC plastics
Size: 2 inches tall

Toy Description:

Links:
http://www.blueimps.com/index.html
http://apps.facebook.com/thesmurfsco/?permback=1&installed=1
http://ios.popsoftdownload.com/smurfs-comics-429904572.html

You Can Always Go Home Agian On Sesame Street

2011-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Producer: Children's Television Workshop

Creator: Joan Ganz Cooney

Release Date: 1969 - Ongoing

Description:

Right Tool for the Right Job

2011-08-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Remco Utility Belts

Manufacturer: Remco
Toy line: Scifi and Super Heroes
Release Date:
Component Materials:
Size:

Toy Description:

Land of the Prehistoric Plastics

2011-07-01T00:00:00.002-07:00

Name: Prehistoric Animals
Manufacturer: Tim-Mee Toys
Toy line: Plastic Prehistoric Playsets
Release Date:
Component Materials: Plastics
Size: 54mm

Toy Description:

Links:
-The Dinosaur Collector
-Dinosaurs Collectors guide

Take a Ride on the Green Machine

2011-06-01T00:00:00.004-07:00

Name: The Green Machine
Manufacturer: Marx Toys
Toy line:
Release Date:
Component Materials:
Size:

Toy Description:

Milton Bradley's Big Track and Star Bird

2011-05-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: StarBird and Big Trak
Manufacturer: Milton Bradley
Toy line: Milton Bradley Electronics
Release Date: 1970s
Component Materials: Plastic, Metal & Electronics Parts
Size: Bigger than a bread box

Toy Description:

Wayfarer's Moon turns 4 Today!

2011-04-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: April 2007
Format: Bi-Weekly Web Comic
Subscription: Free

Description:

Giant Robos

2011-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: GiantRobos.com
Manufacturer: Me
Toy line:
Release Date:
Component Materials:
Size:

Toy Description:

The Legend of Zelda

2011-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: The Legend of Zelda
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer Designer: Shigero Miyamoto
Release Date: Ongoing
Game Genre: Action Adventure
System: Nintendo DS & Wii

Description:

Rewriting the Future of Space 1999

2011-01-01T00:00:00.002-08:00

Name: Space 2099

Director: Gerry Anderson

Producer: Unknown

Release Date: Mid 2010

Description:

Links

-Space 2099 ITV

Kenner Star Wars

2010-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Star Wars
Manufacturer: Kenner/Hasbro
Toy line: Star Wars Mini Action Figures
Release Date: 1978 - Present Day
Component Materials: Plastic and Vinyl
Size:

Toy Description:

Its The Muppet Show

2010-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: The Muppet Show

Producer: Jim Henson Productions
Director: Jim Henson
Release Date: 1976 - 1981

Description:

Let's Go Online and Toss Some Gnomes

2010-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Bouterdart (Gnome Darts)
Publisher: Viewkante Ogen

Developer: The Lightsmith (Netherlands)

Licensed to: www.kindernet.nl

Release Date: 2001
Game Genre: Casual Games
System: Online Web Browser

Description:

-Vierkanteogen.nl

-Family Jansen's Bouterdarts

The Budget Charge of 132 Roman Soldiers

2010-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Roman Soldiers

Manufacturer: Lucky Products

Release Date: 1960s - 1980s
Component Materials: Plastic
Size: 1 inch

Description:

Comic Book Art done by Artist Russ Heath

Links:

-Comic Book Flats

The Arts and Sciences of History and Humor

2010-08-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Eugene Weber and Harvey Korman
Profession: Eugene: UCLA Professor, Harvey: Comedian

Description:

Links:
-Carol Burnett intro of Harvey Korman
-The Western Tradition

Wayfarer's Moon Trade Paperback now in Print

2010-07-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon Trade Paperback
Manufacturer: Single Edge Studios
Toy line:
Release Date:
Component Materials:
Size:

Toy Description:

Leigh Kellogg's Deviant Art Site

Dave A. Trampier, Giving Imagery to Games

2010-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: David A. Trampier

Active Publishing Dates: 1970s and 80s
Genre: Fantasy Artwork and Comic

Description: Dave A Trampier is a legendary artist in the field of Fantasy Artwork. His most famous works as far as I know are his depictions of adventurers and monsters published across numerous TSR publications aka The Strategic Review rule books and suppliments. These include Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Rule and Bestiaries Volumes, "Wormy" a comic strip featured in Dragon Magazine to name a few. In the 1980s he stopped working with TSR.

Links:

-Where's Wormy

Julie Guthrie Personalities

2010-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Fantasy Table Top Gaming Figures
Manufacturer: Grenadier Miniatures/Ral Partha Miniatures
Figure line: Julie Guthrie Personalities/All Things Dark and Dangerous
Sculptor: Julie Guthrie
Release Date: 1980s
Component Materials: Ralidium (Lead free Pewter)
Platform: Table Top
Size: 25mm Heroic Scale

Description: Long ago, a young gamer had a dream. The dream that someday that gamer would find the perfect set of miniatures for their favorite fantasy game characters. The one that was without a doubt the only figure that could possibly represent Thrashor the dwarven paladin, or Mavro, the elven Magic User. But who was going to deliver such a diverse set of little tin soldiers. Where was such a wide variety of personalities to come from? Behold, the Personalities Collection, by Julie Guthrie.

This set of figures is so fantastic and diverse that almost every flavor of adventuring dungeon crawling, mavericky monster thrashing here, or anti hero figure of picturesque majesty has been catered too for both males and females. Wizards with Pointy Hats (big win with me Thanks Julie) Fighters and Champions with accurate full armor plate, Bards with identifiable musical instruments, sneaky hide half your face thieves, the list goes on. There are even plenty of demi humans to cater to the player who is always nagging the DM to allow for his Lizard Man Fighter Magic User to play.

When I was getting a bit too old to be buying action figures at the local toy store (not that it stopped me) I began going to hobby shops to find table top figures that would suit my D&D game characters. It had been a bumpy road, with figures not really adding up to what I was looking for. That is until I discovered the Grenadier Personalities line. Now it was just a matter of getting the minis I had always wanted before someone else snapped it off the shelf.

Julie, there have been other sculptors of fantasy minis, but I think your efforts with Grenadier, Ral Partha, and the toy figure industry in general may all stand up and say Thank You for your ability to craft the human figure detailed figures with such iconic flare, detail, balance and grace. You have absolutely enriched my Table Top RPG game experience.

The Pinnacle Doctor Who Collection

2010-04-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Doctor Who
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Genre: Sci Fi
Release Date: 1970s

Description: Who remembers the Doctor? THE Doctor, the one with the scarf, hat long coat and a crop of curly hair? Everyone who remembers Doctor Who knows this guy. Tom Baker was the Doctor in the 1970s and stayed The Doctor for seven years. I remember watching Saturday Morning Action Theatre on my local TV network and getting a host of Doctor Who movies. At least, I thought they were movies. The BBC originally filmed them in complete 90 minute stories and released them in 15 min segments. Target Books released episodes in novel format too, but what was a strange addition was the Pinnacle collection. I have no idea why, but Pinnacle secured the rights to print some of the stories already published through Target publications. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but that doesn't mean you can't say the cover is way more enjoyable than the story inside.

This set is a bit strange for several reasons. One, the stories were a mix of good and ok. There were definitely plenty of better stories to pick. Reason two, new artwork was commissioned specific for Pinnacle (very nice artwork at that) which seemed unnecessary, but I'm glad they did it anyway. The collection is very desirable to collectors for that reason alone. Reason three, the stories were numbered per volume but the stories were not linear, at least not back to back. The first three are stories about the third doctor (John Pertwee) while the other seven were about the fourth doctor (Tom Baker). I enjoyed reading some of these as a kid, but I think of the cover art much more than the stories themselves. I think Pinnacle may have intended to sell more of them originally, since they had included a forward from Harlan Ellison espousing the merits of Doctor who as true science fiction unlike other popular stories of the time such as Star Trek and Star Wars. From the sound of it, Pinnacle may have been concerned that sci fi fans would wide would not buy the stories without being told they were good by a well known science fiction writer. Beyond that, the set is the same as the more common Target publications. The stories range from ok to very good with my favorite being The Talon's of Weng-Chiang. The characters in that story being some of the most well written in the history of the show. If you come across it, I would recommend giving it a read.

Doctor Who Pinnacle Collection
- 01 The Day of the Daleks
- 02 The Doomsday Weapon
- 03 Dinosaur Invasion
- 04 Genesis of the Daleks
- 05 The Revenge of the Cybermen
- 06 The Loch Ness Monster
- 07 The Talons of Weng-Chiang
- 08 The Masque of Mandragora
- 09 The Android Invasion
- 10 The Seeds of Doom

Other Doctor Who Pinnacle Links:
-US Pinnacle Books

-Doctor Who Wiki

Frog and Toad are Cool

2010-03-01T00:00:00.004-08:00

Name: Frog and Toad
Author: Arnold Lobel

Story Line: Friends
Genre: Young Readers Reference

Release Date: 1970

Format: Picture Book

Description: My wife recently brought home a Frog and Toad book from our library for our son to read. I recognized it instantly since I had a couple of Frog and Toad Book and Records when I was little. The recorded narration was by Arnold Lobel. He had a very fun way of reading the characters that I can still remember today. Arnold would read Frog, with an up-beat happy tone, and read Toad as more of an Eore. I asked my son if I could read the book to him and we had a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to when he is able to read them to me, which should be in a just a few more years.

These stories are geared towards young first time readers with very short concise sentences. There are at least four books that I know of with each one containing five short stories. Each story revolves around two friends, and often include important social lessons, such as how you treat you friends, being thoughtful of others, and sharing with others. I can say so far that the stories are still age appropriate and not out of date in accordance with modern children's stories. The artwork is very charming, with the two anthropomorphic amphibians living a cozy Victorian ideal. They are often depicted sipping tea in front of the fire eating cookies, and taking the walks around the country side. If you have a young child who is looking for some story time with mom and dad, I highly recommend Frog and Toad.

Here are Frog and Toad titles that I'm aware of....

Frog and Toad are Friends

Frog and Toad all Year

Frog and Toad Together

Days with Frog and Toad

Here are some titles I would have liked to see for Frog and Toad....

Frog and Toad are Ninjas

Frog and Toad for Justice

Frog and Toad Drive Amphibious Landing Craft

Victory at Sea with Frog and Toad

Frog and Toad win the Nobel Prize

Frog and Toad Conquer the Universe

Patrol Space with the Galaxy Laser Team

2010-02-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Name: Galaxy Laser Team aka Space Patrol

Manufacturer: Tim-Mee Toys
Toy line: 50mm Plastic Toy Soldiers
Release Date: 1978
Component Materials: Plastics
Size: 50-54mm aka 1/35th Scale

Toy Description: The subject of the Galaxy Laser team has been blogged near to death in the last few years. This very photo has been used over and over again courtesy of Secret Fun Blog. Now, it's my turn. When I was really little my brother would share his Louis Marx toy army men with me. We had a few Tim-Mee Knights and Dinosaurs as well. There was a lot of freedom when playing with these little durable plastic figures. They were small enough to fit in your pocket, light enough to safely dump a bunch into a bag or box, were free of easily lost accessories, could stay standing, and overall, just didn't break...without effort anyway.

I loved playing with little plastic soldiers, especially when my brother wanted to play with me. For all their virtues though, I never found army men a very exciting idea, but in 1978 that all changed. Taking advantage of the surge of space toys begining to circulate after Star Wars was released, my grade school teacher started handing these space toys out to children as rewards for doing well in class. They were army men, but they weren't army men. They had a droid, a menacing turtle crab alien, and some Flash Gordonesque personalities. I was sold. Before the year was over, I had a bunch of them in various colors. These space veterans led army men in formation, braved dinosaurs and jousted royal knights at court.

Years later, I saw an entire bag of these at our grocery store toy section. The bag included an X-Wing-ish space fighter the same way bags of army men often had a tank or a howitzer. Aha, so that was where my teacher picked them up. Until then, I thought toy soldiers were born out of dusty old shoe boxes or sprouted up from the shag carpet under your bed. Live and learn. The universe is a mysterious place after all. Something to be explored with a droid, and a shaggy alien at your side...or at least in your pocket. Have fun.

Links

Deco Robo

2010-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Astroid Robot
Manufacturer: Durham Industries
Toy line: Sidewinders
Release Date: 1970s
Component Materials: Tin and Plastics
Size: 5.5 inches tall

Toy Description: When I was young, robots were seen as outlandish mechanical pets or comic relief. My earliest memories of them were of Rosie the Jetson's maid, Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet and the Robinson's family robot in Lost in Space. In addition to these very fanciful robots, I had my own little toy robot whom I simply called "The Lost in Space robot" since it had so much in common with the Robinson's robot. My memory is fuzzy about it, but I do remember he had a little place on my bedroom shelf to call his own and he more or less did my bidding (winding him up allowed him to rolling forwards). Most important of all, he never gave me the impression he was plotting to enslave humanity. An ideal model robot in all respects.

My parents picked him up for me at a tourist shop in California. Here we are enjoying a day in Morrow Bay with the family. My Robot is the short blue one sitting in front of me on the blanket. I wanted to take him on the beach even though my parents warned me he may break in the sand. He got sand in him almost instantly of course and was never quite the same after that. I didn't mind, he still looked like a cool robot, and that was all that mattered to me. While Robby and the Lost in Space robot both appear in my minds eye whenever I hear the word robot, my little toy windup is first in line with his chest unit dials, vacuum tube arms and a translucent crown.

I don't remember what happened to him over the years, I can only imagine he broke (even more than he had already) and eventually passed on (got thrown in the trash). I recently tried to find him again but my memory was so poor about him that I didn't have much to work with beyond he was blue, had a very art deco look typical of the 60s and 70s. I found some articles online about some motorized robot toys from Ideal corp called the Mighty Zeroids. I noticed a blue one that looked familiar named Zerak the Blue Destroyer. I had found him again at last, but something wasn't right. This toy, was much more complicated than I had remembered, it had a detachable motor to move him backwards and forwards at the flick of a switch and a wind up arm that could throw small objects. Not only that, but these things are fragile, I mean really really fragile. Like, I probably would have broken it taking it out of the box fragile. My memory was telling me yes this is it, and no it isn't at the same time. By accident, I came across the photo linked above of me and my toy robot from when I was little. After showing it around on toy forums I was informed that my robot was actually a Zeroid knock off toy called a Durham Astroid. I was thrilled and found one easily at a local antique toy shop. Yay! Now I just need to program him to fetch my slippers.

Links:
-Planet Zeroid
-Zeroid TV Ad
-ZeroidZ.com
-Planet Zeroid
-BigRedToybox
-OfficialZeroids
-Wildtoys.com
-Dial B for Blog
-The Imaginary World

Advance Dungeons and Dragons Specialists

2009-12-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Name: Advance Dungeons and Dragons Specialists
Manufacturer: Grenadier Models Inc
Figure line: Solid Gold Line
Sculptor: Andrew Chernak (Uncredited)
Release Date: 1980
Component Materials: Soft Lead
Platform: Table Top
Size: 25mm Scale

Description: The D&D Specialists set was the first set of 25mm gaming miniatures I got when I was a wee lad. I had no idea what it was for since D&D was such an abstract game compared to any other game I had ever played. I only knew that I wanted it and somehow having it would make playing the game more fun. I was eight years old, so it all made sense.

Arthur's Toys was the largest toy store where I grew up. It was simply huge and lined with mountains of colorful toys. Far in the back, was the hobby section where they had some of the first Advanced D&D Miniatures sets from Grenadier. One summer visit in 1980 I wandered into the hobby area to find my older brother pointing rather determinedly at something. When I saw clearly what he was looking at, I heard my Mom ask gently, "Which one would you like sweetheart?" I spoke out my response without even thinking. "I want a wizard with a wizard hat!" Most of what happened next is lost in the fog of my memory, but after some pointing and chatter I was handed a box that displayed the banner "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Specialists" to indicate a mixed bag of differant character classes. The box art depicted a mystical robed wizard, a sneaky looking thief, a sword wielding knight, a swashbuckling adventurer, and brown robed cleric. The box was sealed so I couldn't verify the contents without buying it. But why would I need to? After all, the box had a wizard with a pointy hat on the front. Obviously contained inside was a wizard that looked just like that.

And now, we go back a few months. My brother and I had been introduced to a boy and his Mom who were renting part of the property we lived on. Thad was six years older than me, quiet, sedate and imparted the first impression you would expect from a turnip. All the same, I will always be grateful to him for introducing my brother and I to Dungeons and Dragons. My brother and I had been playing 20 questions with Thad in an effort to break the ice and find something fun to do together. Thad eventually brought up that he liked to play D&D and asked if we were interested in learning to play. Now my brother and I knew about D&D, but we had only a vague idea of what it was. Our Dad had purchased the basic set only a few months earlier on a whim, but we hadn't been allowed to look at it on the grounds that we were too young *Translation* "I'm not going to try to explain the rules to you when I can't understand them myself". To be fair, the rules were very obtuse, poorly organized and required a lot more work than your average family board game. Thad turned out to be an excellent teacher and helped my brother roll up his first character; a fighter named Togareth. I remember the name because my brother used him throughout most of our childhood gaming. While they worked out rule books and details, I was left to look at the game box. The box art was the David C. Sutherland painting of a Red Dragon atop a giant treasure hoard. Heroically confronting the dragon were two figures, a robed wizard waving a magic wand and a knight in shining armor shooting with a bow. It is a beautiful painting that really captures the imagination. I think this artwork alone made a big impression on me since my two favorite heroes to play in any fantasy game are the Mystic Wizard and the Heroic knight.

Now back in the toy store, I had what I thought was the perfect wizard and knight figures to paint as I wanted. Much to my dismay when I opened the box, I found an armored knight and robed wizard, but without a pointy hat. I guess two out of three isn’t bad. I had my figures, and that was that. Nevertheless, I was very insistent on letting everyone know upon introduction that my wizard did indeed have a pointy hat. Please excuse my miniature.

Picture is from the D&D Lead site. Thanks.

-D&D Lead
-Boardgame Geek
-Stuff of Legends

Take a trip on board the Galaxion!

2009-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Galaxion
Writer/Illustrator: Tara Tallan
Genre: SciFi Adventure
Print Release Date: 1993 - 1999
Web Release Date: 2006
Format: Weekly Web Comic
Subscription: Free

Description: "Galaxion" is a fun light hearted science fiction adventure. It has the look of Starblazers while the setting seems very much like the Star Trek universe, although without fist fights, or aliens. I think its a pretty good read, the art is nice, and the pace is steady. The story was originally published in two printed volumes back in the 90s and may still be ordered online via amazon.com. The author illustrator has recently rebooted the original print story for viewing online and is expanding with one new page each week.

I'm into it for the visuals more than anything. Character uniforms and environments are reminiscent of a lot of 80s scifi novels I enjoyed so much. The story is very laid back without the normal fight for survival so common in scifi genre these days and as such I find the story very relaxing to read. It is a what if for a crew of explorers visiting alien planets and trying to solve some science anomalies that are thrown their way. The title says a lot, there is mellow girl meets boy drama, some rival personalities and politics, but nothing over the top or otherwise distracting from the explorers in space aspect. As you read it, you may find it reminiscent of the serials found in an Analog or Asimov publication.

If you are looking for a nice distraction comic to read that keeps you invested, take a look at Galaxion. It's worth it.

-Galaxion Home
-Play Galaxion The Game Star Pirates
-Galaxion on Amazon

Watch The Guild Nooob!

2009-10-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: The Guild
Publisher: effinfunny.com
Genre: Situation Comedy
Release Date: August 2007
Format: Webcast, Podcast & DVD
Subscription: Free

Description: At last, a show about a group of people who play an MMORPG together. If you want to know what a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game is the MMO part means you play online with lots and lots of people. The RPG part means you play the role of a make believe character. This is an online only web cast sitcom about a group of people who play one of these games. The show is slapstick silly but follows a consistent story. When one player becomes enamored with another in real life, hilarity ensues, zany dialog is spewed forth, wackiness is cajoled, and gonzo whopper goofus shenanigans are expounded upon.

The show has been out for two complete seasons now, but since I have been preoccupied with my own real life quests I have been out of the loop of such entertainment as of late. Real life quests include but are not limited to....finding a job, fighting boss mobs at the unemployment agency and chatting to my fellow real lifers through IM about how much better things were in the olden days. Season three of "The Guild" started this September and was heralded in by the guilds first music video in July/August. I'm hooked now, and am looking forward to how season three turns out for our intrepid adventurers. Plus it has a new recognizable cast member of note that made me smile. No more spoilers, just go have fun.

Things to note while watching the guild. Gnomes are happy go lucky, focused but tend to smother people. Elves are cynical, shallow, and crude. Humans are the glue that keeps everyone together at the cost of their own jobs, privacy, and personal well being.

Oh and I bought a new house last week. Sold my old one too. Two of the big reasons this post is a bit late.

-Do You Wanna Date my Avatar?
-The Guild
-Legend of Neil

Make it a StarDate Tonight!

2009-09-01T00:00:00.004-07:00

Name: Stardate

Publisher: McDonald Observatory

Formats: Daily Broadcast / Bi-Weekly Magazine

Magazine Subscription: Yearly Fee from

Description: If you enjoy night time stargazing, playing with a telescope or even a set of binoculars you should invest some time with StarDate. StarDate is a monthly magazine stuffed full of celestial current events complete with full color photo maps and charts of the night sky. Or if you prefer, you can tune into the daily StarDate radio broadcast/podcast. Each morning's show will give you a variety of information from current space exploration missions, to local star viewing phenomenon. Hosted by the smooth voice of Sandy Wood, the show is always concise containing easy to understand terminology, tips, and information to will help you get the most out of your stargazing hobby.

StarDate is broadcast across the nation each night on your local NPR station or you can visit them online at StarDate.org to receive the free podcast. StarDate is the public education and outreach arm of the University of Texas McDonald Observatory.

If you are a casual stargazer like I am, your stargazing may be seroiusly affected by the weather. As the summer of 2009 begins to wane, I suggest people try to make the most of the relatively warm nights we have left. Take the family outside and make it a StarDate tonight.

-Stardate.org

-Stardate Podcast and XML feed

-McDonald Observatory

EMCE brings back Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes

2009-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Mego Like Toys
Manufacturer: Mattel/EMCE/Doctor Mego
Toy line: Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes
Release Date: 2009 - 2010
Component Materials: Plastic and Cloth Materials
Size: 8 inch scale

Toy Description: Back in 2006 we started seeing some very impressive re-makes of old Mego character dolls sold back in the 70s. Star Trek and Planet of the Apes figures were popular and well received, but primarily by collectors and fans of the shows. Because of the limited audience the toys were sold in specialty shops rather than the children's toy stores. These remakes were however a hopeful glimpse of what could be around the corner. Star Trek and Apes are all well and good but the most anticipated figures are the Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes.

At this years San Diego Comic Con, EMCE and Mattel Toys announced the return of the DC Mego Superheroes. The line will start with Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and the villains Sinestro and Lex Luthor. Sinestro will have his work cut out for him on the playground as there will be two Green Lanterns, Hal Jordon and John Stewart. Green Arrow will be an exclusive on Mattycollector.com but all other figures will sell in Toy stores like Toys R Us. No news on any Marvel heroes getting into the release or ideas of the partnerships it would bring. Hasbro most likely. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.

We at Toyspotting are very excited about this news. We will keep this a rolling post with plenty of updates and links to pictures as they come in.

-Mego Museum Buzz Announcement

-Mego Museum EMCE Announcement

-Worlds Greatest Toys Announcement

-Mattycollector.com

-Mego Like Star Trek and Planet of the Apes
-EMCE Toys
-Diamond Select Toys
-Twisted Toy Theatre
-Mego Museum
-Mego Madhouse
-Megostore
-Classic TV Toys
-Megoville

Atari Age and the Dawn of Home Video Games

2009-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Atari 2600 VCS
Manufacturer: Atari/Time Warner.
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1977

Description: Long ago in the late 70s early 80s, if you were playing video games at home,odds are it was on the Atari. Anyone who was paying attention to video games knew there were better systems, but Atari was the item, the known quantity with the public. The first Atari console to use a cartridge was the 2600 after the unit part number CX2600. It was originally called the Atari Video Computer System or VCS. It had tons of games and lots of accessories to boot.

My family had a heavy sixer, so named due to the extra heavy case design and six switches on the front. The newer versions of the Atari looked similar but with lighter cases and 2 of the 6 switches were moved to the back of the console. Toss in some wood grain finish and that baby was hot stuff. My household got a late start with Video Games. I remember when my mom bought it for my brother back in 1980. We had no clue what it was. My memory goes something like this.... What is that!? How do you play? What games does it play? (30 minutes later) Are there any other games to play? No nononono no WAIT! Mom of course we LOVE the games you chose Mom! Please don't turn it off!

And so on....

Our household hadn't really focused on home video electronics until the early 80s. My first memory of a Home Video Game system was when my good friend Derek Johansen invited me to play a game on his Odyssey². I was baffled, and had no idea what it was I was looking at. Sure, I had seen a talking picture box before, but what is this curious humming case with cable tethered boxes festooned with buttons and knobs? How does it somehow interact with what is happening on screen? Ok, I wasn't that out of touch, but it was pretty close. The game was called "Quest for the Rings" and had lots of cool graphics that were totally wasted on me. As far as I could tell, the Hero was a set of dots, and the Dragon was a blob with legs. Later on I discovered the graphics on my friends Odyssey² were state of the art. The Atari game equivalent was "Adventure" which featured the Hero as a single dot, and the Dragons looked like overfed ducks. I don't remember criticizing the graphics at the time, it was more of an observation. Controversy over what the graphics were supposed to represent was a pass time.

Typical Atari Infused Conversation....
-Me: Is the arrow a sword or an arrow?
-My Brother: Its a sword.
-Me: It looks like an arrow. Why not call it an arrow?
-My Brother: The booklet says its a sword.
-Me: Is this the same booklet that claims the ducks are dragons.
-My Brother: You mean the sea horses? Yeah those are dragons.
-Me: I guess the arrow can look like a sword if you hold it on the left.
-My Brother: What you mean to the left of the dot, er..hero?
-Me: Yeah whatever. Will you just let the duck or the sea horse or whatever eat you? I want it to be my turn already. Ooooh look out for the bird. He's gonna grab your arrow.
-My Brother: You mean the bat is gonna grab my arrow. I mean sword. I mean....go away!

There were other consoles around back then, like Intellivision, and Colecovision but honestly the games were all the same. It was the Dawn of Home Video Games. It was the Atari Age. Men were brave. Women were bold. Somewhere in a dark office late at night, a programmer, a pioneer if you will, programmed the visage of an arrow, and dubbed it a sword. Huzzah!

Classic Game Society Pages
-Atari Age

Flash Versions of Classic Games

-Adventure

I Finally Saw Star Trek XI

2009-06-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Star Trek XI
Director: J.J. Abrams
Producer: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: Summer 2009

Description: For Father's Day, my wife managed to get the two of us out of the house and alone for the first time in over 3 years. So of course, we spent all of it staring at a movie screen, but it was STAR TREK and man it was fun!

I remember when my parents took me to see Star Trek the Motion Picture. I was so happy to be seeing a Star Trek show in the theatre. It was fantastic for the first 10 minutes, then it slowed down a bit and I had lost a lot of interest by the middle of the movie. This latest film was like remembering those first 10 minutes all over again, only it lasted for the whole show.

J. J. Abrams has given us a re imagining of the Star Trek universe, with characters being familiar, but different at the same time. Abram's and the seven actors responsible for portraying the crew did a fantastic job. I have no complaints, but rather, I'd just like to say what I liked about them the most. My favorite was Karl Urban, who did an excellent job of capturing the cantankerous Doctor McCoy. Urban's McCoy's seemed much less the southern gentlemen compared to the Deforest, but the script may simply not have had opportunity for that aspect of the simple country doctor. Zoe Saldana's Uhura is a sensual, passionate, and down to earth woman with a sharp sense of humor. Her open affection for her fellow shipmates was genuine and refreshing. John Cho was a confident, happy go lucky Sulu who is best described as a pleasantly goofy action hero. He didn't have nearly as many lines as the rest of the cast, but he got one of the best fight scenes in the film. Anton Yelchin's Chekov was portrayed with an eager enthusiasm that kept very close to the original character. His youthful optimism was well placed in some very tense scenes. Simon Pegg made me smile as he said his very cliche Scottie lines from the transporter and engine rooms. Pegg didn't hold back and really gave it all she's got captain. Now, let's see, who does that leave? Oh yeah, Kirk and Spock. Let me just say that I was not only satisfied with them both, but they went beyond expectations. The new dimension of conflict between the two characters in the time span provided was a believable means of bringing them close without making it feel forced or stiff. Chris Pine is confident, has good timing, and brought his own humor along with a hammy portrayal of the William Shatner Kirk I know and love. He is just as rebelious as Shatner's Kirk, but lacks a strong a sense of purpose which will allow him to grow as a character for future stories. Zachary Quinto had a believable mix of intensity and even keeled mannerisms I expected Spock to have. That being said, the added emotional bond he outwardly shows his crew when appropriate was a nice change. I always saw Leonard Nimoy's Spock as the Vulcan with a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove how Vulan he was. Quinto's Spock seems to be on a journey of self discovery and more willing to question his Vulcan and Human cultures equally. Quinto therefore provides a very polished and confident character that balances Pine's rebellious Kirk.

After saying how much I liked about this new movie cast, I'd like to say that the original cast of characters from the TV show as well as directors and writers, deserve a huge credit to the efforts of this film. The template they provided is what this new film crew has worked so hard to follow and build on with affection and strong reverence that is well deserved. Thank you.

-Star Trek XI
-Star Trek
-Star Trek XI Toys

Dinosaur Time By Peggy Parish and Arnold Lobel

2009-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Dinosaur Time
Author: Peggy Perish
Story Line: Dinosaurs

Genre: Young Readers Reference
Release Date: 1974
Format: Picture Book

Description: This is a fun reference book for young readers interested in Dinosaurs. My mother read it with me when I was very young and I recently started reading it with my three year old son. The book has had some bad press on Amazon and I feel the reviewers simply miss the mark. I don't normally write reviews, but in this case I'll make an exception.

The Good:
The focus is to help young children recognize a diverse selection of dinosaurs and correctly pronounce their names. Each has an easy phonetic name pronunciation key along with what they probably ate; meat or plants. Arnold Lobel draws very detailed animals and environments which are realistic enough without being scary. There is no conflict or frightening images beyond showing teeth and claws. There is however, detailed text about who ate who. Example: "Tyrannosaurus ate other dinosaurs."

The book was first published in 1974 and has received updated text and pictures to reflect new names and theories on how the dinosaurs probably lived.

The Bad:
Not all the animals included are dinosaurs. Teratosaurus is a Thecodont, an animal that predated and slightly overlapped with dinosaurs but was not a dinosaur itself. No mention of this is included, and would be overly complicated if it were for the target reader. It seems an odd choice considering there are plenty of actual dinosaurs that could have been included instead.

Conclusion:
This book is not really suited for advanced readers even as a dinosaur information resource. It is clearly meant for first time readers to become engaged in science and reading on their own.

Wayfarer's Moon Turns 2 Today!

2009-04-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: April 2007
Format: Bi-Weekly Web Comic
Subscription: Free

Description: Single Edge Studios launched their first web comic 2 years ago today. So, as the tradition here at Toy Spotting goes, we say HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our favorite web comic! Everyone march on over and take a peak. Wayfarer's Moon is already on issue 6 and you can buy printed copies of 1 through 5 now on Indy Planet.

I got an autographed set at Emerald City Comic con last month and got to say a big "Hello" to the team. Leigh Kellogg and Jason Janicki are both very personable and easy to talk to. The team is getting bigger too as they have the talented artist Leah Rivera as their colorist. This means Leigh will have more time to concentrate on penciling and inking. I think it can still be called inking, even though you don't really use ink anymore. Anyway, thanks for giving us such an awesome fantasy book.

-Wayfarer's Moon Home

-Wayfarer's Moon in Print

The Shogun Warriors Invincible Guardians of World Freedom

2009-03-01T00:00:00.005-08:00

Name: The Shogun Warriors
Manufacturer: Mattel/Popy Bandai
Toy line: The Shogun Warriors
Release Date: 1977
Component Materials: Diecast metals, soft vinyl and hard plastics
Size: Jumbos (24in), Diecast Figures (5.5 in), Collectors (3.5in)

Toy Description: Shogun Warriors were a line of toys, licensed by Mattel during the late 1970s that consisted of a series of imported Japanese robots all based on then-popular giant robot characters and boy did they have character. Sporting crazy tricked out hot rod colors, crazy faces, and fanciful battle equipment, these were more like robotic luchadors than robots. Although the robots were often piloted as a vehicle, the robots were just like Super Heroes in the same sense as Superman and Spider-Man were in the USA. They had their own separate TV shows on the Japanese broadcasts. The shows, had almost nothing to do with each other in a story sense, but that didn't stop Mattel from selling them under one moniker anyway. Thus, the world outside of Japan would know them as "The Shogun Warriors, Invincible Guardians of World Freedom". There were three types of toys for the brand. Jumbo plastic robots, an assortment of diecast robots and vehicles, and finally a tiny figure line intended for use with vehicles and possibly playsets.

I'mportant update: Shogun Warriors Film

Giant Robots (Jumbo Machinder)
Mazinga, Raydeen, Dragun, Gaiking, Daimos, Grandizer/Goldorak, Godzilla

These are easily the most recognizable of all the Shogun Warrior toys. At almost 2 feet tall, they were an impressive site especially to a 6 or 7 year old kid. Each robot was made out of the same kinds of plastics as a shampoo bottle (polyethylene). Most of them had unique removable components like swords or battle axes. All of them had spring loaded projectiles, either small torpedo shaped missiles, or the very famous rocket punch. Dragun and Raydeen were the only departure from this. Dragun had a bracelet that fired star shaped discs while Raydeen fired bird shaped missiles from his belly. Goldorak was only released in Europe, while the other seven were sold in the North America.

Action Figures and Two in Ones (Chogokin)Mazinga, Dragun, Raider, Poseidon, Raydeen, Dangard, Gaiking, Daimos, Voltus V & Grandizer/Goldorak

The first wave of toys was marketed as Action Figures. Although very small, each of these figures was impressive to hold. They were heavy with Diecast metal and fabulously colored components. All but two of them had rocket punch fists, and all of them had a ton of accessories such as swords, or action features. The second wave of toys was sold as Two in Ones, meaning they had a versatile array of features that allowed kids to play with them as more than just a robot. Raydeen, was actually capable of a full blown transformation into a bird shaped jet. Gaiking was second best at with his transformation into a disembodied animal skull. Voltus V could be laid down and rolled on wheels as if he were a battle tank. Dangard came with an enormous removable wing which allowed him to look like a plane. He was a two in one, but i think Mattel was streatching the concept a bit since he was supposed to look like a flying wing when you removed his head. What you got rather was a headless robot with wings. Daimos had no transforming or change gimmick at all which Mattel was very much aware of. They made sure to keep the title of Two in One off his box. That didn't keep him from being one of the best toys though. Daimos sported the best articulation in his limbs while retaining a rocket punch feature. Grendizer was released in Europe and under his Goldorak name in two differant boxes. One was just as a two in one robot again with two in one text removed. The second was with his UFO ship which he could plug into.

Mini Collector's Shoguns
Mazinga, Grendizer, Combatra, Dragun, Poseidon, Gaiking, Dangard, 17, Voltus V, Leopaldon

These were designed and commissioned specifically by Mattel for selling the Shogun Warrior brand. For some reason, Raydeen and Daimos were neglected by this line and instead replaced by Leopaldon and 17 aka Daitetsujin 17. They have no gimmick features, and only sport four points of articulation 2 shoulders and 2 hips. They are tiny 3 inch figures that must have been seen as an affordable alternative for parents. One Sears catalog also indicates Mattel was working on vehicles that these figures could pilot. These additional interactive vehicles were never sold probably due to the toy brand losing favor over time.

Action Vehicles & U-Combine (Popynica)
Varitank, Solar Saucer, Vertilift, Shigcon Jet, Shigcon Tank, Sky Arrow, Diamos Truck, Bazoler, Nessar, Kondar, Cargosaur, Heli-Capter, Grand Car, Sky Jet, Jet Car, Dangard Launcher, Rydoto, Liabe, Grandizer Saucer, and U-Combine Combatra: Battlejet, Battle Marine, Battle Clasher, Battle Tank, plus Battle Craft.

Also made of diecast metals, these cars and planes had plenty of missiles and action features. Most of them were incapable of transforming, but they had wheels that spun, missiles that fired, and wings that flapped. The U-Combine Combatra, was the only one who had a transformation and is almost as popular as the Giant Jumbo toys. Five different futureistic vehicles could be combined together and form the giant Robot Combatra. The complete robot stood over a foot tall and had detachable hands that could be replaced with a claw or a drill.

Further information and photos may be found at...

-Ted Terranova's Robot Page

-Where the Wild Toys Are

-Plaid Stallions

-WeirdSciFi

-Geektarded

Trivia:
-Mattel Toys contracted Marvel Comics to make a montly Shogun Warriors comic book in an effort to push the toy brand. Marvel first indicated that the story would feature Raydeen, Mazinga, and Dragun, but Mattel had difficulty getting rights to market the two latter robots. When Combatra and Dangard Ace were signed instead, Marvel undoubtedly had to do some quick rewrites before releaseing the first issue.

-Artist Herb Trimpe did all 20 of the original Shogun Warrior Comic book. Herb was also the first artist to work on the world famous robots known as The Transformers characters for Marvel Comics.

-Shogun Comic Review

-misterkitty Marvel Shogun Review
-CBR Info
-Whitman Publishing made three story based coloring books that championed Mazinga, Raydeen, and Dragun seperately. These books were a strange departure from the giant robot theme since each was shown at around 6 feet tall and acted more as a costumed super hero than a robot. One even read the newspaper and probably did the daily crossword.

-Last but not least, there is a teaser for a possible Shogun Warriors Film

Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy

2009-02-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Name: The Foundation
Author: Isaac Asimov
Story line: The Foundation
Genre: Science Fiction
Release Date: 1940s
Format: Magazine and Novel Publications

Description:
I just read Issac Asimov's original Foundation Trilogy and found it very eye opening. After learning the stories publication history, I feel Asimov is the father of modern science fiction adventure the same as Tolkien is the father of modern high fantasy adventure. Asimov gave science fiction so much in this story. He set a standard for terms, economy, logistics, and social dynamics that would be accepted universally for generations of future budding science fiction authors. The books are full of anachronisms and out of date ideas. These are not so much problems as something to smile about when you remember when the books were written. Asimov had vision not for instrumentatlity so much as he did for how humanity would exist socially across the galaxy.

The books were written in the early 1940s with chapters being published monthly in magazines like Astounding. It wasn't until the late 1950s that these stories saw novelization publications. Asimov's vision of the future sent ripples through the Science Fiction writing community even before the term scifi was used. J.R.R. Tolkien shared his vision of fantasy and magic. This vision would later become a standard template for writers in the western world. Elves are long lived, tall, fair, beautiful creatures who love music and wine. Dwarves (not dwarfs please), have beards, are surly on average and jealously guard the beautiful magical treasures they craft. Orcs or Goblins are short, squarish, nasty dispositions and so on. His vision serves as a template for so many writers of fantasy it is astounding. As Tolkien had set up a standard for fantasy and magic, Asimov set the standard of humanity reaching the height of scientific and achievement in respect to instrumentality. Rayguns (blasters) are used as side arms, spectrographs for space navigation, micro-sized atomic power generators power everything from reading lamps to battleship engines. Drawing on the Roman empire as a guide, he envisioned a galactic empire with massive networks of ships and colonies spanning across the Milky Way. At the center, was the galactic core, a planet entirely encased in steel, administrating the galaxies numerous governmental and economic needs. In charge was the galactic emperor, who for good or ill, ruled even the furthest of planets with efficiency and authority. Sound familiar? It wasn't at the time that he wrote it. The books are full of anachronisms though. Vast networks of tubes are used to transport message capsules rather than via electronic networks (computers were still non existent when the stories were written). Further more, Robots would not be included in the stories until after the original 1940s trilogy.

These stories are very dry, and only have a few details about star ship battles or heroic exploits. The characters have very little depth and the reader is shuffled from character to character with almost no reoccurring personalities. The story itself is more about exploring where humanity is headed and how can it can possibly learn from past mistakes. The story begins with a decadent galactic empire that steadily begins to decline. A psychologist named Hari Seldon has foreseen this and through complicated mathematics draws conclusions of how this will ultimately lead to a disastrous dark age of galactic proportions. To prevent this from happening, Seldon sets up a foundation of fellow psychologists to carefully engineer and influence a new evolutionary course leading to a healthier form of humanity. A humanity that understands itself more completely and therefore constructively. Seldon's plan is not plain and laid out at all. It is told in a mystery format that is very enjoyable with characters struggling to achieve the late Seldon's plans as they observe and adjust to the galactic changes happening around them.

Issac Asimov's stories not only entertained readers, but also inspired so many more science fiction writers such as Lucas, Spielberg, Arthur C. Clark, Robert Heinlein, and Gene Roddenberry to name just a few. Asimov was truly one of the great exploratory visionaries of "what could we become" of our time.

-Further Reading on Foundation

The Music of Isao Tomita

2009-01-01T00:00:00.002-08:00

Name: Isao Tomita
Publisher: RCA Victor
Release Date: 1974 to 1996
Genre: Electronic Synthesizer Music

Description:

For this month on Toyspotting.com, I'd like to share with you a peculiar but enjoyable favorite of mine. I'm not a big fan of electronica, but when I was young, I do remember this artist very fondly. When I was 8 or 9, because my Dad was a volunteer for the local stations National Public Radio which played lots of Classical and Romance period music. This exposure gave me some small experience and knowledge that allowed me to recognize some of the more well known composers. I was very much interested when a friend of my older brother brought over an album that was an electronic version of Bolero. This caught my interest. Later that same week, I recognized a piece from Claude Debussy being played in the same fashion as the opener for Jack Horkheimer's Star Gazer show on PBS. I liked what I heard, so I went to Tower Records to see if I could find out what it was I was listening too. After a little digging through the alternative music section I discovered they were both from the same artist named Isao Tomita.

In the mid to late 1970s, a Japanese Music talent named Isao Tomita first learned to use the electronic medium to perform symphonic music. His style is more or less to take popular timeless classics and retool them with electronic sound synthesizer equipment. He has had a niche following over the years with the height of his popularity being reached in the late 1980s.

My experience is that you either love it or hate it. Some would simply like to listen to the originals. I think the exposure into another genre "electronica" helps broaden peoples exposure to the classics. Either way, I'm a fan, and I thought I would share. Tomita is a favorite in my household and is fondly known as the "Beepah Boopah" music by my 2 year old son. For a complete set of information and lists of recordings of Mr. Tomita, I suggest you visit the link below. Hope you all have a Happy New Year! :)

-Tomita Net

The Outer Space Men and the World of the Future

2008-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Name: The Outer Space Men
Manufacturer: Colorforms
Toy line: The Outer Space Men & World of the Future
Release Date: 1968
Component Materials: Plastics and Wire metals
Size: 1:15th with figures varying from 3.5 to 6 inches tall

Toy Description: In the mid 1960s, the space race was in full swing. Hypothetical ideas of outer space filled our newspapers, our Radio-TV broadcasts, and our minds. The NASA Mercury and Gemini missions were successfully completed leaving the Apollo project with a clear path to the moon. While people of all ages were dreaming of going into outer space the toy industry was dreaming of landing space toys into children's hands. Enter the Outer Space Men. Each of the Outer Space Men were meant to be from one of the planets of our solar system. Their names and physical characteristics were full of metaphors and symbolic imagery to tie them to their home planet.

The action figure market in the mid 1960s was being spearheaded by Hasbro with their very successful GI Joe line of toys but was a bit pedestrian when it came to outer space. Mattel was doing very well with their specialized Major Matt Mason space explorer toys. Mason toys were beautiful bendy figures who wore strikingly colorful space suits. The suits and equipment resembled true astronautical gear with touches of Flash Gordon thrown in for good measure. Mason sold very well during the space race, but he didn't have anyone to visit when working in the void. It was the idea of extra terrestrial contact that gave Mel Birnkrant the idea for the Outer Space Men. The Major would do well to have someone to make contact with, and there were no alien action figures to be had on toy shelves. Mel Birnkrant and Colorforms moved to provide children with the Outer Space Men. While Mel, designed each space man himself, Colorforms would publish and produce them. The first series sold very well, and it appeared Colorforms had a big hit on their hands. Unfortunately due to various reasons the toys were no longer seen as winners by the time the second series was released and so the orders completely stopped. In fact, many space toys across the market suffered, including Major Matt Mason. It would seem, once the Apollo project ended with men on the moon, children lost interest with space play. Space toys would not fully recover until the late 1970s with the release of Star Wars. Mel and Colorforms tried to reestablish the toys by repackaging the second series as "World of the Future" but with no success and so the OSM toy line was over.

When I was young, I knew of these toys as "The Space Warriors" as they named on a Colorforms playset. I had a number of the Colorforms sets in the mid 1970s, including "The Shogun Warriors" and "Planet of the Apes" but the Space Warriors was the most intriguing. A photograph of the original figures dominated the box cover. I remember being disappointed when I opened the box and found some flat vinyl prints in place of those very splendid looking figures. Little did I know that those figures had already been seen as retail failures just a few years earlier and would never be sold in stores again. Still, I'm glad Colorforms saw fit to dust off the old intellectual property and place the Outer Space Men into a Colorforms set. The photo alone gave rise to my imagination of space aliens much the the same way Star Wars did. They are iconic in their line art, color and extraterrestrial origins. Thank you Mel Birnkrant. Children of the planet Earth with their minds in outer space salute you.

Reference Links
-History of the Outer Space Men

-Mel Birnkrant's Outer Space Men

-Colorforms Outerpace Men

Macross Saga's Day of the Destroid

2008-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Description: What are destroids? They are giant biped battle tanks (battloids) which appeared in the well known anime "Super Dimension Fortress Macross" aka Robotech the Macross Saga. Destroids served as artillery, and sharpshooters for the good guys. None of the main characters piloted destroids though and so their screen time was often limited to background still shots or simple five second animations ending with their unfortunate destruction. Saying you liked to watch the destroids in battle was like saying you liked watching red shirts attend away missions in Star Trek. During the course of the entire cartoon, the only enemy a destroid called victory on was..wait for it..a homeless alien armed with a stick. That's right. The destroid triumphed in that encounter, but I'm pretty sure the pilot wet himself before it was over. I mean, the alien had a stick after all.

There have been two significant releases of destroid toys since the cartoon aired in the 80s. The latest being from Yamato toys and the biggest reason for this blog post. For comparison, we will use the original Takatoku toys from 1982. There are five different destroid variants. Each of the five discussed here will be referred to under the Super Dimension Fortress Macross name rather than the Robotech name. Let's take a look.

Yamato Toys: Tomahawk, Defender, Phalanx, Spartan, Monster

Video Reviews: Tomahawk, Defender, Phalanx, Spartan, Monster

Toy line: Yamato Macross Series, Info Page

Release Date: 2008-2009

Component Materials: Plastics and Diecast Metals

Size: 1/60th scale approx 10 inches tall

Toy Description: These toys were announced late winter early spring of 2008. They are large, really large around 10 inches large. The Yamato versions are so far, nearly perfect. Beyond not having missile fire action, they are fantastic toys. Each release has had little mini figures that can fit inside the open cockpit, articulation is very reasonable and there will be a variety of colors for each variant. The colors are very nice. Fans of the cartoon will remember several scenes that displayed beautiful highly detailed paintings where these giants dominated the background. These toys do serious justice to the cartoon. The only gripe collectors and fans may have about these toys are the price. Many collectors feel $90-$100 dollars is too much for a non transforming robot toy with no electronic or gimmick features. I would have to agree. Personally, I would have rather the toy been a third of the size for a third of the price. This would allow collectors on a budget to afford a complete set plus extras with variant paint jobs without taking up as much space. I hope Kaiyodo will add these mechs to their super articulated Revoltech lineup for fans on a budget. Kaiyodo, are you listening, you did it once before but only for the Tomahawk. Where are the other four?

Takatoku Toys: Tomahawk, Defender, Phalanx, Spartan, Monster

Conversion Kit: Tomahawk, Defender ,Phalanx

Vinyls: Tomahawk, Defender, Spartan

Toy line: Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Robotech
Release Date: 1982-1983
Component Materials: Plastics and Diecast Metals
Size: 1/60th scale approx 3 1/4 inches tall

Toy Description: These toys are much smaller than Yamato and Matchbox. They were re-released by Matchbox in the USA under the Robotech toyline and sold two paint variants for each of the four smaller destroids. Well done, since they were not particularly expensive, it gave us a nice collection of battloids to play with. Each destroid was at least 50% diecast metal with sharp paint jobs, a big sheet of stickers, and had an almost flawless accuracy to the cartoon. The only consistent complaint fans and collectors may have with these toys would be the lack of articulation in the legs so if you want your mech to walk, it will just have to hop. The Monster destroid being the exception, which had moving leg and foot joints. The toys are extremely collectible and I actually prefer the Matchbox Robotech release to the Takatoku because of the paint variants. When Playmates acquired the right to sell the Takatoku designs in the 90s, all of these toys except the Monster destroid saw a third release as part of the EXO squad toyline. The EXO release is not seen as nearly as collectible due to having no diecast metal, and no sticker sheet. Even the fancy box was taken away and replaced with an EXO cardback. They did at least continue with the two paint variants for a total of 8 separate battloids so they get kudos for that. Takatoku did a separate three in one kit as well called the "Destroid Conversion Kit". This boxed set included one destroid skeleton, one set of leg armor and three separate upper body sections. Tomahawk, Defender and Phalanx destroids could be created one at a time. The set was a lot of fun and the destroids had a bit more articulation than the figures originally released by Takatoku. Unfortunately the Spartan and Monster were not included with the set, probably due to the fact they didn't have the same basic leg design shared by the other three destroids. Last but not least, Takatoku had a set of vinyl toys for the Tomahawk, Defender and Spartan with the Phalanx and Monster being excluded.

Special Thanks to the following sites for the beautiful pictures and priceless information.
-Toybox DX

-Collection DX
-Scortched Earth

Trivia

The destroids were in the original lineup of battle mechs for the very popular tabletop game "Battletech" or Battledroids as it was originally named. The unmistakable Tomahawk destroid was featured prominently on numerous boxed sets and suppliments for the game. George Lucas declared the game name "Battledroids" be changed on account of his exclusive rights to the term "droids". Studio Nue and Harmony Gold demanded the mech spec designs and table top miniatures for the Warhammer (Tomahawk), Rifleman (Defender), Archer (Spartan) and Longbow (Phalanx) be pulled from store shelves and signifigantly changed. The Monster was released for the game as well, but never had a proper Battlemech name.

Fire Eaters Zero Bandits

2008-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Black Belt Challenge aka Fire Eaters Zero Bandits
Publisher: Xicat Interactive
Developer: Guerrilla Games aka Lost Boys Interactive
Release Date: 2003
Game Genre: 2D Fighting
System: Game Boy Advance

Description: Toyspotting devotes this months post to a misfit of pop culture. Back in 2003 Guerrilla software released "Black Belt Challenge" originally called "Fire Eaters Zero Bandits" back in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. As a mediocre 2d fighting game, reviewers were not impressed by the lack of features and controls. The game was bad even when compared to older games of the same genre. What makes Black Belt Challenge stand out though are it's colorful quirky characters.

Drake is the only uninspired character to speak of and fills the Spiky haired Ryu rip off gap gamers come to expect in fighting games. Yuhko appears to be a pirate punk with a chain whip fetish. Daryl is a golden armored rocketeer and can zip around the screen super fast. Owl resembles a cross between Quasimodo and a Jawa. He uses a giant morning star flail to bash opponents up close and far away. Bingo is a fun clunky 50s robot complete with caterpillar treads for feet. His nose serves as a tank cannon. Violet looks like she stepped out of the 1920s upper class society. She swings a large parasol for her main attack. Balbora is a robotic alien life form and sports a central American motif. He uses giant spiked hands for weapons. Stahlfeder wears lots of WWII grenadier gear and makes broad sweeping kicks and punches. There is a large air tank on his back, but I can't seem to get him to do anything with it. What does he have in there, napalm, cool aid? My personal favorite, is Rana the Dutch milkmaid. Her main weapons are her wooden clogs, but she also splashes milk out of her pail as short ranged attack. The big boss is Nova who throws fireballs and wears a Statue of Liberty costume. Once you defeat her, both she and Rana becomes playable.

I would recommend eBay or Game Trading Zone to get a used copy. I don't condone down loadable Roms but for this game, it may be your only option. I don't think the big boys at Guerrilla Games would mind.

The Colorful Craft of Papercraft

2008-09-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Papercraft aka Paperkraft
Manufacturer: Various
Toy line: None
Release Date: None
Component Materials: Paper Prints & Glue
Size: Various

Toy Description: Just a short blog today about the virtues of paper craft toys. Until recently I thought of paper craft as quirky paper prints cut from children's books. One example is Gary Tong's Crazy Cutouts which is sampled below. I had no idea papercraft had been taken to such a high art, but doing a google search shows up some impressive paper constructs. They look like they take a lot of patience discipline, creativity and well...paper. Some constructs can look sharper than some of the plastic toys I've seen. If you have the time and patience to do something fun with your family, I recommend some of the following sample sites to get you started.

-Ninjatoads Papercraft

-Gary Tong's Crazy Cut-Outs

Decorate Your Action Figure Collection

2008-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Toy Description: Last summer, I came up with the idea of decorating some action figure blisters with my own custom cardbacks. They turned out well enough that I felt like sharing them. All have been taken directly from scans of the original vintage Kenner Star Wars mini-figure cardbacks. Theoretically you can match any of your Star Wars figures to whatever color they were originally packaged with. Or you can just take the dimensions and make your own designs. The measurements I have listed below are roughly what you want for the Protech Action Figure blisters I use. There are two sizes, one for narrow blisters and one for wide blisters. I even added a generic decal on the back to give a more polished look. Here they are, waiting for you to spruce up your loose figure collection. If you are like me you enjoy opening toys over and over again so these will help maintain the illusion of a brand new figure. Enjoy.

If anyone has any feedback or custom designs of their own they want to share, please leave a comment, send a link or send them to shornk@gmail.com.

Printing:
-The goal is to have each individual swatch equal the sizes provided.
--Narrow Cardbacks: 1 & 5/8 wide X 4 & 5/8ths long
--Wide Cardbacks: 2 ½ inch wide x 4 ¾ inch long
-Print a black and white test page of your print images before you continue. To do this, place a protech case over the top of each strip and see if it will fit, either too big or too small will ruin the entire job.
-Using a high quality printer/laser copier and 8.5X11 cardstock paper, print a color swatch on the front side and if you so desire print black logos on the back. Kinko's or Staples will do this for you at a decent price of roughly $1 per side.

Laminating:
-This is s very important step as the laminate will prevent the figure from rubbing against the ink of the cardback which could damage both figure and card. Nobody wants that.
-Laminate on 3mil laminate heat sealing sleeves.
-Run each page through a laminator on the highest heat setting three or four times. You want to make sure the laminate is really stuck to the card.
-Use a new or clean lamination sleeve to prevent ugly creases. If creases do occur, run it through again to minimize the crease.

Cutting:
-Possibly the most tedious and lengthy step. Cut each cardback out on a nice quality paper cutter. Use the dark green cut lines as a guide.
-Once each swatch is separated from the page, you can now cut the corners with a corner cutter. I picked up a corner cutter at a crafts store but they also have them at places like Target in the stationary section.
-Inspect your swatches for any signs of defects or damage. If the lamination appears to be unsealing, just run it through the laminator a few times again. If the card itself is splitting apart, then you can just use a tiny dab of glue to stick it back together.

Conclusion:
-Now you should be able to place your figure into your blister pack with the cardback inside behind them. Viola! You now have instant deco for your loose figures.

-Custom Cardback Album

Protech Action Figure Blisters
-The Earth Toy Mall
-Wholesale Cases
-ProtechProductsinc

Atomic Mushroom's Combat-R-Zero

2008-07-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Combat-Zero
Manufacturer: Atomic Mushroom Toys
Toy line: Combat-R-Zero
Release Date: 2007
Component Materials: Vinyl Plastics & Diecast Metal Parts
Size: approximately 8 inches Tall

Toy Description: Designer vinyl toys with metal parts. Count me in. These look awesome and by gumdrops I'm gonna buy me one. These guys are very expensive at $55.00 dollars each but Atomic Mushroom Toys promises they are worth the hefty price tag. I discovered these little busters while checking out Toybot Studio's blog. I'll post more info as soon as my budget allows me to purchase one of these.

Combat-R-Zero is very reminiscent of the character designs from THQ's GBA 2d fighter "Black Belt Challenge". Black Belt Challenge aka "Fire Eaters, Zero Bandits" was a dandy of a game that featured robots, Ryu clones, rocketeer fly boys and clog clad milk maids. Combat-R-Zero's stumpy limbs and "I'm cute so back off!" features reflect the same attitude.

The best thing about these toys is the attention to the little bells and whistles all over the figure. The sprockets, joints, and jet packs are all highly detailed and are very well painted. Well done and a big congratulations to the folks at Atomic Mushroom.

Combat-R-Zero is a registered trademark of Atomic Mushroom - All Rights Reserved

-Atomic Mushroom Toys
-Toysrevil's Combat-R-Zero Art Contest

Mospeada Madness 2008

2008-06-01T00:00:00.002-07:00

Description: This is a good year for "Genesis Climber Mospeada" fans. For those not familiar with the cartoon, the toys discussed here are called ride armors (aka cyclones in Robotech). Each ride armor is able to transform from a motorcycle into a personal battle armor suit. There are four ride armor variants with differences limited to frame, color and armament. Each variant will be referenced here by the character who rode it in the cartoon. In the story, invaders resembled giant arthropoda so combat sequences with the ride armors had a striking likeness to Heinlein's novel "Starship Troopers". The ride armor transformation in the cartoon was very complicated so any designer trying to make a toy do what it did on screen had some big challenges to overcome. Now over 25 years after the show originally aired in Japan we have CM Corp, Mega House and Beagle all selling us ride armor toys. More than half have already been released, some are still only shown in preorder pictures. Let's take a look at what climbing the genesis ladder will give us this year.

CM Corp Toys: Stick & Ley, Yellow, Houquet & Mint, Shinobu NEW> Character Set

Video Reviews: Stick & Ley, Yellow, Houquet & Mint, Shinobu

Toy line: CM Brave Serise

Release Date: Staggered from early 2008 through Nov 08

Component Materials: Plastics, rubber & diecast metals

Varied by release 1:18th Scale around 3 3/4 inches tall

Toy Description: These figures are around the size and proportion of a Star Wars action figure and are my personal favorite so far in terms of scale. Stick and Ley were out in early-mid spring then Yellow was out in the late summer Update 10.15.08> <then ending with Houquet/Fuke and Shinobu in late autumn.> The Yellow release included Yellow, Stick and Rey helmet less head sculpts to further compliment your collection. The Houquet/Fuke release will include two statue figures of Mint Rubbel. One for shotgun cycle riding and one free standing. It would be nice if the Shinobu Takeuchi release would include Jim Austin/Warston and Aisha statues to round out all the characters but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Both Houquet and Shinobu will continue the helmetless head sculpt options that the Stick and Ray releases were missing initially. Speaking of which, the head sculpts have a nice toy like resemblance to each character. Each ride armors designs and colors are very accurate to the cartoon, but the plain thin stiff plastics used are more akin to a model kit than a toy. Parts like the wind screen will snap off and require a bit of glue to fix. Armor mode has lots of posability as long as you use the stand, which is little more than a simple thin peg leg. The biggest problem in ride mode is the figure doesn't latch on well to the seat. All complaints aside, these toys are a fine addition to any Mospeada or mech enthusiasts collection.

Mega House Toys: Stick, Ley, Yellow, Houquet, Shinobu

Video Reviews: Stick & Ley, Yellow, Houquet, Shinobu

Toy line: Variable Action Serise, Special Demo

Release Date: Staggered from early 2008 through mid 2009

Component Materials: PVC plastics & rubber

Size: 1:15th Scale around 6 inches tall

Toy Description: The Mega House figures also managed to hit the market with Stick and Rey simultaneously in mid spring with the promise of Yellow by mid summer. They are larger than the CMs but smaller than the Beagle and measure up around 6 or 7 inches in armor mode. Unlike the CMs, there are no signs of a Houquet figure yet but there was a Mint Rubbel figure that you could perch on the back of Stick or Ley. The figure was only shown at Wonderfest last year and could have been exclusively for the show. The diorama display also included some inbit statues too. As for the toys we have seen sold so far, the colors are very vibrant and the plastics have a sturdy bend in the wind PVC plastic feel. The head sculpts have an excellent resemblence to the cartoon character personality. Each figure has plenty of articulation but at the cost of obvious robotic looking limb joints. Unlike the CMs version, the rider stays firmly on the bike seat in ride mode. The cycles wheels don't spin as well as the CM's and the Stick and Ley versions wheels are really small. I also feel the rider is a bit too large for the bike in ride mode. The bike and armor designs are very accurate to the cartoon and include plenty of accessories. Something to be aware of, switching from ride mode to armor mode is more like removing and replacement of parts rather than a traditional transformation. Parts are known to fall off and during transformation (but not break). There is extremely limited pose-ability without the stand in armor mode and the toy is extreemly top heavy. The stand is very large and obvious, but looks nice all the same. These figures rank very highly in the collector market.

Beagle/Toynami Toys: Stick & Ley, Yellow, NEW> Houquet, Shinobu

Video Reviews: Stick, Ley, Yellow, Houquet, Shinobu
Toy line: Beagle CAD?/Robotech Masterpiece
Release Date: Staggered from late 2008 through late 2011
Component Materials: Diecast metals, rubber, PVC plastics and cloth
Size: 1:10th Scale around 8 inches tall

Toy Description: In 2007 Toynami showed thier own prototype ride armor at San Diego Comic Con and Anime Expo 2007. Since then, Toynami had aluded to selling the MegaHouse version here in the USA under the Robotech banner, possibly as a stop gap measure for thier own version. Toynami has more recently scrapped their desgins and confirmed assisting Beagle with their release here in the USA. From what we have seen, Beagle's release will be an even larger scale around 200mm or 1/10th scale allowing for a more perfect mounting system. 7.5 inches for the figure, and 8 inches in ride armor mode. So far, the only characters shown have been Stick for a December 08 Update 10.16.08> <and Ley for a March 09 release.> All the photos I have seen so far look fantastic. The ride armor mode has a very inward design that hugs close to the figure showing very tight proportions. To entice buyers with preorders here in the USA, Toynami's Robotech version will include an extra head sculpt. Toynami has also confirmed that they intend to release all four variant ride armors each in the Robotech masterpiece book volume packaging we have seen in the past. This would strongly insinuate that Beagle has every intention of making all four variants. There has been no info on a Shinobu Takeuchi release from Beagle, but back in early 2007 when Toynami announced it's now defunct plans, they listed Sue Graham as volume 3 of an intended 3 volume set. Perhaps Toynami will try to convince Beagle to make her as well if they are not already intending to do so. I'll update again once the toys are released in late autumn early winter.

Mospeada Names (Robotech Names)
-Stick or Stig Bernard (Scott Bernard) rides the VR-52F.
-Ley or Rey or Ray (Rand) rides the VR-52T.
-Yellow Belmont (Lancer) rides the VR-41H.
-Houquet Emrose (Rook Bartley) rides the VR-38LT. "Houquet is pronounced Hoo-ke and was mislabled as Fuke on many the the toys and models due to an understandable text translation error."
-Shinobu Takeuchi (Sue Graham) rides a black version of the VR-38LT

Mospeada & Robotech Toys and Anime Info
-Ultimate Genesis Climber

-Scortched Earth

-Robotech

-Genesis Climber Mospeada Review Part 1 & Part 2

-Love Live Alive

Wayfarer's Moon Issues Now In Print!

2008-05-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: April 2008
Format: Bi-Weekly Web Comic
Price: $3.80

Description: Wayfarer's Moon the online fantasy web comic is now selling printed copies through IndyPlanet. Issues 1, 2, and 3 are all available now! The colors are vibrant and the lines are sharp. These are high quality productions and will make an excellent addition to your comic collection. Not to mention now you can read Wayfarer's Moon while you sit on the toilet. Update 01.08.09> <Issues 4 and 5 are now available on Indy Planet. Enjoy!>

-IndyPlanet
-Wayfarer's Moon Blog Post
-Wayfarer's Moon Home

Wayfarer's Moon Turns 1 Today!

2008-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: April 2007
Format: Bi-Weekly Web Comic
Subscription: Free

Description: Single Edge Studios launched their first web comic 1 year ago today. I encourage all fans to click over and do some catchup reading if you haven't been keeping track. The story and art have only gotten better and better with each new issue. Add to that, the team has produced an incredible 3 issues and number 4 is almost completed. Take a look and enjoy.

-Wayfarer's Moon Home
-Wayfarer's Moon Birthday Blog

Dida Action Figure Displays

2008-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Dida Displays
Manufacturer Designer: Scott C Adams
Toy line: Mego 8inch scale action figures
Release Date: 2008
Component Materials: Durable Vinyl Plastics & Card Board
Size: Variable Models all supporting 8 inch scale figures

Toy Description: Dida Display Cases are compatible with medium sized 8 inch action figures. Particularly the Mego style action figures, whose 60s and 70s playsets served as the initial inspiration for them.

In the 1960s, a toy company called Mego attempted to cash in on the action figure franchise that was ushered in by Hasbro's GI Joe. Mego wanted a generic body that could be used to facilitate almost any IP. Superhero's, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Old West, etc were all possible. Of course, vehicles and playsets were avaliable to be sold along with them. Mego Corp, and a variety of knock off companies, fabricated vinyl plastic covered cardboard playsets adorned with beautiful custom artwork often by top notch comic book artists of the day. Unfortunately these toys were often easily torn, smashed or otherwise damaged beyond the ability to use. Now thanks to the Dida Action Figure Displays, we can have it all back.

There are several generic models that available as well as updated reproductions of the original Mego playsets. Most important of all they can all be customized to your preferences. Added to that, there are very specific play features included not seen since Mego released them in the mid to late 1970s. Specifically, the revolving door platform portal to simulate either Clark Kent switching into Superman or Kirk beaming down to an alien world.

Each stand is built to stack or otherwise stand next to neatly with each other. The tri boxes and towers (pie shaped wedge) can be set in a fun circular pattern. The generic display boxes, (trapezoidal shaped) are stackable. Additionally, each individual unit is build to last and comes complete with metal fastener bolts to hold them together. Finally some of the more portable versions like the tri boxes, have a plastic handle ontop as well as a door flap complete with metal buckle fastener.

All this has been a labor of love from Scott C Adams. Scott was inspired to take this project on after reminiscing over old family photos featuring himself holding his Mego Action figures. I encourage anyone who is a collector of Mego or Mego like figures to consider buying one or two from Scott or at least shoot him a mail telling him what a good job he has done. Thanks Scott. These look awesome!

Dida Displays is the sole property of Scott C Adams, Oakland, CA © 2007

-Dida Displays Home
-Dida Blog

Loose Action Figure Storage Cases

2008-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Action Figure Blisters
Manufacturer: Protech
Toy line: Small Scale Action Figures
Release Date: Updates Ongoing
Component Materials: PVC Acid free plastics
Size: 3 - 5 inch Scale

Toy Description: This site has become more of a promotional site for my friends and families endeavors so I felt it was time I did some nerd blogging about myself. I like to collect toys, but they can take up a lot of space. Not only that, but they are difficult to keep in good condition. Many of the storage options provided by toy makers, offer little more than banged up figures, and lost accessories. Options that do a good job of keeping everything safe are often less than accessible. However, there is hope for the loose figure collector. I give you the action figure blister. Customizable, safe, affordable, and easy to use. Action figure blisters are the way to go for easy instant access to figures without ever worrying about easily lost accessories.

These little beauties will allow you easy access to each of your figures. They are clear so anything inside is easy to identify without having to open. Thus, you can simply open the box, cart, cabinet full of these, and at a glance pick the toys you want and have instant access to it along with any accessories. Then when you are done, just pop them back in and reseal. You can even decorate them with different patterns to your taste.

Action figure blisters, also known as "soft shell cases" are for sale at several different stores that I know of. I have listed them below. Other Protech options are also available, but I found the ones shown in the pictures here to be the best option for all around usability.

3 & 3/4 - 5 inch cases
-The Earth Toy Mall
-Wholesale Cases
-ProtechProductsinc

8 inch inch figure cases
-MegoStore.com

Star Trek: Cloak

2008-01-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Name: Star Trek: Cloak
Publisher: Doug Herring
Genre: Scifi: Star Trek Universe
Release Date: Ongoing
Format: Downloadable Direct to Video
Subscription Fee: Fan project - currently being designed for free sharing on the Internet only

Description: Animated Trek is a new endeavor started by talent artist Douglas Herring. Star Trek: Cloak will be a spin off of the Classic Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident" wherein the crew of the Enterprise infiltrate Romulan space and steal a new secret weapon. "The Enterprise Incident" is a very memorable episode. It had espionage, space combat, Kirk dressed up as a Romulan, and some sexual tension between Spock and lovely but cold Romulan commander. By the end of the episode, viewers are left with many unanswered questions about the fallout of the mission. Because of the popularity of the episode with fans, as well as the open ended story, "The Enterprise Incident" has been a fan fiction favorite and spawned numerous spin off stories in novels and fanzines.

Enter Star Trek: Cloak. Doug Herring, the sole creator of ST: Cloak, has been a Star Trek fan since the show first aired on network television over 30 years ago and is devoted to doing this as a service to the Star Trek/Scifi community. So far as I can tell, ST: Cloak animation is in preproduction, but there is a lot of beautiful static content on the site already. Mr. Herring's visage of the cast, crew, and space vessels is impeccable and really captures the essence of Classic Star Trek.

The home site for ST: Cloak is named Animated Trek, foreshadowing that this is but one of many more stories to come. Thanks Doug, I look forward to the first episode.

Star Trek is a registered Trademark of CBS Studios/Paramount - All Rights Reserved
Art © 2008 Douglass Herring - All Rights Reserved

-Star Trek Cloak Home

Star Wars Concept UK

2007-12-01T00:00:00.003-08:00

Name: Concept UK
Manufacturer: Unknown
Toy line: Custom Star Wars figures
Release Date: Ongoing
Component Materials: Hasbro Wax, Plastics
Size: 3 & 3/4 inch scale

Toy Description: Come look at some of the best custom Star Wars figures ever on the Concept UK site. I really admire people who can sculpt on such a small scale. This UK resident is a very talented sculptor and Star Wars toy enthusiast. Two things that go great together.

Custom figures are very common on the Internet nowadays, but I only know of a few who actually sculpt from wax and go through the complicated process of plastic mould injection. This customizer not only does his own figures, but customizes his own cardbacks and bubbles too with some very impressive results.

Check out his custom figure galleries, or even his toy commercials on his YouTube channel.

-Concept UK Home
-Custom Commercial

Playmobil Time!

2007-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Playmobil
Manufacturer: Playmobil
Toy line: Playmobil
Release Date: Early 60s to Present Day
Component Materials: Plastics
Size: 3 3/4 inches tall

Toy Description: These little toys have been with us for some time now. They are the perfect little people and have numerous playsets, vehicles, as well as a variety of settings and themes. From Space, to Vikings, to Modern Day life, these toys have it all. Not only that, but they are not bogged down with any particular characters or IPs. The toys are pure play value, and they have survived the test of time.

For imaginative play, you can't go wrong. If you are looking for some fun adventures with little plastic people, I would suggest Playmobil for both young boys and girls. There are sets that cater to both, and interact with each other perfectly.

-Playmobil Home
-Collectomobil
-Klickywelt
-Playmobil DB

Ultarama Action Figure Display Systems

2007-10-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Ultarama Action Figure Display Systems
Manufacturer: Ultarama
Toy line: 3 1/4 to 5 inch action figures
Release Date: 2003
Component Materials: Durable Plastics & Card Board
Size: 18 in Tall x 23 in Wide X 10 in Deep

Toy Description: The Ultarama system is a set of plastic bases to set action figures on for play time fun or just diorama display. The system is modular and can be stacked one on top of another. Each base is a in the shape of a half circle with two sets of tracks standing tall out of the flat edge. These tracks support background images to be slid into place. Thus you can set your figures against any background you print out, draw, paint etc.

Check out the Ultarama.com home site and see for yourself. You can also find scanned images of the Ultarama backgrounds on the Star Wars fan site Rebelscum.com.

Copyright © 2000-2004 Ultarama.com. All Rights Reserved.

-Ultarama Home
-Rebelscum Ultarama

Domur Hunter's Moon

2007-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Domur Hunter's Moon
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Figure line: Dark Heaven Legends
Sculptor: Julie Guthrie
Release Date: Unknown
Component Materials: Ralidium (Lead free Pewter)
Platform: Table Top
Size: 25mm Scale

Description: Yes, I know he isn't done yet, but I have been sorta busy. I'll update the post later with finished photos. In the mean time, here is Domur the Wizard. I have chosen a red and yellow theme for his robes as I wanted them to really stand out from the rest of his outfit. You know what they say, "Red touches yellow, watch that fellow." I'm toying with the idea of using blues and greens for the flame, but who knows. This will be the first figure I have painted in almost five years. My photography is finally improved though, (now that I understand the camera settings a bit more).

Domur's sculpt has a travelers look to him as opposed to the more ornately festooned robes and accoutrement's of the more posh looking wizards. At first, I didn't care for the fire emitting from his hands, until I saw the faces sculpted into the flames. The pose is a nice "in action" pose without taking up to much space on the board.

This Julie Guthrie sculpt is one of the earliest releases from Reaper Miniatures. This sculpt is much larger than the Grenadier figures of the 80s. It still looks close enough to scale to be used along side them though. I haven't seen much from Lady Guthrie in the past few years but when I do, it doesn't dissapoint.

Templar Knight with Sword and Shield

2007-08-01T00:00:00.016-07:00

Name: Templar Knight with Sword and Shield
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Figure line: Dark Heaven Legends
Sculptor: Bobby Jackson
Release Date: Unknown
Component Materials: Ralidium (Lead free Pewter)
Platform: Table Top
Size: 25mm Scale

Description: I painted this guy back in 2002. He is the first of my little lead minions to post for all to see. I don't have very many Bobby Jackson sculpts in my collection, but the ones I do have are my favorites. I like to use iconic miniatures. Robed wizards with pointy hats, dwarves with beards and horned helms, pious looking priests, and bow toting elves, etc. This figure is what I use for my fighters/warriors etc.

The sculpt is very good and shows off a lot of detail in the chain armor. The size of the sword is exaggerated while not being silly. I think what drew me to this figure the most was the pose. It is a good versatile action pose. It can be seen as running, defending against an attack, about to charge, or suffering from lower back pain. It just lends well to the imagination.

I am especially pleased with how the paint job on this figure worked out. After I finished, I found the simple color scheme to be very endearing. The blue is striking but not overwhelming to the figure. I wanted to stick to plain colors for all his armor and equipment so the blue could still stand out. I will be using this method of a primary color for the rest of my Reaper Mini collection.

The Darkness of the Dark Queen of the Underdark

2007-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: The Darkness of the Dark Queen of the Underdark
Publisher: Something Awful
Story line: Roleplay Table Top Fantasy
Release Date: May 2004
Format: Internet Humor Column

Description: Zack Parson has taken one of the more well known Dungeons and Dragons adventure modules "Queen of the Demonweb Pits" and made it into a fun parody. Read the following bullet points and click the link if appropriate.

I played D&D when I was a kid. (This should be funny.)
I played D&D and we used the old TSR modules. (This will be hilarious.)
I beat up the kids who played this during recess. (Hey, I remember you!)
What if I didn't play D&D but I like playing Pokemon? (Get off of my blog.)
Does Yu-Gi-Oh count? (Why are you still here?)
What is D&D anyway? (Is your mother here?)

- Darkness of the Dark Queen of the Underdark

Sing-a-long Link

2007-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey hey hey, it's sing-a-long ding-a-long time. Just click the Link and enjoy. If you are a fan of The Legend of Zelda, you should already know the words. If you are not, please keep your eye on the ball as you sing it out loud. No need to ruin it for the rest of us.

Thanks to Joe Pleiman and Josh Spaulding for this fun video.

Update 04.22.08> <Sadly, this video has been pulled from the site and is no longer available in the original format. For now, here is the song as it is shown on YouTube with a Slayers video.>

Update 10.10.09> <Legend of Neil. Starts off a bit gross, but it gets better.>

Wayfarer's Moon has a Forum!

2007-05-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon Discussion Forum
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: May 2007
Format: Discussion Forum
Subscription: Free Registration

Description: Time to get the pom poms out and start cheering Yay! Now we can all start discussing everyone's favorite web comic. What do you like, what don't you like, what you want to see more of and what is up with that bird? Bring on the topics everyone. So what are you all waiting for? Go register and start posting! :)

Check it out the forum or visit the Wayfarer's Moon Home site.

- Wayfarer's Moon Forum
- Wayfarer's Moon Home

Single Edge Studios launches Wayfarer's Moon

2007-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Wayfarer's Moon
Publisher: Single Edge Studios
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Release Date: April 2007
Format: Bi-Weekly Web Comic
Subscription: Free

Description: Single Edge Studios launched their first web comic today. "Wayfarer's Moon" is a new fantasy saga that looks pretty sharp, and should provide plenty of entertainment on a bi weekly basis. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds. There are already five pages up in splendid color with lots of action. Keep em coming guys.

What makes a toy a toy?

2007-03-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Imagination
Manufacturer: You
Toy line: What suits your fancy
Release Date: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Component Materials: Stuff that does or doesn't exist
Size: Too big for a kid to swallow

Description: My wife has been keeping our used plastic yogurt cups for our son to play with. Wow what a hit these are! After building walls, and towers for an hour or so my wife explained to me that they were for our child too. "He has one!" I explain to my wife "See?" I say pointing at our son as he tries to lodge a cup into his tiny drooling mouth. "Oh and by the way honey, could you eat another cup of yogurt please? Daddy needs to add a third story to his city tower."

My son is 10 months old now and crawling which means he is actively trying to kill himself. Anything within his grasp is indiscriminately seen as a toy. Therefore we have to be very selective about what he has access to. For instance last week the toy of choice was a spatula. The week before that was a spaghetti spoon. Before that it was my wireless Xbox360 controller (without the batteries). This week, we have plastic yogurt cups. It really is amazing to watch him learn about the world while he plays. He likes the noise he hears as he thumps one of the cups like a drum. I can see him working things out in his head as he stacks them gingerly side by side. "Gnuh...", he says softly as he ponders his little line of cups. I place one on top of three others in a pyramid shape and he knocks them over with smile.

I think of the fun we will continue to have as he grows up. Cups can fashion sand castle turrets or act as space ships for his little people toys to fly around in. Spatulas can act as dump trucks, and spaghetti spoons make excellent oars for rowing around in the sea our imagination.

Keeping up with the Joneses who have the colorful plastic packaged fun from Target and Wall Mart can be overwhelming. It is good to remember that children only require our attention and a little imagination during playtime. That means a cupcake tray filled with ping pong balls is just as well received as the Target exclusive Fischer-Price Little People Gonzo Shopping Super Mall playset. Children grow up exposed to popular toys, children's television, and their own Joneses on the school playground. Early experience at home with mom and dad help them to determine for themselves what is and isn't required to have a good time. Of course, there are some awesome toys out there to be played with, but using the imagination is important for kids to see that a toy is what they make of it and not what others make it out to be.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go to Target. I'm gonna pick up the latest Star Wars Galactic Heroes figures....for my son....and I.

Woman's Day Outer-space station

2007-02-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Outer Space Station
Manufacturer: Woman's Day
Toy line: Intended for any small scale action figures
Release Date: 1978
Component Materials: Wood, Plastic Laminate, & Steel
Size: 3 3/4 inch figures

Toy Description: Woman's day published this article in 1978 for the industrious mother to help add more substance to their child's playtime. Earlier that same year Star Wars action figure toys were just starting to appear on the market finally and kids were anxious to send their little army of characters into action. But where would they go, what would they do? The aforementioned article had the perfect answer. Build a giant space station playset of course. Apparently Mom's in the late 70's had lots of power tools and raw materials laying around the house just waiting to be used. The plans for the Death Star were now in Mom's hands, but they would be hard pressed to put it together. This thing is massive and heavy duty, calling for large planks of wood, plastic laminates, metal rivets, and metallic overlays. The sawing and drilling instructions are crazy complicated too so that even Martha Stewart would balk at attempting it.

Snarky comments aside, this does look like a fun way to pass the time (if you have plenty of it). The design is smart and presents a fun play factor for kids while not overwhelming the builder all at once. You see, the instructions are setup so you build the station in sections over time. Thus allowing you to hand off a completed section every so often for children to add onto existing portions in different configurations. The component parts are actually easy enough to find at a Home Depot or equivalent shop store. The most challenging part is getting access to the larger work shop tools such as scroll saws.

If anyone has built this or something like it I would be happy to hear from you. Shoot me an email. For details and assembly instructions of this toy, visit Gus Lopez's The Star Wars Collector's Archive to read this article by Ron Salvatore.

Toyspotting has a new logo!

2007-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

It took some doing too. I'm not an artist and the effort was done almost 100% in MS Paint. 3 Dave was shaking his head while he watched me do it. "This would be much easier and quicker in Photoshop" he said over and over. I'm sure he is correct, but I am just sticking with what I know. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the new logo. I know I sure am. :)

Now that I'm happy with how the site looks, I may actually start posting something again.

EMCE and Diamond Select Toys Presents "Mego Like" Figures

2006-12-01T00:00:00.001-08:00

Name: Mego Like Toys
Manufacturer: EMCE/Doctor Mego & Diamond Select Toys
Toy line: Star Trek & Planet of the Apes
Release Date: Early to Mid 2007
Component Materials: Plastic and Cloth Materials
Size: 8 inch scale

Toy Description: In the 1970s a small company called Mego had been done very well with selling 8 inch dolls of various popular children's TV and Movie characters like Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, DC and Marvel Comic book Heroes and the like. These dolls were wonderfully articulated and had loads of accessories. Unlike modern action figures, the Mego dolls had cloth clothing accessories so outfits could be swapped around or customized. Action figures have since been scaled down to nearly half this size in order to facilitate more affordable play sets and vehicles for children. Smaller toys had less articulation and almost no soft goods (cloth). The days of the old school 8 inch Mego figures was a thing of the past by the mid 1980s. That is until now!

Now, thanks to EMCE Toys (pronounced EM See) and Diamond Select Toys, we now have Mego Like figures, beautiful professional quality reproductions of the old Mego toys. This "Mego Like" endeavor will if successful, probably produce as many original Mego toy lines as current intellectual property holders will permit. It is not known how many EMCE and DS have already secured for the long run, but there are rumors that the entire original Mego Star Trek line will be produced. So far, Kirk and the Klingon are all that we have seen photographs of however, so let's get those preorders in to show our support. Contact your local comic book shop or visit Megostore online to fill your order now. Update 08.11.07> <Diamond Select has confirmed all figures from the original Star Trek line with the exception of the Talosian and the Neptunian. Suprisingly, EMCE will include a new sculpt for the Gorn since the original was simply a Mego repackage of Marvel's villian "The Lizard" painted brown and garbed as a Klingon. Additionaly, there will be three new figures not included in the original Mego lineup. Sulu and Chekov will both finally see Mego Like incarnations much to the appreciation of Star Trek and Mego toy fans alike. Finally, Khan will be sold as a Toyfare 2008 exclusive. Anyone going to toyfare next year wanna grab one for me? No....."KHAAAAAN!">

Update 02.16.09> < It would seem that EMCE is not the only company producing Mego Like toys. Rhode Island based company, "Classic TV Toys" have been fabricating repros in high quality packages for years now. They already have Space 1999, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Super Knights, Super Pirates, Mad Monsters, Happy Days, and Western Heroes. All of these are very good repros and would make nice additions to a Mego/Mego Like collection. They are also much more agressive when it comes to adding to the original Mego lineups. Mego's Space 1999 line totaled only 5 characters while Classic TV Toys Space 1999 line totals 29 characters. It should be said however, that the Star Trek Mego Like figures were quite a feather in EMCE's cap as it was a major IP and therefore very complicated to obtain the rights to release. EMCE, also encorporates a lot of original Mego character artwork for thier packaging that is simply beautiful.> Update 05.02.08> <Also on the horizon for EMCE are the Planet of the Apes figures, another high profile IP. We look forward to seeing those figures on the shelves in late 2008. As I have said before, I hope everyone keeps up the good work. I'd personally appreciate seeing a redo of The Worlds Greatest Super Heroes line but we will have to wait and see.>

-EMCE Toys
-Diamond Select Toys
-Twisted Toy Theatre
-Mego Museum
-Mego Madhouse
-Megostore
-Classic TV Toys
-Megoville

Lego My IP!

2006-11-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Name: Lego
Manufacturer: Lego
Toy line: Lego Figures and Construction Sets
Release Date: 1960s to Present Day
Component Materials: Plastics
Size: Various scales

Description: It seems these days we have an endless supply of fictional characters to make into toys and in the toy market, Lego has been a force to be reckoned with. Not to sound old or anything, but in my day, you had your action figures, and then you had your lego construction sets. The lego people were generic and could be just about anybody you wanted. Now, you can go to the Lego section of any toystore and find a plethora of movie, comic, and TV show personalities all in little lego formats. These specialized construction sets are brilliantly fun and the IP will not diminish the true nature of Lego toys at all. Futher more, they will perfectly interact with any other Lego product. The only thing you may want to avoid though is the price. These special sets will normally be much more expensive than standard sets and collecting all your favorite characters is often cost prohibitive.

It doesn't stop there though. You can also buy video games of those Lego media superstars who live in a computer generated Lego environment. There has already been Lego Star Wars, we are about to get Lego Star Wars II plus Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Harry Potter are on the horizon. The games are cute, but very simplistic, with little or no imagination involved given to building. The Lego component is just a gimmick for the game. They are still fun, but if you have a choice between the game and a construction set, I think you will see many more hours of playtime from the construction set.

If you want to get your family some fun quality time, I recommend getting out the Legos and going to Lego town. Just be sure to decide if you want to go to Hogwarts, or the Bat-cave in advance or you may get lost in the Death Star before you know it. Update 11.12.08> <If you are looking for a custom vehicle building video game that has lots of customization options, skip the Lego games and pick up something like Banjo & Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.>

-Lego Home

-Banjo & Kazooie Nuts and Bolts

Retro Games Galore and More

2006-10-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Name: Retro Arcade Games
Manufacturer: Various
Release Date: Ongoing
Platforms: Sony Playstation, Xbox LIVE, Nintendo PC
Format: Optical Media & Downloadable Games

Description: Ok, I'm old. What I used to think was new and cutting edge is now considered Retro. I'm not talking about Pac-Man you know? Well ok perhaps I am talking about Pac-Man. Maybe Pac-Man isn't cutting edge after all and little more than an icon of the past and yes I'm dating myself here, but really people! How many more copies of Pac-Man do we need to have? Namco has at least 500 different games that include the little gold man chomping down dots. Do we really need another one? Apparently we do and will always want more. Xbox LIVE has released Pac-Man, Ms. Pac Man, and Pac-Man Las Vegas Vacation. That last one may be an urban legend though.

But this blog post isn't about Pac-Man! It is about the video game industries ability to sell the same game over and over again to people who want to play it again and again. Pac-Man is the tip of the iceberg. Retro Arcade has evolved to include retro home game systems as well. Both Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have begun selling their old library of games on their respective online marketplaces. If you are glum about the fact that you can't relive your childhood game experience anymore since arcades are pretty much history, then buck up little camper. Just go down to the corner console Video Game shop and you can find plenty of budget packages that include tons of your favorite and not so favorite games. Don't even worry about what system you have since all of them have plenty of retro arcade to offer.

The inspiration for this post was coffee, sugar, Xbox LIVE Arcade, and more coffee. Thanks for reading.

Star Trek TOS Minimates Are Here

2006-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Name: Star Trek Minimates
Manufacturer: Art Asylum & Diamond Select
Toy line: Minimates
Release Date: Spring 2007
Component Materials: Plastics
Size: 2 inch scale

Toy Description: At last, they are here. We will finally get Minimates of the entire bridge crew and characters from the original Star Trek. For those not familiar with Minimates, they are a very popular block figure design that has seen strong success in the toy industry in recent years. The most famous block figure toys are Playmobil, and toy companies across the world have done their best to emulate that design for mass market with not much to show for it. Until Art Asylum arrived on the scene with a new customizable and modular design they dubbed the minimate.

In 2001 and 2002 they sold 6 Star Trek characters initially using a slightly larger size (around 3.5 inches tall). Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Khan, the Gorn and the Mugatu were all that was included in the first wave. A second wave that included the rest of the cast as well as a Klingon were shown at Toyfare early 2003 but the project was scrapped for unknown reasons. Since then, Art Asylum has produced a smaller, more refined figure design and sold both DC and Marvel Super Hero characters with great success. Now, Diamond Select has partnered with Art Asylum and brought back a new set of Star Trek Minimates. Looks like we will get Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and more aliens in addition to the original set of characters.

There you have it, now go buy them.

-Diamond Select Toys

-Art Asylum