Elvis’ 55 Cadillac

Elvis’ 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood 

Jada Toys

The Batmobile, Ecto-1, Elvis’ Pink Cadillac...wait, what?  What I have I gotten into now?  Technically, I’ve already taken the bait from Jada Toys’ Hollywood Rides line.  So what’s the harm in expanding my pop culture wheels with one of the most iconic rides in rock and roll? 

I respect the King.  Ive been to Graceland.  I’ve seen the 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood in all it’s glory.  Ride eternal, shiny and chrome indeed!  It’s quite a sight to behold.  (As is the entire building devoted to his cars and recreational vehicles!) And it’s shrunk down counterpart here is no different...just in an affordable, 1:24 scale!

It’s bright.  It’s shiny.  It’s got all the right lines, curves, and details.  Plus, it rolls like a dream.

The driver and passenger side doors open, and you can pop the hood to get a good look at the engine. Like the Jada Ecto-1, it’s spacious enough inside to fit some micro figures like Minimates.  “Hey, there goes Elvis!  Yo, King!!”

Also included is a miniature Elvis figurine.  Totally classic Americana with the white jacket.  While the box advertises a “die-cast” metal, that’s only about 70% true.  While the legs and torso are all metal, his head, arms, and microphone are a flexible plastic.  It’s probably for the best.  It is fairly detailed for a tiny figure, which may have been hard to produced any other way.  

I found this set at Target for about $20.  Jada is really aping the competition with heir cheap yet highly detailed autos.  Hot Wheels is getting left in the dust here.  They also have Elvis’ purple 1956 Eldorado available with an alternate figurine.  I dig ‘em.  You can take ‘em or leave ‘em.  Just don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.

Check out these previous Jada Hollywood Rides reviews:

1989 Batmobile

Ecto-1

The Strange Lives of Batman

The Strange Lives of Batman

DC Multiverse - Mattel

SDCC exclusive set

Another San Diego Comic-Con exclusive?!  Ugh!  Oh well...I've said before that I'm alright with character variants being offered up as exclusives, but not character exclusives.  Then Batman comes along and makes me a damn hypocrite.  I can't pass up Silver Age shenanigans, even if it's paying for what is essentially the same Batman figure four times over!

Four Batmen in one helluva box!  Another box "keeper" here...making me more of a hypocrite, dammit.  But it looks just like one of those bonkers, 80-Page Giant covers!  (I'm not just being a hipster here...I have 80-Page Giant # 1, 15, 16.)  It's got a semi-translucent, plastic slipcover that comes off to reveal the figures in comic panel recreations:  Negative Batman, Zebra Batman, Rainbo Batman, and a standard Batman with multiple accessories.

They all look great.  This Silver Age Bats is slimmer, but more articulated than Mattel's previous effort.  The paint on mine are clean for the most part.  The only complaint I have here is that the capes on Zebra and Rainbow are a flimsy, almost paper thin plastic.  Negative Batman is actually translucent in spots, which is a nice demonstration of the gimmick.






  

The accessories included are alternate heads and face plates to recreate even more crazy Batman variants from gimmicks past:  Alien Batman, Rip Van Batman, and Robot Batman!  The mouth area of all the Batmen can be removed to plug in the beard and robo-chin.  And the heads pop on and off with ease for the Alien look and...saving the best for last...a standard Bruce Wayne head!

So long, Ben Affleck noggin, comic Bruce is finally here.  I think it looks fine on the suited WWE body I have been using for his daytime attire.  If only there were a matching, unmasked Dick Grayson head as well.

I won't detail the background on these oddball looks, but I will provide links for those scratching their heads "why?"  To further answer "why" I needed these...well...I have a Batcave and a problem.  Of course I need Batman variants to stand around as alternate suits or trophies of his past!  It's a no-brainer!

Zebra Batman

Negative Batman

Rainbow Batman

I, of course, did not go to SDCC to get these.  Mattel had a ridiculous online preorder for pickup at the show only.  And then they "sold out" at the show.  If you believe that, Gleek.  I paid about $40 over the asking price in Ebay blood money/shipping.  I gritted my teeth in doing so, but I don't regret it now.  Seeing all the Bat-suits on display in my cave was worth it.

Anyway, enjoy a look at said cave.  It's made up of Mattel's massive BvS playset (the one good thing that came of that movie), various figures (from Mattel's Batman 2003 line, DC Superheroes, DC Universe Classics, DC Multiverse), multiple accessories (batarangs, Batmobiles, Batcycles, Batjets, 1966 Batcomputer), and some custom additions (smaller Batcave section from a kiddie line, Jurassic World massive T-Rex, printed giant penny, Joker Card, blueprints, posters).

The Last Last Jedi and Farce Friday Findings

The Last Last Jedi and Farce Friday Findings

Crait Luke Skywalker, Sith Jet Troopers, Knight of Ren

Star Wars - Hasbro

Luke:  "Where are all the Star Wars toys?!"

The Force will be with you...always...well...maybe...if you like repackaged kiddie lightsabers, Funko Poops, and leftover Lando in Skiff disguise and Poe Damerons from waves back.  Most disappointing Force Friday yet!  I kind of expected it, after the mess that was the Last Jedi...and Rogue One...and Solo.  Remnants of all those franchise killers can still be found in the clearance aisle, in almost as much abundance as any new Black or Vintage series offerings.

There were maybe six characters from each scale for this debut, but nothing really new or telling about “The Rise of Skywalker.”  Just Rey back in her desert garb, a helmeted “Felicity,” and some red jet pack troopers.  Maybe the Dis was concerned about the size of a carbon footprint left by a billion Rose Tico’s rotting in a landfill and decided to play it safe?  Anyway, enough beating that “Star Wars is dead” (which it totally is) horse...let’s look at the few figures I did pick up.

Red Stormtroopers...haven’t seen those before!  With jet packs!  “But she’s got a new hat!”  And they’re Sith troopers now!  Ooo let’s speculate what that could possibly....zzz...zzz...

A Knight of Ren.  They didn’t figure into TLJ, and I don’t figure they will be revisited in TROS.  I mean, they couldn’t even be bothered to give this costume a proper name!  Even background Cantina aliens got names for their action figures.

That’s it...three figures on Force Friday for me, and one of them I doubled down on!  To get the most out of this write-up, I’m throwing in a mid-wave leftover that Ive been sitting on for some time:  Crait Luke Skywalker, aka the Luke Skywalker we all wanted and deserved.  But Rian Johnson felt we deserved a hobo Luke that drinks green alien milk straight from the creatures teat...and then they didn’t even deliver a proper two-pack of that!  Oh how I long for the days of Phantom Menace level market saturation!

The Last Jedi figures

More Last Jedi disappointment