Pokémon Carry Case Playset

 Pokémon Carry Case Playset

Wicked Cool Toys

Wicked Cool Toys continues to put out some great figures/figurines for Pokémon fans.  Much better quality than has come before from Hasbro and such.  And they beat Jakks Pacific’s World of Nintendo Mario line in character selection and availability.  So much that I’m very, very behind in showing all the critters I’ve picked up from them since Detective Pikachu came out.  What better way to take a look at all of these than together on a nice, new playset!  

It’s an in-universe backpack prop!  It’s a carrying case for all your figures!  It’s a playset!  It’s all that and only $30.  Is it worth it?  I think so.  It’s got some great sculpting inside that brings the word of Kanto to life.  You get several different terrain types:  field and stream, rock/mountains, forrest, and Pokémon battle court.  

There are a few action features here and there as well.  The large, pop-up tree has a trap door and slide exit.  The rocky region has a rock cave with an opening/closing door.  Crossing regions to the stream, you have to danger over a swinging bridge.  

On route to the meadow, watch out for falling rocks and Pokémon that jump out of bushes.  The water at the end of the trek is nice, but watch out for that whirlpool!

Having World of Nintendo/Sonic/other video game characters, the battle court should sell any Smash Bros fans on this set.  There are some spring loaded platforms for launching smaller Pokémon at each other.  Sorry, Blastoise...you’re still number one in my book, even if you’re too heavy for this feature.  You’re cool, too, Gyarados, but the pool is only for your lame, unevolved form.

The set does come with a Pikachu figurine.  Sadly, Ive got this style/pose already.  I understand you want to include the flagship character to help sell the set, but it would have been nice to have him in a new/exclusive sculpt.  That’s really the only downside I can see here.  If you love Pokémon, Nintendo, or Smash Bros, you probably need this in your collection.

PS - For those new to Pokémon, always choose Squirtle.  There is no debate.  Why choose a generic, red, fire-breathing dragon, when you can have a blue, cartoon version of Gamera with gigantic cannons coming out of his shell?

Take a look back at some Detective Pikachu figures from Wicked Cool Toys:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2019/04/detective-pikachu.html

Macho King and Sensational Queen Sherri

 Macho King and Sensational Queen Sherri

WWE Mattel

I say this a lot...”I am so backed up on reviewing new ___ toys.”  This time, instead of filling that blank with a property name, I’ve got one of the few solo personalities worthy of their own sub-collection:  Macho Man Randy Savage.  Forever larger than life with the talent to back it up.  And so many different wardrobe changes that even Barbie couldn’t keep up.  

This is another variation of the Macho King era.  Who else would be man enough to rock pink leopard print?  Pink leopard print topped with an orange bandana?

This is one of the newer head scans with an open, teeth-exposed mouth.  He’s also the first Macho figure to get interchangeable hands.  Finally, pointing fingers!  He can finally be posed on the turnbuckle, pointing to the heavens before taking flight!

No crown this time, but he does come with his royal scepter.  It comes in two pieces which, I can’t recall any matches where he might have broke over some fool’s head, may or may not be intentional.

Not to diminish her own skill and talent as a wrestler,  but I recently picked up the ultimate Macho King accessory:  Sensational Queen Sherri!  She was the perfect yang to Miss Elizabeth’s ying during this uber-heel turn for Macho Man.  This is the first and only time so far, that Sherri has been featured as a figure from Mattel.  Removable robe and crown, killer makeup application...It’s a great figure, but I do hope she gets a standard “sensational” figure in the near future.

These were EBay purchases, since legends figures tend to be released as hard to find store exclusives now.  I probably paid about $5 more than retail for Sherri, and $10 more for MM.  I’ve never seen the latter on shelves, so I am glad to have done so.  Beats facing the endless disappointment of hunting for him at the worst Target in the world, Springfield, MO.  Sherri was a Walmart exclusive.  Of course, Ive seen her a couple of times at various stores since...but waaay after her original release.  $15 up front versus who knows how much gas money over a long period of searching.  These were worth it.  Macho Man is always worth it.  

Droid Factory Playset

 Droid Factory Playset

Disney - Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Shop Disney continues to deliver the goods to Star Wars fans in the flyover states!  The Droid Factory playset is a new spin on the vintage Kenner Droid Factory.  I guess Disney figured they had done the build-a-droid thing to death and decided that water and color change features should be the ticket?  Meh.  I’m not so sure about the gimmick....but the set still looks nice.

I like the cleaner shape and colors.  Not as dingy as the used-universe model, but still sci-fi and tech-y.  There are some nice, clear markings designating the various stages of torture cleaning you can put your slaves droids through.  I take that last strike through back...you can’t sugar coat the “restraining bolt” station.

Your droids first go up a ramp to a conveyor belt and some sort of detector gate.  Are they scanning for breakages to address repairs?  Weapons?  Secret messages for the Empire/Rebellion?  Who knows...but it’s fun, and triggers some sound and light features when rolling the belt along.

From there, I guess some droids are allowed to walk or roll to the next area on their own.  Or a crane comes in for those in dire need of attention.  Either way, bath time!

There are two tanks.  One has a lowering mechanism, with robo-arms to assist in access and cleaning.  The other just straight up dunks them like clowns at a county fair.  “Thank the Maker!  This oil bath is going to feel-“ *DING!* *SPLOOSH!”

 

Now drag your metal carcass out of there and get over the drying fans!  There is a drip pan under the playset to catch water, but the fans dont actually move on their own.  This may be the one detractor.  It would have been nice to have some motorized fan action, even if they dont necessarily get the drying done.

Final station, as mentioned before, is the restraining bolt area.  They keep this one out around back as to not disturb the public with any metallic screams, or the unsightly business of having to shock or remotely restrain a droid during application.  Also on the back is the conveyor belt dial and several buttons that have a multitude of factory sounds and droid beeps and whistles.  You have to supply the screams, though.

The set comes with a gonk droid, but I purchased one of two offered 4-packs to get more out of the color-changing “fun.”  Not so much fun when your droid only goes from gray to dark blue or blue to black...cant see much of a difference.  Drastic changes, like white to red is where its at.  Overall, I would have preferred less solid washes for the color-changing.  Instead, I would have liked smaller applications resembling dirt, rubbing, carbon scoring...battle damage, if you will, that “washes” away with warm water.

    

The gimmick may leave you cold (or at least room temp), but at least the droids have the pull-apart build-a-droid components to swap around. This is still available online at $50.  I feel that is about $10 too much for what you get, but they do often run some good sales deals.  I think I got mine for 30-something.  Overall, I’m glad to see any play sets on the market.  Like some of the larger ships/park exclusives, one thing Disney is doing right with Star Wars is filling some gaps for us old school 3 3/4 inch figure collectors.

Take a look back at a couple of Disney exclusive ships/play sets:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/search?q=Sandcrawler

Conan the Barbarian

 Conan the Barbarian

Super 7

This particular version of the Conan legend may not be on the top of my list of 80s franchises, but it’s still noteworthy for many reasons.  Arnold and his muscles are in top form, ready to jump into even bigger better things down the road (He’ll be back...)  James Earl Jones is always a formidable force. And there’s plenty of testosterone-fueled violence on top of a decent helping of sex and nudity!  Blood, guts, and glory...the kind of stuff they now teach as negatives in our “progressive” society.  So it must be worth a watch, eh?

Eh, if not, at least these figures fit with your Masters of the Universe collection twice-fold.  First off, Conan is part “My Two Dads” for the He-man (Flash Gordon being the Paul Reiser?) concept.  And the second, these figures are quite literally cut from the same mold.  Super 7 took over from Mattel some years back with the MOTU Classics line, and they’ve given the basic body bucks a longer run for our money.  

Are they perfect?  No.  The articulation is a bit lacking (i.e. no double-jointed knees and elbows), but there are still plenty of things to like about them, especially translated to the Conan character.  I like the slightly larger, exaggerated physique.  I also don’t mind that this softens some of the sculpt.  It adds to the fantasy appeal and, again, allows a seamless integration into Eternia. I can still tell that this is Arnold, even without every bulging vein. 

This Conan is “Pit Fighter Conan” from closer to the beginning of the film.  He may not be poster iconic, but I love this outfit:  all the spikes on the helmet, the rugged furs (again, adding to the He-man aesthetic), extra battle gauntlets and blades.  He also has the Atlantean sword and a broken version of his father’s sword, so you have plenty of options to dispatch foes.  

You also get a regular head, and a screaming head (“Crom!”). The ball joint was a bit tight getting these on and off.  I might attempt to sand it down a bit.  They look great swapped onto various He-man figures as well.

Not that James Earl Jones isn’t a big, intimidating guy, but the exaggerated body might be less appropriate for baddie, Thulsa Doom.  But, hey, chalk it up to the bulky armor...which looks spectacular.  Move over, King Hiss!  If Conan can fit in with the Masters no problem, then this suit gives Thulsa an automatic membership into the league of Snakemen.  

Scales/Chain mail sculpting is always a win.  And if armor wasn’t enough, he’s packin’ five blades.  The two larger blades come in removable sheathes...puzzling that they don’t clip onto the figure in any way, but whatever.  

Thulsa has a helmeted and unhelmeted.  I think the sculpt/likeness is stronger here than it is on Conan.  Is this they first James Earl Jones figure proper?  Barring the voiceover work for Darth Vader?  In any case, very cool!

 

I like these, though I’m not sure I’ll be adding any more characters or variants from the franchise.  At close to $50 a figure, I’m just not sure I’m that big a fan.  Still I do like these figures in execution.  And for the fact that Vikor now has a riding partner.