Looney Tunes

 Looney Tunes

PVC figurines - Shell Oil promotion

A set of eight, in-package Looney Tunes figurines from a Shell Oil promotion in 1990.  Shell Oil?  

Okay, whatever!  These Warner Brothers characters scraped by most of the 70s and 80s with tv specials comprised of repackaged shorts.  1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit appearances must have been the shot in the arm they needed.  

Time Warner acquired Six Flags theme parks in 1990, giving these celluloid critters a new home and space to mingle with fans new and old. 

Soon the Tunes would be all over baggy, sassy 90s t-shirts and apparel.  Renewed interest would lead to one of the most bizarre major studio films of all time, Space Jam.  Seriously...a pseudo Michael Jordan biopic that touches on the recent loss of his father, his rather embarrassing foray into baseball...turned on it's ear as a Roger Rabbit-esque caper to save the Tunes from enslavement by space aliens.  Fate to be determined by a game of basketball...where Bill Murray and Wayne Knight are key factors in the win...

Right...so a Shell Oil promotion doesn't sound so bizarre in retrospect.  Get an oil change, pick up some cheap thrills for the kids.  I got this set for $8.99, so not too bad of an increase considering inflation.

They're sturdy, yet pliable plastic, and brightly colored.  Daffy and Road Runner may need to be adjusted a bit to stand properly.  Some of the sculpts (like the Road Runner)  are cleaner than others, but overall  there's not too much to complain about here.  

I wouldn't go out of my way to track these down, but I couldn't resist them as a thrift store diamond in the rough.  Ebay has them for about what I paid for them.  Until next time:

Ackmena

 Ackmena

A "Star Wars Holiday Special" Etsy Custom

It's Christmas Life Day in July!  And everyone's favorite surly bartender is finally here to reign over the festivities...Move over, Wuher, Bea Arthur is in town!

Yes, I finally found an Etsy seller who has that sense of humor about Star Wars that so many lack.  The Holiday Special must be recognized.  Is it stupid?  Yes.  But is it any different than variety show TV specials of it's time?  No.  Is it an appropriate format for Star Wars?  Probably not, but it served it's purpose three-fold:  keep the movie in public consciousness during a time before home video releases, let people know that the Empire Strikes Back is on its way, and sell more toys for the holiday season.  Sadly, none of those toys were directly inspired by the special...

"Animated" Boba Fett has had more than enough time under the twin suns.  Chewie's family was in the prototype stage, but were never released.  And in "the Case of the Multiple Zutmore's" the shorter version appearing in the special made his plastic debut in 2001.  Of all the guest stars, Ackmena was top of my list for action figures, followed by Gormaanda and trader, Saun Dann.

Okay, so it's more of a resin model than a figure, but I'll take what I can get.  The sculpt and 3-d printing is clean and very well done.  Assembly was fairly simple, though you may need to sand or Dremel the peg holes a bit.  Painting may seem like a daunting task...I hate it myself...but what we have here is a simplistic throwback to the original Kenner days.  No photorealistic shading required.  I used four acrylic paints and a spray sealer from Hobby Lobby.  Eyes and eyebrows made me sweat, but I think they came out pretty darn good.

"I'll run a tab for the Empire..."

Ackmena joins my custom Wookie family.

So why wait til November 17th?  It's hot on Tatooine, no matter when you celebrate!  Grab some Wookie Ookies and spin some Jefferson Starship now!  If you're a fan of the Star Wars Holiday Special, or just a fan of retro Star Wars figures, you need Ackmena in your collection.  And, more important, I need you to support this figure with hope it will one day lead to "Grandpa Itchy's Diahann Carroll Sex Fantasy Chair."

"Just six simple words..."

"Come back soon.  I'll be waiting!"

Until then, look back at some other "Holiday Special" goodness!

Yavin Luke Skywalker

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2019/11/yavin-luke-skywalker.html

Holiday Droid Factory and Custom Life Day Ornaments

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2021/12/holiday-droid-factory.html

Ghostbusters "Drink and Play" Juice with Mini-Puft Figures

 Ghostbusters "Drink and Play" Juice with Mini-Puft Figures

Surprise Drinks

Tired of Mini-Pufts, yet?  Maybe you just need to boost that blood sugar with some of this juice.  Oh, and the bottle has a mystery Mini-Puft secured to the outside, whether you like it or not!

There are six Pufts to collect.  They aren't as big or as wild as the mystery marshmallow goo containers, but I actually like them more. I mean, as fun as it is having one of them permanently engulfed in flames is, these vanilla poses are less "toyetic" and more movie accurate. 

The sculpting is surprisingly good for how little they are, too.  I guess that's the trade off for minimal paint apps?  Their slightly larger brothers are goofy and bizarre, whereas these are just too damned cute all around.  So cute, that Im not sure which is my favorite.  It's probably the ornery one with his tongue sticking out.

The juice leaves a bit to be desired, but at less than $2 each I wont complain much.  Fruit Punch is alright, but Apple tastes like 99% water with an eyedropper of artificial flavor.  I get that they are trying to ride that knife's edge between "healthy" and "fun", but take this one back to formula, please!

The packaging is nice, although ripping the toy capsule out means you'll never have a pristine one for display.  All the Ghostbusters imagery is on the label, so use a pocket or Exacto knife to keep as much as you can intact.  

I picked up a case of twelve of these at the Dollar General around the corner from my house.  Its been a couple of months, but a recent visit there confirms that they should still be out for purchase.  If you want em, get em while you can because, like Bill Murray,  they probably won't show up in the sequel.

Take a look back at more of these disgusting lil blobs:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2021/10/mini-puft-surprise.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2021/11/ghostbusters-afterlife.html

Top Gun Transformers

Top Gun Transformers

Hasbro

I'm pretty harsh on the old Transformers/Star Wars crossover for not giving the bot modes unique personas, or the personas/names/designs of Generation 1 favorites...this Top Gun mash-up is borderline.  Maverick?  So is this just a mech suit (like the Star Wars) for the flesh-and-blood Pete Mitchell?  Or is it a robot with a mind of his own who just happens to have the name of his inspiration?  Pretty lazy, no matter how you look at it.  I mean, the Ecto-1 didn't transform into Ray Stantz.  The Delorean time machine wasn't actually Mecha J. Fox.  What gives here?!  I know about every jet/plane title has been taken at this point...Callsign?  Tomcat?

From what I gather, this is an all-new mold...which is pretty surprising.  They could have just repainted a Seeker jet like Starscream, slapped a new head on him, and called it a day.  While all new parts is nice, the overall aesthetic?  Eh, it's just okay.  The arms and legs are a bit long and spindly looking for my tastes, but I guess there was only so much they could do there to minimize "kibble" underneath and stay as close to the real jet as possible.  

While the detail on the helmet is great, I wish he had a more blocky, G1 bot jaw from the visor down.  It's just a tad too realistic. 

Paint/color is another issue.  Yeah, it's a mostly gray jet.  They did try to break that up a bit with some lightly applied "dirty" camo.  That's fine topside, but would have liked the bot pilot to have a more unique paint scheme.  Just some hints of olive drab to suggest a flight suit.

"Maverick" came with some additional accessories (that I seem to have misplaced).  You get a mini Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle in scale with the jet, and a set of alternate hands and volleyball to "play with the boys."  While it's funny to consider someone making a volleyball that size for a giant robot to spike at his enemies, it's a bit too on the nose for me.  All of these lead me to believe that this is just a Pete Mitchell mech suit after all.

Oh well!  Goofy, but fun merch from an 80s classic that I amazed is getting this kind of attention.  Even though Matchbox did a more in-depth line, Hot Wheels put out a 1:64 classic Tomcat before the pandemic.  

It's smaller than the Matchbox line, but more detailed.  It comes with a display stand AND has opening wings.  I think this was from Hot Wheels' slightly more expensive line, close to five or six bucks.  It may be hard to find at this point, so expect to pay more on Ebay.

That's all I've got on Top Gun to date.  I have seen the sequel...Top Gun: Maverick was worth the wait and then some!

Top Gun: Maverick - Part Two

 Top Gun:  Maverick - Part Two

Matchbox Skybusters

Of all the things delayed by the pandemic, Top Gun:  Maverick is the last out of the gate.  It's so weird that it's been two years since toys and merch for this movie hit shelves...and then disappeared.  My first review was for standard 1:64 scale vehicle multipacks.  These were mostly random cars/trucks that may or may not be featured in the movie and only two jets.  Well I'm glad I was slow in getting around to reviewing these slightly larger "Skybusters" series jets, as it gives me something to talk about in conjunction with the film's late release.   And we've got an aircraft carrier playset to boot!

Most of these are from the new movie.  The "classic" Grumman F-14 Tomcat gets a double-dip.  One is decked out with "Maverick" and "Goose" nicely detailed near the canopy.  The other details the sad fate of dated/retired technology...an F-14 now flying enemy colors.  Unnamed enemy colors, as not to upset any of our political bedfellows or, more importantly, hypocritical "communist/terrorist" moviegoing nations.  According to Wikipedia, Iran was the only foreign customer for the Tomcat.  Iran?!  How big could the box office take from Iran be to have to tiptoe around this?!  That aircraft carrier was stationed in the Indian Ocean...they sure as hell weren't fighting enemy African or Australian Air Force craft!  

There is a more modern "enemy MiG" in the mix:  "Enemy Strike Jet."  I assume its based on a real model of aircraft, but that's all the detail we get.  It certainly does look imposing in size and color scheme, and some sort of red eagle/falcon insignia.  Red bird of prey...ooo, scary!  (but inoffensive) 

The Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet took over for the Tomcat.  I guess these are standard for the new Top Gun program.  It appears that each pilot gets their own unique paint job.  The two in this group have Maverick in blue and black, and "Rooster" ('Cuz "Goose" was a silly name, Dad) in red and black.  They're zippy single pilot jets, which should suit Maverick's solo lifestyle better, and ensure at least one less canopy ejection accident. (*sniffle* Goooooooose!)

When Maverick really wants to fly solo, the new movie trailers show he does it in this North American P-51 Mustang.  That's old-school, WWII/Korean War figthin'...or racing....whatever suits your fancy.  Again, there is some nice detail on the tiny script here and there.

I'm not sure who gets to fly the F-35B Lightning II, but I bet she's a fast one.  A lil bit beefier and not as colorful as the Hornets, it's a bit "blah."  Guess I have to see it in action to make full judgement.

Maverick also gets to cut loose in a fictional, hypersonic jet called "Darkstar".  It kinda looks like a futuristic Lockheed Martin.  Supposedly, the full-sized mock up of the Darkstar got China's panties in a bunch, as Navy intelligence noted a Chinese satellite breaking course to photograph the movie-made fighter.  I can only assume now that China demanded reshoots in order for Top Gun: Maverick to be shown in their country:  must include a scene with a popular Chinese actress explaining to Tom Cruise the "technologically and scientifically superior design of this Chinese made aircraft."  And people wonder why some get all sentimental and nostalgic for the 1980s...

The aircraft carrier playset  comes packed with another "Maverick" Hornet and a few play features.  The deck has an expandable section to maximize the display area.  As you can see, eight aircraft fit with room to spare...even if that makes it a little dangerous for takeoff and landing.  

There is an elevator to raise jets from the storage area, a two missile firing turret, and a command tower for court marital-able fly-bys.  

It also acts as a storage/carrying case to pack and play at your location of choosing...though I wouldn't stray too far from the Indian Ocean if keeping an eye on the more volatile areas of the globe.

I haven't really been looking to see if there are any rereleases or updates to this line, since I got most of what was put out way back when.  There are apparently a few more that either got held back, or got dumped somewhere else.  In particular, a Navy helicopter and a couple more color/pilot variant Super Hornets.  I was able to track down a "Then and Now" multipack on Amazon, which I had to suffer three repacks to get one redcoed Tomcat with "Iceman" and "Slider" below the canopy.  

Oh, another "Top Gun" related pick-up since last time:

These are fun, if you can find them.  I think they were $3.97 each?  You don't get total die-cast metal, or retractable landing gear, or opening wings for the Tomcats, but the price still fits the size and most of the detail.

Take a trip back in time, before face masks, food hoarding, and fear mongering:

Top Gun die-cast Part One