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

X-Men Teams - “Love Triangle” 3-pack

X-Men Teams - “Love Triangle” 3-pack 

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

There have been so many Marvel Legends X-Men figures as of late, that its hard to document them all, blog to blog.  So, I’m throwing up a couple of team pictures to include an updated Colossus, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Beast, Gambit, Iceman, Storm, and Professor X.

The Professor was a deluxe figure because of the massive chair.  (Poor taste to include him in the “Legendary Riders” theme that ML had going with the deluxes...at least there’s no mention of that on the box or promo materials.)  He comes with a Cerebro helmet, and a rather gross looking telepathy effect.  The arm panels on the chair slide open to revel some fun gadgetry, and Charles has a plastic, half blanket to keep his legs warm.

Colossus and Iceman complete a Nintendo game roster.  The game sucked (Oh, LJN!), but you can’t complain much about this group.  Still need a classic Storm to complete the X-Men Arcade team.  C’mon, how do you make “Legend of Billie Jean” Dazzler before that one?!

I’ve also got a complete 1992 X-Men animated series line-up.  And thanks to the extra, pony-tail head for Jean, the look is pretty accurate.  Jean also completes the gate-fold Jim Lee relaunch comic cover...which others have already recreated and I am too lazy to do.  I’m not futzing with Beast all day to get him into a proper crouched action pose.

Jean is from a “Love Triangle” 3-pack that features a bomber jacket Cyclops and a truer blue and yellow animated look for Wolverine.

If getting Jean wasn’t enough, the set comes with two unmasked heads for Scott, an unmasked Logan, a battle-damaged Wolvie, and bone claws!  No malleable adamantium tendrils to help your Magneto figure to recreate “that” scene, though.

Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick

Matchbox - Mattel

I feel the need...the need for *record scratch*!  (Enter, Coronavirus) “Not so fast, Maverick!”  Yay!  More toys tied to a movie that’s release date is in limbo!  Matchbox/Mattel has just released a couple of 5-packs of 1:64 scale cars and jets from the upcoming (?) sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

Top Gun isn’t one of my most beloved 80s movies, but it certainly has a way of sticking in your head.  The soundtrack, the great dogfight footage, the homoerotic beach volleyball scene...plus Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerrit, and Principal Strickland...80s megacheese at it’s finest!  And that Ninendo game...who could forget the frustration of crashing into the ocean over and over again while attempting to land your plane on the aircraft carrier?!

Anyway, sticking to my desire to collect famous movie rides in this scale, I couldn’t resist these at $5 a pack.

Worth the sawbuck?  Well, you only get two jets in the mix, and since I haven’t yet seen “Maverick”, I have no idea if any of the cars actually appear on-screen.  They look nice, sure, but nothing too exciting outside of the Aston Martin and the fuel truck.  Jeeps are always a bit wonky scale-wise compared to the other cars.  Must be one of those Jeep things...I wouldn’t understand.

Also, remember when you used to get full, die-cast metal on everything save for the wheels?  The metal is used sparingly, and mostly very disappointing.  The most important bit of the jets, the wings and fins, are plastic!  I foresee stress fractures, if not breakage, from anything more than light play.  Bummer, especially considering these were the real selling point for the set.

I hope there are some better jets coming down the line with more detail, even if they come at a higher price point.  Still, at roughly ninety-nine cents a vehicle, these would make a fun romp in the dirt for any kid of any size or age.  Now if you’ll excuse me...I have to do a flyby on that tower.

Mario Kart

Mario Kart

Hot Wheels - Mattel

Sure, they may be a lil over-sized, but these new Karts from Mattel fit with my 1:64 movie and TV car collection better than any other offerings out there.  Plus, they roll very nicely and look sweet! 

Die-cast metal carts with a nicely sculpted plastic figurine in the driver's seat.  Bowser is probably my favorite, not just because of his bulk, but the spikes on his shell are a separate, under laid piece.  They have a flexible, rubbery feel to them.  

The only complaint I have with these is that Luigi needed his death stare.  That, and we're missing some key characters in this lineup.  All the main cast is here, except for Donkey Kong and Toad.  Hopefully there will be a second wave with these, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, and Wario.

Oh, and I am thankful that no spot in this wave was given to a motorcycle.  It's "Mario KART", dammit!  

Detective Pikachu

Detective Pikachu

Wicked Cool Toys figurines

Pikachu is the only one with enough power to stop Thanos.  Seriously...I have been looking forward to this movie so, so much.  More than a guy my age probably should?  Some would say I was a little too old when Pokemon debuted in 1998, but man, was that original game addictive!  I was introduced to it by a friend who was introduced to it by his little brother.  Like most people who only saw the cartoon, I too was like "Pokemon?  Pfft...isn't that for kids?"  (This was on a summer vacation road trip, and we had both brought along our Gameboys for the ride.)  He insisted I try his Pokemon Red cart...and an hour later, we where making a pit stop (at K-Mart, RIP) so I could pick up Pokemon Blue.  Hooked!  And I didn't just get the opposite cart so we could link up and trade Pokemon, I am and forever will be a Blastoise fan.

  

With this movie, and new kids meal toys at Burger King, it feels like 98-99 all over again! And Wicked Cool Toys has some new Detective Pikachu figures to boot!  I like that these scale well with my World of Nintendo figures, expanding the Super Smash Bros. universe.  They are well sculpted,  featuring the movie's real-world take with fur and feathers and such.  

Pikachu and Psyduck came packed together.  No articulation here, as both are pretty small (under 2 inches.)  The are molded and painted well...pretty hard to screw up with all that yellow, but the other details are fine.  

Mr. Mime is larger, single-packed, and has some limited articulation.  The arms and legs swivel, so you can have him acting like he's touching this side of the invisible box or that side of the invisible box.  Not all that exciting, but it is articulation given that they could have just flat left out.

In picking these up at Target, I took advantage of a sale on older figures and scored a Lapras for about $7.  Looks great and has an action feature.  The flippers move as you roll it forward or back.

Not a big pickup here, but having seen WCT's Toy Fair lineup, I know more Pokemon goodness is on its way soon.  Thankfully, a lot of original 150/151 Pokemon...yes, I am one of those "old Pokemon" farts.  C'mon, realistic Blastoise figure!

I also picked up this nifty lil shopping cart in the Walgreen's Easter display.  Should be a pretty decent scale for six-inch figures!