The Rise of Evil

The Rise of Evil

Masters of the Universe Origins - Mattel

The Rise of Evil…fitting name for a Target exclusive!  As usual, distribution is uneven and spotty, region to region and store to store.  Target’s online stock comes and goes in the night.  Literally…you get once chance at the in-stock alert and you better be prepared to jump outta bed and fight armies of online bot buyers.  Having the worst Target that I have ever been to as my home Target, I gave up early in the game.  Gas prices are too high, and my time is better spent elsewhere.  E(vil)-Bay scalpers seemed to be the only other option, but I wasn’t ready to jump at prices starting at $60 and rising for a $30 set.

Considering all that, is it worth the headache for a goofy looking, pre-transformation Trap Jaw and the handsome, pre-acid burned Skeletor?  How often is one going to be playing out pre He-man scenarios in their Eternia? 

Kronis’ face is the worst of the line so far.  He looks like Horace from “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, Billy Cole from “Fright Night”, or any terrifying human characters in Gumby’s world.  Neck down isn’t much better. 

 

He doesn’t have the skull and crossbones cummerbund, but does have a fuller shoulder harness.  The harness has slots for extra accessories like the bund does, but he gets nothing extra to store there.  Just weird foreshadowing for his extra claw attachments?  He does have a rather large rifle, but its too big to store.

Keldor is the big seller for this pack.  I’m sure he would have done just fine on his own, in a regular assortment, but nooooo…just had to go the exclusive route.  He looks great.  The purples are a bit darker than on Skelly, and I’m not sure why his future self would ditch the extra green paint detailing and awesome cape in the future.   I get the arm bands and boots, as he becomes a bit more monstrous in those areas…feet and forearms needed some room to grow, apparently.

He comes with his staff and sword, but with a unique, fading/translucent green and purple scheme.  I’m not sure if that is supposed to illustrate his magic powers, or his transformation from the acid wash/melding with Demo-man.  It looks cool, nonetheless!  

What’s more is he comes with a great Alfredo Alcala inspired alternate Skeletor head.  Gotta be honest, this is what drove me to keep pursuing this pack.  I love the old mini comics art.  I have one like it in the Masters of the Universe Classics line.  Where this one differs AND sets the bar higher, is they have given him some ruby, reflective eyes!  Way to amp up the creepy on this already awesome character!

How did I finally snag this set?  Well, Target didnt want my money any more than Mattel did, and I didnt pay an internet scalper.  I follow a fan page for the line on Facebook, where a kind fan was able to grab an armful for other collectors and was selling them at cost plus shipping.  Shipping is a bit high these days, so that’s about all the extra I paid out.  It’s great to be a part of such a giving fan community where there are others looking out for their fellow collectors.  Quite a contrast to the recently violent and greedy turn for the sports card community.  Out of control market speculation has lead to even more Target insanity.  Blind card packs are one thing, but they started limiting action figures to one per customer…with some not realizing that assortments contain different figures in a series AND some contain build-a-figure parts!  Target is the absolute worst in so, so many ways.  I am glad to be done with them…for now, at least.  The evil kingdom of Tar-get sinks back into the abyss, biding it’s time until another ludicrous exclusive is inexplicably given to them to bungle.

Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

 Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

The Loyal Subjects

Who would have thought we’d ever reach a point in time where there are too many Ghostbusters toy lines?  As great as the Real Ghostbusters was, my kid self always wanted a true movie line with actor likenesses and all the ghosts.  Now we have at least half a dozen of those in different shapes and sizes…and here is one of those unique sizes with the Loyal Subjects’ Action Vinyls line.

I’ve got a couple of their Masters of the Universe figures, and I have reviewed Hank from King of the Hill.  This is more of the same:  nicely sculpted and articulated, 3inch figures with oversized heads.  I used to love “super D” or “deformed” figures back when they hadn’t been done to death, so I wasn’t exactly knocking down the door to get these at $11-12 each.  However, I jumped on them at a local GameStop sale for $2!  Two dollars!  I would say they are at least worth $5, so that’s a steal!  I even got to keep the display box.

 

Slimer has a ton of accessories…but, once again, no GB1 accurate butt crack.  Wah waaa!

I was able to snag the four boys in gray, Janine, and Gozer in this sale.  The others, according to the cards, are more rare.  Good enough…but I kept my eyes peeled on EBay.  I picked up Stay Puft from Amazon in the meantime.  As a larger figure, he was separate from the assortment.  Weeks later, one EBay seller had Slimer, the Librarian, and the ultra-rare Dana…at $10 each!  Close to retail price, and I was actually able to complete the line.

Dana’s rarity pays off in the form of the most awesomely bright, glow in the dark feature I have ever seen!  Are we sure the paint they used isn’t radioactive?

 

Sadly, I nor Loyal Subjects was able to complete a full lineup.  Old Toy Fair images showed prototypes for Terror Dog, Louis Tully, the Cab Driver ghost, and even a pre-transformation Librarian.  Short of the subway ghost, this could have been the first line to deliver a complete Ghostbusters roster!  Sigh…

Also, RIP Ray’s cigarette.  Good on Loyal Subjects for the attempt, but the kibosh just leaves Ray with forever-frozen-in-plastic dumb look on his face.

Anyway, they’re still fun to play with and look really nice with the too-small Plasma Series Ecto-1.  Their big heads wont allow them inside (and their packs don’t come off, either), but they still size up nicely and give off a Sega Genesis Ghostbuster vibe.  If you can nab them on sale, go for it!

On another Ghostbusters kick, I learned that Janine’s lucky coin from a deleted scene actually exists!  Thanks again, EBay!  If you haven’t seen this cut scene, it’s worth a gander:

 

Ray Arnold

Ray Arnold

Jurassic Park - Amber Collection

Mattel

Like the Star Wars Black Series, did Jurassic Park really need to be in a larger, more costly scale?  It may limit the variety of dinosaurs (or starships) we can get, but what we do get sure does look purdy.  Take this figure, for instance...Sam Jackson is back for the third or fourth time in this scale (Pulp Fiction, several Marvel Legends) and he has never looked better.

Mattel has really outdone themselves for a company that got by with the same suited body over and over again in the past (DC, Ghostbusters).  Ray Arnold appears to be totally unique, and sports a surprising amount of articulation for a character that is just seated at a computer for most of his screen time.    Double hinge elbows and knees, upper arm and leg swivels, torso ball joint, head ball joint, waist swivel...he can take service calls and leap into action to switch service breakers on a dime!

The head sculpt is great (particularly nice is the fade from hair to bald spot on top), really only hurt a bit by the execution of the glasses.  Glasses have always been hit and miss on action figures, but this one fares a bit better than others.  A lab coat and gray pants don’t make for an exciting toy, but the details sure make up for them.  Just check out that JP patch!  Pens in the pocket, tie design, striping on the shirt...nice attention to detail!

This figure doesn’t come with a stand like the others in the line...at least I don’t think he does.  I had to double check the packaging/trash just to be sure.  I assume they had to save plastic for his huge hunk of an accessory:  a 90s desktop PC tower/monitor!  It’s big, but hollow, and it’s made of a flexible, rubbery plastic.  It has a JP grid system map sticker on the monitor and, I’ll have to verify with Lex, an interactive CD-ROM!  Mr. Arnold also comes with a removable headset and a change of hands.  Sadly, he does not come with cigarettes or a hand to simulate smoking.  Yes, it is a harmful habit, but this is yet another one of those characters that it would just enhance that much more.  Delivery of “Hold on to your butts” and “PLEASE!  God dammit, I hate this hacker crap!” just wouldn’t be the same without them.  C’mon, they even get their own close-ups:

It is a bit strange that Mr. Arnold gets a figure in this scale before Hammond, or even Sattler and Grant.  It’s a testament to all Sam Jackson brings to this smaller part.  Let’s give him a hand or...oh...I forgot a key accessory:

Let’s review:  Dismembered, bloody limbs good, cigarettes bad...got it.

Take a look back at smaller scale Jurassic Park/World offerings from Mattel:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/06/jurassic-world-dinosaurs.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/06/more-jurassic-world-dinosaurs.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/06/dinobots.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2019/05/jurassic-world-iii-primal-clash.html

Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey

Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey

Fig Biz, Incendium

Did we need another toy company throwing their hat in the ring with yet another scale of figure?  No.  Did we need more Bill and Ted?  Well, if we’re talking “Face the Music”, no...yes...maybe?  The second sequel was a bright spot during the height of Covid-19 hysteria. (Up to this point, it was my last trip to the theater.) The movie itself was so-so, but seeing Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as the older-but-still-most excellent duo was worth the trip.  If you like the characters, it will be hard not to smile watching it.  Though it’s more in-line thematically with the original, Bogus Journey is still the better sequel.  One that is kinda forgotten...at least when it comes to merch.

Most excellent throwbacks to Toy Biz figures in the 90s!

Still having my old Kenner figures in the 5-inch scale, I didnt feel the need to update them with Fig Biz’s first movie offerings.  However, I could not pass up Bill and Ted in their Bogus Journey attire.  They look okay.  A bit soft or cartoony in the likenesses...they probably could have done better in the 6 or 7 inch scale.  

They are more articulated than most 5-inch figures, but they do have some major issues.  They have double-hinged knees, but only one cut and a swivel for elbows.  The shoulder joints have ugly, exposed pins.  Worst of all the crotch areas are large and hamper any natural sitting or bending poses.  Even getting them to rock out on their knees is difficult.  Also, what I thought was waist articulation turned out to be a strange design flaw?  

Accessories included are unique guitars, interchangeable hands with guitar picks, clear display stands and...best of all...interchangeable, evil robot Bill and Ted heads!  There would be temptation to buy two sets here, if they weren’t so expensive for the scale/size.  

They are $30 a figure...$30!!!  Each!!!  I know they are kind of an oddity, but $25 would be pushing it.  Most insulting of all is that they tried to save some tooling by reusing parts from the waist down, thus making Bill roughly the same height as Ted!  Ugh...

Anyway...$45 more if you want the signature vehicle. It’s very bare bones.  The door has a magnet feature to keep it open/closed, but no slide track, so its a bit loosey-goosey.  They phone is static/non-removable, and the antennae doesn’t even rotate. I wasn’t expecting any Kenner-like action features, but for that much, I was hoping for a little more imagination.  The “phone” signs glow in the dark, but even cheap knock off toys from China and Mexico throw in cheap LED lights.  Or maybe a removable top to make it more like the booth in Bogus Journey?  With Rufus’ grapnel guitar?

 

 

I’m being pretty harsh on these...they do look alright sitting on a display shelf.  Playability and value is where the excellent adventure takes a dive into a bogus journey.  I hope the Grim Reaper (coming out at a later date) fares better.  At least he’s not a skeleton this time (comics, Kenner figure) and he comes with a mini Twister mat.  And even with their shortcomings, I would welcome Station, Good Robot Bill and Ted, and Rufus, before Fiz Big calls it quits with this line.

  

Take a trip back in time with a look at Bill and Ted trading cards and Kenner figures:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2018/05/bill-and-ted-trading-cards.html

Ninja Turtles Accessory Set

Ninja Turtles Accessory Set

NECA

NECA’s 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line is great.  But like most NECA Turtles stuff, that is followed by “if you can find them.”  After the initial sets being hard to find SDCC exclusives, they have at least opened the line up to Walmart, and better yet, on-demand via their web store.  This accessory set is part of the latter, and was up for pre-order last year.  It was a long wait to see if a $50 supplemental set was worth the time and money.

And the best I can say is, it’s a mixed bag.  I love all of the accessories:  pork rinds, chips, turtle wax, pizza, panda bear, TV set, skateboard, manhole cover, straw hat, mutagen canister, busted Shredder helmet, newspaper, and street sign.  These all work to recreate small but memorable moments from the film.  Pork rinds has to the the topper, right?

Well, maybe second to these awesome baby turtles.  They are all the same sculpt and expressions, but for as small as they are, they are quite impressive.  Like the tiny baby Yoda in the Star Wars vintage series, I was surprised to see such articulation in this scale.  The heads are on ball joints, and the arms can move/rotate at the shoulder.  Nothing for the legs, but this might be completely true of the puppets they represent onscreen.

On the whole, I could have done without alternate heads.  I mean, how often do you want Ralph and Leo smiling in your display?  A neutral Mikey?  The laughing Donny is my favorite, if only because I can now recreate my favorite joke about Casey being claustrophobic:

The worst part about these heads is that they are on barbell joints.  Popping them on and off is no easy task, as you never know which end of the barbell is going to come loose.  Needle nose pliers and great care are needed not to damage them, or even greater care and time with hot water baths.  Honestly, it’s not worth the trouble.  I would have been happy without them if it knocked the price of the accessories down to $25-30.

If you are a TMNT 90 super fan, and have the NECA figures already, you will need these, regardless of overall value.  Aside from more obscure characters, I think this set has you covered for memorable accessories from the movie.  If you waited too long on the made to order pre-order, you may be out of luck.  Happy EBay hunting, cowboy!