Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Photobucket Problem
I know images are down here & everywhere else I post them. It'll be sorted out before long. Apologies!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Toy Terminology Volume 1
Toy collectors have developed a special vocabulary for their purchasing endeavors; to a degree that most "normal" people could not understand.
I'm going to use this space to discuss some of the terms that con-collectors might have trouble with in the hopes of bridging the gab towards understanding.
Our first entry-
M.I.S.B.
An abbreviation- meaning "Mint In Sealed Box." Other variations occur but this is the most common.
The process of M.I.S.B. involves collecting entirely for the purpose of keeping items in box for purposes of display or perhaps as an investment.
The idea of toys as investment is not entirely sound (current production numbers being what they are, depreciation on modern items will be minimal and generally not worth the effort) but if items are kept mint then potential resale value will be greater than that of an identical "opened" toy.
While I can see some of the appeal behind this process, I do not participate in it. Toys are meant to be played with. Free the plastic prisoners!!!
I'm going to use this space to discuss some of the terms that con-collectors might have trouble with in the hopes of bridging the gab towards understanding.
Our first entry-
M.I.S.B.
An abbreviation- meaning "Mint In Sealed Box." Other variations occur but this is the most common.
The process of M.I.S.B. involves collecting entirely for the purpose of keeping items in box for purposes of display or perhaps as an investment.
The idea of toys as investment is not entirely sound (current production numbers being what they are, depreciation on modern items will be minimal and generally not worth the effort) but if items are kept mint then potential resale value will be greater than that of an identical "opened" toy.
While I can see some of the appeal behind this process, I do not participate in it. Toys are meant to be played with. Free the plastic prisoners!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Annual Dose Of Awesome 7/17/10
Time for another Annual Dose Of Awesome!
Today's Feature:
GATCHAMAN!
A history lesson-
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is the animated precursor to the modern "Super Sentai" franchinse- featuring a team of five teenagers (with attitudes) capable of transforming into powerful costumed warriors of justice.
The long-running series has been adapted for American audiences no less than three times: first as "Battle of the Planets," later as "G-Force" and finally known as "Eagle Riders." But the American adaptations are kind of a mess; bits cut and pasted from throughout the origin series & other details omitted because of "content concerns." Nevertheless, Gatchaman is an important part of the Sentai lineup and deserves respect.
The video here is a teaser for an apparently upcoming film adaptation of the Gatcha-verse. The movie is the brain-child of Imagi Animation, the studio known for 2007's "TMNT" relaunch and 2009's "Astro Boy" revision- both of which were acceptably entertaining films.
However, negative financial results after the release of "Astro Boy" lead to Imagi reportedly closing its doors earlier this year. The Gatchaman project was presumed abandoned until this new teaser began circulating along with new reports that Imagi had received an alternate source of financing to complete the work. Gatchaman is scheduled to be released sometime in 2011 if all goes well and I for one can't wait for it! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for the eventual release of this super-heroic film!!!
Today's Feature:
GATCHAMAN!
A history lesson-
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is the animated precursor to the modern "Super Sentai" franchinse- featuring a team of five teenagers (with attitudes) capable of transforming into powerful costumed warriors of justice.
The long-running series has been adapted for American audiences no less than three times: first as "Battle of the Planets," later as "G-Force" and finally known as "Eagle Riders." But the American adaptations are kind of a mess; bits cut and pasted from throughout the origin series & other details omitted because of "content concerns." Nevertheless, Gatchaman is an important part of the Sentai lineup and deserves respect.
The video here is a teaser for an apparently upcoming film adaptation of the Gatcha-verse. The movie is the brain-child of Imagi Animation, the studio known for 2007's "TMNT" relaunch and 2009's "Astro Boy" revision- both of which were acceptably entertaining films.
However, negative financial results after the release of "Astro Boy" lead to Imagi reportedly closing its doors earlier this year. The Gatchaman project was presumed abandoned until this new teaser began circulating along with new reports that Imagi had received an alternate source of financing to complete the work. Gatchaman is scheduled to be released sometime in 2011 if all goes well and I for one can't wait for it! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for the eventual release of this super-heroic film!!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Kyoryu Sentai ZYURANGER Mecha Review
Zyuranger started off as just another entry in the ongoing Super Sentai franchise (by then in its 16th year) and ended up with a place in the history books.
A group of American producers led by one Haim Saban decided that this sort of thing just might fly with American audiences-assuming they could splice in some of their own homemade footage around the battle sequences. It was a shot in the dark but it got incredible results- the show was an overnight runaway success. And the rest is history!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegazordZordModes.jpg
These are the first five Guardian Beasts- Mammoth, Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, SaberTiger and Pteranodon. By themselves they're somewhat boring but the real fun is just ahead!
These 5 are also the source of the series' primary anachronism: The literal translation of this title is "Dinosaur Squadron" but only 2 of these creatures can honestly be called "dinosaurs."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegazordBattleMode.jpg
The Guardian Beasts first combine into this form, BeastTank DinoTanker. It has a few powerful attacks but is mainly used only as an intermediate stage.
THIS is the Beasts' main combination, DaiZyuJin! An elegant fusion of all five powers. Its blocky and virtually inarticulate but damned if it doesn't send everyone who reads this on a happy trip down memory lane.
Now, ZyuRanger was actually the first series to firmly establish another tradition: that of adding new members to the core team of Rangers. And this was accomplished with-
Burai, and his powerful companion the Dragon Caesar! Summoned & controlled by the tune of a flute, Caesar came to life and rose out of Tokyo Bay with explosive force in a clear homage to his proud kaiju ancestors.
Though they started off as enemies, Green Ranger & Caesar eventually joined the others. This (to no one's surprise) allows for new, more powerful combinations!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/DragonzordBattleMode.jpg
Goruryuujin, a combination of Dragon Caesar & some of the other Guardian Beasts. Occasionally the Tyrannosaurus would fight alongside this configuration but Pteranodon was still left out in the cold. The "Dragon Antler" drill-spear is his primary weapon; the toy form can't really wield it to resemble its televised counterpart.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegaDragonzord.jpg
This alternative configuration was also used a few times- Zyutei DaiZyuJin! It uses energy attacks to dispose of enemies (something else that doesn't translate well in toylines).
God-King Brachion, the most powerful of the Guardian Beasts. So strong that he doesn't need a pilot like the others. He first appeared as a way to test the Zyuranger's worthiness. Once they met his approval, Brachion helped them in several battles.
As a side note- the US toy producers were apparently VERY fond of this mold (which they called Titanus). So much, in fact, that it was reincarnated for another Ranger toyline two years later. And then corpse-raped into a god-awful remold three years after that.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/TitanusTankerMode.jpg
Brachion's alternative form, affectionately known as "King Tanker." Merely a stepping stone for his true purpose-
he's the foundation of [b]ULTIMATE DAIZYUJIN!!![/b] The perfect formation of Beast-God, crushing its enemies in a hail of energy.
While the overall design of these toys is considered "inferior" to modern standards, I cannot help but look back on these three with unbridled fondness. Nostalgia's a great thing sometimes.
A group of American producers led by one Haim Saban decided that this sort of thing just might fly with American audiences-assuming they could splice in some of their own homemade footage around the battle sequences. It was a shot in the dark but it got incredible results- the show was an overnight runaway success. And the rest is history!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegazordZordModes.jpg
These are the first five Guardian Beasts- Mammoth, Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, SaberTiger and Pteranodon. By themselves they're somewhat boring but the real fun is just ahead!
These 5 are also the source of the series' primary anachronism: The literal translation of this title is "Dinosaur Squadron" but only 2 of these creatures can honestly be called "dinosaurs."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegazordBattleMode.jpg
The Guardian Beasts first combine into this form, BeastTank DinoTanker. It has a few powerful attacks but is mainly used only as an intermediate stage.
THIS is the Beasts' main combination, DaiZyuJin! An elegant fusion of all five powers. Its blocky and virtually inarticulate but damned if it doesn't send everyone who reads this on a happy trip down memory lane.
Now, ZyuRanger was actually the first series to firmly establish another tradition: that of adding new members to the core team of Rangers. And this was accomplished with-
Burai, and his powerful companion the Dragon Caesar! Summoned & controlled by the tune of a flute, Caesar came to life and rose out of Tokyo Bay with explosive force in a clear homage to his proud kaiju ancestors.
Though they started off as enemies, Green Ranger & Caesar eventually joined the others. This (to no one's surprise) allows for new, more powerful combinations!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/DragonzordBattleMode.jpg
Goruryuujin, a combination of Dragon Caesar & some of the other Guardian Beasts. Occasionally the Tyrannosaurus would fight alongside this configuration but Pteranodon was still left out in the cold. The "Dragon Antler" drill-spear is his primary weapon; the toy form can't really wield it to resemble its televised counterpart.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/MegaDragonzord.jpg
This alternative configuration was also used a few times- Zyutei DaiZyuJin! It uses energy attacks to dispose of enemies (something else that doesn't translate well in toylines).
God-King Brachion, the most powerful of the Guardian Beasts. So strong that he doesn't need a pilot like the others. He first appeared as a way to test the Zyuranger's worthiness. Once they met his approval, Brachion helped them in several battles.
As a side note- the US toy producers were apparently VERY fond of this mold (which they called Titanus). So much, in fact, that it was reincarnated for another Ranger toyline two years later. And then corpse-raped into a god-awful remold three years after that.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/Paladin4221/TitanusTankerMode.jpg
Brachion's alternative form, affectionately known as "King Tanker." Merely a stepping stone for his true purpose-
he's the foundation of [b]ULTIMATE DAIZYUJIN!!![/b] The perfect formation of Beast-God, crushing its enemies in a hail of energy.
While the overall design of these toys is considered "inferior" to modern standards, I cannot help but look back on these three with unbridled fondness. Nostalgia's a great thing sometimes.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Annual Dose of Awesome- 7/12/10
Time for a new feature!
The Annual Dose Of Awesome is a section I shall be using to write about some cool things that deserve more appreciation. Could be anything that catches my fancy so stay tuned to read more!
My first entry for ADOA-
The Rocketeer!
One of my favorite childhood movies; the story of an ace pilot who recovers a jetpack & uses it to fight off Nazis.
The film is one of several under-appreciated works by the Disney corporation; it features a generally likable cast with great designs and a pretty good story.
You can find the film in bargain bins across the country now & I strongly recommend it.
Until next time!
The Annual Dose Of Awesome is a section I shall be using to write about some cool things that deserve more appreciation. Could be anything that catches my fancy so stay tuned to read more!
My first entry for ADOA-
The Rocketeer!
One of my favorite childhood movies; the story of an ace pilot who recovers a jetpack & uses it to fight off Nazis.
The film is one of several under-appreciated works by the Disney corporation; it features a generally likable cast with great designs and a pretty good story.
You can find the film in bargain bins across the country now & I strongly recommend it.
Until next time!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Transformers Animated BLACKOUT Review & Pics
The Transformers: Animated toyline is one of my favorites in recent memory, but even I cannot argue that it has had relatively poor handling since the beginning. Even now with just a handful of molds left to be distributed Hasbro appears to be unable (or unwilling) to find a venue for them.
Fortunately Takara/Tomy has picked up the slack with their adaptation of the Animated series, giving the obsessive fans like me one more chance to fill the holes in our collections.
[i]Blackout[/i] is one such example, originally introduced very briefly in the show's third season & scheduled for a toy release that would add some much-needed muscle to the Decepticon forces.
Blackout in Vehicle Mode is an attack helicopter. We can ignore the fact that the character never took on an Earth-based form in the series because-yet again- Animated has chosen to incorporate another element of the Transformers multiverse, specifically Michael Bay's Movie-verse. And in that regard Blackout as a chopper makes perfect sense.
The vehicle design is pretty good with a rather impressive arsenal- six gatling guns plus a few missile launchers. As with most helicopter-transformers the rotors occasionally have trouble staying attached.
Blackout in Robot Mode is a solid fighting force, bulky and heavily armed. Articulation is very good-full movement in arms, legs and waist. He also sports minor articulation in the fingers, which I like. It disappoints me that we couldn't get rotating wrists but IMO that's not a deal-breaker.
A couple people have made some derogatory remarks about Blackout's face, namely comments along the lines of "Robot Wilford Brimley." I'm not sure I see the resemblance but its still funny.
This is arguably Blackout's signature weapon; his Vehicle Mode's tail rotor becomes a disc-launcher. Nice change of pace from the regular swords or cannons but it does disappoint me that the tail rotor can't fit anywhere else in Robot Mode.
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with Blackout (though as a lifelong Animated Addict that cannot be a surprise). He's a solidly-designed mold with a large amount of play value. Everything I could want from a Transformer toy!
Fortunately Takara/Tomy has picked up the slack with their adaptation of the Animated series, giving the obsessive fans like me one more chance to fill the holes in our collections.
[i]Blackout[/i] is one such example, originally introduced very briefly in the show's third season & scheduled for a toy release that would add some much-needed muscle to the Decepticon forces.
Blackout in Vehicle Mode is an attack helicopter. We can ignore the fact that the character never took on an Earth-based form in the series because-yet again- Animated has chosen to incorporate another element of the Transformers multiverse, specifically Michael Bay's Movie-verse. And in that regard Blackout as a chopper makes perfect sense.
The vehicle design is pretty good with a rather impressive arsenal- six gatling guns plus a few missile launchers. As with most helicopter-transformers the rotors occasionally have trouble staying attached.
Blackout in Robot Mode is a solid fighting force, bulky and heavily armed. Articulation is very good-full movement in arms, legs and waist. He also sports minor articulation in the fingers, which I like. It disappoints me that we couldn't get rotating wrists but IMO that's not a deal-breaker.
A couple people have made some derogatory remarks about Blackout's face, namely comments along the lines of "Robot Wilford Brimley." I'm not sure I see the resemblance but its still funny.
This is arguably Blackout's signature weapon; his Vehicle Mode's tail rotor becomes a disc-launcher. Nice change of pace from the regular swords or cannons but it does disappoint me that the tail rotor can't fit anywhere else in Robot Mode.
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with Blackout (though as a lifelong Animated Addict that cannot be a surprise). He's a solidly-designed mold with a large amount of play value. Everything I could want from a Transformer toy!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Transformers Animated LOCKDOWN Review & Pics
My other big obsession (beyond Super Sentai) is Transformers, so I'm taking a moment to share one of my favorites with everyone!
[quote]Bounty Hunters? We don't need that scum![/quote]
Original characters-having no previous name usage and/or no previous counterpart- are a tricky matter in Transformers, which is why people were skeptical at the first mention of this "Lockdown" fellow. But once Hasbro began comparing him to everyone's favorite armor-clad clone, opinions towards Lockdown suddenly became overwhelmingly favorable- and then rose even higher upon the announcement that veteran actor Lance Henriksen would be providing his voice.
Lockdown's Vehicle Mode is a muscle car. Some sources describe it as a hybrid of 1980's Corvette and 1960's Cougar. Black, spiky, intimidating- all trademark Decepticon vehicle features are present here.
In Robot Mode, Lockdown is huge. I don't just mean "sorta tall for a Deluxe" huge. He's fuckin' TALL. He can stand eye-to-eye- with Ultras.
He's not just tall because of freakishly big limbs or anything. His legs are kinda long, but everything is properly proportioned.
Unfortunately, Lockdown (or at least my copy) suffers from undoubtedly the worst case of product quality control that I've ever seen. Immediately upon opening mine, I noticed that both hands were badly damaged, with the left one being almost completely broken off.
Aside from this defect, Lockdown appears to be a decent toy. His primary weapon, a giant metal hook with a mounted EMP generator trophy, can be mounted onto either arm. I can put mine on the left to cover the damaged part, but the gimmick which deploys the EMP cannons only activates on the RIGHT arm for some strange reason.
Articulation is fairly decent. He does actually have knees; they just don't show up too well in pics.
I'd say Lockdown's a fine toy if you can manage to avoid the little "quality control" problem.
[quote]Bounty Hunters? We don't need that scum![/quote]
Original characters-having no previous name usage and/or no previous counterpart- are a tricky matter in Transformers, which is why people were skeptical at the first mention of this "Lockdown" fellow. But once Hasbro began comparing him to everyone's favorite armor-clad clone, opinions towards Lockdown suddenly became overwhelmingly favorable- and then rose even higher upon the announcement that veteran actor Lance Henriksen would be providing his voice.
Lockdown's Vehicle Mode is a muscle car. Some sources describe it as a hybrid of 1980's Corvette and 1960's Cougar. Black, spiky, intimidating- all trademark Decepticon vehicle features are present here.
In Robot Mode, Lockdown is huge. I don't just mean "sorta tall for a Deluxe" huge. He's fuckin' TALL. He can stand eye-to-eye- with Ultras.
He's not just tall because of freakishly big limbs or anything. His legs are kinda long, but everything is properly proportioned.
Unfortunately, Lockdown (or at least my copy) suffers from undoubtedly the worst case of product quality control that I've ever seen. Immediately upon opening mine, I noticed that both hands were badly damaged, with the left one being almost completely broken off.
Aside from this defect, Lockdown appears to be a decent toy. His primary weapon, a giant metal hook with a mounted EMP generator trophy, can be mounted onto either arm. I can put mine on the left to cover the damaged part, but the gimmick which deploys the EMP cannons only activates on the RIGHT arm for some strange reason.
Articulation is fairly decent. He does actually have knees; they just don't show up too well in pics.
I'd say Lockdown's a fine toy if you can manage to avoid the little "quality control" problem.
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