I was hoping to get to this guy sooner, but the weather didn’t want to agree. The way I see it, it’s more fun to review a G.I. Joe in its natural environment. No, not the toy shelf. Joes were made for play. Figures, accessories, vehicles - all were made to be played with outside. At least, they were when I was a kid. So, with that idea in mind, I waited for the snow… and it finally came.
Toy Guru recently announced his promotion to brand manager of the action figure line based on the upcoming Green Lantern movie. First, congratulations. Second, there’s an issue I wanted to address before it’s too late.
Mattel, Toy Guru, I want you to stop doing 5 inch Movie Masters.
“So here’s a question for all my readers. Why can’t some fans accept new ideas and concepts in their favorite properties? I’ve been noticing this more and more lately in a few different industries, but the last couple days, it’s the MOTU community that has drawn my ire.
Among many a MOTU fan, it seems to be open season on 200x bashing ever since MOTU Classics started. Fans of the original series like to treat 200x like some sort of nightmare concocted by Skeletor. Yet these were the same people that I seem to recall watching the show and happily gobbling up the figures (when they could find them) just like everyone else. It was He-Man after all, but did they only like it because it was the only He-Man stuff around at the time? Any port in a storm, I guess. Now that MOTU Classics is in full swing, these same fans that stood with us have now turned on us and want to convince us that we too were wrong for liking it.
“Why are Moss Man’s ears fuzzy,” was the cry of many a teary-eyed MOTU Fan on the .Org and at the Facebook page last week. Me? I don’t really care either way. I know how the industry works in regards to prototypes and my subscription was submitted months ago. Some version of Moss Man is coming no matter what and personally I don’t care if I can see his ears or not. I was surprised at how much flocking Mattel had been able to load him up with. This, as I recall, was what fans wanted when we first heard there would be problems. But instead of being grateful that Mattel was able to deliver an almost completely flocked (and very vintage) Mossy or reasonable that it would be an easy fix, the noisiest among us MOTU fans tore their clothes and gnashed their teeth because his ears had disappeared under a layer of flock. Always a classy bunch.
Waiting, waiting, waiting is all I seem to be doing lately. I ordered a case of DCUC11 from Matty on December 23rd. I realized when I ordered them that it was too close to Christmas to expect them anytime soon. To Matty’s credit, they had them ready for shipment rather quickly, but UPS dropped the ball. The tracking number told me my figures arrived in my hometown on New Year’s Eve’s Eve, and there they sat, until yesterday. Apparently UPS didn’t feel obligated to deliver residential stuff so close to either holiday. And picking them up myself would just be too easy for them to allow. So there they sat, a few miles from my home for six days.
Sometimes I have a need to get my toy fix by buying a little something, even though I know more will be here soon. This usually happens in the few months that exist in between waves. Even though I knew my toys would be here soon, the junkie in me demanded something to tide him over. So, off I went to the local stores to see what I could scavenge after Christmas clearance.
One of the cooler things that the Lego Group has been up to lately is acquiring the rights to work with different franchises. I love the traditional themes, but with some great sets coming out of the recent licensed products, I was stoked to hear that Lego had struck a deal with Disney to create product for the upcoming Prince of Persia film, Pixar's Cars, and Toy Story. Toy Story Legos were the first sets from the deal to make it to retail stores and you can expect to see Lego-ized versions of Buzz, Woody, Jesse, and these little guys right here.
Originally, my plan had been to take off until next week, but I've been drawn back early by the news from Mattel yesterday. For those who are unaware, many collectors have been having problems with their Goddess figures. I have. In fact, all the ones that came to IAT last week were affected. The problem is the neck peg is incredibly loose in it's socket. Basically, if you hold the figure by the head, you can shake her body like a rattle. Or, if you prefer, she's a bobblehead.
Now, this is annoying on a toy that costs over twenty dollars. And when people began to complain, Mattel responded with this:
