I made a great discovery Friday night. Our local Toys R Us set out its first box of LEGO Minifigures Series 4! Luckily my girlfriend was with me, (she's always much better at picking these out than I am) and we spent a while up at the Service Desk feeling packages and deciphering those difficult to see bumps.
As a kid, I only had a tangential knowledge of the show. I remember the opening theme and Mr. T as B.A. Baracus, of course, but I can’t remember sitting down and watching it. I did have a few of the toys. I had the larger Galoob Mr. T and, for some reason, I have accessories from the 3" line, although I have no idea who’s they are. Despite my not having a lot of fond memories, I still love the A-Team. When Jazwares announced their new movie line, I couldn't wait to check them out.
Back in February, IAT broke the story on the Toys R Us Exclusive Batman that had magically reached retail shelves before collectors knew it existed and it was in our April 15th Q&A that Mattel let us know the TRU program would continue with new versions of Green Lantern, Flash, and a 4th unnamed figure. A metallic, Modern Hal had already been spotted on eBay and in the Attack of the Show SDCC preview, so it wasn't hard to put two and two together. MetallaHal was on his way.
Tytus is an excitement roller coaster. First, you hear they've shown him at Toy Fair and the ride starts ratcheting up. You find the pics as you near the first peak, but with little warning, the articulation is announced and you drop ten stories. You drift through some various minor twists and turns, slowly building you back up to order him. Despite some reservations about the next drop, you get excited and you order your way up the next ramp. He arrives. He looks great in the box, then you open him and...
I was never content with the complacent yellow faces Lego men had when I was a kid. I still remember the first time I saw the Pirates theme in the 90s. These Lego men, although still smiling, now had beards, stubble, and sideburns – not to mention an occasional hook or peg leg. It was a paradigm shift that renewed my interest in Legos. Minifigures have come a long way since their very humble beginnings in the 70s. This year, they’re finally available as singles and Lego has rehooked me yet again.
If you’ve doubted that MOTU Classics was hot, if you’ve dismissed the clamor each month as hype, if you’ve wondered what the fuss is about when the figures roll in a week later, I give you Optikk. Optikk is from a corner of the MOTUverse that few fans care for, a character that even we at IAT had little more than a passing awareness of last year, and a guy that might have trouble getting some respect. Until now. Because in MOTU Classics, even a guy like Optikk blows out in fifteen minutes.
