August 17, 2008

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Theater! Import Theater has become something of a pet project as of late, with all of the cool Super Hero toys being release weekly, Captain Collector has taken up the bulk of my time. But no more! Today, we're gonna take a look at some really cool toys that are, shall we say, "off the beaten track." Today, we're taking a closer look at some offerings from smaller companies, with much smaller production runs than we've come to expect from Marvel Legends or DCUC.

Let's start with a company known for their DC and He-Man offerings, the Four Horsemen. The Horsemen are among the most prolithic and tantented production houses out there. Some of you may not know this, but htey also produce their own line of toys. The line we're going to be reviewing today came out last year, but slipped under many a radar. The Horsemen encountered some production problems, but persevered, and ended up releasing some of the coolest toys ever. I'm taking about the Anitherian Nine.

The Anitherian Nine (well, there's actually ten, but more on that later) are a group of heroic Pachyderms, their allies, and a couple of hideous evil Mutants. The hero of this world is the Captain of the Gaurd, Ramathorr, the Elephant swordsman, and my personal favorite of the bunch. This set is not for the faint of wallet or shelfspace! These are large, bulky figures that will gobble up a good chunk of change as well as their fair share of real estate in your toy display! Limited to only 300 sets, most were available as exclusives online at various online stores and websites. You can get all 9, however, through the Four Horsemen's site, Storehorsemen.com. Also available is a tenth, Pink Elephant. The irony of the Pink Elephant may be lost on you, but don't worry, just ask Toygodd to explain, I'm sure he's seen his fair share of Pink Elephants in his time.

These figures, in case you haven't figured it out yet, are all very cleverly executed repaints of each other with one body mold, multiple accessories and dressings, and mostly unique heads. They are painted so well and highly artu=iculated to the point where it really doesn't matter, their just very cool toys. It was not easy to pry these off the gigantic blisters, as each was signed by all Four Horsemen. They are some of the most talented guys out there, and as an artist I really respect their work. But at the end of the day, it's all about the toys, so cooler heads prevailed, and I tore each one off the cardboard and freed them like the wild animals they are!

Card Art & Ramathorr

The Hammer of Gholl

The Shield of Draumm

The Gaunlet of Vaskkh

The Helm of Xaanm

The Mace of Brohggah

The Club of Thraugnn

The Chalice of Guudenuph

Mutant Ssejjhhor and Mutant Ggruxx

Megahouse 1962 Godzilla

You all know I love the Big G. This large PVC statue of the 1962 (King Kong Vs. Godzilla) Godzilla was released earlier this year, and has become VERY scarce. With a production run of a few hundred pieces, expect to pay around $300 to $350 for this bad boy. Due to the immense size (he's over 20" tall!) and weight of the PVC used, also expect to pay $80-$100 in shipping alone. The last one I saw was at Comicon for $450.

Neca ALIEN 8" scale and 18" scale

Neca, another smaller company who release really cool toys, has released their long-awaited version of the original 1979 Ridley Scott Alien that started it all. The 8" version is actually more like 9", and features seom really great detailing, including an opening jaw and extendable mandibles. The 18" scale version is just that - scaled to 18" figures, meaning he's more like 22" tall!!! It's so big, he comes partially assembled in the box! The larger version also weighs like a metric ton. The 8" version will run you around $17.00, but the super-sized one can be had for as little as $30 to $40, and is a steal at this price. No Alien collection can be considered complete without these. The 8" scale version is shot on the blue background, while I shot the 18" scale version against grey, so that they would be easier to tell apart.

July 12, 2008

Organic Hobby, Inc in conjunction with Kaiyodo proudly introduces its two new products for the U.S. market, “Fuka Ayase (Swimsuit Version) & Ena Ayase.”

"Fuka & Ena Ayase," are fictional characters from the ongoing manga series "Yotsuba&!," as well as the one-shot manga Try! Try! Try!, both by Kiyohiko Azuma. Fuka is the middle Ayase sister. She is a 16-year-old student at a local high school and she is the most responsible of the three sisters. According to Yotsuba, she is "the unpretty one." "Fuka Ayase" introduced in her "swimsuit version" is 7" tall, has a custom base for display and comes in a window box. Ena The youngest Ayase sister, is a few years older than Yotsuba and her most frequent playmate. "Ena Ayase" is being introduced in her removable outfit. She is 5 ½" tall and comes equipped with a towel, a teddy bear and custom base for display.

- “Fuka Ayase (Swimsuit Version)” with a SRP of $35.00 & Ena Ayase with a SRP of $30.00 will be released in September.

April 09, 2008

Car & Figure Assortment

All cars feature spring loaded action features and driver action figures. Man I wish we had these about 30 years ago!

Mach 5

Racer X's X-9 (Shooting Star)

Taejo Togokhan

The GRX (The Fastest Car in the World!)

Deluxe Car & Driver

Both boxed vehicles feature spring loaded features, light-up action, separating mini-vehicles, and Drivers!

Battle Rig & Mach 6 Playset

Transforming Mach 6

This is the gem of the line! The car morphs beautifully & effortlessly, with lauching missiles & lights & sounds. The included fully poseable Speed figure is in the 5" scale.

It should be noted that there is no bigger Speed Racer fan on the PLANET than yours truly. I'm super-excited about the movie, and the toys really are a lot of fun. I'm hoping when all the excitement settles down that Mattel makes a series based on the classic cartoon! Until then, special thanks to Mattel's Toy Guru for the toys!

Transformers Animated.

Slated for a June release, I jumped at the chance to be able to show you some of these a bit early. They are some of the finest Transformers made to date. Check out a sneek peek of the Voyager Optimus Prime, Grimlock, and Bulkhead. It should be noted that while I like Bulkhead, he's my least favorite of the three, as he's way too small to be in the correct scale. Watch for the upcoming Leader-Class vesion later this summer.

Bulkhead

Optimus Prime (Earth Mode)

Grimlock

December 24, 2007

Walmart Exclusive Transformers Masterpiece Starscream

Hot on the heels of selling Transformers movie toys like hotcakes (mmmmm.....hotcakes), Walmart ordered this USA version of the Takara Masterpiece Starscream, only in the show-correct anime colors. This move made this one even more desireable to collectors like myself who already had the Japanese edition. So much so that the hefty $50 price tag scared NO ONE away, and it sold out almost immediately. I only saw this guy at one local Walmart, and even then it sold out in 48 hours. I've heard this one may ship again, as sales expectations were completely shattered. Depending on where you live, you may have never even seen one.

As you can see, the packaging mimicks the now defunct "Classics" line. It's well done, and helps ease the sting of the $50 price tag. The lettering on the top is raised and painted in silver, and looks classy. The packaing is also fairly stury & displays well, if you should choose to keep it sealed mint.

...But why would you want to do that when he's so cool! He's super poseable, of course, and even retains the import versions' face-changing action. You can display your Starscream looking serious, or with the jerk-like grin, which belies the fact that he's clearly up to something devious. The paint work is top-notch, especially the dark line work in all the plane's detailing. Included accessories are the null ray guns, missile clusters, a small figure of Dr. Archeville, which can fit in to the cockpit seat, opening nosecone with radar array, opening engine covers, swiveling thruster nozzles, and opening air brakes. Whew that's a bunch!

My only complaints about the toy, aside from it's overall scarcity, are htese two issues:
1) Scale. It's a bit undersized. Not horrible, but it should've been a bit bigger. It fits in very well with the Alternators line, however.
2) Design of the robot mode. He was designed (by the engineers' own admission) to be a perfect trasnforming F-15. He is, but sacrifices were made to the robot mode. He should've been designed as the perfect Starscream. However, these complaints are minor, and if your a classic Transformers fan like I am, this one's kind of a must-own.

Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem

The first two of NECA's AVP:R figures have been released, just in time for me to see the movie tomorrow! There have been several attempts to bring these creatures to life in plastic, but I must say that NECA's efforts so far surpass anything before it. My only gripe is that the Predator isn't scheduled to ship until February. How am I supposed to have my toys "fight" without the main protagonist!?!

Predalien Hybrid

This creature seen hatching at the end of AvP is now all-growed up, and ready to do some real damage! In a previous interview, NECA's Randy Falk had stated that there would be less articulation on this bad boy due to the extra amount of detailing required to rended him in 3D. I really can't argue with him, because the detailing is outrageous. The paint work and detailing is superb, down to the transparent cranial dome and skull inside. The "dreads" are individual rubber pieces that resemble alien vertebrae! Creepy! He is articulated at the jaw, ball & socket neck, ball & socket shoulders, cut biceps & wrists, hips, cut thighs, and a bendy tail. He also includes a multi-positional base to help him stand. Mine appears to be "closed mouthed", but the packaging displays an open mouthed variant also exists.

Alien Warrior

This is now my all-time favorite action figure of the Alien warrior. The detailing is amazing, something I think a lot of toy companies couldn't even pull off on a mass-prouction scale. The design is fairly classic, but with loads of new detailing. Most notably for me are the cues on his head that appear to be derived from Takeya's famous take on the creature. He's painted to perfection with a wash of metallic grey, and really deals well with his mucous-like mandible tendons, better than any previous attempt. these clear muscular strans that surround the jaws are cast in a clear plastic as a separate piece, then blended into the lower jaw. the extend far up into the skull, and extend when you lower the articulated mouth. Creepy!

The warrior, much like the Predalien, is in the 7" scale range, and stands an imposing 8 1/4 inches tall. He has a ball & socket neck, ribcage, and thighs. He is also articulated at the shoulders, bicep cuts, elbows, wrists, thigh cuts, knees, ankles, jaw, and bendy tail. He also includes the aforementioned stand, but doesn't need it due to the tripod-like tail.

One thing's for sure - let's hope the movies are as good as these excellent toys, and let's hope that Predator ships fast!

On a lighter note, my dog got her Christmas gift a little early tonight, a new rubber chicken. If only we were so happy with new toys!

Peace, and happy dreams of sugar plums, santa, and action figures.

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