Friday, September 30, 2011

Taking a Break... Sort of...

Hey gang! I just wanted to take a quick moment to let everyone know what's going to go down with the blog (and my other blogs) over the next month or so. Don't worry, I'm not pulling a Geek Orthodox. ;)

As of tomorrow, it's officially October which means it's time for the Halloween Countdown 2011! As I mentioned before, this blog will be taken over by 21 days of ghost toys, followed by 10 days of monsters toys! Each day a new toy pic will be posted for your spine-tingling enjoyment!

The blog will be on autopilot, pretty much, but I'll still be around replying to comments and whatnot.

Also, this will give me some time to post more stuff on my other blogs: Hey! Look at My Art! and Hey! Look at My Books! The latter of which has all of 4 readers, it seems, but I strongly urge you all to check it out, as I'll be posting all kinds of stuff about geeky books, comics, trading cards and any other form of nerdy paper ephemera that I think fits. I mean, there's already a complete scan of a classic Mr. T children's book, and I'll be posting entire scans of the Dukes of Hazzard punch-out book very soon, so you all can print out and make your very own General Lee and Cooter's garage!

In other news; I've been trying to think of what I could do for December, theme-wise, to make the toy blog feel more festive. Any ideas?

Also, I'm seriously contemplating devoting the entire month of November to vintage Kenner Star Wars figures. Would that bore the hell out of everyone? Let me know. And I have a toy show to go to in October, so I'll have to squeeze in a report on that at some point. I don't know.

Anyhoodle, with that, I take my leave as the auto-post thingy takes over the blog tomorrow. The Great Pumpkin is coming! Happy Halloween!

Oh, and here's your toy moment of zen...

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

I Can Has Trade?

Hey fellow toy nerds! Going through my collection last night, I realized that I need to hunker down and get focused on completing some things (I have been getting a bit willy-nilly lately), so I thought I could come to you all once again and see if we can work out a deal!


First off, I'm trying to complete my Lego minifig collection. I have some to trade, even-steven. Take a look at my list below and maybe we can work out a deal.

HAVE TO TRADE:
  • Sumo Wrestler (2)
  • Female Snowboarder
  • Punk Rocker (2)
  • Frankenstein (2)
  • Baseball Player (3)
  • Weight Lifter
  • Hazmat Dude (2)
  • Werewolf (2)
  • Tennis Girl (2)
  • Sailor
  • Singing Girl
  • Cyborg (missing gun)
  • Samurai (missing helmet)

NEED:
  • Gladiator
  • Eskimo
  • Lumberjack
  • Short Clown
  • Egypt Lady
  • Pharaoh
  • Snowboard Guy
  • Zombie
  • Clown
  • Mexican Guy
  • Spartan
  • Ringmaster
  • Witch
  • Explorer Chap
  • Skier
  • Disco Guy
  • Indian Chief
  • Alien
  • Hip Hop Guy
If you think we can do a trade, hit me up at ackshunphigyer[at]yahoo[dot]com (that's the email I use for online wheelin' and dealin').

Now, onto my ongoing quest for vintage Kenner Star Wars figures! Despite my previous vehemence to finish off this collection, I've only gotten a few since first taking up this quest. But I thought I'd update my graphic so you can all see which ones I have (in red overlay) and again, email me at ackshunphigyer[at]yahoo[dot]com if you have any for sale, trade, or getting ready to throw out and might as well send to me instead of a landfill.


Friday, September 23, 2011

LORDS OF LIGHT! It's Thundarr the Barbarian!

Toy collecting is a wicked mistress. She tempts us and teases us. She lifts us to exulted highs, and drags us down to the depressing lows. She guides us toward good decisions, and tricks us into making bad ones. And it was the latter that caused me to pass up today's series of action figures when I first saw them years ago in a comic shop, under the absurd belief that these would be around for years to come, to be bought on another day when other, more pressing purchases ceased to call.

How wrong I was.

Fast forward 7 years and you would find me desperately searching for a reasonably priced set of Thundarr the Barbarian action figures, only to be repelled, time and time again, by the stunningly high prices of the now rare and massively in demand figures.

But it was only a matter of time before my love for the classic Saturday morning cartoon about a ravaged planet Earth and the savage inhabitants that struggled to live there would win out and force me to pull the trigger on three of the most badass action figures ever produced. And that time...

... was about a week ago.


Yes, gang, I am now the proud owner of a full set of Thundarr the Barbarian action figures. And after being haunted for years by my decision not to buy them when I first saw them, the wait has not dimmed my desire for them and the hype that I had formed around them in my own mind has proven not to be greater than the truth. In short; these figure are friggin EPIC!


After having dropped more than my usual toy allowance on these babies, you'd think I'd be reluctant to rip them free from their brilliant packaging, with those stunning backing cards, evoking countless Saturday morning adventures in a world torn asunder. But, no! Set them free, I did, for these figures were meant to trod the soil of this Earth, facing the forces of evil with courage, strength and magic!

The figures themselves are brilliant. Simply and eloquently sculpted, like an Alex Toth design come to life. In this day and age, when many action figure lines are being pumped full of detail and paint applications, and many franchises of the past are getting "updated" for today's aging and nostalgia-afflicted collector, it's rather refreshing to see such an honest and simple representation of the fur-clad post-apocalyptic warrior and his cohorts.

The Thundarr figure comes with his famous Sun Sword, which detaches at the point where the flaming blade meets the top of the crossguard, in order to store the hilt on his left wristband via cleverly hidden magnets.


Thundarr's ever faithful Chewbacca-esque sidekick, the towering and growling Ookla the Moc stands a good head taller that the Thundarr figure (as is fitting) and comes with a bow and arrow and and extra set of hands so he can go from gripping claws to smashing fists in those often-occurring "RAWR!" moments.


The beauty of the trio, budding sorceress, Ariel (who I had a mad cartoon crush on back in the day) comes with two translucent "magical formations", a ball of orange and red energy and a swirl of blue and green power that can be very carefully balance in her hand (or in the case of the orange and red ball, stolen by your cat).


Overall, I cannot gush enough about these figures. I would have licked a running chainsaw to have Thundarr figures back when I was 10 years old, so to finally have them in my adult-nerd clutches after all these years is like a dream finally coming true (and without the power tool-inflicted tongue lacerations).


So, beware, evildoers of my toy collection. There are three new fierce warriors added to the Shelf of Epic Nostalgia who will stand for no injustice whatsoever in this land known as The Nerdatorium. May those of you who seek to enslave the weak, silence the voiceless and control the hapless masses, take stock of where your selfish actions may take you, for this land is now protected by Thundarr the Barbarian!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Random Toy Pic #38



UPDATE: Because this figure is so jam-packed with sheer awesomeness, I had to take a couple of more shots...




(Special thanks to Jboypacman!)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Trading Cards! A-Team Edition

During my recent visit to Chicago, I swung by one of my favorite shops that I used to frequent in hopes that it a) was still there, and b) still carried a selection of vintage trading card wax packs like they used to. Luckily I got an affirmative on both counts. I didn't waste time snatching up several packs, sort of a cornucopia of various packs, for the sole purpose of opening them, strolling down memory lane and then posting them here.

So, in short, expect a lot of trading card posts for a little while.

I pity the fool who doesn't like today's installment!





Friday, September 16, 2011

Conan & The Thing in the Cave!

When I think of Conan, that enemy-beheading, jewel-stealing, wench-loving, blood-soaked barbarian from the Cimmeria, I think of children's books. And apparently that's what Golden Books thought of too in 1986, when they released this adorable little bedtime tale of a savage warrior running from wolves and battling an undead being in a cave.

The story is clearly taken from the classic scene in the Conan the Barbarian movie. Why they made a children's book at all is odd (but then again, they made a cartoon), but the fact that it came out a few years after the movies is even odder.

Note the other books listed on the back cover. I have several of the Master's of the Universe books, and will be posting them eventually.

So, enjoy this odd and rather simplistically-drawn tale of Conan & The Thing in the Cave!













VROOOM! New General Lee!

Because the old one I did sucks. :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Guardians: The Spirits of the Wild!

Holy guacamole! Did I ever find the weirdest action figures on the face of the Earth! Ladies and germs, I present to you; The Guardians: The Spirits of the Wild!





I found these bizarro figures in a weird little store in Bradley, Illinois called "5 Below" which basically only sells stuff for $5 and under. It was actually a pretty cool place and my wife and I went a little crazy in there. But scoring these human/animal hybrid action figure for a whopping $2 a piece has got to be my favorite score of that day.

The figures themselves boggle my mind. They're made by a company called Wild Republic, and I have to say that their packaging is really beautiful for a $2 toy. The figures appear to be original sculpts, somewhat sloppily molded and painted (but not too bad) and come with two accessories each; a shield and a... wait for it... a flag?!

No weapons at all for these Spirits of the Wild!

At first I thought they were supposed to be some sort of Native American thing (since I saw the bald eagle character first), but that wouldn't explain the tiger and rhino.

Clearly these are a concoction from an imaginative designer at some low-rent toy company trying to do the best they can with what they have to work with and as far as I'm concerned, they nailed it. These toys, as cheap as they are, are brimming with imagination and creativity.

They all have names; Chak, Zyng, Skal and Rykor, but sadly, I opened them all up before noting which name went with each character. D'oh!





They've all go this sort of Roman gladiator vibe to them, at least that's what their armor reminds me of, except for the tiger, who's clearly sporting some samurai-inspired duds.

Another interesting feature is their individual shields (complete with "gems" in the center) and their flags which sport different symbols for each animal/man.

I only wish there had been more characters in this line. And I totally wish I would have had these as a kid! Imagine the fun I could have had by adding these Dr. Moreau-ian warriors to my AD&D/Dragonriders of the Styx adventures!

I told you, it boggles the mind.