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03.26.06 by Widge @ 6:35 pm   Prepare for a barrage of Burton. His latest, nominated for two Chazzies this year, was a fun stop-motion romp into kid-friendly morbidville. And for those of us with grown-up dollars to spend, you can continue to grab stuff based on the film--and, considering how Nightmare Before Christmas stuff is still coming out--you'll be able to snag a never-ending cascade of stuff from here on out. So good idea to nab these while you can. First up, the obvious: Warner Brothers has released the DVD...the film plus a decent array of extras: a Danny Elfman featurette, animation featurette, a talk with Burton about the origins of the film, the obligatory behind-the-mic featurette, a tour of the puppet workshop, along with interviews, behind-the-scenes stuff, and plenty of production and pre-production art, plus more. Categorized as: Toys
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03.16.06 by Widge @ 4:39 pm  Ready to lock load and pass data, these Russian action figures, made entirely out of wire, are pretty sweet. They would kick Sigma Six's ass, more than likely. Categorized as: Toys
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03.02.06 by Widge @ 4:03 pm    We're not shy about telling you what we like. If you've seen some of our features for McFarlane Toys in the past, then this is not news: we think their stuff rocks. They make action figures, yeah, but they're as close to collectible statues as you can get without just flat out removing all the points of articulation and calling it good. Which, if you've seen the Miracleman statue they did (which, unbelievably, you can still get for 73% off at Amazon as I write this), you wouldn't argue with. Check out the Battle Damaged Robocop we've got up there: it's the Robocop figure you've seen before, but ginormous and now banged up, including a piece of the visor missing. The stand is a bit of pavement with some lovely street detritus and, of course, the pistol (which recently made a cameo in Sin City). Now if we could just get the built-in holster in his leg, that would be sweet. Also, there's the 12-inch Spawn figure, based on the cover of issue 95. I'll let you in on a dirty secret of mine: I'm not the biggest Spawn fan in the world. I think the concept of the character's great, but I've never felt like it's lived up to its potential. I have, however, always had a guilty enjoyment of his ginormous freakout cape. I know McFarlane capes were the rage a while back, but for Spawn it's worked. That all being said, even I am impressed by this figure. They've managed to make a plastic cape look just like the character's should: namely, everywhere, ragged, huge and out of control. It is badass the way Spawn should be, and they've nailed it in this figure. If I like it, hardcore fans will devour it. And lastly, there's the 12-inch Scar Predator figure from Aliens vs. Predator. Say what you want about the film (and we have), but the figure is sweet. Along with its wicked base, it comes with its throwing spear/javelin/what-have-you, backpack, and removable helmet. That way you're welcome to stare at it and say, "Vat the hell are you?" Buy the 12-inch Robocop from Amazon. Categorized as: Headsup and Toys
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02.13.06 by Widge @ 5:18 pm  Heed well our verbs and pronouns! We are homogenized hatred! Thirty-two ounces of unpasteurized impatience!!! WAKE UP AMERICA! It's Howdy Doody Time!!! Don't laugh! We're serious! We'll kick your lousy ass! Holy crap, these things are amazing. You're looking at vinyl figure prototypes for Evan Dorkin's Milk and Cheese. Not only do you get the two potentially lethal dairy products, but they come with three interchangeable weapons as well. For the full skinnee, check out Dorkin's LiveJournal and even more sweet pics on his Flickr outpost. Thanks to Drawn! for the headsup. And if you don't know Milk and Cheese, fix that immediately. Just trust us. Categorized as: Toys
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11.23.05 by Widge @ 2:43 am  Are you ready for some DOOM? Of course you are. And Palisades is here to help you with some of the best sculpted, most intricately designed action figure and playsets I've seen in this Invader Zim series 1.5. I mean, seriously, the only thing more involved than this is the rubber nipple fetish version of the Mr. Horse figure. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Up there you've got Zim with all of his various consoles. First of all, the figure itself comes with six points of articulation (neck, shoulders, elbows, and waist). The consoles all come with 5mm bendy connector pipes so you can configure your own setup for his various screens (which you can put decals on to create the screens' content). There's also a minimoose, a robot bee, an Irkin sandwich and a spider-backpack with fully articulated legs. You just pop off his regular backpack, put the spider on and go to town with it. Insane. Categorized as: Reviews and Toys
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10.26.05 by Widge @ 2:58 am    When I tell you that the reason this line from the McFarlane's Spawn toys is called "Regenerated"--namely that it's remixes of previously released figures--your first assumption is that this is an attempt at double dipping. Slap another paint job on something and call it good. Easy enough to do, right? Well, first up--one of these figures was originally released in 1994, for God's sake. And the versions we have today are hellaciously different than before. New and improved, you might and should say. First up, going left to right up there, let's take a look at Cyber Spawn, which has the spirit of the original, but that's about it. The spirit is what's important, though, because it's basically like a mecha/Transformer enthusiast's wicked wet dream. Spikes, metal, shiny bits and a metallic claw for a right hand that looks like something you'd use in one of those arcade crane games--if you were trying to, you know, pick up and drop a live and pissed off puma down the chute. Your mileage at getting it to reflect light to the extent in the photo shown above may vary. Categorized as: Toys
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10.17.05 by Widge @ 4:40 am Well, we told you about the first series of these guys when they hit a few months back. Now for those of you who are chomping at the bit to get the 2nd series (November, folks), you might want to take a look at this series of "Redeployed" figures.   When McFarlane talks about Redeployed, they mean that they've taken the aforementioned first series, done some resculpts, repaints, and changed up some accessories. So you've got another round of the same soldiers: Army Ranger, Navy SEAL, Marine Corps Recon Sniper, Marine Corps Recon, Army Desert Infantry, and the Air Force Special Forces Command CCT.   However, another change-up is that if you already own the first series, these guys can create "squad-based" operations. In other words, they bring their buddies along to kick your ass. All except for the sniper...they traditionally work alone, I guess, and don't play well with others.   Some might pooh-pooh this and say, well, it's just double-dipping. Well, we might agree with you but McFarlane makes it clear from the get-go that these are for people who agree with us that "nothing exceeds like excess" and that if you couldn't get enough of hardass figures, you'll go and buy more. So these are for you. So you get the same attention to detail, the same incredible sculpts, and even more guns. I don't see how anybody can lose on this deal. For more info, check out their website. Categorized as: Headsup and Toys
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07.22.05 by Widge @ 2:02 am  We dig McFarlane Toys. We just do. It's a combo of the badass sculpts and the fact that Todd had the testicular fortitude to tell the toy companies "Screw you, I'll do it myself." And we always respect that attitude. Branching off into...well, branches, of the military comes Series 1 of the McFarlane's Military line. While they're concentrating on modern American fighting men right now, we can't wait to see when they start branching out and tackling other countries, other time periods. This series has for its basic figures the Army Ranger, Navy SEAL, Marine Corps Recon Sniper, Marine Corps Recon, Army Desert Infantry, and the Air Force Special Forces Command CCT. Each of them comes with authentic everything: uniforms, gear, and weapons. Each comes with its own custom base as well. Pretty sweet for something that is apparently (as McFarlane makes it clear on their website) done without the involvement of the DoD. For more pics, check out the site here. Categorized as: Headsup and Toys
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07.14.05 by Widge @ 8:26 pm  We're pleased to review this Con exclusive, one of the most creative we've seen in our travels so far. This stick figure was being handed out by the folks at Bare Bones Studios, to help promote their books, like the sick and twisted robot story of love and death, Why Am I Programmed to Kill? I was also assured by the writer of Heroes Inc. that his mom loves the book...so I can't think of a more ringing endorsement than that. Anyway, notice the amazing amount of detail and the care of craftmanship on this figure. The sculpt is impressive as well. It also comes with an industry-thumping zero points of articulation. We can't wait to get it home and have it kick the asses of our Aliens and Conan figures. In the meantime, check out the Bare Bones guys on their website here and send them love. They're sick and wrong. And we respect that. Categorized as: Reviews and Toys
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06.29.05 by Widge @ 10:52 pm   Remember when Star Wars didn't suck? Yeah, we do too. We are filled with nostalgia for the good old days as we present these two things which just came in off the truck: the Millennium Falcon and an X-Wing Fighter, both models from RC Ertl. I was never good with models as a kid. I couldn't color in between the lines and...well, Christ, have you seen my handwriting? I sign a credit card slip and somebody asks, "You a doctor?" Anyway, suffice to say I screwed up enough models to know that that sort of pastime simply wasn't my bag. But these look simple enough where even a shmoe like me could handle them. The X-Wing comes with a nice thing on the box that says "Easy! Beginner!" Now you're speaking my language. They're both "moderate" level and the X-Wing is "Snapfast" style, which means the Falcon is probably out of my league. But hey, if you like some hands-on work, go for them. Crying over them while you watch your bootleg copy of ROTSith probably is bad for your concentration, though. Categorized as: Headsup and Toys
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