I was disappointed in Zartan’s movie treatment. Although his presence was comparatively brief, I found his characterization a little too far toward the creepy end of the spectrum. He was too much of a sociopathic cold blooded killer. I wonder if the writers were inspired by the X-Men film’s shapechanger, Mystique. Either way, he didn’t have much of the appeal
Read moreSometimes parts reuse just doesn’t turn out as well as expected. As a former action figure customizer, I can appreciate having a vision for a base figure and thinking that vision will be borne out in the end. I’ve also had experiences in which the limitations of the base figure couldn’t be overcome, and the final figure didn’t match what
Read moreI don’t always have a good memory for the old days of toy buying as a kid, but I can still remember when I got the Water Mocassin. Near our neighborhood was a small shopping center, with a couple of larger stores. One of the stores was a local grocery store chain and the other a TG&Y, a department store
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The modern collector’s frustration with one of the great vintage RAH figures began in 1997.The prospect of a remolded Viper, well remembered from 1986 as a replacement for the original Cobra blueshirt troopers, was a welcome sight on store shelves in the 90’s. Unfortunately, we only got half of the Viper. The waist and legs had gone missing, replaced by
Read moreI always found it strange that a late 80’s Cobra like the HEAT Viper was revisited just a few years after its original release. However, the late 80’s Alley Viper was also given new life in the Battle Corps series. I find both to be well done and worthy successors to their earlier figures, but with their own distinctive 90’s
Read moreI still have a tough time wrapping my head around the Range Viper’s look. Specifically, the head, but the rest of the figure kind of mystifies as well. I’ve always read the sculpting on the helmet as brains, which is symbolically odd, if that’s what it’s meant to represent. Why would Cobra, an organization known for symbolism in its uniform
Read moreWhen does a repaint pass from odd to over the top? I think when gold boots and gloves come into play, there’s no turning back. This exclusive Firefly very nearly reaches Funskool levels of craziness. But you know what? It somehow works for me. It’s a crimson Firefly! First off, who wouldn’t mind having a crimson Firefly? It’s been done
Read moreOf all the Cobras who dress ridiculously, and there’s no shortage of them, Dr. Mindbender had managed to consistently look like a snickerdoodle even into the new sculpt era. Before he finally donned a normal looking labcoat in Valor vs Venom, he trotted out this number, an unofficial Python Patrol outfit. This figure suffers from a particularly brutal form of
Read moreIs Zartan going to look like this in the new movie?! Uh, no. By all appearances, the master of disguise is going to look like Jonathan Pryce for most of the movie. I’m bummed that the filmmakers haven’t been able to throw even a little nod to the character’s iconic look. Sure, the 80’s style is kind of out-there, what
Read moreYesterday’s post was about a popular variant of a main character turned into a desirable mail-in that was offered through Hasbro for years. Today’s entry is a mail-in that saw release for a short time and continues to be available at rock bottom prices. The new sculpt era was laughably short on mail-ins when compared to the glory days of
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