Skylanders Frito Lay Sidekicks: Whisper Elf

Skylanders.  The perfect mixture of collectible toys and addictive video game.  Whoever came up with this idea is genius.  Say what you will about Skylanders - they have been a massive hit for Activision and now with Giants being released the brand is still going strong.

Earlier in the year Activision had teamed up with Frito Lay to run a Skylanders promotion, giving away 4 exclusive Skylander figures.  Now at the time I hadn't played the game so I really had no interest.  This past summer however I caved in and bought the Xbox 360 starter kit while on a massive sale at my local Toys R Us and well...the rest is history.

I guess this proves even a 35 year old gamer like myself can fall prey to marketing traps such as this!  All joking aside I really enjoyed the game and I'll probably pick up Giants at some point.  I didn't go too crazy with buying additional figures, but I did buy a few extras to help me enjoy the game that much more.

Back in October my wife and I were shopping for our family's upcoming camping trip and she asked me to grab a big bag of individually packaged chips.  I noticed the Walmart we were at still had some of the bags with the Skylanders promotion so I grabbed one and proceeded to check out.  After we returned from our trip I grabbed the form I secured from the bag earlier and proceeded to fill it out.  Not once did I really look at what the promotion was - I just selected Whisper Elf as my first choice, enclosed the required UPC code and a check for a few bucks to cover shipping and sent it off.

The typical 6-10 week period had passed by and I completely forgot about sending in the form...until I received a small padded mailer in the mail.  I didn't recognize the return address and I was clueless as what was inside.  Aftering opening the package I find this inside:

  

First off I had no idea the figure would actually be a working piece like the other Skylander figures you can buy at retail.  Because I didn't pay close attention to what the promo was offering I just assumed it was a non-poseable character toy and not an actual game piece.

Now I've still yet to actually try this piece in the game.  I've been totally immersed into Borderlands 2 since it was released so all other games have fell to the wayside for now.  Even if this Whisper Elf character plays like the Stealth Elf character I'll still be impressed with this promotion.  I kinda wish now I would've paid attention sooner and gone after at least one of the other 3.

Mega Bloks Halo: UNSC Cryo Bay

Several weeks ago while picking up a few things @ Walmart I noticed a few new Halo Mega Bloks sets I haven't seen before.  There were several new battle packs and some of those figure sets with the large pods...none of them really grabbing my attention.  I saw a new Brute Chopper which looked cool, but then I saw this set stuck behind a few of the Choppers.

I don't have a lot of room to display toys other than Transformers so I really try and resist picking up a lot of other stuff, but I love building block sets so I had to give this one a try.  After all in this one set you get both Master Chief and Cortana!

The set is small and only clocks in with 72 total pieces.  However there is a lot of good stuff in those 72 pieces.  First I want to show off the Cortana piece.  In the blind packaged figure series there is an actual figure of Cortana, but she looks way goofy.  I know this may seem silly, but this small Cortana piece is what helped sell this set to me.  Cast in translucent blue plastic, it looks pretty darn nifty on display.

Looking at the rest of the set and you'll notice the very interesting shaped base/floor piece.  It always seems when I'm building a LEGO set that has a floor plate it's always rectangle or square shaped.  Not only is this not a square, but it's not flat either.  Look carefully and you'll notice another layer towards the middle area.

Off on the right side is a weapons rack with three guns.  All 3 are iconic in the world of Halo and I love how they hang and display so well here.  To the left of the weapons is the actual Cryo Bay itself.  The whole bay module sits on a hinged piece that allows the bay to be laid back at an angle or brought straight up to an almost standing position.  The front door also lifts up to reveal the sleeping Master Chief inside!

I should've taken a few shots of the Master Chief figure (what was I thinking?) as it's a great figure.  I noticed several changes to the typical figure mold that I've come accustomed to with the blind packaged figures I've bought.  Overall this is a great little set and I could easily see this being worked into a larger diorama type set up.  If you're a fan of the Halo Mega Bloks then I'm sure this set won't disappoint.

Transformers 2002 Botcon Europe: Rook

In July of 2002 my brother and I flew up to Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend (at the time) my third Botcon convention.  That year's exclusive toys were all branded "Expanded Universe" as opposed to Beast Wars for example as 2001's exclusives.  Of the exclusive toys that year we got 2 repainted G1 minibot keychains that Fun 4 All had recently released to specialty retailers in the U.S. - Glyph (a blue Bumblebee) and Tap Out (a metallic green Cliffjumper).  As part of the news that came out of the show was the annoucement of a new European offshoot of Botcon.  There was a show in Europe back in 1999, but there weren't any exclusive toys made.  The 2002 show however promised a exclusive toy!  Being on the Botcon mailing list the announcement was made that non-attendee sets would be made available for something like $65. At first chance I quickly filled out my registration form and sent it off.  On November 3, 2002, Botcon Europe was held at Wolsey Hall in Cheshunt, United Kingdom.  The exclusive toy was none other than Rook, a silver repaint of the Fun 4 All Windcharger keychain.

Surely you've seen this toy floating around the internet or at a toy show you've attended.  Rook has to be one of the most easily attainable official Botcon toys.  Why is that you may wonder.  According to the official Botcon site, approximately 3,000 Rook toys were made, but the official attendance numbers at Botcon Europe was only 240 people.  Who knows how many toys were sold or given away at the actual show, but Hasbro had a surplus of this figure and he would eventually be given away in the U.S. at various functions.

The toy itself isn't that bad.  The light gray combined with the blue windows is a nice look.  I hate the newly sculpted loop on the front bumper for the included keychain, but at least the chain portion is removable.

A one-time war correspondent during the Great War, Rook was famous for keeping his cool under fire on the battlefield. Never one to give up the opportunity to give the populace the truth behind the headlines, Rook made it his personal mission to report the actual state of affairs, no matter the cost. He never distinguished between Autobot or Decepticon each had their own stories to tell, regardless of their philosophy. Welcomed by Optimus Prime and tolerated by Megatron, Rook gained the respect of both faction leaders by refusing to back down from asking the tough questions, even if it meant jeopardizing his life or career. Rook became infamous during a particularly brutal siege, where Megatron and his troops were cornered within a abandoned outpost on the far side of Cybertronian Mithril Sea. He entered the fortress and convinced Megatron to work out a temporary withdrawal from the region. The irony of the situation was he had already convinced Optimus Prime of the very same thing! After a tense stalemate, both sides withdrew from the war zone and refocused their resources elsewhere during the war. When peace finally came to Cybertron, Rook realized his negotiation skills could be put to use with his penchant for reporting. Capitalizing on his celebrity status from his wartime exploits, Rook is able to get the real story behind the latest news no matter where, and when, it happens. 

Unlike the other two keychain exclusives, Rook didn't come with a trading card style tech specs.  He's an interesting character, but in the grand scheme of things a character and toy that is easily and often overlooked or forgotten.  Hardcore G1 collectors may want to add Rook to their collection, but for many you are better off saving your twenty bucks for something else.

X-Men: Blackbird

A few weeks before Thanksgiving my mom dropped off a big box full of my younger brother's toys.  Inside the box was a big green Power Rangers dragon, several ziplock bags full of small figures and parts - most of them I didn't immediately recognize.  The one thing that I immediately recognize was the big blue stealth jet - the X-Men's Blackbird.

There was a time I was heavy into reading Marvel Comics, but my toy collecting at that time really hadn't started.  I do remember buying several of the various Toy-Biz X-Men figures on clearance at Toys R Us back in the day, but I really wouldn't say I ever collected these toys.  For that reason I don't exactly remember seeing this jet / playset on store shelves, but c'mon, how can any kid or young adult my age not recognize this jet as the X-Men's?

What I didn't know about this toy was the jet "transformed" into a mobile base / battle station.  The front compartment of the jet can be removed exposing large black wheels.  I guess this could be used as a small vehicle or perhaps an escape pod?  The rest of the jet is pulled forward, allowing the top half to open up exposing a command center and a chair to rest another figure.  The rear thrusters of the jet lift up and can be rotated a full 360 degrees.  Inside the thrusters are two 90's appropriate colored neon orange missiles.  These are spring loaded and the springs are surprisingly strong - even after 18 years.

I can see why kids would have been all over this toy back in 1994.  While it's not really in scale with the 5 inch X-Men figures, the jet has a good size and lots of play value.  Inside the jet's cockpit was this figure of Storm.  It's amazing how far toys have come in the last decade plus.  I'm not sure how much my brother actually played with this toy, but overall it's in good shape.  There are a few scuffs here and there, but nothing appears to be broken.  The stickers are peeling in places, but that is somewhat expected with it's age and all.  My mother entrusted me with selling these items for my brother so I have no intention on keeping this toy, but I did have a blast messing around with the toy as I researched it before placing it on eBay.

Masters of the Universe Classics: Mer-Man

Ah, Mer-Man.  That green garbled talking, uh, merman that served Skeletor.  Of all of Skeletor's evil henchmen this guy just didn't look too menacing.  I mean you have Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Clawful, Whiplash, Two-Bad...and then this guy.

Why does he remind me so much of Beast Wars Waspinator?!

I do have to say that I much prefer his updated look.  The Classics figure does a good job melding the original design together with the Four Horsemen design.  Mer-Man comes packaged with 3 accessories - his trident, sword and an alternate head.  Pictured here is the head sculpt based on the 200X design.

  

Both his trident and sword are based on the same accessories the vintage figure came with.  Mer-Man's removable chest armor can hold his sword on his back.  I love it when action figures can hold the included accessories...cuts down on the possible lost piece down the road.

This figure looks great.  The green and yellow compliment one another nicely.  My only issue with this figure are the ankles.  I've had this guy displayed since he was originally released in April of 2009.  I noticed as I was getting ready to find Mer-Man a new home that his ankles now are horribly loose.  This effects his pose ability to some degree and how well he can stand up under his own power.  The ankle joints aren't so loose that he can't stand at all, but they are considerably looser now than they were right out of the packaging.  How this happened beats me.

One trend that MattyCollector started was the inclusion of an alternate head.  I really like this as it gives "newer" fans and collectors like myself the preferred modern look; while not completely alienating long time vintage collectors.  When I see the original head all I can picture is Stinkor.  Yeah, love the new head soooo much better.

WWE Basic Collection Series 62: Alicia Fox

I have bought a lot of different toys in my lifetime, but never have I really bothered with wrestling figures.  I remember the big rubbery WWF figures made by LJN as a young kid, but despite being a big fan of watching wrestling the toys have never caught my attention.  That was until I started reading several reviews of Bryan's over at 3B's Toy Hive.  I blame him and his great posts and photography for today's post.  He broke me.  While standing in the toy aisle looking at these Mattel WWE figures I noticed the equivalent to Transformers Prime Bumblebee - Rey Mysterio.  There had to be 8 of his one basic figure warming the pegs.  Actually the variety of characters to choose from was slim pickings...then I saw Alicia hiding in the back.  I know nothing of this line - only that Mattel took the WWE license over from Jakks Pacific a few years ago.  I had previously bought one figure (Batista) when the figures first hit retail, but I didn't keep him.  I still don't know what I'll do with this line - the figures are impressive, I'll admit that.

I can't review a toy without showing off the packaging and at least making a few comments.  Normally I wouldn't think a blister carded toy with a white backing card would stand out that much on retail shelves, but Mattel has done a nice job here.  Not only is the WWE logo quite large and noticeable, the shape of the packaging stands out.  Add in the beautiful image of the character (in this case anyway), the splash of red on the angled side with the name and you've got a nice looking presentation.  Something else that caught my eye was the "First Time in the Line!" star burst sticker on the blister bubble.  So I guess this is Alicia's "rookie" figure.

The back of the blister card is basically a large cross sell promotion. I'm used to seeing additional images of the toy along with some information about the character. I guess with wrestling you don't need that kind of back ground stuff. I will say that I've purchased one other figure from the six shown above. Care to guess which one?

Alicia Fox stands out in the WWE Divas division for several reasons. She doesn't get as much air time on television as others do, but I enjoy watching her perform inside the ring. Alicia comes with an accessory which seems kind of rare in the basic collection. At times she has graced the ring wearing this fur hoodie type piece of clothing. Mattel has done a pretty good job re-creating this piece. Thankfully however it does snap together on the front so you can remove it if you prefer.

What I'm most impressed about with these figures are the likeness of the individual that is captured in plastic. From most of the figures that I've seen in the stores, the resemblance is pretty spot on. Now Alicia has changed her hair color fairly often, but this figure looks pretty darn nice. Take a look at how close Mattel got:

Not bad, huh?

Mattel has given this figure pretty good articulation...which should be expected since it's a wrestling figure. The head seems to be sitting on a ball joint, but I can't pull the head off. It does rotate pretty freely, although her sculpted her hinders some side to side movement. The arms feature swivel joints above the biceps and in the wrists, while the shoulders and elbows are hinge joints. The legs feature a good range of movement around the hips, but her soft plastic skirt might prevent you from pulling off a sitting pose. The legs feature articulation in the knees (hinge), at the top of the boots (swivel) and hinged ankles.

Paint apps are nicely done, from the red hair to the face and the silver details on the chains and buttons on her outfit. The lower part of the legs are painted black to give the effect of taller boots being worn. I kinda like this as the knee pads I've seen on some figures look rather bulky and would hinder knee movement.

All in all this is really nice, simple figure. Mattel has done a great job not only capturing the likeness of Alicia, but not going overboard with the female build. As of this post I'm still trying to scout out some free shelf space to display her. I guess for now she'll have to hang out with Captain America and the rest of my Marvel Legends.

Playskool Go-Bots: Preditron

In the early 2000's Playskool (subsidiary of Hasbro) released a line of child friendly toys under the Go-Bots banner. Thanks in part to Hasbro acquiring the Tonka brand (and the rights to the Go-Bots/Gobots name), these chunky and easy to transform toys were pretty cool. I didn't become a father until 2009, but I didn't let that fact stop me from buying several of the early toys.

At the beginning of the Playskool line all of he toys featured cutesy looking Autobot symbols. Later on these were replaced with a large "G" logo. Never in the series was there a Decepticon or the equivalent released...until 2004's Invisibility Force wave. Preditron. The only evil Go-Bot released, but in true Transformers fashion there is more than meets the eye.

According to Preditron's small bio on the back of his packaging, Preditron is actually Beast-Bot! Somehow he was accidentally transformed into the unruly robot. The full story on the packaging reads:

 An accident has turned the once valuable Go-Bots team member Beast-Bot into Preditron. As Preditron, he creeps around in his wolf mode causing trouble across the galaxy.  He's smart and may be the biggest threat the Go-Bots team has ever faced!

All of the toys in the Invisibility wave featured translucent plastic, but in my opinion Preditron looked the best and was my only purchase.

This mold has been used several times previously, but Preditron gets an all new head sculpt...and I love it. The huge silver jaw looks awesome and for some reason when I look at this figure I get a Beagle Boys vibe from the old Duck Tales cartoon.

The reason the chest is void of much detail is that it houses the alternate forms beast head. When you lift up one arm the center will rotate around hiding the robot head and revealing the wolf head.

Not only did the robot receive a new head sculpt, but so did the beast form. His bio calls him a wolf, but I still think he looks more feline than canine.

For a kid's toy it doesn't feature as articulation as a standard Transformer would have. The arms have a swivel joint in the bicep area and in the wrists. The arms can rotate a full 360 degrees at the shoulder. The hips have the same style of joint allowing the legs to rotate all around.

Since I didn't have a proper shelf to display this guy on I ended up passing him on to my girls. They still aren't enamored with TFs like their daddy, but I do see my youngest (18 months old) carrying Preditron around the house from time to time. Even she thinks he looks like a cat as she holds him up and makes a "meow" noise!

Mighty Moprhin' Power Rangers: Alien Slotsky

Finally! We are to the last of my brother's Power Ranger figure reviews. Can we even call these reviews? This last guy has to be the goofiest of the four. If I got his name right it's Alien Slotsky. So let me get this straight. He's an evil walking slot machine that carries an axe with a big dollar sign?  Yup, that about sums it up.

This guy looks like the long lost red headed step child of the Wizard of Oz's Tinman. I think I remember seeing his guy in a bladder control medicine commercial on TV.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Master Vile

This is the 3rd Power Rangers post of 4 that I have planned. Again this is one of my little brothers toys from his childhood. And again I know nothing of this character so I'll just be describing my thoughts on this figure.

This is Master Vile. What I want to know though is what is so vile about him? Is this even a "him"? And can you even classify this as an action figure? I mean, where are the arms and legs? This is a big chunk of hollow plastic. Like the other Power Ranger villains I've previously looked at, Master Vile features a little gimmick. See that gold ball on his chest? When you roll it like a track ball (remember Centipede?) the head spins around in circles. What the heck? I don't get it. Can someone please explain this goofy character to me? He also comes with a gold staff like weapon. I'm guessing he's some sort of wizard or magician. Don't know...don't really care. Man these Power Ranger characters are down right goofy. What on earth did my little bro see in these?! One more Power Rangers review and that's it...I promise!

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Vampirus

Continuing my look at my little brothers Power Rangers toys we have the purple, vampire version of McDonald's Grimace character. Actually it's Vampirus. Again, I haven't done a Google search so I'm just going off what I have in my hands.

I get that a lot of these toys had action features built in, but I can't figure out what his is supposed to be or do. I know his little red bat wings move around in a circle - as does the tail - but is there supposed to be a trigger to activate this? And what purpose do these moving wings have? And what's with Vampirus squinting as such? He looks like he is either staring into the sun or just ate a piece of Xtreme Warheads sour candy. His included weapon is a silver staff of some sorts, but he can't even hold it very well. This character may have come across on the television show as a cool character, but once translated to plastic...well, it sucks.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rito Revolto

When I started this blog a few years ago never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine featuring a Power Rangers review. Sigh. My mom dropped off a big box of toys a few weeks ago full of my younger brother's toys. He was big into Power Rangers and the old Toy-Biz X-Men stuff...apparent by the contents of the box. Funny thing is I can remember a few Christmas' where he got a lot of the original Power Rangers toys.

My mom had asked me to sell these toys for my brother since she figured I would know the best way to promote them online. Now while I may have a good knowledge of toys from my childhood, I know little to nothing about Power Rangers outside of the horribly goofy television show. So after researching these toys I figured why not create a new tab and review a few of the figures for the blog. Most of my reviews are from a perspective of someone who knows the toy, franchise or brand...but not this time!

Rito Revolto. Wow, what a name. Without doing a specific Google search on this character I know nothing about him. When I pulled the figure out of the box it was missing the right arm and the backpack bazooka thing was in a separate zip lock bag. Thankfully that was easy to match up thanks to the camo, but it took awhile before I realized I had his rifle. Inside the box of toys were several zip lock bags full of nondescript action figure weapons and accessories.

Rito looks like a military skeleton, though why the half white and half camo is beyond me. The figure features articulation in the shoulders and hips, but that is about it. The arms and legs are molded in their half bent shape which limits how you can stand the figure. Lots of sculpting though exists in the figure...kind of surprising for a figure that hails from 1994. The interesting part of the figure is the bazooka thing. There are 3 peg holes on the back of the figure that match up with the pegs on the gray backpack. Attached to the backpack is a small clear tube that connects to what looked like an arm appendage. This appendage actually slides over the camo arm effectively arming him with a new weapon. On the back of the backpack is a small button that when pushed in pumps air through the tube and "shoots" the bazooka. When I say shoot I don't mean launch. The red piece is attached to the appendage piece so when the air is being pumped through the red piece just extends in and out.

Of all the Power Ranger villains I pulled out of the box this guy looks the best...but that might not be saying much!

Transformers Masterpiece: Optimus Prime

Oh how long have I waited for this figure!  Back in 2003, Takara created a new series of Transformers called Masterpiece.  These large scale, intricate figures featured a mixture of die-cast metal and plastic along with articulation that Transformer figures just didn't have.  A lot of the figures featured homages to their cartoon counterparts and were a smash hit with collectors all over the world.  Convoy, MP-01, was the first release in the Japanese Masterpiece series.  I can still remember my excitement over this figure.  I gladly dropped $65.00 down on a pre-order and began to (impatiently) wait for the figure's arrival.

3 years later Takara released MP-06.  Largely Convoy (or Optimus) was unchanged, but the selling point for this release was the inclusion of his trailer.  I oh so wanted this toy, but the $200 or so price tag was a major roadblock for me.  I remember seeing a few guys at Botcon in 2006 walking around the dealer room holding this mammoth box.  I remember that ugly green monster starting to rear it's head as well.  I never did grab the figure.  For awhile I regretted my decision of not going after the MP-06 release, but thankfully that is all in the past now that I have the Hasbro version of Takara's MP-10 release.

Masterpiece Optimus Prime comes packaged in this huge box.  Like with other Masterpiece figures previously released by Hasbro, the box is constructed of a bottom cardboard tray with a thick plastic "shell" forming the top half.  The box does a good job showing off his included accessories including his rifle, energon axe, Roller, Spike Witwicky figure and the die-cast metal Matrix of Leadership!

As you can see in the packaging, Optimus Prime comes in robot mode with the Matrix exposed.  Sadly I forgot to take pictures of him with this chest exposed once I got him out of the packaging...so take a good look at the above pictures.

Hasbro's release of MP-10 features a more cartoon accurate look while Takara Tomy's release had a more G1 toy look.  I prefer the Hasbro look for two reasons.  1) Lower cost and 2) I just think the figure looks better in these colors.

I can't even begin to explain how awesome this toy is - how much improved upon it is over the original MP-01 release.  This is the definitive version of Optimus Prime to own.  Optimus has a lot of articulation for a figure it's size - head, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, fingers, upper torso, thighs, knees (hinge & swivel) and ankles.  Even his iconic blaster rifle is articulated - kind of.  One of my pet peeves about the old G1 toy were the removable fists and the rifle.  What do you do with them after you've transformed him into truck mode.  The fists could fit in the cab's front thanks to the old Diaclone feature, but you were left with keeping up w/ his rifle.  Not anymore!

Optimus' rifle folds up nicely into a rectangle shape and can be easily stored in a new compartment on the back of the figure.  This may be a small feature about the toy, but I love it.  Self contained figures/accessories are a winner in my book.

In addition to Prime's blaster rifle, you also get this cool orange energon axe that he used in battle against Megatron atop Sherman Dam in the old G1 cartoon.  The bottom part of the axe is molded to simply fit over Optimus's fist.  It fits snugly and looks pretty darn cool if you ask me.

The trailer can double as a repair bay for Optimus when in robot mode.  On each side of the trailer is a gray piece of plastic that folds out to store his weapons...another small, but very nice touch.  I don't particularly use the trailer in this fashion, but it's nice to see that the designers included this feature.

Optimus Prime is equally as impressive in truck mode as he is in robot mode.  The truck cab is so beefy...I love it!  From the rubber tires to the subtle additions like the yellow lights on top, I'm so impressed with the vehicle look.  If I had the space and could afford a second MP Prime, I'd be all over it as I would love to display this toy in both forms.

  

One of the included accessories is a small Spike Witwicky figure.  Spike is scaled perfectly to sit inside Prime's truck cab.  Both front windshield panels swing open to reveal a seat for the small figure.

One of the other accessories is Roller.  What G1 Optimus Prime release would be complete without his little buddy Roller?  Even this version of Roller has been given the Masterpiece treatment.  Not only can he hold Spike, but the rear compartment can open up to haul Prime's trailer (which sadly I forgot to photograph!).  He can also wield Prime's rifle so he isn't this little defenseless Autobot anymore.

Roller fits nicely inside Prime trailer.  The rear of the trailer's doors swing open and the a ramp extends from below allowing Roller or the newly released Masterpiece Lambor (Sideswipe) to drive up inside.

Prime's trailer opens up just like the G1 variety and features pretty much the same look.  The small "battle stations" on each side that were originally designed for the small Diaclone figures have been upsized as well and scaled for the included Spike action figure.  I didn't bother to photograph this it  becuase when when I originally took these pictures it was late and I was in a hurry to wrap this up.

How iconic is this?

As I said earlier, this is the definitive version of G1 Optimus Prime to own.  While I love the original MP-01 release, this toy is superior.  First of all I like the smaller scale and the inclusion of the trailer puts it over the top.  The toy is exclusive to Toys 'R Us stores so it isn't the easiest to find.  It's original MSRP was $99.99, but has since climbed to $119.99.  He's readily available on the secondary market, but be prepared to pay as much as double.  If you can grab him for retail or close to retail then do it...you won't regret it.

Before I wrap this up I had to grab G1 Prime off my shelf and snap a few comparison pics so you could get an idea of the new MP scale.  Take a look.

Tried to recreate the death of Optimus scene from the '86 animated movie