KO Korner: Double Dragon (Monsterbot Doublecross)

I can't exactly remember when or who I acquired this nice little piece from, but it's one of the few boxed G1 Transformers KOs that I still have in my collection. From what I can tell, this is a Korean release and is obviously based off the Autobot Monsterbot, Doublecross. In small print across the bottom it says Dae Dong Co. The box is made of a very thin/cheap cardboard. The colors are still quite vibrant. The large black front at the top of the box translates to Tususa Ssangyong Robot, however I'm not sure how accurate that is. The diagonal font across the middle reads "Dragon, the son of fire, who fights for justice!" "He came to us to preserve peace on Earth."

The figure comes nestled inside a very cheap plastic tray. This insert is so brittle you have to take the utmost care removing or inserting the figure. The plastic in the bottom of each recessed area is very thin. You can see the figure comes bundled with two accessories the original Doublecross did not come with, a large red sword and a blue shield. I have no idea of these accessories were "borrowed" from another toy release or are unique to this release. The sticker on the shield appears to be some type of unicorn?

Double Dragon comes molded in a very bright huge of blue, red and yellow. The plastic quality is surprisingly better than I expected. It's not oily or too light feeling, but of course not on par with the plastic Hasbro/Takara were using at the time. The only paint apps are a small black blobs of paint on the eye visor, eyes of the dragon heads and nostrils. There are 3 stickers pre-applied to the chest, but the adhesiveness of these is all but gone on my copy.

Once you wield Double Dragon with his weapons, it's a great looking piece. If you prefer a gun, you're in luck has he can also wield Doublecross' original white blaster.

You may have noticed the lack of wings on Double Dragon and those wouldn't be the only changes made. Other than the missing wings, the top half of the robot is molded very closely to that of the original. The front of the shoulders are missing the raised circles and there are some molded details to the abdomen area that are missing (replaced with the sticker). Even the dragon heads are very close to Doublecross. The KO obviously does not contain the sparking gimmick of the original so you won't find that mechanism inside the dragon heads. The trigger fin on the back of Doublecross has also been omitted on the KO.

The major differences in the mold comes in the bottom half. Double Dragon features a set of generic robot legs and does not have the ability to transform at all, thus no dragon legs or tail halves. The upper legs/thighs however do seem to be the same.

Overall I find this KO to be a quirky, charming addition to my G1 KO collection. I wish that it had the ability to transform, but it's unique colors and weapons helps it stand out as a highlight piece. I haven't really sought out this figure on the secondary market so I can't really comment on it's availability or price, but if you are a fan of KOs in general or just a fan of the Doublecross character, I do recommend this toy.

NECA Toony Terrors: Jason Voorhees

 

While I am a pretty big fan of horror, especially 80's slashers like Friday the 13th, I don't often buy horror themed figures or statues. I only have this in my collection due to a customer giving it to me after I made them some killer deals (pun intended) at a NC Underground toy swap a few months back.

I've seen these in the NECA section at my local Target stores before, but never paid them much attention. Now that I have one in my possession, Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) may end up being purchased...maybe even Freddy Kruger (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as well.

The Toony Terrors line features iconic horror icons in a not so scary manner. Jason Voorhees stands at 6 inches tall and features 5 points of articulation - head, shoulders, hips/legs. I can't place the movie that Jason wore this particular outfit he's dressed in, but it works. His hockey mask looks fantastic. There aren't any cuts taken out of the mask, so I'm putting this one in the part 2 or 3 time period. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Jason is wearing a tattered green button up shirt with what appears to be a blue undershirt. There is a ripped section on his left sleeve. The buttons on the shirt are also blue. His pants are brown and also look a little tattered, a small hole can be found in the thigh of his right leg. To finish it out he's wearing a pair of black boots. 

Jason comes included with his trusty machete. The blade has some stylized blue paint to mimmick it shining in the light. It fits snuggly in his right hand, which is posed with a bend at the elbow. His left arm just hands down, which I'm fine with...but his hand is open and looks a little odd.

The back of the blister card features a small background that can be cut out. I'm not sure if I'll end up keeping this, but it's a nice little bonus I guess. Overall this is a fun little figure. If I still worked in an office, I'm sure this would reside somewhere on my desk. In the meantime, I'll have to work Jason in on my horror movie shelf somehow. I believe these retail for $14.99 if you're so inclined to pick one up for yourself. Happy Friday the 13th!

Greenlight Garbage Pail Kids: Frye Day

 

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! I hope everyone survives the scariest day of the year! For today's post I wanted to share a collaboration between Greenlight Collectibles and Topps' Garbage Pail Kids that I thought was perfect for today's "theme".

Frye Day was included in series 2 of the line and features a reproduction of the vintage GPK card/sticker as well as a 1970 Jeep CJ-5.

For the most part I really enjoy the 1:64 scale vehicles that Greenlight Collectibles has released. The GPK line is hit and miss with the vehicle selection in my opinion, but this is a great vehicle and choice for the Friday the 13th theme. I believe it was in the original flick that one of the caretakers of Camp Crystal Lake drove a jeep similar to this one.

The Jeep has a nice metallic dark green paint with a removable hard plastic top that is to resemble to a soft top. There aren't any opening parts on this vehicle. The rubber tires are thick and have "Garbage Pail Kids" written in white on the walls of the tires, including the spare tire on the back, 

I nice little added touch is the inclusion of Jason Vorhees' iconic white hockey mask tampoed on the rear window of the vehicle. I don't think I noticed this until I recently took the Jeep out of it's plastic prison!

How are you spending your Friday the 13th? I might just pull out my Blu-Ray collection of Friday the 13th movies and give the original a spin again. Whatever you do to celebrate the day, have fun and stay out of the woods!

Super7 ReAction GI Joe Cobra Mothership Crowd Funding Campaign

In recent years it seems like the GI Joe brand has been going through a resurgence with the amount of new product being released. While I haven't really featured much of Hasbro's current Classified line here on the blog, they have consistently been pumping out some fantastic figures...maybe a little too fast? Another company though has been standing in the shadows of Hasbro if you will, producing two different lines based on the Joe franchise, Super7. 

Super7 already had a line of 3 3/4" figures called ReAction. These are simple figures with just 5 points of articulation. For the Joes, they are based on the 80's Sunbow animated show and look pretty fantastic. I've had a few figures hanging on my wall, but recently decided to take them down and open them up...and wow! These figures look like they jumped right off my childhood television screen. I'm obviously late to this party, but discovering all of these deep cuts from the show has been a lot of fun.

For a few weeks I've heard rumblings of something big coming from Super7 and then at the New York Toy Fair the curtain was pulled back and the massive Cobra Mothership was revealed. If this looks familiar to you, it should as it was prominently featured in one of the cartoon's openings. A new crowd funding campaign has just launched and I thought I'd share the newsletter email I received. Look it over, then I'll share my thoughts on this project below.

Now’s your chance to join the Cobra ranks with this massive Cobra Mothership crowdfund vehicle! Measuring over 32” in diameter, the Cobra Mothership is custom built to scale with 3.75” ReAction Figures as well as vintage G.I. Joe O-Ring Figures.

 

A minimum of 4,000 backers are needed to bring the largest ship in the Cobra fleet to life. With additional backers, everyone gets additional accessories to make the Cobra Mothership even more menacing!

At over 32” in diameter, the Cobra Mothership is built to scale with 3.75” ReAction Figures as well as vintage G.I. Joe O-Ring Figures.

 

With multiple hidden defense turrets and special lighting effects on the forbidding exterior, remove the ship's five top panels to reveal a Command Center with a rotating Giant Globe, an armory to store the arsenal of included weapon accessories, a prison cell with functional handcuffs to keep captives secure, explosives storage on either side of the posterior ramp (to drop explosives on unsuspecting Joes below!), and more!

 

Since every vehicle needs a crew, the Cobra Mothership will come with an exclusive Cobra Viper Gunner ReAction Figure and an exclusive Cobra Viper Gunner O-Ring Figure, along with an array of weapon accessories, three thruster display stands, and a sticker sheet!

Early Funding Bonus: If we reach our base goal of 4,000 backers by 11:59 PM PT on October 22nd, everyone that ordered by this date will receive two Cobra Escape Parachutes in addition to the Cobra Mothership. Perfect for use with any figure (and even a certain Commander), the soft goods parachutes will be fully functional! 

To fill every available seat on the Cobra Mothership, there are two separate Cobra Viper Gunner 5-packs that are also available to fans that order the Cobra Mothership- a Cobra Viper Gunner ReAction Figure 5-pack and a Cobra Viper Gunner O-Ring Figure 5-pack. These troop-building packs are only available for order during the campaign window- don’t forget to add the fearsome fivesomes to your Cobra Mothership crew!

This crowd funding campaign is currently live at the time of this post. At $495.00 this thing isn't cheap, but man I love it. From the limited footage I've previously seen on YouTube, this thing is awesome and I'm sure it'll go down as being another "holy grail" type item for many Joe collectors. What I didn't expect was the inclusion of new o-ring figures?! This will sure entice some of those older A Real American Hero collectors to dip their toes into the ReAction waters. I figured it would be compatible if you will with vintage o-ring figures, but new figures to boot? This will be an interesting campaign to watch and see how it fairs. The size is impressive, but will that deter some people from backing it? If some collector's held off on backing Hasbro's HasLab campaign for the Classified Dragonfly helicopter for lack of space reasons, then surely a vehicle this large will pose some display problems for collectors. That price too...ouch! In today's economy, I can't see everyone that wants one buying it.

If you do want to back this project by the way, visit their site...but hurry, the campaign ends soon!

While I love what Super7 is doing and I give them a standing ovation for continuing to offer 3 3/4" collectors items that Hasbro never offered, this is one that I'll just have to watch in awe from the sidelines. I do hope some smaller vehicles, like the Flight Pods that in the stretch goals, are offered to regular retail at some point. Until then, I've still got a lot of catching up to do with just the regular figures, but what's your take on this massive ship/campaign? Are you backing it? Sound off in the comments! 

Hot Wheels: 2022 Collection - Porsche 911 GT3 (Factory Fresh #5)

Porsche 911 GT3 (Factory Fresh #5)

Of all of the Porsche models released under the Hot Wheels banner, this has to be one of my favorites, if not my favorite. The flat matte black looks great with the gray wheels. This is just a banger of a vehicle and one that I will gladly buy in any color scheme!

Transformers Legacy Evolution: Dinobot Sludge (Core Class)

   

I've been sitting on this figure since February where I picked it up from a comic shop while I was in Wilmington, NC for a wedding. I'm glad I went ahead and grabbed it because the initial distribution of this wave of Core Class figures in my area was horrible. 

The draw here is that the Dinobots combine. I've never been a fan of this idea (and won't be displaying them this way), but with this combining feature in mind, I do believe we may see these toys released as the Japanese exclusive Dinoforce team. Afterall, those toys did combine (well, the inner Pretender robots did) to form the combiner Dinoking.

I'll start off with saying for a Core Class figure, this isn't a bad representation of the Dinobot, Sludge. It doesn't faithfully re-create the G1 toy on a smaller scale, but you can tell who he's meant to be. Sure, he has dinosaur kibble hanging off his hips and the "wings" he normally has in robot mode aren't attached to his back (they are on the back of his arms), but the sculpt isn't bad. I quite like the head as it looks like the classic character.

Articulation wise the arms do move at the shoulders a full 360 degrees. The legs are attached to the hips with a disc shape joint and allow the legs to move freely, however the dino kibble on his waist will hinder some of the overall leg movement.

Sludge's dinosaur mode (Apatosaurus?) has all sort of issues...where do we start. First of all the tail is almost non-existent. It's more of a stub than a tail. The back legs are also way out of proportion that it throws off the look of the dino. Most of the toy features gray, non-painted plastic. He does feature some silver paint on the upper portion of his back and of course the gold highlights on the back and head. The legs do move, but you're limited in your posting due to short, squatty legs.

If you so choose to combine Sludge with his fellow Dinobots, he does form the lower upper body/waist of the combiner. Getting him combiner ready is fairly easy as you just rotate his arms straight up, fold up the legs and position them on each side of his waist. Doesn't look like much, but once you start attaching some of the other Dinobots it's not a bad design...I just don't like combining Dinobots in my world of Transformers.

Overall I find Sludge to be a charming Core Class figure, but it's not without it's faults. Usually I like to display my Dinobot figures in dinosaur mode, but this is one of those rare cases where I feel like the robot mode is the strongest of the two forms. I think you can pass on this figure (and the rest of the Core Class Dinobots) unless you are a major Dinobot fan or a completionist. There are far better figures in of this price point in the Legacy series.

Tomica: #49 Toyota Coaster Kindergarten Bus

Part of the Walmart exclusive Tomica series comes an interesting vehicle and showcases just how Japanese and authentic this line can be, Toyota Coaster Kindergarten Bus. I don't really have any commentary for this release other than it's a rather cool looking yellow Japanese school bus.