Mega Construx: Terminator Genisys - T-800

The last great Terminator movie was the second movie, yet the franchise is still alive thanks to the latest installment, Genisys. I can't say I'm a fan, but I didn't hesitate too much when I found this T-800 Terminator Mega Construx figure in the clearance bin for a buck.

I'm more familiar with the older Mega Bloks brand, only purchasing a few Masters of the Universe Mega Construx figures prior to this purchase. I do like the larger figure stands that are included. The T-800 comes with a machine gun (that has a way too long handle IMO) and a white skull accessory.

Ever since I picked up my first Mega Bloks HALO mini figure, I have liked these figures. If it weren't for all the other things I collect, I may have gone head first into more of these series and figures. The level of detail included is absolutely gorgeous, especially on the head sculpt. Like with all of the mini figures that Mega Construx has released, the articulation is excellent for a buildable figure of this scale.

I found this to be a fun little "desk bot" to fiddle around with and I would think despite what you think of the source material, if you are a fan of the Terminator franchise you would like this mini figure.

Mega Construx Halo: Battle for the Ark Blind Bag - Captain James Cutter

Have you ever been walking the toy department of your local retail store not being able to find what you were specially looking for, but had an itch to buy something anyhow? Well that's the basic story behind today's post.

While I purchased and reviewed past Halo sets under the Mega Bloks banner, I really can't say I pay a lot attention to them and I definitely don't collect them. I guess you could call me casual fan at best. My local Walmart (still to this date) had tons of trays containing this particular wave of blind packaged mini-figures. I took a look at the package and though "why the heck not".

There are 7 different figures and one mini ship (?) in this wave. Like with past assortments, the figures come in varying rarity - green for common, yellow for rare and red for ultra rare. Being a fan of the Halo video games, I was familiar with all but one of the characters...the rare translucent hologram. Of course this is the one I ended up with! I was really hoping that I get one of the UNSC figures, the Brute or even the Grunt.

A quick Google search told me that the figure I pulled was Captain James Cutter. Apparently he first made his appearance in the Halo mythos in the Genesis book, which was a prequel of sorts to the Halo Wars video game. That's why I didn't know who he was...I just stuck to the mainline Halo games.

I really don't know what to say about the figure other than it's small, blue and translucent. He comes with a pistol and a figure stand. The problem with these translucent figures is that the sculpted detail gets lost without paint apps. I guess it's cool, but I can't say I was exactly thrilled. I kept thinking that I would try my luck again in hopes I'd get another character I'd know and appreciate more, but since this was a more or less impulse purchase, I haven't gotten around to revisiting the Mega Construx Halo toys since.

Toys 'R Us: December 21, 2016

I meant to get this posted before Christmas, but you know how the holidays can go. Anyhow, I had to make a quick trip to my local TRU store in Pineville, NC the week of Christmas and I thought why not document my trip if you will. I always get a kick out of those old photos of the toy aisle that you see pop up on the internet from time to time. I thought why not take a few photos of the aisles I was browsing and share them. Remember, you can click on any of the pictures for a larger view.

The dedicated Nexo Knights end cap display prominently at the front of the Lego section. Nothing new here, but the sheer awesomeness of these sets will still attract your attention.

I started my visit in the Lego section like I normally do. I usually gravitate to the City section since that has traditionally been my favorite theme, however the Nexo Knights have caught my attention ever since they were released in early 2016. The good thing about late December is you can sometimes find some of the new sets already out on shelves. This was the case as I found several of the new Nexo Knights themed sets for 2017. If only I had more space and money I'd buy all of these sets!

Across from the Nexo Knights section was the aforementioned City theme sets. I noticed a few new sets, like the Pizza Van, but many of these were sets that have been out for awhile now. Surprisingly I didn't see many of the "Cops vs Crooks" sets I've seen at places like Target and Walmart. The selection was still pretty good, especially if you don't have a Lego store nearby.

The end cap around the corner from the City section was supposed to be spotlighting the new sets, but it had been picked over. I swear that jet and limousine set looks awfully familiar. I keep saying I'm going to buy that construction set w/ the Port-A-John before it disappears from retail shelves.

Being the Marvel van that I am, I didn't bother to take pictures of the DC Super Heroes sets! I should mention that many of the larger Marvel sets were actually on the action figure aisle shelves. Other than one small Captain America set from when Lego first started releasing Marvel sets, I've stayed away. It's not because I don't like the sets, but like other collectors I only have so much money and room for my collections. This new Spider-Man and Ghost Rider set looks pretty cool though.

My wife and I finally caught the new Star Wars Rogue One movie in the theatres as part of our wedding anniversary celebration on New Year's Day. Man oh man was that a great movie! Makes some of these new sets that more intriguing, especially that new TIE fighter.

Before leaving the Lego area, I walked around to where the Mega Bloks were and noticed a few of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets. I've seen the Krang set before, but the Turtle van and Technodrome I hadn't seen before...at least in person. I couldn't believe the $249.99 price tag of the Technodrome however. Guess I shouldn't be surprised as it looks to be similar in size to the Lego Star Wars Deathstar.

After finishing in the building block section, I made my way around to the other side of the store where the action figures were. I first went down the comic themed aisle, looking specifically to see if there were any of the new Spider-Man/Sandman Marvel Legends figures. There was one lone figure of the Jackal, but that was it. The rest of the selection was average fare...Absorbing Man, Ant Man, Juggernaut and Dormammu Build-A-Figure waves. There were a few of the 4 inch figures that I hadn't seen before. The figures of Gamora (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Rage (New Warriors) were particularly favorites of mine. I will eventually pick up that figure of Rage as the New Warriors was the first Marvel title I read when my brother first introduced me to comics in 1990.

Sadly the Transformers section was pretty poor. It had been shopped, but not well managed by the store staff. Do you ever find yourself tidying up the shelves and pegs at your local stores like I do? I couldn't help to put things back in the right spots...I guess it comes from all those years I worked retail while in high school and college. The only new items I saw was the new packaging for Robots in Disguise. They had the new wave of Legends figures, but TRU is asking $8.99 when they can be bought for $5.99 at Target/Walmart. I'm OK with a small mark up, but $3? Come on, man!

What I didn't intend on seeing on this visit was Playmates new Voltron toys. These of course are based on the new Netflix series. I started to watch the new show while on vacation last week, but after walking 6 miles through the streets of Savannah, GA I just couldn't make it very long and fell asleep. I'll have to revisit the show again very soon.

The non-combing lions were present, as well as some figures of the enemy. There was a full set of the combining lions which was surprising...especially after I've heard from others that they have been hard to find. There was 3 of the black lion too. I was tempted, but ultimately held off since Christmas was just around the corner.

The last section I checked out was the "collector's area" that has taken over a part of the R Zone where the video games and other electronics are held. This is where you find a lot of the comic and movie franchise figures. There didn't seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason to the way this area was set up, however there was some cool stuff there. I particularly liked the Funko Dark Crystal figures...always loved that old Jim Henson movie.

Well that about wraps it up. I wanted to take more pictures in the action figure aisles, but being that it was only a few days left before Christmas the store was busy. I was already getting odd looks from other customers taking the pictures that I did, so I just settled for what I had. 

I will make mention that I visit a TRU store in Greenville, SC when I travel for work and it's a much nicer store. It's one of those combined TRU / Babies R Us stores so it's much larger. The video game area usually leaves a lot to be desired, but their Lego and action figure sections are always well stocked. The store also seems to be given more attention than the one located near me.

Mega Bloks Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Series 1 Blind Bags

It doesn't seem that long ago that LEGO had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles license for building blocks. Now said license has transferred to Mega Bloks and boy are they making good use of it. A quick stroll down the building block aisle at my local Target and I see several different sets of varying sizes for TMNT.

  

Being a sucker for blind packaged toys I had to pick up one bag (or maybe a few more!) to see what Mega Bloks was doing w/ the TMNT franchise. A quick scan of the back of the packaging and I see a total of 8 possible figures - the 4 turtles, Krang, a Foot soldier, a translucent red Shredder and a mystery figure.

Finding a bag w/ one of the turtles is rather easy thanks to their rounded shell. Two (Donatello & Raphael) of the four turtles are easier to obtain than the others. I'm not sure what the significance of the red Shredder is and I still don't know who the 8th mystery figure is.

  

I have purchased a few of the Mega Bloks Halo sets so I kinda knew going in what these figures would be like, but I didn't expect the figures to be this nice! The level of detailing for a $3 bling packaged figure is amazing. The figures are based off the current Nickelodeon show so they have goofy facial expressions and the large knee pads.

The figures have to be assembled. The arms were already attached in the bag, but they do pop off. The turtle head has mold bumps for the eyes, this helps keep the bandana on, but it also makes it hard to fit the piece on the head. The belt is a rubbery plastic that you have to stretch to fit over the body of the figure. I like that you can sheath Donatello's bo staff on the back.

The figure has a good amount of articulation for such a small figure. Ball jointed shoulders and hips and hinge joints at the knees. Sadly no elbow articulation, but the wrists to rotate a full 360 degrees.

If you're wondering why Donatello has a heart painted onto his front side, it's because he's been staring at this sketch of April O'Neil he comes packaged with.

Overall I really like what Mega Bloks has done with these figures and I eagerly await the 2nd series of blind packaged figures. I don't know if I'll pick up any of the larger sets, but I do like how the Turtles that come in those sets vary in deco from these blind packaged versions. At only $3 each, I encourage you to pick up a bag or two and check out these fun little toys.