Tomica: #105 Nissan GT-R Police Car

I'm not oblivious to Tomica having experienced some of their product when it was brought to the US courtesy of a deal with Toys R Us years ago, however most of my experience with the brand has been with items outside of the die-cast metal vehicles. At some point recently Walmart has struck a deal with Takara Tomy to bring the brand back to the US. I was excited when I first heard this news and eagerly started to check my local Walmarts. The first one I happened to find was one of the onces I was looking most forward to, the Nissan GT-R Police car.

Packaged on fairly large blister cards, the vehicle can be seen from both sides. Beneath the vehicle is the included cardboard storage box, just as how they come in Japan. The blister card itself has the familiar Tomica logo along with a large sun in the center, a nice nod to the land of the Rising Sun.

The cardboard storage box is a nice inclusion and makes these just a tad bit more collectible than your average die-cast vehicle. I wish the cardboard was a little thicker as I can see the box starting to wear down if opened/closed too much.

I'm really impressed by the overall presentation and quality. The build of the vehicle is very nice and the paint apps are nicely done. I was first introduced to the GT-R mold courtesy of Transformers Alternity and while this is a much smaller model, it's equally nice.

Oh, did I mention that the doors on both sides also open?

Over the last year or so I've been buying more Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars than I have in quite some time and I have to say Tomica has the edge over the two previous brands. I would hope this is the case since these cost five times as much as one of Mattel's iconic brands. Not all of these new Walmart Tomica vehicles have appealed to me so I've been more selective with what I've purchased, but this GT-R was a great first piece to re-experience iconic Japanese brand.

Masters of the WWE Universe: Sting

I had to admit that I was skeptical when I heard the idea of Mattel crossing over Masters of the Universe with WWE. While I'm not the biggest MOTU fan, I have bought several toys in the past. I'm also a WWE fan and while I don't really buy wrestling figures, I have liked the changes Mattel has made over the years. Once I heard they were going to be Walmart exclusives I knew my chances of finding them on local retail shelves was going to be a tough task. Originally I could only find Triple H and Fin Balor, but the figure in the first wave that I wanted the most was Sting. When I finally found one, the blister card was bent and curled...but I didn't let that stop me from buying it.

The packaging is a nice combination of the two brand, including the logo. Mattel made a backstory which is told via a small comic that is included with each figure with everything taking place in WWEternia. Corny? Clever? You be the judge.

These new figures are based of the new, upcoming Masters of the Universe Origins line. These molds look closer to the original 80's figures, but with increased articulation. The heads and hands are detachable so theoretically you could build your own original character by swapping parts if you so choose. The figures themselves stand about 5 1/2 inches tall and are full articulated. 

Sting is done in his classic "Crow" look from his days in WCW, prior to his appearance in WWE. While the upper body may be a little larger than the character it's based on, Sting's face looks fantastic and captures look of Steve Borden, the man behind the Sting character.

Sting is based on the classic Masters of the Universe villain, Clawful. He was always one of my favorite villains so I was happy with this mishmash. Sting comes with a removable claw and some stoy of claw nunchuck. I don't care too much for this weapon as it's large, heavy and hard for the figure to wield. It took me several chances to even get this photo as the figure wanted to keep falling over with this heavy weapon in his hands.

The actual claw that slips over his closed fist is pretty cool. I don't have an original Clawful figure to compare the size of the two claws, but it appears to be scaled well with the figure. The claw is articulated, allowing the bottom pincher to open and close.

The upper body will spin if you twist the upper torso. Action features were once common place in figures like this so while it's not my cup of tea, it's still a nice throw back feature. Thankfully though it doesn't take away too much from the figure itself.

While I'm not planning on going all in on this line, this is a fun novelty if nothing else...especially if you are already a fan of both brands. As of this post, wave 2 is already on store shelves with at least two more waves planned. I look forward to what else Mattel has up their sleeves while I wait for the MOTU Origins line to be released.

Star Wars Micro Force: AT-AT

Originally I didn't pay much attention to the Star Wars Micro Force line as it was just blind packaged small rubbery figures. I thought they were cool and all, but largely forgettable. Then later on I found some of the Micro Force vehicles at a Five Below store and my curiosity got the best of me. I picked up this AT-AT for $3 so let's take a look at it closer.

The AT-AT came in a small window box with a hang tab. The Star Wars logo is cast in yellow, which was the same that was used for the Solo movie line. On the back you can see some of the features of the toy along with a cross sale for more figures.

The included AT-AT Driver figure was exactly what I thought it would be...a squishy, rubbery figure. The AT-AT however was nicer than I expected. It's made of a hard plastic and while not articulated, it does have some play features.

The sculpting of this toy is really nice. Much more design worked into the tiny mold that I would have expected. The paint apps are very minimal, but are nicely applied.

The cockpit has an opening canopy as does the side of the vehicle. These are big enough to hold one Micro Force figure.

This line is called Micro Force for a reason - they are small! Just take a look at the AT-AT beside a 3 3/4" Stormtrooper! I found this to be a fun little toy and after messing around with this made me want to pick up the Snowspeeder...however I was never able to find any Micro Force toys again at local retail.

Transformers Cyberverse: Repugnus (One Step)

When I heard my favorite Monsterbot from Generation One was getting the Cyberverse treatment I was elated. Rarely has this character been given the proper treatment in toy form. He got a decent upgrade in the Titans Return line and even a small PVC figure in the Robots in Disguise Tiny Titans line, but none of these really scratched that itch that I had. Will this new One Step toy satisfy me? Read on.

It's been awhile since I've purchased one of the One Step Transformer toys. My first exposure to the simplified toys was met with a little disappointment. I know that these toys aren't aim at a 40 something guy like myself, but I was really underwhelmed. For that reason alone I was a little reluctant at buying Repugnus, but he hasn't exactly been an easy find so when I did I went ahead and grabbed him and hoped for the best.

Packaging is pretty nice as its an open blister card with the toy partially exposed. The toy looks small and that's in part to the toy being hunched over to fit in the blister. The back of the packaging shows the one step transformation and Repugnus' robot mode.

Let me say that I absolutely love the chibi look of Repugnus. I'm amazed at how well they were able to capture is G1 likeness...well minus his height! His arms are full articulated at the shoulder and elbow. His pinchers also can retract in and out in a "chomping" motion. My only gripe, and it's a small one is that you can see the backside (hollow) robot legs on the back of Repugnus while in beast mode.

Alongside his Titan Master self

Transformation is literally just one step and that's unfolding Repugnus. In robot mode he retains (most of) his G1 look, including his red and yellow color scheme. Even his robot head is pretty faithful to the source material. His original G1 toy while in robot mode did not have exposed claws on his hands, but I don't mind that they are still there on this version. With the ball joint at the elbow you can rotate his forearms to expose either the robot fists or turn side ways where he has claw hands. Speaking of the ball jointed elbow, the only other articulation this figure features is in the shoulders. The beast legs hang off the back creating a kibbly backpack. This does make the figure a little top heavy. During my photoshoot Repugnus did fall over a few times. Thankfully his legs are already angled outwards and his feet are a decent size. Being a One Step figure it really lacks some needed paint applications. At least they did manage to tampograph an Autobot faction symbol on his chest. The only thing left to improve his look is for someone to make a rifle for him. Cuing Nonnef Productions!!

Repugnus stands just a tad shy in the height department versus a regular Cyberverse deluxe class figure, as you can see here with Hammerbyte. While I don't have the few Cyberverse toys I own on display, I'm glad he melds well with the other figures under the same banner.

Overall I'm very impressed with this figure. Not only does it stroke that G1 nostalgia factor for me, it's just a well executed figure. He's hefty and has some substance, unlike some of the other One Step figures I've seen in the Cyberverse line. I'm still surprised this figure was included in line and I hope others are able to experience how much fun this figure is.

Marvel 500 Blind Bag (Series 8)

Marvel 500 is a line of bind packaged 2 inch tall PVC mini figures of various Marvel super heroes and villains. The line would prove quite popular as it would feature a total of 16 series'. Each blind bag featured the figure a trading card sized checklist of sorts.

I grabbed one bag from my local Walgreens drug store just to see what these were like. Growing up with the likes of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures and being a pretty big Marvel fan, I knew I call fall down a rabbit hole with these figures if I wasn't careful. Knowing that this was the only figure that I purchased for myself.

I purchased a Series 8 bag and ended up with Sandman. I was impressed with the sculpting of the tiny figure. The swirling sand that takes the place of his legs is a nice touch, as is the enlarged fist and mace. As you can see the figure is cast in a translucent plastic, accented with gold glitter inside to replicate the sand look. There aren't any paint apps on this figure and that's probably wise as it looks good as-is. I believe this figure first debuted in Series 3 and was cast in a solid tan color plastic.

I was tempted to grab a few others, but at a suggested retail price of $2.99 each I decided my money was better spent on other things.

Hot Wheels: American Steel - '67 Pontiac Firebird

I believe this new series of Walmart exclusives debuted at the beginning of 2020, but with the current quarantine all sense of time has seemed to disappear! Called American Steel, this collection of 10 vehicles features classic muscle cards from the 60's and 70's. Today we'll take a look at this beautiful 1967 Pontiac Firebird which is #8/10 in the collection.

While most of the cars in this American Steel series feature a shiny paint job, this Firebird stood out thanks in part to its flat black paint. The exposed silver chromed engine helped it stand out even more. The paint apps are modest at best, with orange stripes in the door along with the number '67' . The wheels aren't painted, but do feature a chrome bronze rim. The windshield and rear window appears have a smoky tint. There doors do not have windows. The mold has a copyright year of 2017 "DTW82".

While the car itself is pretty classic, I love the flat paint on this car. The only thing that would me it better was if the engine wasn't exposed. I wish I had now purchased more from this limited series as Mattel did a really nice job with these paint decos. If you can still find them at your local Walmart, pick them up!

Transformers 3rd Party: Vecma Studios - Head Warrior Wolfman VS-02

It seems that over the past few years the focus on 3rd party companies making Transformer related items has shifted from "masterpiece" scale over to "legends" scale. I for one am OK with this as generally the prices are more affordable and the figures are easier to pick up and fiddle with versus the more expensive and larger figures.

Vecma Studio appears to be yet another new company on the 3rd party Transformers scene, however I would not be surprised if it's an offshoot of another existing company. I don't know much about them, but Wolfman is the second purchase of theirs I've made and I'm quite impressed and happy with their work. Whether these are essentially KO's of Unique Toys' Palm Collection I'm still undecided, but the resemblance is uncanny.

One thing I like about these Vecma releases are the packaging. The box is made of a thick, glossy cardboard and features the classic Headmasters packaging from the Japanese Takara releases from the 80's. I know some people no longer keep packaging, but this presentation is just too nice to toss away. With the nice artwork on the front I'd love to find a way to display the box with my other vintage Japanese G1 boxes.

The contents are housed in a black plastic tray with a clear lid. The instructions are a simple folded, full color sheet. Wolfman comes with 3 accessories/weapons along with what appears to be a tiny power loader from the Alien movies. I still don't understand the inclusion of this so I'm basically ignoring it.

Once I got the figure out of the packaging I was impressed. I did notice that the right toe had a slit in the plastic that the other toe didn't. Then I realized the uneven symmetry of the legs. Once I flipped the figure over I understood the reason for the legs as I could see the "cockpit" on the backside of one leg and the rear wolf legs on the backside of the other leg. This was my first clue of the rather clever transformation this figure had.

Overall Vecma did a good job at capturing the likeness of the character. The yellow and dark turquoise used match the original Generation One toy. You'll see this first hand once we get to the comparison section of the review. 

The Headmaster gimmick is still in play!

This figure is well articulated, however you may not be able to tell that from my horrible posing ability. The area where the head plugs into is part of larger circle piece. This allows the head to be fully rotated which is something that I did not expect. The arms are on ball joints and allows for a full 360 degree rotation. The upper torso has a swivel joint to allow the top half to be rotated 360 degrees. The legs are attached to the hips via ball joints, as are the needs. The upper thighs have a swivel joint as well. The fists and feet do not have any type of joint to allow movement.

Wolfman comes with his dark turquoise gun and sword/tail as the original G1 toy. He also comes with an identical gun case in the same light gray plastic as the wolf head.

In wolf mode this figure reminded me of how the Titans Return/Legends figure of Weirdwolf. He's very slender in this form which is a drastic difference over the original G1 toy. The robot arms double as the wolf's front legs so you still have a pretty good range of motion. However the back hips peg into the body so they do not move. This does limit the poses you can pull off with the rear legs. The wolf head does rotate a full 360 degrees as part of the transformation.

Speaking of the transformation, I rather like what they did here. Earlier I mentioned how I found the symmetry of the robot legs to be off. This is because the right leg splits in half. Before you split the leg, you rotate the top half at the waist 180 degrees. Split the right leg to form the rear of the wolf. Very ingenious. The only down side to this is it does leave a few small gaps in the center of the wolf's body. Viewing the toy in beast mode from an angle doesn't expose these gaps, but from a side view they are noticeable.

You can lift up the metallic red painted cockpit to reveal an area behind the wolf's head where his Headmaster trainer, Albite can sit (or stand if you prefer).

All the joints were nice and tight straight out of the package. Thankfully they weren't so tight it felt like anything would snap during posing or transformation, but they were tight enough to hold certain poses.

Comparison time! I was able to reach into my glass case and grab out my vintage G1 Weirdwolf for the side by side shots. Wow, I haven't messed with this figure in years. While he was my favorite Decepticon Headmaster I have to say that if I'm being honest this figure really isn't that great. Once I got the two side by side you can see just how chucky the G1 version is. It is amazing however to see how far the engineering of transforming robot toys has come.

   

Here we can see the differences between the two Headmaster trainers, Albite and Monzo. For being such a small figure, I was surprised at how well he was resembled Monzo. Albite's arms are on the same peg so when you lift one arm, both arms raise. 

In head mode there are some liberties taken with the face, but I'm OK with this. A darker metallic red paint was used for the eye visor and looks great. The other noticeable difference is the absence of the flat pieces of plastic just in front of the tiny robot head/peg that effects the tech spec reader built into the body.

I do have to admit that I'm not a fan of Wolfman's chest piece featuring a hinge on the top. Of note the tech spec ratings are the same as Weirdwolf's.

 Here you can see the aforementioned gaps in the body.

This is Vecma Studio's second release thus far, with the first being Chivalrouser VS-01 aka Chromedome. While I found that figure to have less flaws than Wolfman, that does not mean that this isn't a good figure. Personally I think the robot mode is the stronger of the two forms. The flaws are so small however that they shouldn't deter you from picking up this figure if you have a budding legends class collection. It's well made and a lot of fun and will display well however you wish.