toy showdown

I wish I had some place in my collection for Stryker Lock. Totally legit sofubi and not that Funko mass-produced "inspired by" vinyl crap. I'm seriously tempted to buy one anyway. But...which...one?

The flower pattern is fine on the other Splinter in Toy Ark's bagged group shot. Paint variation is just a statistical inevitability. And while Lego Splinter may still hold the crown for most-accurate toy Splinter, this is still worlds better than any Playmates attempt. Playmates doesn't even paint their toys anymore. We are the chosen few. There is one error that started with the control art, though. It's the skateboard. On the show, the Agro-Rilla logo is on the bottom (under the board), not the top. But it looks good on the toy while leaving a good excuse to revisit the accessory. I'm going to grab one of those set-of-nine listings and then buy extras when Zeck-R-Us hits.

I'd honestly prefer Machine Man not be in a box set, because he should be like Stilt-Man - if you buy more than one set you have more parts to play around with. So I'd say something like Machine Man (Classic) / Ultron (Classic) with a variant of Machine Man (X-51) / Ultron. Specialty would be the great place to get a box set of Daimon Hellstrom, Satana Hellstrom, Man-Thing, Brother Voodoo, and a micro-figure of Howard the Duck. That should hopefully pull numbers to do a second set.

Gerard Sanders was Howard Stark for his brief appearance in the first Iron Man movie.

I guess this answers the question, "What do I do with that extra pair of Selvig underpants legs?"

Never thought I'd be looking up Thomas & Friends playsets for a Marvel Minimates display.

Just using the AOU vs. teaser poster, there's MODOK, Grim Reaper, Leader, and Batroc. The first two would get a reuse out of their unique parts, and the last two would hopefully pave the way for regular versions down the road.

Back in stock at toysrus.com Ezekiel http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=57537736 Andrea http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=57537646 Edit: And out again.

The DST listing makes it sound like the top-secrets aren't packed together, though. http://www.diamondselecttoys.com/marvel-minimates-series-63-avengers-age-of-ultron-movie-series-2-asst I'm pretty sure we'll all be buying whatever it is, so long as it's not another Thor/Cap pack.

There is at least one pre-order online for Which I'm hoping is true. Directly related? Maybe not. But still something I want.

I grabbed one Witch and one Widow set from TRU, leaving one Witch, one Widow, and four Caps on the pegs. So if anyone asks your advice for what to buy a kid for his birthday, you know where to point them. I didn't get an in-stock notice for Widow or Witch, so they either sold out really quickly, or Thor/Cap really is the only one that reached toysrus.com so far. I think surrounded by drones, Ultron will look better. If he used repurposed Modern Cylon parts there would be more of a disconnect even if he did look more screen-accurate.

Two shows just screams "twice the filler" to me. I'd rather have one tightly-written, lean show. The Lone Gunmen were killed off when they returned to the X-Files, and there really aren't any characters of AOS that I want to gamble like that.

I mean, there are still going to be Hasbro figures. But they'll fall into the same two camps they already do. Marvel Universe 4" with the decreased articulation and practically specialty-market distribution. Marvel Legends 6" like the Puck and Jubilee series which were blink and miss them assortments. There will be mutants. But never in a way that promotes or acknowledges the Fox movie content. Marvel probably would have pulled its logo off the Wolverine and DOFP assortments if it didn't mean Fox getting 100% of the credit for them.

Buck Rogers gets a nasty case of Chestburster, and Wilma runs off with Star-Lord. Because, Minimates.

I'd think DST would want to focus more on X-properties next year, especially with Marvel's mass merchandising freeze on them. I'd say comic book styled 2-pack waves and movie styled 4-packs. For both Apocalypse and Deadpool, that's at least 24 figures that Hasbro won't be doing. May as well let all that money flow into the specialty market instead.

The Day SHIELD Fell box set with Gonzales, Hartley, Mack, and Morse would be a great way to kick things off. Next week will lay more groundwork for a Calvary set featuring Agent May. Ming-Na Wen has helped develop a character that deserves to stand next to the Avengers on your shelf. DST could just take a grocery list of characters and randomize them, but I think the better strategy is to plan around storylines that are strong on their own but also leave enough unsaid to let your imagination take over. Otherwise, you'll wind up with Marvel versions of Big Bang, which are good Minimates but will likely be stuck in the same living room positions for years to come. SHIELD can do so much more than just a cast photo.

Rogue was #4 on CBR's Marvel popularity poll last year. So many good choices left, too. I'd go with 80's, Savage Land, X-Treme, and Messiah Complex. If they're really going through with the Rogue Cut of DOFP, then I'd say she's just about the best candidate for the format. Storm beat Rogue to reach #2 on that poll, but she'd be more or less three solid do-overs (FA, Mohawk, 90's) and a modern look. Which wouldn't be bad at all, but wouldn't interest those who want all-new, all-different looks to collect from these. But looking at how overall popular the X-Men were on the poll, I'd say themed sets like Wave 60 are more the way to go than singling out one character for a box set. Rogue, Ka-Zar, and Zabu would be 75% of a Savage Land box set though...

This really is good news. Strong chain distribution as well as an online option with free shipping $25+ and a PayPal option. Proto-Boba sold out, but you can still get Agent Venom online with a limit of two. Should be plenty of 'Mates to go around. But should we mark our calendars for September, or take port congestion in account and mark somewhere between mid-October and early November? Also, if you search Minimates at Walgreens now, it will change it to "mini mates" giving you one result for a vibrator which, looking at the product details, probably does not have mix and match parts.

Steranko's all right with Rocksteady. Zeck hates Bebop. The show tried really hard to make the names sound good. I mean, after "Pork Rind and Chili Cheese Fry," "Sprinkles and Hot Sauce," and "The Royal Weenies," they kind of do. But having Mikey pull them off the side of a truck was a bit silly. They didn't even get a title card like Hun, who, with his chest and arm tattoos, would be more than just another guy in dark clothing. I like the design. They could have called him pretty much anything other than Hun, though.

Everyone wants the Grimm set. Eight boobs, twenty bucks. That's only $2.50 each. It's not the port congestion that bothers me. Automation will fix that eventually. It's that by the time an automated system is in place, it will cost significantly more to manufacture in China than the US without factoring in transportation costs. But that's what the growing Chinese middle class is for. Zach's successor down the road is going to be fluent in Mandarin. Bùhǎoyìsi, yǒushì. Yàozǒule.

If DST could somehow work in a running change of Hulk with fists, sales could potentially double on the Hulkbuster set. Maybe a running change on Hulk's eyes while they're at it. I was thinking about putting together Hasbro's 2.5 inch Avengers Tower for the Minimates. But, you know, for $60 I want it to actually look like something. Maybe I'll get that top piece when it inevitably goes to clearance.

I see those and wonder how a sculptor can take Wentworth Miller and somehow turn him into a bootleg of Quentin Tarantino. I've let up on watching Gotham so the figures can stand on their own merit. I think we're all just disappointed that DST is being shut out of developing really great comic and comic-inspired toys (New 52 Deathstroke and Harley Quinn, anyone?). Not over quality, but over silly licensing politics. Compared to ReAction or those "interchangeable magnetic vinyl" turds, Gotham Minimates are going to be works of art. So I really can't knock average-looking characters done well. A lot of great designs get horrible toys.

Valiant collection as Aric of Dacia or Pathfinder collection as Human Ranger variant. Or both, as I'm eager to see both of these lines succeed.

The only thing "wrong" with the comic is it grants X-O and Bloodshot entry into the Five Finger Club. Thanos isn't going to be too happy about that since he recently lost privileges but that nut job Trevor got to stay in.

Rustin's Spoils of the Week aren't full reviews, though. He said that on the very first one. "I'm going to try something new this year - a weekly roundup of what I've bought in the preceding week. This will be a bit different than the standard reviews you'll find here, they'll be briefer and more general. Being included on this list doesn't preclude any particular item from a "full" review by myself or another writer here, this is simply a way to get you fine readers as much toy-opinions as my hectic work schedule can allow." http://www.oafe.net/blog/2011/01/rustins-spoils-of-the-week-1/ And it's not like he's hiding his preferences to build a case or anything. "The Storm Guard though... man this guy is flippin' gorgeous. This may well be my favorite Minimate of the year! The armor... the colors... he's just awesome looking. I know my first favorite thing in Minimates is limited or now [sic] sculptural piece/detail but come on - just look at this guy! Plus, the chest armor is a paint app, which help maintain a slim look and flexibility in the pose." http://www.oafe.net/blog/2014/03/rustins-spoils-of-the-week-123/ Rustin: "Thane is the son of Thanos (with an eye-rollingly lazy and real-world-term name) and is the highlight of the set both by being a first-time character and by simply being a painted Minimate base body (though he does have a "Venom claw" for his left hand)." http://www.oafe.net/blog/2015/03/rustins-spoils-of-the-week-156/ Glantern: Thane is based on the character’s appearance post-Terrigen Mist exposure, which is notably Thanos-inspired. It’s an okay design, though not particularly thrilling. The figure is mostly a “vanilla ‘mate” with his only unique piece being his left hand. This piece is re-used from the DC Minimates Series 6 Cheetah figure. It’s a pretty standard clawed-hand, so that’s good. "Thane is good on a technical level, but sadly neither the character nor his design is particularly exciting." https://thefigureinquestion.wordpress.com/2014/12/24/0429-infinity-minimates/ The only difference is that one is a member of the Multiverse clique, and one isn't.