Fans of Pheyden - and Toys

Metran Hill

2012-01-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

Everything is a Glyos playset to me.

The Volcano of Cold!

2012-01-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

When we last left the Glyans of Glyaxia, they had dispatched the Twin Shadows of Callgrim and made it to their destination.

Now, they must brave the cold volcano on their way to the secret Dimension Gate.

The Glyaxia team is comprised of some of the best Glyan soldiers and Neo Sincroids.

Special Scar Pheydens have been assigned to the squad. Their loyalty is beyond reproach to the Glyaxia tenets.

The Neo Sincroid known as The Archer stands at the ready to channel Flexion-powered bolts of power into his enemies through a unique Axis staff grafted into his arm.
Graduates of the Black Skull Squadron command the Glyaxia Glyans.
The team carries two Sincroids, two Scar Pheydens, and four Glyans when at full strength.
The other Neo Sincroid is known as TNT. He rarely carries his weapons in deployed mode - those who have seen his full glory have rarely survived the assault.

The Glyans prepare their Rig to brave the Dimension Gate and deliver their cargo...

The Glyaxia Glyans and the Mission to the Cold Volcano

2012-01-14T15:51:00.000-08:00

Glyaxia sends their Glyan forces in a prototype M.A.N.T.A. ship, carrying precious cargo to a secret location.
But Glyaxia is not without their internal leaks...
The mercenary known as Callgrim receives a transmission from his mole, and as is his way, desires this new technology for himself. He dispatches the Twin Shadows - his pet Armodocs - the retrieve what he wants...
The Glyaxia Glyans have sworn they will complete their mission~!
Who will be victorious?

The Outer Space Men are coming!

2012-01-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

But for now, feast your eyes on the Holiday Editions of Waves 3 and 4.

Nibblers!

2012-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

From my buddy Simon - a collection of Nibblers!

The box revealed!

2012-01-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

GORMONGUS!

not what was in the box, but somethin

2012-01-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

but I did get the Acroyear 3 pack late last year. yay!

whatsinthabox?!??!?!

2012-01-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

I hesitate to throw around the "grail" nomenclature, but this box could be said to contain one for some people...

Happy New Year! New DEER CROSSING trailer

2012-01-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

As the title says, happy holidays.

And here is the new DEER CROSSING trailer. NOT for the kiddies!

Not every 80s line was super cool.

2011-12-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Kenner was the house of Star Wars. Sure, they had Bionic Man as their first hit, but after that, it was Star Wars.
Once Star Wars was done, what was the next Kenner hit going to be?

Kenner was famous for licensed lines. Outside of Star Wars, they did Super Powers, ALIENS, Beetlejuice, Jurassic Park, Bill and Ted...but they would also take chances on concept-based lines. M.A.S.K. was one of the bigger hits. One of the lesser entries was called Sky Commanders.

It took me a while to find an eBay auction for this one - Ascender with Jack Reily - because I didn't know the name of it.
The concept was simple - a super earthquake happened, making a new continent rich with a new element people wanted, so good fought evil for it etc etc etc.
Now, this continent was one that you couldn't walk on due to dangerous steam and probably lava (as well as animals mutated by the new element), so the good guys and bad guys had all of these machines that could move around on laser beams or something.
The lasers were represented by string, so you were supposed to make these lines all over your room and then have the figures all over the place.
It only went one year, with a second series shown in the Kenner catalog for 1988.

Where are the people begging for Sky Commanders to come back? There just aren't any.
Sky Commanders is the perfect example of something that they tried to see how it worked. And it didn't, so it went away.
Maybe we'll see one of these guys as part of Unit:E.
Still, you can get a few minutes of fun making this guy go up and down on his string line...

Fun fact - this backpack was later used for a Batman figure in the Dark Knight Collection!

Nitty Gritty Christmas

2011-12-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

Following up on a post I made last week or so, I'm to a point in most of my lines where I need one item to "not be looking for anything actively". Not completism! I'm beyond that now.
Above, you have the Outer Space Men. The OSM, friends (or ENEMIES) to Matt Mason.
And they are missing one of their number - AstroNautilus.

In the pic above, the Zeroids and the OSM go to Matt Mason's house for the Earth holiday called Christmas.
It's also fun to note that a kid who came down to this sight under his Christmas tree around 1968 would have been super-happy!

Safe and happy holidays everyone!

A quick post about Sigma Six

2011-12-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

Zartan.

Lockdown.

SPOILERS! Duke.

Space Case Coaster!

2011-12-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

This came out like a year ago. I finally found it at Target.
I'm glad that my Transformers obsession was cracked. Thanks Mr. Bay!

Planet of the Eidrallim

2011-12-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick picture of the Eidrallim and the Infection and everything interrelated along those lines.
(now I'm going to have to check my notes on planet Issaris...)

Sigma Strategy

2011-12-20T18:57:00.000-08:00

Just something fun.
Gi Joe has gone in a direction where I cannot follow. These figures can really be appreciated as something special now that they are out of production.

Team Zeroid

2011-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

I've had a post percolating about the items I still don't have in my collection that I want.
One of the items is the fifth Zeroid, Zemo, in his unique red color.
But I won't be getting him any time soon unless I find one in a junk box at a local show, or if I customize one.

Until that time, enjoy an uncommon sight - the four Zeroids together!

Starriors!

2011-12-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say about Starriors. I didn't like the comic, the toys are very basic stuff...but yet, they work for me. The colors are solid and they have a good wind-up action.
I'm not collecting these too strongly, but I pick them up when I see a good deal on them.

A tale of two tails

2011-12-17T22:49:00.000-08:00

A classic MOTU character meets a reimagined one.
If they do Tyrantisaurus in Classics, he won't fit on any shelf, anywhere. And he shall be awesome.

On the bridge of the Edgeliner...

2011-12-16T17:47:00.000-08:00

Just some fun trying to take a dramatic pic of the Edgeliner's bridge and one of the Sarvos who controls it making a vow.

Ben 10 has some new releases

2011-12-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Four Arms V2 is out for sure...
back of the card shows Clockwork and Eatle. I want me an Eatle!
I don't think it will be hard to find - Bandai really makes sure these figures are available everywhere.

I never thought my retail praise would go to Bandai for something that didn't involve Mazinga.

Power Lords COMPREEETO!

2011-12-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Sometimes that last figure you need in a line is rare and not too cool when you get him - a variant on a secondary character in neon, the faceless minions of the evil madman, etc...

Thankfully, this time it was different.

I present you...Tork from the Power Lords.

Known as the Turning Terror, he has a face on his front and a face on his back.

The colors shouldn't work, and this thing should look goofy, but I love it.

Now, I don't have EVERYTHING from Power Lords. There are two vehicles - the Spyzor and the Power Patroller - that are pretty uncommon. If you have them to trade - loose but preferably with boxes - let me know!

Cheap heat! DEER CROSSING trailer

2011-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Trailer for the new movie I produced this year. Not safe for work! Or the kiddies.

DEER CROSSING TRAILER

Watch it on YouTube so I get the hits. Thanks!
Back to toy content tomorrow.

Toyfinity Armageddon

2011-12-11T21:29:00.000-08:00

Relationships. Everything is relationships.
In my own life, something like Zeroids does not come from a natural progression of interest in toys. It comes from my relationship to another person showing me the figures, and their interest blending with my interest to create a new interest in these items.

As time passes, I see things ending. My relationship to things. I don't think we're Toys4Life. Maybe. But I see a lot of collectors who buy stuff and it can't leave them. Ever. They have everything they've ever had. I don't exist in that fashion. Things...end.

It was a profound thing to be sitting in the movie theater during Watchmen and to see the scene with Dr. Manhattan on Mars. Conceptually, it translated exactly how I felt when I read the comics, the idea that at the same time multiple things are happening at the same time that new things are happening that old things were happening.
It's like that with toys. Is Inhumanoids really ever over, just because I don't have them any more? I can look at a picture of Tendril and have that feeling again of Christmas 86/87, whichever that it was, and seeing that monster unwrapped facing off with my gift from mother of the Earth Corps and the two vehicles for them. Or the pic from when I sold him. A screengrab from the cartoon. Standing by the bay in San Diego arguing with someone about how bad of a toy D'Compose was, compared to the child's thought of having him. Looking at those boxes in the Toys R Us as a child, wanting something and knowing it might never be. Looking back at scans of catalogs from sites long gone but never forgotten.

Time passes. "I'LL ALWAYS LOVE BATMAN!"
X-MEN
Transformers
Star Wars
But that's not true, is it? We never know the direction where things will go, corporate decisions making all X-Men return from death, the obvious miscasting of Mr. Freeze becoming a reality, the strange figures marked Star Wars in the TRU of 2010 that I don't recognize...

I feel my connection to many of these things coming to an end.
What that translates to in my "play" is a sense of finality. Funny though, at the same time, it breaks the barriers which always held. Now, Twiki and Microman and Gi Joe can fight on the same battlefield with Dr. Fate and Tron.
Which brings us to this.

I can't give an exact explanation - I don't necessarily WANT to - but there was a time when all of these things were their own entity. Buck Rogers and Gi Joe weren't friends, even though their bodies were constructed in the same way.
I have a continuity that exists in the toys themselves, and a continuity that was real life for me.
Time has changed things. Although it was not always so, the toys above, in their fictional lives as living creatures, have become of the same world.
And things went to shit.
It ties to something in my own life, the parallels unmistakable in my own life to the lives of these beings. As I was finally confronted with the ultimate Evil in life, so thus did my avatars face their Ultimate Evil.
Mine is not fantastic, more banal and disappointing and difficult to discuss; in their world, it can be something colorful with personality that can draw you in, make you think that evil is cool. But it isn't - it destroys people's lives, without thought. Absorbs everything in its path, throwing aside what it does not want. CONSUMES.

So my guys try to find an answer.
The problem they have is that they don't KNOW that things were once NOT this way.
They think they have always been in the same world.
At the time of these pics, there was one being who knew the truth - that this was some Limbo, the leftovers of a great destruction. He is known as the Time Traveler, mainly because he has been seen at different times in history, yet is still alive today.
If they only knew the truth.
Exposure to time itself changed him. He can't travel through time - he is unstuck from time, appearing randomly here and there. He waits for the time when he pops from this existence into another one, perhaps where he can change things.

Commander Rann, the great strategist and space explorer, looks at his destroyed friend, the transforming motorcycle High Wire. hope is waning. The army of the great evil one is advancing on the sole remaining known fortress in the world, Wayne Manor.
The great Evil sends his minions out to fight the battle. Baron Karza and the Emperor are two of his Commanders, leading vast armies of Acroyear, Antrons, and soldiers from across the world.

The forces of good fight back, but the army of evil never seems to end.

A recon mission brings back needed supplies, and something strange - a being similar to Time Traveler, but made of metal and dead. he touches it - and three other Time Travelers appear.
Such a strange thing has never occurred before, and TT feels himself become stuck to this time period.
There will be no escape.
He must fix this world, or die. There are no other choices.
A band of heroes must take the Time Traveler and this strange dead being to the last known location of science in the world, through a wasteland of giants, in hope of something that can revive the fallen being.

Little do they know of the journey they will undertake, that will lead them through the Edge of Space into something completely unknown to them, and the true secret of the universes...

The Outer Space Men Outpost!

2011-12-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

This month will see the release of the new Outer Space Men figures from the Four Horsemen in their Infinity Editions, bringing us that much closer to a full set.

Below, check out my current OSM HQ setup.

I use any 3 3/4 alien figure with the OSM - Ben 10, Gi Joe, etc.
And yeah, Gizmo is there. I needed somewhere to put him.

The orange vehicle is sourced from Gundam.

The back of Eternia

2011-12-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

The last time I did Eternia pics, I didn't show the back of the set.

The female Enforcer I have not yet named strikes from the shadows.

A special Palace Guard, assigned to the King.
Man-E-Monster goes to bash Beast Man.
Azrael Batman tears through the bad guys.

Completed another Custom Corps! not.

2011-12-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well, kinda...
I finally got the last of the Crayboth I needed from CC2. Painted by Matt Walker AKA Dead Presidents. Good stuff.

Robo Force update

2011-12-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

We're almost there!

The heroic Robo Force: Wrecker, Coptor, Maxx Steele, Air Bot, Blazer, and Sentinel. Missing: SOTA.

The evil robots of the Robo Force - Hun-Dred, Enemy, Vulgar, and Cruel.

A quick and simple post about Captain Randor and his brother

2011-12-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

I have a brother.
And once they made Keldor, I had to make a Captain Randor to represent the part in the bios where Randor and Keldor fought together against evil, at least before Keldor saw that the only way he could have the power he needed was taking over Eternia.

To me, Man-At-Arms will always be sans mustache, leaving this head up for grabs. I think it looks like Randor.

The First and Last Joe You'll Ever Need

2011-12-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

They'll never get me to collect Gi Joes in this fashion, but I had to have Flash.
He was my first Joe, and will most likely be one of the last.

MOTU in November

2011-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not the biggest fans of either of these characters, but they look good in Classics.
Snout Spout COULD be a little more badass.

Oh, and I figured out why Swift Wind isn't transformable to Spirit...if anyone has the solution to this question, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write in - how do you make the pegasus wings nice and poseable as they are AND safely removable? There is a reason the original had the wings attached (and not articulated) to the saddle.

Glyos shelves

2011-12-02T20:37:00.000-08:00

Just some quick updates of current Glyan displays.

Er, and my Nibbler display.
This was such a great wave. The colors really hit something in the ol' brain.

Edgeliner today

2011-12-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

In the Glyos storyline, Glyaxia has a spaceship HQ called the Edgeliner.

It might be a few years until Onell puts one out themselves, so for now, I use the USS Flagg as their ship.
Above, see a picture of the main deck. The Edgeliner is one of the central hubs of space, and is constantly busy. (the Glyos artwork shouldn't be there, I only noticed it after I took the pic)
The Edgeliner is piloted by the Admiral. He makes sure the ship does not come too close to any quasars or the deadly Edge of Space.

The Glyaxia Command team holds court in the main control room of the Edgeliner, always ready to teleport to safety. Enforcer Sarvos watches the command, ready to fight at any time. A Classified Sarvos waits his commands, while a Brute Enforcer Sarvos provides extra muscle.
The Command Team is receiving word from the Krome Sarvos, leader of a team of five Sarvos, and two Scar Pheydens who always seem to wind up in the center of galactic phenomenon...

In the rooms under the main deck of the Edgeliner, all manners of gaming and vice are available, for the right price. The Outer Space Men have been drafted into Glyaxia, and here they trade information with beings much smaller than them who are looking for "space bucks". A friendly Armodoc, tasked with protecting Krome Sarvos, itches to see his master again.

Rigs are stored in random places around the Edgeliner. Little do the guests know that the Rigs are always manned, ready to spring into action after the Renegade incident.
Any manner of being can be drafted into Glyaxia Command. Some even join of their own free will.

MOTU update

2011-11-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

The forces of Preternia!

The updated Horde display.

The current battle in Eternia.

Starcom update

2011-11-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Again, an update...
I had a big box of Starcom come in earlier this year, which pretty much completed what I was looking for from Starcom.

I don't have a Shadow Upriser, the UK exclusive figures, or one of the two small evil vehicles that is super-rare - but I'm good.

Starcom is a fantastic space line, good vehicles, decent gimmicks. The figures could be a little better, but they are solid TOYS.

The Renegades

2011-11-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Again, more general updates of what my shelves currently look like.

These...are the Renegades.
And the Gi Joe Defiant shuttle certainly fits them well.
The Command Team flies in the main shuttle.

Visionaries Ship

2011-11-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

Not much to say in this post...they are older pics, from when I first acquired the Visionaries ship earlier this year.

Microman shelves

2011-11-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

A quick update on my Microman shelves.
It took a while for me to put them into a coherent display. I'm particularly proud of this collection. It was not an easy one to assemble, as most Microman items were not released in the US.

I'm not currently looking for anything in particular from Microman, but if you have any to get rid of, feel free to drop me a line.

Dreadnaught Rising

2011-11-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

Following up on a post from the Glyos forums...
In the currently being told Glyos tales, the Gendrone Revolution has begun. War ravages the Glyos system.
Since vehicles are currently not something that Onell is putting out at a rapid clip, I have been repurposing vehicles from other lines into Glyos vehicles.

Enter a ship from the Visionaries.
First off, when I saw this thing with modern eyes, it reminded me immediately of the Skeletor flagship from the live-action He-Man film.
And the varied nooks and crannies of the ship reminded me a little bit of the Battle Droid carriers from Star Wars: Episode One.
Above, one of the small ships has been removed and you can see how the Phaseons fit into the small compartments almost like they were intended to be there.
Above, notice that two of the Elite Guards of Argen (noted by their green phase coloring) are in the throne room of the ship.
Below, note one of Argen's previous forms has been adapted by one of his acolytes, who pilots the rapid attack fighter attached to the ship.

The cream of the Gendrone and Phaseon crop are granted the status and coloration of Argen himself in the Revolution. Below, note one Gendrone who carries a large Phase Trident.

What will Glyaxia and Metran counter this ship with?

The past and the future and the 90s

2011-11-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

FINALLY got some M28X Microman. And Darkhawk from the new MU line.
Just need the other two M28X now...

COLECO ROBO FORCE??!??!?!?

2011-11-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Looks like Ideal Toys teamed with Coleco to distribute their lines outside the US.

And this artwork APPEARS new, but I don't know Robo Force like the back of my hand. Crazy Steve, you reading this?

If anyone has a multi-lingual Coleco RBT box, E-MAIL ME IMMEDIATELY.

Vulgar here joining the collection means I just need a complete SOTA to be finished Robo Force. And someone kind to scan the US box for Vulgar and Cruel's box to complete Toyfinity.

Glyanaut training facility

2011-11-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

In the official Glyos comic "Reflex", we were shown the interior training facility of the Glyanauts, and how they were trained on Rigs by the Scar Command Pheyden.

I really enjoyed the comic, and had to build a number of Glyanauts and the Scar Command and his assistants.
But a question came up - where to display them?

I haven't been to a flea market in years. Can't say how many...it was just something I grew out of. I have a lot of other things to do with my time on a Sunday morning, honestly. The guys who love flea markets get out there and really pound the street to find bargains. I don't have the killer instinct to do it any more.

But, for a recent wedding anniversary, we took a fun day out and went to the flea market just to have some fun.
Of course, five seconds in, I find the below monstrosity...
I have pretty good recollection of toys over the years - but I see the above and I'm like, "when the hell did they make that?"
Well, I didn't follow the Ninja Turtles line from the 2000s that close. I was looking at all of the figures (did Quarry ever get released? I can probably look it up), but vehicles and such passed me by a bit.
All I see is this big mess of green brick, and a bunch of pieces.
I slowly figure out what it is, and have that strange feeling that is so rare to a collector in my position: I feel like I am discovering something, mostly because I didn't know about it before.

I'm naturally thinking like a collector - this thing is going to be $80 and I'll have to pass.
The seller asks for (after a great amount of thought) eight dollars, so there is no way I'm going to be able to pass it up.

So I got it home and thought about what the set should be used for - and there you go - Glyaxia Training Command.

Playsets are generally crappy, when looked at with adult eyes. It's just a massive piece of plastic, most of the details aren't painted (those cost money), you get two or three inches with which to stand your He-Man and your Dontallo - but better than making a cardboard box playset, right?

This one has a lot of detail.
The way I see the set is that you have the main training floor - like the Danger Room, to put it in layman's terms. Here, the newly outfitted Glyans have their training against drone Armodocs, as well as a dangerous white Sincroids and black Govurom clones! And a Sarvos.
There's also something flying around that the Axis Armored Glyans are fighting, but it is just out of our sight.
To the right of the training are, the Glyanauts watch the progress.
There are, of course, force fields protecting them from random phase arm fire.
The Sarvos assistants to Command Scar monitor the progress on their screens, evaluating the performance of each Glyan.
Spy cameras captured Command Scar and some of the high-level Pheydens watching the training. It was expected, by Glyaxia Command, that each of them would have a support team of Glyans. Gearius was leery to do so, as he had experienced bad things previously when assigned a full team of support personnel. White Skull saw it as an opportunity to have more firepower on his squad. And Hades...remained silent, being watched intensely by the other entity on the observation deck.
Glyaxia Command knew that something was disrupting their spy cameras, as no clear shot could be taken of the Travelers together. Was it Hades and his rebellious nature? A natural protection of the rocks the training center was made from? Who could say.

The favorite Glyos figure of the Cranberries

2011-11-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

Jump over to YouTube and watch the video ZOMBIE by the Cranberries, then...

ZAHM-BIE, ZABMIE, ZAAA-HAHM-BEY-EY-EY-EY!
Pheyden.
One more Metalluma down, only a couple more to go.

Autobots, brick reconfigure!

2011-11-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hasbro recently decided that they were going to make buildable Transformers.

I love the execution of the cars, but I haven't really Transformed them yet. I might not. I like the bizarre concept of Sideswipe driving Sideswipe, and the larger robot being a mech suit for him.

Microman ascendant!

2011-11-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

We're playing catch-up a bit here...

not everything being shown in the next few days of posting is new to me...I just took the pics and forgot to post them!

I had a giant Microman fascination at one point that died off a bit when the MagnePowers line croaked and the reissues went away.
But from time to time, I pick up a pack that eluded me in the past and add them to the collection.

This pack was tough to get. It has heads from the prototype versions of the 11X and 12X figures.
The two figures really pop when shown together. The one on the right uses the MEL/Conning Tower as a color base.

White Skull Team - Glyaxia created, Metran approved

2011-11-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

The White Skull Squadron is one of the most decorated in all of the Glyos system.

How do you stop a Revolution?

2011-11-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

With science!

Scar Pheyden has his team, which includes even the legendary Exellis.
And another Pheyden, along with two trusted Glyans.

The White Skull Team was actually one of the first to be presented with Axis technology to use...it didn't always go so smoothly. View Manticore, one of the first to experience the Axis tech.
And his back.

But for every failure, there was a victory. Meet Torpedo.
For as quickly as White Skull was given Axis tech, his Neo Sincroids were delayed for maximum debugging. As such, special care was given to making them combat tough.

The Crimson version was given an expanded body and weaponry.

Where the Red version was given a more compact body for hand-to-hand combat.The White Skull Squadron takes the battle to the Gendrone invaders!
Join the Glyaxia Alliance today!

The Elite of the Gendrone Revolution!

2011-11-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Argen has only limited resources as he continues his fight...

His soldiers have been upgraded, but his core group consists of only a few Gendrones...

More heads have bods!

2011-11-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

Just building bodies for heads from recent waves.
The red Phanost is really resonating with me for some reason.

Some new collaborative figures in Glyos

2011-11-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

Some NiStuff heads with my body designs. You got stuck with a lot of purple, Ni! I have a lot of purple left.
And here are two heads from Peter, a cool dude you might have met at some conventions. Keep making heads!

The Gendrone Revolution evolves!

2011-11-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

One of the current storylines in Glyos is the Gendrone Revolution.

Argen has broken free of his Infiltraitor programming and is journeying the cosmos looking for answers.
He finds a sect of Gobons who have gone RENEGADE, and are quietly living out in the deep sectors of space.
The Renegades try to convince Argen that he cannot trust the Glyans, and that he needs to fight back against them, but he is unsure. After accidentally killing a number of his own people, Argen is confronted by a Pheyden...and that is all we know of the story so far. At least, in comic form.

From the toys themselves, we can infer that Argen teams with the Renegades, and a new mechanical lifeform is created to fight the war with the Glyans. This entity is called the Phaseon Gendrone.
You can see a Phaseon Gendrone above - although, I have switched the arms and legs around to make this one more unique.

Personally, it took a while for me to see this as a Glyos item, because a majority of the body was previously used on something called a Beanbot.
But now I have fully accepted it and started to explore the potential that is within the figure.

In my line of thinking, experimentation occurs on the Phaseons. For instance, would it become more powerful with three independent brains operating inside one body?

The above was the result. Three Phaseons, one body.
But the brains found that they could trigger a bodily reconfiguration for more efficient combat...
Walker mode. Which could also provide space for another Phaseon to ride.
Shown above.

Argen was the evolution of a previous series of Gendrone. He wondered that one of his mechanical brothers and a Phaseon combined with Axis technology would produce...

and it became a loyal soldier in his army.

Another multi-brained creation was this monstrosity.

The dual brain function of this entity allows it 360 degrees of sensory input, meaning that it cannot be attacked from behind.

What other kinds of Gendrones can be built? You tell me! I've run out. :)

Goliath Pheyden!

2011-11-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

There were a bunch of possible bonus heads in the most recent Glyos drop.
This head reminded me much of the original Frontier Pheyden...I had a bunch of white Axis Joints left over from...three waves ago, I think, that were bought to make a Glyos vehicle. I didn't order enough, so they were put to use on this guy. I'm particularly happy with the shoulders. I used this build before on a Glyanaut, but it didn't work as well.

Govuroms!

2011-11-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

There have been a lot of Govurom bonus heads in shipments of Glyos recently...so I finally had some time this past weekend (tied in with the trading aspect I mentioned in yesterday's post) to put bodies together for them.

I think the above pic really illustrates how low my parts supply is running.
But I really like the purple-headed Gov.

Mucha happier with these guys. Well, three of them, anyway.
(the second from left in this pic is my fave of this pic, and in my top three of all the ones in the post)
Four solid builds and colorways, IMO. The first one on the left is my take on a new "standard" Govy. I wanted him to be a little different in build than the previous guys.
The one on the far right really reminds me of something...any ideas of what could have inspired this colorway? I'm not asking because I know - the colors are suggesting something to me, but no idea what.
And four more. Glyaxia Govurom!

Bag of Heads!

2011-11-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give an update of the Standard Pheyden versions as EatYourChildren has asked for after my last blog post, and this is the pic I wound up with....

For the record, V1 - dark grey eyes that match his upper limbs; V2, light grey; V3, brown irises.
I will take more pics soon and post again.

And my bag of extra Pheyden heads! Had to reorganize them while looking for some pieces for a trade.

The Commander of All Zeroids

2011-11-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

ZOGG!

Randomness.

2011-10-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few recent additions.

Get Guzzle when you see him. Well worth it, even with the dreaded Movie-style robot.

Sometimes you just have to go custom.

2011-10-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Major Matt Mason is one of my big lines.
There is a figure in the line called Captain Lazer.
Popular urban myth says that he was a separate toyline shoehorned into MMM at the last minute.
As the figures are two completely different scales, this could be true.

Regardless of that, years later when Mattel was trying to milk Battlestar Galactica, they dug out the old Captain Lazer mold to make some figures.

I was looking on eBay a while back and saw this...
The BG version of Captain Lazer, repainted to look like the good Captain.
So I had to have it. The real Captain has a gun in his hand permanently, where this one had some retooling to be able to not have a gun in his hand.
Thanks customizers!

Glyos Desert Glyans - Heavy Division

2011-10-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a ton of time to really mess with the Glyans, but I have played with them a little bit...
I thought desert and what type of gear they would need. Obviously, you need a way to move around...and it is tough to move in the desert, so you need firepower.
So these guys are the heavy weapons division of the Desert Glyans.

Gunbarrel mode.
Flight mode.

Tonight Major Matt Mason must DIE.

2011-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got a Matt Mason who was too chewed up to save. So I cut him to bits. This is what is inside.
Obviously, this one was very broken. The wires should be much longer. And there are plastic bits where the knees and feet would be. Interesting though.

Optigrim

2011-10-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pic.

Got this guy in a trade.

A rare opportunity!

2011-10-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't been buying much lately - producing a movie will do that to you!

But I did pick up a couple of things that were too good to pass up...

At the end of the Microman series, there was a soft reboot of sorts.
The Microman mythos was streamlined and every design - Pharoids, M11x, etc - came to represent one specific character.
The New Microman version of the Pharoid/16X is called Saram.

Saram was represented, as detailed at Microforever.com, as the one with the time capsule, and the leader of the new Micromen.

Saram was available in multiple colors with the time capsule.

Imagine my surprise to find this on eBay...

Seriously? This was released in 1983. How does an American wind up with a FULL BOX of these figures?

Ahhhhh.
Well, it wasn't a full box - but two complete sets.

Here, you can see the four variants - mostly. My pic taking skills are lacking.
Another pic so you can see the black and red version.
And one of the figures loose.
The seller related a sad story to me about a guy who owned a collectible store who passed away, left the store to another person, and then the actual seller was a third person helping out the second guy. The store was full of weird stuff (being mostly a game store), but also full of boxes and boxes of stuff from way back when that was sealed off from human eyes for years.
In one of the boxes were these Microman, and the seller thought they were actually bootlegs!

In any case, a prized addition that I could not pass up for the going rate they went for.
Someone went in halfsies on this lot with me, so the extras are spoken for, but what do you think? Is it worth doubling the price of the figure just for the unique colors and special capsule?
Leave comments!

Omega info dump! Doctor missing - now found!

2011-10-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

I know that people were used to daily updates back around July, but there has been a lot going on in my life since then.

For one, I produced another film.

My first film, BOOLEY, which is now available on DVD from www.mrpotent.com, was created last year; we took it around on the distribution circuit and didn't really like any of the offers we received. So we decided to go our own way and release it ourselves. Sales have been okay for an indie film with very few recognizable faces (unless you listen to Howard Stern or watch adult films). But we (Potent Media) really wanted to take the lessons learned from BOOLEY and make another film.

Enter DEER CROSSING (and my new header graphic).

The writer/director/owner of the company, Christian Jude Grillo, has assembled a deranged tale of a woman and her son who get detoured during a family vacation and wind up in a car accident.
Someone saves them from the accident...but then we jump eight years forward to the husband and father they left behind. His family was declared missing, and he has moved on with his life...until he gets a call from someone identifying themselves as the presumed-dead son.
The story unfolds from there and it is shaping up to be pretty powerful.

So, what does a producer do on a film?
The title can vary greatly when you talk about a Hollywood production, but in my low-budget world, it is mainly taking care of paperwork.
Actors are in a union. That sounds strange out of context...acting doesn't seem like a job where you think of guys with cigars holding protests for fair wages. But the fact remains that they are a union. Dealing with a union is not the easiest thing in the world if you don't understand how they work.

Myself, I have been in a union since the second job I ever had, so it comes to me as second nature. You have to give people breaks at certain times; there are certain perks available to certain job classifications; certain forms have to be used for time and attendance. And if you don't follow the rules, you get penalized. I don't have any problems following those rules, because I have to put them in the forefront of my mind and make sure the rules are not violated by the crew or director or anyone else on set.

I write a bunch of checks as the producer - or tell the owner who to write checks to.
I create the budget for the film - I looked over the movie and made estimates of how much things would cost so we could have a general idea as to how much we needed to raise in funds for the movie. it is something I enjoy doing, although the answers can vary wildly as variables change.

I have to speak to actors and their reps and lawyers and entities which deal with paperwork. I help to set the base so that the "house" of the film can be built on top of it. It is not the flashiest job out there - when I am doing my best work, it is not something that can be recognized because nothing will appear wrong.

I have to deal with actors and their concerns on the film. At times, an actor will feel that their character wouldn't do something as written in the script. I help accommodate that conversation with the director, who is busy with other things and needs the information in a concise way.
On our particular set, I wound up being in charge of taking the food orders and making sure food was ready at the designated time. On the next movie, I will have an assistant doing this. :)
In certain cases, I wound up being in charge of transportation for our name actors, Ernie Hudson and Doug Bradley. That was a fun experience, shooting the proverbial excrement with actors whose careers have spanned the biggest budgets and the low-budget horror arenas.
(Doug is a bit of a prankster - if you meet him at a con, ask him how he tried to give me a heart attack on his first day of shooting.)

But the movies aren't just about the superstars of film. There are so many people who go into the making of a movie. We had an excellent crew on this film, without which we could not have pulled off the show. Thanks to all of them for their contributions - I know that our early weekend days will be vindicated when DEER CROSSING is unspooling across...well, hopefully giant screens in multiplexes across the US.

We had fantastic actors from the local area, and as far away as California (not counting Doug, he is from the UK - and that is a story you can ask me about at conventions! how hard it is to get a VISA for non-US citizens to work here). Again, the movie could not have been made without those fine thespians.

All in all, I hope that in 2012, people can see DEER CROSSING and try to enjoy the film. One note - it is DEFINITELY not for kids in the way that my pop sat me down with EVIL DEAD II.
We're in a new time, and you should not be watching this film if you are under eighteen years old until your guardians watch it.

What else happened? I know I did a token coverage of SDCC, but along with the movie, the end of that show occurred for me. (of course, note this now that I will wind up going in 2012 somehow) Partially, it was because of DEER CROSSING - the timeframes to set up the film got mixed with the convention, so while I was in San Diego, I was dealing with SAG and my director and Madsen issues.

Ah damn! There is something I complete skipped over...originally, DEER CROSSING was supposed to be starring MICHAEL MADSEN and Doug Bradley. Yep, that Michael Madsen - although I am sure there is some other guy out there in the world named MM who wants to be an actor. It isn't something I will discuss online - see Mr Potent.com for my official statement on Madsen - but let me just say that it was a massive learning experience to deal with actors of this caliber.

So, where was I? This turned out to be very stream-of-consciousness.
Movies are a strange business. I was lucky enough to have a modern scream queen, one of the few non-white stuntwomen in the business, one of the super-hot cheerleaders from THE REPLACEMENTS, the star of my last film, one of the memorable victims from LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, an actor famous from HBO's THE WIRE and local Philadelphia commercials, "hey I've seen that woman in!!!!", a modern-day Elvira (or Stella, for you Philadelphia readers of a certain age, one of my best bros, my actual brother, and one of the stars of early Cinemax classics and other exploitation films in my movie.(Each of those links is a specific person - or just click right into DEER CROSSING and give me more IMDB hits. Regardless of what happens in my life beyond this point, I will always have the memories of the various places we shot, the personalities before the camera, and the ones behind it as well.
Thanks to the people who took the pics you see on this blog - seriously, jump over to the official DEER CROSSING Facebook page for all the pics from the shoot - or deercrossingthemovie.com, if you don't like The Google.

Where to go from here, really? I'm going to have to figure out some new goals! I made two movies by thirty-five. For forty, I'm going to have to do something really big, like make my own toy or something. ;)

If you guys only knew...

(the Onell Design coverage and my overall Fandom of Pheyden has not ended. But from time to time, there will be a bit of Potent Media coverage as well)

Quick filler.

2011-10-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Man-E-Faces is cool.

A quick link.

2011-10-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

My buddy Jeff opened up a blog about Hack/Slash, the best comic out there that you aren't reading.
Basically, imagine if someone who survived a slasher attack went around the United States hunting down other slashers, with a deformed partner who was once mistaken for a slasher himself.

I've been enjoying it for years. Give it a chance! I'd suggest starting with the first trade paperback for maximum effect.

Tomorrow on this blog - where have I been?

The three variants of Pheyden

2011-09-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

A quick photo of Standard Pheyden V1, V2, and V3 (for Adam).
I keep the first release Phase Arm on the V2 just so I can tell them apart myself.
The greatest color change is from V1 to V2 - V2 is much lighter in color.

Was I just BSing youse?

2011-09-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Straight from He-Man.org...

"If for some reason the Star Sisters don't perform as well as you'd like, will you view this as a declining interest in PoP, or will you see it more as "Well, maybe three-packs aren't the best way to go"?

Despite a vocal following, even us PoP fans have to admit that the sisters are obscure and unlikely to have the following of, say, Frosta or Glimmer.

Their seems to be a lot of speculation that the Star Sistets are somehow responsible for the subs selling lower to 2011. Let me use this post to clear all of this up. ;-)

First off, since we already hit above and beyond the min we needed to move forward with the MOTUC sub (as we have every year with Club Eternia) we already have the number we need. The set has already sold enough units. Anything day of is just gravy!

While not every figure is going to be for everyone, Star Sisters represents a lot of what MOTUC is all about. Here you are getting not only 3 (three) POP girls with a ton of new parts, but they were never before produced before and shown only in the 1987 catalogue!

When the line was thought out long term (around the time of Stratos) we did not have a "subscription" so the idea that the Jan-March releases would need to be special and "sell the sub" was not a part of it. The Star Sisters were always intended as the first 2012 large size item/multipack and had nothing to do with enticing fans for a sub since one did not exist when they were slotted in. The figures that are Jan-March are just the first three month's figures. Only the "sub only figure" (i.e. Shadow Weaver, Wun-Dar) was thought out as an enticement for subscribers. Otherwise you are just seeing Jan-March as thought out before we even had a sub program.

The whole point of sub holders are they are "all in" no matter what. Prototypes, 200X, Filmation, vintage line, NA. For this segment of our customers it doesn't matter, they just want new MOTUC figures. Period.

Obviously their will be cherry pickers and we do plan for that, but in the end, the line would do just fine if we limited it to a sub only and didn't even bother with day of sales.

As long as you keep buying them, we'll keep making them. Hopefully in time people will look back and really see Classics as hitting every major faction and era. We just can't do it all at once. It takes time. Hang in their, the line is planned out well in advance. It is going to be a wild ride but if can crank this out year after year everyone will hopefully wind up with their favorite (you have noticed we are doing Fearless Photog right? Who ever thought that would happen? But it did! This is MOTUC, we'll try almost anything MOTU if their is enough of a customer base to buy it!)

We have a road map. We'll alter it as needed, adding in figures when we rights change (i.e. Filmation, etc...), and it should get us a heap of toys before we're done!

ToyGuru"

Again, the thing to think about in all this madness that you see online is that you need to think about these things as a business, not as fun toys. IT IS RIGHT ABOVE - the MOTU Classics line can exist, as is, WITHOUT ANYONE OTHER THAN THE SUBSCRIBERS.
So, to the CRAZY "cherry pickers"/non-completists/selective collectors, whatever you want to call them - keep ranting and raving. You'll still be able to get your figures, be it through Matty or eBay, because we're picking up your slack.*

*please note - if you only like four MOTU figures a year and don't want to be locked into a sub, this message is not for you. It is for the jackasses who populate the messageboard linked above who can't accept any other opinion and view the negative side of every post that comes from Mattel, even when there isn't one.

The true Boss of the Zeroids

2011-08-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sparks from Toy Story - c'mon, he's a Zeroid. And this one is HUGE. Found it on clearance at the K-Mart, works well as a Zeroid.

Megator

2011-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

been waiting a number of years to add this character to my shelves.
Happy with the way it turned out - the additional head is just icing on the cake.

Man-E-Faces

2011-08-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

Another solid offering from Mattel.

Only one to go - an OSM update!

2011-08-28T21:44:00.001-07:00

Orbitron is mine. Just Astro-Nautilus to go, now...
and Chatterer II was a pick-up at the recent MonsterMania con, just for the hell of it.

Wah-wah, my meowsricus hurts

2011-08-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Go and get a vaccine against bullshit, then read this thread:
He-Man.org thinks we need less MOTU per year!

I want you to see the pattern.
The fans wanted more than 12 figures per year. So they got the variants.
Then they wanted more - so we got beasts.
Now for a one-time-only anniversary for 30 years of MOTU, they are hitting us with everything we could want in one year. TOO MUCH! scream the fans.
And the grand total for "what people have always wanted from MOTU"? Less than $1000, closer to $700.

C'mon people. Are you telling me that you can't sum up that type of cash for something you "have always wanted?"
It makes me laugh. Especially the one guy who said "I hope nothing else comes out in those months from any other toy line!" Where's your loyalty to He-Man, friend?

(I've reached a point where I don't know if my posts here are sarcasm or true. I'm on the Doughty sleep schedule until I have Ernie Hudson and Doug Bradley on film and out of my state)

Just say no to blind boxes

2011-08-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am a big South Park fan.

Rarely a day goes by where I am not quoting South Park or making jokes about it.
So, in the run-up to SDCC this year, I hear that Kidrobot has the license for South Park.
Which is good - I could always use a few new figures.
But then the bad news - BLIND BOXES.

I understand the strategy, but to quote Danny Glover, "I'm getting too old for this shit."
I see the consolidation of toys in my mind, to a point where the "hunt" aspect is just bullshit on top of bullshit. I don't want to ride to a hundred stores looking for something; I have the money to buy the overpriced second-hand seller ones online, but I don't want to do that either.
Blind-boxes are even worse - it becomes the fucking lottery. I want a Butters, I get a Kenny; I try again, Stan; 3rd try, another Kenny. Then Kyle. Then Ms Choksondik. But to get to that Butters, I have three options:
1) keep buying and trying.
2) buy one online for a price equivalent to the rarity. Cases in point: old Smallest Transformers had 1 per CARTON (like 144 figures in a carton, so that is fucking RARE), so the chase was like $150 bucks. Or chase Marvel Legends, something that many people will be familiar with.
3) buy a case that guarantees all of the figures, then spend years selling/trading the extras.

I just can't do it any more.
The lines slowly consolidate, where Transformers hangs by a thread, MOTU gives me pause because they KEEP ADDING NEW ITEMS THAT MAKE ME GO TO THEIR SHITTY WEBSITE, and Glyos is king. And I'll always have a soft spot for new Freddy and Jason figures, as long as I don't have to go to the bottom of Crystal Lake to get an exclusive.

The absence of information leads to a void that only hatred can fill

2011-08-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

To follow up on the post from Thursday this week, something that I didn't touch on was the overall cost of the MOTU subscription - or even just buying all of the figures in the subscription.

To those fans who want less than the 12 figures, beasts, and ephemera in the sub - FUCK YOU.
Yep.
Here's my reasoning - you'll NEVER get what you want. It's a fact.
(it surprises me that I am as calm as I feel about this whole situation, as a person who once sold his entire G1 collection because of Beast Wars - "animals? The whole line? Fuck this shit!")
Do you know why, mystery fans of MOTU? Because you are too narrow minded.
I've had a life that some would deem extraordinary, even at 35 years of age.
An integral part of this life has been the ability to be open to new ideas. You know what rigid things do? They break when you attempt to bend them. Flexible things...bend.

With all due respect to the entity know as Tallstar on the He-Man.org boards, who I am unsure if I would dropkick, hug, or shake the hand of if I met this entity in person, I don't actually give two shits about the Star Sisters, poster deco, figure deco, imagination deco.
I'm unsure how this happened, but I am just HAPPY with whatever the fix is that Mattel decides to give us each month. i wish I could distill the funky measure that has gotten into my brains that just allows me to accept the monthly offering of MOTU Classics as "good enough".
Give me Bow. Give me Quakke. Give me Night Stalker, Faker, Demo-Man, whatever- it works for me.
Somehow they convinced me that whatever they sell in a box called MOTU every month is a MOTU figure. If only this could work for everyone out there...

Ah shit. Fuck that. I'm calling out Eric Treadaway right now. And Toy Guru. Where is my Lizorr? If he isn't made in 2012, I'm going to be a big baby and hold my breath until my vagina hurts.

Again, back to Glyos coverage in a day or so. And some special OSM stuff!

My big rant about He-Man.org (long and ranty!)

2011-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hey there fans of Pheyden!

Today is going to be all about He-Man, so if you have no interest in it, or MattyCollector, you might want to skip this entry.

I have been reading over He-Man.org over the last few weeks since SDCC, and looking at the varied things that people have been saying about subscriptions, the Star Sisters, and so on.
Since reality doesn't extend into those forums and I have been banned from there for one big and stupid reason, here are a few points of clarification:
- I have a hard time understand why people don't understand how the budgeting works on this line. They have a certain budget for each year of figures, and they can't exceed that budget. So Whatever the tooling budget is, they cannot exceed it. Doesn't matter that these are "toys" - it is a BUSINESS. It's not Onell - they don't cut us breaks. They have stockholders. I know in DreamLand that we can say "just go over the budget, we are your fans, etc etc". That can't happen. Read a business book, for fuck's sake.

- I don't understand the people who only want vintage (i.e. made in the 80s figures) MOTU figures. There are some shitty figures in that roster - can those people tell me they legimately would want Rotar over Demo-Man, just because it was made in the "vintage" line? I mean, I would accept a nerd argument that Rotar was cooler than Demo-Man - I know that someone might think that. But to say "if not 80s, shit!" is crazy.

- and while we are in that vein, why the hatred for She-Ra/Star Sisters? The originals were shitty toys compared to the vintage MOTU figures - I wouldn't debate that. But in Classics? Who gives a shit? They look great! I have all the MOTU Classics so far - it is nice that something like Catra is part of the line, giving us the choice to expand the universe in that direct - and especially Optikk! I have all of the New Adventures figures from the old days, with the exception of the massively expensive (and super-shitty) Missile Armor Flipshot. Do I necessarily want the Star Sisters? Not really. But I can accept them as part of the MOTU universe. I just don't get the people who think they are not part of the universe - or who discriminate against Chief Carnivus or Optikk.

- for fuck's sake, how are there still people who have a debate about why the Sorceress is more expensive than Wun-Dar? STEEL MOLDS, people. Your toy might cost a dollar to make, but the mold to make it cost $XXXX (or XXXXX). And this is why we can't do pre-orders - do you want to pay $60 for the Sorceress? No? You like $20, right? So that is how it works - you have a figure like the Evil-Lyn from 2011 that cost them a new head and a cape, in the same year as well as a 100% new figure like Ram-Man.
(and think about the thermometer from DCUC subscriptions this year - that is what you would be dealing with if every MOTUC figure was a pre-order - there would be some baseline for a figure. "We need 10,000 people to want Angella!" Could you imagine NERD RAGE when a figure failed?)

- to people who complain about the "$800 when you include shipping" for the current MOTUC sub - I'm sorry that you are poor. But get over it. There won't be tiered subs. You are either all in, or all out. The subs are based on people who want to be all-in.

- and that is the final point - wake the fuck up. The line is not nearing death.
Take a deep breath. Clear your mind....

Okay. Now, think about this. What is the baseline for MOTU Classics to be put into production?
It was a number they hit during the first year of MOTU Classics sales.
The sub could be 10 NA/POP/200X figures, and Ram Man and Spikor - but it still might work.
Because there is a baseline that is required for these figures to go into production. Let's call it 10K figures. Because that is a simple number. So 10K people buy the sub - and Mattel can go into production. Everyone who buys the additional 5000 figures that are on sale during the sale day? It doesn't make a difference, but it is a sweet plum for Mattel to pick up. They have that baseline - they can make the Beasts, the figures, the oversized figures, etc.
The doom will only need to come out to play when the MOTU sub base is shit - like 5000 people.

- and, the end - Star Sisters 3-pack. What, you would rather them be three separate figures? And REALLY? $60 is too much for ya? That's what three figures, with a ton of new tooling, COST. Again, for fuck's sake. I have to wonder sometimes about the BRAINS of the people I see online.

TOYS ARE NOT A FUCKING MAGIC THING. IT IS A BUSINESS. IF YOU WANT SPECIAL TREATMENT, MOVE OVER TO GLYOS. YOU WILL NEVER GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM MATTEL.

And we are back to normal OSM and Glyos coverage tomorrow.

When in Mexico...

2011-08-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Get yourself some bootleg MOTU!
(these are way old. Don't go there looking for them now)

The unquenchable thirst for old toys

2011-08-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

So, the other day (really, about five weeks ago) I am watching TV, and a movie comes on that I have not seen in a long while - SMALL SOLDIERS.

Released in 1998, the film concerned a toy company that was bought out by a mega- conglomerate and accidentally used artificial intelligence in a new series of toys that fought each other.
It might have been one of the first movies from Dreamworks, and was directed by Joe Dante, who was the mastermind behind GREMLINS and other classics.
Can't miss, right? Wrong. It was not a success by any means.
Regardless of that, we couldn't have a movie that featured toys slip by without some figures. And Hasbro took up the gauntlet. I remember reading the Tomarts at the time and thinking "they are really giving this the mega push." If the movie was more successful, we might be still buying Small Soldiers toys on the shelves today.

But it wasn't, so we have to look at these in a historical context.

As was the trend at the time, the figures were done in multiple scales. These two, Archer and Chip Hazard, are 12 inch hard plastic figures with light and sound gimmicks (replicating some actions from the movie). They are probably the closest in design to what was actually seen onscreen, scale-wise.

Here we have a vehicle for the Gorgons, the heroic faction in the story. In the movie, only the Commando Elite (the military figures) created and used vehicles of this type. But Hasbro was never one to let molds go to waste - this tank is mostly reused from an old GI Joe Extreme vehicle, the Thunderin' Fury, that was never released.
A random lot of Small Soldiers I once had in my collection. These were the standard figures - great toys. Solid construction - you could give them to a kid and not worry about him breaking them. Now, as you can see above, there was a nice variety of figures released...
including this guy, the rare Battle Changin' Freakenstein. As was tradition, every good character had to have a refresh after a few waves. This guy snuck out right at the end of the line. I think he could turn into a motorcycle or something...the story on this guy in the film was that he was a completely different character named "Tragla Khan" (I'm not sure of the spelling) who was destroyed by the Commando Elite, and put back together by his Gorgon brothers...incorrectly, and with parts from a broken radio.
If you want to know how far we have come as a race, check out this pic. Man, old cameras had bad pixel quality! The above pic is probably from....2001-ish?
Why so many lots, you might be wondering. Small Soldiers is a line that I would get a temporary obsession with, buy a bunch, and then sell them off. I LOVE the concept, and the movie holds up pretty well - but I'm not 100% behind these toys.
One big reason - they never completed the line! There were two Commando Elite never produced - Butch Meathook and Link Static - with Kip Killigan a rare, rare find. You can kinda make him out in the pic above, maybe, if you know what he looks like.

As a collector, I look at the stuff that companies like Hot Toys are doing for Robocop, Predator, etc and I think "wow, those look awesome." but I can never pass that barrier into actually picking any up. Well, I now know what license I want them to tackle - Small Soldiers. Maybe it is time for the property to be done some full justice.

Roadblasters from Japan!

2011-08-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

More from the archives. Who would have thought that Roadblasters made it to Japan? I think someone told me they were "Earth Defense Force" or something like that.

Archives!

2011-08-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

This was my attempt at a photocomic way back when. Check it out!

A rare pic of me at Comic Con!

2011-08-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to whoever took this pic and posted it to a partner site. Visit everyone in my links, people! Hits mean citizenship!

That's me directly to the right, behind the creator of Cavey!

I wouldn't normally do this...

2011-08-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

But hot damn! Adrienne Curry shows the world how Aeon Flux the movie SHOULD have looked.

A current shot of the Archives

2011-08-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Just something that caught my eye on my shelf, gave me a charge...I mean, we've been getting Glyos since SDCC 2007. Do you believe it? And here are your classic Pheydens, with some Infection figures in the foreground.

I still think back on the story of Phosis and Dark Scar and it still means something.
I think about the mystery of Rothan Pheyden. The tale of Bio Pheyden, the rarity of Plasma Pheyden...it's all there.

Thanks bro.

My own...personal....kudos (like that song from the 80s)

2011-08-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Usually I don't give my other projects a push here on my fun blog, but it is a personal pleasure of mine to have something I'm working on featured on Fangoria.com. I've been reading it religiously since issue #68 (they just passed issue 300 recently), and now my film DEER CROSSING is part of the Fango legacy. Next goal - an article in the PRINT version.

If Tarantulas can make a playset...

2011-08-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Mattel already made the Nibbler a vehicle.
Thanks to someone on the Glyos forum for pointing out how Nibbler-esque the face on this Imaginext toy is. The local Targets were blowing them out for ten bucks, so I said "what the hell." It's even motorized!

Mark this down as project number 1,483 that I will never complete: painting this thing in original Nibbler colors.

The Evolution of the Robotic Lifeform on Planet Z.

2011-08-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Peeling back the layers of time on Planet Z/Zeton/Zero...

I think these guys look great together. My sole regret is not picking up the Mega-Scale Sparks when I was in Boston.

What does a Zeroid fight?

2011-08-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

ALIEN ZEROID!
ALIEN ZEROID!
Seriously, look at the size of that box. Madness.

Unfortunately, they used a spring-action gimmick on this guy that didn't hold up, so I'll still be looking for a junker that I can customize to make more playable. But still fun!

Just Zogg and Zemo to go now.

Main Brain Glyos figure

2011-08-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

My take on the Godbeast/Onell collab, Main Brain.
I saw it as this giant "Mother Brain"-type of monstrosity.

After 30 years....

2011-08-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER!

The OSM, Major Matt Mason, and Zeroids - together again for the first time!

SDCC 2011 Part Five- the final SDCC

2011-08-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

"Enoof o' yuir life story, doc-tor! Gif deese people whut dey really want, twhatt!"
I must do as the Nibbler commands!

From his parapet inside the fishtank prison...

The Nibbler rules the Fishtank Castle!

It is hard to be judgmental on a piece of this prominence and trailblazing monumental stature in the Glyos universe. I mean, the first playset!

Just look at the Nibblers interacting! Even Vectar couldn't stay out of the picture!

The Fishtank Castle is a hefty piece of slush-molded rotocasted material. The damn thing is HEAVY. You could easily cave in someone's skull with this piece, or at least give them one hell of a headache.
The Castle itself consists of ten pieces - the main skull chamber in the center, the center parapet, two arms, and two parapets. Additionally, there are two torches, and two clips to hold the torches inside the main chamber. You could easily fit two RxH Nibblers in the center chamber, to give you an idea of the scale of this thing.
If you wanted to, you could actually leave the parapets and arms off the sides and give it a different look altogether.

The detailing is nice - there are some surprise sculpted details on the back of the castle that are fun. The eyes are separated pieces that are glued on to the piece, giving it a nice 3D feel.

So what is the downside to this excellent piece? Quality-wise, there isn't one. Price-wise, you might need to sit down.
To put things in perspective, the Medieval Nibbler you see in pics above was $75. Based on that, how much do you think the playset was?
The price for the playset at the con was $300. I was not comped one for this site - I bought it to support the artist and because I really wanted one.
It is completely worth it to me - the Castle has been featured in multiple Nibbler comics. I never thought we would get one.

Now, there was talk at the con that there might be a more substantial (the con edition size of the Castle being three pieces) run of these somewhere down the road. If you have interest in such a thing, drop the Tarantulas a line through his site.

Since I don't want to extend into a part six, and I'm in the middle of filming my new movie DEER CROSSING as you read this post, I want to wrap up the SDCC series here and now.
Due to many factors, 2011 will have been the last SDCC for me for the foreseeable future.
I want to say thanks to October Toys for their hospitality over the SDCCs that I attended. I surely could not have attended without your help.
To my brother Adam - will miss seeing you and Scarlett every summer, if only for a short few hours. Maybe I can see you when I go and visit Jade, lol. Keep buying those crazy Takara lines! Someday you'll write the book, I promise you.
I'll miss the various guest artists and friends who have wandered through the Onell booth over the last four shows. Great to meet so many forum members in person. NYCC is probably still in my future, so stop by there and say hello.
To everyone I didn't mention and the people who would just be name dropping for kudos - you all made the trips worthwhile.
To the margarita place at the Seaport Village - i will miss you most of all, scarecrow. My kidneys will not.
To the beach we went to that one time - sorry I lost my underwear somewhere in your sandy goodness, it is not everyday that you have to hide beer from cops under sand dunes.
To In and Out burger - plain means plain. What the fuck - I almost threw up on our UK buddies during that last cab ride because of your hidden pickles and terrible sauce.
To the HasbroToyShop booth itself, not the people, but the actual booth - fuck you. Fuck you so much.
It was mostly fun!
See you guys in NYCC!

SDCC Day Four - the Final SDCC

2011-07-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today's update is a simple one.
One of the surprise items at SDCC was Triclops studios bringing exactly one set of the Tankopula figure variants. It was known that they would have their exclusive purple version, but not the others.
I had missed out on the previous two versions, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to fill in some holes in the collection.
Now, I warn you - there are some issues with this figure, if you are dying to track one down. I already broke the barrel from the tank part of the purple one. The figures are actually glued together at the joints, due to issues with the holes on the figures.
Purely a display piece...
well, not for me. I ripped the arms and tank off of the purple one and combined him with a Glyan to make a super-tough Purple Punisher Nibbler. Maybe I should take pics...

Anyway, this might be the only set of all three (in their original configurations) out there. Enjoy!

SDCC Final Edition - Part Three

2011-07-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

Secret pics!

A crazy Paul Kaiju monster "Double Salamander Joe". So neat in person.

Hulk Nibbler. This is not a new piece - you may have seen it on the Onell blog way back when during a "Trip to China" post. Don't get excited - this thing is not coming soon in any way.
It is made out of a hardcore rubber, just like the Winter Nibblers and the Fishtank Castle. Could be a fun piece if it ever sees production - what do you guys think? Should I bug the Tarantulas to put them in production? Is it worth big bucks to you? (you would need an Armodoc to give it arms and legs, it is meant to interact with the parts of that figure)

The Annual Final SDCC Report - part duex

2011-07-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

In part one, we just kinda bullshitted around and talked about how bad the con was for me.
I know what you are really here to see - the HAUL!!!!!
Seriously, my post from last year is still getting like 40 hits a month. What up wit dat?

The overview.
It was an expensive con.

In the left-half of the pic, we can see an exclusive Twilight Zone Invader figure from Biff Bang Bow, one of the few Volkruin Glyans and a Rig (brought for me to purchase because of the non-Con drop), two Tankopula variants, Alpha 7 and Electron+ from the new series of Outer Space Men, Queen Marlena from MOTU Classics, Darkseid Build-a-figure from DC Classics (built him for only $55, due to sales on the con floor), and a piece of Vectar...

The middle of the pic - your full view of the elusive Fishtank Castle, some MonstreHero customs on the parapet, a cloaked RxH VS Tarantulas VS Onell VS Cavey Nibbler, Vectar, the standard RxH Nibbler, a Medieval Nibbler, Cringer, an RxH Chaos Trooper...
And the last view of the pic - Enforcer Sarvos RxH mini, and the other two new OSM, Commander Comet and Mystron.
I had to buy two sets of the OSM to build some variations.
It was obviously a Nibbler-centric convention product-wise, but more on that in a future post.
I think what excited me the most of the above was the new set of Outer Space Men. Four more figures closer to the goal of all the originals being made in Glyos format! Additionally, at the show, they previewed ORBITRON and the amazing COLOSSUS REX! You can see pics on the main page over at FourHorsemen.biz.
I didn't take many candid pics this year, as part of my "this is the worst con ever" feeling.
The other big awesome news regarded new MOTU Classics and a Mattel Voltron that has to be seen to be believed. Look at He-Man.org and ToyArk.com for pics of those.

The Final Annual SDCC Report- part one

2011-07-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

Based on the Google stats, one of my post popular posting times is right after SDCC. I can't imagine why...(close sarcasm tag here).

Honestly, SDCC this year was shitty for me in most respects. The lines were out of control. Too many people in attendance. Those fucking bags that go on people's backs that they fill with poster tubes that clip you in the face as you try to move through the hall...THE EXCLUSIVES. So many bad experiences this year.
The sole saving factor this year was the people. Met lots of good people this year, saw old friends, had good times, even fanboy-nerd-raged on some industry folks (sorry, you-know-who!).

For instance, here is a random out of the hotel window shot of a random crowd of people:

Massive crowds.
Meanwhile, in the room...

A mess of toys and food and water bottles! And smell. Such a horrific smell.

More toys that were picked up by people at the con.

One of the only cool things was Comedy Central set up a special South Park area in a parking lot across the way. Had some good times here. Should have gotten a Mitch Connor tattoo.

And, presenting the SENSATIONAL CHARACTER FIND OF 2011!

Bones Justice!
Really, this piece generated more discussion than was rational. Not bad for an obscure GALOOB toy from the 90's.

To be continued...

The man with the claw

2011-07-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Clawful! He's beautiful. I have nothing else to say.

Plastic and Plush Buildmen

2011-07-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

There were a few Buildmen exclusives made back in 200X (!). This was one of them.

The elusive Plastic and Plush Buildman. The one shown above is specially painted by Matt Walker, and was sold through P and P in 20XX.
Here is a comparison shot with an untouched version of the figure.

Very "Black Hole" or Crimson Guard, eh?

Blast from the Past

2011-07-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, SDCC is over. And something incredible joined my collection.The original Pheyden. A hand-cast Pheyden. A gun-carrying Pheyden.
Enjoy!

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Pheyaos was out exploring, and came across a planet filled with foliage. As he was singing to himself, he came across a dessicated body of a strange creature he did not recognize. Using his probe arm, he sampled it. The Nibbler returned to life, and Pheyaos found himself in a new, armored body.
Now he must hunt down the Nibbler at all costs...

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Later, he found himself battling the cursed Pheydens again, but an injection of Anti-Matter made the Nibbler more powerful than ever.

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Nibbler was fully regenerated with a new body! But it continued to change...first pink, then black...

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

(I should mention now - this is my take on the Nibbler. Some fan-fiction involved here!)

The Nibbler completed his regeneration, but his brain was expanding too rapidly! It caused his regenerated left eye to explode out, necessitating the eyepatch. The Nibbler had his minions drill holes in his head to relieve the pressure.

The Mini-Nibbler was something bizzare that escaped the regeneration machine after the Bowling Ball Nibbler was completed regenerated. It has very little of the intelligence of the true Nibbler, but six times the hunger.

The Nibbler had a nightmare that a ghost was chasing him...and ate him. But what is the Haunted Nibbler truly? A phantasm? Real? The Nibbler will find out in his darkest hour.

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

So the Nibbler makes it to the fishtank castle and his followers are there. They have a regeneration machine to help repair him. But it makes him into an evolved (big-brain) version of himself while it repairs his body...

The follower heads were included with some Winter Nibblers (or all of them - I'm not sure. I got a bunch of these second hand). The Future Nibbler was offered a few times, and should remind you of something from British television.

Nibbler Week!

2011-07-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Nibbler, trapped in Pheyden's fishtank, donned a cloak. With his powers lost, he made his way to the fishtank castle, meeting followers there in a surprised state...

Don't ask me to explain the variants inside the storyline. I missed the Original colors version, but I have the rest. They should remind you of things...I think of them as minions of the one, true Nibbler. How the hell they wound up in Pheyden's fishtank is something we should leave to imagination. Otherwise you wind up with the writers from Transformers 3, and they say that the Nibbler KNEW he would be captured, so he trapped future aspects of himself in the fishtank (based on pop culture) to eventually regenerate himself. (shifty-eyes)