Big Chief, Little Chief
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by lllllT.
Toy review roundup
L reviews the Hasbro Star Wars The Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon toy. Excerpt: “It represents what the actual movie showed more closely than any other playset Hasbro has ever released.”
Khalil reviews the Hasbro Star Wars The Legacy Collection Millennium Falcon toy. Excerpt: “I don’t think I have felt better about buying a toy in a long time.”
Michael Crawford reviews the Mattel DC Infinite Heroes Crisis Series Weather Wizard, Flash, Mirror Master, and Gotham City S.W.A.T and Commissioner Gordon three-packs. Excerpt: “While these have their share of minor faults, they are actually great toys for kids. Of course, that’s if kids have any idea who they are.”
Fred Meyer reviews the Hasbro G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary G.I Joe Hawk, Barbecue, Cobra B.A.T., Sgt. Bazooka, Storm Shadow (Ninja-Ku Leader version) and Snow Serpent figures. Excerpt: “Whereas figures such as Destro v2 and Bazooka showcase new levels of design improvement, Hawk represents a step backwards in terms of quality.”
yo go re reviews the Thinkway Toys WALL-E U-Repair WALL-E toy. Excerpt: “When reviewing movie figures, we always look for the plainest, most vanilla version – that’s the best representation of the character. In this case, that means the one that falls apart.” (See also.)
Michael Crawford reviews the Hasbro Indiana Jones Ark of the Convenant exclusive mail-away 1/6-scale accessory. Excerpt: “This guy is good enough to display with my Sideshow Indy figures or your Medicom Indy figures, and not feel bad about it at all.”
JimButcher reviews the Lego Star Wars 7676 Republic Attack Gunship set. Excerpt: “… a great set to have for your star wars/ clone wars collection, with some flaws.”
Retro reviews
yo go re reviews the Hasbro G.I. Joe Sigma 6 Heavy Duty figure. Excerpt: “Heavy Duty may have started out as the poor man’s Roadblock, but ever since the Joe line restarted, he’s really come into his own.” (See also.)
Tom Prankerd reviews the Bandai Chogokin DX GC-30 Dancougar set. Excerpt: “… something less complicated might well have had a better look.” (See also.)
Tom Prankerd reviews the Select Convertors Defender Chopper and Tanker figures. Excerpt: “(Re: Tanker) … the kindest thing that can be said is that he’s a cheap alternative to the Takatoku original.”
Leonardo Flores reviews the Bandai Spiral Zone Optional Backpack Unit Bazooka Unit 1/12-scale accessory set. Excerpt: “… it looks great when displayed with a Spiral Zone figure.”
Fanmode faves
Fanmode presents a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for July ’08.
Jack Walsh’s All My L’il Ninjas.
Over six minutes of ninjas. Can it get any more awesome than that? We submit that it could not. (Episode 2.)
Don Figueroa’s scratch-built mecha.
He’s better known for his Transformers art but he first came to prominence with scratch-built Transformers for his Macromasters series. This is a stunning example of his current work. (More.)
Ghosts episode 11.
Justin Bell’s G.I. Joe photocomic is remarkable on multiple levels. The story is engaging and the work he puts into creating the sets necessary for the scenes is impressive.
Onua drill tank.
A brutal-looking transforming Bionicle MOC by kawazu1120. (More.)
Best laid plans.
A Lego diorama inspired by The Far Side.
The Battle for Classic Castle Kingdom.
Incredible Lego dioramas by dabolt. (More.)
Henkei Microchange.
This Transformers Henkei Megatron fanmode by misodrill is both a clever bit of out-of-the-box thinking and a reminder of the character’s Microman origins.
“Can you break a twenty?”
The tin robot’s eyes make this Liz Page photo especially hilarious. (More from this series.)
Talent only goes so far.
You also need the right tools as this amusing photo by ricko shows. (On the other hand, in the right hands, even awkward tools can produce fantastic art.)
Big Toy Industry Panel.
“… nine of the industry’s biggest names … waxing poetic about the state of the industry, their influences and what they’re excited about in the future of toys, action figures and statues, as well as the very real challenges now facing the industry.”
Toy links
Maybe we better take off.
An excellent shot by TCM Hitchhiker of the Mezco Toyz The Warriors Baseball Furies figure.
Zaku pilot returns home after work.
A quirky diorama by Connatic.
Tin Grins.
Old school tin toys as seen though Kyle’s lens.
Sixth-scale bodies for kitbashing.
Shaun Wong runs through some blank body options available for kitbashers.
Skybuster.
This fanmode combining Transformers Henkei Skyfire and a Superlink Roadbuster Wild could form the base of a fine Bruticus kitbash. (Click on the images for a better look.)
Dinobot girls.
Don’t call her “Slag”. (Click on the image for a better look.)