Game Boy Kiwi

Thought it would be nice to continue with this green theme for the month.



Seeing as how I'd just put up a small collection of Game Boy photos over on my Flickr account, I was going to make a much longer post, but then I put Tetris in the little green box, and... well...

History of the DC Universe -- Martian Manhunter

I've been eying this series for a while now, and though I have no real bond with the History of the DC Universe books (I wasn't reading much of anything in the late '80s), I couldn't resist a new Martian Manhunter figure.

It features a sharp clean sculpt that's based on the style of George Pérez. From a running horse it seems perfect, but once you've give it a few minutes of play time, you'll notice that the big green guy has a few problems.

I love the sculpt, and also really like the glossy green and blue plastic that DC Direct has used. I don't know that the choice would be perfect for every character, but it seems to work well here.



Things that I'm not so happy with include: many points of articulation that don't actually do anything; the left hand is molded to hold something, but he doesn't come with (or need) accessories; and he's very poorly balanced, so he tends to lean backwards and fall over.

Focusing on that last point about the Martian Manhunter falling on his back, it's pretty easy to blame a few simple design mistakes. Firstly, the figure is very back-heavy, but doesn't have the articulation to shift or lean forward in a way that looks good. Secondly, the knee joints are a bit soft, so what little strength that it does have, is compromised by weak legs. Thirdly, the included stand just doesn't fit the figure. It's a small, round, generic base, and it doesn't do very much to enhance looks or stability.



In all, this isn't my favorite Martian Manhunter figure, and it didn't do much to sell me on the History of the DC Universe line, but given that we're up to the fourth series of figures, with more to come (I'm assuming), DC Direct still has plenty of opportunities to improve this line.

Matchbox Porsche 914

Once again, Matchbox delivers to my desktop something that I'd like to put in my garage... if I had a finished garage.

The 914 has never been my favorite Porsche model, but I've been thinking a lot lately about how I'd love a good project car, and the idea of an early 914 keeps coming up.

Seeing as how I need to gut and then rebuild my garage first, (then gut and rebuild my wallet as well), this little green 914 by Matchbox will have to tide me over for a while.

Board Game: Trouble

Some games look better in the box than they are, and Trouble is definitely one of them.



I love the packaging and design of this game by Kohner Bros., but it has all of the infuriating play elements that make me want to kill myself after just a short while.

The idea is that after you roll a six with the "Pop-O-Matic" cube shaker, you systematically "pop" each of your four pieces around the board. If an opponent lands on one of your pieces, then it is sent back to the beginning... and that's how I lose my mind.



Seeing as how they marketed this as the "new frustrating chase game", I probably shouldn't be surprised.

Blade... Not For Sale

Given the wacky amount of stuff that I've collected over the years, and the extremely limited amount of space that I have available to display all of it (or to store it for that matter), it shouldn't come as a surprise that I purge my collection from time to time. Now... I'm not posting an advertisement for my eBay account, but after putting up a series of ads recently to sell off the Toy Biz Figure Factory items that I own, I had to face the fact that I just couldn't get rid of all of them.

Previously I had posted about Figure Factory Doctor Doom--which I decided to keep by the way--and now I'm changing my mind about selling the absolutely awesome Blade figure.



There's a regular version and a variant actually. The variant is the one that I'm keeping, and it features a "disintegrating" vampire corpse made of transparent red plastic.



For a figure so small, I've always been really impressed by the level of complexity in both detail and puzzle-like play value.

Something to Smile About

From the Movie Masters line for The Dark Knight, comes this figure of the Joker with his very special rocket launcher.

These were first available online through Mattel's Website, but for a while now they've been sporadically turning up at Toys"R"Us.

It's a good figure--not great, but good--and I'm glad that I finally found one with a less than rediculous amount of red stuff all over his face. I'm also glad that I payed a few dollars less than the price Mattel originally charged through their Website.

LEGO Minifigures: Spaceman and Deep Sea Diver

Series 1 of the LEGO Minifigures are out there, and even though I had high hopes of scoring a blind packed Zombie or Robot, the Spaceman and Deep Sea Diver are pretty cool as well.

Matchbox Jaguar XK 120SE

A few months ago I was invited to poke my head into a welder's shop, where the owner was skillfully welding away at the floorboards on one of the most beautiful cars that I'd ever seen.

I've never been a huge fan of classic British cars, but as I walked around the old Jaguar, I felt as though I was looking at a spaceship instead of a car. To make matters worse, I realized that because the welder I was visiting specialized in aluminum (or would it be aluminium in this case?), that this Jag was more than just gorgeous, it was probably very light and fast when it was running.

After reading up on the XK 120, the XK 140, and the XK 150 (which is what the welder was working on), I was able to quickly determine that though I would love to own one, the chances of being able to afford a Jaguar XK 120SE are very slim.

But that's where collecting Matchbox cars comes in.

One of the great things about how Mattel has maintained a very nice divide between Hot Wheels and Matchbox lines, is that if you're simply looking for a 1:64th scale version of an absolutely perfect old British car, you'll probably find it in a Matchbox.

The Empire Strikes Back... Now With A Third More "D"

To be perfectly honest, for a very long time now I've been more than happy with my simple two-dimensional The Empire Strikes Back trading cards. But what Topps has managed to do with these, is add another dimension, and somehow they've increased the coolness factor by a hundred percent.

It's no secret, I'm kind of a Star Wars fan, and I'm pretty fond of Topps trading cards. Add that to the simple fact that I'm a sucker for silly 3-D effects, and it's a given that I'm going to like this set. They are really fun cards. The images are very nice, the film facts on the back are great, and the quiz questions...

"what type of stew did Yoda make for Luke Skywalker when he brought the boy into his home?"

(My answer: Dog barf. The real answer: Rootleaf.)

...are another great way to celebrate The Empire Strikes Back and its 30th anniversary.

The one negative aspect of these cards is the price. Though you'll end up paying around three dollars for a pack of only three cards, I think it's worth it to try just a few.

Secrets of the Afterlife Revealed...