Hot Wheels Batmissile

The Hot Wheels 1:50 scale line of Batman vehicles has been a mix of fun and frustration, largely due to the fact that a few of the vehicles have been harder to find than they should have been.

The Batmissile from Batman Returns is a perfect example of this.

It's a somewhat ridiculous vehicle to begin with, so I was starting to feel a little weird because I'd been hunting around for it for way too long. But now that my hunt for the Batmissile is finally over, I'm happy that I've completed the set of Tim Burton Batman vehicles from this line.

The toy itself is well made, with a metal outer shell, rubber tires, and the obligatory sliding cockpit door. I can't remember if the chrome part at the front is actually movie correct, but it adds to the look of the toy, so I'm willing to let it slide.

If anything, I suppose it feels just a bit anticlimactic to have the line end with this vehicle. I haven't read anything about a fourth series, so I'm assuming that this is it until the next film comes out.

Iron Man 2 -- War Machine

With Hasbro knee deep in 3-3/4-inch figure lines at the moment, it's nice to see that they've managed to get the jump on a new film's release by putting figures from the Iron Man 2 line into stores so early. It's also nice to see that the line is--with few exceptions--a well handled mix of figures that Iron Man fans of all types can enjoy.

I really like the fact that they've broken things into three categories: Comic Book, Movie, and Concept. I've laid eyes on about half the line, which consists of around twenty-six figures so far, and they all seem extremely fun.

So, what did I buy first? Well, seeing as how I've already picked up a few comic book Iron Man figures from the Marvel Universe line, I couldn't resist this awesome little War Machine.

 

Small scale superhero figures from both Mattel and Hasbro are seeing the addition of all kinds of bonus items this year, and Hasbro has done something really cool (and really smart) by including a kind of info card/figure stand combo.



War Machine is a fine toy on its own though, as it features a great sculpt, good paint, nicely handled articulation, and very snug joints.

 

This figure (#23 for the line) is handled as well, if not better, than just about every Marvel Universe figure that I've had a chance to play around with. And that says a lot for Hasbro's ability to pull out the stops when they've got a film behind them that will most likely be a hit.



I also wanted to do something that I haven't done in a very long while, and give a public thumbs-up to Toys R Us (where I purchased this figure) for leveling off their prices in order to compete with the big-box stores like Target and Walmart. TRU had these, and pretty much all of their 3-3/4-inch figures, priced at a (nearly) reasonable $6.99, which is around a dollar less than many other places at the moment.

For the most part I consider Toys R Us to be a "big-box" store as well, but for whatever reason, they're unable to be as competitive as they should be in a market that they might easily dominate. Hopefully the recognition that affordable and competitive pricing is key to their success, is a sign that Toys R Us is making the right kind of efforts in order to survive.

Happy Valentines Day

The Bandit

It's my secret shame... I'm a big Smokey and the Bandit fan, and to be honest, I really like the film Smokey and the Bandit II as well.

A few years ago, after a conversation where I had explained that I wanted to be either a stunt man or a truck driver when I was a kid, my beloved wife gave me this diecast "Bandit One" by Ertl.





Decades later, I no longer want to be a stunt man or a truck driver (well... maybe a little), and I've never been a huge Pontiac fan, but any kind of toy with a picture of Burt Reynolds on it is pretty cool.

140 Interlocking Pieces

The only thing better than finding a good puzzle at the thrift store, is finding one that actually comes with all of its pieces.





Of coarse the first thing that I did when I got home was count all the pieces... and fortunately they're all there.

Not that the $1.99 asking price wasn't worth the risk, but what really made it worth while was the included mini catalog from 1978.