Porky Pig Tin Toy, or... What Grandpa Played With During The Depression.

To be fair, the Great Depression was winding to a close by 1939 when this Porky Pig tin toy was manufactured. Fact is, Marx Toys was one of the few companies to actually see an increase of revenues during the 1930's, allowing them to open new factories, and to further increase production of great toys like this one.







And to be perfectly factual once again, this toy wasn't exactly something that my Grandfather played with.

A few years ago, after my Grandfather-in-law had passed away, I found Porky Pig packed in a suitcase that he'd stashed on a high shelf in the garage. As it turns out, there was a time in his life when he'd collected the odd toy here and there, and had saved them away for the future when his own children, or in this case grandchildren and great-grandchildren, might enjoy them.

Just goes to prove that no matter how hard the times, if you keep your sense of humor, and keep thinking about the future, it'll all work out for the better.

President Obama Trading Cards by Topps.

I've loved Topps since I was a kid, so it's amazing to see them jumping on the current presidential bandwagon, by putting out this series of "inaugural edition" trading cards.





The set features ninety different cards, and eighteen stickers. The cards themselves are done very well, but what makes them entertaining, is how they're designed and structured just like any other Topps card. Each has a photo on the front with some kind of clever Topps-esque caption, and then the backs feature facts and info about the 2008 presidential race, or about the President's early life.

All that's missing is the bubblegum.

Star Wars (Clone Wars): Dooku, Ventress and C-3PO

The new Clone Wars cartoon is alive and kicking on Cartoon Network, and as much as I'm enoying the show, I've come to like the obligatory toy line just as much.

With all figures stylized to look like the cartoon version of their character, but given as much detail and articulation as a "basic" figure, it's a no-brainer that these might appeal to the younger "collectors" out there, but what about the seasoned older fans?

The figure of Count Dooku is as solid a version of Christopher Lee's great character as any that I've seen. Hasbro has done a decent job on all levels with this one. The figure looks spot-on like the cartoon character, but holds its own as a fun-to-play-with action figure as well. Not just a little statue of the animated Dooku, but a solid and neatly articulated version of the Count.



Better yet though, is the Clone Wars version of Asajj Venress.



I've yet to have a bad version of this character from Hasbro, but this one kills on so many levels. I love the design: detail, color scheme, use of cloth, and articulation on this thin and willowy figure. It's actually pretty amazing that they found a way to give a character this thin as much useful articulation as they did.

And speaking of "useful," there's the figure of Clone Wars C-3PO, showing how even after thirty-ish years it's still possible to rework an old idea and come up with something special.



He's simple and sweet, with a gold paint-job rather than vac-metal, which has allowed Hasbro to give old C-3PO a surprising number of bendable joints. It'll never replace the old vintage "See-Threepio" as my favorite protocol droid figure, but this modern animated version is at the very least, as fun as the new Clone Wars cartoon itself. Which is probably more than enough to appeal to even the most skeptical Star Wars fan... if they're willing to enjoy it for what it is.

She's a Wonder...

Series 4 DC Universe figures finally found their way across my radar recently, and I was able to pick up Wonder Woman, Ares, and even the variant figure of Artemis. They're all great figures, which is something that I tend to take for granted when it comes to the Four Horsemen, but it's worth pointing out specifically just how nice these are.

Wonder Woman is maybe one of the best action figures of a woman that I've ever seen. More often than not, toys based on female characters seem to have been sculpted by someone that hasn't actually seen a woman in person. In this case, the exaggerated comic book form is there, but it's mixed artfully with what I'd call "normal" or natural proportions as well.



That, and she doesn't have a horse-face like so many other female action figures...

Which leads me to the second Amazonian that I was lucky enough to score: the "variant" figure of Artemis is equally great. The same praise applies to this toy as well, and again, I bow to the Horsemen's ability to crank out yet another perfect action figure.

Being a chase figure, Artemis could have easily sucked and it would have happened with little protest, seeing as how these will probably all be snatched up by scalpers anyway. But the figure of Artemis as Wonder Woman is brilliant, and it'll be a shame if these do end up being hard to find. (I could see a box set of all three of these figures selling pretty well at some point.)



Last but not least, is the very "Horseman-esque" figure of Ares. Reminding me so much of why I loved how they handled the He-Man line, this figure has a dead perfect sculpt with great detail, and a really nice paint job as well.



My only complaint with Ares, and this has applied to a number of Mattel figures in this 6-inch scale lately, is that his left knee pin wasn't pressed in properly. I've gotten used to the idea of heating and re-pressing at least one joint-pin per figure at this point, but with Ares it was especially difficult given the sculpt.

Once fixed--and we'll hope that Mattel pushes for a little better quality control with this line--Ares is an excellent figure, and has taken a place as one of my current desktop favorites.

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On a side note, I recently found a great Wonder Woman collectibles Web site (experiencethewonder.com) that I'll be adding to my list of links for sure.

Let The Invasion Begin!

Pointy ears and pointy shoes are obviously something I just can't ignore. This set is fun because it gives me the opportunity to start my very own Skrull invasion here at home.







Known for great detail, but only limited articulation, this Marvel Select multi-pack is really more about display than play. Only weird thing that I'm not sure about is the pinkish paint-job that they gave to one of the three figures. That, and the packaging mentions a "highly detailed base," which would have been kind of cool if they had included one.

Ad Space: Evel Knievel

Spock It To Me!

The Diamond Select Star Trek figures have been turning up at that good old place "where a kid can be a kid" lately, and though the line is mostly older Art Asylum things rehashed, I'm glad to see the Star Trek logo on the pegs at any store right now. For one reason or another I missed out on this Spock figure back when Art Asylum first released it... or maybe I skipped it on purpose. (Can't remember.)

With many of Art Asylum's Star Trek figures I've been unimpressed when it comes to facial sculpt and build quality, but I regretted not getting this Spock when it first came out. Seeing it at Toys"R"Us this week pushed me into taking a chance this time around, but I'm not sure that I've made the right choice.



I probably only own two or three of Art Asylum's figures, but the few that I have are good. In general, I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of their choice to use a soft rubber covering on the torso area of their figures. I've a feeling that the material wont hold up very well in the long run, and there's something to be said for how creepy it feels as well.

The figure of "Commander Spock" that Diamond Select is marketing via the mainstream retail world, is visibly no different than the old version of this figure. The current packaging that they've cooked up is hardly memorable, making the line seem a bit like it was rushed to market. The Kirk figure that they've put out along with Spock is bland, and features one of the worst facial sculpts that I've ever seen. Spock's sculpt is better I think, but the toy lacks in many ways of its own.



Firstly there's the price point. This figure retails for around thirteen dollars, and feels easily like it should be two or three dollars cheaper to justify its mediocre quality. The paint job is less than perfect on all of the Trek figures that I saw, which is something that's mirrored by a fairly lackluster build quality as well. It strikes me that if I should try and switch out one of the optional hands, the wrist will snap and break because the plastic is too weak. Combined with the fact that the left shoulder on my figure is loose and barely holds up its arm, I'm starting to wonder if Toys"R"Us is now magically able to diminish the quality of a vendor's product simply by being involved with them.

I'd always rooted for Art Asylum, but found their approach to marketing the Star Trek brand to be confusing. When I saw that Diamond was helping to promote this line and other Star Trek products, I hoped for the best. But at this point I'm not seeing improvement. It's the same random quality in new packaging that's managed to find its way onto the shelves at a different store. (Sort of.) I'm thankful that I don't have to haunt random junk-cluttered shops, or order exclusively from faceless online retailers, but I'd be a great deal happier if all involved would push for a product that does justice to the Star Trek name.