Cereal... The Final Frontier

I don't know if I've really made up my mind about the new Star Trek film or not, but if there's one thing that I do know, it's that I always enjoy a good bowl of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.

And in this case, I get to enjoy them while looking at two of Starfleet's brightest young pretty-boys.




Once I've finished my breakfast, the debate begins as to which uniform shirt (or shirts) I'll be ordering. So far it's looking as though it'll be a small gold one for the kid, and a large blue one for me.

With spoons set to stun, we'll both be ready to tackle that next bowl of cereal.

"Is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another bug hunt?"

I've always been forgiving when it comes to toys based on the various Alien movies. I freely admit that I love the Kenner line, and quality issues aside, I enjoyed what McFarlane Toys put out. When NECA started releasing figures from Alien Vs. Predator Requiem, I was thrilled, because I've long been a fan of what they do, and I imagined that for once I'd have no need to be forgiving.

AvPR was a painfully mediocre film, but NECA did a great job with the figures. Ultimately they proved that if they could make lemonade from Twentieth Century-Fox's lemons, then they deserved to do characters from the earlier Predator and Alien films as well.

The Alien Warrior from Aliens is a solid example of just how true that is.



This figure started turning up months ago, but for whatever reason, I never saw it at retail until my local Toys"R"Us put a bunch of them out recently. Geoffrey the Giraffe's current focus on collectors is just fine as far as I'm concerned.

I'm absolutely thrilled to have a choice when it comes to shopping for figures like this, and even though it took six or seven months to add this to my collection, I'm happy to have a chance at getting it for a decent price.

Another thing that's great, is that I also had a chance to pick through a few of these--which is cool, seeing as how there are some paint "variations." To be honest, I'm not sure if there really are variations, or if the factory was a bit loose when it came to consistency, but at any rate, there seems to be a range of both blue and brown Alien Warriors out there. In my case, I've found one that is somewhat in the middle, with blue undertones and brown highlights.

I should admit that I got this on my second pass, as the first Alien Warrior purchased had a broken leg (below the left knee) right out of package, and needed to be returned. I've bought all kinds of NECA figures over the years, and as far as I can remember, I've never had one break. Seeing as how I don't own the McFarlane Alien Warrior because it fell apart on me twice, I was worried about NECA's version.

Worried for no reason though, as the figure that I've got now is just fine.

The build quality is good once you've managed to get it out of the package and carefully work the joints loose. I'd say that the glossy paint has caused parts to stick a little more than they ordinarily would, but that shiny outer coating makes the figure look great, so it's worth it.

The overall sculpt is very nice, if not the best of its kind out there. It's possible to nitpick over a few details, like the size of the skull being small in the front, or how the whole head doesn't curve as much as it should. It's probably possible to work the entire figure over when compared to stills from the movie, but that's never been the most important thing to me when it comes to Alien toys.

I'm looking for a good, artistic, and fun representation of what the film designers intended. In this case the figure has the right look and poseability, which means that I'm constantly inspired to pick the thing up and place it around my desk in menacing poses.



On the whole I'm very happy with NECA's efforts this time around. I can't help but hope that in addition to more creature figures, eventually they'll dive into making figures of human (or android!) characters that have never been done before.

Happy Father's Day

Morgan TR 2 Talking Robot -- "Puedo Hablar Español"

A few years ago a friend gave me this boxed "Morgan TR 2 Talking Robot." She knew how much I loved robots, and must have also known how much I love robots that speak fluent Spanish.

   


Oddly enough, I owned this thing for years before I finally got around to putting batteries in it. The mind reels at the complexity of a Hong Kong based toy company (whose name I can't find, but their logo is an Aladdin's lamp), creating a Spanish speaking robot that actually sounds pretty cool.

Enjoy...

Here's What I'm Playing -- WrestleMania

 

So, I've had this one shoved in the old NES toploader for a week now, and each time I play, it turns out exactly the same way.

 


You're given a choice of players and opponents, and seeing as how this game is based on WrestleMania III, I can't help but choose Hulk Hogan each time. Then I have him battle André the Giant...

 

...which is stupid, because each match seems to only last a minute. Sure, things start out well enough, but before I know it, André the Giant has Hulk by the legs. And if that doesn't look bad enough, he finishes things off by laying on the Hulkster, who is apparently so violated that he quits... or maybe dies.




Yes, well done André. Well done indeed!

Lunch with The Green Hornet

Every now and then I'll come across something so cool that, even though I really don't collect it, I just can't help myself. Recently it was this Green Hornet lunch box by King-Seeley Thermos Co. from 1967.



I love old lunch boxes, but there's a little voice in my head that tells me, "Do not under any circumstances fall into the expensive lunch box collecting habit." The art on most of these older boxes is as good as it gets, and this one is no exception.

 


But aside from the visual appeal of something like this, there's no denying that it's awesome to have a lunch box with Bruce Lee on it. Chances are fantastic that I'll turn around and sell this thing on eBay pretty soon... but in the meantime I'm gonna fill it with sandwiches and put on Flight of the Bumblebee.

Terminator Salvation Trading Cards by Topps

You know the world is really coming to an end, when critics are panning a Terminator movie based on the fact that it doesn't live up to the "standards" of past Terminator films. (Standards?) As if anyone in their right mind would ever sit down to watch a film about robots destroying humanity--robots that look a lot like the Governor of California--and think that it was anything other than a summer popcorn flick. As if the first three films were all that great to begin with... I mean... we ARE talking about the Terminator movies right?



(The caption above doesn't say if this is Los Angeles today or in the future, and honestly I can't remember anymore.)

All that I expected from the film was robots fighting humans, lots of explosions, and then in the end we get to see a blurred out Schwarzenegger crotch shot just before someone (or something) dies.

...and I think that's what we got.



What I expect from Topps when it comes to their Terminator Salvation trading cards is pretty simple also. I expect a set of eighty-nine cards that show various scenes from the movie, and then each card will have some fun or informative text on the back.

...and I know that's what we got.

Einstein

If imitation really is the most sincere form of flattery, then the good people at Milton Bradley were probably the most flattered in the game industry at one time. Their game, Simon, was one of the most heavily imitated handhelds out there, with everyone taking a crack at repeating the pattern... errr.. formula.

Einstein by Castle Toy is a very nice example of one of those imitators.




Castle made a series of fun, but not exactly great games around 1980, that were all decent knock-offs of some other company's product.



Einstein fits the formula pretty well, being a typical repeat the pattern kind of game. The overall design is nice, with as much '70s/'80s futuristic styling as you could wrap around four "C" batteries. Einstein features some cool sounds effects also, as it plays a different song if you win or loose.

More Equal Than Others

It was enough to make a six year old kid's head explode.

Back in '74, Planet of the Apes films were enjoying a pretty good run on syndicated television. CBS gave us an awesome TV show that was admittedly less of a thrill than the films, but was still cool enough to win me over from Chico and the Man. And best of all, there was a glut of merchandise out there for an ape loving human-child to enjoy.

MEGO was obviously the company that did it best. To this day I can't help but look at a Dr. Zaius figure with a certain amount of awe.



I admit to having been a particularly quirky kid, seeing as how I favored the less exciting MEGO figures--Dr. Zaius, Mr. Spock, the Cowardly Lion, Human Torch--over many others. Looking back, the weirdest of them all really had to be Dr. Zaius, given that his usual interaction with the other toys was to scold them, and to order a Soldier Ape to throw them in a cage fashioned from random sticks and twine.



If my memory serves me well, I'm pretty sure that Kirk and Spock were often rescued from the sinister clutches of Dr. Zaius by a recon group consisting of McCoy and Cornelius. Though in the end, Zaius always had a change of heart, and became friends with the humans.

I know... I was a sweet, but extremely nerdy kid.

Print: Roots of the Swamp Thing

I love Swamp Thing, and I love Bernie Wrightson's art, but most of all I love a really well done hard bound compilation.



Just out recently, Roots of the Swamp Thing is perfect as far as I'm concerned. It's great looking, beautifully put together, and covers just the right number of issues by following writer Len Wein's involvement with the book.

(Published by DC Comics 2009 -- ISBN: 978-1-4012-2236-9)

Squeaky Toy: Pink Elephant

Manufactured by Dreamland Creations © 1969.