My recent acquisitions

It has been quite the last month for me in terms of toy collection. I can't believe I haven't updated in a month, either; so here's a rundown of my new things, my thoughts on them, and anything else.

1. Ghostbusters minimates

Not two days ago, while in the comic shop in Winston Salem (I was out of town for work stuff), I stumbled upon the series 2 pack, as well as the PX exclusive GB2 Ray + glow in the dark Slimer. I was super excited, and that makes my minimates collection almost complete. All I need is the SDCC Venkman/glowing Stay Puft (the Amazon game pack doesn't excite me too much, though I LOVED the game) and that'll be it until series 3 comes out. Woo.

2. DCUC Wave 10

I know this photo has my albino Man-bat in it, so just picture him as an all-black Michael Keaton-esque Batman with a batarang and bat-puter. I love these figures. The brown Man-bat is nowhere near the quality of the albino, but I guess that's to be expected since one was an exclusive and the other a mass market repaint. The Joker, complete with his accessories (cane, mallet, cards, joker fish?!), was originally a pass for me, but then I saw him and had to get him. He's awesome. I was so excited when I found these at Walmart.

3. RGB Slimed Heroes

Last time I updated, I insinuated I'd be after the remaining Slimed Heroes figures I didn't pick up. Well, I succeeded. They are, of course, awesome, and adorn the wall adjacent to my shelf. The others I got are in great shape, and I got them for a great price off eBay. I was planning on going after (quite possibly) the original series, but that all changed when I stumbled upon my next acquisition...

4. HOT TOYS POLICE JOKER

Remember when I was at that WS comic shop? I also happened to ask if they had the new Joker in stock. Unbelievably, they did. I took one look at him and thought "pre-order be damned" (side note: I pre-ordered from Toy Rocket, who is now bankrupt, with an old credit card that no longer works... so I feel okay). This figure is without a doubt the greatest figure I own, and have ever seen. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. The box is a work of art in itself. The accessories are amazing (the pistol has a removable clip, and cocks; the knife is retractable and can clip onto his pockets [his pockets are real pockets!], and the grenades have to be pinned to his coat using tiny, real clothespins). The stand has working spotlights that can be adjusted to shine perfectly on him. I've never seen anything like it. In fact, hilariously enough, I find myself staring at him and shaking my head in disbelief. It really is that good.

There's... so many.

So awesome.

Movie Masters return??

Wow, it's been forever since I updated! I blame going to California for a month with bad Internet access.

Apparently, last night, Mattel announced that the DK Movie Masters figures will be returning to retail as a TRU exclusive, but will also be sold online at their website for a reduced price of $15. I'm really quite conflicted about this. A $5 reduction in price + $8 in shipping is still a lot to pay for these figures, and the fact that they'll be at retail makes me want to hunt for them next spring. But I remember quite vividly how horrible it was trying to find new MM figures, until suddenly they were unloaded at Big Lots for an absurd price. It was a nightmare. Add into that equation the fact that they're an exclusive line (and there's only 2 TRU's within an hour of me), it may well end up that these are impossible to find again.

They also are keeping the Joker as Gotham Thug figure as an online exclusive, probably as a last-ditch attempt to sell him out (now that he'll be the "rare" one) because he's been e-pegwarming for the last month. Something just sort of stinks here. It seems that now I've got the hedge against finding them at retail and order them online, but if they show up and overflow at TRU, then I wasted my money on all that shipping. If I don't get them online but are impossible to find in the real world, then I've missed my chance to get them. Ugh. Perhaps what I'll do is just get a couple of them at a time when a new Ghostbusters figure is released, and whichever ones I don't get, I'll hunt for.

Anyway, enough of that. I'll put up some photo updates of stuff I've gotten in the last month (namely, the Matty Ghostbuster stuff. Which is AWESOME).

Lookin' good

I finally got my Ecto-1A/ Slimed Heroes haul, finally got all the minimates together on one shelf, and I've got to say... my GB collection is lookin' good. The minimates shelf is exploding with awesome, and you can see in the photo a real 1989 ad for the brand new Ghostbusters 2 VHS cassette tape, only $19.95!

I found that in Ecto-1A's box, which was pretty beat up (I was worried the vehicle would be damaged, but it wasn't). Still, it's so exciting to see it all clean and new (used in a relative sense) and pretty. We had the original Ecto-1, but it got pretty destroyed through 20 years of use, and all the cool stickers on Ecto-1A look pretty sweet. I decided not to cover it in the slime stickers though. Just one.

The Slimed Heroes have left me in somewhat of a dilemma. Ray's bubble is loose on the top, and I messed around with it a bit and it opened up on the one side. I thought to myself, "Well this is a perfect opportunity to open them all," when I realized that the Winston and Louis (despite having some shelf wear on the bottom of the card) were fully sealed and unpunched. (Also, the $1.99 KB Toys price tag on all of them just warms my heart. Not really.) I don't have room on my self to squeeze these in MOC, which means I'm going to have to put some figures on the wall next to the shelf. I'm thinking I'll move the figures from Fright Features that we had as kids, though I'm not sure I want to break up the waves in that way.

Tomorrow I'm going to see if the local vintage toy store will buy the Power Pack Egon so that I can use some store credit to buy their MIB Squisher ghost from the Gooper Ghost series. Hopefully they'll give me a competitive price for the Egon, since his card is in really great shape.

I'm watching Slimed Egon and Peter on eBay, hoping to successfully complete the set before the week is over. Then I need a toy break because October 15th is coming fast, and I need a lot of money to survive that day.

It's almost Oct. 15

First, a couple gripes, brought to you fresh by the toy collecting world and its insanity.

I was "hanging out" at the Fwoosh earlier, checking out the DCUC wave 10 sightings thread from Philadelphia (where my family lives), and read the harrowing tale of a fellow Philadelphian as he went to Walmart every single day for a week and a half, having heard they would receive 2 cases of DCUC wave 10. He arrived at 6:40am on the day the case was to arrive, and ran to the toy aisle because there was another person there running to the toy aisle. They got there, cleaned out all of the DCUC wave 10 figures (apparently, a Walmart employee kept one of the cases for himself), and that was it.

Maybe I'm not as dedicated as other people, but holy crap. That's insanity. I can't ever see myself doing something like that, even though I want that Batman and Man-Bat a whole bunch.

Okay, enough griping. Now it's time to rejoice. Behold, taken directly from Mattycollector.com, are the in-package photos of the 12" Ray Stantz figure. And oh, how my heart leaps in my chest! That packaging is awesome, and even though the 6" packaging eventually grew on me, this makes me happy from the start. It even has a drawer, in which to keep the head-busting (in a spiritual sense, of course) gear. I can't wait to hold this in my hands.

The detail on the proton pack looks incredible, too. Ray comes with Ecto-goggles and Egon comes with a PKE meter. They all come with working traps too, which is incredibly exciting. I mean, the head sculpts are obviously nowhere near the caliber of Hot Toys, but the $60 price tag is also nowhere near them. Honestly, if you think about it, none of the Real Ghostbusters figures look like the characters from the show (when did they wear odd space suits and use green fishing rods as ghost-catching equipment?), so it's not likeness that drives my love for these toys, it's something else.

Also, official photos of the 6" Ray (and his description) confirm that the logo ghost glows in the dark. I'm so stoked, words can't even begin to describe it. The glow from this logo ghost will be a perfect addition to my movie-GB shelf, and will continue to add to the awesomeness that is my whole Ghostbuster collection. Eventually I'll have Winston (by December, unless Mattel plays with my heart again), and then no Venkman until July 2010... which is annoying. I'll be living in an entirely different state, I'll have my M.D. degree, and most importantly, I'll have the containment unit that comes with Walter Peck.

Damn you, Mattel (also, thanks for making awesome figures)

Mattel just posted the upcoming release dates of figures on their facebook page. It breaks down like this (edited to only include things of value to me):

Oct 15:
Ghostbusters 12" Ray - $60.00
Ghostbusters 6" Ray - $20.00
Dark Knight Movie Masters Bank Robber Joker - $20.00

Nov 15:
Dark Knight Proto Suit Batman $20.00

Dec 15:
Ghostbusters 12" Egon $60.00
Ghostbusters 6" Winston with Trap - $20.00
Dark Knight MM Harvey Dent $20.00

First, why is there no Ghostbusters figure scheduled for release in November? That's really annoying, and I wish they'd at least explain why things keep getting delayed (6" Ray was supposed to come out this month, remember?). Oh well. Gives me a month to save up the $80 needed to buy a 12" and a 6" figure simultaneously, because that Egon and all his accessories look unstoppable. I have absolutely no room on my Ghostbusters shelf for him, so I'm going to have to figure something out. I also wonder what the packaging for the 12" figures will look like. I grew to like the 6" cards, but I think that the 12" should be better.

Anyway, speaking of spending only $80, it looks like the Dark Knight Movie Masters are finally going to come out. They're an insane $20 (slightly higher than the $10.99 they were--or still are-- at Walmart), and the idea of paying that plus $8 shipping for a MM figure seems far too crazy. However, and I hate to say it, if I'm dropping $80 on Ghostbusters crap, I could spend the $20 and combine shipping on all of it. That's $40 plus tax plus $2.67 shipping per item for two 6" figures. Ugh. I really need to think about how much my money is worth to me, because the in-package photos (of Dent, at least, the only one I've seen) honestly do excite me. I wish I wasn't so emotionally invested in this line. These figures have no accessories, the line has been mishandled, and they're not worth it! Damn you, Mattel.

I've got some thinking to do. In the meantime, I'll wait with bated breath for my eBay winnings to arrive in the mail. I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow and won't be back for over a week, so I'd love to see the stuff before I go. I doubt it will happen though. We shall see.

I bit the bullet

Today, I celebrate another eBay victory. By putting down my lucky Real Ghostbusters eBay Bid Total^TM, $151.55, I was able to nail down THREE (3) MOC Slimed Heroes, ONE (1) MOC Power Pack Egon, and ONE (1) MISB Ecto-1A.

The box on Ecto-1A is pretty beat up, but that's okay because I'm going to open it, and depending on the condition of the Slimed Heroes boxes (you never can tell with these eBay people), I may open them too. The Egon I think I'll try to sell or trade to the local store with old stuff, if they take trades or buy; the reason being, we had the Power Pack Heroes when I was a kid, so there's little nostalgic magic in owning them again. (However, it's interesting because back in the early 90's, my mom purchased all of the Power Pack figures and stored them away as an "investment." My brothers and I discovered them, flipped out, and she let us open them all. Oh well).My plan for the Egon is to either sell him, or use him to secure complete, loose Slimed Heroes Peter and Egon, which I believe they have at the local vintage toy shop. I feel one MOC figure for two loose figures is a fair trade, but who knows how these people will react.

I also got a letter today from the state of California, which says that Toy Rocket has filed for bankruptcy. This affects me, I suppose, because I have my Police Joker on pre-order with them. Looks like I won't be getting him any time soon. Sigh. There aren't any big Batman figures coming out other than that one that excite me, especially now that Movie Masters seems to have gone to the big toy box in the sky. If the price on these is $20 plus $8 shipping, I'm going to be the better man and walk away. I can't justify that, especially considering I paid less than that for both variants when these were ToyFare's Most Wanted and incredibly rare. Oh well.

Finally, I got my brother a very very late birthday present (and a "thanks for going to TRU to get me the minimates" present), the entire first series of Medicom's 20th anniversary Medal Gear Solid 7" figures. I'm waiting for the notice that this was a complete lie or something, because I got all 5 for $10 apiece with no shipping charge, directly from Hong Kong. There was feedback left from people who bought this same thing, and it was all positive, so I'm hopeful that it arrives at his place within 2 weeks.

And that, my friends, is all for now.

Just when I was about to give up...

Yesterday, I drove 40 minutes to the only other TRU in driving distance (reasonable driving distance, anyway) to check for GBMM's. And, like usual, the Ghostbusters peg was completely empty, while the Marvel and Terminator pegs were overflowing.

I called my brother in Delaware and asked if he would check the TRU near him, since apparently there's one not far away from his house. He got out of work, went home, leisurely made his way there, and FOUND ALL OF SERIES 2.

Mixed emotions gripped me: I was very happy because I thought I was never going to get them, but I was also annoyed. Why is it that here, and in North Carolina when I looked, and Southeast PA when I was home, there was nothing? And then randomly, in Dover, DE, all of them are just hanging out. It's frustrating!

(By the way, that awesome checklist is stolen from here.)

Anyway, I pre-ordered the GB2 Ray/Glowing Slimer pack and the series 2 "comic shop" set (all for below list price! Woo), so now I need the Red Stay Puft, Washington Square, and SDCC exclusive glowing Stay Puft sets to be complete. I'm not interested in the game set... at least not until I get the game.

Overall, I'm pleased.

Sent by my brother as torture.

This lack of minimates makes me annoyed

Yesterday, after finishing my shift in the emergency room, I went to the Toys R Us across the street to try my luck at finding some Ghostbusters minimates. Hanging alone, surrounded by Marvel and Terminator minimates, was a Venkman/Energized Terror Dog 2-pack and nothing else.

Sigh.

Since I currently own 2 terror dogs and a slimed Venkman, I'd have to say this was the least exciting GBMM pack I could have found. I still got it, because I've got a problem, but I'm fine with that. I just can't justify spending the incredibly gouged prices on eBay for these and the 2 series 1 packs I didn't get.

Now, for some good news!

F: So, the focus right now seems to be on the movie versions of all of the characters, but what about The Real Ghostbusters cartoon? Is there a current direction and time frame for those possible figures?

SN: Well, nothing that we can announce right now.

F: Would you integrate those into an overall Ghostbusters Classics line?

SN: We have some plans and the fans will know soon enough. We are actually looking at the old toy line for some inspiration on things like ghosts and equipment.

F: I always loved those clear PVC pack-in ghosts from the animated line.

SN: Absolutely. Ghostbusters is still really early so we can’t divulge too much information right now, but it is going to be a lot of fun!

Holy crap. They are looking at the old toy line for inspiration. I can't explain how seriously excited this makes me without invoking this classic moment in television history. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but their emphasis on ghosts and equipment might mean they'll re-release some of the clear PVC ghosts from the original line. Of course, since these ghosts were re-released within that line amongst different series, I basically have them all, but that does not dissuade me from being excited about the prospects.

I'm also pretty sure I posted that exact question on the Fwoosh's "Ask Mattel" thread, so that pleases me as well.

Finally, I'm currently watching on eBay 3 Slimed Heroes, 1 Power Pack Egon (included with the Slimed Heroes and mislabeled as such because, presumably, the seller cannot read) and Ecto-1A, currently at $50. I'll let you know if I bite the bullet.

A good toy day

I finally got moved into my new place, and finally got my collection all set up. I expanded it to a new shelf, as promised, so now I've got a large chunk of wall devoted to my 40 Year Old Virgin-esque addiction.

Not too long ago I posted about a local shop that has old toys, including the four original Real Ghostbusters figures loose. I went back today to investigate, and it looked like they had sold Peter (but the wrapper ghost was still there), and obtained another Ray and Winston (incomplete). I don't think I'll be buying them if there's only 3 of them. I'll continue to mull over the possibility of buying them loose, but I'd like to get all 4 in one swoop if possible. They also had Mail Fraud and Terror Trash, loose, which are the 2 Haunted Humans I never had and always wanted. I may consider getting them too. Decisions, decisions. I just don't like getting things loose. I like opening the box; that's the feeling that ignites all the old feelings of childhood for me.

On an interesting side note, they had some cool old stuff there, like the Malebolgia figure from the Spawn movie circa 1997, which I had.

I also went to the new comic shop today and checked out what they have to offer; they have one whole wall devoted to action figures, which is pretty sweet, but there was nothing there I really wanted or had been looking for. That is, until I saw (pretty much on my way out) Superman/Batman Series 7 Batman. This figure has gotten horrid reviews online, but I really like the look of him, and out-of-box he feels great.

I also stopped at TRU to look for Ghostbusters minimates, of which they had none (of course), and stumbled upon DCUC Series 9 Deadshot. I was very excited, and the price at TRU hasn't gone up to $13 yet. Today was a good day.

Finally, I got my Ghostbusters collection moved to its own shelf! I was running out of room (still am... what to do with my Watchmen figures? Hmm...) and desperately needed to expand. I had mentally resisted the urge because I felt that if my collection occupied more than one shelf, I'd be that weird guy who collects toys, but as it turns out... I already am!

Point is, everything looks great, and the glow from the Ecto-Glow Heroes warms my heart every night as I drift off to sleep in my new place.

My night light.

Note my new Fright Features RGBs, and the
super awesome NECA Slimer and Mattel Egon.

The Winstons are my favorites because
we never had him when I was a kid.

The Ghost Nabber was a present from my brother.
I asked for it when I was six and didn't get it.
He made it happen.

Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good

I thought I'd post a bit of Photoshop fun I had with Egon. I'll probably do a whole bunch more of those, since I'm a loser and I am capable of doing so. But whatever, it's cool.

Also, I saw an interesting Ask Mattel update. Usually these are not exceptionally interesting, since they often have to do with why people can't get their Masters of the Universe figures. However, when there's Ghostbusters news, I'm all ears. It's stolen from Poe Ghostal's website:

7.) Does the Containment Unit that comes with Walter Peck have any features or moving parts?

The trap holder opens and the trap that comes with Winston fits inside.

8.) Will 6″ Peter Venkman come with a ghost or a piece of equipment?

That is yet to be revealed!

I find this very exciting. The containment unit can accept the trap that comes with Winston! How awesome is that? And I'm also intrigued about the pack-in with Peter. I can't think of what it will be, unless they're going to go for something like the Library Ghost. I hope so; I think that would be a pretty cool pack-in to include (hopefully in some translucent plastic, like a purple Slimer). I can't think of any equipment that would be on a scale with the containment unit or the trap that could be included-- I just wonder when the pack-in will be revealed. I'm excited.

It also looks like 12" Ray was pushed back to October 15th, the same day 6" Ray is released. Hopefully this means I'll be able to get them both at the same time, and have them shipped together.

Lastly, I wish they had managed to make and release the Glow Copter. I want it. :(

SCORE

I just finished an historic eBay battle (yes, I know there's no such thing as an historic eBay battle) with some unlucky soul who thought his/her dedication to collecting Real Ghostbusters figures exceeded mine. The price was at $64.01 for the last 5 minutes, which was the total for all 5 Fright Features figures MOC, and I was in the lead. Then, with less than 10 seconds left, someone put down $100 as their max bid.

I, however, had put down $151.55, so I won all 5 of these figures for almost exactly $20 a piece (and $50 under my max bid). I'm definitely very happy right now. I've been looking for these figures for a very long time, and have an eBay search for them saved so I get email alerts whenever someone lists anything "fright features". But to get them all MOC in one fell swoop is fantastic. I'm sad I didn't get them for the absurd price I got the Super Fright Features, but these figures are older and carry significantly more weight to me. As kids, my brothers and I had Egon, Peter and Ray, but they were broken so fast, and their pieces lost so quickly, that I hardly remember them. My cousin (the same cousin who had Ecto-500) had the Winston, and I always remember wanting him too.

Now, my wait is over, and my RGB collection grows steadily ever larger.

DCUC FTW?

So while I'm sitting in the lab waiting for the RNA in my tissue sample to dissolve (I lead an awesome life, by the way), I thought I'd put up an entry. See, I stumbled upon an update from Mattycollector.com's facebook page (let me digress briefly: I hate the "Matty" character, and the person who runs the facebook page can't spell and generally seems like an idiot) that had in-package photos of DCUC Wave 10. To be honest, I'm pretty excited about this line, namely the all-black Michael Keaton-esque Batman and the brown Man-Bat. I have the SDCC albino exclusive, which I love because I'm a fool for odd variants (and white is my favorite color!), but I always assumed the brown version would be out eventually. I'm glad to see that's the case.

I only have one DCUC figure, the illustrious Killer Moth, and currently there are only two more on my want-list: the unmasked Terry McGinnis (though I craved him more when he was rare... is that wrong?) and Deadshot from Wave 9 (who is theoretically out now, but I'll never find him). I haven't been all that into the DCUC figures up until this point, but with these two, plus that awesome Zebra Batman shown at SDCC, I'm looking forward to finding these out in the wild. (Let me digress again briefly: THESE ARE NOT SOLD ANYWHERE NEAR ME. HMPH. Though apparently more Wal-Marts will be stocking Wave 10, so hopefully I'll be able to find them at retail.)

Also, I'm excited because apparently a new comics shop opened up near where I live in Ohio, where up until now there's been nothing. The photos online of the place look pretty promising in terms of toy selection, which is good because I might be able to see more of the things I want out in the wild, but bad because if I do end up seeing more things to want, I'll spend money on them. The Superman/Batman series 7 Batman is a good example. I thought he looked cool back in early 2008 when he was shown on DC Direct's website, and now I might be able to go look at him in person and contemplate buying him. And when the Ghostbusters minimates series 2 box set comes out, you better believe I'm there.

My year of toy happiness has officially begun

Sorry it's been so long, to that one person out there who reads this blog (me). I'd explain why it's been so long, but you know already. So I'll dispense with that and move on to the awesome.

EGON IS HERE. Don't let me understate the amazingness that is that fact. Finally, after close to 18 years without a new Ghostbusters toy (excluding NECA, obviously, but 1) I didn't get them when they came out and 2) they didn't even have any Ghostbusters), I finally have a super-articulated Egon Spengler figure. The figure is great; his articulation is incredible, even better than the movie masters'. And Slimer is translucent, but the effect is increased because of some kind of layering done with the translucency. He's not just clear-- he looks like he's made of slime. So obviously, I'm incredibly excited that these figures turned out so well, and I can't wait until October when Ray comes out... because the Logo Ghost he comes with might be glow in the dark! It's like Mattel is reading my mind with this new line.

Speaking of glow in the dark, I found out the SDCC exclusive Peter/Stay Puft minimates set has a glow in the dark Stay Puft. How awesome is that?? I am trying to figure out how to justify spending the amount of money required to obtain him from eBay, which is annoyingly high. However, I did manage to find 3 TRU minimates sets (no Washington Square ghost or exploding Stay Puft... yet) and I got the series 1 box set online. They are pretty damn cool, and I'll be able to rest happy when I have the Washington Square ghost and possibly the glow in the dark Stay Puft. I'll put up pictures of those later.

12" Ray comes out next month, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. However, I discovered online a complete set of Fright Features Ghostbusters, MOC, currently at $40 bidding on eBay. I've been looking for that set for a while, and I think I'm at a point now where I can justify spending a wee bit more to get them (nothing will compare to the Super Fright Features, which I got MOC for $10 a piece... but I digress). Bidding ends on Saturday, and I think I'm going to commit to winning them, as long as the price doesn't get too absurd. I'll post all about that when/if it happens.

I'm slightly pissed that I have to wait until July 2010 for Peter, and that I'll be able to get Walter Peck (with containment unit!) before then, but that's okay. I'll be living in a new house, new state, with a new (real) job at that point, which is weird to think about, so I won't! Off to look at Egon some more.

AWESOME

Well this is interesting

There's a shop just up the road from me that is a bit quirky, and they sell a bunch of gag stuff and jokes and things like that. But they also have a pretty huge selection of vintage toys and video games, which generally hail from the mid to late 80's.

Well, on the eve of the 2nd biggest test of my life (so far... sigh), I decided I'd take a stroll in there to look at their stuff. I then happen to stumble upon 4 complete original series Ghostbusters (loose, of course), complete with ghosts and proton packs. Each of them costs $35.

Here's my dilemma: I have always planned to get the original 4, as they would undoubtedly be the centerpiece of my Ghostbusters collection. My plans, however, involved saving up and buying them MOC (which would be insanely expensive, obviously, but we're talking about the centerpiece of the collection here), not buying them loose.

So if I buy them loose, and drop $140 in the process, would there still be a reason to buy them MOC? I mean, I guess so, but having 2 of each of them seems a bit much, even for a Ghostbusters freak like me.

I guess we'll have to see how I feel tomorrow after my test. I might head over there again to look at them more closely, and see if they're broken anywhere or anything like that. If not, then this might be something I can't pass up.

Ecto-500, eBay and a Terror Dog

I didn't really get into toy collecting until I discovered eBay. Prior to then, I would buy something here and there at retail, which would satisfy some kind of unnamed craving I refused to acknowledge (for example, I bought a Nexu figure from Star Wars episode II one day while feeling depressed; I didn't like Episode II, and had no attachment to that particular monster... but I needed a toy. Odd, right?).

Well, when I discovered eBay, I discovered that quite literally anything I wanted, I could find (note: not entirely true, but more on that shortly). And so it is, to this day, I will just go on eBay and browse the endless lists of things I want. I found the Ecto Glow Heroes, which was a line of RGB figures I somehow did not even know existed. I found Terrible Teeth, which I originally thought was either a mis-interpretation of having seen a photo of the orange mini-trap or a figment of my imagination. I also found Ecto-500, which my cousin had when we were little kids, and which I coveted intensely. It was such a cool vehicle, and I remember thinking that my cousin did not appreciate all the cool Ghostbusters toys he had. He even had the original 4 figures, which I never did.

So now, I can use eBay to find what I want, right? Wrong. I've been searching, now that my Ghostbusters collection is going to expand to its own shelving (whenever I buy a new shelf...). When I heard NECA was coming out with Ghostbusters figures (circa 2004, before my current toy collecting insanity) I looked for them, but not at many places. I definitely didn't look online. Now that Mattel is releasing such awesome Ghostbusters figures this summer, the NECA figures seem even more appealing. I have Slimer, but that's it. Gozer is available in relative abundance online. But the Terror Dogs-- Zuul and Vinz Clortho-- are nowhere to be found. There is one on Amazon for $60, which seems pretty steep. So what am I to do?

If I get the mini-mates, those will be relatively cheap and found at retail. I'll get Egon at the end of July, and then I've got the new Hot Toys Joker on pre-order; that'll be August. I think it would be reasonable to get a terror dog at some point soon, if I save up for it.

Decisions, decisions.

I have mentally committed

Seeing this photo (from Art Asylum) of the Ghostbusters minimates, in their packaging, has officially committed me to getting them. The packing is far too reminiscent of the old Ghostbusters boxes, and elicits such a happy feeling, that I'm going to have to get them. I might leave them in the boxes; we'll see how they look in person, and on a shelf. Not sure about paying a ton of money on eBay for them, but I'm willing to hit up TRU to see if they're there.

I've got the feeling I get when I'm excited about a new toy: I just want to drop what I'm doing and go out on a hunt. After finishing night float while doing OB/GYN, I used to stop at TRU, Target and Walmart on the way home (probably not safe to be driving after being up all night, but...whatever) to see if they had any new TDK Movie Masters. (In case you're wondering, they didn't.)

In other news, images of the Hot Toys Silk Spectre II have been revealed, and... I'm less than enthused. It's pretty much as I expected: she looks like a brunette Barbie doll in a Watchmen suit. I didn't expect much, and I'd imagine it is pretty difficult to make a female action figure that maintains 1) articulation, and 2) sexual appeal.

Not that I'd buy a female action figure because of its sexual appeal. I'm not that guy. But part of Silk Spectre's character is her (subtle?) abuse of her sexuality, and I think it's an important aspect of the notion of a female superhero that is never really addressed in mainstream comics.

We shall see what Hot Toys can manage to pull off for the other Watchmen figures, however. I'll never say never.

Hot Toys + Watchmen = Oh no

I'm supposed to be studying right now, but instead of doing that, I hit up Toy News International, as I am often wont to do. Lo and behold, Sally Jupiter's kid is sitting right atop the page.

Oh no.

This post will therefore serve as an open letter to Hot Toys.

Dear Hot Toys,
I do not have enough money to buy all of the things you make that I want. I do not collect 12" figures, but yours are so beyond anything else on the market that every time you release something, I'm interested. Now that I've already pre-ordered your Police Joker, I cannot start considering all of the Watchmen you will undoubtedly make. Please, for the sake of my wallet, stop!
Sincerely,
(name removed to protect nerdity)

The thing is, I can't picture what a Hot Toys female body, clothed in very little, would look like. The male true-type body is not something that lends itself to being mostly nude, so I doubt the female body would. But who knows? Perhaps we'll have to wait and see.

But seriously, I can't afford this.<sup>1

1</sup>For now.

Movie Masters Cancelled?

The Internet is abuzz with news that recently, several large online retailers have dropped their pre-orders for cases of Movie Masters Waves 5 and 6, about which I have been so excited over the last, oh I don't know, eight months. I'm pretty pissed. I was excited about Arkham Scarecrow (despite his admitted lameness), and that proto-suit Batman was so cool of an idea.

Of course, while the dropping of pre-orders is real, the rumors ablaze across the Net are not necessarily true. Some people are predicting that these will be Mattycollector exclusives (at $20 each... God I hope not), or they are just adjusting the case assortments and these will be released on time. Whatever the case, I'm annoyed and pretty disappointed. I wanted those figures.

In other news, I was a bit excited to see this. Like I said before, collecting Lego people.... meh, not my thing. But this is the Ghostbusters, and Slimer glows in the dark, AND the uniform is my favorite from GB2.

Even the Venkman figure from the SDCC Diamond exclusives is exciting to me. I don't know, maybe it's because I remember going to the theater to see Ghostbusters 2 that it reigns supreme in my mind (don't get me wrong; the original Ghostbusters is a better movie, I just have sentimental value attached to the sequel). But the charcoal/black uniforms are so awesome to me, and I hope that this means the new Mattel figures might sport some variants in the GB2 uniforms. Maybe with slime blowers.

Ok, now I'm getting too excited. Time to end this entry.

An update!

Wow, has it really been since April 2nd? I guess I have a suitable excuse: I returned home to Cleveland shortly after the 2nd and have been doing some medical school things that require a lot of time, so that's how I'll play it. Plus the battery pack for my camera has died, so I need to get a new one before I can do more documentation of my collection.

Therefore! I shall update regarding the happenings in the toy world of note to me. Namely, and this is a surprise, Ghostbusters minimates.

I have no interest in collecting Lego people, essentially, but these 5 little toys caught my attention. For some reason, the ghost from Washington Square (from Ghostbusters II) really took me back to a place where I'm a kid, it's 1989, and I want some cool clear ghost toys. That was a great addition to the minimates idea (and might also provide clues as to who the pack-in ghosts will be for the Mattel figures coming out this summer) and its design is highly reminiscient of the old 80's toys. I was pretty excited by it, and might consider getting these if I see them in person. Supposedly they'll be a TRU exclusive, so I'll have to look this July. I can't figure out why there are only two actual Ghostbusters being released (plus Louis and Dana), but maybe that means there will be more in the future.

Other than that, it seems to be a slow few months of waiting for Mattel's Egon and Slimer, then the new Hot Toys Joker. This works out, I guess, since I have no money right now. So it's good, except 1) it's not fun to have no new toys, and 2) it's never good to have no money.

For now, to bed I go.

Police Joker and SDCC Egon

The last 2 days have been full of news in the toy-collecting world of me!

First: Hot Toys revealed that Police Joker (pictured to the right, from the Hot Toys website) will come with an alternate sculpt head (with the make-up), as well as a complete classic Joker costume for the figure, which basically means that if one has Police Joker, one can change out the head and the clothes and essentially have a brand new original Joker. Plus grenades in his coat.

(And, apparently, even the eyes are positionable. Unbelievable.)

So I pre-ordered one, obviously, from Toy Rocket, at a fairly decent price. Then today I noticed they've increased the price by $20+. I emailed them to see if they're going to charge me the new, jacked-up price, which they probably will, and I will probably be angry.

Second: Mattel revealed today that the San Diego Comic Convention exclusives will include Dr. Egon Spengler with Slimer as a pack-in. (The image is from the Toy News International Website.) I'm also assuming this is the 6" figure that was shown as a prototype at NYCC.

If you look closely, you'll notice two interesting things: 1) Egon is "slimed", and 2) Slimer is translucent.

Why, Mattel, would you make the first Egon a "slimed" version? Perhaps all the boys in gray will be slimed, but it seems an odd choice. I'm not complaining, I just don't understand. Perhaps when these figures are sold online (as Mattel said they will be right after the con), they will be the slimed versions, or maybe there will be other "clean" variants. I'm curious.

And finally, Slimer being translucent is really exciting. I was wondering how they would do the pack-in ghosts, and it looks like they will be the dense, clear plastic/rubber that the original RGB pack in ghosts used. That excites me. (I also looked at ToyFare for this month, and they had an interview about the GB figures... saying they're going to use movie ghosts like the librarian and the taxi driver as pack-ins. How awesome is that?? Especially if they keep using the translucent effect.)

All I know is, I will cry if I don't get this guy when he is released online (supposedly the Monday after SDCC, at the end of July). Don't doubt me; I'll do it.

Watchmen

The Watchmen figures are great. Dr. Manhattan was the last one I got, and he was worth the wait. His articulation is basically non-existent, and his perpetual open-palm pose is somewhat annoying, but the sculpting is incredibly detailed-- all the way down to the veins in his legs. Nite Owl is also great, and with decent basic articulation (plus, the blade on his belt is removable). The Comedian is heavy and comes with 2 pistols, which actually have holsters on his legs. He's a great, sturdy figure. Rorschach is a bit disappointing, as he barely has any articulation at all, but he nonetheless looks good. Silk Spectre II is my first female figure (ever! Unless you count Janine from the RGB... which I don't), and despite the oddity of having a fairly well-proportioned plastic girl in my hands, I like the figure. Her likeness is off, as is the Comedian's, but that's forgivable.

When I return to my normal place of residence this weekend, I'll get some photos up of the variants and the classic figures, which I've decided to keep MIB.

I'm not becoming an MIB collector, but there is something about holding the unopened toy that gives me a great feeling. The old adage "It's not the having, it's the getting" I think applies pretty well to me, so keeping some figures MIB seems to prolong that "getting" feeling, while opening them (sometimes, not always) transitions it to the "having".

Ergo, I'll talk about the variants and classic figures at a later date.

Whoa whoa wait a minute.

As I usually do, I went on over to Toy News International for my morning dose of toy-related goodness. There was a headline announcing that Hot Toys had released a new teaser image, which I presumed would be about their Police Joker that is coming out. However, as I clicked on the image link, I noticed something in the thumbnail.

This Joker's not wearing any police uniform.

In fact, it looks like he's wearing the purple suit. With grenades in the coat.

Could it be? Do mine eyes deceive me?

Is there a new Hot Toys Joker (with original garb) coming out???

Ghostbusters, new Movie Masters,
Watchmen... and now this??

Movie Masters 2009

I stumbled upon Entertainment Earth's Movie Masters pre-order page, and they have images of the figures that will be coming out this summer.

Several questions arise. First, there is no sign of the Arkham Scarecrow or the Sonar Batman anywhere on the site. Like I mentioned once before, it annoys me that these figures have still not shown up at retail, despite a January release date. So what gives?

Second, and probably the most interesting, it appears that the good folks at Mattel have finally decided to let (at least) one Movie Masters figure have an accessory. That accessory, as obvious in the photo, is the ever-indispensable ENORMOUS SKI MASK that fits goofily over the face of Proto-Suit Batman. Why not 1) sculpt it on as a head, 2) give swappable heads with the figures, or at the very least 3) include USEFUL or COOL accessories with the MM figures?

Third, rather than complain, I'll point out that the Two-Face and the Jail Cell Joker look great, just like they did at NYCC. If only Mattel would ship these out like they are supposed to, everything would be peaches and roses.

Enough anger. I'm going to go enjoy my Watchmen figures now.