tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15643735138539578102024-03-17T08:46:16.371-07:00OLDNERDNothing's Overclocked AnymoreBryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.comBlogger733125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-80463058632195103082024-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:002024-03-17T08:45:40.181-07:00IN-STORE: Penta Oscuro<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQv0aVzI16JN_oL6NtFRPhFf5RZaMSYIF0vwOr7AAu3yIEAsDsfM8hx6w2ZvFt5XoXhOVyGEWCuZTCEzlM5QhZ2L48q_WeuiOClc_GSHZT74Lr-prmxPS_94xycwxktQZO3EzAmvlT9oSXklTGLdeLCm5UnH-DJMb3K-eW_utHIWnuFpCwCQKcmvDmf0/s3135/IMG_0488.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="3135" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQv0aVzI16JN_oL6NtFRPhFf5RZaMSYIF0vwOr7AAu3yIEAsDsfM8hx6w2ZvFt5XoXhOVyGEWCuZTCEzlM5QhZ2L48q_WeuiOClc_GSHZT74Lr-prmxPS_94xycwxktQZO3EzAmvlT9oSXklTGLdeLCm5UnH-DJMb3K-eW_utHIWnuFpCwCQKcmvDmf0/w400-h196/IMG_0488.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I try not to get too many variations on the same wrestler, but sometime you gotta.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Penta Oscuro, the AEW iteration of Pentagon Dark from Lucha Underground, was on a peg at Target. Was I hoping to find Brody King and Buddy Matthews because I don’t want to pay full Ringside prices for new preorders for a May production run or AEW Unmatched 8? Yes, yes I was. Did I find Penta and get himn anyway? Yes I did.</p><p>He’s nothing particularly special if you’re not into the character / this variation of the character. Well made standard Jazwares stuff, with a shovel and alternate hands. But it did give me a chance to finalized and work with my new improved entrance stage, using a screengrab of the new AEW Dynamite ramp, a lot of small tweaks, and some layering cuts to allow me to drop entrance graphics on the screens. Plus now it’s a lot easier to do reflections since the new entrance ramp is SO SHINY.</p><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-57306309801077696242024-03-15T14:30:00.000-07:002024-03-15T14:30:17.654-07:00iMPULSE BUY: He-Man Cartoon Collection<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWSyUUQ2-zszemHDWHgtqniodLJKeJpCb-uC9qGEqzThaHz2vZ4BvsCj5mmjDoDpcKxmSsakZ8RcndbrPztdiXrrdaV8aatbcJ-xY-C0aJt2GK3eDLVuy3qEPAKTU1bCnezY05xaq99UDNcCaG8XpA5yWqNu93mit1mQa9a2TW5GLOx6q0PRVqI7uLJg/s4096/IMG_0502.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3610" data-original-width="4096" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWSyUUQ2-zszemHDWHgtqniodLJKeJpCb-uC9qGEqzThaHz2vZ4BvsCj5mmjDoDpcKxmSsakZ8RcndbrPztdiXrrdaV8aatbcJ-xY-C0aJt2GK3eDLVuy3qEPAKTU1bCnezY05xaq99UDNcCaG8XpA5yWqNu93mit1mQa9a2TW5GLOx6q0PRVqI7uLJg/w400-h353/IMG_0502.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p>I swear I should just make a Robo’s Fault display at this point for stuff that’s in my collection because I saw Robo playing with it and decided I wanted it too. From Mancakes and Beef Boss to the Fwoosh Skeleton to the Game On arcade games to these goddamned He-Man figures. As much as I sneer at influencer culture, I’m certainly being… influenced.<p></p><p>Or at least I’m finding out about stuff I would have wanted anyway? I’ve dabbled in He-Man stuff on and off for like three decades now - mostly “updated” versions that tried to bring some legitimacy to the property. I’ve been repeatedly tempted, for example, by MOTU Revelations toys from the latest reworking, but they’ve never quite clicked over for me. And then I saw the Cartoon Collection.</p><p>Six inch scale figures with modern, if not quite super-modern, articulation (ball joints, single elbows and knees, wrists, ankles, etc.) but proportions, looks, and accessories lifted straight out of the Filmation cartoon, full cheese factor intact. Apparently the Origins line has been doing this with the original toys forever, but the cartoon adjustments push it over the line into “Yeah, that’s the Masters toys I’ve been wanting.” And the 20 buck price point does not hurt.</p><p>I assume the price is because the toys were based around reusing bodies with just new heads and armor overl</p><p>ays, and the cartoon followed the toy designs, so they’re relatively cheap to produce. But they’re well made, the accessories are cool and plentiful, and while there’s not a lot of paint, that’s again accurate to the cartoon’s level of detail.</p><p>He-Man comes with his regular sword, a back scabbard for it, and an episode-specific bonus sword. Skeletor comes with his staff, his sword, and a couple of weird “masks” that are in fact replacement heads, again<span style="text-align: center;">≈</span><br /><br />from a specific episode. I am a sucker for deep-cut, very specific cartoon accessories even when I’ve never seen the episode they’re from, which is a weird quirk, I guess.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5WbgS9gRQk7yNUMue3e0zTHzcs-2ZfZND98WmhBRIGqVPXWt6JkhyJeesq8OWaCSFApf1_WLDDDU4_Ccnqdp3k3QTJ3n5h3iqZuRMKvcqQobp3YMZ5taRo1opV8tYWYO0tLJ10jZ6K7b3_Rj_cJfnXLB37TTfY5DnaUEFglE6e2s1hsxhei6zr8dW9w/s1851/IMG_0486.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="1851" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5WbgS9gRQk7yNUMue3e0zTHzcs-2ZfZND98WmhBRIGqVPXWt6JkhyJeesq8OWaCSFApf1_WLDDDU4_Ccnqdp3k3QTJ3n5h3iqZuRMKvcqQobp3YMZ5taRo1opV8tYWYO0tLJ10jZ6K7b3_Rj_cJfnXLB37TTfY5DnaUEFglE6e2s1hsxhei6zr8dW9w/s320/IMG_0486.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Man-At-Arms and Teela are similar, although at first I was worried about the scale because I opened Teela first and she is TINY. You can see that in the photo above. Plus they pose the figures weird in the packaging to make them look like the original toys, which makes them even smaller. But no, they’re just proportionally small and in the 6” scale. I’m assuming eventually the Teela body will be used for Evil-Lyn and The Sorceress. Man At Arms comes with his Stasis Ray, which he used to fight dragons, so out came my Golden Axe Dragon Mount to be stasisized. And his club (not shown).</p><p>Teela has her sword and shield and little training drone thing. Not to infantilize a hovering sphere with a gun and a kinfe, but it’s still a little training drone thing.</p><p>I did not get the whole line, becaus, because the characters I’m invested in in He-Man is a pretty small sub-set of the total. There’s a Trap-Jaw and a Beast-Man that don’t matter to me already, and a Stratos on the way I could care less about, but I think I gotta be in for Mer-Man, whose dopey-ass look perfectly captures the cartoon’s ridiculousness.</p><p>So, I guess, I have some of the power?</p><p>Also this sent me down a “create another hole in the collection I then immediately filled” rabbit hole that was slightly embarrassing in size and expense, but that’s a story for another day.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-55338442231971619092024-03-14T06:30:00.000-07:002024-03-14T06:30:00.139-07:00THE ARCADE GROWS: Star Wars, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3eSRMV2p4RYQ8SKGD4_3P6taYWLt2hEikFMnzIefXnXHOhkRc2eqBUc8rMWYYqKt8OJigUyqMEJspwkIBeEttbDVzZxyzbXXL-QiZSONPiuFCvopnQmfona9_f7x9bNge8qPoKae7fkYlEP4CqxcZ-_WPtD6VaO3hc278e3RIUvUlywdxaT4RAOHA4w/s2324/IMG_0389.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="2324" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3eSRMV2p4RYQ8SKGD4_3P6taYWLt2hEikFMnzIefXnXHOhkRc2eqBUc8rMWYYqKt8OJigUyqMEJspwkIBeEttbDVzZxyzbXXL-QiZSONPiuFCvopnQmfona9_f7x9bNge8qPoKae7fkYlEP4CqxcZ-_WPtD6VaO3hc278e3RIUvUlywdxaT4RAOHA4w/w400-h261/IMG_0389.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Nostalgia is weird. Sometimes you see a thing and a flood of… not memories as such, but pure, unbridled RECOGNITION floods your soul. That’s how I felt, when I idly revisited <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/GalacticBasic?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1540289359&from_page=listing">GalacticBasic’s Etsy site</a> where I’d picked up that Mortal Kombat machine last year and I saw this. I absolutely had to have it.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a>I spent a LOT of hours in this cockpit in the 80’s, and if there are any inaccuracies, I couldn’t tell you what they were. That shape, those graphics… you can even tell from the bit of an actual machine in my stock background arcade image how close it is. And when I got it, the inside was even more detailed than the Etsy pics showed, with tons of internal cockpit detail and hits of color I wasn’t expecting.<p></p><p><span>Plus, I have me in an X-Wing pilot suit, which I’d initially regretted when I got a Selfie Series picture, but is perfect to display with this, so it all works out in the end. Had it for a few weeks now and it still gives me a little nostalgia hit every time I see it. </span></p><p><span>And since I was ordering stuff anyway, I figure I might as well pick up another machine, and what better than another classic fighter, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RvSTMhZnCxfxerR27xW2_3_ANlIRlKGxHVGickenluDojgNgedAepynk_2CeSJjm7_x_qXQSZXpvaK23rYbf_pHgp4tDl2A7PhHeFDJdm0UeXUZsbyf10niSCF9Y0rOQKoaedJH1sqQG90R9qgjuwf9fL6FWdeCHI4-xbOluE018XRbUus_16m2azIc/s2324/IMG_0388.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="2324" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RvSTMhZnCxfxerR27xW2_3_ANlIRlKGxHVGickenluDojgNgedAepynk_2CeSJjm7_x_qXQSZXpvaK23rYbf_pHgp4tDl2A7PhHeFDJdm0UeXUZsbyf10niSCF9Y0rOQKoaedJH1sqQG90R9qgjuwf9fL6FWdeCHI4-xbOluE018XRbUus_16m2azIc/w400-h261/IMG_0388.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span>The stand-up machines use the same blank with different stickers for everything, which is one reason I’ve stuck to fighting games - they best match the default controllers on them. They’re a smidge on the small size for your bigger Marvel Legends, your Jada Toys, and especially wrestlers, but they’re not too far off, and they’re real games, as opposed to the fake games of the taller and also wider Game On cabinets. </span>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-42663818369681079442024-03-13T11:30:00.000-07:002024-03-13T11:30:24.102-07:00LONG PREORDER ACHIEVED: Fwoosh Yokai Skeleton<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsLvyDiA3HuLwHCEcbBDEmXw-iUgtaZ-FM3pHi7IJTaUoiaQ07PzqklsysLoBJi1KrBFimt90LpdWiYHvcbKcLelxHfNBRFZzKSQyzSV6-b5sAecQFMX-ai1YeyaUPU_x75S2hIG0szVufpe-WeHqNgkVsstlEUml15fmjwszSBhJtgcdNSwPPOM7aeE/s4939/IMG_0380.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2966" data-original-width="4939" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsLvyDiA3HuLwHCEcbBDEmXw-iUgtaZ-FM3pHi7IJTaUoiaQ07PzqklsysLoBJi1KrBFimt90LpdWiYHvcbKcLelxHfNBRFZzKSQyzSV6-b5sAecQFMX-ai1YeyaUPU_x75S2hIG0szVufpe-WeHqNgkVsstlEUml15fmjwszSBhJtgcdNSwPPOM7aeE/w400-h240/IMG_0380.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>November, 2022. It was a simpler time.</p><p>And hey, I get it. Indie toy companies take time to get stuff made, get stuff shipped, get stuff out. But man, when I ordered this Yokai Skeleton (Jack O Lantern Edition) from Fwoosh Toys, the guy I thought of as the face of the channel was still associated with the channel.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>That said, I’d call this well worth the wait. For the record, I did only order one of them, but there are two weapons and tons of heads and hands so this is an attempt at showing all the variations. About half the heads have articulated jaws. All the joints are tight and effective, The total range of motion is impressive, and comparable to, if not better than, the Golden Axe skeletons from Storm Collectibles, albeit in a smaller scale.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3woh9IUbfp2eWlpQLk0lOKijEAuOH3lLYQWP680aHZjhNlnK5hMSr-WecAy8WipDHPmlbipYbGP1PBuP2fKP5IKTq0aZg9AKyXLoXnD9vc3XMCjJjZt7cNEChPdZbUcJb9qfaA7ZEkcnrKLqAKIni5yliYNzmdblgSQgKjw2WwyDAmOmvln5Y3hvRTuI/s4032/Knockout7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3woh9IUbfp2eWlpQLk0lOKijEAuOH3lLYQWP680aHZjhNlnK5hMSr-WecAy8WipDHPmlbipYbGP1PBuP2fKP5IKTq0aZg9AKyXLoXnD9vc3XMCjJjZt7cNEChPdZbUcJb9qfaA7ZEkcnrKLqAKIni5yliYNzmdblgSQgKjw2WwyDAmOmvln5Y3hvRTuI/s320/Knockout7.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>It’s well sculpted, well made, all the joints are tight, and the quality is almost surprisingly good. Not that it matters, they’re all gone now, unless you want a glow in the dark one. But I’ll definitely find useas for this one.</p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-80763696171017587312024-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:002024-03-05T10:03:08.129-08:00ACQUISITION AND PHOTO SHOOT: Super Action Stuff GAME ON!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDTjUvfCj-GmO6hoS5jiigjzsrMa2KydwaRktiocEHmmTwYdM4NNp-KOh-BrR9OcDTW9-iGxrvV-_Z7Mn1_4bJ__CVIvULZrH4lhIdPhmpraF1XPeR77Hqsldm659JZrbXvyWyDixj76NgCOlS0CqKZGVq6Z8CjSfaNpVrGkkgW47DuPL3yMBxPSmp10/s2324/IMG_0295.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="2324" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDTjUvfCj-GmO6hoS5jiigjzsrMa2KydwaRktiocEHmmTwYdM4NNp-KOh-BrR9OcDTW9-iGxrvV-_Z7Mn1_4bJ__CVIvULZrH4lhIdPhmpraF1XPeR77Hqsldm659JZrbXvyWyDixj76NgCOlS0CqKZGVq6Z8CjSfaNpVrGkkgW47DuPL3yMBxPSmp10/w400-h261/IMG_0295.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>I love the Internet. I hate the Internet.</p><p>I saw these on the main YouTube toy guy I follow (Robo, now RoboDon’tKnow, formerly Fwoosh) and I had to have them. First, they’re 1/12 scale arcade machines, which is one of my things. Second, they light up. Third, they’re chock full of a wild assortment of weird accessories for 6” figures, all of which I thought were hilarious.</p><p>No, did I need both of them? Only sort of. I mean, they come with all the same accessories, except that many of them are available in different colors. But Cyber Dagger had the colors I wanted most, and Cats With Knives 2 is CATS WITH KNIVES 2, and there were in fact some things I did want doubles of. So there you go.</p><p>I also needed an intensive project to really get the hang of my new workflow that incorporates Affinity Photo 2. So I decided to do an elaborate photo shoot of all the accessories, for a sufficiently loose value of all. Some were exact duplicates. Some didn’t quite deserve multiple photos. And so far I’ve lost three of the accessories. Because they’re tiny. But get ready, this is gonna be a long one.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhGYWAqeh2Gmm-ro72q9DU7hGAQ8cCdgGkN6N1RiUMsKUcxmX0WcbEuxTtR29ZMlXIQvIXRKYxTJjDY4dZcFAdpVpYOhnYahZNjWn09jCowCPpOfIKMyKNWfi1VPTe3QX22Lh9McN1RtZPuOy0meU5CQFWr_kPBCA_a00JJMufP_80C1_Ttwa2YVpQyg/s1280/IMG_0286.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhGYWAqeh2Gmm-ro72q9DU7hGAQ8cCdgGkN6N1RiUMsKUcxmX0WcbEuxTtR29ZMlXIQvIXRKYxTJjDY4dZcFAdpVpYOhnYahZNjWn09jCowCPpOfIKMyKNWfi1VPTe3QX22Lh9McN1RtZPuOy0meU5CQFWr_kPBCA_a00JJMufP_80C1_Ttwa2YVpQyg/s320/IMG_0286.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Boxing gloves! Here are half the boxing gloves, which fit on any figure with removable hands. MOdeled by Mr. T and Rhea Ripley in the Rocky 3 boxing ring.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6QfOIOPlTnn-ZMQKb1qv4aXcPxUgyikBc-LCIcUao79yDsLyhNoGOLfAjtaf4d_joMmSvuB1qWALlPTpa7dWAe6poHnCmcfngU4oNaqACr7BWynVob998Ipel1Ko97olPPApgiEFNImHf7HueA-LOelLtOB4sbYDS9UrYtROwFpHkuXsLJJlVJqxCdo/s4096/IMG_0300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2762" data-original-width="4096" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6QfOIOPlTnn-ZMQKb1qv4aXcPxUgyikBc-LCIcUao79yDsLyhNoGOLfAjtaf4d_joMmSvuB1qWALlPTpa7dWAe6poHnCmcfngU4oNaqACr7BWynVob998Ipel1Ko97olPPApgiEFNImHf7HueA-LOelLtOB4sbYDS9UrYtROwFpHkuXsLJJlVJqxCdo/s320/IMG_0300.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Gas masks! Perfect for John Silver and Stu Grayson of the Dark Order when the pyrotechnic smnoke gets too thick. Smoke added in post. Also, this is a new entrance stage background I constructed out of a couple of other pics, just in time for Dynamite to change its set again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbT1GuyD7GncNDzF8gDbpdb4giwvM-YjQD_OD3kt_LriGgtZITKhbCRSd3mDjHiOPSo91htlaf4ewrFums4R9srwhKUeP3B6IIq0DnZqzSyyIRI4v1il8cGktFwJ4hGWjxuWcjULzgsWXQZKTTMmsfczoOZBl7ai0C9OZZJ4FAyUSWR6MRh1iGjlo9DY/s1820/IMG_0311.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="1820" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbT1GuyD7GncNDzF8gDbpdb4giwvM-YjQD_OD3kt_LriGgtZITKhbCRSd3mDjHiOPSo91htlaf4ewrFums4R9srwhKUeP3B6IIq0DnZqzSyyIRI4v1il8cGktFwJ4hGWjxuWcjULzgsWXQZKTTMmsfczoOZBl7ai0C9OZZJ4FAyUSWR6MRh1iGjlo9DY/s320/IMG_0311.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>SHE’S ON FIRE! Yes, there’s a fire effect in each set (identical), and any of the sports balls that come with either of the sets can be plugged into the fire effect for all your NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, or, I guess, that Mario soccer game needs.Aunt May sold separately.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRy-mpAjkkxa2XxuDH0InuHDLi9-Ub4BKaP7GQzRFR-oKtnRcxPRWkrjCMUulfpKohe6mOaGrVHItEsp-8YjBhVFsF6ych1JQMdoQ16WPolvN_ENYTt4UzDxrqjaWayWVOobRJh19w6osR4Uifmm5l-DoLwc0Hy9xioxk3P3kv8dMEq4AvniZsOEkbs8/s1125/IMG_0315.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1125" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYRy-mpAjkkxa2XxuDH0InuHDLi9-Ub4BKaP7GQzRFR-oKtnRcxPRWkrjCMUulfpKohe6mOaGrVHItEsp-8YjBhVFsF6ych1JQMdoQ16WPolvN_ENYTt4UzDxrqjaWayWVOobRJh19w6osR4Uifmm5l-DoLwc0Hy9xioxk3P3kv8dMEq4AvniZsOEkbs8/s320/IMG_0315.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Drumsticks! Buy both sets, get four drumsticks, lose one forever! They’re very small. But they can be held by Spider-Gwen.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOguCbSKYtY4pwKw6CRfMJKGUxQtYwHy3Gn1Dk57x-r_DnoxsJFV_NpyMr3kgb5xbcNjjCb4T2PvbmIZ3d7Rpq0rR5qFdfKav7tMjjeFawqNTFjLRqQZtvlU1RItaBtlkOdPamSzmulxoSmAoIK0e6tc8Ps0aWvhkHKjw4si3hKFmeUD6hIWhYH7BYEs/s4288/IMG_0327.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4288" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOguCbSKYtY4pwKw6CRfMJKGUxQtYwHy3Gn1Dk57x-r_DnoxsJFV_NpyMr3kgb5xbcNjjCb4T2PvbmIZ3d7Rpq0rR5qFdfKav7tMjjeFawqNTFjLRqQZtvlU1RItaBtlkOdPamSzmulxoSmAoIK0e6tc8Ps0aWvhkHKjw4si3hKFmeUD6hIWhYH7BYEs/s320/IMG_0327.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Guitars and headphones! There’s a wood and a dark grey guitar, and a red and black set of headphones. I have hopes that the black headphones will turn up again someday. Elias has the guitar, Negasonic Teenage Warhead is not having it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-xsalHXMMLi5WD_Z20G2iruEs8cH7znYGstAG0HOwj5FMVieSmRHzsoHkmSEHbJ2lezsWMmmARwL6k11_L-KtKftsIq2CSw8-OPhwGZS-__-K6dk_WYtBLZDXybAxdg58jbffp5ndQpBnSxiBgzvg2lFlh4XYGWaLy6SdSZdbgDxSj_5hgENKmpAZZg/s1024/IMG_0308.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-xsalHXMMLi5WD_Z20G2iruEs8cH7znYGstAG0HOwj5FMVieSmRHzsoHkmSEHbJ2lezsWMmmARwL6k11_L-KtKftsIq2CSw8-OPhwGZS-__-K6dk_WYtBLZDXybAxdg58jbffp5ndQpBnSxiBgzvg2lFlh4XYGWaLy6SdSZdbgDxSj_5hgENKmpAZZg/s320/IMG_0308.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Fake vomit! I don’t know, honestly, how much need I’ll have in my life for two slightly differently colored fake vomits for six inch action figures, but they’re very well designed - they stand up securely and the… starting point is a near perfect height for the amount most 6” figs can bend at the waste. Like Frog-Man here! This is also how I learned to use adjustment layers to vary up lighting.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMVtl0dQaVI0WrL0R0wSIVA1nvRnp3f-NujQ_2xiIw5btvvITmWwKL5XfNlml4wb9jXC1DRlXYn275HbxI-SHvgOwqf8D9VH51SnEQxZF1SFROFbSZahUra1sAe-s-9tNuwBfhRZRlbavHmkBgZ4OclO7SuVbaV_k03xtZD0iCHGwJeEcHDXtFymDYPA/s2592/IMG_0336.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1708" data-original-width="2592" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMVtl0dQaVI0WrL0R0wSIVA1nvRnp3f-NujQ_2xiIw5btvvITmWwKL5XfNlml4wb9jXC1DRlXYn275HbxI-SHvgOwqf8D9VH51SnEQxZF1SFROFbSZahUra1sAe-s-9tNuwBfhRZRlbavHmkBgZ4OclO7SuVbaV_k03xtZD0iCHGwJeEcHDXtFymDYPA/s320/IMG_0336.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Sportsballs! Regular and blue soccer ball, regular and Nerf-lookin’ football, regular and Globetrotter-lookin’ basketball. You can probably figure out which figure I used.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjUgZe9GJN9lnlQFq3Zsehex0S2Z9q4cvuUPP7pD5B-U5tE0bITnwLNM6XkWqHwSt2hXzYrNYpY8yCQgiFGrjIUy4TCqPprFfN5_oqQKHgbvOz0zork7zDtdWu6vrjYYifQJbwudX-H1odoPvCwknwCYPj34XB_m_ku6J-h93r-exK-8yv0A00VvqJ94/s1854/IMG_0340.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1854" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjUgZe9GJN9lnlQFq3Zsehex0S2Z9q4cvuUPP7pD5B-U5tE0bITnwLNM6XkWqHwSt2hXzYrNYpY8yCQgiFGrjIUy4TCqPprFfN5_oqQKHgbvOz0zork7zDtdWu6vrjYYifQJbwudX-H1odoPvCwknwCYPj34XB_m_ku6J-h93r-exK-8yv0A00VvqJ94/s320/IMG_0340.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>AWAOOGA EYES. Like many of these accessories, they do require a little dot or two of poster tack to be attached (see also gas masks). Britt Baker cheking out her boyfriend Adam Cole’s moneymaker here, BAY BAY.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvElMIovcQXZAeA3oBh7ofSVsipmnqmpG8T1fIJFUQp4x1CZVCM3IycW5MqHpflKrAWhgvO_rfTyMw8TYcBJg_rTWKHZXURoP_vWD2NbrQB28TAVln03TkuQwbFjn7n6s4y2eYVeIomf551R4ON75wpI2Vn3APSnSzHCr9DILCsvAn5bxSWoTxnBeO9M/s617/IMG_0346.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="617" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvElMIovcQXZAeA3oBh7ofSVsipmnqmpG8T1fIJFUQp4x1CZVCM3IycW5MqHpflKrAWhgvO_rfTyMw8TYcBJg_rTWKHZXURoP_vWD2NbrQB28TAVln03TkuQwbFjn7n6s4y2eYVeIomf551R4ON75wpI2Vn3APSnSzHCr9DILCsvAn5bxSWoTxnBeO9M/s320/IMG_0346.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Spray paint cans! There’s one can and two effectgs per set, one red and one green each. You have to work to get the painted-shut removable plugs off the cans, but once you do that, everything works great. Only one thing I could do with these, obviously.Did some fake dynamic lighting on this one, too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNkOq-N1ft63QPlWWK-nrid1oE_p7t9mKj-V1CmKxJZFCOwrLjm1lTibab3amDndJeH-Sjw7hHFcY3T0JcX84GiXc4BYB4-ZKabfWSmuDWbY3AMTv4aGBBGXEuirtovEuZjXn-NOuj97Hy7NYNYMEgep_6BnphxEZgLroPX9NjbROdkklk44sxpFZurI/s867/IMG_0347.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="867" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNkOq-N1ft63QPlWWK-nrid1oE_p7t9mKj-V1CmKxJZFCOwrLjm1lTibab3amDndJeH-Sjw7hHFcY3T0JcX84GiXc4BYB4-ZKabfWSmuDWbY3AMTv4aGBBGXEuirtovEuZjXn-NOuj97Hy7NYNYMEgep_6BnphxEZgLroPX9NjbROdkklk44sxpFZurI/s320/IMG_0347.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Canada’s finest professional wrestlers, Kenny Omega, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Tye Dillinger hit the rink from Shoresy to show off all four hockey sticks and one of the four (two black, two orange) hockey pucks. </p><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmpQhKdfXvRW3l6eZcSl9lcPObwDK5KE9DZWir_c2c1_D7Vvg6nfaGRIm4T9kVSYpXMlFfTRa-VLM6QAhkeMaTKqrHGR6jJjwH-K8wTqL3FjwOs74Dhs8wv2eXqqMfwE-VmXlURst2EOH-ELyXNWBuUoJzs9FWCsHNLPJG8QJ7DoqVvK3ffFKaP7_EAA/s547/IMG_0348.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="547" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmpQhKdfXvRW3l6eZcSl9lcPObwDK5KE9DZWir_c2c1_D7Vvg6nfaGRIm4T9kVSYpXMlFfTRa-VLM6QAhkeMaTKqrHGR6jJjwH-K8wTqL3FjwOs74Dhs8wv2eXqqMfwE-VmXlURst2EOH-ELyXNWBuUoJzs9FWCsHNLPJG8QJ7DoqVvK3ffFKaP7_EAA/s320/IMG_0348.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></blockquote>A handheld game system of some type with red and blue controllers on it. There’s also an all-black one in the other set if you’re more of a stemed decks kind of person. Modeled by Alf.<br /><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugnL96XwmeFiTpRN_Jh_lQcMtbAkURBJANOGnXtNRBcV1byFgsfbQylJPfneadCxQVSnfWMJXaeDrqVbMwv0TvNqJS_jboaSk_vIz5EN2kNubopWWV4RJ_9wbcoQwmrJUnPYEnyBZdzaQxDPMlThpvhYM4cppKyITDt79yavi-sGzQ2cg16naK_Z2Nvo/s1287/IMG_0350.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1287" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugnL96XwmeFiTpRN_Jh_lQcMtbAkURBJANOGnXtNRBcV1byFgsfbQylJPfneadCxQVSnfWMJXaeDrqVbMwv0TvNqJS_jboaSk_vIz5EN2kNubopWWV4RJ_9wbcoQwmrJUnPYEnyBZdzaQxDPMlThpvhYM4cppKyITDt79yavi-sGzQ2cg16naK_Z2Nvo/s320/IMG_0350.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Seeing stars dizzy head effects! If there’s anything in these sets I wanted two of, it was this. One per set, flexible enough to fit over most heads, and there’s a gap in it too so even Heihachi’s big hair tufts aren’t a problem. Not sure how both he and Ryu got dizzy, but it happens.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtoGSyC93y8rrBcgDyLQEreGbaRBcO-t7AVOvrNjop7uyXoshOY8TDlNmg8X5Jxu9j6rYFwekDbsdGs_n0NAjxTfu-PSlVSIJf-EtYbBW1eXFnX5KJkIiENbsXDReaqrJIfGTMtVoDc6a3gF3UPqFfxV9bg0WeYkLrGMUViuPK8_OUis5fJGXlce4loE/s536/IMG_0365.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="536" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtoGSyC93y8rrBcgDyLQEreGbaRBcO-t7AVOvrNjop7uyXoshOY8TDlNmg8X5Jxu9j6rYFwekDbsdGs_n0NAjxTfu-PSlVSIJf-EtYbBW1eXFnX5KJkIiENbsXDReaqrJIfGTMtVoDc6a3gF3UPqFfxV9bg0WeYkLrGMUViuPK8_OUis5fJGXlce4loE/s320/IMG_0365.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Face masks! Another job for poster tack, in case you want to reboot The Brak Show and set it in the early 2020’s. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zNiS1k_mEdokf4IQ_1JaBzCkGXJNQaMRZ_0R7788J5m1q6L9LmFSt2C79gTjDUZBYV8IlalzH3UmFPq-C-s52t8JEXI6f2MaxAgaRz4rj4sXkSaMgebXQWaKoci4i0WK1dD1M6jIXWC4RZwkXC4m2MXORMjOhaEUZRK5Gy85X4JK_-899M_ZMALAlY0/s2000/IMG_0366.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="2000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zNiS1k_mEdokf4IQ_1JaBzCkGXJNQaMRZ_0R7788J5m1q6L9LmFSt2C79gTjDUZBYV8IlalzH3UmFPq-C-s52t8JEXI6f2MaxAgaRz4rj4sXkSaMgebXQWaKoci4i0WK1dD1M6jIXWC4RZwkXC4m2MXORMjOhaEUZRK5Gy85X4JK_-899M_ZMALAlY0/s320/IMG_0366.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Folding chairs and coffee mughs. I gotta say this. As a wrestling toy collector for decades, I have a LOT of plastic folding chairs. And these are the best ones I’ve ever gotten. They’re solid in a way many are not. I like to think of this as Martin Freeman and Michal Pena hanging around on the lot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy9u6Y1ITyEDL3eaES0t_g77ZzJDppHlbDrQ9MuRvDCNv4TEOAXub7MqNdNx0PtBuS8bizIbIebyh6iFlwE1wtgnMPs8CGDJBjWHVpXCQbPMXpZz19BQPPj_oOzu1fqsmLuT-WZhTZ5w2gKjVy0e8Vdp1LSeFU_iQEUFesg3AopK_laGq5aREh59Sntg/s2048/IMG_0368.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy9u6Y1ITyEDL3eaES0t_g77ZzJDppHlbDrQ9MuRvDCNv4TEOAXub7MqNdNx0PtBuS8bizIbIebyh6iFlwE1wtgnMPs8CGDJBjWHVpXCQbPMXpZz19BQPPj_oOzu1fqsmLuT-WZhTZ5w2gKjVy0e8Vdp1LSeFU_iQEUFesg3AopK_laGq5aREh59Sntg/s320/IMG_0368.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>VR Headsets and controllers! One in white, one in dark grey. Dark grey not pictured because one of the dark grey controllers is the third thing I lost.Still a slim chance it might turn up somewhere. And who better to explore the exciting new world inside of computers?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQ1VBhPg0gpg1Dtr8u_VgTgTvmevcePGaJQaKl3nIRkO-ZxRdfZmulbYnshsDW37fk_pZpiZHJLY-r5OE5IQ3EK9wtL9ezs-xq9stx-5HRZvTLeR2N_iojjtURFcn756avaEltezrGhz-zLV00edkEAnKAF3I5u0_tj2rj6BxqJ9PHYR3Zw_pt80BNAA/s2000/IMG_0369.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1484" data-original-width="2000" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQ1VBhPg0gpg1Dtr8u_VgTgTvmevcePGaJQaKl3nIRkO-ZxRdfZmulbYnshsDW37fk_pZpiZHJLY-r5OE5IQ3EK9wtL9ezs-xq9stx-5HRZvTLeR2N_iojjtURFcn756avaEltezrGhz-zLV00edkEAnKAF3I5u0_tj2rj6BxqJ9PHYR3Zw_pt80BNAA/s320/IMG_0369.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Cameras! Each set includes a camera body with swappable regular and super duper telephoto lenses, perfect for established, animated photojournalists or young live action peole just starting out in their first New York apartment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYwFekSlPWeIqeCHAn9E_51i_FwM4oV7qjvoebDVLuI1ElQ8YsBA-RKuNI9gEtZVQ6fW-yfAAvbXx7GGKOePxRWFGxqLMhsPFxsVdBgfYwnPFIRUvNdBNLkwubw0U7IL2v8Ilm_puAvjCcHb14uIiPpdkyKU3Q_ty-EyLmzvPeTJa3wiVZ7wDsKerIJ0/s4096/IMG_0371.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2794" data-original-width="4096" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYwFekSlPWeIqeCHAn9E_51i_FwM4oV7qjvoebDVLuI1ElQ8YsBA-RKuNI9gEtZVQ6fW-yfAAvbXx7GGKOePxRWFGxqLMhsPFxsVdBgfYwnPFIRUvNdBNLkwubw0U7IL2v8Ilm_puAvjCcHb14uIiPpdkyKU3Q_ty-EyLmzvPeTJa3wiVZ7wDsKerIJ0/s320/IMG_0371.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>And finally, disposable coffee cups, being enjoyed at a chalet by Snow Job. One per set. </p><p>These packs are just piles of little plastic joy. They’re fun, they’re handy, they’re ridiculous, and I love them.</p><p></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-91590252289846553062024-03-04T08:27:00.000-08:002024-03-04T08:27:57.280-08:00NEW TOYS: The Normal-Ass Purchases of February<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHP7Z6C80gIN32kkKWvTp5Ah450iocUSH0YM1jgD-J8lC6_PBPPinGEHESeKBiUn-lD4b4oWiT1gmZnht6TBTNl_QAmPmaQMQbYuCh_ki9os_gDJWnSnEFw6IpH5cwu-N4VUs4A1mZ07oKcW9xoSYGpjepmES0TX4924Yc2H38paaYvMZXE4jqHGTsr3E/s4096/IMG_0240.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="4096" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHP7Z6C80gIN32kkKWvTp5Ah450iocUSH0YM1jgD-J8lC6_PBPPinGEHESeKBiUn-lD4b4oWiT1gmZnht6TBTNl_QAmPmaQMQbYuCh_ki9os_gDJWnSnEFw6IpH5cwu-N4VUs4A1mZ07oKcW9xoSYGpjepmES0TX4924Yc2H38paaYvMZXE4jqHGTsr3E/w400-h249/IMG_0240.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>OK. So here’s the deal. February was a relatively light month for purchases but a very heavy month for photographs and Generally Being Busy. Most of that is tied to one specific purchase which requires one very long post which I’ll be working on soon, and then March stuff can start being photographed this week, but in the meantime, three just normal-ass toy purchases.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span>First up is the Thor and Destroyer 2-pack from Marvel Legends, which I passed on repeatedly at full price because the Thor is a slightly less good version of the 80th Anniversary Thor that I missed out on back in the day. But I was ordering a preent from Hasbro Pulse and this was on clearance and together they got me free shipping, so there you go.</span></p><p>I have needed a good comics Thor, and this is a pretty good comics Thor, but he’s missing the classic six-dot shirt look in favor of a four-dot look and no sleeves. And a beardy head. But the Destroyer is cool if a little underarticulated - he’s big but hse’s not so bulky more joints wouldn’t be in order. And I couldn’t beat the price.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYmFynkixHTUjRf5zOvy4GCLd1q2tcF174x0h4sextCIhri8gbVQpAoWiAkYJgK2IClim0f0QEdgjjxKSuQm6nM8VeqnHwpNxKPkirLfNRxlON9HRHgvvZ8EH1fqHS8vDI0iMyKK6mDfRn2tuKCx7EGTrdnIhpBVBW9lVl9MGso_VO5hG-Ad4zA4vsm8/s768/IMG_0242.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLYmFynkixHTUjRf5zOvy4GCLd1q2tcF174x0h4sextCIhri8gbVQpAoWiAkYJgK2IClim0f0QEdgjjxKSuQm6nM8VeqnHwpNxKPkirLfNRxlON9HRHgvvZ8EH1fqHS8vDI0iMyKK6mDfRn2tuKCx7EGTrdnIhpBVBW9lVl9MGso_VO5hG-Ad4zA4vsm8/w400-h300/IMG_0242.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Then there’s Commissioner Gordon. McFarlane seems to have wrapped on its Batman ‘66 line, but it’s taken the general vibe of it and applied it to the 70’s New Adventures of Batman cartoon, and while most of them I don’t need, the Commissioner Gordon and Bat-Mite are compatible enough with my Batman ‘66 collection that I picked him up. He was one of those “gonna be a preorder but I don’t have enough preorders for free shipping” toys, and then he was out, and then he was backordered, and by that point some Marvel Legends stuff was up for preorder and the backorder magically didn’t take more than a couple of days to fulfill.</p><p>Anyway, he’s basic but he’s cool and he comes with a Bat-Mite and how are you gonna argue with that?</p><span><!--more--></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoV02lYMXG52AbXqoNXtFT1R-xAnlDBMqtNlpIeW4EfCXSSv7I9fjUyHuIOBfrWSPbyR6GadDbf9RHll9aBUbCMbQrYRMziTZXgzOtRnNCoMmiKsotYy5hwMemTjrfZjLIEbKYcMatsBOc_iuUZr8uzPAIH5vLkUStPZ2tJ4H2QHjvpQYl-v5TEsJ_zA/s541/IMG_0244.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="541" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoV02lYMXG52AbXqoNXtFT1R-xAnlDBMqtNlpIeW4EfCXSSv7I9fjUyHuIOBfrWSPbyR6GadDbf9RHll9aBUbCMbQrYRMziTZXgzOtRnNCoMmiKsotYy5hwMemTjrfZjLIEbKYcMatsBOc_iuUZr8uzPAIH5vLkUStPZ2tJ4H2QHjvpQYl-v5TEsJ_zA/s320/IMG_0244.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>And finally, the last of my Black Series Ahsokaa preorders arrived: Hera Syndala. Not much to say about this - Black Series to a fault. Great sculpt, great paint, great likeness, minimal accessories, limited articulation. But I’m fond of the character and reasonably fond of the show and this portrayal, so while I didn’t go deep on the show figs this one was on my list.</p><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-35543596401439546642024-02-16T06:30:00.000-08:002024-02-16T10:27:26.310-08:00SPACE SHIT (PSVRZ2)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU48idrD5680087nhScnwGk76K5ssfw-EkYCQ4D4YYtjInY71N9wh_tzVCqaTOmgZYPjJZ7EnR2yDYhaj-RjU9PkeHpdS5H3yZIqcWQHMo13h5hDXsn6DD56G8RAAItkagN905tU-AJ10PKUh9uEOLQxTx4Es3d51XspZew1JeRxVmAkRQNydcCkXGYuM/s1600/IMG_0215.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU48idrD5680087nhScnwGk76K5ssfw-EkYCQ4D4YYtjInY71N9wh_tzVCqaTOmgZYPjJZ7EnR2yDYhaj-RjU9PkeHpdS5H3yZIqcWQHMo13h5hDXsn6DD56G8RAAItkagN905tU-AJ10PKUh9uEOLQxTx4Es3d51XspZew1JeRxVmAkRQNydcCkXGYuM/w400-h225/IMG_0215.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>Been on a big Space Shit kick on PSVR2.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a>First, I bought, played, and finished Red Matter. Now, Red Matter 2 was one of my all time PSVR2 faves, so when the original got the PSVR2 port treatment I was on board. And while it’s more limited than its sequel, it’s just as oddly engaging.<p></p><p><span>Red Matter 2 featured a mix of adventure game puzzle solving in a very chunky, very real environment, plus some low-gravity platforming and some shooting. Those last two were sequel additions. Red Matter is nothing but wanering around a base, figuring out how to flip switches, open doors, etc. with machinery that is in many ways, while not “realistic”, is also not “puzzly” in that way that video game puzzles often are. </span></p><p><span>A lot of the equipment feels like it was designed to work for real, even if by a bored/insane pseudo-Russian cog in a totalitarian space regime. Part of that is that the game is incredibly tactile, and almost entirely jank-free, which helps a ton with the immersion. </span></p><p><span>Now, I’ve played through two Red Matter games, and could I describe what’s going on in them? I can not. Structurally, the game is Objective Objective Objective Objective Objective Weird Shit, with the weird shit centering around the titular Red Matter and the experiments therewith. But the lack of explanation or closure is never grating. It’s charming. You’ll chuckle wryly at Red Matter, throw it a nod, maybe give it the occasional “you do you”, and flip some more levers.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f9srOzzzAIEe_oPA7bTvj4jafQAnWnqEM6tO-JJ3_bxyVfqzh04kSuezlp97vArn1KkE54AVwLoEDE0gs6w_2RI07cK5NblGiEVmyA7OAytosf7Lkb9IJxPsqAcxW7ZnukZA0lNghjCyQtivnNjucJZr9XZXzaf5dDx8cnsKnlu-884FZl68Maan4FI/s890/IMG_0216.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="890" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f9srOzzzAIEe_oPA7bTvj4jafQAnWnqEM6tO-JJ3_bxyVfqzh04kSuezlp97vArn1KkE54AVwLoEDE0gs6w_2RI07cK5NblGiEVmyA7OAytosf7Lkb9IJxPsqAcxW7ZnukZA0lNghjCyQtivnNjucJZr9XZXzaf5dDx8cnsKnlu-884FZl68Maan4FI/w400-h234/IMG_0216.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span>Journey To Foundation is in some ways similar to the Red Matters, and in other ways couldn’t be more different. It has the VR requisite shooting, puzzling, and climbing, but it’s also pretending to be very driven by dialog and choice, in what I know predates Mass Effect but is still done in a very Mass Effecty way. Except less good.</span><p></p><p><span>It’s all VERY serviceable and compelling enough to get you through the length, but there are a few things that’ll keep you from being fully engaged. First, it’s very obvious from the jump that the Foundation are the goodies and the Empire are the baddies even though you work for the Empire. And while you’re ostensibly allowed to choose between them at various points in the story, none of them really “stick” and can be reversed by one final F vs. E choice. The game gives you a couple other choices along the way that are reflected in a final summary but you’ll catch on pretty quick that none of it really matters.</span></p><p><span>Second, it’s never broken enough to be broken broken, but it’s always broken enough to be distracting. There’s a gesture system that has you mirror various salutes to characters that feels like an ambitious idea they kept in the game even though it never quite works right and at one point is almost game-breaking.</span></p><p><span>Sometimes you have to pry a door open with your hands, which should be WAY more forgiving than it is, but instead reguires an amount of trial and error to find the seemingly random “sweet spot” that makes the game recognize that yes I want to push this door open and no I don’t want to wave my hands around it for 30 seconds when it’s literally the only thing I need to do to progress, thank you. </span></p><p><span>Also, you have this superpower that lets you attack enemies minds instead of shooting them and it also replenishes your health. And for the ENTIRE game, the way it works is, yoiu can completely drain the first enemy of any group, but for every enemy after that, you can drain them 75%, and then they break the connection, and then you have to do it like 5 more times for like 5% drain before they break the connection again, and it’s WEIRD. It feels broken. And then at the very last combat sequence of the game, the “full power” gets “unlocked” and you realize they just broke it in a very clumsy, awkward way on purpose because it wrecks the difficulty and is way too powerful.</span></p><p><span>There’s a lot to like along the way, and some very ambitious VR design, and I realliy appreciate that every single climbing sequence is skippable for people who can’t be bothered (I mostly could - I like climbing in VR). But honestly I’d gladly trade one chapter of length and a bit of the ambition for a tighter, less buggy experience.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGegcECk-LHQUiCVFGWzBvlZGeNniogQd8XEQ_MIZzZrXHomJQwA7P5H9QpNm4jUj0_kpNa_h8O_p64xaHEUCzubUQpusE3lXjUMNTMafT4bNsfNRT0iKK926AKfhPCJWQrOo2YwTTo9M-Nl7036Nq99pX60koeJYgz2vLXkZMhQLy_t5njP-l1rpaVZA/s860/IMG_0217.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="860" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGegcECk-LHQUiCVFGWzBvlZGeNniogQd8XEQ_MIZzZrXHomJQwA7P5H9QpNm4jUj0_kpNa_h8O_p64xaHEUCzubUQpusE3lXjUMNTMafT4bNsfNRT0iKK926AKfhPCJWQrOo2YwTTo9M-Nl7036Nq99pX60koeJYgz2vLXkZMhQLy_t5njP-l1rpaVZA/w400-h225/IMG_0217.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span>And now, thanks to a sale, I’m playing Hubris, yet another sci-fi VR mix of shooting, environmental navigation, and story. </span><p></p><p><span>Hubris is more action-focused than either of the previous games, with lots more shooting and traversal focus than puzzle focus. It looks great, though, and has swimming, which for me is a first in a VR game. The puzzles so far seem to mostly rely on combining items in conveniently-located machines to “craft” new items for health or traversal. </span></p><p><span>So far it’s pretty tight - the only real hitch I’ve found is that there’s often a “jump” rather than a smooth transition when you get to the top of a climb. Oh, and this is something I forgot to mention about Journey to Foundation too, there’s a lot of side shit for minimal to no reward. In JTF, you can do elaborate puzzles to open a locked cabinet and get… three lines of meaningless flavor text.</span></p><p><span>In Hubris yoiu can spot a difficult to access side path, navigate to it, and be rewarded with… a couple of salvageable items. Not even health items. And it’s early enough that I can’t even do salvaging yet nor do I know what they’ll give me. So that’s a little underwhelming. It is gorgeous, though. Doesn’t have the art design of the Red Matters, which combine stellar design with impeccable visuals, but Hubris ain’t ugly.</span></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-41521557588513369642024-02-15T06:30:00.000-08:002024-02-15T06:30:00.139-08:00FIG PHOTOS: “Dawn Of Hookhausen Remaster”, “Danhausen Debut”<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIUnPyDzwJsGXd9WbxBGV9aKJtGb_5YiE1e_yTYKLHlWbwNBupdKgu6B6PKmBnQl_s_K0R2aNNZfxgCZI12XHJJtanE1Jo9Sz51VaMhYr2WpkqkDWfi5R0OTWAKdSa4IONPOM7oMG5cczmzZokHRBE2KZXFMVQwGDu5Pdka-dfPr1y73uP3G4Wa4T6-I/s3765/IMG_0213.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2376" data-original-width="3765" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIUnPyDzwJsGXd9WbxBGV9aKJtGb_5YiE1e_yTYKLHlWbwNBupdKgu6B6PKmBnQl_s_K0R2aNNZfxgCZI12XHJJtanE1Jo9Sz51VaMhYr2WpkqkDWfi5R0OTWAKdSa4IONPOM7oMG5cczmzZokHRBE2KZXFMVQwGDu5Pdka-dfPr1y73uP3G4Wa4T6-I/w400-h253/IMG_0213.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> So, yeah, here’s the new version of The Arena and the new tools paying off.<p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Here’s the new, improved version of The Dawn Of Hookhausen, recreating when Danhausen was going to offer Hook some birthday chips but ran afoul of the Cold Hearted Devil’s temper and got pushed over. </p><p>The only thing missing is the bow around the chips I had in the original, because if you think I can keep track of a tiny bow on a tiny bag of chips for three months you have not met me.</p><p>The best part? This actually happened on Rampage, so I was able to use the new accurate ring mat to really approximate the placement of both Hook, Danhausen, and the chip bag. </p><p>Here’s the original for comparison, by the way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE9SV3ijThPumivnjT2HqFmTm34f8Fl77cQ-mNTv5DAKbsiz01bgpy_43ImSIHnMBcTpeeFWD8cH1_VpZe9hWqKbDpK2RDsE1Bp6Id80gvv6VDqNv_n1P6Djj9890oOGUlvPBjCdvREMmBZ4kziEIHlL0jn05RTYS7qN0x-PXIhqX84XqlxMYeMw3p68/s4644/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4262" data-original-width="4644" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE9SV3ijThPumivnjT2HqFmTm34f8Fl77cQ-mNTv5DAKbsiz01bgpy_43ImSIHnMBcTpeeFWD8cH1_VpZe9hWqKbDpK2RDsE1Bp6Id80gvv6VDqNv_n1P6Djj9890oOGUlvPBjCdvREMmBZ4kziEIHlL0jn05RTYS7qN0x-PXIhqX84XqlxMYeMw3p68/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>For my second test of Arena 2.0, I wanted to recreate what was, for me, my biggest mark-out moment in all of AEW, and possibly all of wrestling - the surprise debut of Danhausen getting pulled out from under the ring dduring the Adam Cole - Orange Cassidy match:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwX3tXwDSEmTtx0ETFY3SgSs24ORH52hcKR_i7mpUHgvAwpbLKe_4_az0ItOO2wVy-Hk2thZA5cAbb99DY2cZSqfBAgWfvkXxoCEDrWGq5w-JScahzpHPkfhCepnkSfBIjFPWEbmbTrDt0wVvcd4S9aZeTb9pBaUCbF5eJN9-Cr6fGapVPrOmq46TkEQg/s3975/IMG_0212.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2730" data-original-width="3975" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwX3tXwDSEmTtx0ETFY3SgSs24ORH52hcKR_i7mpUHgvAwpbLKe_4_az0ItOO2wVy-Hk2thZA5cAbb99DY2cZSqfBAgWfvkXxoCEDrWGq5w-JScahzpHPkfhCepnkSfBIjFPWEbmbTrDt0wVvcd4S9aZeTb9pBaUCbF5eJN9-Cr6fGapVPrOmq46TkEQg/w400-h275/IMG_0212.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Here’s where the affinity Photo 2 came in extra handy, creating more crowd and barricade behind the ring that the original background lacked, in addition to the fixed artifacting around the ropes and ring posts. In terms of matching the original footage, this is quite a bit more zoomed out than the actual episode, but I think I got the positioning preey spot on.</p><p>Bonus thanks to the three cubic millimeters of decade-old poster tack we were able to find, allowing Adam Cole to hold onto that chair. I have since acquired a normal amount of the fresh stuff.</p><p>So yeah, I’m pretty happy with how things are going. Now I just need some new ideas and projects to use it on… sometime in March when I’m gonna have time to set everything up again.</p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-82765122283387432742024-02-14T06:30:00.000-08:002024-02-14T06:30:00.245-08:00NEW TOOL: Affinity Photo 2 (iPad)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVrXF2P0_YM9gbYvFRipBx0XpiLVdOHzd95uCZ7m4YNEysPCw_DAjOKkaoZqONeCvxsKVVWCPnEQDKA06T_1YWlWPkX016T2u7W2Bu2CnZ6tEo10O3lhKOwEUOc2lyHTDIMOfHYFItN_dIln-AstXl3hEi1IcSi5nOSTeTbIABOD54nB4QDo93AHWJp8/s2388/IMG_0214.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="2388" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaVrXF2P0_YM9gbYvFRipBx0XpiLVdOHzd95uCZ7m4YNEysPCw_DAjOKkaoZqONeCvxsKVVWCPnEQDKA06T_1YWlWPkX016T2u7W2Bu2CnZ6tEo10O3lhKOwEUOc2lyHTDIMOfHYFItN_dIln-AstXl3hEi1IcSi5nOSTeTbIABOD54nB4QDo93AHWJp8/w400-h280/IMG_0214.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /> SO MANY TINY ICONS.<p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>So, the thing about The Arena is, it did expose the limitations of my existing suite of photo editing tools. Specifically, Photomator (object removal and color adjustment) and ProKnockout (janky but effective background removal and simple compositing).</p><p>Basically, it’s two things. First, automatic background removal assumes the ring is part of the background even when it’s literally on a four-sided green screen. It’s not just wird janky tablet software, either. I messed with the trial versions of both Lightroom and Photoshop for iPad and whatever it was using to decide what the background is, That Big Green Swath wasn’t it.</p><p>Which left magic wand style color selection, which is fine, except it tends to leave an outline around everything. There are ways to tweak that, but I didn’t have the level of control I needed, plus, the ring ropes were a problem. So I was thinking about giving in and learning something professional and with a hefty annual subscription, when I lucked into a post on Threads mentioning Affinity Photo 2 as a non-subscription Photoshop alternative.</p><p>So I messed with the trial version for a couple of days, and sure enough, it could do the additional things I need to do. The learning curve is… steep. I have to do things myself rather than relying on automatic software, and the tiny icons are a fun low-vision challenge. But each project provides a bit more knowledge, and I’m getting some other things I wish I’d had with the earlier stuff, like basic copypasting of selected image chunks. </p><p>Anyway, unless I’m looking to teach myself skills, I’m still planning to use my old techniques for stuff that doesn’t require the advanced editing, but having this in the arsenal for </p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-36780034023122623272024-02-13T10:31:00.000-08:002024-02-13T10:31:36.689-08:00ACQUISITION: AEW Authentic Scale Ring Featuring Sting<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbufBFHEYGwdeDWwGTeVAHEjdcyx-PEeKCteTdGwa3BJ6ThVJmW0DQ8whmK53obBuyZS79O5lcLR0pR133402Zx2a9jQqt_IpMFTM6qbuddYE0xdjHWsD8gNJkW3YkdsnttrKWJIQy854uVkDsYvwXe7pOwj8Xj1Lj823VdSA4m51LvLnyt2HCnmL5uE/s2413/knockout.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2413" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbufBFHEYGwdeDWwGTeVAHEjdcyx-PEeKCteTdGwa3BJ6ThVJmW0DQ8whmK53obBuyZS79O5lcLR0pR133402Zx2a9jQqt_IpMFTM6qbuddYE0xdjHWsD8gNJkW3YkdsnttrKWJIQy854uVkDsYvwXe7pOwj8Xj1Lj823VdSA4m51LvLnyt2HCnmL5uE/w400-h226/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>So, yeah, I bought a second ring.</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Mentioned this already, but wanted to give the ring and the Sting their due as an actual toy and acquisition with some more specifics about the differences.<p></p><p><span>Biggest difference is the pack-in figure. Aubrey Edwards was a person unavailable in figure form, with two extra hands. They’ve made Stings before, and this is a pretty dull Sting, with just pants and sweatshirt. It’s not a bad representation of Old Sting as these things go, and my only other Sting is an old WCW figure with lots of detail but almost no mobility, so it’s not awful, but it is decidedly unfancy and not particularly exciting.</span></p><p><span>Where the extra value came in for me, aside from the unbroken ringpost, is the Rampage-specific ring mat, the Rampage-specific ring apron, the TNT and additional AEW turnbuckle pads, and the second set of properly compatible (i.e. fits around the square ring posts) ring steps. The first ring I got had eight Double or Nothing turnbuckle pads and four AEW ones, while this ring has eight AEW and four TNT, so that adds a lot of flexibility.</span></p><p><span>Do I wish they sold other ring aprons? Absolutely. Seems like a no-brainer, honestly. Dynamite, Collision, and the various special events and PPV’s. Of course, now that AEW has switched to LED aprons on two sides of the ring like WWE, finding some way to simulate that might be a project for later in the year. Maybe a LEGO frame and printed labels?</span></p><p><span>Beyond that, it’s the same ring as the first one I got - well designed, well made, and the biggest problem is that the thick fabric ring mat does stuff to figures’ ability to stay standing. So extra hassle.But still great for photos, especially now that I have [FORESHADOWING OF NEXT POST].</span></p><p><span><br /></span></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-32799435300244003892024-02-08T19:14:00.000-08:002024-02-08T19:14:40.649-08:00THE ARENA (Version 2)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBB1Uk4q-ma1Eh66teVCnmo1qhqNBtnTy3gJlzgxqUnUavW9NFtgz0a-lQtYxuwAX2V7Hld3E_Ubq_kdn8z-EL0iYWl79k9IiBoI0qilv43prKoOl2wy9JXJ5VWUnEqkMKWOYgGSQ7L9rmt0tuV153P6pVrjXvyCWzbMKCysxcu3pJhMkl46q2z57rmk/s2387/IMG_3248.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2295" data-original-width="2387" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBB1Uk4q-ma1Eh66teVCnmo1qhqNBtnTy3gJlzgxqUnUavW9NFtgz0a-lQtYxuwAX2V7Hld3E_Ubq_kdn8z-EL0iYWl79k9IiBoI0qilv43prKoOl2wy9JXJ5VWUnEqkMKWOYgGSQ7L9rmt0tuV153P6pVrjXvyCWzbMKCysxcu3pJhMkl46q2z57rmk/s320/IMG_3248.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Now, we’re getting somewhere.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>When we last left off on The Arena, background removal was a nightmare because of the shiny reflective walsls of the photo tent, and one of my ringposts had irrevocably broken. Both oft hese hafve been remedied. Did it create new problems? YES. Did I solve these problems using a variety of new toolds and techniques I’ll be discussing in forthcoming posts? ALSO YES.</p><p>First up was two yards of neon green craft felt. Neon green was the only color of craft felt the store had by the yard, so it’s good that I was looking for something very much like that. It was cut (by a semi-professional, most of you know who) into 32” x 32” squares, and mounted on the walls using some stick-on Velcro chunks. So, some pretty solid greenscreening.</p><p>Next up, a second AEW Authentic Scale Ring. I know, I know. I bought a second ring to replace one ringpost. But I did the value calculation and the ONLY part of the whole thing that isn’t either a spare part or an alternate look is the actual ring base. Ringposts, ropes, and ring supports? All spare parts. The mat, apron, and turnbuckle pads? Alternate looks. All ultimately useful, so ultimately it was worth a purchase even though the need for it was irksome as fuck.</p><p>Now, does AI-based background removal software still not recognize everything except the green as foreground? Yes it does. So I still have to do a lot of picky background removal. But it’s a lot LESS picky and a lot less sloppy than it was with the side reflections. And the new pictures you’ll be seeing soon bear that out.</p><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-32296439852746819172024-02-07T08:53:00.000-08:002024-02-07T08:53:05.148-08:00FIGURE PHOTO: “The Meme Trilogy Is Complete”<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeJasxrsMqIaCBs4GnNfIURj-xQBMgZ-IapK21GDyAoJOR-ApDML1uuHitbn1IhbexBwU1yZAgB24z05I1e7YkhaUGk9Otbm1gnZo99cv9vrf5Sq_UWHl7oMoGmBK4StDgyO7pl8gbEgCXHbGZkWHI9v-1dYyYbXguckGs9XycTSK0gxm4edKISN3KDs/s4037/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2137" data-original-width="4037" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeJasxrsMqIaCBs4GnNfIURj-xQBMgZ-IapK21GDyAoJOR-ApDML1uuHitbn1IhbexBwU1yZAgB24z05I1e7YkhaUGk9Otbm1gnZo99cv9vrf5Sq_UWHl7oMoGmBK4StDgyO7pl8gbEgCXHbGZkWHI9v-1dYyYbXguckGs9XycTSK0gxm4edKISN3KDs/w400-h211/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This idea has reached its logical conclusion.</p><p>Three Danhausens. Three Spidermans. All pointing at each other in the Spider Society lobby from Across The Spider-Verse. </p><p>There exists an alternate universe where I made a bunch more of these in different poses and scattered them all over the background in different sizes, but I did the effort to reward calculation on that and decided against it.</p><p>Official List (Left to Right):</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Marvel Legends Amazing Spider-Man 2 Andrew Garfield Spidey (No Way Home Wave)</li><li>Ringside Collectibles Exclusive VNVE Danhausen</li><li>Marvel Legends Spider-Man Tobey Maguire (No Way Home Wave)</li><li>Unrivaled 14 Danhausen</li><li>Marvel Legends Final Swing Spider-Man Tom Holland (No Way Home Wave)</li><li>Hookhausen 2-Pack Danhausen</li></ul><p></p><p>For reference, the rest of the trilogy:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-vLMpD6Be39kIxhpAwz5Yf1WbFknGq4U9YZa6hTGBE48Is0qkUS9uiqhRXs4FauXtECxK-S4lZ41fjr7i5vLHnCJpQC0t_sjWBdVhuVTYTrZh4MYMQsvTyPI65PK7jxqS94TDO9rGdrIykIMBkrDvT7bRqVkJdEsee057dRJIJeHCuA1uaXV3Xb6rbY/s4015/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3071" data-original-width="4015" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-vLMpD6Be39kIxhpAwz5Yf1WbFknGq4U9YZa6hTGBE48Is0qkUS9uiqhRXs4FauXtECxK-S4lZ41fjr7i5vLHnCJpQC0t_sjWBdVhuVTYTrZh4MYMQsvTyPI65PK7jxqS94TDO9rGdrIykIMBkrDvT7bRqVkJdEsee057dRJIJeHCuA1uaXV3Xb6rbY/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7q4Flc4Ku5gRpXEPXMrIDu_e7oCyuPNrBuHpAp1p4Ewc14PSU2IwfGQbALu3QrmfVsOb99ne-85SlPuwqHhxLrsSAas-VNrtxTMqK1fiMdNjywTpsAfenaEArRTi3yMo8Bbm2K4Tg_MB1qhO33gtkWx0eWePLXNSL_OceiIbdYznDIH7JtawD6tBi6cA/s3587/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3587" data-original-width="2852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7q4Flc4Ku5gRpXEPXMrIDu_e7oCyuPNrBuHpAp1p4Ewc14PSU2IwfGQbALu3QrmfVsOb99ne-85SlPuwqHhxLrsSAas-VNrtxTMqK1fiMdNjywTpsAfenaEArRTi3yMo8Bbm2K4Tg_MB1qhO33gtkWx0eWePLXNSL_OceiIbdYznDIH7JtawD6tBi6cA/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-40556740394341859212024-02-05T06:30:00.000-08:002024-02-05T06:30:00.143-08:00IMPULSE CLEARANCE… GIFT? Mario Movie Toys<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzT-DXAmhg4-5TsWKbjaOvPr7KDhz3XrBn1bCkm3rBa8zaWnsMcjreU1KgXsQGiGEYsaOfXMknPqebhCQqpHt40H44Mz0F7SSvXDPPrFXFUhsqaBfB1KbbqbV0avVO3a1ptMsHMF5lALofmSdFvhyqw205YlARC011uF7HUqsPbq_UdWKNprCoLXReHw/s4733/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2687" data-original-width="4733" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzT-DXAmhg4-5TsWKbjaOvPr7KDhz3XrBn1bCkm3rBa8zaWnsMcjreU1KgXsQGiGEYsaOfXMknPqebhCQqpHt40H44Mz0F7SSvXDPPrFXFUhsqaBfB1KbbqbV0avVO3a1ptMsHMF5lALofmSdFvhyqw205YlARC011uF7HUqsPbq_UdWKNprCoLXReHw/w400-h228/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> It was an impulsive idea to see if the Mario movie toys were on clearance anywhere and it was a place someone had given me a gift card to. So. Mario!<p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Mario characters have been a hole in the collection that I’ve been aware of for a bit. Scale’s been a bit of an issue. Very little Mario toys have been in the six inch scale. But the Mario movie line from Jakks Pacific were.. close? I mean, none of them have ever really read as “as tall as a normal person”, so I figured they’d fit. And they were cheap.</p><p>I got Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Tanooki Mario. They’re all very nice for what they are. Well sculpted, well painted, and while not crazy articulated, they’re very functionally articulated with unobtrusive joints for their size. The Marios clock in around 5 inches, Luigi’s a bit taller. Bowsrer is 7-8.</p><p>I didn’t get Peach because she’s essentially a figurine / traffic cone. There IS a Peach in a Mario Kart motorcycle outfit with good jointage, but it’s by no means an iconic look. And I skipped Toad because the clearance price wasn’t that good and, being a smaller guy, his articulation was even more limited.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYshpICi2-HAls6vexYLivsoRImS-iDkuZm-4sxFY71H2iL-q0eDU57P538QE0dlzDWgi_a0yf77bxNe6OIXHJoFjQUp9l8QRztJkzP1fn7GpVJquuP9-ZwlOz2wsAbmE_c0YMUgSsUUgBqIm70_t8vCSRYzYLA8SgpS8KX-Mxo11GZkcCGF8MByWGQI/s5164/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2895" data-original-width="5164" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYshpICi2-HAls6vexYLivsoRImS-iDkuZm-4sxFY71H2iL-q0eDU57P538QE0dlzDWgi_a0yf77bxNe6OIXHJoFjQUp9l8QRztJkzP1fn7GpVJquuP9-ZwlOz2wsAbmE_c0YMUgSsUUgBqIm70_t8vCSRYzYLA8SgpS8KX-Mxo11GZkcCGF8MByWGQI/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Bowser has a light-up mouth feature. It also allegedly “breathes fire” by atomizing some water vapor, but if it’s working, I can’t see it. But that’s OK. I didn’t get him for the special features, though I do love a light-up anything.</p><p>Mario comes with a plunger, which must be a movie thing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv83HqhYxmUWpBv6IYVqaBpUhlIz1voG_FuTqFsT7CjC_tljytdk3v9aYK9TF11p0zW10eGtdpENztK54h2s8tDeBrQKcnf7ajviUZxlIOGZ2Zztee9H8Xb4N9VDFYLtUoWd20McvZayYf5gaOAZaNKyHCoqlzM1WJmhfJTSWKvBRKpaq5qteG35oLyMc/s6793/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3869" data-original-width="6793" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv83HqhYxmUWpBv6IYVqaBpUhlIz1voG_FuTqFsT7CjC_tljytdk3v9aYK9TF11p0zW10eGtdpENztK54h2s8tDeBrQKcnf7ajviUZxlIOGZ2Zztee9H8Xb4N9VDFYLtUoWd20McvZayYf5gaOAZaNKyHCoqlzM1WJmhfJTSWKvBRKpaq5qteG35oLyMc/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Luigi comes with a lantern, which I think is a Luigi’s Mansion thing? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLZQJA2adoe6JxZyJ5ZZq-J0_yoK8tGRMTw1lWg5TPf9Xd_OFghtXQopFtuNFUPuKkn_l-FwqmoXglK0svwO67-BMk-C4WplBTsGDcH9e-tuUeTo6g-Ww0Ugn_S-HtVqaw7lxapXMfF9vP82FB4zYoaWDnsDbnQ1LyS8yeopB62O1XqJvGpuPWXjk2Fw/s6392/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4234" data-original-width="6392" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMLZQJA2adoe6JxZyJ5ZZq-J0_yoK8tGRMTw1lWg5TPf9Xd_OFghtXQopFtuNFUPuKkn_l-FwqmoXglK0svwO67-BMk-C4WplBTsGDcH9e-tuUeTo6g-Ww0Ugn_S-HtVqaw7lxapXMfF9vP82FB4zYoaWDnsDbnQ1LyS8yeopB62O1XqJvGpuPWXjk2Fw/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Tanooki Suit Mario comes with a leaf, not pictured, because he can’t hold it. I would have loved a ball joint in the tail, but other than that, he’s very good.</p><p>Anyway, solid representations of the characters for a devent price, which is all I was really looking for. </p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-45151807416897005602024-02-04T14:13:00.000-08:002024-02-04T14:13:41.098-08:00SEMI-IMPULSE BUY: The Rest Of The D&D Cartoon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDm0QjNIdOTnqR6M4QRj4bl-XGInWAucHbTDHIMPvMIAqRQAJbfjQ_I93RHgh-1K_SofhhyPsVh_EUgXoIKU9LSFPsyRtz-alcLTj78pWkxUUlzmRFSE0SOShifFpY9X5cXiV6UFP4yhVTnoT8AFj8BSchPm9vXhtuO3XmNNSgH1e330Nlmwjpb7E1lG8/s3882/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2612" data-original-width="3882" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDm0QjNIdOTnqR6M4QRj4bl-XGInWAucHbTDHIMPvMIAqRQAJbfjQ_I93RHgh-1K_SofhhyPsVh_EUgXoIKU9LSFPsyRtz-alcLTj78pWkxUUlzmRFSE0SOShifFpY9X5cXiV6UFP4yhVTnoT8AFj8BSchPm9vXhtuO3XmNNSgH1e330Nlmwjpb7E1lG8/w400-h269/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>If you are some kind of eidetic-memory wunderkind, you’ll remember that last year, I bought the first wave of D&D Cartoon figures, along with the Dungeon Master / Venger 2-pack, on clearance at Target.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>At the time, my plan was to wait for Wave 2 to come out, see if they go on clearance at Target, then complete the team. And then I forgot about it. And then Super7 announced their ridiculously expensive D&D Cartoon figures, and it reminded me of Wave 2. So I went poking around, and while I didn’t find them half off like Target, I did find them on sale at a couple places, so I grabbed them.</p><p>Like Wave 1, they’re both very accurate / evocative to the cartoon designs, and also very low effort. Slightly gummy joints, minimal articulation by Hasbro standards, basically Black Series engineering at sub-Marvel Legends detail.</p><p>The big exception is Presto, who comes with a removable hat, a hairpiece with a plug to keep the hat on, a no-hat hair piece, a basic glow you can stick in the hat, and the elaborate spell effect you can see above that plugs into the hat and clips onto an arm. It’s very well designed.</p><p>Which is why it’s a shame that I had to hide his left arm behind Eric’s shield here, because his left elbow was stuck and snapped off rather than articulate and I haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet. </p><p>Anyway, the team is complete and I don’t have to worry about anything else from this cartoon, unless, like a lot of Super7 Ultimates obscure properties, the Shadow Demons they announced go on clearance for a reasonable price. They’re cool, but they ain’t 55 bucks cool.</p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-7962494753469899402024-01-30T06:30:00.000-08:002024-01-30T06:30:00.136-08:00FIG PHOTO: “The Ascent Of Groot”<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaFtPHfoBfHcKTysSaDTnEJZ1T2T5aYbTj4A5tZ7nBWk2zBR750wHooqSv9xyAV7h2dZ8IvnhEAa2jXgZSgbxN80w_6HMgTu68v1DzjKFV9GcaNz0RePXP1s8b0GGl5woCTz8EmWKpprpAX81v1UTXP6Gc2MGSUeyS7sfYpyZR0jnFvKIUFRVT5nJWPU/s4879/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2788" data-original-width="4879" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaFtPHfoBfHcKTysSaDTnEJZ1T2T5aYbTj4A5tZ7nBWk2zBR750wHooqSv9xyAV7h2dZ8IvnhEAa2jXgZSgbxN80w_6HMgTu68v1DzjKFV9GcaNz0RePXP1s8b0GGl5woCTz8EmWKpprpAX81v1UTXP6Gc2MGSUeyS7sfYpyZR0jnFvKIUFRVT5nJWPU/w400-h229/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Look, I got all the Groots, at least until they get around to doing super deluxe Kaiju Groot or King Groot. All currently known Groots, so here they are, in age order. </p><p>I tried one in chronological order but not gonna lie, it looked so wonky I didn’t even keep it as an alternative. And all it does is move the last Groot to the first slot. Not that interesting.</p><p>Anyway, for the sake of completionism, it’s the Potted Baby Groot and Baby Groot from the Guardians 5-pack, then Teen Groot from Love and Thunder, then Young Adult Groot from GOTG 3, then Adult Groot again from the Guardians 5-Pack. </p><p>I thought about doing the Ascent of Man thing where the middle ones were more stoopy and bent over, but one, I would have had to get out stands, and two, you can’t do anything with the potted and baby Groots, so again it would have looked wonky.</p><p><br /></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-30831610111955613202024-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:002024-01-29T12:26:56.297-08:00At Long Last, R2 (AKA At What Price, Preorder?)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ddM3n_cbpsV6ViRPSXD93GMUmyqYW4Iexa36QwaN-DT7y0QByqMhzrjVBWtk0p25L0ulS3woWIm23tdVQaaU1wewgBVUYZdnGcoyAXTLOO_ZrCWya55HflOaD9-ku1GzAzAa1uDVXiTp1Effs1ekp9EZJnr-LiQfaCezZppE4rjdV_0dWkmemXcI2TA/s3157/IMG_0123.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1820" data-original-width="3157" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ddM3n_cbpsV6ViRPSXD93GMUmyqYW4Iexa36QwaN-DT7y0QByqMhzrjVBWtk0p25L0ulS3woWIm23tdVQaaU1wewgBVUYZdnGcoyAXTLOO_ZrCWya55HflOaD9-ku1GzAzAa1uDVXiTp1Effs1ekp9EZJnr-LiQfaCezZppE4rjdV_0dWkmemXcI2TA/w400-h230/IMG_0123.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />So I finally got the new Black Series R2-D2, and he’s fantastic. But man, what a hassle. And emblematic of the very small problem of possibly needing to change up how I preorder, and who from.<span><a name='more'></a></span><div><span>But first, the figure. This is the first proper-scale, new-sculpt R2-D2 in The Black Series, something I learned when it was announced. Apparently the mold they’ve been using from the jump was significantly smaller, so it’s a good thing it wasn’t easily available when I started or I would have gotten one.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>The new one is dead-accurate, though, and as full of features as an astromech toy can be. It’s got legs and ankles, and the center leg that retracts, and doors that open, and the blue things on the front pop open, and one of the panels on the top of the head comes off, and inside the doors and the head bit are holes you can peg in one of the six included tools. Want the radar dish or the periscope in the head? You’re good. Want one of his door opening / all the garbage chute deactivating arms? You’re covered. Need to poke a Yoda? You can poke a Yoda (Yoda not included).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>And all the tools can be stored inside the neck - the head pops off to reveal six little storage grooves for the six tools, which is an excellent feature. And why this R2 was apparently in high demand.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>And thus a tale. If you sit through it or scroll past it, there’s three more R2 pictures because I kind of went nuts. The verst version of this to be released was the Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Retro Card version, so I preordered it along with a bunch of other stuff from Entertainment Earth, like I usually do. Release date, October 2023. October came and went and the release date became November. November came and went and the release date became Sold Out.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Apparently now preordering is a maybe thing? No big deal, I thought. They’re releasing the same figure in standard Black Series packaging too, and that’s still available for preorder for December. So I contacted EE and they very helpfully swapped my preorder for the other figure. And December became January, and the preorder went from January to Sold Out.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>In the meantime the Clea figure I’d also preordered in the summer was showing as “Backordered”, which is hopeful but also nonspecific. Again, a preorder so I could be sure to get a figure became a maybe and/or a scramble. I ended up going to BigBadToyStore for both R2 and Clea, both of which were in stock, and within a week I had both. And I was able to cancel the orders from EE without incurring retroactive non-free shipping, because the ancient orders were still big enough to qualify.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Which is kind of also some bullshit. If I order something in good faith, fully expecting to buy it and get it, and my good faith order qualifies for free shipping, and then you the retailer don’t fulfill part of that order, and I get it somewhere else, cancelling the order shouldn’t mean you automatically charging my card for the ten bucks or so I would have paid in shipping for the smaller order. If I cancel it for my own reasons, that’s fine. Maybe they wouldn’t if I hassled them about it but not wanting hassle is literally why I’m pre-ordering. I’ll go to BBTS and pay an extra $3-$5 just to avoid the hassle.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Now I’m running into the same thing with the Lightning Collection Remastered Pink and Green Rangers. Both were originally from January. Pink is out already - BBTS has her in stock. But my EE preorder has been pushed to February, and Green has been pushed to… SEPTEMBER 2024. But if I cancel both of them, I fall out of the free shipping range. BBTS has Green Ranger preorders for April, which may or may not be dicey. So I’ve put the Green on preorder there, in the hopes that Pink comes through at EE, and I can cancel the Green there safely when/if BBTS comes through in April. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>But I don’t want to do this math. I don’t want to manage these logistics. I want to buy the toys I want and then get them. I manage enough logistics the rest of the time. So maybe I start shifting my preorders to a more reliable retailer. Maybe I just spring for Pulse Premium and make sure I get my fifty bucks worth of free shipping by grabbing early preorders one by one and just letting them ship rather than waiting for enough to hit a free shipping total. And then find a reliable source for the non-Hasbro stuff, I gueess. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Anyway, this is all a small problem grand scheme, obviously. It’s just a level of hassle I don’t like to associate with something I do exclusively for fun. Like making R2-D2 pictures.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1laOih6YtPoYAkjCSAd7kjQpiHXLysNaILx5MmlVk5EGNuC4IVddupx2VS9A7SvBDyl3651ypLix9o9Xaj3RAobxBXnc9XswpdnptsGJisZcPaEMstzatuybQQrssdRJ3eOIiX0gNqLHDcGA_VJdaMzyVz1obH7BKIntGu8_jmI8naStzewyYWJ-9tXQ/s10078/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5072" data-original-width="10078" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1laOih6YtPoYAkjCSAd7kjQpiHXLysNaILx5MmlVk5EGNuC4IVddupx2VS9A7SvBDyl3651ypLix9o9Xaj3RAobxBXnc9XswpdnptsGJisZcPaEMstzatuybQQrssdRJ3eOIiX0gNqLHDcGA_VJdaMzyVz1obH7BKIntGu8_jmI8naStzewyYWJ-9tXQ/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhg-Pp3ZEImWERo77fBuoPBED1vRHxHDyK3g_VDLooHSTk4c4VBhrt-MRSAFKmQ9FddEWY3V_-MNPvRz15qnL7PPrx3VWZCHffd129cTSYEZyklyhPKOOxMhXabR95iNwIyjeox1x1t9aomTFyxKeg_UdVHGYCPtCK1mOSUF3pTJnpz0Ywhgv0TpEMsew/s6403/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3189" data-original-width="6403" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhg-Pp3ZEImWERo77fBuoPBED1vRHxHDyK3g_VDLooHSTk4c4VBhrt-MRSAFKmQ9FddEWY3V_-MNPvRz15qnL7PPrx3VWZCHffd129cTSYEZyklyhPKOOxMhXabR95iNwIyjeox1x1t9aomTFyxKeg_UdVHGYCPtCK1mOSUF3pTJnpz0Ywhgv0TpEMsew/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-cDWG_n9WxGtaNXuijJdYbUcT2RdlC5g76c5YzmkO7k7wfRSD3IiRkKdD0xAf2Dz3WEv5XU9fx_G98209nI8-FfBh8ZxM2G6nim7cKh_lE1nOoiFivSGDxvkcqiO6CzgXzT4WJz6SeScuKX5jXvMPR1UKUHM3XNdyvg8HXsXt8riNgqZpQ5flYreHBg/s6799/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3999" data-original-width="6799" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-cDWG_n9WxGtaNXuijJdYbUcT2RdlC5g76c5YzmkO7k7wfRSD3IiRkKdD0xAf2Dz3WEv5XU9fx_G98209nI8-FfBh8ZxM2G6nim7cKh_lE1nOoiFivSGDxvkcqiO6CzgXzT4WJz6SeScuKX5jXvMPR1UKUHM3XNdyvg8HXsXt8riNgqZpQ5flYreHBg/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-80861149343308041932024-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:002024-01-28T07:00:00.152-08:00MORE STUFF: Marvel Legends<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43NDxD738zp2A0sPK5hjocMjRtRzSm9xtvGIv2kvxcmWHFUzIBX3VFlETgUpFbf-2Dpj0_-zeVHMUePOvkubuv8mWRBWEc0hL1aZYMfQziQQUeLKkvbzTu7iGaFwXObgTlQhWHBOS3D_x56D4yAGr1-tTsT4uRRJiOwTG93ehn3N6cE9EPjEkIwRY9cg/s4096/IMG_0098.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="4096" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43NDxD738zp2A0sPK5hjocMjRtRzSm9xtvGIv2kvxcmWHFUzIBX3VFlETgUpFbf-2Dpj0_-zeVHMUePOvkubuv8mWRBWEc0hL1aZYMfQziQQUeLKkvbzTu7iGaFwXObgTlQhWHBOS3D_x56D4yAGr1-tTsT4uRRJiOwTG93ehn3N6cE9EPjEkIwRY9cg/w400-h266/IMG_0098.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Right. Still got some new stuff. First, a trio of Marvel Legends, each from a different place, at a diferent price, for a different reason.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a>First up, The Orb! Who is apparently some Ghost Rider villain but all I know is that av <p></p><p><span>But to me, he’s a weird dude in an Evel Knievel outfit with an eyeball for a head. Didn’t want to pay full price for him, but I was ordering some gifts off Hasbro Pulse anyway and he was on clearance, so I threw him in the cart. And he’s fun! He has an eyeball for a head! How could he not be fun! Not sure why “evil eye charts” was my idea other than my half fucking century of optometrist visits</span></p><p><br /><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbahIty1ut5kDB0gAx2cissbKe1QUi-PApmd4pQ4Gxrdw94MwTicCEepiFe1iqPwdRkdnOcvCUwKwgGjKimXRWwrQkdy7ARbgv15SUcVVtD5g8juMK3hR6PWuB4hmRrPr_d92hp-e1TamVEgkInc6BaPFMMv24zWwGdlRLxhOx5t0NneBgZuS3Dp2MbA/s3256/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3256" data-original-width="3058" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbahIty1ut5kDB0gAx2cissbKe1QUi-PApmd4pQ4Gxrdw94MwTicCEepiFe1iqPwdRkdnOcvCUwKwgGjKimXRWwrQkdy7ARbgv15SUcVVtD5g8juMK3hR6PWuB4hmRrPr_d92hp-e1TamVEgkInc6BaPFMMv24zWwGdlRLxhOx5t0NneBgZuS3Dp2MbA/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="301" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span>Next up is Clea, from the Marvel Knights wave, shown here with the Wal-Mart 2022 Dr. Strange, which also happens to be the first new toy I ever took pics of when I started with the whole photo tent green screen deal.</span></p><p><span>Clea started as a pre-order from Entertainment Earth, but much like R2-D2 (which is a whole post in and of itself) they hosed me out of it and it went to “backordered” before I got one. So I went to BigBadToyStore, who I like better but they charge a buck extra for figures plus shipping so they can’t be my regular source, who had Cleas, so I grabbed one plus another figure (who I bet you can guess who it was) to dilute the shipping, and boom.</span></p><p>And she’s very nice. Modernish take on her general vibe, as far as I can tell, but it looks sharp, the leg circle design is very cool, and she’s on a reasonably modern Hasbro female body. Unlike another purple magic user…</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF45k0rMxr-JltcjumVXy_ZqGwfgYOO-ft1wgyEpejnjOxxjdvx_4oLCKymvcV4ZZTbBXb-mn7j2FFbe8qbgBQwfP8Rvz_C71uzxQSZyC6GD_WJuCQFgCnYts-s1Nep98vR2t58vl88Gcfs3LqeZ0ITR_lcxhEJev12XzO64IqvlaA_pwo3-EvaSNjBwY/s4096/IMG_0133.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2730" data-original-width="4096" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF45k0rMxr-JltcjumVXy_ZqGwfgYOO-ft1wgyEpejnjOxxjdvx_4oLCKymvcV4ZZTbBXb-mn7j2FFbe8qbgBQwfP8Rvz_C71uzxQSZyC6GD_WJuCQFgCnYts-s1Nep98vR2t58vl88Gcfs3LqeZ0ITR_lcxhEJev12XzO64IqvlaA_pwo3-EvaSNjBwY/w400-h266/IMG_0133.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Sometimes, you get a figure even when you know it’s kinda bad. Why do this? Well, if you’re not sure if they’ll ever do the character again or do the character justice, and you like the character, and the figure is down to six bucks at Target, you wince and get Agatha Harkness, Evil Cone of Magic.<div><p>This entire DIcney+/What If wave was a mess, honestly. An ugly D’Onofrio Kingpin, a bland Talos and old Nick Fury from the very bad show, a Yelena Belova in the dull Hawkeye gear, What If Season 2 figs of Warrior Gamora and Goliath when I haven’t even watched the show yet, and Agatha. And her big dress.</p><p>You’d think, with a century of modern materials science behind us, there’d be a way to put dresses on action figures that didn’t completely restrict their movement and look kinda like ass. But nope! We haven’t cracked that yet. Not at the standard price point, at least. So Agatha’s a traffic cone, and even better, one with limited arm movement too for some reason. And a slightly wonky face sculpt. But it IS a Kathryn Hahn Agatha, and it WAS only six bucks, so into the collection it went.</p></div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-58804305927270422802024-01-27T09:27:00.000-08:002024-01-27T09:27:46.960-08:00WRESTLESTRAVAGANZA PART 4: Two Clearance Things From Target<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-Zv3_JQNIrv6ExfkQhKEGyARMcFwmac2P9PMzrml2LH7K-_pV9PJ78gs8DG8sHzeqR5H3f9gqoXphhXpdq4tgye4wUGiy0iVGSMJtzk8EyTTicCV2byrlZokKsiMJGRk8ixHcPOEgT8cBQ65hVxzfusIdIvNB-ziWJ1SEzmXsquJQHdCW5SBl7VfwKc/s4399/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3250" data-original-width="4399" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-Zv3_JQNIrv6ExfkQhKEGyARMcFwmac2P9PMzrml2LH7K-_pV9PJ78gs8DG8sHzeqR5H3f9gqoXphhXpdq4tgye4wUGiy0iVGSMJtzk8EyTTicCV2byrlZokKsiMJGRk8ixHcPOEgT8cBQ65hVxzfusIdIvNB-ziWJ1SEzmXsquJQHdCW5SBl7VfwKc/w400-h295/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div>Right! Time to get back into posting some shit instead of buying it and photographing it and ignoring it or setting it up and photographing it and ignoring it or just buying it and ignoring it. I know my role, as I was instructed to do by the WWE Ultimates The Rock I found for nine bucks at Target.<span><a name='more'></a>I had in fact been looking for this figure, because, like the MIck Foley, when I inventoried the wrestling toys, I found I didn’t have a great Great One. And this one was supposedly on clearance at Target for 13 bucks, but the Target I went to after the app was all “We probably have one but you have to come and check” didn't have one.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>But the Target I went into for completely non-toy reasons three plus weeks later? They did have one. And it was even cheaper. Yay!</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Anyway, this is as “first episode of Smackdown” a Rock as you’re ever gonna see. He’s got the sideburns, the small tattoos, but he’s post-Corporate babyface Rock, so this is a very specific chunk of late 1999 we’re talking about here.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>He’s got all the joints, sunglasses, a mic, a bunch of hands,, several heads (although Kimchi absconded with the one I dropped and it has yet to be found) and a soft goods track suit. Home fuckinbg run, Mattel, especially at nine bucks.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6G736UDUx3xVs_c32ac_JOWg7njsPGzKn80UXFPtRgY7lHufhSB01f81hULPg4_sF7Zqy7l6YwSey0Af_8EhbObP3QL9w4QQBoWfCbnoLH_AvztMGmLXjt8f6XW0BrMVYDZ_hYr8jjskR9WysYYb5JD5fXq3R5qBtwJnDWh6gkqPUsxvHspqRwkT36A/s3788/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3191" data-original-width="3788" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6G736UDUx3xVs_c32ac_JOWg7njsPGzKn80UXFPtRgY7lHufhSB01f81hULPg4_sF7Zqy7l6YwSey0Af_8EhbObP3QL9w4QQBoWfCbnoLH_AvztMGmLXjt8f6XW0BrMVYDZ_hYr8jjskR9WysYYb5JD5fXq3R5qBtwJnDWh6gkqPUsxvHspqRwkT36A/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span>Speaking of deep-clearance WWE figures, which, after this week’s news, will be the only wayI buyWWE toys if I do at all for the foreseeable future, there was a six buck Elite Zelina Vega on the clearance shelf too, and Zelina Vega is great and I didn’t have one, so…</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Not quite as nice as her Queen Zelina debut Elite fig, but you can’t beat the price. And once you get it settled in, the robe/dress thing works really well. The headdress stays on, but barely and only if you get it just so.</span></div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-91325336057292860922024-01-17T16:41:00.000-08:002024-01-17T16:41:30.904-08:00WRESTLESTRAVAGANZA PART 3: Filling In Gaps Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnfsJSXalGhGHolza15ADBGi5ByP-x_AACukQhT3nBnrom234_hXXCQux_wuC75u0qh4brWl6li73tAH7sAjlASI04QzQgD7daMiV1n3yiOJCR2tl2t165bQr6tlhqjZ_S-zY5N_p5S6KbIDV6cxpMg75t-UxKbQCau4f4c5KMv8hwH7YVudbamLA7g0/s3616/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="3616" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnfsJSXalGhGHolza15ADBGi5ByP-x_AACukQhT3nBnrom234_hXXCQux_wuC75u0qh4brWl6li73tAH7sAjlASI04QzQgD7daMiV1n3yiOJCR2tl2t165bQr6tlhqjZ_S-zY5N_p5S6KbIDV6cxpMg75t-UxKbQCau4f4c5KMv8hwH7YVudbamLA7g0/w400-h223/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>OK, I’m as sick of saying this as you are of reading it, but last time - I don’t love or even like any of these compositing jobs. But they’re good enough.</p><p>The last of my immediate post-Xmas wrestling acquisitions, although there was also, um, a trip to Target on Monday that we’ll need to discuss. But this is Private Party, who just returned to TV, so good timing.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Marq QUinn and Isaiah Cassidy, performing their iconic Silly String maneuver,while facing Samoa Joe. Who I picked up on clearance a few weeks ago and… never posted about? He was the Target exclusive and he was super cheap and I decided i needed a new old Samoa Joe to go with my old young Samoa Joe.<p></p><div>They come with sunglasses, extra hands I wish I’d remembered they came with when I set up this shot because grabbing hands would have made it go a LOT easier than fists, and cloth tank tops. So, solid B+ Jazwares figures.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvYUMcVzEbiWqhK6D7GR3PorInFcQ4CCuyQXKY8a6D8-TAEepM1ONIeI2gED51WPWQIToi8TgRMJFEz27EQWRaXUSJATsA4j7fHkJC5VR8rkiNkt4lfw_mvu_N4Mci9AI_7PZISOPqtS4sWxpnsZzKQTnzry9MZdhHrAd3UNEJjrlGJEkwrwjqbpk9cs/s2811/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2099" data-original-width="2811" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvYUMcVzEbiWqhK6D7GR3PorInFcQ4CCuyQXKY8a6D8-TAEepM1ONIeI2gED51WPWQIToi8TgRMJFEz27EQWRaXUSJATsA4j7fHkJC5VR8rkiNkt4lfw_mvu_N4Mci9AI_7PZISOPqtS4sWxpnsZzKQTnzry9MZdhHrAd3UNEJjrlGJEkwrwjqbpk9cs/w400-h299/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>And now we leave Jazwares behind. This is Boss Fight’s Black Taurus, from the Legends of Lucha Libre line. Do I love the engineering? Not really. It’s a very basic figure in terms of joints and overall quality. But it’s the only game in town for a Black Taurus figure, and the costume detail is very good. Not how he looked like at ROH Final Battle or in the Vikingo rematch on TV - a bit cartoony - but a lot of detail. And after those matches, I really wanted a Black Taurus. Seen here pitted against Supreme Penta.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDCbAtKQn3_wL7SxB7SFonLWGb-E02N47rD9-56IbWe3ACn2crZUj19qbdNLZhTb9SWVb_rk0GbltEFYnpWV_oHiiM19s-K4Do-y8bHiagfUMC8hMQdMI0RWO2nK8OcfUI20fNrVqDjeJXSEDe_tp1c4-7yuzQZ2N5RJ6mZ8qPSrH9psCTptRCm9lf6Y/s5191/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3191" data-original-width="5191" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDCbAtKQn3_wL7SxB7SFonLWGb-E02N47rD9-56IbWe3ACn2crZUj19qbdNLZhTb9SWVb_rk0GbltEFYnpWV_oHiiM19s-K4Do-y8bHiagfUMC8hMQdMI0RWO2nK8OcfUI20fNrVqDjeJXSEDe_tp1c4-7yuzQZ2N5RJ6mZ8qPSrH9psCTptRCm9lf6Y/w400-h246/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>And finally, Mick Foley! I inventoried the wrestlers over the holidays, and learned that the only Mick Foley I had was a horrible bendy. That needed rectifying, and Mattel’s recent Defining Moments Foley was still available. His “Defining Moment” is from the certainly very defining “fall off the Cell” match with the Undertaker.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because he’s from that match, he has the skewed tie sculpted in, which is less than ideal, and he has a bloody head with a tooth sticking out his nose because, again, an iconic and defining image. I prefer the plain head, which you can use with our without the removable Mankind mask, which is nice.</div><div><br /></div><div>I may also need to get the relatively recent Commissioner Foley figure for a more late in life Flannel Mick, but only if I can find him at a really good price.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seen here bashing Entrance Greats HHH’s head into the turnbuckle.</div><div><br /></div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-41610746276027216762024-01-16T16:08:00.000-08:002024-01-16T16:08:25.676-08:00FIG PHOTO: The True Mega-Powers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G84uOwlYS0ciNhzp7E9UEADFOmxj8wiscqAzAmU0O99x0MIbp50DjiXyl1sESMKnvje4gz74vtgBRhSw4Qt7bY0MS_KopvWYUqBRWk2DMpOuvT4WtgOs001Croy5e4p86wFjOVGpbPPd71DmOE1E2P43Y1vKBLagOHY9ZppT7RrcqoHID9Gj52_r5IQ/s4014/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2474" data-original-width="4014" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3G84uOwlYS0ciNhzp7E9UEADFOmxj8wiscqAzAmU0O99x0MIbp50DjiXyl1sESMKnvje4gz74vtgBRhSw4Qt7bY0MS_KopvWYUqBRWk2DMpOuvT4WtgOs001Croy5e4p86wFjOVGpbPPd71DmOE1E2P43Y1vKBLagOHY9ZppT7RrcqoHID9Gj52_r5IQ/w400-h246/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This is why I needed two scarves. <span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p>This is a recreation of one of my favorite photos, from back in 2021, when Danhausen and MJF were at some convention or event together, and this moment just perfectly captured their characters and what would happen if their characters met.</p><p>Could I have done this with two scarves and post-production? Yes I could. But this was easeir.</p><p>It’s the Unrivaled 13 Danhausen, the head from the Unmatched 2 MJF I just got, the body from my Ringside Exclusive Excalibur, my AEW Announce Table, and its accompanying backdrop, and then the table posters and Danhausen’s convention badge from the original picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFmPGJgLRphIs2L_UrjXsrclzAFUpQoNLLNAG1GS-fagZ9iaWSQnIAjp4F9NcVHLkHbEG6mMbkbBHZ6Ig0k3Vv_yF_KY18jKo7Q8GJeWO_FpFDdW6ofEgWm2D9-lAdHYQw4WRutI4L3mKs2udIKW_ob9507T6pQVMdWyZsAPBagP7RZoJgs34wQ1-TC4/s1920/IMG_0029.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFmPGJgLRphIs2L_UrjXsrclzAFUpQoNLLNAG1GS-fagZ9iaWSQnIAjp4F9NcVHLkHbEG6mMbkbBHZ6Ig0k3Vv_yF_KY18jKo7Q8GJeWO_FpFDdW6ofEgWm2D9-lAdHYQw4WRutI4L3mKs2udIKW_ob9507T6pQVMdWyZsAPBagP7RZoJgs34wQ1-TC4/w400-h300/IMG_0029.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Not bad. I mean, the scarves match because they’re the same toy version of the real scarf instead of one real scarf and one merch scarf, and Jazwares, you’ve made six Danhausen heads so far, you could make one that’s smiling. But given what I have, I really think I nailed this.</p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-9297568994187283342024-01-15T08:49:00.000-08:002024-01-15T08:49:23.366-08:00WRESTLESTRAVAGANZA PART 2: Filling In Gaps Part 1<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqFC7OrH00y5vHE3Kb3A3UFHBOrLdVFhUPky-37VyFVDRNGBjzrhwtSww4vrTYBZH77q4h6ztp4LIy8SGhvLIxddVp-BUigyk2s7CCvyCHw3jrPDDVae5Fo0r-H1UYbMGcyXOfj84G4HTY8RQtijGC_ElUMQSiDht41G_wLK5HIRLhHMMJJEaiSXTj8w/s7928/knockout.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4459" data-original-width="7928" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqFC7OrH00y5vHE3Kb3A3UFHBOrLdVFhUPky-37VyFVDRNGBjzrhwtSww4vrTYBZH77q4h6ztp4LIy8SGhvLIxddVp-BUigyk2s7CCvyCHw3jrPDDVae5Fo0r-H1UYbMGcyXOfj84G4HTY8RQtijGC_ElUMQSiDht41G_wLK5HIRLhHMMJJEaiSXTj8w/w400-h225/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YOU GOT TO GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> As I mentioned before, not particularly happy with any of these pics, but I’m not doing a whole new setup to fix the problems just for new wrestler toy shots. Next round with more infrastructure should make me happier.<span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p>So! Filling in the gaps! Basically, what this is, is me having some wrestler and character gaps in the collection due to skipping out on them when they were released because I didn’t want to pay full price for them, and using post-holiday sales to make some large orders and get some free shipping.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExGB0otPQkqOEoxk-zl37-f_GK2C3jrzAhWF3nnQVMoR0Bl9hJWJyvzFEA-KIhm49WS0d2DNKJw6QWQdghnnbR6Ko2XWHx30R86LBNgnkqOkmlXGlieZzCuT4RkAnTE4aOQR72HS6b_eEr-o26QUFwlX-wmQPs7JJxjThiuYZSMZnUWfWq31fKXHnxjM/s3987/knockout.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2748" data-original-width="3987" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExGB0otPQkqOEoxk-zl37-f_GK2C3jrzAhWF3nnQVMoR0Bl9hJWJyvzFEA-KIhm49WS0d2DNKJw6QWQdghnnbR6Ko2XWHx30R86LBNgnkqOkmlXGlieZzCuT4RkAnTE4aOQR72HS6b_eEr-o26QUFwlX-wmQPs7JJxjThiuYZSMZnUWfWq31fKXHnxjM/w400-h276/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p>To start with, I finished up the Best Friends (current incarnation) with the old Unrivaled 8 Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor. They both, but especially Trent, had changed their looks by the time these toys came out, and back then I thought hey, maybe they’ll do new figures of them. Twelve to thirteen waves later that seems unlikely, so I went ahead and picked up the originals for like six bucks apiece. SHown here with Danhausen and Orange Cassidy, who of course I already had, and without Kris Statlander (not in this version) and Wheeler Yuta (not in this version, not released yet). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO0mviKLZvTrtZg_EfjwukrlQE6UREQvTtmo_pyQ93YlLFiHWkkmXgDDwY7e08d9WUkNjyUT8RbXoKLJnuA1ANx0rWfKwn9qYDW_R5w5UrbGUGr7DBzYBg1nD3gQYKe5dNi3OBM6i4qzJxTn4AUiSNAOnJs-cY-1i9r2tRz-AkOzBcY25Cq7R33czth0/s2651/knockout.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2651" data-original-width="2341" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO0mviKLZvTrtZg_EfjwukrlQE6UREQvTtmo_pyQ93YlLFiHWkkmXgDDwY7e08d9WUkNjyUT8RbXoKLJnuA1ANx0rWfKwn9qYDW_R5w5UrbGUGr7DBzYBg1nD3gQYKe5dNi3OBM6i4qzJxTn4AUiSNAOnJs-cY-1i9r2tRz-AkOzBcY25Cq7R33czth0/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="283" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Similarly, Lance Archer. I’m a fan of the Murderbird, but his figure was always a bit plain, so at less than ten bucks in the same Gamestop sale that gave me Leia and Tengus and Teen Groot (who I’m now realizing I skipped over in posting about), it was a no-brainier.<div><br /></div><div>Plus it means I could recreate the recent World’s End Zero Hour Battle Royale moment where he got eliminated by Trent and Danhausen. So I did, even if I probably need to redo it.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjx9ch332Hzr-LRQbtRWPzt6u-jmTnyDA6GcJkrXKFlcmgQblns-HKQnWXD207n9_vwHMn75nBCH2V3XhoYxgrsXJxy_CMeN_k92XeiOGmbS4dKNzHrQgzXwJW2gQf-kuIf0l0lwPsBOQzLjUb_DrLe11h8laS1g4_nyEbrtDgnrabzWx1AMxSkNcRZRI/s3989/knockout.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3203" data-original-width="3989" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjx9ch332Hzr-LRQbtRWPzt6u-jmTnyDA6GcJkrXKFlcmgQblns-HKQnWXD207n9_vwHMn75nBCH2V3XhoYxgrsXJxy_CMeN_k92XeiOGmbS4dKNzHrQgzXwJW2gQf-kuIf0l0lwPsBOQzLjUb_DrLe11h8laS1g4_nyEbrtDgnrabzWx1AMxSkNcRZRI/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Finally, Unmatched 4 MJG.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Who I did not need.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who is startlingly similar to the Unrivaled 2 MJF I already own. Just different trunks.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I needed a second scarf. Why did I need a second scarf? You’ll find out in the next post. But I needed a second scarf and he pushed me over the hump for free shipping, so he was for all practical intents and purposes free. Would I have preferred the Unmatched 2 version with the robe as my second MJF? Absolutely. But he doesn’t come with a scarf. And he’s more expensive. And I needed the scarf.</div><div><p>Only four more wrestletoys to go!</p></div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-84364344096757450212024-01-14T09:38:00.000-08:002024-01-14T09:38:05.531-08:00WRESTLESTRAVAGANZA PART 1: Gifts!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MhU-i8fXYLCGg9qMMWXGQOOhMSaHOHrsJ1pCi589gvYtuSI0MDU9KlmajQUndFehhRnoNTcv_J9lDwQzt_gaOiw9vLobWbflfvrGunCKozVWOZVSNNIekJ1cAayfu5pRlxtQ-lAJcBWiF3eLqJiSCbtzA5bBpRtdsmk4ci3Ul83nKzUBqX92LZf8pJk/s4120/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3008" data-original-width="4120" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MhU-i8fXYLCGg9qMMWXGQOOhMSaHOHrsJ1pCi589gvYtuSI0MDU9KlmajQUndFehhRnoNTcv_J9lDwQzt_gaOiw9vLobWbflfvrGunCKozVWOZVSNNIekJ1cAayfu5pRlxtQ-lAJcBWiF3eLqJiSCbtzA5bBpRtdsmk4ci3Ul83nKzUBqX92LZf8pJk/w400-h293/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> NOTE: I’m not happy with any of the backgreound removal or compositing in any of the next few wrestling posts. It’s a new process and I’m working out the kinks. But they do show off the new figures.<p></p><p>First up, Unmatched 7 Thunder Rosa.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Did I need a second Thunder Rosa? Debatable. The first release is good, but I really like this ring gear, and also, the first release was from a very rare appearance where she painted the left side of her face and not the right. So this is a more typical look for her.<p></p><p><span>She came with a second head and the half-flag, plus an extra hand or two, which is nice. I got a lot of older AEW figures recently and forgot how little stuff they used to come with.</span></p><p><span>Also pictured here, AEW ref Aubrey Edwards, the pack-in with the Authentic Scale Ring I got. Also a solid figure, and, most importantly, comes with pointing and two-count hands, which is very nice attention to detail.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAVFV6Y8nhZuOisaYcpfV3h7PIdTKxMuszsfH7NT8locN_f_4zx8jLz8RSHCxlg_vaaJkXLAIvOqI1bl4MYFdHXP2_6MJswurjrd66YGKb2qGUetqN6olveKtHkTO30-_BMHHJzXa7E-HPoVIqNNMvOrs_y3aTLOp8Gvgupu3k-yY4i4qKyt7ZcqPbJM/s4032/IMG_3118.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAVFV6Y8nhZuOisaYcpfV3h7PIdTKxMuszsfH7NT8locN_f_4zx8jLz8RSHCxlg_vaaJkXLAIvOqI1bl4MYFdHXP2_6MJswurjrd66YGKb2qGUetqN6olveKtHkTO30-_BMHHJzXa7E-HPoVIqNNMvOrs_y3aTLOp8Gvgupu3k-yY4i4qKyt7ZcqPbJM/s320/IMG_3118.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I talked a bit about my problem (broken ring post, back left here) with this ring in my previous post, but if it weren’t for that, I’d be very happy with it. The base is solid, the scale is excellent, the ring mat and apron are well made, and the way the ring ropes, turnbuckles, and turnbuckle pads attach and work are pretty much scaled down versions of the real things. It comes with a scale set of ring steps that works with the square ring posts, and overall, it’s a very nice package.</p><p>Except for the broken parts, of course.</p><span><br /></span><p></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-49910744789658267792024-01-12T12:50:00.000-08:002024-01-12T12:50:22.083-08:00WORK IN PROGRESS: The Arena<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb96U3trs1SDVTDtAjUwahF7PwognlBI2F6tQN_gpzW5kc9HuXhaEGU60mDc_bOzSfuYgNbVfyrc6fNjF5p6wpbU_oq2P3tWPImA-x-MUsEuudIJVWAmOgNbJEzq5i2dDHsZqPeD6LAeKcfDHgxw_LgSgZHfTepv7o33QY-MaG-wAOoOm6LZZ9PF6bB0/s3765/IMG_3092.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3765" data-original-width="2592" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb96U3trs1SDVTDtAjUwahF7PwognlBI2F6tQN_gpzW5kc9HuXhaEGU60mDc_bOzSfuYgNbVfyrc6fNjF5p6wpbU_oq2P3tWPImA-x-MUsEuudIJVWAmOgNbJEzq5i2dDHsZqPeD6LAeKcfDHgxw_LgSgZHfTepv7o33QY-MaG-wAOoOm6LZZ9PF6bB0/s320/IMG_3092.jpeg" width="220" /></a></div><p><br /></p>So, this is starting to get out of hand…<br /><span><a name='more'></a></span>Here’s what you’re seeing. There’s a 32x32 wooden folding table. The table was purchased to hold up the new 32x32 photo tent. The 32x32 photo tent was bought to hold the AEW Authentic Scale Ring. Thus creating an arena I can use to photograph action figures.<div><br /></div><div>And it works. Mostly. I’m currently working through two problems:</div><div><br /></div><div>1) Background removal is a giant screaming pain in the ass, between the weird reflections off the sides and the understandable but ultimately poor choice to use the black backdrop. I can try the yellow backdrop, but that doesn’t cover the sides.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, with help from a VERY patient partner, my plan is to add velcro to the remaining inside wall corners (there are two already at the top back to hold the backdrop), then make four 32x32 squares of green craft felt to create a full surround green background and see how that works.<p></p></div><div>The second problem is… trickier. See, I got the Authentic Scale Ring (post/review imminent) and between the first and second times I set it up, one of the ringposts snapped in half. Jazwares does not offer a replacement. The first attempt at repair didn’t work. Some asshat on eBay thinks he can get FORTY DOLLARS for a single one, which, you know, supply and demand, but also go fuck yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>If a second repair effort doesn’t work or proves impractical due to time/effort constraints, my option is getting a new ring. The upside to that is that the ring currently for sale is not the ring I have, so if I do it, I’ll have a second (different) ring mat, a second (different) ring apron, and additional different turnbuckles to allow for a much greater setup variety. Also a different bundled figure and replacement parts for all the ringposts, the ropes, and the base supports if I end up needing them down the road. The downside is buying a whole second ring and either deep storing or recycling the main part of the ring. So we’ll see how that goes.</div><div><br /></div><div>As you’ll see shortly, the first batch of pictures are NOT GOOD. Partly because of the background removal hassle, and partly because of the background replacement hassle. See, 95% of pro wrestling is shot from basically two angles - the hard cam over the entrance ramp (AEW; WWE puts the hard cam on the side) and handheld cams from people standing on the floor. Which means there are very few backgrounds available that match the kind of shots I tend to take (and took), angled down from above the top rope. </div><div><br /></div><div>I played with various techniques to get around this in post, but I’m not thrilled with any of them, and given my already pretty casual standards for compositing, that’s saying something. </div><div><br /></div><div>So we’ll see how it goes, but I think I can get there.</div>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-72766887991167317862024-01-11T06:30:00.000-08:002024-01-11T06:30:00.139-08:00The Non-Wrestling Post-XMas Clearance Toys of 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPIh-mqrGMowXjsAAbw5uxS6lZVwaVCbnODgjUe9cZM6DKaXVBHPEISLS8FhrzA6b3ne4QBJrEJlCXOsZsLvDsvaV7q-YInLcOV0WZUOoPTvHNBHwMe5kegiAOyyU9Gz3fG9Jgf1f4iINFhXnoyQZbPemFsRvfUqoI9HCnSqvxHJK5rFDKq1DmX-QlSc/s4096/IMG_0028.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2412" data-original-width="4096" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPIh-mqrGMowXjsAAbw5uxS6lZVwaVCbnODgjUe9cZM6DKaXVBHPEISLS8FhrzA6b3ne4QBJrEJlCXOsZsLvDsvaV7q-YInLcOV0WZUOoPTvHNBHwMe5kegiAOyyU9Gz3fG9Jgf1f4iINFhXnoyQZbPemFsRvfUqoI9HCnSqvxHJK5rFDKq1DmX-QlSc/w400-h235/IMG_0028.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> I bought a whole bunch of cheap stuff after Christmas, but most of it was wrestling, and For Reasons, those will all be in a separate post.<span><a name='more'></a>I did add to the New Hope Black Series collection with a classic-style Leia. Like the Luke I got before Xmas, the cloth hooddresscloak isn’t great, but it does allow for proper full articulation underneath, which is a bit of a rarity for Black Series. So she can definitely bend down in front of R2-D2 when it eventually arrives (even longer story).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvK3SuZsfGjpoGt7vi4l-2WlAXObCyNRYITF8l9IrwQ4KDCgsg_-TBWg7zPm3Mrzc-QSwVh-5oNo1fF47zRygc5PB8_pUFtDdM7IIc-CG1hfmkJ9xasNVPPW0NgI5jb14LzP9nCakO288IcbfIvOE8mm5X-dBUdRdWHPAEVb6GW3axzcL7Nc6usBEz8SE/s3804/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2495" data-original-width="3804" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvK3SuZsfGjpoGt7vi4l-2WlAXObCyNRYITF8l9IrwQ4KDCgsg_-TBWg7zPm3Mrzc-QSwVh-5oNo1fF47zRygc5PB8_pUFtDdM7IIc-CG1hfmkJ9xasNVPPW0NgI5jb14LzP9nCakO288IcbfIvOE8mm5X-dBUdRdWHPAEVb6GW3axzcL7Nc6usBEz8SE/w400-h263/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span>I didn’t NEEEEEED a second and third Tengu Warrior, but the two-pack was half off and got me to free shipping on a whole bunch of wrestlers, so ultimately they were like five bucks each, and if I end up doing Ninjetti fight scenes with multiple goons, they don’t hurt. </span><p></p><p>And they’re painted slightly differently from the originals, come with full sets of wings and hands (but no eggs, boo), so, well worth it.</p><p>Soon: SO MUCH WRESTLING.</p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1564373513853957810.post-31634665722273783742024-01-10T10:56:00.000-08:002024-01-10T10:56:00.364-08:00The Final 2024 Preorders Of 2023!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNeU3XMzoHLAzGILumteouDJ0AC7yECX4kWHv28hOcuiX0y-MTOdWW80yDSoNAXEME-H4Ww_-FsDHOmHexDk2OdhJ2jWBcflPJsm3fUGT8XT3SKKUj_GLEHR7Z8bSYqeT0zG8_VEZTyu-Y21Nrm-DwtSAgCS3HrRPp1t0AXor8HOjHO2-R5IWHV5-Koo/s4117/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2297" data-original-width="4117" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNeU3XMzoHLAzGILumteouDJ0AC7yECX4kWHv28hOcuiX0y-MTOdWW80yDSoNAXEME-H4Ww_-FsDHOmHexDk2OdhJ2jWBcflPJsm3fUGT8XT3SKKUj_GLEHR7Z8bSYqeT0zG8_VEZTyu-Y21Nrm-DwtSAgCS3HrRPp1t0AXor8HOjHO2-R5IWHV5-Koo/w400-h224/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />It’s a new year! Which means I can no longer receive 2024-scheduled preorders in 2023! But the toy companies knew that, and that’s why, in the week between Xmas and New Years, I got four toys I wasn’t supposed to get until the first three months of 2024. Still no goddamned R2-D2, which I have been hosed on a second time, yet another Entertainment Earth “pre-order” that suddenly becomes “sold out” without me getting the figure. Anyway.<span><a name='more'></a>First up, Garfield! Yes, my No Way Home wave pre-orders are now complete, with Andrew Garfield joining Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland in the Spidey collection. Redeeming Garfield’s Spider-Man (a good Spidey in two absolute dogshit Spidey. movies) is one of the many excellent things No Way Home did, and it’s nice to want this figure, much less have it. </span><p></p><p><span>Pretty standard Marvel Legends Spidey stuff here - nice human head, nice masked head, decent articulation although not AMAZING, some but not enough hands.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3mpGtDpZK86uDa2apfTqg-OuSlLMDjNGM2vtJPOux04ptsesgM9xWrVyFDTrVYL-W_w-QejBaIWcg9qsAjlPqWJA8Ml1dsFcFvWfKK-Ipi3Iq0ZYJa8QZqRZ3ZeslaKg2fTWwc9_6S3-SpKNqvzNDt3V82hWwQWJKyuLCFiH645qIPVLBqOKUPn7xGY/s2303/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="2303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3mpGtDpZK86uDa2apfTqg-OuSlLMDjNGM2vtJPOux04ptsesgM9xWrVyFDTrVYL-W_w-QejBaIWcg9qsAjlPqWJA8Ml1dsFcFvWfKK-Ipi3Iq0ZYJa8QZqRZ3ZeslaKg2fTWwc9_6S3-SpKNqvzNDt3V82hWwQWJKyuLCFiH645qIPVLBqOKUPn7xGY/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span>Continuing with Marvel Legends, here’s Crystar, the latest in my violations of “only buy toys of characters I care about, not toys that just look cool” rule. I could give two shits from Crystar, but he is translucent blue, made of crystals, and has a clear sword and shield, so unlike Crystar, I am not made of stone.</span><p></p><p><span>He’s nifty.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IWrepGvOoVnbCjki8HcdyfKHdOSD6sFheFswf3eKfbeT7DqEDV6D49GV0TiDfrHs-Z58tR_VsOHEMRFkY_EF9gL141J2043Pi3g02DPr7MUzsBaKFh8swqL72yRVuNMlfZIBWKxVs_Lc1YtlOKOrmDvy_5iw0Oc26KLEpHm146x3LYx2KZ-0uPFmkgQ/s2837/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2837" data-original-width="2115" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IWrepGvOoVnbCjki8HcdyfKHdOSD6sFheFswf3eKfbeT7DqEDV6D49GV0TiDfrHs-Z58tR_VsOHEMRFkY_EF9gL141J2043Pi3g02DPr7MUzsBaKFh8swqL72yRVuNMlfZIBWKxVs_Lc1YtlOKOrmDvy_5iw0Oc26KLEpHm146x3LYx2KZ-0uPFmkgQ/s320/knockout.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><span>We wrap the new Marvel Legends with classic comic Vision.</span><p></p><p><span>I don’t, or didn’t, have a good Vision. I missed out on the MCU versions, and also the MCU versions aren’t really colorful enough to even match my image of the movie version. I do have a translucent white MCU vision from an old 3-pack, but that’s of limited utility.</span></p><p><span>Anyway, he’s bright and green and up to all the current Marvel Legends standards.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmkjM_b447fWTkYOw_vPddYSJ_rbznR0RQNI4sqxMtOG6iaxCDiu-GxbxaNb-ppAWw05eySROlEhRcueLibg2PLVkAtmsrL0A23ke1J3QqZY3coRMHtTVJBw5LUHq9JhGbH210NZx2P5ESDccAth320spVEhBiRT8pyZLsbGmRV1vMNnKfZEj6RZEmUg/s3985/knockout.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2240" data-original-width="3985" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmkjM_b447fWTkYOw_vPddYSJ_rbznR0RQNI4sqxMtOG6iaxCDiu-GxbxaNb-ppAWw05eySROlEhRcueLibg2PLVkAtmsrL0A23ke1J3QqZY3coRMHtTVJBw5LUHq9JhGbH210NZx2P5ESDccAth320spVEhBiRT8pyZLsbGmRV1vMNnKfZEj6RZEmUg/w400-h225/knockout.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span>Not gonna lie. Late summer, early fall me was sold on the idea that I needed to replace / supplant my Beskar Armor Mando with this version, with slightly improved articulation, a cloth cape, and a Darksaber. It was an easy call to make given that it wasn’t supposed to be out until like April.</span><p></p><p><span>In retrospect, is it THAT different? I’m not sure. I mean, it’s nice having pretty much every Mando accessory I might want - the spear, the long rifle, the pistol, a coupla jetpacks, but I probably could have passed on this and been happy. But I didn’t, and I have it, so that ain’t awful either!</span></p>Bryan Lamberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01759104382301134992noreply@blogger.com0