Open Your Toys Cast

You know what I love? That we are getting more Mega Construx Masters guys. I really enjoyed the He-Man and Skeletor courtesy of AliasAngelAlias and Lil’ Miss McFavorite. I also dig the Megatron Rules option on the upcoming G2 Megs. Not quite sure how I feel about a female Snake Eyes, but I do love that her premiere issue sold out. Something I have no doubt about loving is this ridiculously limited Echo Base collection from Columbia. The Han Paraka might be my favorite jacket ever.

It’s time we get some MOTU movie news. We possibly have a director and I’m personally excited. I’m also excited that the AT-ACT has hit a reasonable price. It’s about time. Who would have ever thought Street Fighter Transformers would get the time of day. They did, unfortunately. Something else that is unfortunate is the FSS 7.0 Crystal Ball. My god GJCC, please don’t mess up this time.

Something that is evident is that we’ll never get this under two hours. Especially when we have very divisive things to talk about like the Make America Great Again Jazz. Something that has been less divisive than usual, but still has to have just a little drama is the new FSS 7.0. I still love it! How is it that Joe has more news than MOTU? A minicomic we have talked about since Power-Con is literally the only official MOTU news. Something never at a loss for news is good’ole Star Wars. We talk about the new trilogy and the possibility of a new TV show.

How good is the new Solo movie? The reality, at least Lucasfilm’s, is 20%. Can Ron Howard “save” the other 80%? The G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club FSS 7.0 is real and it’s spectacular. Something less spectacular, but still incredibly welcomed is the return of WTFWTK or now simply known as the Super7 Q and A over at He-Man.org. Being old school, there is definitely something very real about print. That’s why all of those Takara rumors never seem like reality until the newest Figure King scans.

For this year's Halloween decorations, I think this “life-size” Skeletor is possibly my favorite yet, with that ridiculous 9 foot T-Rex skeleton a close second. Something I do have a little history with is God Fire Convoy. Granted it was the American version, but this is not a good toy and at almost $300, please know your history. Do you want to do an homage? This year’s exclusive Cobra Missile Command Center killed it in my opinion. Find out about all the love that went into this thing. Lastly, while I really enjoyed The Force Awakens, I feel the fanboys’ concern of it being a little too similar to A New Hope. Now with The Last Jedi looking to be a return to the “Dark Side”, critics are all jumping on the possibility of it mirroring the Empire Strikes Back. All though still my favorite, I for one hope we see this trilogy blaze its own path and not repeat history, even if it is a beloved, successful history.

While there were not many new reveals, seeing the most 3rd party stuff I’d ever seen in one place, really got my juices going. Vern’s too, but that’s something for the next episode. Here are some things that are now on my bucket list after TFCon. First is FaaaaansToooooys Terminus Giganticus. That is a MP-scaled Grimlock coming up to his knee, HIS KNEE. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the cutest Bruticus you have ever seen. Iron Factory killed it with that one. I’m kinda like Bobby Skullface when it comes to Tetra Jets, something about the first episode’s designs just does it for me. Even Soundwave’s goofy lamp post alt-mode. So it’s nice to see someone else focusing on that aesthetic. Last, but certainly not least, is this Ultimetal Ultra Magnus. This behemoth is almost indescribable, except Lotus does an amazing job of it in his almost one hour review of this collection centrepiece.

Hascon is definitely cultivating a new community. It will be interesting to see how they follow up what could be considered a very successful first run at the con biz. The Star Wars community has spoken (or maybe just Kathleen and Lucasfilm) and Abrams is back for the conclusion of the sequel trilogy. Oh hey, Masters fans, remember bitching about the price hikes on MOTUC? How do you like the now consistent $35 dollar price tag? Yeah, I don’t like it either. Just think if we could have been a kinder more gentle community in the first place. With no new product next year for a crazy big community like G.I. Joe, is Marauder John’s stuff our future? Time will only tell.

We talk about some things I would have definitely done differently. Take the Takara Tomy 10th Anniversary Movie line, please? Really, only a couple of hard to find figures? What about all those other hard, nay, impossible-to-find figures like DOTM Deluxe Soundwave or Leadfoot? Something else I would like to see done differently is the news updates from Power-Con. We didn’t even get some real confirmations until the hardest working man in the community put out his video. Considering the only two figures I really want from FSS 6.0 are Sub-Zero and Dojo, man, those head accessories. Could a hood and mask look worse? Lastly, something we won’t know about for at least a year, but something Kathleen Kennedy would and did do differently was the Han Solo movie and now Episode IX. I personally can’t wait for their releases so we can hopefully hear the dirt. However, it might be even longer.

What do we do when we have possibly the shortest show ever? We talk, and talk, and talk and still go two and half-hours. What can I say, when talking toys the time flies. We gab about the Galaxy Meteor cancellation or not. I gush about James Eatock publishing an unreleased vintage minicomic for Power-Con. We get a little insight into likeness rights from a Tonnika Sister. And even Joe had a story. It may not be the end times, but your prayers and positive thoughts are always welcome.

As it turns out, we spent about 5 hours to get there and about 8 hours to get back from our total eclipse experience. Spending about $200 total. Beyond worth it in my opinion. On this show we have something that is definitely worth it, Colorado Springs Comic Con. Just check out that guest list. Mattel continues to try to make what is quickly becoming their tired product worth it with their new subscription service. Something that is finally almost worth it is the AT-ACT. When it comes to Transformers, don’t ever pay secondary market prices, it’s not worth it and we talk about why.

Feel like joining me in throwing away hundreds of dollars? Check out the "Super Fan" experiences for Hascon coming up in less than a month. Other things that would have cost you hundreds of dollars are these amazing test shots of canceled Joe figures. They had to be snow-themed, tear. Something that adds a little value, but still brings a tear to my eye for what they could have been are the gorgeous faux mini-comic covers accompanying the new Ultimates. Lastly, probably the best way to use hundreds of dollars is going to be visiting Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. This looks like it is going to be amazing!

You know what is really crazy? This Shiva Force Box Set from Skybound. Is it infringement? Is it an homage? Either way, it will be mine even in my current state of employment. Another couple of exclusives that will test my level of sanity and the definition of infringement are the Four Horsemen's Power-Con exclusives. Luckily, there's one major release that everyone is crazy about that holds no interest for me and that's Takara's MP Sunstreaker. No matter your economic situation, theft should never be an option. Especially this kind of theft.

Here we go, hurry up, hurry up, let’s go, let’s go. It’s summer time and it’s time to hurry. There is lotsa stuff going on so not a lot of time to muse. Something you needed to move fast on was Hasbro’s Fan Favorite Figure vote. However, it looks like comic fans won this year considering I have no idea who Doctor Aphra is. Another thing winning that I will not be participating in is this year’s Power-Con. Val Staples of He-Man.org fame continues to kill it with the premier MOTU convention. Something not killing it is the new Transformers movie. Even with a pretty impressive final trailer, it’s been pretty much universally panned by critics, again, with a whopping 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes so far. The last thing is not quite killing it, but is about as good as we’re going to get, at least officially. The G.I. Joe Collectors Club announces FSS 6.0.

After having to edit this beast, I am truly thankful for all the work Vern does. Our apologies for taking almost two months to release it, but hopefully you’ll find the wait worthwhile. We have a very special guest. Not to mention we’re almost twice the length of a standard cast. So take frequent breaks and be thankful, you never know when the next one will be posted. Spoiler, it’s already been recorded. Another spoiler, Celebration was last month. Yeah, that happened again. There was a lot of news, but perhaps the most exciting was the return of the second most beloved line in Star Wars history in 2018. In another throwback, Takara kills it by revisiting Targetmasters. The vintage nostalgia continues with Super7’s new vintage-era MOTU sculpts. Unfortunately there is no reverence for Joe as Hasbro looks to reboot the movie franchise again. Remember to be thankful for what you’ve got.

Perhaps one of the best examples of circumstance has been Super7 taking the helm of Masters Classics. While the first effort was ideal, pre-orders of only what you want, even the “savior” of the line has understood that it requires an all-in or nothing approach. Which are you? Star Wars gets the award for one of the best ideas, the 40th Anniversary line and one of the worst ideas, Titanium 3.75 inch figurines. Transformers continued to make one of the strongest showings. Even if you’re not a movie fan, the CHUG line or Titans Return line as they are referring to it has some pretty great reveals. As per the usual, Joe is nowhere to be seen outside of a pitiful 3rd-party showing.

The Four Horsemen, sculptors of MOTUC, are absolutely killing it with their Mythic Legions 2.0 Kickstarter. In the most amazing thing that no one in their right mind or at least no one with a budget will ever buy is Generation Toy’s Green Shadow. Absolutely beautiful translucence. Another thing that is absolutely beautiful, that everyone can afford is the new Lanard Kong. While they made some choices I don’t necessarily agree with, I love it for what it is. Unfortunately, we hardly ever get any “3rd Party” Star Wars stuff, but we did get a pretty exciting official release, the name and logo of the next movie in the Star Wars saga.

Sometimes it’s pretty easy to get an action figure you want. Take the timely second run of Kultur/Tarn. Sometimes there are ones that are going to be impossible to get. Take the wave 11 single-packed TBS 6 inch Royal Guard. Then there are things like the Super7 Ultimates. They were super easy to get during the pre-order, but will impossible to get when they’re released. Finally, there are things nobody should want to get, take the Rise of Cobra props currently being auctioned.

As toy collectors, it seems we always want more, but again it is relative. Depending on your point of view this show may have the least amount of news ever or the most amount of hosting ever. We muse about the outgoing Matty Collector administration. We discuss the new Boss Fight Studio wave as the trend of smaller collector-focused companies taking over for larger conglomerates continues. However, no matter what anyone says, Hasbro is still trying to make Transformers great again with their new Titans Return Kup. In our saddest news possibly ever, we say goodbye to our princess.

Something we have a lot of hope for in the new year is Super7 and Masters of the Universe. We’ll soon see what they’re going to bring to the table. Unfortunately, something we don’t have a lot of hope for is the latest action figure Kickstarter. Something we know will continue to grow is the Masterpiece line, hopefully just not in price. $170 for a Seeker is just too damn much. Something we didn’t talk about much due to time was Rogue One and its relationship to Rebels. You won’t hear much about Rogue One on our next episode either, but just wait until Roger is back and we really kick off this new year.

It doesn’t get much more hellish than the Transformers 5 trailer. Can we please end Bay’s run, please? At least Matty’s run is ending, but man they too are going out with a bang, in a bad way. Star Wars at least has what we hope is a shining light coming out this week in Rogue One. Unfortunately, much less exciting and the only Joe news is the most likely disappointing Hasbro Cinematic Universe.