Open Your Toys Cast

How could I cut a whole line when they keep rockin’ stuff like we saw this week? Upon further review, there really wasn’t anything that amazing this time. And yet we still managed to talk for over 2 hours. Maybe it was because we had the triumphant return, for at least one episode, of past host and resident curmudgeon, the one and only, Lotus Stark. It was so great to have him back on. It truly felt like a full house.

While not necessarily retro, with a trip to the happiest place on earth on the books, the new 4-pack DroidFactory exclusive has 3 of my favorite Halloween-themed droids. And if Halloween isn’t nostalgic for you, I think you did it wrong. Think they’re not targeting us, the Classified Checklist from the last 3 years says differently. I always preferred some articulation in my retro, but the MOTU Little People are still killing it. Lastly, Micro Machines are back and now finally in G1-style with a Prime Playset.

Pretty easy picks this year for top reveals. I always love me an origins story. Gotta get another Pax, but a good Alpha has been a long time coming. I think it’s safe to say Classified Serpentor stole the show. Well, maybe not if you’re a MOTU fan. That Eternia, am I right? Star Wars was a little lack-luster, but I’ll take another Credit Collection wave.

Glad I don’t want to order too many of Super7’s Joe exclusives, but their ReAction set with Snake Eyes and Shipwreck in Cobra disguise and Cobra bot is amazing. Much less amazing was the TFCon 3rd Party Panel. I was all excited because I thought a Planet-X Snarl was something I needed, turns out it was Fansproject I’m missing. The MEGA Snake Mountain is a hot item, but I’m glad I waited on it. While Star Wars had a lot of great reveals, none were more exciting than me as a Black Series Stormtrooper.

These toy companies have been busy to varying degrees of success. The HasLab HISS killed it! Now bring on more stretch goals. I cannot wait to see the new Star Wars Micro Galaxy in stores. Especially the Troop Transport. However, the “new” Transformers Crossovers have a lot to be desired. Mattel tried to pull a fast one by putting the new Mega Construx or now just MEGA Snake Mountain on Mattel Creations. Not only is the going to be a mass release, but the Creations orders are still just pre-orders.

I have been so lazy the last few days. Not really feeling doing the whole writing thing. I need to catch up on real life.

I am still a sucker for repaints, but I have grown to really love drastically different designs of a character. No longer does a chromed Stormtrooper matter, but a concept design-based reimaging of characters like the Black Series Concept Obi and Vader, a yes, please. No thank you to black Primes, but hell yes to a minor retool to homage a vintage character like Ransack. Even new characters like Kol Darr, do not hold as much sway compared to getting 200x designs in Origins. So maybe it is more connection and its derivatives more than anything. Not worried about the Classified Rock n’ Roll, probably won’t get him either way. However, when it comes to Shipwreck, I want him to look like he walked right out of the cartoon.

In hindsight, what is truly amazing about the toys we talk about? Considering we talk about franchises that have lasted over 40 years, it could be said almost anything. However, we sure have a lot to bitch about, and for good reason. These should be better. So instead of featuring my favorite things from this show, let’s talk about the worst things from this show. The new “no plastic” packaging is the death of carded figure collecting. Ducks? We don’t need no stinkin’ ducks, especially Transformers ducks. I love plastic model kits and a $100 6-inch scale vehicle sounds amazing. That is until it has a ridiculous large Arashikage logo plastered on it for no reason. Since there is no Masters news as usual, we’ll pick on the 4 Horsemen. While the figures are amazing, who gives a 2-pack the name Furious Four?

Lately, I’ve found myself supporting things I would not have in the past. As companies finally figure out that we will shoulder more cost we’re getting larger, more exclusive, and deeper cuts. Not to mention the proliferation of 3rd party non-Transformers projects. If you’re not careful you can “support” yourself into a corner. What about a third 3rd party Bantha? Or, a four-foot Metroplex? The latest Kickstarter ninjas could definitely use your support. Lastly, Hiya has my support for their 7″ Godzillas.

Third-Party definitely influenced Hasbro with those ankle rockers. During these Transformers Fan First events, they are constantly touting those things. What happens when a 3.75 vintage line influences a vintage-style 3.75 line? A whole lot of people that do not care about the new wave G.I. Joe ReAction figures. With the new Silverhawks Ultimates getting more obscure, they’re starting to lose a little luster. Finally, I try multiple times during the show to get people to buy discounted Star Wars Legos.

I think people were happy, for the most part, with the Fan First Star Wars event. Especially us, who love the EU and Disney’s new version of it. Something, that now in hindsight, might receive a little criticism is the Commander Class Motormaster that was leaked. Two things that received overwhelming praise and minimal feedback are Classified Dr. Mindbender and Mega Contrux Zombie He-Man. I think the only criticism we received live, was from opener-extraordinaire, AAA. He complained there was too much packaging. That was quickly categorized as opinion.

I’ll tell you what will always put a smile on my face, the Horde. That’s what made the new MOTU reveals so exciting. I’m not a Bot Bot guy, but an Autobot symbol and a cat lady? Yes please. The new GameStop exclusive Republic Commando Fixer is truly a Gaming Great. See what I did there. The thing I think that made me the happiest, another wave of Joe Ultimates. While pricey, these things really make me smile.

What started off as a discussion on the soaring prices of toys turned out to be more of a referendum on value. What value to find in your toys? Are they investments, just for fun? Are you like me, it’s a hobby and I love them. If I or my family get some money for them in the future, great. Cliff drops his thoughts on why he canceled tons of his pre-orders. In the end, I frantically try to show what things cost ten years ago. Then I go on to demonstrate what a bad manager of money I am.

Really not feeling writing right now and this is something on my to-do list. Going to keep it simple. Peace.

That Joe 40th stream was amazing. Especially the digital reveals. The Insectitrain is one of my favorite Transformers concepts ever and we might get it in legends-scale. If you’re a fan of reissues, you can now get some minty assassins. The Saurozoic Warriors aren’t Masters, but I love them like they are.

As it should be, the Fan First days continue to be the highlight of toy reveals nowadays. These replacements for Toy Fair and SDCC continue to produce at least one or two gems each time. For Transformers we got our first official looks at Leader Sludge and a new Junkion. For Star Wars, the Nightbrother was dope, but what was really interesting was their “Pipeline” reveals. With so much Twilek love in Book of Boba, I’m glad to see Aayla Secura finally coming to the Black Series. The big news Joe-wise was the tease of Hiya securing a license to make figures. It’s not 100% clear if they’ll be doing 1/18 and/or their new 1/12th scale, but excited to see what they come up with. Mattel got a little more woke with their latest wave of MOTU Origins. Not sure how I feel about what seems like such a forced effort, but I applaud any effort that combats centuries of unenlightened thinking.

The Joe Fan First thing was pretty great. Lotsa repacks, but hey at least they’re “vintage packaging”

What’s really insane is the deep cuts we’re getting. I love this stuff and I think that’s what really gets me in trouble. The Super7 ReAction radiated Snake Eyes from the M.A.S.S. Device mini-series is amazing. The new Gaming Greats Arc Troopers? Not only have Arc Troopers never appeared in any movies but then to get three of them from one game in two different scales? Probably one of my biggest deep cuts literally, not only for size but considering you only see them in one episode of Transformers for seconds are the Guardian Robots. It looks like we’ll be getting a new one. Not necessarily a deep cut but something that makes you realize what a niche we have created for ourselves is the new Amazon exclusive t-shirt club for Revelations, not just a shirt but a monthly delivery of shirts from an obscure media exclusive to a streaming platform that even die-hards are on the fence about.

Some of us spent a lot of money on HasLab projects, but not as much as we could have. So the most I’ve ever spent on a toy was Unicron. And while it brings me tremendous joy I am literally afraid to transform it. The biggest story I think was the Rancor failing, not miserably, but it was pretty bad. Even the last-minute addition of the Rancor Keeper couldn’t save it. I think $350 was just too much. I was on the fence about Victory Saber, just not really my Transformers. However, after unlocking everything, $180 seemed like a good value. Now we get to see a sampling of the parts that will go into him. Just a day after the Rancor failed, the Sky Striker looked destined to meet the same fate. Similar to the Rancor Keeper, an added Cobra 3-Pack and a pretty cool marketing ploy didn’t seem like it was going to pull it off. Whether it was speculators moving their money from the Rancor or FOMO once it looked like it was going to make it. It came close to unlocking every stretch goal by almost doubling the number sol

While it was amazing to talk to my guys, it wasn’t without its controversies. I personally loved the adidas Transformers crossovers, but nobody else did. No MOTU news, but about as close as it gets is the Party Wagon from Super7. It even gets compared to Snake Mountain. The only thing Joe this time around was some grab bag comic news, but we could agree on if this was a good thing or not, or if we even cared. The one thing that we all agreed on is the HasLab Rancor is going to fail.