Open Your Toys Cast

The big news, well outside of Unicron being funded. Oh and yeah, I spent $600 on a toy a week before getting laid off that I won’t see for over year. Let that sink in :). Hasbro announced War for Cybertron: Earthrise. Talk about nothing new and just wishing it could be a little different. The big news for Masters was the shipping update Super7 sent out. Unfortunately, there is no link to it. I’ve noticed this is a pattern with them. When they announce dates, it’s via email without a permanent location to reference and they’ve done it again. Force Friday happened again, well Triple Force Friday. Hear my experience (again one week before being laid off

Something I don’t think we’ll soon forget is the new Masters Origin line. I think they’ll be milking this for all it’s worth. Unfortunately, the UCS Star Destroyer is pretty forgettable. Not too different from it’s last UCS treatment, it appears to be another cash grab. How fun is a Lego set with 2 colors anyway? Usually, I’m not a huge fan of transparency for no reason. However, any bots involved in the reformatting sequence from the ’86 movie is a perfect use of this cash grab. That’s why the clear Insecticons from Newage are right up my alley. Can you believe it? Joe actually has toy news this time around, well kind of. Looks like Funskool will be getting back into to the mix with the new movie toys.

Well, I didn’t expect for another show without me to be so forthcoming, but here we are. I’m personally excited. I get to listen to two Open Your Toys Casts in one month. With the holiday weekend falling on our recording weekend, these guys got to have a lot more fun than I did. As they talked toys, I drove 6 hours through holiday traffic. Now I sit here watching my Saints lose their opening game. I don’t know what else to say, so I won’t.

Super7 is really balancing listening to their fans and doing their thing. Just like MOTUC, Pixel-Dan and Stina did an amazing job covering them at Power-Con. The biggest news in Transformers for a while now has been Unicron. Did the new trailer video change your mind? Star Wars has kinda been a no-show now for a few months and in preparation of Triple Force Friday. However, SDCC exclusives are coming, so there’s that. Finally, Joe has one news item, as usual, say hello to Crazy Rich Snake Eyes.

I never thought this day would happen. Of all the hosts we have had over the last 11 years. There have been many occasions where I was not able to record. I have always offered co-hosts the opportunity to run their own show. This even includes Mrs. McFavorite a couple of times. I thought what would be better than the wifey just going off on my collecting. Still no takers, until now! That’s right folks. After 11 years and 168 episodes, it’s the first one sans Slick. Do you know what that means? I finally get to listen to an episode of Open Your Toys Cast. I don’t think people, especially Rock and Lotus, know how excited I am about that. I truly do think we have the best toy news show on the web. We’ve never really been too promotional. I’ve always liked the family feel. Especially today, I feel like a proud papa ready to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Now, this isn’t going to be your standard show in terms of rigid show notes and worrying about time. The boys go free form and just talk toys. After all, isn’t th

One change I have dug is Hasbro’s approach to SDCC when it comes to the product pre-orders. Being able to order most of what they reveal the day of is nice. I’m sure they’re excited too as it prays upon the excitement of the moment. I knew I bit on the Reflector/Refraktor G1 3-pack and now I’m having second thoughts. There are absolutely no second thoughts when it comes to the new Mondo Hordak. I was hesitant on the He-Man and Skeletor. Pre-ordered the Faker at a 33% discount, but it got canceled. Loved the Merman, but not important enough of a character for me. Now that Hordak is a no-brainer. Let’s give a big welcome to my first Mondo figure. The only thing more disappointing than a complete lack of Joe news, outside of Rob Leifeld, creator of Deadpool, doing a new Snake Series for IDW, was the lack of Star Wars reveals. Everything is being held back for Triple Force Friday. The one piece of good news we did get was 5 PoA 3.75″ figures are officially no more.

A lot of people think Newage is doing it right. While I love my Cosmos, the price is still killing me on these things. As an example of hard work, the finalists of the Lego Star Wars Greatest Battles killed it. Netflix’s Princesses of Power is on to that next level. Everybody associated with that show has been putting in work, and it’s paying off. Even Joe is working it this year at SDCC.

Something that’s got a lot of people being negative is Mattel’s SDCC exclusives. Announced at the last minute, presale in the middle of the night, then a misleading new process. It’s Mattel, what do you expect? I think I’m the only one feeling negative about the new World’s Smallest Joes. Just feel those cards could be more accurate. Speaking of accurate, no one can be negative about this new Transformers G1 packaging 1000 piece puzzle. I cannot wait. Lastly, again on a very personal level is the beautiful new Star Wars cabinet from Arcade1Up. This was easily in my top five as a kid.

Okay, I sat down ready to do a full post, but nope. Nothing is wrong, in fact, things are great. I just don’t want to spend a bunch time writing one right now. Had a weekend of 14 hours driving, non-stop family time and really just want to watch a movie and crash.

To take the easy way out this time around, I am going to highlight some great sales at my favorite online store. Big Bad Toy Store has some amazing prices on Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, and of course, Transformers. For G.I. Joe, just a warning, beware of buying from Marauder Gun Runners. After more than 10 years of patronage, they are no longer standing behind their orders. Sad when a fan ran company gets too big for their own good. For the whole story, please listen to the show and be on the look out for a huge sale on my almost 60+ figures from their various lines.

I think Hasbro found a good balance with their SDCC MP-10 Ghostbusters crossover. Previously thought to be a waste of resources, the full reveal killed it. Super7 almost gave some useful information in the Q and A this month. However, Brian was a lot more forthcoming in an hour-long talk with Roast Gooble Dinner we recap. Another goal not met this weekend was scoring the new Retro Collection of Star Wars. Luckily it has been recently revealed that they will not be exclusive for long. As usual, there is no Joe news so we’ll leave you an example of why cheaters never prosper, well almost never.

I’m going to break from the norm yet again because while I wanted to get the above out, I also did want to shout our special co-hosts for this show. We had the one-and-only Engineernerd back on. John hails from the prolific Action Figure Blues Podcast. We are also joined from down under by first-time co-host, long-time listener, regular on the Facebook group, and most importantly, good friend, Mark Haddock. We try to refrain from the cliches for the most part, but simply can’t help ourselves at times. Look for Mark (and hopefully John too) to join us again in the new future.

Did you miss out on the Barge? It’s okay, so did I. Mine was literally by a timezone issue, but do you know what? It doesn’t matter. It will be available again, somehow, someway. Do you miss Action Force? I guess Hasbro didn’t. They let the copyright slip away and a fan group has picked it up and are doing some amazing things with it. Here’s something that should not matter to one single person, but we know that’s never the case, there’s always one. Super7 launched its latest line of ReAction MOTU figures. Okay, it matters to me, but just one. Last, but not least is the biggest one, literally. We get some great insight into the new Hasbro Omega Supreme. Will this be the great feeling we’ve all been hoping for or because it’s the fourth large-scale Omega to the market, will it simply not matter?

Wanna see the good and not so good of 2018, check out Michael Crawford’s Poppies. It features Michael’s choices, but even better, a curated list voted on by industry standouts, and even a community vote. Don’t know what you missed last year? Now you will. Hasbro Pulse posted an eBay listing many thought was too good to be true. For some, it was, at least for people in the states and Canadia. The Barge will be available, probably for minutes, to some lucky collectors in foreign countries this March 26th. While I dig these MOTU crossover Air Force Ones, I prefer the G.I. Joe crossovers from Asics. They are much more gooder :) Finally, look at all this goodness we missed out on. Some of these Transformers prototypes are simply amazing.

I’m not going to write about my top news from each brand like I usually do. If you haven’t ever noticed, as Lil Ms. McFavorite likes to say, it’s a pattern. I’d rather end this with a plea. Quit being so oblivious. Pay close attention to the world around you and how you affect it, especially your loved ones.

Being so close to Toy Fair, Wonderfest stole a little bit of thunder from the first major reveals. One being MP Bumblebee version 2.0. Oh, those feet (in Bobbie Skullface voice). Super7 is so close to actually providing information in their Q and A after almost a year. They’re just not there yet with their wait and see answers. Entertainment Earth didn’t just come close, they hit a home run with their Valentine’s Day promotion, a dozen “Roses” for $20. They offered 12 TBS Roses (6 or 3.75 inch) for only twenty bucks. I’d be curious about how they sold. So close, but our only Joe news from a 3rd Party. Dan Klingensmith is back with volume 6 of his 3.75″ Joe: Creating G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero.

The most powerful con in the universe is getting another installment this year. Along with the announcement, Val and the gang over at He-Man.org have released almost every panel from last year. While not as informational, but certainly more exciting, new G1 reissues have been announced. Perhaps the most well-received is Soundwave and Buzzsaw. If you’re more of a Star Wars person and you’ve made the flip to 6 inch, you’re probably just as excited for General Grievous. If you’re a Joe fan, you have absolutely nothing to be excited about.

Do you have any new collecting resolutions? How about the wait until Ross / Ollies / clearance mentality? I know I’m taking that outlook on Predaking. Wish I would have taken it on the Black Series. How about a resolution to diversify your collection? Maybe some fine art? The Mad Duck MOTU posters are a great start. Not nearly as popular as Mondo yet, but still beautiful and some truly great homages. Speaking of homages, Snake Eyes, the movie, looks to be steeped in them. That is if the rumors pan out. If your resolution were to attend more cons, you have fewer choices this year. One of the quintessential means of exposure to multitudes of Star Wars stars has been canceled. Legoland has ceased their Star Wars Days after 10 years of amazing guests, events, and displays. For us missing Botcon, and hoping Hascon would fill that void, it has been postponed indefinitely.

I am positive TFCon LA, TFCon USA 2019, whatever you want to call it, is going to be a show for the ages. If you’re an animation and/or a voice actor fan you owe it to yourself to be there. I am positive that Super7 knows exactly what it is doing with these limited release quick sellout one-offs for MOTU. Even their retail “partner” at almost a 50% markup sold out quickly. I am pretty positive we won’t be seeing anymore non-Original Trilogy vehicles in the TVC line. The lack of the Rogue One Assualt Tank at retail and the subsequent blowout online almost guarantees this. Something I don’t think anyone can be positive about is the new Joe movie, especially with such a lackluster choice of directors.

I just can't, not today.