I'm a big fan of action figure carrying cases. What seems like such a utilitarian item can be an interesting collection focus. In the heyday of the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed every toy line had its own case. These days they're just not as plentiful, at least in the plain "just a glorified box" sense of the past. GI
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Toy Fair and retailer sale catalogs are always interesting to look at for their propensity to showcase not-quite-retail release versions of well-known toys. The subjects can range from kitbashed concepts to almost-finished product that differs only in paint scheme or small details. The toys in these shots appear to be similar if not the same as those appearing in the
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By Past Nastification When it comes to naming, sometimes simplicity is best. And sometimes simple is too simple. Two teams in 1:18 scale have lazily laid claim to the group name “Bad Guys”. One of them is “The Bad Guys”; the other is simply “Bad Guys” without a “The”. The Bad Guys. Remco’s The Bad Guys are fully known
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By KansasBrawler Growing up, I never really knew all that much about Sky Creeper. Having only heard the name and never seeing the figure it was associated with, I thought Night Vulture was Sky Creeper because Night Vulture looked kind of like a Night Creeper and I thought the SkyCreeper was a Night Creeper on a glider. As nearly as
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I’ve said this many times over the history of the blog: I miss o-ring GI Joe figures. While I don’t have a problem with the modern figure construction, I simply prefer the style and sensibilities of the older guys. Some of the allure is nostalgia, since they’re the Joes of my childhood and some of it is an appreciation of
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As you probably know, I'm as big a fan of GI Joe and other toys' marketing campaigns as much as the products themselves. I also dig catalogs and toy ads. That's why I'm totally jazzed about a new book project on Kickstarter. Philip Reed has produced similar books covering general action figures, Star Wars, Transformers and even carrying cases over
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Any pop culture phenom worth its salt gives rise to all manner of ancillary product. From toys to bedsheets and board games, there’s no end to the ways in which a property can capitalize on success. Sometimes cross promotion of tchotchkes merges with the fads of the day to produce something unique. The 90s saw trading cards come to the
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By Past Nastification The A-Team was a logical choice for Galoob. The same kids who bought GI Joe toys and watched the GI Joe cartoon surely idolized NBC’s campy-but-virtuous soldiers of fortune. Galoob was obviously trying to shoehorn some A-Team toys into kid’s GI Joe adventures and grab a buck. Fair enough. The 1:18 scale line featured mediocre figures,
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By KansasBrawler If there was one Sky Patrol member I was a little concerned about the GIJCC making, it was Altitude. The vintage altitude figure used Slipstream’s body as a base, and the modern Slipstream wasn’t all that great. Thankfully, the GIJCC decided to think a bit outside the box with him. The vintage elements are there, in a form,
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Tripwire isn’t the most exciting of GI Joe characters, but I found his figure useful in my battles. He functioned not only as a mine detector/bomb disposal specialist, but he also laid mines. Why else would they have included a mine-toting backpack? The card art was confusing to me as a kid. I thought his left arm position made it
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