ToyBiz DC Super Heroes Robin The Boy Wonder

Ah Robin The Boy Wonder really a unsung and if I dare say underestimated hero in the DC Universe.

It seems to me that Robin really has never gotten his due until more recent years along with other “Jr.” super heroes like Bat-Girl, Kid Flash and one of my other favorites Speedy.

I forget sometimes how much I like the “classic” Boy Wonder and have to be reminded of this by either “The Real Boy Wonder” Colin of the Super-Duper Toy Box or when I get a little surprise in the mailbox.

In this case it was the latter when I was going through that box of random toys from my “brother” Brian The Ninja and discovered a very nice 1990 Toybiz DC Super Heroes action figure of Batman’s favorite sidekick.

Based off the Kenner “Super Powers” version this figure was given a karate chop power action feature which can be activated by use of a lever on it’s back but to me is a uneventful gimmick and really wasn’t needed.

Mine shown here is very clean and sports a nice yellow cloth cape but is missing it’s grappling hook and batarang but am sure I could hunt these items down if I was in desperate need of them but am really not so no need to do so.

While this is not the Kenner version it is still a good action figure and one I plan on keeping aboard the Cosmic Ark for a short while at lest and I really had some fun taking pictures of it in various situations that I feel a super hero sidekick would be involved in.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

We Are Venom!

Ok it’s a “Cosmic Ark Quickie” because am so tired from my long work week and I just don’t feel up to doing research on these two figures that came from the box of random toys I just recently post about here on the blog.

One is a “Kid’s Meal” toy while the other is a die-cast figure with some articulation(am thinking this was made by Toybiz).

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Random Package Of Toys

My “Brother” Brian The Ninja sent me out a random package of toys he had lurking around in one of his closets filled with stray loose items plus a extra he found for less than a dollar at a local thrift store.

Big thanks to “The Ninja” for this one and am in the process now of going through all of this to sort out the broken bits, the items I want to keep or give away and just cleaning everything.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

King Castor

Am revisiting this “Outlandish Mini Figure Guy” that I have shown on this blog in the past because simply I forgot how awesome it was!

Seriously the design on this little guy is great with lots of nice details to him and as I was looking at him the other day(It’s been awhile and I had him tucked away in a plastic tub) it reminded me of a ideal for a comic book character I had as a kid.

I wanted to create a super hero called “Stronghold” who was this “Rock Knight” (sort of a cross between Marvel’s The Thing and Black Knight) who could when not fighting evil transform into a large castle fortress that would serve has a base/headquarters for other super-heroes(like Fortress Maximus in the Transformers Universe).

Seems rather silly now but back then I thought it was a cool ideal and am sure I drew up some crude images in my spare notebook I used to doodle things in(I did that a lot when I was younger)but that notebook is long gone now.

Amazing how you can forget something and years later out of the blue a King Castor M.U.S.C.L.E. knockoff(and I call it a knockoff in a most revered way) brings a fun memory back to you.

This is one of the reasons am a fan of toys and chose to be a grown man that surrounds himself with them because of great memories they can bring and the simple fun they still offer to me.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Jazwares Captain Caveman And Secret Squirrel

Originally my plan was to do a blog post on the two of these Hanna-Barbera action figures individually but at the last minute I have decided to just lump the two together in one post because I feel I will simply be repeating myself with my likes and dislikes of these.

I also want to state I love Hanna-Barbera and all of these classic cartoons and characters some more than others but as a whole I just have always enjoyed everything they did.

Now when I first saw that our local Toys R’ Us months back had started carrying action figures based off the classic HB characters I got excited until I saw who had produce them, Jazwares. Who I know has some terrible quality control issues and this made me groan out loud in the toy isle for all to hear.

And let me tell you there were some really bad things going on with all they had for sale from poor paint applications and smearing to loose or broken joints. All of which was very disheartening but not surprising given Jazwares track record.

So I have been passing on these figures every time I stop in at TRU but a few days ago after I did my normal weekly drop-in  I discovered there was a “BOGO”sale(Buy One Get One 50% off) on them so I decided it was finally time to take a chance and pick up a couple for the “Cosmic Ark”.

I chose two of the smaller scaled figures of Captain Caveman and Secret Squirrel because of there price points which keeps things in my “comfort zone” both budget and investment wise(If these were truly bad I felt I was out less than $10 so no harm or foul caused).

My thoughts on these now that I have them home and out of there packages? Very mixed I must say but again given the history of the company that make these it’s understandable.

The good is that these two figures do capture the feel and look of there cartoon counterparts very well with nice details like the Captain’s string like hairs on his face/head and Secret’s gimmick of his opening hat with telescoping spy camera(I have small issue with this too which I will talk about in a moment) .

The bad is the terrible joints that hinder these figures ability to stand properly I have to adjust and move them just right or they will simply topple over plus I notice just today before doing up this post that one of the plastic pegs in Captain Caveman’s right wrist popped out(I was able to pop it back into place).

Let get back to Secret Squirrel’s opening hat which I really love and think is a fun gimmick that mirrors his cartoon counterpart’s ability to extend a spy camera to take pictures. My small issue I have with it is that at lest with mine the camera has a hard time pegging into the small extending arm that attaches itself from inside Secret’s hat. I find it is loose and wants to fall off the pegged end of the arm but will stay on if you press and toggle it slightly.

I know a few of my regular readers/commenters where eagerly awaiting my thoughts on these two figures and I will have to say right now I would only buy any of current Hanna-Barbera Jazwares action figures if you can get them on sale or clearance.

I think there is more bad than good going on with what I have seen in the stores and now with what I have at home so I think maybe it would be a much better bet to seek out online or at your local toy reseller the McFarlane line of HB figures from a while back which you will pay more for but will I suspect get a better quality of product.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Jazwares Hanna-Barbera Action Figures

I have long been eyeing the Jazwares Hanna-Barbera action figures at our local Toys R’ Us store but have been hesitant to buy any of them thanks to there poor quality.

Well I finally pulled the trigger and bought two thanks to the “Buy One Get One Half Off” sale that was going on so the cost was less than $10 which I was in my budget and comfort zone.

I went looked through every one of the figures they had on the pegs to find the two that had the best paints and walked out of the store with the following….

I should hopefully have a couple of blog posts up about them in a few days time permitting(busy with work this week).

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Slaughter’s Renegades V1

Sold in 1987 as part of series 6 in a special 3-Pack, Sgt. Slaughter’s Renegades could very well be G.I. Joe’s equivalent to groups like The A-Team, DC Comic’s The Suicide Squad or even the Dirty Dozen.

They a small group that has no official status and are sent out to create all sort of havoc on the enemy forces but if capture are not acknowledge by the government because of there wild actions or chaos/damage they might leave in there wake.

A extreme trio of toughs for sure that could only be lead by Pro Wrestler turn G.I. Joe Sgt. Slaughter and each of them have there own interesting backgrounds so let me give you the rundown on each of them….

First up with have Taurus who was a former circus acrobat from Europe who did undercover work for Interpol before being recruited for the Renegades team.

Next we have Mercer who is the only Cobra Viper to have defected to the G.I. Joe team and lived to tell about.

And finally Red Dog who is a former barefooted football placekicker and “B” Movie stuntman.

A very unique team and one I would want to have my back to deal with the likes of The Dreadnoks or Cobra’s Battle Android Troopers(B.A.T.s).

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Tomax And Xamot V1

Tomax and Xamot or simply “The Twins” as we used to call them when I was a kid when they first made there appearances on the Sunbow G.I. Joe cartoon have always been a fun pair of rouges in my opinion.

Sold in a 2-pack as part of series 4 of the G.I. Joe line of toys in 1985 were ones I never owned/saw in stores or even had friends that owned them but yet they seemed to be popular with us back then.

This set shown here on the Cosmic Ark were part of my Christmas gifts from last year and am just now getting around to blogging about them and was a bit upset by the fact too that when I got these two figures out for photos one of there guns was broken!

But beyond that they are in great shape and I really had some fun taking these photos of the “Crimson Guard Commanders”.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

Hot Wheels The Flintstones Flintmobile

Am not a die-cast car collector and while I dabbled with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars in the past I decided in recent times to reframe from buying any of them no matter how cool or neat I found them to be.

Today I cracked when stopping on the way home from work at one of our local stores to grab some fixings for dinner after finding this…..

The Flintstones Flintmobile! Now am not a Flintstones fan however i am one of Hanna-Barbera so I decided I needed one of these for the Cosmic Ark(Actually I grabbed two with one for me and one for my friend Chad).

The best part too was the store I was at had all there Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars on sale for 60 cents so how could I not buy one?

And I know they done a Mystery Machine already but am hoping that we will get to see even more cars related to some of the other great HB cartoons cars like Hong Kong Phooey or even better Speed Buggy which would be too awesome for words.

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman

G.I. Joe Sgt. Stalker V4

G.I. Joe’s resident ranger is a favorite of mine and a character that never got his due in the Sunbow cartoons but from what I remember was represented well in the Marvel Comics.

As a kid I owned a original action figure of him and hope to do so again someday but for now this 4th version release of him from series 20 sold in 2004 and 2005 then again in 2008 will be my place holder for him in my “Cosmic Ark Army” until that time occurs…..

via Revenge From The Cosmic Ark
~jboypacman