Rustin's Spoils of the Week #4

Mattel - Toy Story 3 Buddy Packs: Bookworm & "Astronaut" Barbie

Oh my god... the rarest of all Mattel packs - all-new sculpts, a theme, and reference to a single, great sightgag. If only the rest of the line was managed like this we'd have something really special. Oh well... the set still cost a disgusting $8. Bookworm's head turns and Barbie has neck and bicep articulation, plus a clear, pegged disc to let her stand. The helmet isn't removable, but she does have a huge gold zipper on her back. The sculpts are softer than the other/previous figures in the line, and the paint isn't anything special.

Hasbro ­- Star Wars Galactic Heroes: Stormtrooper & Rebel Trooper

Picked this up on sale at TRU, one can never have enough battle builders. Aaaaah Galactic Heroes... the line that died, resurrected, created a whole subgenre and is now piddling out. Articulation at the necks and shoulders.


Hasbro - G.I. Joe Combat Heroes: Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara & Neo-Viper

Toys R Us finally had these marked down, and to $2, so of course I bought in. Mainly I just got this set cause it was $2, but the neo-viper looks kinda neat. yo disagrees with me but man, what a horrible, horrible movie.


Hasbro - G.I. Joe Combat Heroes: Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger & Destro

I've got a spot of an obsession with Destro. I think its really a nostalgia thing going back to getting a figure of him in the early '90s, one of the very few Joe figures I had. Cover Girl is not only a character I've never heard of but a fully useless figure. Destro is cool though. Bad guys in business suits are always cool, especially when facially entombed in metal.


Hasbro - G.I. Joe Combat Heroes: Conrad "Duke" Hauser & Para-Viper

Ugh... yes the codenames work better as toys than as real humans but there's just something very wrong to me about Joes with "real people" names - especially such pretentious ones. I mean... Conrad Hauser? With a name like that its no wonder they cast the Meathead Special. The body suit on Duke is pretty neat but the reason this set is a must-have is the Para-Viper. Not just a cool, bulky costume, but a really cool free-fall "action pose." It would be nice if he were removable from the cloud base, that would make him more of a toy/enjoyable for kids, but seeing as he's going on a shelf for me it ain't too big a problem.

Hasbro - G.I. Joe Combat Heroes: Wallace "Ripcord" Weems & Wild Bill

Wallace Weems!? Come on... Maybe I'm just biased because I had a substitute teacher in High School named Doug Weems (yes, the bassist of forgotten punk band 98 Mute). At any rate Wild Bill is clearly the standard GI Joe design, since the character didn't appear in the film, and was probably sculpted for the failed non-movie line then repainted in the terrible "Street Fighter: The Movie" blue camo to fit in. The real star is Mr. Weems rocking the stupidly conceived Accelerator suit. Its not color-accurate ot the film, but actually looks really cool in the steel/blue color scheme, with the orange visor (which does flip up). Despite the dumb "real name" and casting of Marlon Wayans this figure is really cool for me.

Hasbro - Marvel Universe: Galactus & Silver Surfer

Finally I caught up and got 2010's #1 Toy of the Year (thanks BFF for the giftcard making this purchase possible). I do very much love me some Galactus, but this is my least favorite toy of him since the Silver Surfer line in the late '90s. But why, oh why, Rustin!? He's just too bulky for me, too wide. I'm also not too crazy about the design of the head. The light-up feature (wasn't the light supposed to be blue? Mine is orange... odd choice) is a cute idea but because of it, the back of The Devourer's head is see-through... WTF. Also, and I get that it's based on/inspired by the recent videogame, the head looks way more tech-detailed than the rest of the body, so it's just a weird mish-mash of styles to my eye. I will say this though, the articulation works really well, i.e. holds poses very well with no limb sagging, and he stands like a rock - take Marvel Legends BAF Galactus. He comes with the third release of the Silver Surfer to date, and technically the best. That's because he's painted in a very solid, shiny silver paint. Still has plenty of trouble staying on his board, and frankly the color of paint is minor enough that anyone who has the original carded figure will find this a waste of money, plastic and space.

Spin Master - Tron Legacy: Three Man Light Jet

I LOVE SURPRISE TOYS!!! And frankly, no one is surpsing me more lately that Ol' Mr. No Press, Spin Master. On my third pass of the "collector" aisle I finally registered this underneath the handful of remaining Identity Discs. A total surprise they made, its been released and that TRU had it - they seemed to get out of the Tron business pretty fast. This is pretty solid toy vehicle for $28. Fully assembled it's got a wingspan of about 24", seats two people in the cabin, has two missle launchers that light up with fired and has a pop-up gun turret in the back which fits a third figure. The bad news is that the scales of this are, understandably, heavily cheated. I do wish the body were proportionally longer to better match what was on the screen, but what're ya gonna do? This is the least impressive light-up feature of the entire line - the missile launchers light up indepently and only when the firing button is pressed down. Pretty lame. Figures fit very well into the cabin and turret, but because of the spring loaded guns a figure can't stay in the turret when it's in the "collapsed" format. Also, you have to manually open the tail and then manually push the turret off of pegs holding it in place to get it to spring up into place. I would have much preferred a press-button that flipped open the cavity and popped up the turret in one fell swoop; as is it just feels like too much work for kids. I'll also add that my missile do not "click" into place in the launchers and therefore un-fireable. Not a huge problem expect that they now only hang loosely ¼" out of place from the launcher. I know that reads like a lot of complaints but overall I'm really happy with this toy - its certainly the most value for the money of the entire Tron Legacy line, and it's a much-needed addition to the catalog and a welcome compatriot to the recent One Man Light Jet. This ship does serve as a reminder, though, of how badly we need an un-helmeted Sam, Quorra (& Clu!) and a Man-in-Black Flynn.

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18 Responses to Rustin's Spoils of the Week #4

  1. Fries Against says:

    Wow, you really like some stupid toys.

  2. Klytus says:

    How can u live with urself spending all that cash on preschool toys?

    • yo go re says:

      I imagine it's similar to the way you can live with yourself when you can't even communicate any better than a preschooler would. The word is "your." Try it with me: y-o-u-r. You can share whatever dissenting opinion you want, but you need to learn how to express yourself like an adult, first. That's how you're going to get respect, no matter what you have to say...

      • Justin says:

        Hey, just think how much time he can save by not typing "yo" all the time... just think of how many boogers he can eat during that time span.

      • kevrhon says:

        Maybe the "yo" is silent, go re.

      • Klytus says:

        Typical idiotic reply, instead of dealing with the point of the post mock the spelling, because at the end of the day, there is no justification.
        Somewhere a preschooler is upset because they couldnt get the toy they wanted because a "grown up" bought it first so they could sit it on a shelf in an attempt to look cool.

        • yo go re says:

          No no, you fail to understand: I wasn't mocking your spelling to avoid responding; I was flat-out disrespecting you. I was teaching you that you yourself weren't worth responding to until you could type like a grownup. Now that you're doing that, you get a real reply.

          I can't say whether or not Rustin bought these "in an attempt to look cool," but I'm guessing not. In whose estimation would a display of Combat Heroes increase his coolness? And the notion that he's stolen these toys out of the hands of children is equally fallacious. Even putting aside the fact that he bought these on clearance (ie, when everyone else who wanted to buy them had already done so) these are toys based on a PG13 film - what preschooler was waiting desperately for a Para-Viper figure, for instance? What preschooler would even know these exist? On the other hand, if you specifically meant only the Toy Story figures, well, those remain plentiful nationwide, so again, no one is missing out. That argument doesn't really hold water, does it?

          • Rob says:

            Aw, the internet. The only place in reality where one man's opinion maters above all else. Since it looks like your posting from your new iphone that mom and pop, or step-pop at least, probably got you for Christmas (u, urself, etc.), I think that's grounds alone for dismissal of anything you say henceforth! Go see the new Justin Bieber movie instead, give the internet a break for a while.

            What are the social misfits going to so after 2012 when the pole-shift makes all their electronic devices stop working?! Will they just shrivel up next to their fried computers if they can't troll and spam what was once humanities greatest achievement as far as localizing all our knowledge as a species but has been reduced to a forum for snarky 14-year-olds to make inane comments?

  3. immaculatewang says:

    Stupid! Your toys are stupid!

    Oh, sorry, I thought that was the theme here. I've been eyeballing that Galactus--him and the Ghostbusters four-pack at TRU. Trying to limit myself to TFs right now, though, simply over finances.

  4. Vincent says:

    Hah, what morons. What's funny is that Galactic Heroes were originally meant to be for pre-schoolers, but then they were brought to the older boy toy aisles and did much better there. Anyone who doesn't think they're cute is an idiot. Chicks dig them too! My ex has a few on her shelf.

    • Mel says:

      As a chick, I can totally confirm that. Cuteness = squee! I've collected Galactic Heroes, Super Hero Squad, Combat Heroes, Adventure Heroes, Robot Heroes, BPRD Buddies ... even the blockier DC Action League figures are in my collection. Now if they'd just carry the Dr. Who Time Squad at TRU ....

  5. Wow, really guys?

    Are you really picking on a guy who's getting toys that appeal to him?
    Are you really picking on a guy for having the same hobby as you?

  6. ShadowEdge says:

    I never did really get the appeal of those Galactic Heroes toys, I hate the poses they're always in, like they're using a Japanese toilet or something. At least the Marvel and GI Joe versions have slightly more dynamic poses.

  7. Rob says:

    By the way, aside from Timothy Dalton, Flash Gordon pretty much sucked!

  8. LotN says:

    I'm glad that I helped you get your second-to-least favorite Galactus of the past two decades.

  9. I could never understand those kind of comments... I'd never allow that on my site- they'd be unceremoniously deleted. For what it's worth, I think these toys are FUN, AND THAT'S WHAT TOYS ARE ALL ABOUT 🙂 Also, your opinion DOES matter, and that's why you are here, that's why I'm reading, and that's why those snarky little boys are making (laughs) those comments- what you are saying is so important, in fact, that they couldn't BEAR to not comment! 😀 Keep doing what you're doing Rustin- the audience is listening...

  10. Rob says:

    They're just attention whores! Look at the Mattycollector facebook page. If you don't collect toys or think it's dumb why seek out a site filled with people who do and make snarky comments? What a waste of time!

    Some people claim they do it just for fun and love the reactions, but if you have the time to be a professional internet troll something went drastically wrong with your life plan!!

  11. PrfktTear says:

    I think Rob of Topless Robot who said that anyone who does not absolutely adore the Heroes toys has no capacity for joy in life. Or something like that.

    I haven't picked up any Heroes or Buddies or whatever lately, though I am tempted by the new DC Universe Action League figures, but they are just slightly out of my price-point and I'm indentured another line, so there.

    Every time I see Galactus at TRU I want to pick it up and run out of the store. I don't even collect X-Men, but it still calls to me... I'm definitely getting me a Sentinel though.

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