Rustin's Spoils of the Week #25

A one week respite from travel means a massive binge of what a co-worker refers to as "therapy shopping." I should note that I returned home to a "Buy One Get One 50% Off" sale on Legos at Toys R Us. I spent more on Legos in this one week than I have in my entire life. Those purchases will have to wait for later episode though as there simply weren't enough hours in the day to build, let alone photograph and write about them. So imbibe of that teasing knowledge as only you, dear OAFE readers, can and surfeit ye unto the bounty of this, the twenty-fifth installment of Spoils of the Week!

DST - Real Ghostbusters Minimates: Ray & Egon
Yay!!! A return to really cool Minimates!!! Everything about the Real Ghostbusters series I fully approve of. The entire plan shows, finally, a thorough understanding about how to properly plot out a Minimates line, maximizing the direct and mass market formats. Ray and Egon are the only two straight re-packs from the boxsets in this wave, and that's just fine - why? They have their jumpsuits painted on under the torso pieces! Just like Iron Man you now get two costumes for the price of one! The torso covers are repaints from the movie sculpts (see Neitlich, movie sculpts look fine repainted into cartoon colors!). I can't tell if the proton-packs are new sculpts but they have new, cartoon-styled proton-wands and ghost traps! Another great innovation is a much thinner and much more flexible tube connecting wand to pack (though they are so thin that one of the ends came off for me and is un-re-pluggable). Also included are two proton streams, an open trap (still the very frustrating sculpt oriented so that only the pedal or the trap can be horizontal, and as if that was not enough there is also a 'toon-accurate PKE meter! I love this set because if you want one of each figure, you're covered in the boxset and can skip it, but if you want one of each costume this is a perfect way to double, or even triple up (I want a set with proton streams out, too!) with out army-building figures that you don't need duplicates of (looking at you Office Janine).

DST - Real Ghostbusters Minimates: Janine & Slimer
The other two characters from the boxset carry over of the TRU line but come in exclusive costumes/deco's - awesome! Janine is in her pink Ghostbusters jumpsuit and finally has the proton pack done right! Rather than a uniquely sculpted torso the pack is glued onto a simple "back pack harness," like the one Captain America has gotten for his shield. This is what I had expected and wanted the line to come with in the first place so here's hoping we can get at least one more series of movie Ghostbusters done in this style! The only bummer about Janine is that her feet are new, solid sculpts which means you can remove those gray shin guards for "casual Janine." That's a bummer for me, but she is still a great figure. Just as Janine has the pack I expected when DST announced the rights, Slimer has the look I expected for to see for him. His ghost-body piece is an all new sculpt that is less bulky than the movie version and a bit more angular, at least in the eyebrows. While, just like the figures' hair, this is a more simplified look to reflect the cartoon source material it actually nails much better the aesthetic of Minimates as a format. I would love to see a movie Slimer done using this body!

DST - Real Ghostbusters Minimates: Boogey Man & Terror Dog
Another great tweak based on the learnings from the movie Ghostbusters Minimates series is to pack the ghosts together, as they seem to sell better. Indeed across three TRUs I only ever saw one Sam Hain/Egyptian Ghost set (the one a bought) and just 3 or 4 of this set. The Terror Dog is just a re-issue of the movie figure but in a nice translucent blue. The Boogey Man is a totally ridiculous thing and in all honesty if it weren't Ghostbusters I would probably hate it. The head is just so darn big and gaudy! So big in fact that had to re work the blister to allow for the to poke out from the tray. He also has new, hoofed legs which are so small they just further add to the ridiculousness. He comes with a little black disk with a small peg on it for the right foot and with a little balance tweaking stands just fine. I was excited at first, because this stand is exactly what my Minimate collection needs (since so many have standing issues) but alas, the peg is to small to ever be useful and thus we continue to precariously balance the 'mates on pennies.

DST - Real Ghostbusters Minimates: Samhain & Egyptian Ghost
Now for the "rock star" set of the line. I honestly don't remember these characters from the show (but it has been a very long time since I saw it) but who cares when they look so cool? Underneath the big cloak and pumpkin head, Sam is translucent orange (it has a cool "frosted" look) and actually gets a spooky rib cage painted on his chest. Similarly, under the huge head/torso piece are eyes in a robber mask revealing the hapless Thief possessed by the ghost. The only disappointing thing about this set is that there are no extra hands or feet for the human incarnation of the Egyptian Ghost. I guess we gotta rummage through the extra-parts bin to finish him off. Despite the lacking appendages and alternate face for Samhain this is a really cool set and certainly the best of the ghosts from both series 1 and 2.

Hasbro - Captain America: Deluxe Hydra Soldier
I was surprised to stumble upon this guy, since I was kinda figuring anything that hadn't already made it to shelves would be canceled a la Thor but no such un-luck. Well, un-luck still abounds cause this nonsense cost me $15 and you can't really armybuild at that price point. It is a cool figure though, the "armor" is removable as are the gauntlets which kinda launch either "fire" or "plasma" missiles. It took a fair share of labor but I did get him to stand on his own with bast effect in place. Between, the film, the Minimate and this, this is my preferred representation of the character, which once again I cannot stress enough how modern and un-1940s he looks - boooooo! It's annoying too that no one can seem to agree on the uniform's color. Black? Olive? Gray? Who knows. This is a good figure but a ripoff of a deluxe figure.

Lego - Mini-Creator: Lighthouse
When I was at Disney World last month, my friend and I spent a solid hour running around the newly renovated Lego Store which is where I first laid eyes upon my much coveted (and now owned) Lighthouse Creator set. This is a pretty cool Mini version of it, and will be a fine place holder to allude to the armada of Lego I bought this week. My only 'complaint' is that the proportions are way off in regard to the 'house' versus 'tower.' But that's the beauty of Lego, I suppose - it shouldn't be too hard to change that.

NECA - Iggy Pop
What!? Iggy Pop is out - AND at Toys R Us!?!? Score!!! While obviously not as complete-and-total-perfection as the prototype was at Toy Fair, this is a terrific figure of one of Rock's most... I mean, come on - it's Iggy f*****g Pop! Articulation is a balljointed neck, swivel waist and ball jointed ankles. The ankles being balljointed are a huge help as the extreme pose is not given to remain standing without a lot of foot jiggering. Accessories include an oval base to assist in the fight against gravity and a microphone. To be honest this isn't a very exciting figure, but it is a Rock God who has a very specific physique captured perfectly here. But seeing as its a half naked guy in a weird pose that the mainstream may not be too familiar with who is sporting limited articulation and Toys R Us is still carrying him at $15 it kind of raises the question about all the things Randy says wouldn't sell well enough to get made. I mean, if TRU will carry Iggy then certainly they would take the Weasley Twins, or even Leprechaun...