Same routine, different day

"You should give Matty another go. Maybe it was just bad luck." Those were the words of advice given to me by a friend last night after we had a conversation about the 3 MoTU Classics figures releasing today on Mattycollector.com. Hey, I cave on occasion and I really have been wanting a Skeletor for a while. I was assured by everyone that they now had their ordering cart/system fixed. Everyone had been getting their orders in smootly. Ok, fine, time to cave and get a piece of my childhood back. I was determined and watched the page all day.

Skeletor and the rest are up for sale, yay! *click order, click checkout, click etc* 20 minutes later and 10 rounds of page-tag with the cart system, Skeletor is sold out. How did I NOT SEE THIS COMING. You get a 404 error as the cart stalls. Or the checkout sends you back to your cart and it stalls. Or the 'working' symbol just hangs there forever and you're forced to refrsh the page, bringing you all the way back to the beginning.

I should have learned my lesson, I guess I have now. I'm sure online stores and scalpers got their orders in just fine. Maybe their T1 beats out my DSL every time. And maybe Matty is just looking to artifically drive up the secondary market with overpriced, limited release figures. I'm still disgusted and while I don't want this blog to seem like an anti-Matty blog, they now top McFarlane on my list of crappy companies with equally crappy decisions. Oops Matty, you did it again.

Avatar McDonald's toys have awsome LED effects!

Avatar McDonald's toys? Wait, before you slip in to the "Durrhurrr looks like a Micky D toy." state of mind, don't buy these for the theme. Buy them for the LEDs inside! So far I have insect-horse and Sully's Avatar. Both have dedicated on-off switches and lights. The horse has 3 leds, 2 blue and one yellow that pulse for about 10 seconds then stay lit for another 10. Jake's is even cooler, turn on the switch and nothing happens...until you make noise! Then the blue light pules and flickers to the tone of your voice. I set it next to my speakers and it pulses in tune with my music, freaking cool.

You'll need a triangular security screwdriver tip to open them but once you do you can rip out the LED kits and use them in other stuff. How cool would it be to stick the sound-pulse LED kit into Optimus Prime's head and have his eyes flash when you talk? Or a custom Blackheart's chest? I'm wanting to see what the other Avatar toys do now, I was told one was a motion sensor light (in the girl I think?) so we'll see. But for a buck 25 you get a whole LED kit with battery and switch, that's a steal!

Did you get your Terminator Harvester yet?

If not, GET TO IT! I doubt these things will be around very long as they're tail-enders to a line that's going on clearance. First off, it's HUGE. Like 18" tall huge. It has claws, lights, joints everywhere, I mean come on it's a GIANT DEATH ROBOT. Currently they're hard as hell to find in the USA but some Ebay sellers here have them for just $30 shipped! That's a freaking steal for something this massive.


The customizing possibilities for this thing are limitless. X-men Sentinel skeletal base? Cobra Mecha? The ultimate Avatar mecha? So snag one now before they're gone.

Action Figure Displays Series 2!

Hey, remember those awesome display backgrounds from the guys at AFD? Well they've released Series 2 and knock it out of the park with some great designs. Included in the new series you get some really neat ones like the Psycho Lab (Resident Evil style, yeah!), Secret Base, WW2 theme, and my favorite the Destroyed City.

They're also a new larger size standing at 13.5"Wide, 10.5"High, and 7.75"Deep. That means even your Voyager class Transformers will fit in them. You can have a giant GI Joe battle scene, line up your army of Clone Troopers, or just showcase a single figure. Look, I'm really picky about the quality of everything I buy. These are amazingly well crafted and look great on your shelf.

Customizers, I expect you all to add plants, crates, and make some great dioramas with these. The panels can be cut and drilled through. You know those tiny LED lightsets that are out now for the mini Christmas trees? Drill some holes through the back and wire up a whole light-up control panel or something. Get to it!

SALES SALES OMG SAAAAALES!

Ready for a sale of epic scale? Then head over to ToyRocket.com. Everything in their inventory us 50%-%90 off! This is probably because they're filing for bankruptcy. However I recieved my shipment from them so the sale is legit, just try and pay through PayPal so you're covered by their buyer protection.

Also, make sure to hit up Hobby Link Japan in a few hours. They have a countdown timer as to when they'll be doing their Free Shipping offer. This means getting your yellowsub ball joints and Modeling Support Goods parts (along with your scantily clad anime gals) without the $30 shipping fees to the USA.

Company secrets are worth killing for

Let me get this out right off the bat. I don't like Mattel. I use to, in fact I've reviewed some of their 6" figures a while back and they get high, high marks. In fact they still do, the DC Universe line is one of the best out there....if you can find it. But let me tell you why I don't like Mattel. Here's a fine example where Points of Articulation has a Q&A with Matty.

Q: PrfktTear asks: How long will Wave 10 be shipping to Wal-Mart?
A: Until the entire order is shipped.

..... Well shucks, I thought it was until the clown dancing on the corner with the open house sign took his coffee break. Thanks for clearing that up Matty. Here's another gem.

2.) Tom-Tom asks: Regarding DCUC 10: Mattel has said that Wal-Mart ordered more figures than in wave 5. However, many collectors are still having troubles, claiming it to be worse than wave 5. What is Mattel’s view of the situation?
A: Sorry, I cannot discuss particulars on retail distribution! That is up to each retailer not Mattel.

Seriously? You can't say "Yes, WalMart ordered more of that series." or "No, you're screwed, no more shipping." ? I remember Hasbro being able to tell us if more of their exclusives were shipping and who ordered what. How else would we be able to know to stop looking for something. Apparently Walmart's distribution records are Top Secret. All the other 'interviews' with Mattel cough up the same canned, vague responses for just about anything asked. Phrases like "could be possible" and "wait and see" are apparently tattooed onto the arms of Matty's reps so they don't forget their lines.

And please don't get me started on MattyCollector.com. From botched orders to frozen servers, scalper loopholes, it was a mess. I like many others tried and tried to get our orders in for the initial figures and were denied, only to see buyers with 100+ of them in stock selling them on Ebay. I particularly love the way Matty sold CASES of this year's SDCC exclusive to one individual at the show, thus relieving fans of being able to purchase that figure. And let's not forget the fiasco where people who bought the Wonder Twins were missing their Gleek monkey, only for Matty to find the missing case and give it to the Fwoosh to 'pass out' to those who missed it. Let's just say there were plenty of happy mods and good ol' boys there with fat ebay accounts after the week was through.

Oh yeah, LEAD PAINT. LAWSUITS. Not that any of that bothers me but Mattel has just gone downhill in customer service and intelligent decision making in the last year. What can we do about it? Since they're obviously giving the middle finger to their fans it's only fair we take our finger and jam it in Mattel's weak spot, their wallet. Man I love how those Avatar mechs look...but they'll sit on the shelf. You know I could suggest all sorts of great customs from Captain Cold...but he's going to be warming the shelves for now. There's He Man figures still in stock in Matty Collector?? They can stay in stock, I like most of you don't have any of the first ones, why bother collecting now?

And that about sums up my feelings. A good ol' boycott is what Mattel needs, and definately deserves. I may even be in the minority here, I mean who could pass up a Super Powers themed Joker or Man Bat if they saw one? But at least I'll feel better at night knowing I didn't bend over and take it from a company that no longer cares about informing or pleasing its fans.

NINJA ASSASSIN

I can't even begin to tell you how psyched I am about this movie, Ninja Assassin that's coming out. Nevermind that I don't recognize any of the star's names, directors, writers. I did notice that the Wachowski brothers of Matrix fame are producing it however. But let's forget that for a moment. -THE MOVIE TITLE IS NINJA ASSASSIN- That is absolutely all I needed to know in order to want to see this movie. Then I caught the trailer with the grizzled wise-man narration. I was hooked. I'm talking Quentin Tarantino style hooked. Katanas clashing, shurikens flying everywhere, and those evil looking chain-sickle things!

IT IS AN ENTIRE MOVIE WITH NINJA IN IT. (Notice I didn't say 'Ninjas' because the plural for Ninja is the same as the singular like fish or deer.) Ninja, in the shadows, popping out everywhere, epic battles...a 99 minute slashfest of the one stereotype that's been out of synch with American movies for ages. When was the last time you saw a Ninja in a live action movie? And Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow don't count either, I'm talking traditional black-cloth-gi Ninja. Exactly. So prepare yourself for Ninja Assassin. The ultimate date movie. (ok, I made that last part up)