Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Lord Dactus

When toy lines run for a few years, it can become hard to think of new things to say about what become increasingly old toys. Sure, some details might be different and represent different characters, but the underlying architecture is still the same. Like adding vinyl siding to an old house, you can change the appearance, but only so much. Masters of the Universe Classics was a line designed from the ground up to use as few original parts as possible. In theory, this leads to more affordable figures and happier collectors. In practice, at least in Mattel's case, this leads to premium prices for figures that often feature at more two or three new parts.

Mattel Total Heroes Deluxe Batman Beyond

I love Batman Beyond. I remember the Saturday that I saw the very first episode. The introduction told me that this was going to be something very different than the Batman cartoons that had come before. It was, as others have noted before me, Batman blended with Spider-Man and a liberal dash of futuristic sci-fi. In other words, it was guaranteed to win me over. Some of the episodes were fantastic while others were meh, but the dynamic between Terry McGuiness and Bruce Wayne was always spectacular, and I don't know that there have been many voice acting casts that have done better or been more memorable.

Hasbro Transformers Beast Hunters Commander Class Optimus Lime 2013

I've been on a roll with good Transformers reviews lately. Springer is an all-time, immediate classic that is often rated as the very best Transformer ever made. The various Commander Class figures that I've looked at have featured great appearances and wonderful articulation. Because of this, I figured while Amazon had the figures on sale, I'd go ahead and grab my very on Commander Class Optimus Prime. Of course, it was a "stealth" mode that just happened to be lime green.. and that really should have been my first hint. Just so you know, I refuse to call this character Optimus Prime. No, this is Optimus Lime. I like to think of him as the Randy Quaid character from the National Lampoon movies.

Mattel DC Signature Batzarro

My wife isn't nearly as interested in action figures as I am. She's very tolerant of my hobby and appreciates that I tend to budget shop and dig through bargain bins, and in return I try not to bother her too much with my talk about it. One topic we do talk about, and she finds interesting, is the tendency of Mattel to make idiotic decisions with their action figures. Mattel makes its money from Barbie and Hot Wheels, make no mistake. The action figures are very secondary. Still, one could suspect that they are secondary solely because of Mattel's amazingly bad decisions. After all, the have the DC Universe characters, Masters of the Universe, and... uhm.. well, actually that's pretty much it for its boy line. They were once making a killing on Frozen toys, but that license is going to Hasbro now. Sometimes, I suspect the only reason Mattel still has the DC license is because Hasbro makes Marvel toys. The fault for this lack of licenses, however, lies squarely with Mattel. It's not magic that causes other companies to get more licenses. It's good decision making.

Hasbro Transformers Voyager Class Springer 2013

Transformers has been on toy shelves for 30 years. Let that sink in... for 30 years, Transformers have been valid and popular toy options. Naturally, some years have been better than others, and come concepts have been rather, well, lacking, but the constant reinvention of the line has been key in making sure that children of many generations all enjoy the characters. While lines like Masters of the Universe and Cabbage Patch Kids struggle to exist, Transformers and GI Joe keep trucking on.

Hasbro Transformers Generations Hoist 2012

When I first started getting back into Transformers last year after a very long break, I was most intrigued by their Cyberverse Commanders, as they seemed to really be the best of both worlds. All of the transformation and articulation of larger bots, but with a much smaller size and price tag. A combination of this curiosity and very cheap prices on Amazon led me to grabbing a few of them to see what I thought. Today's review, Hoist, is one of those first figures that I picked up, and he did nothing to deter me from buying more.

Mattel Batman Unlimited Vampire Batman 2013

I don't do a very good job of my loving bizarre figures. When Amazon offered a lot of action figures for dirt cheap, I happily snapped many of them up. This figure, for example, I managed to get for five dollars. When prices get down that low, I become far less picky and far more willing to take a risk. Granted, sometimes it doesn't work out, but sometimes I am thrilled with the end result.