Happy Smurfday
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by sergis blog.
Toy review roundup
Dan Wakerhauser reviews the Mattel Naruto Sasuke, Kiba & Akamaru, Shikamaru, Choji, Kimimaro, Gaara and Kankuro figures.
Dan Wakerhauser reviews the Hasbro Marvel Legends Quicksilver (green 1st appearance version), Yellowjacket (golden version) and X3 Jean Grey (Dark Phoenix version) figures.
Chewy reviews the Mezco Toyz Cinema of Fear Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th part six: Jason Lives version) figure.
Thomas Wheeler reviews the Hasbro Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection Romba and Graak two-pack from Return of the Jedi. (See also.)
Scott Rubin reviews the Hasbro Star Wars Evolutions Vader’s Secret Apprentice set from the Star Wars The Force Unleashed game. (See also.)
yo go re reviews the Hasbro G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary Comic Pack 30 Dreadnok Torch and Dreaknok Ripper set. (See also.)
Michael Crawford reviews the Mattel The Dark Knight Batman Toys ‘R’ Us exclusive 12-inch figure.
Josh Bernard reviews the Kaiyodo Revoltech Regult from the Macross TV series. (See also.)
Josh Bernard reviews the Kaiyodo Revoltech Gurren Lagann figure from the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann series. (See also.)
Dan Wakerhauser reviews the NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael carded figures. (See also.)
Jess C. Horsley reviews the Kotobukiya Square Enix Final Fantasy VII Play Arts Cloud and Hardy Daytona (part 2) set. (See also.)
yo go re reviews the Hasbro Indiana Jones Adventure Heroes René Belloq and Ark & Ghost set.
Retro reviews
Tom Prankerd reviews the Bandai Godaikin DX Gardian set from the Gordian Warrior series.
Tom Prankerd reviews the Select Convertors Mini Bot Baron, Bird, Pick-up and Voyager figures.
EVA Unit 4A reviews the Bandai Power Rangers Lost Galaxy Deluxe Stratoforce Megazord set.
Atom reviews the Bandai Saint Cloth Myth Appendix Gemini Saga/Gemini Kanon accessory set from the Saint Seiya series.
WIKD reviews the Tomy Zoids Salamander F2 kit. (See also.)
One word: plastics
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by Orin Optiglot.
Toy links
Junkion. [via]
Phenomenal Transformers sculptures made from junk by Robot-Models. Check out the rest of the site for more brilliant creations.
Phone Braver 7.
A very cool Lego MOC by ThomasCat. (More.)
Cobra-a-a-a! [via]
FlyingFigg’s entertaining guide on giving Cobra troopers a uniform appearance.
Indiana Jones and the Death Star of Doom.
I don’t know where you get your delusions, laser brain.
Medieval Iron. [via]
Chris Anderson used a Hasbro Marvel Legends Black Knight figure as a base for this Iron Man custom figure.
Komainu Type Rairin Botan.
An excellent custom Busou Shinki figure by Kiral Batros.
The Dark Knight returns.
A fantastic shot by FLG8R of the Mattel Movie Master figure. (More: 1, 2, 3.)
Truck.
A realistic-looking Photoshop’d shot of a Matchbox toy.
No peas for the wicked.
Tim Norris put a smile on our faces with this photo.
This big.
We suspect we wouldn’t want to know what Ultraman is measuring.
Jurassic Park IV: Internet Attack
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by denn.
Japanese toy review roundup
The following reviews are in Japanese but they include a generous amount of photos so they’re well worth checking out.
Nekonekokoara reviews the Bandai Motion Revive Series (MRS) Monster Hunter Kado Karyudo Kirin A trading figure from the Monster Hunter series.
Damien Sancho reviews the Bandai Motion Revive Series Deneb Imagin trading figure from the Kamen Rider Den-O series. (See also.)
Gamu reviews the Bandai HCM Pro Tieren Space Commander Type 1/200 scale set from the Gundam 00 series. (See also.)
Len reviews the Bandai Souchaku Henshin Kamen Rider Kiva (Kiva form) figure. (See also.)
Machu reviews the Kaiyodo Revoltech Gurren Lagann figure from the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann series. (See also.)
Ken Murasame reviews the Hasbro Transformers Movie Allspark Power Deluxe Stealth Bumblebee figure. (See also.)
Ken Murasame reviews the Takara Tomy Transformers Movie MA-10 New Bumblebee figure.
Transformers Baka Ichidai reviews the Hasbro/Tomy Direct Transformers Cyber Stompin’ Bumblebee figure.
Mojya and Syuuamamori review the Max Factory Figma Saber (armoured version) figure from the Fate/stay night series. (See also.)
Syuuamamori reviews the Max Factory Figma Suzumiya Haruhi (uniform version) figure from The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. (See also.)
Kuronuko Yamato reviews the Kaiyodo Fraulein Revoltech Pocco figure from Yamashita Shunya’s Sweet Dreams art book. (See also.)
A Jurassic Park Toy Story
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by Dan4th.
Toy links
Paradise.
A trailer for a short film starring tin toys by writer/director Jesse Rosensweet. Official site.
Bionicle jousters. [via]
Lego Mindstorms NXT + Bionicle figures = fun.
Devastator 2.0.
A stunning custom of the Transformer combiner by Ptitvite.
Keitai armour.
A DX Phone Braver 7 figure from Keitai Sousakan 7 powered-up with armour built from Diablock pieces.
Baron Karza.
A cool portrait by TCM Hitchhiker. His Micronauts toy photography is the finest we’ve seen.
Jaws.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this, thought TK-421.
An ancient Pez dispenser.
Okay, perhaps not.
Starscream versus Buddha.
Okay, perhaps not but it does remind us of this.
Old school
A Creative Commons-licensed photo by Plutor.
Review: Toy Wars
“Increasingly, a small group of executives determined how the children of the world would play. … This is in the best interests of capital, not kids.” — author’s note.
Despite toys being a USD67 billion market worldwide, the toy industry doesn’t get much mainstream coverage ordinarily. There was a flurry of reports during the recent safety scares and there’ll usually be an article or two whenever the larger toy companies announce their financial results but by and large, there’s little coverage and less scrutiny because it’s not seen as a beat that makes journalistic careers. It’s a pity because there are great stories to be told as G. Wayne Miller shows with his 1997 book, Toy Wars.
Miller approached Alan Hassenfeld, then the chairman and CEO of the world’s number one toy company, with the intention of spending two years writing a book about Hasbro’s crown jewel, G.I. Joe, the very first action figure and iconic boy’s toy. Miller took five years to write his book after realising there were bigger stories.
Read more