Monthly Archives: February 2013

Feb 6 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Anchovy Alley (Pop-Up Pizza Playset) by Playmates

I’ll admit it. I’m ashamed at my decision to not buy Playmates’ epic Secret Sewer Lair playset. I’m the first collector to go around pining for the good old days when toy companies made playsets, and when someone finally steps up and releases one, I abstain. I wanted it really bad. I still want it really bad. But I keep looking at it and realizing that I have nowhere to put it. And even if I could squeeze it in somewhere, it would take up what little space I have left for all the other things I’m going to want to buy this year. I was tempted to just buy it to show my support and keep it boxed, but even the box is huge. Plus, I know I’d have to open it as soon as I got it anyway because I have all the willpower of a crack addict. Fortunately, Playmates threw people like me a bone by releasing a more compact way to display my Turtles… behold Anchovy Alley, the Pop-Up Pizza Playset. It’s proof that Playmates may actually be a bunch of geniuses and have just been trolling us for the last couple of years.

The box has all the trappings of the TMNT Nickelodeon toy packages illustrated as if to be wrapped around what looks like a pizza box with a sketch of the Turtles on it. Holy shit, this is cool! It’s so cool that I wish it was designed in two layers so the wrap-around could come off and I could have the Turtle pizza box by itself. In typical Playmates fashion, the box has a ton of information printed on it. But rather than feel like overkill like on the old Star Trek cards, this box makes me think the designer of the package was genuinely excited about the toy and had way too much caffeine. But the best is yet to be seen.

Flip the box over and the back shows the toy in action with some of the best copy I’ve ever read on a toy box. It invites you to “serve up a fresh slice topped with furious ninja moves!” Plus it has a whole catalog of great pizza related puns that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger proud. “Table for one!” “Special delivery!” “Hand tossed!” “You got served!” The folks at Playmates are obviously having way too much fun with this line and it makes it all the more endearing. It’s like suddenly they get it and most other toy companies don’t. Even if my interest hadn’t already been peaked, there’s no way I could pick up this box in the toy aisle and not buy this thing. Oh yeah, it even opens like a real pizza box and it’s so heavy and dense that it feels like it contains a solid brick of plastic.

And that’s because in a sense it is. The playset comes folded into a plastic box that very nearly fills out the entire inside of the package. There’s just room for four corner protectors, an instruction sheet and a sticker sheet. This thing is designed so well that when it folds up there’s barely a square millimeter of space that isn’t used up. Because the playset is designed to unpack itself, there’s really no assembly required. There are, however, some very large and crucial stickers, which take a lot of care to put on. I gave it my all and I still had a couple of creases in mine.

So, when it’s all folded up, the set is designed to look like a plastic pizza box. It’s passable enough with the traditional red checker pattern running around the side. The illustration on the package is reproduced smaller as a green stamp on the upper right hand corner. I think Playmates should have just reproduced the pizza box on the cardboard package here, or at least printed PIZZA on it. You get the idea what it’s supposed to be, but they could have gone a little further with it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all good. This baby will spend most of its time deployed on my shelf and whenever it is collapsed down, I’ll likely put it right back in the box.

When I say this thing unpacks itself, I really mean it. Once you fold it out you’re 99%  good to go. The only thing left to do is take the pizza shooter and the pizzas off the outside wall and put it into one of the three available sockets. It’s a simple spring loaded disc launcher and while I’ll likely choose to display my set without it, it makes for a very cool added play feature for the kiddies.


Once unpacked, Anchovy Alley stands 18-inches tall and has a similar set up to the Secret Sewer Lair in that part of the set is meant to be above ground and part below. The above ground is a colorful pizzeria with an awning, street lamp and opening doors. There’s only a small ledge to represent the street level, but it’s just enough to get a turtle to stand on it, even with their bulky shells. The streetlamp is spring loaded so you can attach a turtle to it, pull it back, and have him knock another figure right through the pizzeria doors. “Bahfangul! Wathca a-doin out there? Stop-a kicking da dirty foot clan into-a mia pizza parlor! Turtle Svacheems!”


The subterranean side is some kind of underground limbo that exists between the subways and the sewers. It offers up three levels of play, all connected with ladders, and includes a manhole cover that can launch figures into the air, and an opening sewer hatch on one of the walls. There are also some railings the figures can grab and swing on. The sculpted detail on the base is particularly impressive. You’ve got tires, dead fish, and all kinds of bottles and cans and other refuse. If I had the talent, patience and materials of a customizer, I would go to town painting the base of this thing.

The durability of the playset varies a bit. None of it feels cheap and when it’s unpacked it’s pretty solid. On the other hand, some of the rails feel really weak so I don’t know that I’ll have my figures gripping them that much. I could see them developing stress marks pretty easily.


The fact that Playmates actually named this thing, Anchovy Alley, rather than just Pop-Up Pizza Playset, makes me hope that they may do a few more. This formula is just too good to be a one-shot deal and other toy companies really should take notice. I’m not saying I want a pizza box that unfolds into a GI Joe playset, but Hasbro you could make it an ammo box or something. Use your goddamn imaginations because Playmates certainly is. Either way, this thing is proof that you can do a solid playset without taking up too much space on the retailer shelves… or setting too high a price tag. Anchovy Alley’s box takes up less space than most mid-range vehicles and only set me back $25. Whether you want to use it so your Turtles can mix it up you’re the Foot Clan or just want somewhere to display your figures, I can’t recommend this set enough. It’s awesome!

Tomorrow we’ll keep the Turtle goodness rolling with a look at the Sewer Cruiser.

Feb 5 2013

Galaxy Squad: Swarm Interceptor (#70701) by Lego

As promised, I’m back to look at more Galaxy Squad, and this one is the next size up from yesterday’s set. The Swarm Interceptor gives the Galaxy Squad something with a little teeth to fight back with against the Space Swarmer.


A bigger box and some cool artwork showing the ship in action as well as illustrating its many play features. Inside the box you get an instruction booklet, a sticker sheet, and two numbered baggies containing 218 plastic bits. When all is said and done you build the Swam Interceptor, a small buggy rocket sled and two minifigs. What shall we start with? MINIFIGS!!

As expected, you get a bug and a human. The bug is extremely cool with a unique head sculpt that includes a pair of tiny bendy antenna. These things may qualify as the smallest Lego pieces I’ve ever seen and one of them very nearly got tossed with the empty baggies. He has a nicely detailed printed body, a pair of translucent neon green wings and a zap gun. I like the fact that the bug aliens are all different. The one in the last set looked more like a larva guy, this one looks like a wasp guy. Cool!

The Galaxy Squad guy is pretty generic but I like him nonetheless. He’s got a printed body, a removable helmet and two printed faces, one of which has some kind of breather mask. He’s pretty similar to the guys from the Alien Conquest series. In fact he’s wearing the exact same helmet. I’m cool with that. I think Lego killed Alien Conquest too soon, so I appreciate that these sets can hang together.


I was a little worried the Interceptor would be too derivative of the Space Police ships, but it took just a little time with this set to realize that wasn’t going to be the case. Don’t get me wrong, this ship would look fine bulking out your Space Police armada, but there have obviously been a lot of creative advances in Lego’s starship design teams over the last couple of years. At first glance, this ship may look a little generic. It’s clean, it’s efficient, it’s a one-seater fast attack ship with a cockpit up front and wings in the back. But Lego also packed a lot of play gimmicks into the design, and every one of them is a homerun.


First off, the cockpit portion of the ship has a gyroscope feature so that no matter what position the back of the ship is in, the cockpit is always oriented the same way. You can spin the whole back of the ship if you hold onto the cockpit. I don’t know why I love this gimmick so much, but I do. Secondly, the wings are multi-positional, so you can fold them all the way down and rest the ship on them like landing gear, put them straight out, or even angle them down into a classic Bird of Prey configuration. There’s a cleverly hidden missile launcher that flips up out of the back and the front cockpit can detach from the rest of the ship, fold out it’s little wings and become a little fighter. This last feature reminds me of the whole Hyperspace Ring design used for the Jedi Starfighters.

If I were a cynic I’d cry foul at Lego for being so lazy and using the whole rocket sled motif so often for their smaller vehicles. We’ve seen this thing a hundred times from Atlantis to Alien Conquest to Space Police and even in the Chitari had them in the Marvel Super Heroes Avengers-based sets. Oh, wait, those were actually in the movie. Still, my point holds. Nonetheless, it’s a perfectly fine little vehicle and I’ll grant you that Lego certainly customized it to fit perfectly into this new line, right down to the little translucent wings that hang off the back.

I haven’t been big on experimenting with Lego builds, but I do love the fact that this little sled can clip onto the back of the Swarmer from the last set. It looks like a stinger, adds two aft guns, and it can detach quickly to convert into its sled mode. Very cool.

The Interceptor is a great ship and it really compliments yesterday’s set nicely, as the two ships are fairly evenly matched. I enjoyed building this one a lot, and the finished model is just plain fun. So far I’m really impressed by this line and I fear I’m going to be in it for the long haul. I can already feel the shakes as I try not to jump in the car and head down to Target to pick up a couple more sets. But then I still have some Alien Conquest sets to build, which I’ve been saving for a rainy day. Nonetheless, I’m going to exert some willpower and give the Lego a rest for the rest of the week, because I got me some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys to look at!

Feb 4 2013

Galaxy Squad: Space Swarmer (#70700) by Lego

I’m usually up on my toy news, and yet somehow Lego slipped two brand new series, Chima and Galaxy Squad, under my radar and onto the shelves. I saw them the other day while buying groceries and I wish I had been wearing a monocle, so it could have popped out of my head to illustrate my surprise. Both new lines look excellent, but Galaxy Squad tipped me over simply because it reminds me of my beloved Space Police line from a few years back. Ah, Space Police, the gateway drug that brought me back to you Lego. Well done. It was a funny scene, as I was passing through the aisle when I saw some kid holding one of the Chima boxes and I said to myself, but also out loud, “is that new?” The kid thought I was talking to him and he said, “Yeah, it looks cool. Those are new too!” and he pointed to the Galaxy Squad. I picked one up and said, “Yeah, this looks cool too!” So, I picked up the two smaller assortment sets, which we’ll be checking out today and tomorrow.


We’re starting toward the bottom rung of the line with a set that clocks in at just 86 pieces and there’s the box. I dig the Galaxy Squad logo and the fact that you can infer all you need to know about this series from the box art: There are space bugs… and it’s up to Galaxy Squad to murder the shit out of them all! Inside the box you get an instruction booklet and two unnumbered bags of bricks, which build the alien Space Swarmer spaceship and two minifigs. To the minifigs!

As is the case with any good Lego set, you get a good guy and a bad guy. Let’s start with our new friend, the bug alien. He’s a simple enough figure. His body relies completely on a generic body with some cool printing. His ugly bug head has a tail that runs partially down his back and does keep his head from turning. Not a lot more to say, but I dig him.


The Galaxy Quest guy is really interesting because of his uniquely sculpted head. It might be a helmet, but then again he might be a robot. He kind of looks like a robot. Do you think he’s a robot? I’m going to say he’s a robot! Either way, he’s really bad ass and has a cool jetpack, which is very cleverly built out of a control stick and a couple of guns. And speaking of guns, he’s got a doozy of a BFG, which is only fair since this set is pitting him up against an opponent in an attack ship.


And what a cool little attack ship it is! It feels like a lot of ship for a twelve dollar set, and I attribute that to the incredibly cool and creative design. Obviously bug aliens have bug ships (well, duh!), and this little one-seater is made to look like a nasty flying insect, complete with translucent neon wings coming off the back and four articulated insectoid legs, which can serve as landing gear and actually support the weight of the ship quite nicely. The front of the craft has three articulated mandibles, which can rotate and grab its prey. The one-bug cockpit has a dome canopy and there’s even a clip on the back to store the pilot’s gun. The coloring used for the bricks is also worth mentioning. The neon green, grey and red mesh wonderfully together. It’s a tad derivative of the Alien Conquest color scheme, but Galaxy Squad still manages to own it pretty well. I’ve also discovered a neat little way to combine it with a component of the next set, but we’ll look at that tomorrow.

Lego rarely disappoints, but it’s still hard for me to remember the last time I was this delighted with one of the sets in the $11.99 price range. The minifigs are great, but the real star of this show is the Swarmer itself. It’s such a cool little build with a design that takes something that could have been rather trite and stale (oh, ships that look like bugs!) and really turns it into something amazing. I’ve never double-dipped on a Lego set before, but I can easily see me buying another one of these. It was a fun build, it’s a great looking ship, and it feels like a super value. Things are looking pretty good for Galaxy Squad and I’m anxious to see what tomorrow’s set will bring to the table.

Feb 2 2013

Star Trek Holodeck Series: “A Fistful of Datas” Collector Set by Playmates

You didn’t think you’d escape a week of Toy Closet Finds without some Playmates Star Trek loving, did you? DID YOU??  Truth is I can’t turn around in that damn closet without knocking over a towering skyscraper of Star Trek figures, so by doing just one feature this week, y’all are getting off way too easy. Besides, the last two Saturdays were Star Trek, so I’ll just keep the ball rolling. Oh yeah, while it wouldn’t be FigureFan without a stray cat hair in my photos (it’s practically my watermark!) things got a little out of hand today and I’d already had more than a few Jamesons before the shoot, which meant I didn’t notice until it was too late. Enjoy!


Hey, look! It’s the Holodeck Series! I haven’t done any of these before! But first, let’s wax nostalgic about the Holodeck for a moment. When I was a teenager, “The Next Generation” was destination television for me every week, and every time a Holodeck episode came up I would flip the hell out because I thought it was a waste of a slot and I’d have to wait another week and hope for something better. Now, in my old age, I’ve mellowed a lot on these episodes, and while some of them are still terrible, others are not so bad. Next to the Sherlock Holmes episodes, “A Fistful of Datas” is probably my favorite. It may have to do with my love for westerns; it may be because it tugged at my nostalgic love for the Classic Trek episode “Specter of the Gun;” but in the end I think it’s because it’s a fun episode that makes really good use of Worf and Troi it’s one of the few episodes with Alexander that I can stomach.

The set comes in a compact little window box and is branded under the general “Star Trek” line. The front window displays the three figures Worf, Alexander, and a Holographic recreation of Data (ok, so it’s really two and a half figures!) and each of the figures are held in a tray against an illustrated backdrop that shows part of the “Ancient West” town and part of the Holodeck grid. As always, there’s a foil sticker with an individual collector number. The back panel of the box has a blurb about the episode, a shot of the figures against the backdrop and shots of three other boxed sets available in the line. I’ll point out here that Sheriff Worf was available as a single-carded figure, but if you wanted the other two in this set, I’m pretty sure this was the only way to get them. Bastard points go to Playmates for forcing us to double dip!


Starting off with Data, we get a Holodeck recreation of our favorite Starfleet android as a crazed gunslinger. The head sculpt is pretty good, and possibly better than my regular Data figure. He has the little added mustache and his hat is removable, which I was not expecting. As for the rest of the figure, the sculpt is very simple but it does hit all the right points. His black coat bellows up a bit behind him and reveals his holstered gun on his left hip. He’s an Ok figure, but he does seem a little lacking compared to Worf.

Yes, Worf is clearly the star of this set as Playmates put the most work into him. That probably has something to do with the fact that he was also a single-carded release. The head sculpt is excellent, and while the hat isn’t removable, that just means it doesn’t constantly fall off like Data’s does. Worf’s outfit consists of a detailed kerchief, a vest with buttons and his sheriff badge, and a buttoned shirt with the flap hanging down. The proportions are also a lot better than previous Worf figures. I love this figure!

Last up is Worf’s son, Alexander, which is just a static piece. I expected him to be a throw-away, but Playmates stepped up on the sculpt here. He’s wearing a miniature version of Worf’s outfit right down to the vest with the little deputy badge. I also get a chuckle out of the fact that he’s the only one in the set holding a gun and he looks like he’s ready to gleefully murder someone with it.

The paintwork on all three figures is quite excellent. I don’t know why, but I love the high gloss paint that Playmates uses. It makes them look so toyish and 90’s. Feeling nostalgic for the 90’s is a scary thing. The contrast between Data’s muted grey and black outfit and the brighter browns and reds of Worf and Alexander’s makes for an appealing set and I’m particularly impressed by the paintwork on the little Alexander figure. In terms of overall coloring and paint, this is some of Playmates best work on the Star Trek line.

The three figures in this set are like an illustration of the evolution of action figure articulation. Worf features most of the points we’ve come to expect from Playmates Trek figures. His arms rotate at the shoulders, swivel at the biceps and have hinged elbows. His legs swivel at the hips and have hinges in the knees. He can also swivel at the waist and his head turns. The only thing really missing here are the thigh swivels that began to appear late in the line. Data, on the other hand has the five basic points (neck, shoulders and hips) plus swivels in his biceps. He does have a waist swivel, but his coat prevents it from working, and it severely limits his hip articulation too. Last up is Alexander, which as I already mentioned is just a static figure. I don’t have a big problem with Alexander just being a display piece, but Data’s limited articulation really irks me. He should have at least had elbow and knee hinges.

The sad thing about this set is you get zero accessories. Granted, Playmates’ accessories usually suck, but if you want Worf’s accessories you need to buy the single-carded figure as well. Or you can buy Troi as Durango and give her stuff to Worf since she can’t hold any of it anyway. You do, however, get a display stand with an illustrated sticker to match the backdrop. The idea is you cut out the backdrop and stick it into the slot on the stand. If you’ve ever picked up any of Kenner/Hasbro’s Star Wars Cinema Scene sets than you already get the idea.

I have no idea how much this sold for originally, but I recall picking up mine at a Trek Convention for $10 and you can’t go wrong there. The lack of accessories is a downer and Data’s sculpt and articulation doesn’t jive with the work put into Worf, but all in all this is still a cool set representing a fun little episode.

And that’ll put this week of Toy Closet Finds in the bag. I’ve still got a bunch of unearthed treasures from my trip into Narnia, but the rest will have to wait, because I’ve also got a bunch of new receivings piling up and begging for attention. Next week I’ll be doubling up on some new Lego, new TMNT, and new Transformers. See y’all on Monday.

Feb 1 2013

Witchblade: Medieval Witchblade by Moore Action Collectibles

With the exception of encountering Sara Pezzini in a couple of my funnybooks, I have managed to avoid everything Witchblade. That’s no small feat considering it’s a fairly prolific franchise, which even managed to bust out of the comics and onto the TV screen. Nonetheless, I’m a big fan of Clayburn Moore’s sculpts and so I just so happen to have a lot of Witchblade figures in my collection. Today seemed like a good day to feature one, because I have an appointment at the corner pub and with so little background on the characters, I can probably get through it quickly.


If you’ve picked up any of Moore’s indie comic figures, you have a good idea what to expect from the packaging. The figure comes on a fairly uninspiring card with a big bubble and the figure and accessories all laid out for you. The back is a little more exciting with some decent artwork, a blurb about the character, and photos of four of the other figures available in this series.


Even if you aren’t a sculpting connoisseur, chances are you can recognize a Moore sculpt when you see one. Most of them are scantily clad ladies with ample breasts, a perfect ass, and a wide-eyed, full-lipped featured face. Katarina here hits all those points. Her face does have less of a realistic look and more of a stylized anime visage than Moore’s usual work, certainly more so than Lady Death or Ariel Darkchylde. I don’t like it as much, but I’m certainly not hating on it either. I do really dig the way her long braid snakes its way down her back and around to the front. The sculpting on the Witchblade itself is both beautiful and intricate and it makes for a striking contrast with the figure’s smooth skin. The crosshatch pattern on her boots is actually sculpted in and there’s some subtle but nice sculpted muscles as well.

While rarely poor, the paint on Moore’s figures can sometimes be a mixed bag, and Katarina here is a good example of that. The skintone is glossy bare plastic, which doesn’t give you the nice soft look of painted skin. I’m always torn on this, as I like the glossy toyish sheen and painted skin doesn’t always turn out that great. On the other hand, the bare plastic skin doesn’t photograph as well and doesn’t give you that added sense of realism. Nonetheless, the paintwork that’s here is pretty good, particularly on her face, her outfit and the Witchblade itself. The hair, on the other hand comes off as a little hamfisted. The mix of orange with black wash doesn’t give it depth as much as it just makes it look dirty. I seem to recall having a similar problem with the Darkchylde figure. Then again, considering the price point on these figures, the good certainly outweighs the subpar.

Moore figure collectors won’t be surprised by Katarina’s articulation. You get standard five points, swivels at the neck, shoulders, and hips, and only three of those are really useful. The hip cuts don’t really help at all, unless you want her awkwardly sitting on the floor with her legs spread wide. If you find that useful, please keep it to yourself while I pretend to be appalled. No, this figure is designed to stand in a wide leg stance and give you a few options on how to pose her with her weapons.

Weapons? Yes, Katarina comes with a nice array of accessories. You get a sword, spear, and battle axe. All three are beautifully sculpted and painted to look like extensions of the Witchblade. I’m particularly impressed with the sword sculpt, which includes all sorts of cool little nicks and pitting on the blade. Oh yeah, you also get a decent figure stand with the Witchblade logo on it.

A lot of collectors look down on Moore’s indie comic figures as being dated products of the 90’s. Fair enough, but I really enjoy them. One of the finest compliments I can pay an action figure line is that I’m willing to collect them when I really care nothing for the franchise they’re based on. Of course, it helps when they’re sexy chicks and when they’re cheap.  Witchblade figures can certainly be had for next to nothing these days. They’re probably still hanging in a dark corner of your local comic shop, or you can just go buy them on Ebay and probably pay more for the shipping than the actual figure. Either way, Katarina’s a cool figure in my book.