I have always been surprised that this line has lasted. I always, always see them on clearance around my area. To their credit, I did buy their board game for a friend one Christmas. Nothing says Christmas like a bunch of dead kids. However, I really like this line cause I have always loved the Alice In Wonderland stories. One thing I can say for sure about this line of figures is that they have always been excellent.
Old School Horror
Help I'm Drowning!
It is amazing how our society has progressed from the subtle horror of the black and white era to the blood soaked glory of todays films. I happen to have an appreciation for both, but sometimes you just gotta watch the classics, and for me none is better than The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE King Kong in B&W, but there is just something about this movie that pushes it so well for me. I am just amazed that they pulled it off as well as they did considering the era’s limitations. This is an excellent statue worthy of shelf space.
Still A Classic
Wanna But Some Cookies?
God Bless H.P. Lovecraft. I mean, just look at all his works have inspired. And look at this bad boy. Awesomeness. And speaking of Lovecraft, Can you imagine Christmas songs to the tune of Chuthulu? I can. In fact, I have some to share. Want to know how to get your hands on them? Comment on your favorite Horror collectable on my FACEBOOK page and I will send you some amazing freaking Christmas music, Promise. You will NOT be sorry.
It’s Not Halloween Without The Zombies
I Swear Ma I Didn't Eat Him, He Was Already This Way!
This is amazing cause it capture THE BEST MOMENT in any survival horror game. Resident Evil. The very first time you come across a zombie and you get this awesome cinematic that just sets the mood in all the right places. Itchy, Tasty…….
Laugh-a-thon
Look What I Can Do!
Is it just me or is this movie very funny. It scared the Hell out of my parents, but I sat there and watched it and laughed. My friend will not let this figure in his house cause it creeps him out to no end. I am sure that at some point in time it was over the top scary, but how? Can anyone explain this to me?
Nightmarish Dishes
Evil Candy Not Included.
If any of you follow Ryan, our kindly founder, on Facebook, you more than likely saw our day long faceoff over Nightmare Before Christmas. I won’t go into details here, but needless to say it was a very interesting day. I am a NBX whore. I have been since it opened in theatres and I had opening day tickets. I sat in an audience who just didn’t ‘get’ it for some reason. And every year Disney makes some really cool, and some really awful, NBX stuff for their store. This year is a bad ass set of dishes and more. The above is the candy bowl, but they have a whole lot more there.
Evil Puppets
Anyone Seen Leech Woman? She Owes Me $50, Her And Those Other Puppets.
This doll creeps me the Hell Out. It reminds me of this clown marionette I had once. It was evil and creepy and I had to burn it and there was green smoke. True Story. Ask fellow writer Josh. He remembers Evil Clown. Anyways, this is just a freaking creepy puppet, never mind the fact that if you see it you are in a life or death situation no doubt.
Evil Klowns
Loves To Eat Cotton Candy Made Of You!
Do I really need to say anything more about this one?
Weaponry Of The Hunters
Must Be Manicured Regularly
I gotta give the Predator’s one thing, they have awesome weapons. And look! Now you can have your own disk of death, complete with a severed Predator Hand to display it on! Just don’t ask about the Predator it came from. He’s trying to survive with one arm but all he can do is flip burgers at Carnivore King back on the home world.
For Those Days When You Have Something Red On You
Kicking Ass And Taking Names. Zombie Names That Is.
To me, this is quite possibly one of the best zombie movies ever made. It has fun, makes fun of other zombie flicks, and best of all they play TimeSplitters, one of the best FPS’s EVER!!! If my friend turned into a zombie, I’d keep him on a chain out back or find a collar like the ones in Fido, a great little indie movie. (look it up, it’s very much worth it)
Eat This Predator
Now You Made Momma Mad
Aliens could kick Predators asses all over the galaxy. Yep, they could. And this is the must have for any Alien fan – The Queen Box Set. I had one until the fire, and I know Ryan has one in his house so one day while he is asleep I will sneak in and steal it. Then when he realizes its gone I will say it was his dog cause I have this whole evil mastermind plan to frame the dog. Don’t worry, his dog classifies as ‘cute’ so even if the dog really did do it, no one would be mad at it cause it’s just so cute….
Gavin’s Most Wanted
If Only It Had An Orange Backing...
Did mention how much I love NBX? I love this piece cause it takes me back to the days when I was at the McNay is San Antonio for the big traveling Nightmare Before Christmas exhibit with all the sets and puppets and more. I love the McNay and I loved this exhibit. It was absolutely amazing. And then I had to sit by the display that housed the vampires at Planet Hollywood in downtown San Antonio every time. Maybe I should see a therapist or something?
Can’t get enough of Stone? Follow his randomness on Twitter or have fun with him on Facebook if you dare. Want even more?!? Check out his site and catch his additions to Angry Joe and Week In Rewind! If that’s still not enough, stalker applications may be requested through the mail.
File this one under ‘Its so brilliant I Don’t Know Why They Didn’t Make This Earlier’!! Chopsticks. Lightsabers. They are the same shape, so it’s only natural that they should serve as Asian Forks! I myself am not too good with the chop sticks but I sure as hell will try to get better now. If only they lit up. Now that would be even cooler.
More Virtual Awesome
FRIED SHRIMP!!!
Yeah, I really do love Virtual On and now they released the images of my favorite character of choice in that game – Fei Yen. Don’t make me go all gold with her. You wouldn’t like me in gold form.
Green Savin’ Makes Me Feel good
Must. Have. Hot. Dogs!
the only thing wrong with this is that Slimer is seriously ugly. I know they just announced the third movie, like officially and stuff, but damn this is one ugly ass ghost. Of course that was kind of the draw, the undead were ugly in the movies. It was a draw for me, but it wasn’t until the sequel that you got a really good look at this one. It would be way cooler if the bank were see through like he was in the movies but oh well. What’s the draw of banks anyways?
Another Week, Another Halo Whored Out Product
This is your achievment for LAME!!
As if the mass amounts of Halo crap wasn’t enough, now they come with Achievements for all the achievement whores out there to now get them in real life. Apparently virtual achievements just weren’t good enough. So what do you do with the little plastic achievement? It’s not like you earned it or something. You going to go out and brag to your friends? Now there’s a fight I’d love to see.
One Hell Of A Statue
Sadly, their desire to be yet another Bank was not granted this year. Sigh.
This is just one of the statues that has me all happy inside. It is so well done and it is just amazing to look at. Great story arc, great piece here.
Astromech Go!!
BeepBeepBoop Mutha F***ers
My own Artoo unit? JOY! At least it is not C3-P0. Not that I have anything against the guy, but toy wise Artoo is much better cause hes not all stuck up and fussy. You can go on dangerous adventures with him and have all sorts of fun. C3-Po will just teach you etiquette. Yep. They picked the winner here.
Gavin’s Most Wanted
Where my offspring Carnage? I need to drop off my child supprt check..
I am a Spider-Man whore, and I love me some Venom and Carnage, and this is just way too awesome for words. Look at the pic and drool.
We told you about this Saturday, 10.10.09, being LEGO Star Wars day, to commemorate the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, and now we’re ready to give you a chance to win an awesome LEGO Star Wars prize pack!
Here’s what we’re giving away, thanks to the fine folks at DK Publishing:
ONE (1) MEGA PACK GIVEAWAY
Includes:
(1) Copy of LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
(1) LEGO Star Wars 10.10.09 T-Shirt
(1) LEGO Star Wars Postcard Pack from Sand Diego Comic-Con
(1) Darth Vader LEGO Mini-Figure
THREE (3) MINI PACK GIVEAWAYS
Includes:
(1) Copy of LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
(1) LEGO Star Wars 10.10.09 T-Shirt
So how do you win one? Easy. There’s three different ways:
1. Follow me on twitter and re-tweet this exactly:
RT @zombie_elvis LEGO Star Wars GIVEAWAY! 4 Prize Packs to be had http://bit.ly/7urJP RT this to enter! #101009
Be sure to follow me on twitter so that I can DM you if you’ve won and collect your information.
OR
2. Leave a comment below. It’s that simple. If you do enter this way, you’re going to have to leave your email address so that we can get a hold of you to collect your information.
OR
3. Send an email over to contest [at] giantkillersquid [dot] com with ‘LEGO STAR WARS’ in the title – be sure to leave your full name and mailing address.
This giveaway ends on Saturday, October 10, 2009 – 10.10.09. All four (4) winners will be announced and contacted on Sunday, October 11, 2009.
If you’re like me, you grew up loving LEGO (and still love it). You also no doubt love Star Wars, one of the greatest film-franchises of all time. Well it’s no mystery that for years these two power-houses of love have come together in what could be the greatest amalgamation of fun known to man. I’m talking of course, about LEGO Star Wars products.
This Saturday, October 10th, marks your chance to celebrate all things LEGO Star Wars with the grand release of LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, a gorgeous print compendium chronicling the life and history of LEGO Star Wars up to now.
The LEGO® brand and Star Wars® are two of the world’s most well-recognized and successful franchises, and have been collaborating since the 1999 release of the first LEGO Star Wars mini-figures. DK joins the party with the exquisitely photographed and minutely annotated Visual Dictionary, complete with exclusive mini-figure! – Visit the book’s official home on the web
The fine folks at DK Publishing have not only put together a really cool book, but they’re making this Saturday, 10.10.09, a day to show your love for LEGO and Star Wars in the flesh, at live events all across America. Be sure to check out the live event in your area – there will be tons of LEGO Star Wars goodness! Meet real-life Star Wars characters, from the 501st Legion!
You’ve got to head down and meet a stormtrooper and get your hands on this beautiful visual dictionary.
But that’s not all!
We’re giving away 4 LEGO Star Wars prize packs!
Stay tuned this week for details on how you can win one of four LEGO Star Wars prize packs. Copies of the book! T-shirts! Buttons! Postcards! Stickers! LEGO Star Wars mini-figures!
All this and more LEGO Star Wars stuff throughout the week as we gear up for the big day, 10.10.09.
Hey kids, here’s another volume of SH*T THAT I WANT coming at your face like buttered wind on the back of a ten-speed. I’ve scoured the internet for some pretty neat items that any of you can buy for me at any time. Let’s open up Daddy’s treasure trunk and see what’s inside…
Marvel VS. Capcom 2 Tournament Edition Arcade Fightstick
Try saying that three times fast, what a tongue-twister har har har…
I’m not too much into video games (meaning, I enjoy them but am absolutely terrible at them) but I really did superhero fighting games, specifically the Marvel VS. Capcom ones. The game was recently re-released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, so Marvel and Capcom teamed up with peripheral manufacturers Mad Catz to bring you this bad-ass arcade joystick controller featuring some really nice artwork. It’s got lots of buttons and a big, colorful knob. Hehe.
The fightstick (not to be confused with the slapchop) will be available later this fall via GameStop stores and Capcom and Mad Catz online stores. I have no idea how much it will cost, most likely in the area of $500 knowing the video game market.
Star Wars Dagobah Frog Habitat
This is incredible. It’s essentially a little plastic aquarium thingy only it comes with an above-water Dagobah environment, complete with minature Yoda and his hut. It also has a picture backdrop of the swamp planet with Luke’s x-wing sticking out.
You put your li’l froglings or tadpoles in there, and they live there! They can crawl around with Yoda or swim around underneath the water. This is amazing. Must buy.
Think Geek sells this for a measly $39.99 – it also comes with a mail-in for a free tadpole. They send you a tadpole. In the mail! No home office is complete without it.
Iron Man Arc Reactor Replica
Yes, it is only a replica, but you can own the very gift Ms. Pepper Potts gave to Tony Stark in the first Iron Man film – his first electromagnetic shrapnel stopper!
The replica comes in a little clear cube, just like in the film, and is etched with the message “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart”. This thing is made from aluminum, stainless steel and molded plastic and it has light-up LCDs! This thing glows! The folks at Museum Replicas spared no expense on making this item just as it was in the movie.
It runs a little more expensive at $150, but it’s a small price to pay for such an awesome piece. Urban-Collector has it going for $119.99 at the moment…
The Dark Knight Batman Motorcycle Suit
This is entirely ridiculous. It’s a motorcycle suit, protective leathers and such, that looks almost identical to Batman’s suit from The Dark Knight.
This company UD Replicas only made 1,000 of these suits comprised of spandex, molded leather and kevlar armor plating, gloves and boots; so in other words, exactly like the fucking bat-suit.
The whole set can be bought for $998 US, or you can buy the jacket, pants, gloves and boots separately. I honestly don’t know what I’d think if I saw this on the road, but I do know I want it for around the house.
Look at this thing in action in this video:
There you have it for another edition of SH*T THAT I WANT. As usual, if you have any items you think would be worthy of future installments, leave a comment and cross your fingers.
Head on over to MichaelBay.com, the official blog of Michael Bay, and check it for yourselves – the man has confirmed that Transformers 3: Turd Fergatron will hit screens on July 1, 2011. Is anyone really surprised? The first two Transformers films have made a combined gross of over $30,00 Gabjillion dollars (US).
Straight from the horse-face’s mouth, here’s what Master Explosivo has to say:
“Today is Day One. This morning started with an ILM meeting for five hours in San Francisco. Currently I’m flying with writer Ehren Kruger to Rhode Island to talk to Hasbro about new characters”
Awesome! Ehren Kruger is returning! That’s sarcasm. I still stand by Kruger being the main driving force behind the atrocious writing in Transformers II. And new characters? Cool! Maybe we can get a Chinese stereotype transformer robot, or a Latino stereotype transformer robot! Maybe… just maybe… we’ll get a Jewish transformer this time! Eat! Eat! You’re too thin! Why don’t you find a nice goil ta marry?! Transform. Roll out. Open artery.
Lord knows there aren’t enough existing and established transformers characters you could bring in (Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Skywarp just to name a few).
But that’s not all, and this part I actually liked. Michael bay left a postscript in his blog-post addressing Megan Fox, who had bashed her experiences working with Bay on the films.
“P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back. I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture. Please consult your Physician when working under my direction because some side effects can occur, such as mild dizziness, intense nausea, suicidal tendencies, depression, minor chest hair growth, random internal hemorrhaging and inability to sleep. As some directors may be hazardous to your health, please consult your Doctor to determine if this is right for you.”
Pussy cat hiss hiss rowr. So what say you, yay for Transformers 3 or nay?
P.S. Megan Fox and Michael Bay, we all know your back-and-forth media slam-dance is fake. Cut the bullshit and stop wasting the internet’s time. You’re both as subtle as a barbed-wire loofah. And also, Megan, you’re not that hot. You’re a mediocre porn-star at best. It’s not a point of pride, the calibre of men that you attract.
I don’t know about you but I find this feature to be pretty creepy – moveable eyes. That and totally pointless. Yes, I want a toy that has eye manipulation control. Of all the features I have been screaming for, that’s on top of the list. Is it cool? Kinda. I guess if you are going to make some sort of stop motion short with it it would be cool. But practicality wise? I just don’t know. It’s another reason to slap on a bunch of money for something you don’t really need. Now you want to talk about a great feature? Anyone remember those Wrestling toys you filled with water and with the push of a button they would sweat? Now that is a fun feature.
Virtual Awesome
I'm awesome till I go up against Dei Yen....
When it comes to giant robot games, you just can’t beat Armored Core and Virtual On in my opinion. Yeah there are all those others out there, but it all comes down to the arcade simplicity of these two for me. Virtual On had an amazing set of robot designs and I am glad to see that people still dig them.
Green and Mean
Do you know how hard it is to have just three fingers!?!?
I hope this line of Ninja Turtle Statues goes a little further than the last line. The previous line was years and years ago with comic book likeness and it too began with Donatello. I know this cause I got it for my TMNT nut friend for Christmas that year. It was supposed to continue, but didn’t. To tell you the truth I like this one more. Though I do love the original comic, I like the newer stylings. So here’s to hoping I get a Raphael soon.
Saying ‘Beam Me Up’ In Public Just Got Funnier
Beep. Beep Nerd. Boop.
eFX. What can I say about them? Not a lot actually. Their site is all about Star Wars even though they have some other licenses like Disney on board. And then I found out they will be doing Star Trek. And all I can think about is that movie called Trekkies that follows around die hard Star Trek fans, like the ones who remodel their house to look like sets from the show inside. I just don’t see the coolness in these as much as, lets say, a lightsaber or a ship replica. If eFX does some ship replicas from Star Trek, then I may take some action to get one cause I do like the Voyagers design.
What’s That In Your Pocket?
Cute and cuddly and ready to kill!
Why it is cute and cuddly little serial killers! Who doesn’t want a radioactive Jason Vorhees in their pocket? Oh, what’s that my son is playing with? Freddy Kruger. Duh. Where were you born? These things are just all over awesome. And they are kid friendly!!!
Vampires Like Hamburgers
Now with BLoodBurgers for all your vampire hungers...
Nothing says teen angst vampire love flick like Burger King, don’t you agree? Well someone out there does as BK, which I happen to love, has got the New Moon license and is planning to roll out the goodies. Not a whole lot is announced just yet, but I am hoping for some serious Kids Meal Toys. Brooding Edward. Whiny Bella. Pissed off Jacob. Now that would be an interesting kids meal premium. But they will more than likely have glasses with the BK logo all big and bold next to Edwards brooding face.
Still Plain Bad Ass
True Fact - He's actually a creampuff...
Punisher is just awesome, even this steroid overdose version. You have to buy him cause if not he can crush you in one of his meaty man hands.
Gavin’s Most Wanted
Too smart for his own good. Sigh.
God bless the internet. And God bless hulu. See I am one of those types of guys who has to watch something from the beginning to really like a show. That’s why I do a lot of TV on DVD. But anime is one of my favorites and one of my most frustrating likes. It hard to keep up with new releases and more and I wait for season sets cause I have a problem dropping $30 for four episodes when I can drop $50 for a season. So it was with DeathNote. I really, really, really wanted to see this but I always missed it. Well I then found it on hulu.com, the whole series. And watched it. And it was amazing. It was quite possibly one of the most amazing series I have ever watched. And I hated/loved the ending. And now I must have this toy of Kira, and there is one of L, but forget Near, he was mean.
Now I do not want you to think I dislike Halo. I actually have fun with the game. But this is one of those games that really is just whored out. Period. And yeah, it sells. It’s Halo people. But look at these things called Odd Balls. WTF were they thinking? Maybe this is for the ladies, you know, a Master chief ‘toy’. That’s really all I can think of to say for these. I mean, this is almost as bad as last weeks Darth Vader Unmasked bank.
Kicking Ass And Taking Names Robots
0001100 = I'm gonna kick your ass into next week.
Now here is something that the odd shape of ‘happy toy’ Master Chief seems to fit. I have no idea where these came from, if it is based off the World War Robot comic I haven’t read or if it is something entirely new. All I know is that for something so simple, the listtle guys show a lot of emotion. Sadness mostly, but looking at them makes me want them and I do not know why. Anyone know the story behind these? I’d really like to know.
Slayers Return
Just plain awesome
Yes I am a Buffy fan. The show was well done over all, and Sarah Michelle Gellar was hot in her day. I’ve seen ‘toon’ versions of statues before, and though I like the Star Wars ones, I never really liked the other ones. But this line may have me thinking twice simply cause it’s Buffy. I am waiting to see what they do for the rest of the line. There is a Dark Willow out there, but I wan’t a Scott, or an Angel. Or even better – Spike. Yeah.
Epic Coolness
Could anyone else in the universe be strong enough to do this?
This image speaks for itself.
Forget The Train
Now with better time travel mileage!
Rock on EntertainmentEarth.com. You have given us the best replica of one of the coolest cars ever created! This is one hell of a sweet ass toy!! It makes me want to go back to the furutre and have all sorts of hijinks the way Marty did, only I feel that if I did it I’d like step on a butterfly or something and ruin the future and have to come home to a world ruled by insectoid creatures and everyone would look to me to be their savior but I would never guess to go back and stop myself from stepping on the butterfly to begin with so I’d just be stoned to death. Now time traveling just doesn’s sound so fun to me anymore. (/p) Drive Drive Drive
Now GI Joe has some competition...
So this is a Halo licensed toy done right. It makes sense, but only if it drives as horribly as it does in the game. Wouldn’t that be fun? Yeah, I see kids lining up to try it out just to get pissed off that it drives so wonky. I wouldn’t care. I’d still find some way to get all the other Halo toys in the car and drive it off a cliff just for fun killing them all. Yep, that’s me in the game. I honk the horn to get everyone in and I find unique ways to kill us. The time I drove right into the rocket was awesome.
Gavin’s Most Wanted
Bad Girls Rule.
As much as I loved Buffy, Faith really did it for me in the series. I love this statue. I must have it. Yes, I must have it…..
CONTEST CLOSED: Congratulations to Kiaran of Edmonton, AB on winning this here zombie toy. Stay tuned for more great giveaways!
Anyone who’s anyone knows that when it comes to collectibles, Sideshow Collectibles is king. Since 1994, Sideshow Collectibles has maintained the reputation for producing some of the most eye-popping designs and sculpts and collectibles for some of the world’s most famous properties. These are luxury items for us collectors. It’s with great excitement that I present a review and giveaway for one of their hottest new items, The Harbinger from Sideshow’s The Dead line.
The Dead line features all-original concepts and designs with a horror flavor, specifically zombies. The Harbinger itself is a fully articulate 12″ zombie priest. Check out my video review below, and keep reading for full specs and photos and info on how to win one of these bad boys, as you read that right…. we’re giving one of these away to one lucky reader!
Video Review:
Figure Specs:
Figure stands 12″ tall
Fully articulate body (feat. Prometheus body system) with 30+ points of articulation
Real fabric costume, including pants, coat, sash, priests collar, cummerbund and rosary
Figure comes with bible prop piece and display stand
Images:
Check out the official page for The Harbinger at Sideshow Collectibles.
Now… here’s the really good part…
Giveaway:
Thanks to the spectacular people at Sideshow Collectibles, Giant Killer Squid is giving you the chance to win a free 12″ Harbinger figure of your very own.
How do I win one? Easy.
Send an email over to contest [at] giantkillersquid [dot] com with your name, full address and the answer to this question: What is the name of the shopping mall in which the original Dawn of the Dead took place?
Put ‘SIDESHOW’ in your email’s subject line, and have your entry in by September 30th. Winners will be contacted via email. Residents of the US and Canada only please.
Good news for you Edward my dear, it's that time of the month!
Yep, that’s the official Twilight set of Barbie and Ken dolls. If you followed me on Twitter, you’d know I have a soft spot for these type of Barbie Collectables. They are fun. Now let me get something straight here about Twilight – I read the books. I didn’t undertand what the draw to the first one is cause it’s about 200 pages of a whiny girl wanting to be a vampire and a whiny boy saying no. Seriously. Then I read the second book and it was actually pretty good, and kinda made the first one seem to make sense overall. Didn’t read the last two. Yet. And then I saw the movie and it was probably the gayest thing I have ever seen. It made me really like the book that much more. But all of that aside, I have no doubt this doll set will become an ultra hot item very, very soon cause there is an army of Twilight Fangirls out there drooling to be Bella. Oh well, at least my like of vampires hasn’t been tainted by this chick flick fodder vampires we get today. Now I say give me a TruBlood collector set and then I would be excited.
The best science kits ever
Comig soon kids! Shoot lighting from your fingertips in the Force Lightning set! Smite your parents!!
I walked into TRU the other week and saw this entire new line of Star Wars Science sets. Imagine science expirenents with a Star Wars license! It is amazingly sweet. The sheer variety of what they have to offer is quite impressive as well. I will be picking these up for my son and will be doing a review on them soon.
The smell of death
For those special nights with green skinned women.
Ok, I am no Star Trek lover or anything, but these are pretty sensible tie ins for a Fanboy. Star Trek cologne. Yep, they actually made one called Red Shirt. What does it smell like? Desperation and death? I must seek these out to see why they got made. They must smell good, you know they have to other wise why bother? I am hoping the Red Shirt is the one to get. It’s just too funny to pass up. “Oh, what’s that dashing scent you have on tonight?” “Red Shirt.” Cue drive by and bam! you got yourself a great evening.
Bring your change to the dark side
Give me your copper for my shiny new helmet!
I am going to file this one in the pointless bin, which really stings me deep. Especially after I just sent up the Star trek cologne line. Especially, especially since this is a Star Wars themed item. It’s not even, well, cool or warranted. I don’t know about you but unmasked Darth Vader does not scream ‘Put your money in me’. I know not every Star Wars collectable needs to be top of the line, but were they even trying with this one? Way to go Lucas Film. This is another pitch meeting I would have loved to be in on. “Hey I got this great idea for a piggy bank. Ready for it. Darth. Vader. Unmasked.” Someone give that guy a raise.
Toy Story Toy’d. Again
Bring me this Chip Hazard, I'll show him a thing or two.
Ok, makybe I missed something somewhere, but weren’t the original toys from the movie pretty good likenesses? I had a bunch of those, even the hard to find 12″ Buzz Lightyear that came in a, you guessed it, box exactly like he did in the movie. So now they are hailing this new Definitive Collection as the next coming. The Definitive Collection will feature exact likeness of the films characters and come in packaging that reflects their original packaging in the movie. Ok. They did that last time. So yeah, I wrote this off as a money ploy. But then I got to actually read about this new Ultimate Buzz Lightyear that not only looks like he did in the movie, but ACTS like he did in the movie. Walking, talking replica. Holy hell that is freaking awesome. So is the $130 pricetag. So i dug further into the line and realized that these do really look better than the old line of toys. Which I don’t understand. How can you mess up making a toy based on a toy? But compare the original Buzz with this ultimate Buzz and you can actually tell the difference. That and the old Buzz doesn’t walk. I want one of these Ultimate bad boys.
Gavin’s Most Wanted!
I'm a real boy!
I am an AstroBoy fan. Always have, always will be. And yeah, I am excited for the new movie though I fear it won’t have the same Anime feel I crave. But who knows. And this figure is just plain sweet. Way to go Sideshow. You got some great partners there.
If you pay any attention to toy news here on Giant Killer Squid, you will no doubt have heard about Hot Toys, one of the best premium collectible figure makers in existence today. They blew us away with their Dark Knight line (their Joker figure still stands to me as the greatest toy ever made), they are about to unleash Watchmen on us, and currently have figures out for Aliens, Iron Man, Predator, Terminator, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Planet of the Apes and Resident Evil. Though costly, their collectibles are nothing shy of breathtaking making them worth every penny.
Hot Toys can now add another license to their lineup, and this is one I’m immediately excited for – Inglourious Basterds!
We have no news yet on the complete lineup for the figures, nor do we have any images aside from this teaser:
So it looks like Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine will be the first release. I’m sure as hell getting that toy. If I were to take a guess at who would be fodder for the Hot Toys treatment, I’d say Donny ‘the Bear Jew’ Donowitz and Col. Hans Landa are perfect, but that’s just wishful thinking.
No release date has been set, but I’d guess third or fourth quarter next year. We’ll keep you updated with images and specs as they come in.
How cool would it be if Aldo came with a bag of Nazi scalps?!
Hey all, Gavin here, back from a week off. Well I wouldn’t say it was off, just busy. But fear not, I bring a double sized issue of Collector’s Edge to you this week with some really fun, and disturbing, things I have found. So let’s get into it. Read the rest of this entry »
Gavin here, and not only is this the end of the fun times I had with Jason Harlan, it’s also the debut of a brand new, never before seen, EXCLUSIVE haralncore.com boxpunx. You’ll find it at the end of the article. Click it. Print it. Make it. This I command you! And thanks go out to Jason Harlan for letting me into his world and talking to me. He is a great guy and an excellent artist. Find all of the models you can make and more at harlancore.com. Go there now. You’ll love the PF4 line I promise you. And keep your eyes peeled for some customs by me and a cutom design contest here soon.
Gavin here, and I really had a hell of a time talking to Jason about all things gamer and anime and everything. He runs www.harlancore.com, the amazing home of the BoxPunx (and now the DollPunx too). We talked about a great deal of things here so without further ado I give you part two of my talk with Jason Harlan!
Gavin here, and I love me some papercraft. It’s like oragami on crack. I am totally addicted to the stuff. But of all of the awesome papercraft sites out there only one stands above and beyond the rest. It’s models are amazing, the style is intriguing and the design template is friggin’ sweet. I speak of course of www.harlancore.com, run by an artist named Jason. I got the chance recently to sit down with Jason and have a talk about the entire world that is harlancore. Enjoy as I give you part one of my interview.
Gavin Stone: First off, tell me why you got into making papercraft?
harlancore: I had been collecting kubrick and bearbrick toys and was doing sketches of my own ideas. I wanted to make some customs but didn’t want to buy a bunch of blank toys. I mean, I wanted to, but couldn’t afford to. Then I bought Cardboy’s CMYK cartridges and discovered, hey this model is half paper…I bet I could make a paper model that I could customize. That’s the simple story of how I started.
Gavin Stone: I loved kubricks. I was all over the Evangelion ones. What were your favorites?
harlancore: I have some of the ALIEN kubricks that are really cool, a 300% pushead anniversary bearbrick, and yeah I really like the EVA ones too. I also like the Cry for Dawn and Devilman kubricks.
Gavin Stone: Devilman is awesome. The first BoxPunx I ever made was Spider-man. It was hard as hell to put together once I got to the legs. It just confused me. How hard was it to create the template?
harlancore: The hardest part is definitely making the template. What seems simple to you may not be so simple to others, especially if there are little to no instructions. I have since gone back and changed the legs, but it did take a while to come up with a better way. I always make quite a few templates before deciding on one, usually because how I imagined it would look vs how it came out is very different at first. As time has gone by, I have got better at thinking in 3-D.
Gavin Stone: Was the redesign more of a forced thing since there were weird people like me who just kinda looked at it and went ‘huh’ when we got the legs? Cause since then it’s second nature to me now.
harlancore: Right, once you understand how the legs are supposed to go, it’s pretty simple after all. I guess I changed it in part of people’s comments, but also a desire to simplify the model as well, from a “cutting” aspect. When cutting out so many models, the mind tends to focus on things like “how can I make this easier?” So changing the model also meant quicker to cut out.
Gavin Stone: I have to agree with that. Why do all of your designs stick their tongues out? Are they pissed at us or something? Are they mad we cut them out, cause I think if someone cut me out it might be a little painful.
harlancore: Haha! My favorite question. Ultimately I intended it as a trademark. An easy way to recognize my models. If the tongue is sticking out, people would think of me. As far as interpretation, I will leave that up to the collector. Maybe it’s because punx can be rude. But they can also be poetic as well.
Gavin Stone: Why did you make BoxPunx 2.0 without tongues? I was designing some custom designs and I realized there are no tongues for that model!
harlancore: When I was changing the legs to simplify that model, I realized I could fit two models on one page, if I lost the tongues, and make it that much quicker to cut out. Plus I thought it would be fun to do some models without the tongues for a while. Mix it up a bit and all that. Although I did just finish adding the tongue back to the 2.0 template and plan to release that soon.
Gavin Stone: Sweet, though i would have loved to see Nemisis with his tongue out at Leon. Now that would have been a funny ass rasberry match.
harlancore: hehe, indeed.
Gavin Stone: The DollPunx line. Explain to me how you came up with it cause when I first tried it I made the pimp from ‘Innocence and Rainbows’. My Pimp did not come out very good and I was ready to scrap that line, but then you threw DarkStalkers out there. Why did you feel the need to make a new template past the boxpunx?
harlancore: I have sketchbooks where I draw tons of various shape combinations. I started experimenting with the idea of giving the basic boxpunx shape some long sexy legs. Eventually I sketched this scary looking Japanese schoolgirl character into the dollpunx shape and thought it looked kind of interesting. I built it and really liked it, especially how it was both similar and different to what I was already doing. Like the shapes were now reminiscent of my style, not just the drawing. At least that’s the feeling I got. So I started drawing more characters into the shape, liked the results, and decided to go ahead and release it as a new model.
Gavin Stone: When I think of Donovan, I don’t think Long Sexy Legs.
harlancore: lol, me either, my hurdle with the dollpunx was how to make the “skirt” each model has look masculine when it needs to. Luckily I think it worked out.
Gavin Stone: I had that issue too. When I put together John Talbain I looked at it and said “What the Hell?” but the design grew on me and as a set it comes together.
harlancore: Sometimes in order to make something work you have to MAKE IT WORK. That is the boxpunx manta I guess, hehe.
Gavin Stone: You took on a very ambitious project with the PF4 series – A ‘player vs player’ concept. Why? Did you not have enough to do? I mean I am not complaining, but being an artist myself I know how much time things can take.
harlancore: I guess it’s just a desire to make as many as I can. I love these characters, I have for many, many years, and it just seems natural that they would be a part of boxpunx. It would be easier sure if there were only 12 Darkstalkers, but I think, if a fan likes these models, and I left out their favorite character, that would be a disappointment. So the PersonaFAN series is big, because there are so many characters. Plus I like having an endless pool of model ideas. Being a fanboy, I don’t expect to run out of inspiration any time soon.
Gavin Stone: So do you like Darkstalkers or Persona better?
harlancore: I am definitely a bigger Persona fan than Darkstalkers fan, but I really love the character designs for both games on an almost equal level.
Gavin Stone: I haven’t played Person since the first one, but Darkstalkers is eternal to me. I am all over Felicia. I play her and make fighting cat noises and it is just a lot of fun. Which, but the way, you gave Felicia some weird hair. I saw in the strategy guide you had some issues with it. Did you just run out of glue or what cause she has a lot of hair.
harlancore: Felicia wasn’t easy, no. I made a bunch of different hair styles and none of them looked very good. I wanted her hair to be “big”, but didn’t want to just glue a big piece of hair to her back. The first one I made was like that, and instead of hair it just looked like this big blue piece of paper stuck haphazardly to her. So I decided to dial it back a bit. Sorry to all the Felicia fans out there if you aren’t happy with the hair! I invite you to fix it and send me the template! At some point I have to just go with something and move on. Or else I will never finish!
Gavin Stone: You blogged that you wanted to get back to more original artwork? Does this mean you will leave the fanboy types of designs to someone else? I feel you have a great mix of original and licensed items to offer. It would be a shame to lose that variety. You have Johnny the Homicidal Maniac next to some Disco Queen. Awesome.
harlancore: I will never stop doing fanboy stuff, I just want to bounce back and forth really. I really like the variety as well. Plus, I absolutely love making the promotional images for the fanboy stuff. It never gets old!
Gavin Stone: So will we see a Squee to go with Johnny?
harlancore: Maybe. I am wearing a Squee T-shirt right now! I love Jhonen’s characters, and imagine I will make one or two more before it’s over.
Gavin Stone: I love it! Jhonen Vasquez is odd. I can not imagine Nickelodeon approaching him of all people to make a cartoon, but we got Invader Zim from it
harlancore: Yeah, unusual story for sure, but we the audience did indeed benefit! Thanks you guys! hehe
Gavin Stone: I would love to see Filler Bunny, or that thing from Everything can be Beaten. That thing was creepy.
harlancore: Indeed. Either of those in animated form would be cool to see.
Gavin Stone: One thing I do not see a lot of in your archive is movie based papercraft. Why is that? Where’s the love for some awesome movie characters?
harlancore: Although I love video games and sci-fi fantasy stuff, most of the movies in that genre fall flat for me, so I gravitate to more dramatic, independent cinema. Not good inspiration for papercraft. I like directors like David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sophia Coppola, and Michel Gondry. I like movies with great soundtracks. Plus there are a lot of toys, both papercraft and vinyl, based on movie characters already. I did make R2-D2 and C-3PO though. Right now I am just waiting for the next good idea.
Gavin Stone: Yeah, i’ll get to your lacking oversight in the star wars category later…:P
harlancore: lol, ok
Gavin Stone: Also I notice you make a lot of unique decisions in your character choices. Like for [adultswim] you made Number 21 but not the Monarch. What draws you to make those decisions?
harlancore: I thought it would be cool to occasionally make characters other than the main characters. Especially if someone has already make excellent versions of those characters. Take Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies for example. I love those shows, but there are already great Cubeecrafts for all of the characters. Instead of making more, I just downloaded and built those! It’s all an attempt at being different really.
Gavin Stone: as much as i love #21 do you plan to make more [adultswim] guys? I need some SuperJail things.
harlancore: I love Superjail. I am definitely going to make Superjail boxpunx. That will be coming sooner than later, I have already begun sketches.
Gavin Stone: That is like my favorite freaking show on [adultswim]. I was sold from the pilot when the meat monster rose up and ate the werewolf inmates and the pink bunny inmates. Awesome freaking show. You have to do a Combaticus.
harlancore: Yeah, it’s great. The art is tremendous, and all the voice actors are hilarious. I have always loved David Wain, so hearing him as the warden is a real treat.
Gavin Stone: I like Alice. She is a real character.
harlancore: Indeed. I want to do them all, definitely. A whole set could be awesome.
The fine folks at DK Publishing have not only put together a really cool book, but they’re making this Saturday, 10.10.09, a day to show your love for LEGO and Star Wars in the flesh, at live events all across America. Be sure to check out the live event in your area – there will be tons of LEGO Star Wars goodness! Meet real-life Star Wars characters, from the 501st Legion!
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