Friday, December 21, 2007

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Another Justice League update

Thanks to the speedy actions of JPX this morning, I snagged the two rascals above for a reasonable 26 bucks (with shipping). This of course prompted me to figure out how many of these infuriatingly elusive figs I still needed, so I sought out my last post on this subject. It was all the way back in March! Right here, if fact.

Since then, I have snagged myself Sinestro, Hawk, Dove and Shade, along with the 3-pack containing Joker and Black Canary which wasn't around then. STILL yet to be found are the bastards below, which I am not only listing but also illustrating with pics from the loathsome Toywiz.com (I loath their prices, although I like that they are a good yardstick to determine which figures actually exist in the world).

Justice Lords Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Flash. 35 bucks at TW, which might start looking reasonable someday since at least I need all three figs.

Hawkgirl in her yellow outfit and The Ray. 25 bucks at TW, which I guess is also not beyond the realm of reason. However, I'm a little annoyed that Hawkgirl's repaint includes her flesh-painted Hawkgirl belt instead of actual bare midriff. That's just cheap.

Parasite and Star Girl. 50 bucks at TW, which is way too much.

Vulcana. Sold out at TW. Which is fine; since I've found myself a Hawk this 3-pack is less appealing.

All of these I'd listed back in March and not a one have I seen anywhere. Added to those bastards I have the following bastards:

Red Hood Joker and Gorilla Grodd. 40 bucks at TW, which doesn't exactly suck for six figures but sucks because I only want those two. The Luthor repaint is lame.

Deadshot and Barda. 45 at TW, which is a no.

Sand and Star Saphire. Sold out at TW.

Obsidian. Sold out, too. This 3-pack also lost appeal today because I've got a Vigilante coming.

Hawkman. Also sold out. Of course I don't have that Flash either, but I'd rather get him in the J-Lords 3-pack.

And I suppose I can't forget this guy.

In the past a we've heard about the discontinuation of this line, then seen more and more new images from Toy Fair and the like. I suppose I'm glad that the only mysterious "do they exist" figures right now are Fire and Ice as pictured on the back of the Black Canary/Joker pack I have. So...

WHERE ARE THESE FIGURES???????? I continue to be baffled as to how they're being distributed. Even the most rabid nerd activity does not account for the perpetual drought. I just can't figure it out. I don't know if I'll ever buy anything from Toywiz to complete my collection. It's too much of a burn. I suppose I should be glad to still have something good to quest for, to wait for the opportunities like this morning's Ebay snag.

But it's dang frustrating. When I posted in March I needed thirteen figures. Of that list, I've acquired five in nine months: Sinestro, Hawk, Dove, Shade, and Vigilante. I've also snagged three that weren't on my list: Blue Devil, Joker and Black Canary (who did not make my list then because the face on that figure sucked; I haven't tried to check but I'm convinced the 3-pack BC is slightly different and way better than the first one).

Meanwhile, not counting Fire, Ice or Grundy, EIGHT more have emerged that can only be found in the darkest corners. Cut us a fragging break, can't you?

Monday, December 10, 2007

Bob L'eponge

While at the Lego store I also picked up this utterly charming Bikini Bottom Express set, which at a mere twenty bucks is practically a must-buy. I hadn't sprung for a Patrick yet, and that pissed-off bus driver is a riot.

Also at the store was this puppy, which sells for thirty dolla. The spacesuit Spongebob, Patrick and that squirrel or whatever it is pretty much make this a must-buy as well. But I spent enough on Lego stuff for myself this close to X-mas. You have to draw the line somewhere, even if you admittedly stepped way over it.

More new Lego SW stuff

I went to the Lego store this weekend and scored this cute speeder full of Rebel Troops. In the spirit of the Clone Trooper battle packs from earlier this year, it's got four minifigs in a set that only costs ten bucks. Very cool.

The Rebel Troops themselves are adorable, as you can see (this guy is showing off a brand new, never-seen-before piece). I always think of these guys as the losers of the SW universe, as you see them get their asses kicked in the beginning of the trilogy and then never see that particular uniform again, so it's good to see them repped in Lego. The black part of the helmet is a standard Lego helmet visor, and detaches.

The Lego store also had this set, which is also ten bucks and also comes with four minifigs. I highly recommend it for building a Stormtrooper army, but I already have a bunch of Stormtroopers so I skipped it for now. The pilot is the new Shadow Trooper (below), whose helmet is decorated the way the TIE Pilot's should have been from the start, although his torso design is distinctly different.

Shadow Trooper

TIE Pilot


While I agree with your "Star Meh" sentiment below, and I'm not desperate for an updated Jedi fighter, I do like this new Anakin minifig that it comes with. Admittedly, that may be just because of his new hair piece. And it's exciting that they're using the Clone Wars cartoon as a source for new sets.

Other upcoming Star Wars sets are:

this Hailfire Droid and Spider Droid set,

the weird, three-legged AT-AP (All Terrain Attack Pod, whose third leg is dropped for stability when firing the big guns),


and the boldly asymmetrical Rogue Shadow, which after a little digging I discovered is set to show up in an upcoming video game called Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Again, interesting that they're willing to reach so far for new product. It opens up all kinds of cool possibilities...

like say an official Lego version of IG-88's ship, the IG-2000.

Now that I say that, I guess they already struck out beyond the movies with this thing, which always struck me as impractical as hell but it's a really good set. The TIE Crawler set is also where the Shadow Troopers first showed up.

Anyway, I don't know if I'll be picking up any of the above sets besides the one I already have. Of course, the minifigures are always a special draw. Here's the trio from the Rogue Shadow. Kinda interesting. I like the"Imperial officer with boobs" torso.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

New Legos

Indy 4 stuff




Star Meh

Go, Speed Racer, Go!