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Let Us In - Our Biggest Toy Wants from Wrestlemania 36
389 Plays6 years ago
On this episode, the brothers Weinbrecht talk the latest in toy news, including McFarlane Toys' already successful Kickstarter launch, their newest toy hauls, and the most toy-etic moments from the bizarre, but mostly wonderful, Wrestlemania 36!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
https://www.instagram.com/voicesbyjoe/
Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction and COVID-19 Safety Tips
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi, Dave. Hi, Eric. Hey, Dave. Do we curse on this podcast? Yes, Eric. Yes, we do. Hi, everyone. It's Eric and Dave, your friends at the Adventures in Collecting podcast. We hope that you're staying safe and healthy throughout this incredibly unprecedented time and current health crisis we're going through. Everyone, including young adults, is at risk for coronavirus. And the best way to protect yourself is to stay at home and practice safe social distancing.
00:00:29
Speaker
Staying at home helps lower the risk for everyone, including your family members and those most at risk. Yeah, just avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts. Use drive-through or delivery options and stay at home if you're not feeling well. If you have any symptoms of fever, dry cough, or shortness of breath, call your health care provider before going to their office.
Podcast Focus and Listener Engagement
00:00:51
Speaker
Most of all, just take care of yourself and your family and enjoy this episode of the podcast.
00:01:03
Speaker
Are you ready, kids? Get your parents' permission, check your mailbox, and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast. I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and halls, along with our journeys as collectors.
Social Distancing Stories and Toy Collecting Advice
00:01:27
Speaker
And we're back! Welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. I'm Eric. Hi, I'm Dave. And we're doing it again. We're back, just the two of us. Back to the standard Skeleton crew. Social distance podcasting.
00:01:44
Speaker
Yeah. Big, big shouts to, again, to Tuishas for being on our last episode. It was so great to have him on. Yes. And happy birthday. Yes, that's right. Today is his birthday, Friday, April 10th. So we spoke to him a little bit this evening and made sure that he's having as good a birthday as you could have being locked in your house. So. I mean, I did, so. This is true. This is true. Yeah, we didn't talk about that.
00:02:14
Speaker
Well, I mean, it was kind of a downer, right? Because we were supposed to have our live show on your birthday. And like I mentioned to you before we started rolling tape, I'm currently staring at your birthday gift, and I can't wait to give it to you.
00:02:27
Speaker
I can't wait to receive it. That means we could see people again. Yeah, seeing people is nice. My in-laws stopped by, and I'm doing very, very deliberate air quotes. They stopped by this afternoon to drop off my daughter's Easter gifts, and it was the saddest thing ever, because they had their masks on, they had their gloves on, and they dropped the Easter gifts on the porch, and we talked to them through the door. It was very sad.
00:02:57
Speaker
So I cannot wait to move past this, but like you heard up front in the little PSA that we recorded, please continue practicing social distancing and stay home, stay home, collect at home, rummage in your basements, support local businesses and order from them, order from online. There are ways to continue this, our hobby and our habits going just
00:03:23
Speaker
practice that safe social distancing, it's gonna help save a lot of people.
Pandemic Lifestyle and Exercise Routines
00:03:28
Speaker
Yeah, I've only been outside to take the garbage in and out and to do push-ups, so. Yeah, driveway hit classes, or in my case, patio hit classes. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
00:03:43
Speaker
Um, but, uh, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm excited to be back and recording another episode. And, and without further ado, let's talk about what's going to be on today's episode on today's episode.
WrestleMania and Toy Announcements
00:03:57
Speaker
We are going to do our normal news and halls and, uh, the, to, to really, there's really no other way to put it, Dave, but it was the fucking weirdest WrestleMania that we've ever seen. It was strange.
00:04:11
Speaker
Um, and I mean, it's, it's, it's clearly a product of our current situation and there are some really cool things that happened at it. So I figured, you know, yeah, it'll be wonderful.
00:04:25
Speaker
Look back on and say it's definitely like a product of the time Yeah, so there are a lot of really cool things that happened at WrestleMania that have potential toy implications So we're not gonna go super deep dive into it like our normal topics But we are gonna talk about some of our favorite moments from it and things that uh that maybe we'd love to see us toys so Do you want to start with with the news Dave or would you like me to?
00:04:51
Speaker
Um, I guess, you know, with, uh, uh, like a, uh, a good segue off of WrestleMania back on to WrestleMania, um, they did a lot of, uh, announcements. And by they, I mean, they did a lot of announcements. Um, they did a lot of announcements, they being Mattel, um, a lot of the new slate of figures for.
00:05:17
Speaker
The next good chunk of time got announced and shown. I'm sure you saw on our Instagram and all over the Internet, they had an announcement with Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins on the WWE YouTube page where they showed a lot of this stuff, but there was actually a lot that was not shown on that that got shown afterwards, too.
00:05:42
Speaker
The second series of Decade of Domination, another series of Legends, the next couple of Elite series, the new Ultimate series, some Basics. There's a lot out there. I've been running down names for 25 minutes, but there's a lot of cool stuff. I think the best ones are going to be those Ultimate Rock and Charlotte that got announced as the next Ultimate series, so Series 6.
00:06:10
Speaker
And the ultimate Hollywood Hulk Hogan, too.
Star Wars and McFarlane Kickstarter Success
00:06:13
Speaker
Yeah, that got announced as well. And I I really do think the edge head three pack is is really cool, where it's edge, but it comes with a Hawkins and Ryder separate head. So if you want to display all three, you will need all three, which is a brilliant marketing move, or you will need to buy it three times, which is a brilliant marketing move.
00:06:36
Speaker
Um, that's a ringside collectibles exclusive. So that'll be fun. You know what was really cool about that announcement? So like the figure itself is awesome. And like, you know, it's, it's such a, you know, it is an iconic moment and it's, you know, Zach and Zach Ryder and Kurt Hawkins and you know, they've, they've been so great for the collective community and for, you know, for the action figure and wrestling figure world. Um,
00:07:03
Speaker
to see them get that moment made in plastic is really cool. But what was even cooler was to watch that live stream as they were seeing it for the first time. And they were freaking out over it. It's one of those moments where it's a peek behind the curtain that I really appreciated as a
00:07:27
Speaker
I mean, I watch wrestling, but as a bystander more so, it was really neat to see their reactions to them getting those figures and those likenesses. So very, very cool. Yeah, it's really cool. It's a cool moment. And I know it's something they've been pitching for a while on their show. So. On the major wrestling figure podcast, so yeah.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah, it was that that was that was very cool. And they continued to do, you know, as they extended to WrestleMania to two days this year, which we'll get into later. They continue to do those those announcements throughout kind of like the lead up to it straight through to Sunday. So, yeah, like it was like that was probably all the stuff that was going to be at access. You know, I think they might have me to be completely honest. I have not bought a wrestling figure since
00:08:21
Speaker
those jacks figures were purchased for me as a kid. Like, full disclosure. I'm almost positive I'm gonna be on the hook for that Ultimate Rock. It's a great figure. That last rock that came out, the Walmart exclusive, was really good. So was the Royal Rumble one, but this is the best one. Yeah, like it's just the faces, the hands, the...
00:08:44
Speaker
The the the shirt that he comes with the soft goods shirt that he comes with. It's just it kind of is like a perfect Figure like I'm definitely gonna have him do the mic pose where he's like head tilted up with the mic like 100% Yep. Yep That's exactly what I was thinking how I would display him and that one since he doesn't really fit into my my home office display with like the the Marvel and the NECA and McFarland stuff that will definitely be a
00:09:11
Speaker
my desk at work and you know he'll just be screaming which when isn't the rock screaming right?
00:09:19
Speaker
when he's not screaming, I guess, is when he's not screaming. So along with some other non-wrestling related news, between the last episode and this episode, we had hashtag Star Wars Fan Celebration Day, which as a Star Wars fan, I didn't know it was a thing, but I was happy to see it because Hasbro, through Hasbro Pulse, who has been extremely busy,
00:09:48
Speaker
By the way, with their giveaways and including they gave away the sale barge, which is unbelievable.
00:09:59
Speaker
They partnered up with some of the more prominent Star Wars fan sites, and they did some reveals. So there's more coming to the carbonized collection, which has been insanely popular if you haven't noticed them already out there. But that carbonized Mandalorian is
00:10:22
Speaker
pretty much worth its weight in gold. Quite literally, that thing is impossible to find and the aftermarket value on it is crazy. Personally, I only ever saw one and it was on Force Friday and I picked it up for Friend of the Pod, DFP from the Calling All Creeps podcast. Gorgeous looking figure. They have the new ones, much like the first wave of them. It's Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper.
00:10:50
Speaker
And they have that kind of metallic paint job to them, not necessarily something that is film accurate, which is usually what collectors look for in these figures. It's something that is purely aesthetic and it is gorgeous. The paint apps on them are incredible. That Boba Fett one in the shiny green box is, I have to imagine, is going to be impossible to find if not next to impossible to find.
00:11:16
Speaker
Along with that, we got some new vintage collection announcements. So we're finally getting Commander Wolf from the Attack of the Clones era. And we're getting a super articulated vintage collection K2SO, which I am super excited for. That is my favorite droid. I love Alan Tudyk. I love K2SO. And I have the three and three quarters standard articulation K2SO, which is
00:11:45
Speaker
which is actually one of my favorite standard articulation figures from the Star Wars line. But I am super excited to have him be able to bend at the elbows and knees and really hold a blaster. And yeah, very, very excited to have that figure.
00:12:02
Speaker
The other big piece of news, of course, Dave, which we've been talking about nonstop. And as of this time, I just kind of checked before we started recording, they have cracked the $1 million mark, the McFarland spawn Kickstarter, right? Yeah, like literally as we speak, it's at $1,046,717.
00:12:28
Speaker
And remind me, Dave, we're what? We're three days into the Kickstarter? Yeah. And the original goal, the goal in order to fund the project was $100,000. Correct. And if you live in the United States, the minimum buy-in for a figure in this project is $57 shipped. If you live in the contiguous United States,
00:12:59
Speaker
And there are many options. You can have the classic spawn model after. This is the same spawn figure, by the way, that we saw at Toy Fair, right? This is the one that we saw the model of. It sure does look like it, yeah. Yeah. And when we talked to Todd about this on our Toy Fair episode, he was very enthusiastic about this program and being able to do really what he wants to do without kind of the retailer input.
00:13:28
Speaker
Um, you know, McFarland for a long time has been the toy company that does produce the, like the weird off, um, one-off type products, you know, he even mentioned in the interview, like he wanted to make a Jimi Hendrix figure. So he did, and it wasn't really necessarily part of a wave. It was just one figure that came out and with toy retailers being kind of, you know, scarce at, at this point, you know, there, there.
00:13:56
Speaker
the way that you get toys at a retail space or either in a GameStop and a Walmart and a Target, something like that, you know, especially in the United States, a little bit different in Canada and some other parts of the world. But, you know, this spawn figure is modeled after the original from 1994? 94 or 95? Something somewhere around there. It's one of those years, right?
00:14:20
Speaker
Something in that ballpark. Yeah. So the base model of the figure is modeled after that original spawn.
Nostalgia and Anticipation for New Figures
00:14:29
Speaker
So the giant red cape, the sharp, crisp, black, white, and red coloration, it's going to come with a comic book like the original spawn figure did.
00:14:40
Speaker
uh along with some new artwork and you know just like anything else on kickstarter you know you can go up and up tiers but what's the what's the next next up tier from the the base one um it's like a new um modern spawn is what it's called in 1994 seems is yeah 1994 was the year yeah and the you know then there's the modern spawn and there's there's a couple other ones right
00:15:06
Speaker
There's also like, it's almost like it's got an unpainted prototype look. It's called black and white, which looks really cool. And then the big one is you can get all three of the figures, which is the classic spawn, the modern spawn. I think he's calling the modern spawn look like the baseball stitch head.
00:15:28
Speaker
It's like an unmasked head, but it has a very distinct crack down the center of it, and it looks like it's stitched together. And then, like you mentioned, the black and white one. They've already hit a million dollars, which I was a little shocked by. You had a little bit of a different take on it. I was not shocked whatsoever.
00:15:54
Speaker
I'm just trying to see what all of the backings were, but I think I want to say it's like, it's very reasonable to get all three. Is it like 160 bucks? Yeah, I think it is. What's neat is the classic spawn and the modern spawn, which is what they're calling that second one, they're the same price. The body is almost identical.
00:16:23
Speaker
Yeah. But if you get the three, you get two extra heads. So you get five total heads.
00:16:35
Speaker
You get like a screaming head and you get an Al Simmons head, which is really cool. With the stretch goal that they just announced as they cross the million dollar mark, everyone's getting an extra set of hands and the people who ordered the three are getting five total heads as opposed to the original.
00:17:01
Speaker
three that were promised. It's such a cool project. We saw the prototype at Toy Fair. It's a gorgeous looking model. It will be fully articulated. If you head on over to their Kickstarter, we'll put a link to it in our show notes, but if you head over to their Kickstarter, they actually have this really cool video that shows you the model blown out with all of the, where the joints and the articulation will be.
00:17:30
Speaker
So, very cool. We're very much so looking forward to that figure. We both have backed it. So, thank you Todd and Co. for delivering on this. The Kickstarter ends in May, so it's a month long. It ends the first week of May, or second week of May. Yeah, and like you were saying, I was not shocked that not only did it
00:17:56
Speaker
you know, get funded within minutes, but that it like has cruised past it. I was not shocked whatsoever. You know, I, I wasn't shocked when it hit 100k in I think, I think, I think it was like under 15 minutes.
00:18:13
Speaker
that didn't surprise me. Because I know that there is a fervor for this for this character for this figure. I mean, the comics are still a lot of fun. I did not expect it to cross the million dollar mark in three days. I figured that would have been like, you know, a week or two in. So now, you know, I have
00:18:33
Speaker
I have no read on it at this point. I have no idea how high it's going to go. Part of me is thinking that everybody who really, really wanted one has probably already done that, has probably already committed to it. So you're going to see that number slow down quite significantly. But I think depending on what stretch goals happen, you might see more happen.
00:18:59
Speaker
The thing that I'm really hopeful for, and the price point is really reasonable, considering what you get, the box that you're getting, everything that you're getting with it, the entire package, $57 is really not bad. People pay more than that for an SH figure. Shifts, yeah. I mean, it's really not bad.
Toy Hauls and Pre-order Excitement
00:19:19
Speaker
What this makes me hopeful for in the success is,
00:19:23
Speaker
you know, are they gonna do like clown or violator next, you know, like, I would love to see something like that, because, you know, at this point, now you have an updated version of spawn, that's in their, their signature, modern seven inch scale, the full articulation, you know, I mean, really, right now, the the quintessential clown figure that you can get is
00:19:48
Speaker
I mean, it's got to be like 15 years old, that that clown four figure from like, I think it's like series 19 or something like that. It's a great figure scales well with the modern stuff, you know, because it was it was still in that seven inch scale. But, you know, it barely articulates. And now like, you know, that like the keys to the kingdom really are, you know, does the figure articulate? Well, I mean, look at the cape, too. Like you didn't get a cape of that magnitude originally.
00:20:17
Speaker
I mean, the cape for that original figure was huge, but it didn't have... So I still have my original spawn figure, what's left of it. It's almost entirely bare, it's missing paint in most places. I posted a picture of it the other day.
00:20:34
Speaker
The problem with that original cape was it didn't have articulation. It just kind of had these points of the plastic that allowed it to bend. So that way when it was in that original clamshell that it was in, the cape could bend around spawn and kind of like envelop him, but it was very hard plastic. So the problem was the more you played with it and the more you bent it, and I remember this happening to mine, the like left and right like little flanks of his cape from bending back and forth over and over again.
00:21:04
Speaker
that middle piece of plastic eventually just wore out and they fell off like they literally just kind of like I don't know how to describe it like if you have like a really thin wire and you want to and you don't have something to cut it you can just kind of bend it back and forth a bunch of times really fast and eventually it snaps in half um
00:21:21
Speaker
very much so like that but you know it was kind of a product of the time and nobody was really making toys like that you know like spawn like the the violator clown figure so a true update with it with actual an actual cape that kind of is i i really i can't wait to get this figure on hand i've i don't think i've ever been this excited for a specific figure to be perfectly honest with you and that's
00:21:47
Speaker
fully being aware that I have the Mortal Kombat 11 spawn that's due to be delivered later this month. Yeah, it's definitely very exciting and it's something where I had no problem kind of jumping on it and getting involved right away.
00:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, this was it was a no brainer. It was an it was an easy. It was a layup like there was no reason not to get this if you're not if you're a fan of spawn, even if you're not a fan of spawn, just based off of kind of, you know, the look of the figure. And, you know, it's one of those things too, where like, I remember, so in 1995, I was definitely too young to be reading, like really reading what was going on in the spawn comics and, you know, kind of following
00:22:38
Speaker
I mean because it's a violent, very visceral comic. My end to spawn was the figures because they were fun looking and they were crazy designs and you had a clown that turned into like a
00:22:53
Speaker
weird demon monster. So like, you know, my, my into the brand was, was the figures. And, you know, I'm hoping that, you know, granted, this is very much geared towards collectors and towards, you know, people of our generations. But, you know, I have to imagine that people are going to see this character, you know, play as him in Mortal Kombat 11, you know, and see the Mortal Kombat 11 figure and see this figure and, you know,
00:23:19
Speaker
Maybe this will be a resurgence of the character. Maybe this will help him, you know, get the movie off the ground. We'll, we'll see what happens, right? Yeah. Um, so yeah, so news otherwise has been kind of, you know, here and there, uh, you know, nothing, nothing too crazy.
WrestleMania's Cinematic Matches and Toy Potential
00:23:36
Speaker
Um, outside of, outside of the big WrestleMania announcements and, you know, the kicks, the spawn Kickstarter kind of setting the internet on fire. Um, Dave, what have you picked up lately?
00:23:49
Speaker
I've picked up nothing that I've received yet. What have you preemptively picked up? I know last time, prior to the last show, I did get the
00:24:09
Speaker
the Ringside exclusive, three Ringside exclusives from Ringside. There were older ones. There was Wolfpack, Macho Man, Randy Savage, Wolfpack Sting, and Shane McMahon from the King of the Ring, where Kurt Angle threw him through a bunch of glass. Those were just figures I was getting kind of, you know, FOMO about, and I was just like, I got to get these before I can't.
00:24:40
Speaker
And how do you feel now that you have them? Um, good. I don't have to, you know, once ringside runs out of them, go on eBay and spend too much for them. So, um, the other things that I got, and this is all pre-orders, um,
00:24:59
Speaker
pre-ordered the first wave of Decade of Domination. Those all went up on Walmart the day of that announcement and I picked up the whole series. So that'll be cool. I think they said July for that to be shipped. I think that's what's on the website. It's either June or July.
00:25:25
Speaker
And then I also preordered they went up on Amazon, the latest wave of the DC McFarland toys. I got the Wonder Woman 84 in her regular Wonder Woman attire. Very cool. Yeah, it's a great looking figure. That's another one that we we got a chance to see in person. Yeah, the one with the golden armor looks cool, but I want to see it in context of the movie before I get it.
00:25:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's my my hesitation as well because I love the design of that, but I don't know what the context is. I mean, I feel like if it's if the movie is half as good as the original, then I'm going to love it just because the first one was so good. Like off the charts, amazing, but. Yeah, you know, I I feel like I'm going to like it and ultimately pick it up, but I kind of want to.
00:26:24
Speaker
One's good for now. Yeah. And we know, you know, having having spoken with Todd, we know that he likes to make the figures that kind of have the most kind of like toy value to them, not necessarily related to the amount of screen time or or panel time that they have in comics. You know, you can you could look to the Batman and Superman like mech suit figures that he he put out in that first or second wave. So, you know, who knows who knows how long that that
00:26:54
Speaker
that golden armor figure is actually in the movie. So yeah, I'm staying tuned for that one because I'm keeping an eye on both of them. I'm just happy that there's, you know, cinematic universe figures. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, that there's, you know,
00:27:14
Speaker
There are good DC movies, so believe it or not. So there are definitely some good figures that I would like to pick up in Wonder Woman's definitely at the top of the list. Yeah, I would be all in for either a roller skate Harley Quinn from Birds of Prey, or more importantly, a confetti jacket Harley Quinn that comes with an egg sandwich. That would probably be the best.
00:27:43
Speaker
yeah i would need the egg sandwich though i'll agree i'll agree with you on that um so i i got some things um believe it or not my oh wait i i'm sorry i ordered one more thing today or really three more oh yeah that's right that's right um all of the um
00:28:03
Speaker
Funko WonderCon stuff was put out today. Their specific exclusives were put out online today. A lot of the other store exclusives are kind of coming out between today and tomorrow, or I should say between last night and tomorrow online. But I was able to pick up, again, something that I got because of FOMO for missing out the first time around.
00:28:28
Speaker
the Cheshire Cat in the Mad Tea Party from, you know, Disney World and Disneyland. That pop ride, I wanted the Alice one. I waited too long. You can't get it anymore. So I was like, I got to get the Cheshire Cat. And I also got the Ramona flowers and knives chow sodas from Scott Pilgrim. So
00:28:50
Speaker
Um, to go with the two sodas that were in the previous unboxing video, the real question canning video. I was going to say the real question that I want to ask about the, uh, the sodas is are we going to get to see your floor again? Probably. Uh, it's just easier. Um, yeah, no, that was, that was a fun little release that they had today that that Boba Fett was really hot to the, um, the red Boba Fett that sold out like in seconds.
00:29:20
Speaker
Yeah, I was happy to see that stuff did sell out. Yeah, the Cheshire Cat also sold out pretty quickly. And so did the, there were two Pokemon ops that sold out pretty quick too. I think it was like Eevee and Pichu, but not Pikachu, Pichu. Yeah, those sold out pretty cool, or pretty quickly, and it was cool to see that because it's been a while.
00:29:48
Speaker
Miguel from Coco sold out, Captain Adam sold out. Oh shit, that's right, Captain Adam. I forgot Captain Adam was there. It's a cool pop. Couple sodas did too, so. There were some masters in the universe ones, right? One of the Skeletors did the Skeletor that was, they called it Disco Skeletor and Speed Racer. Oh, that's right, Speed Racer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you pick up anything else? That was it.
00:30:18
Speaker
That was it. I got some cool stuff. So some stuff I ordered back in the fall finally came in, actually. So I got all of the MCU Black Widow figures that I wanted, which all the unboxings at the time of this recording are all up on YouTube. I got
00:30:35
Speaker
Red Guardian, Yelena Belova, and Taskmaster from the regular wave. And then I opted for the deluxe Black Widow in the white suit as opposed to the normal carded Black Widow.
00:30:53
Speaker
I already have a really good looking Black Widow in a black suit. The Infinity War figure when you pop off the vest looks perfect. And the heads are all interchangeable, which are great. But these figures are super cool. They actually have some new elbow articulation.
00:31:15
Speaker
Taskmaster, the Lane of Alova, and Black Widow. They all have this kind of new, jointed elbow that gives you super, super extended articulation to the point where you can even bend it the wrong way.
00:31:31
Speaker
Um, make them kind of look like their arm is broken. Uh, but they're, they're gorgeous figures. The likenesses are amazing. The taskmaster figure might be one of the best Marvel legends figures in the MCU line period. End of story. It is the paint apps on it, the articulation, the accessories, the fact that he comes to the boat and an arrow with it. And the, the boat is, um, made of like a more flexible plastic. So he can actually pull.
00:31:56
Speaker
the string back and actually knock the arrow. I'm very impressed, very, very impressed of how what they did with those figures and the fact that that Black Widow comes with a base and explosion effects. It's just
00:32:13
Speaker
They really did a great job. It's a shame that we have to wait a little bit longer to see this film. I know we're both very excited for it. But now they pushed it back to November. So part of me was kind of hoping that we get like a, you know, a Disney Plus release, but at the same time, like I completely understand that they need to
00:32:31
Speaker
They need to wait for that to be in theaters. But those figures are incredible. Can't recommend them enough. Definitely check out our YouTube channel, where I talk about them a little bit more at length. My only real gripe with them was the fact that Red Guardian only came with one head.
Appreciating Toy Collections During the Pandemic
00:32:49
Speaker
It's the unmasked David Harbour head, which
00:32:53
Speaker
It's kind of a pain in the ass because all of the images on the box have, you know, his like, you know, Soviet version of the Captain America helmet on, including like some of the pieces that we've seen in the trailer and when he's fighting Taskmaster in the trailer. So, you know, I have a feeling there's going to be some double dipping there with a masked version. But, you know, we'll wait and see.
00:33:17
Speaker
The other thing that I got was the vintage collection Mandalorian and Cara Dune figures, which, again, continuing a trend with Hasbro at this point, two of probably the best vintage collection figures they've done. The likenesses, the poseability, the paint apps, everything is just fantastic on them. They absolutely crushed it.
00:33:39
Speaker
I can't believe the detail that they're pulling off in that scale at this point. It's just, it's mind boggling. They're gorgeous. They're nearly perfect. I have nothing bad to say about either of them.
00:33:55
Speaker
And then I actually added to my NECA collection, Dave. Because of course I need another thing to collect, right? So since I've been home and I've been in my home office area that I share with my wife,
00:34:15
Speaker
I'm looking at my display more than I normally do, and I wanted to switch it up a little bit, and I finally realized that I needed a leather face. I missed the movie maniac's leather face back in the day from the McFarland line, and I've been looking at him aftermarket, and it's just
00:34:32
Speaker
It's just more than I'm willing to pay. Although you could have had one at a decent price at the toy show that one time. You know, that was still even a lot. That was still a lot. And I get it. I get it. I get it. But you know what, I have to say the NECA Leatherface that I picked up.
00:34:49
Speaker
Unbelievable. I'm so happy with it. He looks great with the movie maniacs figures like he scales perfectly with them He looks incredible comes with crazy accessories that I'm never gonna pose him with I mean he comes with like he comes like a hanging meat hook and he comes with like a series of of butchers knives um
00:35:11
Speaker
He comes with a swappable head where he's wearing what's the guy's face from from the original film when he's wearing like the boyfriend's face when he shows up to dinner. I forget his name, but yes. Yeah, he comes with that head. It's just crazy. And then two of my favorite figures growing up as a kid, I loved the the alien figures. I think they were Kenner that was that was producing them.
00:35:40
Speaker
So I picked up a xenomorph. I got the brown xenomorph warrior from the Aliens film that comes with the face hugger, the chestburster, the egg, and the actual xenomorph itself. Super impressed with it. It has like, it's just kind of like the little details in it.
00:35:59
Speaker
like so like the way that the jaw and like the inside mouth extends and the fact that like all of the bendy things so like the tail on the actual xenomorph itself the tail on both the chestburster and the facehugger have bendy wire in them so like you can
00:36:16
Speaker
You can really kind of pose them in really cool ways. And I couldn't get a xenomorph and not get Ripley. So I got Ripley and it's called Bomber Jacket Ripley, but it's the Ripley from Aliens and she comes with the, you know, like the awesome looking gun.
00:36:35
Speaker
and NECA just crushes it on those two figures. The likenesses, the scale, the poseability, you know, they just kind of get everything right. And I like two, which is an interesting little touch on the NECA figures, which I never noticed because these are my first three NECA figures. They have this thing where they
00:37:01
Speaker
they change the type of plastic in areas that you wouldn't necessarily think to change them in. And what I mean by that is like, so like they kind of, I don't know how to put this, but it's like the figures kind of have underwear, like on the outside, but they have this kind of rubbery plastic underwear. So that way when you move their legs, they don't get these weird like gaps.
00:37:24
Speaker
or they don't affect the actual posability of the joints because the softer plastic gives in those areas. And it's such a cool touch coming from Hasbro figures and even McFrawler figures. Kind of like the Liger torso.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yes, actually very, very similar to what Storm did with with Liger, where you can't tell from a distance that it's a different type of plastic because it has the same sort of paint, has the same sort of finish. But when you're actually posing it, you can you can feel it. And, you know, they come with a little bit of a higher price point, but, you know, you get what you pay for. They're they're a little bit more detailed. They're a little bit more opposable. They're they're awesome. I'm very impressed with what they're doing. Now I need a Chucky.
00:38:11
Speaker
So I'm in. I pulled that bandaid off. I'm screwed. You got me, NECA. You got me at Toy Fair. When I was walking around in your booth at Toy Fair and I saw the stuff you have coming out, because I know what's going to happen. I'm going to get a Chucky and I'm going to say, cool. Now I have, you know, I have Michael, Freddie, Jason, Leatherface, and Chucky. And then, like, I'm going to see the Ghostface when it comes out and I'm going to go, oh, he's Ghostface too.
00:38:37
Speaker
You know, I was going to get the Jason's and then I was like, no, because then that'll be all the Freddy's and then I'll get Sam and the Michael Myers and I'm not going to do it. Yeah. Slippery slope because they have those, they have that separate line too with like the ultimates and that's all I would want. Yep. But, but they have that, that, um, Halloween two, uh, line coming out with like Dr. Loomis and he's got like cloth goods.
00:39:05
Speaker
No, I would I would just want the regular ultimate figures. That's it. You got it. I would have to kind of stay narrow. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. I opened up Pandora's box. I'm not getting I'm not getting pinhead. Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, too. Yeah, not not doing it. Not getting candy, man. Not doing it. Not doing it. Hold me to it. Please keep me accountable.
00:39:30
Speaker
okay um yeah so uh those are those are my hauls so it's it's been you know i have to say the one thing being being home during all this has given me a lot more time to kind of like dive into this stuff so like doing the unboxing videos and kind of taking more time to mess around with poses and you know reading shelves that that's been a nice little silver lining of all of this i guess you could say
00:39:58
Speaker
I thought you were gonna say is giving you time to not go to Target and spend money for Walmart. Yeah, no, online, shipping. Yeah, I got that Target red card. Yeah, it's dangerous. Dangerous stuff. I have more stuff coming. I have more stuff pre-ordered. So we'll see if it gets here. Spawn, I'm waiting for you. Yeah, so I mean,
00:40:28
Speaker
We talked about it at the beginning, but you mentioned with some of the wrestlers that they announced, but let's talk about WrestleMania, Dave.
00:40:37
Speaker
Yeah, because usually, you know, and we're not going to talk about it from the sense of it being WrestleMania and, you know, give you like a blow by blow of what happened. If you watched it, you watched it. If you didn't, you didn't. But what we're going to talk about is kind of what we could see coming from it on a toy and because I do think there were a couple of.
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00:41:02
Speaker
Opportunities for there to be. You know, cool toys from it.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, you're obviously much more well versed in the world of wrestling figures than I am. I am a novice. I typically watch a WrestleMania and Royal Rumble every year. That's about it. But I think the two elephants in the room that need to be addressed are those two cinematic moments, right?
00:41:35
Speaker
Yeah, the Boneyard match and the Firefly Funhouse match. And I do think that's where your opportunity for toys comes from. At least to start. There were a few, as there always are,
00:41:57
Speaker
wrestlers who got special gear made for WrestleMania. I feel like everybody does. So it's definitely there are a couple of choices that I looked at that and I was like, I would get the toy of that. So, yeah, in in the Boneyard match, it was Undertaker versus AJ Styles in a graveyard. I was like a pseudo like like graveyard slash just real yard yard. Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:26
Speaker
It was it was wild. It's definitely worth watching whether you're a wrestling fan or not. And it played out like like a crazy action movie, which was cool. But I definitely think you could see them making a figure of both participants. Yeah, it was like if Undertaker for sure. It was like if Michael Bay directed a soap opera. Yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker
That's the best way that I could think about it. Cause it was like there were explosions and like way, way more dialogue than you normally hear in a wrestling match, but it's what I kind of always imagined they are saying to each other when they're in the ring, but getting to hear it and seeing them kind of like fight, you know, in a junkyard was just, it was, it was bizarre, but in the most charming way possible. Well, speaking of which, um,
00:43:20
Speaker
Charming in the most bizarre way possible was the Firefly Funhouse match where I think this is open for the most toyetic things because you had, they went through like John Cena's career. They went through Bray Wyatt's career. I could see them making figures for every kind of set piece that they did.
00:43:49
Speaker
Um, in like some wild box set, maybe even like, it almost reminded me and I would buy it. Oh, a hundred percent. I might even be on the hook for something like that. Cause it was like, if they gave me a John Cena and an NWO shirt, I would buy it. Forget it. I would, I would, I would, I would own it. I would want that too. Um, it was just, and the thing is too, they're making like, there are three scene is that are coming out that are awesome.
00:44:15
Speaker
And one of them was in it. The Yankee hat with the Yankee jersey. That was WrestleMania last year. Yeah, but there's another kind of earlier Cena. They had day one Cena. But yeah, they had day one Bray Wyatt. They had NWO Bray Wyatt. It was wild. Do you think they'd ever make the puppets?
00:44:45
Speaker
Wouldn't be shocked because like I so again like outsider if they're made t-shirts of them so outsider looking in right So this is this is me as somebody who like completely understands wrestling like I love the history of it I've been watching the dark side of the ring on vice um I Watched this having never seen
00:45:10
Speaker
Bray Wyatt wrestle as The Fiend. Like this was the first time I had ever seen like a match of that. Nor did you really because I think there were three moves in the whole match. Correct. It was... I've watched it three times since it has been on.
00:45:31
Speaker
And every time I watch it, I like it more like I'm so impressed with what they did with it just from the production value. And like it was great. It's super weird because like so I watched I watched the the Randy Orton and Edge match and I was
00:45:49
Speaker
Which I think Edge is also another toy opportunity, like New Edge. Yeah, it was cool. But I think it would be more Royal Rumble Edge than WrestleMania Edge. Yeah, it was cool to see the two of them go at it throughout the halls of the WWE training building. You had to adjust to the fact that there was no crowd, there was no noise, that part of it was weird. But then when it kind of jettisoned into these moments that were more cinematic,
00:46:19
Speaker
like I don't know like I almost I almost hope this kind of changes the way that they do some of these things like I would love for them to do that more often because this is this is going back to the you know the Matt Hardy deletion stuff yeah which is it's it's like it's yeah I think he's doing another one with Jericho
00:46:38
Speaker
It's zany, but it works. And it reminds me of like, like you said, Toyetic, which is, you know, it is the word for this, but it reminds me of some of those old school, like Jack specific sets, like the, you know, we've mentioned it a couple times on the show, but like, the buried alive, the King of the Iron rungs, like, like, I feel like they haven't done and they have the battle packs and they do, you know, they have that new play set coming out. That's like an ambulance that, you know,
00:47:08
Speaker
They've done a couple here and there like they did a four horseman set they've done. But like how awesome would it be if they put out a set of like six figures and it's three different Bray Wyatt's in three different scene. It would be great and I would buy it immediately and people would people absolutely would buy it and like you make it so that it's like, you know, six figures that you can only get in that set.
00:47:33
Speaker
you know, maybe repack the fiend that new fiend elite that's coming out. Maybe maybe that's the repack and maybe the elite John Cena with like the Yankee hat. Like they're they're your two repacks. And then the rest, you'd have to do you'd have to do green t shirt. Oh, yeah. But you could reuse the same you can reuse the same figure just you know, produce a couple new accessories. Yeah. Um, but like,
00:47:58
Speaker
And that was just, it was so cool to see them kind of go through the cinematic nature of that and kind of go back to like different, you know, defining moments in the history of, of the WWE and even WCW, you know, like it was, it was really, really cool. Really, really cool. And there are so many cool toys that can come out of that. I really hope they, they,
00:48:20
Speaker
you know, shift the focus and make that happen. They should. They should definitely, you know, strike while the iron is hot on that, as it were. And I'm sure. That there, you know, it's definitely got to be something that's being thought about. I don't see why not.
00:48:37
Speaker
Yeah, it makes perfect sense. And to your point, aside from the cinematic stuff, there were some great alternate looks to some of the wrestlers throughout the two-day event.
00:48:52
Speaker
Yeah, we still don't have a new haircut Bailey yet. We still don't have women's tag team titles. There are no toy women's tag team titles. Rhea Ripley had a new year, which was really cool. Edge, of course, like we said.
00:49:18
Speaker
Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins, there are very many memorable moments that happened on the show that you could take advantage of in figure form, I feel. Here's the big question. Do you make Gronk a basic or do you give Gronk an elite figure?
00:49:43
Speaker
Well, you're already getting the 24-7 title on the new R-Truth figure that's coming out. So, I mean, ultimately it doesn't matter. What do you want a figure of tracksuit, Gronk? Do you want it to be an elite or a basic? I mean, it's just when he jumped off of that little, like,
00:50:10
Speaker
scaffolding into the crowd of people. That was pretty funny. I got a good laugh out of that. It was good. It was good. But yeah, I mean, I think overall, given the circumstances, given what they had to operate with and kind of the down-to-the-wire nature of it, I feel like they delivered an overall entertaining WrestleMania. It was fun. I enjoyed it.
00:50:32
Speaker
There were things that were boring, but I'm also not super invested. But it was enough where I watched parts of Night 1 and came back for parts of Night 2. And like I said, now I'm kind of in on the fiend a little bit. I kind of get it. More than I kind of get it, I get it.
00:50:54
Speaker
which is why I understand why so many people are excited for that elite fiend that they recently announced. But they announced it right before, we saw the final figure right before WrestleMania, right? That was part of the Zack and Kurt announcement. Yeah, well, they had announced it back at Ringside Fest a while ago. But it was just like the gray. It was a render. Yeah. Now it's the actual, you're seeing the figure.
00:51:23
Speaker
And it's awesome looking. It looks incredible. And it comes with the head lantern. It's great. Yeah. So I think an opportunity to have him in his weird, twisted Mr. Rogers red sweater. That would be great too. That's definitely another figure. Yeah. So I mean, I think we just need to keep an eye on what Mattel and WWE have in store for us, right? Yeah.
00:51:53
Speaker
So, uh, with that, Dave, I think, I think we're gonna, we're gonna wrap it up and I always try to kind of like hit you with a question out of, out of left field, but like we talked about WrestleMania. That's the main topic, right? So like, what's the one figure you want to see at WrestleMania? Um, it's some sort of Firefly fun house thing. NWO Cena for me. NWO Cena. Yeah, that would be great. That's the number one for me.
00:52:23
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, that was the probably or day one, Cena would be cool, too. What did he keep repeating? I want ruthless aggression. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, that was super cool. Um, before before we we we lock it up for the evening, there is one other brief announcement that I wanted to make or that we wanted to make. Excuse me.
00:52:51
Speaker
Um, ZapCon, where we were scheduled to have our first ever live show, um, in March. We still are scheduled to have our first ever live show. That's the announcement. Dave, what, when are we rescheduled for? Uh, it'll be September 12th, also a Saturday. Yep. So same place. Um, it'll be at the, the Wayne PAL. If you have already purchased tickets, um, your ticket is still valid, of course. Um, if not, keep an eye on, um, at ZapCon.
00:53:21
Speaker
and at zapcomics for more information as we get closer to the date you know this situation is always evolving you know day to day and as of right now we're looking at september 12th so hopefully yeah hopefully we'll see you all there
00:53:37
Speaker
Thank you, dear listener, for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Our music is Game Boy Horror by the Zombie Dandies. Find more about them both on our show notes.
00:53:54
Speaker
Follow us on social media at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter. Stop by and say hi. Show us your toy hauls and share your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode.
00:54:17
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Franca Blaui. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives license. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.
00:54:47
Speaker
you