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Best of 2022: Dave and Erik's Top 20 Toys of 2022
849 Plays3 years ago
Let's kick off 2023 by taking a look back at 2022 and talk about our favorite toy releases (and some of yours) from the last 12 months! 2022 was PACKED with awesome releases so listen to find out how Dave and Erik built out their lists - and of course - honorable mentions.
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Transcript
Love for Zencastr Platform
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You've heard us talk about how much we love Zencaster. We've told you about how awesome their podcasting platform is, how easy it is to host, record, and publish adventures in collecting with their all-in-one web app.
Zencastr Crowdfunding Campaign
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Well, now they're giving you, our listeners, the opportunity to support us and the nearly 30,000 other podcasts powered by Zencaster. That's right. Now you can invest in the podcasts you love
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through Zencaster's crowdfunding campaign. For as little as $100, join a community of other investors who seek to help Zencaster and independent podcasters like us succeed. If you're interested in investing in Zencaster, go to wefunder.com slash zencaster or click the link in our episode description below to claim your slice of the future of podcasting.
00:00:54
Speaker
That's we funder.com forward slash z n c s t r.
Introduction to 'Adventures in Collecting' Podcast
00:01:05
Speaker
Are you ready, kids? Get your parents permission, check your mailbox and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the adventures and collecting podcast.
00:01:17
Speaker
I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and hauls, along with our journeys as collectors. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. Hi. One hundred and one. It's almost like we should say this is like season two, episode one, but we're not doing that. It's going to be season one forever.
00:01:47
Speaker
the season one forever. Um, so you, you, you, you all saw the child. You all saw the, the, the art, the title. You know why we're here. It's we're like, we're like your favorite streaming show only one season. It's it's list season. It's listo clock. It's time to, it's time to make the lists.
Creating Top Ten Favorite Lists for 2022
00:02:12
Speaker
So with two 20, uh, before we put 20, 22 in the, the rear view mirror,
00:02:17
Speaker
Forever, um, we of course have to go through our, our personal, uh, favorite top 10 favorite best of whatever you want to call it lists. Um, and like we've done in years past, uh, we, we did a halfway through 2022 and I can say personally that my, uh, my list has changed quite a bit.
00:02:40
Speaker
I don't know if anything is still on there. Go back and listen and let me know in the comments or.
00:02:52
Speaker
something views or what have you. Um, yeah. So, uh, before we get into the lists, I think we should each, again, as we've done in previous years, um, set up our, our, our personal ground rules that we, we, we gave ourselves, we didn't set these for each other. These were more personal decisions. So Dave, do you want to just kind of go over your, your personal ground rules for your, your list?
00:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, I'm always a big fan of the Dan Larson toy galaxy best of the year rules had to have been something I bought this year that was most likely released this year. If it was something that was given to me, it would have been some had to have been something I would have bought anyway. And extra rule, like they had to elicit some sort of this year. A lot of this list is just kind of things that elicited joy in me.
00:03:51
Speaker
So it may not necessarily be like this is the best toy. It's just something I enjoyed considerably. There you go. All right. So my rules were I went a little different. Full disclosure, there are a couple of things on my list that were provided as as samples from some of our our friends. Two of those things were things that I probably
00:04:19
Speaker
would have not purchased on my own. However, to Dave's point, they elicited such a response from me. And they were so significant in their awesomeness that they definitely made my list. And I'm super, super glad to have them in my collection.
00:04:40
Speaker
Um, so, so those two things will, or there, there will be three things, uh, that were provided as samples. One of those three things I absolutely, 100,000% would have bought on my own anyway. Um, so that, that is definitely going to be on the list. Um, other than that, the rules for mine, um, it was a, it was a crazy year for collectibles and I did not want.
00:05:09
Speaker
one to two lines of toys that had really super strong years to completely upend and take over the list. So as I've done in previous years, I've gone back to the one toy per line ish sort of thing. Um, you know, so I picked
00:05:33
Speaker
Well you know just giving an example cuz you know you guys know me at this point you know that marvel legends and star wars will likely feature on the list so there is one star wars vintage collection release there is one marvel legends release. I'm on the main list I just because those two lines make do make up the bulk of my collection and the alliance of geo classified had such a strong year.
Honorable Mentions and Unique Toys
00:05:57
Speaker
That I wanted to be able to spread it out a little bit.
00:06:01
Speaker
and make me do some mental gymnastics. So you will not see any repeats on the main list. That being said, outside of the main list, we also do have some honorable mentions, right, Dave? What are we doing? Five each? Yeah, we have five. All right. So all that being said, let's jump in. Let's jump in and start talking about these honorable mentions.
00:06:31
Speaker
Dave, do you want to do want to go with with your one of your honorable mentions first? Yes, I'm going to start with one that was unexpected, something that, you know, for I would say about a few weeks, you couldn't escape and also could, you know, unless you were kind of quick enough, couldn't really find. And this to me was like
00:07:00
Speaker
a good concept that I think needs to be something that's maybe not annual from the same brand, but something that I think there's there's no pun intended or maybe pun intended an appetite for. And that is the McDonald's cactus plant flea market grown up Happy Meal toys. I was able to get three out of the four of them, but
00:07:30
Speaker
They're weird. They're fun. Like it was fun. And they were my like, they were my toys while I was laying on a couch. Yeah, I got my one. I got the one that I wanted. The smiley face guy. Cactus Buddy. When I went to go visit mom in the hospital when she had her knee replaced. So that was
00:08:00
Speaker
that was my dinner happened to be one of the nights that I was headed in to see her while you were coinciding also laid up that was my broken leg dinner two nights yeah so I ended up getting that good good one I was not expecting that to make your list all right my first one
00:08:22
Speaker
This was so close to making the list. It just kind of goes to show you how strong the year was. But one of my favorite skins from Fortnite got a deluxe release in 2022 in Hasbro's Victory Royale line. It is ManCake, the Victory Royale ManCake figure with the cannon and the
00:08:51
Speaker
the alternate mustache faceplate just such an awesome figure those those figures are kind of sleepers in general every single one of them really are every single one of the victory royale figures that I've gotten so far they're just they're pinless they they're
00:09:09
Speaker
gorgeous, amazing sculpts. There's no reuse yet, you know, except for a couple of like just like the repaints, you know, skin variants. But like the characters all have like brand new sculpts and they come with great accessories and they're just a lot of fun. And ManCake was definitely a highlight.
00:09:28
Speaker
Um, I'm actually going to stay in the same game, but, um, a different toy. Um, so this for me would have, I thought would have been like, uh, this was my like Marvel legends three seven five retro for this year, where it was just, here's let's time let's shout out an entire line. Um, the only thing is you can't find them. And I think that's been the big.
00:09:58
Speaker
thing that's held these back because these figures rule and I've had fun finding them. Like I found three of them the other day and I'm like, Oh, like, and it happened to be three I needed. Um, and the first time I saw the doggo by the way, and that is, um, the jazz wears Fortnite legendary micro line. Um, I just think shout out to all of them. It's.
00:10:27
Speaker
It's the mask vibes I want with the articulation that somehow is like ridiculously very articulated. Like you can pose these and stand them up and do anything that you need to as well as better than you think you should be able to with these.
Praised Toy Figures and Lines
00:10:52
Speaker
Incredible little toy line.
00:10:56
Speaker
So my next one was something that I know was actually on my top 10 list, um, halfway through the year and has bumped into an honorable mention, but it, um, it definitely deserves an additional shout out. Cause I still think it's one of the best pieces that NECA has ever produced. Um, in terms of likeness, in terms of a few, if you want to say like, um, Toyota, you know, playability, but it's that Halloween to two pack, uh, featuring Dr. Loomis and the shape, um,
00:11:25
Speaker
It's my favorite Michael Myers that they've done and it's as close to the classic as we're likely going to get due to apparent licensing issues and the Donald Pleasance likeness on that, the Dr. Loomis figure is still just
00:11:45
Speaker
It's like I have a little version of him on the shelf. Um, just, I'm still so blown away by, by that, uh, that two pack. And honestly, uh, going by my rule, it very, very much so would have still been in the top 10, um, were it not for another NECA release that came out, uh, late in 2022. So hint hint for what's to come there.
00:12:10
Speaker
So every now and again, I jump into, um, Eric's world. And this is one of those instances where I do for my next honorable mention. Um, it is the Hasbro Marvel legends ghost rider retro card figure. Um, and the reason why I love it, yes, it's, you know, that ghost rider body. Um, but.
00:12:34
Speaker
It's the fact that it's on that Toy Biz-style retro card, and, you know, everyone loves the Spider-Man line and the Fantastic Four line, and, you know, all those, those are the ones that kind of harken back to them, or for them. Ghost Rider's my favorite character, and I loved those Toy Biz figures. I still have my Ghost Rider I and Blay, and Mullet Blaze.
00:13:02
Speaker
And this for me is like, oh, like it's actually made me debate. Like, do I need one to take out or do I just leave this one in the package forever? Um, because it's, it's, you know, it's that, that feeling of joy. I've, I still am on the fence of whether or not I want to get one. My rationale is he does show up in spider in the animated series. And that's probably the closest we'll ever get to the way that he looked at spider in the animated series. And I do.
00:13:33
Speaker
Kind of sort of have a little mini collection. Um, you know, for the, for Spider-Man, the animated series. I'm thinking about it, but awesome, awesome figure. It's got that cool phasing head, which is cool. Yeah, great for photography. Um, so my next one, uh, is also, uh, Marvel legends. So, uh,
00:14:00
Speaker
Again, uh, you know, a hint of what's to come on my list. Um, I've said it a million times, but you know, the primary part of my collection, you know, one of my primary lines is, is the, the MCU Marvel legends. Um, and they had an extremely strong year in that category. Uh, Kanshu amazing build a figure. We got some characters super quick for the first time in a while. Right? Like, so we have, you know, the new black Panther, we got name or we got, um,
00:14:31
Speaker
We got some of the What If characters, characters from Loki, just some really, really great likenesses, some really great new sculpts, all of the Thor 11 Thunder figures, just amazing, amazing work from the Marvel Legends team. But none of those MCU figures made my top 10 because of an anomaly of a figure that exists.
00:14:57
Speaker
And, uh, you know, the hood was last year. Yeah. Um, you know, but, but we got some amazing, uh, you know, the TOI spider man, just so many fun Marvel legends this year. Um, in the, in the MCU category that I just wanted to call out, uh, just another banner year. Can't wait for the next, next set of, uh, of MCU legends and, you know, and what's to come. So.
00:15:28
Speaker
So who was it? MCU Marvel Legends. Oh, just the whole thing. Pick an MCU Marvel Legend from 2022 and it's amazing. You can't go wrong with any of them, likenesses, all that good stuff. All right, my next one actually I think was in my top 10. I moved it out because I think there was something better and this was one of those instances where I went with
00:15:53
Speaker
this company did something better. But I really love this, and I really love this movie. And probably moving this out of the top 10 will tell me to frig off. It is the plastic meatball, psycho gorman, Pandora, two-pack, with the early bird, Star Wars style, I'll say accoutrement, but that carding, which was really cool.
00:16:23
Speaker
Alright, my next one is from McFarland. My next to last honorable mention here. Again, just going to show you how strong the year was. One of my all-time favorite Arkham series characters came to the DC Multiverse in 2022 in the form of Arkham Knight Scarecrow.
00:16:47
Speaker
Just such a terrifying character design it's my favorite version of the scarecrow ever literally ever. I love that story we got some really great arkham figures along with him but that figure was so good and it was so close to making top ten.
00:17:07
Speaker
Um, it would have been in the 10 slot. Uh, but it's just, it's such a good figure. Um, so, you know, shout out to, uh, to the, uh, the team at McFarland toys for keeping, keeping those Arkham figures coming. The, uh, the game series might be dead, but, uh, the figures are still alive. Nope. No McFarlands for me. Although, uh, the blue beetle booster gold two pack was close. Um,
00:17:34
Speaker
So my last honorable mention is, um, is I think easily the best figure in this line this year. Um, but it just, I couldn't get it into the top 10 for whatever reason. Um, but what a, and this is, this is, you know, something that jazzwares has done very well with the AW figures is
00:18:02
Speaker
When they nail the likeness of one of the women's wrestlers, they absolutely do. Eric looks like he's disagreeing. Keep going, keep going. It's Jade Cargill. That was going to be my last honorable mention, too. OK. All right, that works. There we go. Yeah, Jade Brand. A storm's coming. Hashtag Jade Brand.
00:18:27
Speaker
Right? That's the beginning of her entrance of Storm's Common? I think so, yeah. But that figure is... I'm looking at it right now. It's... It's stunning. It's stunning. It's absolutely stunning. And like, she... Close second was the Kristatlander. And like...
00:18:42
Speaker
like let's let's be honest here like she is built like an action figure you know like she is she was chitara on uh at full gear yeah she was yeah cosplaying is uh but it's or her gear was chitara it's like it's almost like the the how like the you know the
00:19:00
Speaker
action figures, like the wrestling action figures of, you know, uh, now you would say like legend, you know, retro, you know, characters like, like, you know, your whole clogans, your ultimate warriors, you know, like your, your body, uh, figures. Um, and it just, she trans, first of all, like you said, they absolutely crushed, you know, the likeness magic, you know,
00:19:25
Speaker
claps for magic. I mean, he, he absolutely nailed that likeness. Uh, and, and the, the sculpt and just like, and I think we said this when we were talking about Chris Statlander earlier in the year, the Chris Statlander figure, like
00:19:43
Speaker
As action figures are you compose them like you can make you can get them into natural poses that look like you know with all the articulation points now that look like the way that a person stands. Which is fine you know like that's that's great. But like when you can get an action figure into a pose that actually that character actually hits.
00:20:03
Speaker
It makes all the difference. Like when you post, when you pose, you know, a Shawn Michaels figure in that entrance pose, like that he does in the ring, right? Like it's like now that looks like Shawn Michaels. You, you just, her standing there flexing. It's like that's, that's Jade Cargill. Like that's a little Jade Cargill and it's, it's amazing. It really, it really is. I would go as far as to say it's probably the best figure they put out this year or last year, 2022. Yeah.
00:20:33
Speaker
Oh, I think it's, yeah, the best figure in the line for this year. Yeah. With, without question. So I'm with you. And I would say like Stadtlander was up there too. And I think the, I think the last, or the first dance punk too is up there. Yeah. I don't have, I don't have that one, but yeah, Chris Stadtlander and Jade are, are easily to the two best figures of the year from, from jazzwares, you know, and for AWW for sure.
00:21:03
Speaker
All right. So that brings us to our, uh, our actual top tens now. So, um, before we'll actually, you know, we'll, we'll save that. We have some, we have some, uh, some number one picks from, uh, from our listeners, uh, that were submitted through Instagram. So I'll just kind of keep them, uh,
00:21:29
Speaker
in our headspace, and if they happen to get mentioned, we'll call them out. If not, before we get to our ones, we'll go through a couple of them. Okay. Dave, do you wanna go first with your number 10? I can, and this is going to be, I think this is gonna be one of those ones that surprises Eric. This could even be on his list. Okay. This one, we're going all the way back to summertime. I'm incredulous, continue.
00:21:59
Speaker
when it was nice out and fun things were happening. Um, and everyone's limbs were intact. Um, there was a nice little gathering up in nice little town in New York state. Oh, okay. Um, up in beacon, New York toy pizza con. And, um, one of the exclusives
00:22:27
Speaker
I, the only reason I didn't get this figure was, was because, um, Eric bought it already. And then, but I wanted to buy it. And then, um, well, he was out. We were, he was, he was out at the event. I know where you're going with this. The reason, the reason you couldn't get it was because he could, I got the last one. Okay. Um, and then luckily we were, we were sent one.
00:22:56
Speaker
And it is the, I believe it's still under the Knights of the Slice. Knights of the Slice brand, but it's the ToyPizzaCon exclusive perfect dive. Such a good figure. It's really good. It is so big and bulky and...
00:23:17
Speaker
the system where you can like, you know, remove arms and hands. It's it's. Shouts to the Glios system. The Glios system. That's right. And it is just. It's something that I just enjoy so much because it's a toy like that. I wish I had when I was a kid. And that three and three quarter ballpark and you know, it's nice to see
00:23:47
Speaker
some of that stuff evolve and but still be like cool and still have a great story and all that too.
00:23:53
Speaker
And while we're on the topic of a friend of the pod, Jesse Destasio, if you are listening to this episode, when it airs, his latest Kickstarter for the, um, the card slicers, the expansion, um, is live on Kickstarter and it is fully funded. So if you back it, you, you definitely will get a, uh,
00:24:20
Speaker
you know you will get your cards uh... there's a two-week run on it and it ends uh... uh... i'm sorry it's called the jagged age is the uh... is the expansion and i believe you have until uh... january fifteenth to back it so yeah here it's already well over the five thousand dollars uh... you know the threshold so you know but start unlocking those uh...
00:24:48
Speaker
those stretch goals and shouts to friend of the pod Jesse on another successful campaign. Yeah, and if you get the chance to head up or down or east or west to Toy Pizzacon next year when if, I'd imagine Jesse will have one, hopefully. I know he's been doing that annually. Jesse performed like it was cool. There were a lot of cool toys.
00:25:17
Speaker
Dan Larson was there. It was cool. Um, thunderlings. Yup. Yup. Like it was just a great outing. Good time. We played, embarrassed ourselves on some arcade cabinets. It was great. Yeah. I tried to play pinball. It was great. Um, all right. So sticking with the kind of, uh, the indie toy vibe, indie toy company vibe. Uh, my number 10 is a, is one of them, the aforementioned, um,
00:25:47
Speaker
Toys that was that was very kindly provided by the the company You know for us to review and I was so unbelievably blown away By having this figure in hand that I did it made my list it bumped into the top ten So we've had this we've had a friend of the pod Brian Volkweiss on twice And we've we've heard you know
00:26:15
Speaker
the story of Roboforce from, you know, kind of from start to finish here. And, you know, it really is, uh, remarkable. It's remarkable that, you know, obtaining the license.
00:26:29
Speaker
Redesign these the people that were involved, you know, David Vauner, you know with such a pedigree in toy design Getting Robo force back out there max 89 Is the aka the the robot formerly known as max steel
00:26:49
Speaker
you know is is my is my tenth best toy of of twenty twenty two it's just incredible they're so big they're so chunky the suction cups are ridiculous on them and to dave's point it's something that i absolutely would have adored as a kid
00:27:07
Speaker
And all I kept thinking was like the places that like, I would have, I would have brought this thing. It would have been in the yard. It would have been in the bathtub. Um, you know, the, the, this thing would have been, would have gone everywhere. And you know, uh, records, no slouch either, but just like the, the paint wash, the articulation, the, the, the, the deco, the detail on, on max 89 is just, it's such a good figure. Um,
00:27:34
Speaker
I really, really hope that they do well so that way they can make some more robots. Um, I know wrecker and, and max are, uh, are good guys. So, you know, it would be great to get some of the bad guys. I'm not super well versed on the robo force lore, but, uh, a good robot toy is a good robot toy and a great robot toy is a, is a great robot toy. So, uh, they get my 10th spot. It's also good, good slogan for a t-shirt.
00:28:03
Speaker
Good robot toy is a good robot toy, but a great robot toy is a great robot toy. That one's for free, Brian. Enrich. If you guys are listening, that one's for free. All right, my number nine is... When did I become the three and three-quarter guy? But it's the plastic meatball fright rags.
00:28:32
Speaker
collaboration for the Halloween film figures from the original Halloween movie, first Lori, Linda, and The Shape, really managed to nail likenesses in that small, but this still looks like it was made in the late 70s kind of scale because it's, you know,
00:29:00
Speaker
That's the vibe. It's supposed to look like it's like a Kenner Star Wars figure. It looks like Laurie, but it's so good. They have fun little accessories. This is what you would imagine it would have been like having the alien toy back in the late 70s.
00:29:25
Speaker
Here's like little murderer toys. And well, we know the mold existed chasing cuz remember like, you know killer bootlegs Friend of the pod Peter Goral. He has the original prototype mold. So like Kenner was you know pun intended toying around with the idea of making a Michael Myers figure So this just really brings it to brings it to life. Yeah All right, so my number nine is this is
00:29:55
Speaker
You know these did not end up at the bottom of the list together because they are lumped in this category, but this is the other figure that was a that was a
00:30:06
Speaker
Sample a review sample. Um, but I am not alone in the fact that this, this figure completely subverted expectations and, and rose to the top of many people's lists. Uh, you know, in terms of, of top 10 toys of the year. Um, and talking about an illicit eliciting a, uh, a, uh, emotional response for me, this figure is from a movie that I have no joke watched.
00:30:37
Speaker
hundreds of times this year, or last year, 2022, and continue to watch multiple times a week. It is my youngest daughter's favorite film, Lightyear. The SH Figure Arts Bandai, Tamashi Nations, Buzz Lightyear, Alpha Suit, Lightyear, frankly, has no business being as good as it is.
00:31:07
Speaker
With all of the other SH Figure Arts and SH Monster Arts releases from 2022, this figure has no business being as cool and as awesome as it is. It is just, it's amazing. It feels, SH Figure Arts, you know, if you've ever had one before, you know, they kind of have that premium feel to it. This one has an extra premium feel to it. The finish on it, all the different accessories, the fact that you can
00:31:36
Speaker
make him look like he does in the various parts of the film before the like the final sequence you know he's got the laser sword he's got the the sidearm blaster he's got the slide on uh laser for his wrist the wings hair he's got the removable dome um he's he literally has everything that he needs except for socks um
00:32:01
Speaker
which I resolved by just getting one of the $10 Mattel, uh, lightyear figures that had the cat. So that way he, he now is, is holding socks with him. Um, but yeah, that's, that's my number nine. Uh, just quick shout out, you know, to the folks at, at Bandai. Um, thank you again for sending, sending it out for us to take a look at and, uh, you know, uh, incredible year, you know, in, in terms of other releases, I mean, there could have, it could have been,
00:32:30
Speaker
any of the Dragon Ball Z releases or Dragon Ball Super releases from this year. But this figure was extra special. Super awesome. And, you know, now let's get a Zerg out there. Let's just do it. All right. So number eight, my number eight is a figure that I had wanted. And, you know, when the the render came out for it, it was like you could tell that it was just going to be this was going to be one of those figures they crushed.
00:33:01
Speaker
And similar to the fifth honorable mention, Bill and the team also have the ability to just absolutely, when it comes to likenesses, like especially of the women wrestlers, like they will, it's just like home run after home run. And they're kind of quietly under the radar as some of the best figures in the line.
00:33:32
Speaker
Minus a tank Mattel WWE elite 95 shots. We still need that tank. I know she's kind of over the tank. Well, she was, she had it again. Now that she was back to, uh, to her, her baby face waves, but we could still use a wrecking tank. We still need a wrecking tank for her, but, um, you know, shots, he's got the helmet and see if she's got the, the,
00:34:01
Speaker
face that she's with it like kind of screaming face that she's always or the howling face and it's just like dead on like it's just okay here's a really small version of shotsy she's got the metal hands this this human being shrunk down to to tiny six inch scale form you know the thing that got me about that figure the most was the rips in the fishnets
00:34:26
Speaker
So like, the deco actually has rips in the fishnets, which I thought was just so good. Bill, Bill, shout out to Bill. All right, so my number eight is my NECA figure for the list. This is what bumped the, unexpectedly, honestly, bumped the
00:34:47
Speaker
the Halloween two pack off the list. Uh, again, a figure that came out late in 2022, but I know impressed a lot of people, myself included. Um, it is the armored version of the last Ronin. So, um, it's not a teenage mutant Ninja Turtles figure that really fits in with the rest of my collection. You know, seeing as how I pretty much stick to the movies, but, um, I loved the comic, uh, graphic novel.
00:35:16
Speaker
Now at this point, but I the story was just so compelling it was so so damn sad But I you know I I love I love what they did with the character the accessories are unbelievable again You know attention to detail that the way that you can customize things with the figure by you know getting different looks
00:35:39
Speaker
It's it's just so good. It's such a good figure and you know props to NECA for listening to really really listening to fan feedback From a couple years ago, you know, we know how long it takes to get changes into You know into action figures, you know when when you make things a certain way and you know not to you know be bringing on a dead horse back to life to beat it again, but um, I
00:36:07
Speaker
You know, with all the problems that we're having with, you know, some of the articulation and, you know, paint on joints and, you know, figures kind of coming out of the box and breaking these, these new neck of figures from the last like year and a half to two years have just been. Aces like straight out of the box. You don't need to heat anything up anymore. Like they just move great. They look great. They come with great accessories. Nothing is fragile. You know, it just.
00:36:33
Speaker
So good. So yeah, that's the last Ronin, the armored version of the last Ronin. So my number seven is, um, this is how good this year was that I was like, this was a fight. How good was it? It was, it was good. Um, or at least for toys it was. Um, so it was like, it was a fight to try to figure out where to put this.
00:37:03
Speaker
Um, and this for me was kind of like the only place I could put it. Um, so the sequel to last year's winner of my list, um, down to number seven, but you know, you get the really kind of cool human live version, like just old guy with no makeup version.
Standout Figures and Personal Favorites
00:37:29
Speaker
of Papa Emeritus 2. It is the Super 7 Ultimate Papa Emeritus 2. Yeah, this full disclosure, this figure would have been on my list. Dave and I had a pregame discussion about whether or not he had made Dave's list or not because he is also one of my favorite figures of the year. But again, with that rule, I wanted to make sure that he
00:37:57
Speaker
He found his way out of one of the lists. Yeah, as a ghost fan, I just couldn't not. Same. Yeah, he's a friend of the pod, Kyle. Congratulations. You continue to make these amazing ghost figures. Yeah, I look forward to any future papas. Papas. We've got, I guess, technically three more. Get me a nameless ghoul or two.
00:38:25
Speaker
Yeah, they're just so good. It's funny, Dave, because actually that's the slot that he would have been on my list. He would have been at number seven, where he has been. When you see the rest of mine, you'll be like, yeah, that makes sense. I think you'll say the same for mine. But my number seven is a Super Seven figure still. It is a Super Seven Ultimate figure. I did get a few of those this year, or last year in 2022.
00:38:56
Speaker
And this one completely oh My goodness took me took me took me by surprise. I got it on during one of entertainment Earth's holiday sales and I was I was really really surprised You know so the first half of of 2022 The Super 7 Ultimate war paint Conan
00:39:23
Speaker
was my super seven ultimate on on the list and that figure still awesome but this one like i said just really really took me by surprise um it's actually something that i i poked fun at both when super seven announced this and when hasbro announced their kind of version of it um how do you call it a transformer if it doesn't transform but the uh the super seven ultimate uh optimist prime um is just such a fun figure like it's just
00:39:54
Speaker
I honestly, it's one of those ones where like, I have not been able to put it down. I just keep posing it and putting it in different places on my desk and like he's gesturing and pointing the things and he comes with a giant surfboard and comes to the basketball. Um, it's just, it's a really, really wildly good figure and it's a fun,
00:40:14
Speaker
Scale to because like yeah, it's seven. It's a seven inch, you know ultimates figure, but he's a little bit like taller than seven inches Which makes him look really? It's like a really fun scale to like see him next to a GI Joe or next to like a Marvel Legends spider-man Even though those scales don't actually make sense obviously It's just it's a fun
00:40:39
Speaker
It's a fun scale to put him in. So, you know, I now have my little core class G one optimus and I have my animated series super seven one. So I guess I'm, I guess I'm on the hook for at least a Megatron. So, uh, let's see if Megatron makes the list in 2023. And now a word from our sponsors.
00:41:05
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:42:11
Speaker
Face it, shaker bottles suck. Your shakes always come out clumpy and they're a pain to clean.
00:42:17
Speaker
You're right, Dave, that's why I decided to ditch my shaker bottle for good and get myself a BlendJet 2 portable blender. It makes perfectly blended shakes in just 20 seconds. BlendJet 2 is portable, so you can blend up a smoothie at work, a protein shake at the gym, or even a margarita on the beach. It's small enough to fit in a cup holder, but powerful enough to blast through tough ingredients like ice and frozen fruit with ease.
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Speaker
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00:43:16
Speaker
Go to blendjet.com and grab yours today. And be sure to use the promo code AIC12 to get 12% off your order and free two day shipping. So Eric, I ran to the store today and I was doing that power walking thing to the toy aisle. The guy next to me was too. And guess what happened?
00:43:45
Speaker
You were both headed for the same figure, weren't you? Yup, but I got there first. Now that's a close shave. You know what else is? A nice trim thanks to this show's sponsor, Manscaped.
00:43:59
Speaker
Dang right Dave, and that's the kind of close shave I can get behind, and you all should too. I just used the mower 4.0 with its cutting edge ceramic blade to reduce grooming accidents thanks to their advanced skin-safe technology. The lawnmower 4.0 is waterproof and also has a 4000K LED spotlight if you need a more precise shave.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:45:17
Speaker
Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with Manscaped. And now back to the ship. So every year, there's always one that's like under the wire, just gets in just before the end of the year. And this one happened to ship just before the end of the year. Um,
00:45:46
Speaker
And it is. You know, I you'd think series one was just like, oh, these are these turned out great. And then there were these other two figures that are due to come. And it was just question of when. And all this does is give me hope that or give you the reason to think like this is better than series one. So this next.
00:46:16
Speaker
single card release is going to be great. And then series two is probably going to be better than those. And series three that we're seeing is already kind of working its way out to look like they're going to be great. Which is funny, because ain't this figure great? You worked hard for that one.
00:46:39
Speaker
I didn't even know I was getting there. I heard myself say great a bunch of times and I was like, wait a minute, I can connect this. Of course I'm talking about zombie seller toys, wrestling, heels, and faces. I believe it was a San Diego Comic Con exclusive. Jeff Jarrett. It's the orange card that was supposed to exist. It nails like the Hasbro style
00:47:10
Speaker
likeness of double J But still looks like double J You know like how it's how those Hasbro's have that kind of I don't want to say cartoony look It's a little bit of a caricature. I think that's a fair. Yeah, it's a fair thing but I mean this thing is just it's it's stunning on That card and in that scale it's just it turned out quite well and
00:47:40
Speaker
You know, you look at it and you, you know, Dan Housen's coming, you know, series two's coming. Johnny Gargano. So Johnny Gargano. Um, but the bar continues to be raised for those and you know, zombies putting them out and they're getting in people's hands and they're just, you know, all turning out great. They've all been, been home runs, whether you've gotten,
00:48:09
Speaker
Individual figures full series whatever the case may be yeah, and and he's about to enter the world of modern modern scale That same character so Jeff Jeff Jarrett's coming in to the six inch or was he saying seven inch six inch I guess it's technically six inch scale, but it's seven. Yeah, so I'm really excited. Yeah saving stuff Jeff Jarrett somehow, you know
00:48:35
Speaker
Every year, started the year at Hammerstein, ended the hearing AEW, with a stop in WWE around SummerSlam. You have a cup of coffee back at WWE. And now he's got a tag team title match on Wednesday. Crazy. Crazy. Just can't keep him down. Ain't he great? Good for double J. I love it. All right, so my number six takes us to Marvel Legends for me.
00:49:05
Speaker
Um, and as I mentioned in the honorable mentions, this is not an MCU figure, which is unusual for me, but, um, it is, you know, uh, an iconic figure. Um, the black suit Spider-Man was on my list halfway through the year and this figure actually bumped that. Um, it is the amazing fantasy debut Spider-Man Marvel legends figure. Um, it is on a new buck, um, different from.
00:49:34
Speaker
the black suit spider-man and the retro spider-man from, from, uh, two years ago. And it moves like no other spider-man buck they've done so far. And it does not have the articulated toes, like the, um, renew our vows spider-man. It's a little bit more slender. I love the colorway on it. They just nailed those like darker, more muted colors, you know, from that cover, he's got the little wing.
00:50:02
Speaker
web attachments for underneath his arms. Uh, it's just, it's such a good figure. And it, it, the fact that it crouches the way that it does and, and stays there, you know, in that crouch position, it's just aces. It's, it's, they never need to make another Spider-Man buck. Uh, I don't think ever again, you know, in this scale, just continue using this one, you know, for future Spider-Man suits and just give it the old repaint.
00:50:32
Speaker
Cause, uh, you know, they absolutely nailed it. I did not get the cell shaded, um, animated series Spider-Man yet. I know a few people have gotten them and I believe it's the same body as, as this one. Uh, but it just, it's such a good figure. It's the, it's the best Spider-Man figure they've ever done. Uh, period. And, and end of sentence, end of story. Uh,
00:50:57
Speaker
just really exciting to have, you know, have that. And two, it was, uh, one of the, the Spider-Man classics, the toy biz, you know, with those, with those comic, uh, packed in comics, I always wanted the debut Spider-Man, uh, in that line. And I was never able to find it. So I'm happy to finally have that in my collection. The three and three quarter one was pretty good too of the amazing fantasy one. Yeah. It's just, I love that darker.
00:51:23
Speaker
colorway and I mean like yeah it was the 60th anniversary of spider-man among other Marvel characters that didn't get as much love as spider-man did incredible Hulk but uh it was a good year for for spider-man figures there was a ton and uh yeah so I know a lot of people got boxes that they've been uh into into we don't I don't know if we can talk about the year of engines though after
00:51:51
Speaker
After what happened in 2022, I don't think we could talk about that. It's like we don't talk about Bruno. Yeah. Great year for Spider-Man. Great Spider-Man figure. Number five. This is another one I got kind of late in the year. I almost forgot that I had pre-ordered it until it shipped. I'm like, Oh, okay.
00:52:21
Speaker
And I opened one just for a couple photos and just to kind of see what it was like. And I was really happy with it. It was the bottleneck gallery slash an ish figures, Scott Pilgrim and Ramona flowers. And I got all the variants of each, the different rarities and such.
00:52:50
Speaker
word is that there's going to be a series two of it. It was, you know, I wasn't, it's, it was kind of like when, um, we were talking about like the junk shop figures or the, um, original super seven Andre or was like, I, I got the articulation I want out of this. I don't need it to be like, I want it to be a little statue where I can,
00:53:17
Speaker
kind of move arms around and stuff. And that's what I got from these. And I'm very happy with them. Yeah. I think that's probably the major, the one major gripe with them is that they are kind of, what's the phrase? Dynamically posed. It's minimal articulation. But they are gorgeous.
00:53:43
Speaker
Gorgeous pieces. Justin Ishmael, right, is the designer on those, did such a good job. All right, so my next one, so now we're in the top five, so. Oh yeah, it was my number five. So this was also on my first half list. It was a little bit higher on my first half list. And it's still with all of the GI Joe classified figures that came out in 2023, or 2022, excuse me.
00:54:13
Speaker
Um, which they had a banner year, of course, you know, shouts again, they were our second annual Archie winners. Um, you guys voted and determined that they were the toy line of the year out of, out of 64 toy lines. Um, and frankly, I would say. If I had to pick a toy line personally, I probably would pick GI Joe classified as well. Um, if I'm, if I'm being truthful, just because they really.
00:54:41
Speaker
You know, the releases were, are sparse compared to other toy lines, but each one of them is just a home run after a home run after a home run. It's, it's just, it's, it's unbelievable what they're currently doing with that line and like the way that they're taking their time. Um, you know, we got Sir Pentor this year, we got Dr. Mindbender, we got Stalker, we got,
00:55:09
Speaker
The, uh, tiger force variant of outback, which was originally a UK exclusive, you know, back of the real American hero days, the Crimson twins. We got so many, so many characters this year, but, um, it's not every day that you're one of your favorite action figures, uh, ever gets, gets re-released in a modern way. Um, and for me, that's, that's croc master and croc master and Fiona that's who pack is still.
00:55:39
Speaker
It's my favorite GI Joe release period. I mean, that crocodile Fiona is just a beautiful action figure. Um, and, and croc master is, is still, it's such a classic design. Um, I just, I absolutely love the design of that character and I love the crocodile and it's, I mean, it's just for me, it's perfect. I would change absolutely nothing about any of it. Um,
00:56:08
Speaker
And again, going to show you that the ghost to show you the type of year that 2022 was that this is number five, that there are still four things ahead of this. Um, but yeah, that's, that's my number five. Um, my number four is, um, we are back to super seven. We were back to the super seven ultimates.
00:56:29
Speaker
And, um, this for me, as soon as I saw it was like a must have. And then once it was shipped, I was like, and I received it. I was like, yeah, this is, this is perfect from, from the soft goods. Um, I'll say cloak for lack of a better word robe. Um, a little like kind of, I'll say stand for lack of a better word. Um, it is the super seven.
00:57:00
Speaker
Ultimate sorcerer Mickey I still have an open mind I have it It's it's just a figure like it looks like how it should you know what I mean like it When you when you go to the park and you get like a plush Sorcerer Mickey like that's what sorcerer Mickey looks like to you or you know if you're thinking you know if you're watching Fantasia and
00:57:30
Speaker
Like to me that, you know, when I saw that there was a Mickey and I saw it was going to be Sorcerer Mickey, I was like, okay, I, I am on for this. I mean, it's iconic. It's the only, only way he's been ever featured in a motion picture. No. Yeah. Which is still wild to think about it. Yeah. There's not been like a Mickey movie. Yeah. It's goofy. Even has his own movie. It's crazy.
00:57:55
Speaker
Um, yeah, no, I still have it. I haven't opened it yet. That was another one that I picked up during that, that like crazy entertainment earth sale towards, towards the end of the year. Um, I just, I haven't had a chance to open it yet. Uh, but it looks really cool. Um, all right. So that brings me to my number four, right? Um, okay. So number four, this was another, this was another shocker. Um, so I'm going to blame this entirely on friend of the pod.
00:58:25
Speaker
uh, Jay Hernandez, uh, for, uh, so cruelly enabling me to get this figure. Um, Dave, you know how much I love this movie and this character. Um, and while diamond select did a fine job, they did a great job with, uh, with, with making this character and their, their diamond select action figure line mezco, um, absolutely.
00:58:55
Speaker
They made a near perfect action figure. They're Eric Draven, the Crow, in their 112 collective line. It actually gave me goosebumps opening it, frankly. The faces are so good, the different face sculpts, just the way that the clothes sit on it. And now, no knock to Mezco at all.
00:59:24
Speaker
I can't get everything. And their figures being at the price point that they are, they are like little sideshow or hot toys. They're little, you know, six inch tall, very, very, very high end action figures. And I just, there hasn't been one yet where I'm like, that's, you know, nobody's going to make one like this. So I have to get this one.
00:59:51
Speaker
And when I saw Jay's pictures of, of the crow, I knew it was like, this is the, this is the one that's going to get me. Um, so, uh, yeah, I, I picked it up and, uh, certainly have not looked back. It's, it's an absolutely, absolutely incredible figure. Um, and if you are at all on the fence.
01:00:14
Speaker
about, you know, whether or not like a, you know, a Mezco figure is quote unquote worth it. Um, it's all about finding the one that just resonates with you because once, once you find a character that they make that, you know, has any sort of importance to you, um, they just absolutely crushed it. And, and it has a super premium feel from, from, uh, you know, tip of toe to top of head. So that's my, my number four is the Mezco.
01:00:42
Speaker
112 Collective, Eric Draven, The Crow. Yeah, I've been close on one occasion with the Mezcos. I'm curious, which one? It was Ghost Rider. Oh, yeah, whoa. Yeah, that's an extra. That's like, that's a commitment. Because he's got the bike too. Yeah, yeah.
01:01:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's, that's a, I think that that one's still up for pre-order places. So I think it's, I don't, I don't think that ever that has shipped yet. So you might still, that's one like wait on that entertainment earth to get that in stock. Cause you know, you use the use code AIC pod at checkout at entertainment earth and you get 10% off of, uh, all in stock items. So 10% off of that's a hefty chunk. Yeah.
01:01:39
Speaker
Um, so, you know, somebody once said I, uh, I was really excited to see one of my favorite toys when I was a kid redone in a new way. That was me. It was Eric. Two, two entries ago. Um, and this is, this is mine for that. Um, because a, uh, a certain figure in a certain line.
01:02:09
Speaker
was one of my favorite toys to play with alongside another celebrity from another genre of entertainment. And once this figure came out, I was like, OK, this is going to be the one I get in this because I've stopped myself from becoming a GI Joe classified person. I'm really happy this made your list.
01:02:39
Speaker
It would be such an endeavor. There would be no end. And, but this fits in my genre of, of people in wrestling. And when we saw this at big, I had had a pre-order regardless, but it was when I saw it at a ZapCon when I was really like, Oh, this,
01:03:04
Speaker
This is like this rules down to the presentation and whatnot. The little footlocker. It is the GI Joe classified Sergeant Slaughter. It is amazing. And yeah, it's it for me is like, yeah, these these figures are exactly the
01:03:32
Speaker
the dangerous thing that they are for me in the sense that if I tried to be like, oh, I would like to get this figure in this figure in this figure in that collection. Oh, but, you know, the twins are out and they're my favorites, but I need more bad guys. So like. Yeah, I am now full disclosure. It has it has gotten away from me.
01:04:02
Speaker
Um, whereas when the line started, I was like, I'm just going to get the figures that like, I really loved one. Do you how, and you'll remember this, but like, I agonized to not get profit director Destro. Oh, just because I was like, as much as I want this. That's the one that did it. That was my first ever GI Joe classified figure. That would have been like, I'm, I can't believe this exists. I know the story of this. You know, like I can't believe that this is a figure that exists.
01:04:32
Speaker
So I got that and I was like, okay, you know, this is my, my GI Joe classified analog. This is who is going to represent GI Joe classified on my, my shelf. And then I want to say it was like, it was really soon after that, that the Hasbro pulse con, they did a gold Supreme, uh, snake Supreme Cobra commander. And I was like, Oh, well that'd be really cool. Cause then I'd have like,
01:05:01
Speaker
The gold, Destro and the gold, Cobra Commander. I'm going to do, and then it was just all downhill from there because I, after having two of them, I was like, I can't have them and not have Duke. And then I got Duke and then I got Scarlet and they got roadblock. And now like I'm sitting here. There are a couple of figures that I have skipped. Like I wasn't crazy about Firefly, the design wise. Um, and I've skipped a couple of like the. Like Cobra Island trooper, you know, but, but in terms of like face characters, I'm
01:05:31
Speaker
think I have them all except for maybe like I didn't like I said I didn't get Firefly but I also was never really a big Firefly guy and I didn't get dusty but I have I think I have everyone else which is kind of terrifying so like it's definitely gotten away from it's definitely passed that line has gone past the like I'm gonna get the figures that I played with as a kid and like put like the crew together to I'm pretty much getting the ones that are just
01:06:01
Speaker
readily available. I will say GI Joe classified as a straight up addiction. They're so good. They're so good. Well, there's two more that they can make that I've, or at least three that have been in GI Joe-ish canon, where if they made them, I would have to get them. Well, listen, I mean, every time we get a chance to talk to them, I name drop
01:06:29
Speaker
Either you or I named our refrigerator Perry. So yeah, let's just we'll keep our fingers crossed that they can make that happen They canonized Piper at one point. Oh god, that's right And If you remember and I don't know how how deep you dive in But rocky was made a comic character and was yeah, he was supposed to be. Yeah. Yep. Yep There was supposed to be a rocky Balboa
01:06:58
Speaker
Uh, GI Joe. I do know that. I've seen the pictures. I've seen the pictures. So those would be my, my other three. Oh boy. You know, I'm not holding my breath, but like a lot of people want to see fridge because he was, he was prominently featured in the cartoon. So yeah. Um, he was a mail away. All right. So my number three, um, this figure was another one that absolutely
01:07:24
Speaker
blew my doors off, completely took me off guard, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite toy lines to collect, period. This character is literally my favorite fictional character of all time across all forms of media, and was made right here in the great state of New Jersey. So while I can't, the Mythic Legion's bug has not gotten me.
01:07:53
Speaker
Grabbed a couple figures here and there, but their Figura Obscura line is just so far they've gotten me on every release that they've done, which has only been three. But around Halloween this year, they released the Headless Horseman and his Demon Steed. Absolutely incredible, incredible figure. The horse is beautiful.
01:08:21
Speaker
The horseman is beautiful, terrifying, the different heads, the fact that he comes with like a little decapitation stump that you can put, you know, a port into his neck. I have had my Christopher Walken McFarland headless horseman on display somewhere in a room that I, you know, either, either the current room that I'm in or my room, you know, when, when I used to, you know, my previous bedrooms, um,
01:08:49
Speaker
I've always had them on display, it's just I love that character. And this is, I never need another Headless Horseman figure ever. This one's perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect. All right, number two, right? And we've not hit anybody's picks, you know? Nope, and I don't think it's gonna happen. Okay. Eric, do you smell that?
01:09:18
Speaker
Dave, can you tell me what's that smell? What's that smell? I want you to do it. What's that smell? Dookey. That can only mean one thing. It is the Mattel Creations WWE Ultimate San Diego Comic Con exclusive. No holds barred two pack.
01:09:51
Speaker
figures that I was like, oh man, like I hope they'd make these someday, but they're never gonna make this. Let alone as Ultimates, let alone as a two-pack. From the VHS cover, slip case, and it looks like a VHS tape. Like it was a movie that I loved as a kid and think is ridiculous as an adult. But it's,
01:10:21
Speaker
the facts it's ripping zeus the fact all right so this there's a lot to unpack here there's in the movie no just just with this choice no this whole the whole situation because the fact that this was another one that we of course received thank you and i was gonna say like this was to the to uh
01:10:48
Speaker
Steve to spread the pod, uh, Steve Ozer, um, big friend of the community. Uh, thanks for giving us the opportunity to, to kind of show this off, um, before a lot of other folks had their, their, you know, the chance to get their hands on it. It's such an absolute honor to be able to show off the, these two wacky versions of these human beings from this very, very, very crazy movie.
01:11:17
Speaker
Um, but they are, they, the whole presentation of these is gorgeous. And then on top of it, you open it and you realize that they sculpted the what's that smell face for this Hogan figure. Like it's one of the heads yet. It is just like,
01:11:43
Speaker
I, it still blows my mind. Funny or would've been if he had that red and black outfit, it still blows my mind that these figures exist in the way that they exist presented in the way that they were presented. And on top of it all, we were given the opportunity to look at them early. Like it just, it was easily one of the highlights of 2022 for us. Hands down. And it kind of changed like,
01:12:13
Speaker
change the game for ultimates in the sense of like, there are no rules anymore. Yeah. Yeah. And we're going to see Zeus again, right? Zeus is getting a, an elite release. It's a summer slam. Yeah. The summer for his, uh, his, his match against, uh, against Hogan. Um, right when he was with macho man, the real one. Um, yeah, it's Zeus and it was Zeus and macho man. Or was it, it wasn't, wasn't it Hogan and Zeus in a cage? I thought it was.
01:12:42
Speaker
Was that SummerSlam? I don't know, I might be misremembering. I thought it was with D.B. Asi. But, yeah, just again, like, what a cool scenario. I, Dave, I'm gonna have to skip my number two. Okay, it was. It was Hogan and Beefcake against Zeus and Macho Man. Did I remember a wrestling thing better than you did? What's happening?
01:13:12
Speaker
Um, do you know where that summer slim took place? No, that I don't know. Alright, so I am going to have to skip my number two because I believe it's your number one and I'm, I'm, I'm, if it's not, I will, I will do it out of order. So.
01:13:34
Speaker
If it's not, I will eat my, um, so what I'm going to do is we're going to, I have a feeling you're right. We are going to read off, uh, just a few here of the, um, the number one suggestions from some of our, our followers over on Instagram, which, uh, which by the way, if you are not following us on Instagram, we are at AIC underscore podcast. Instagram is definitely like the home of this podcast. Uh, if you happen to be listening to the show for the first time,
01:14:04
Speaker
Um, we always give opportunities for people to interact with, with the episode of the podcast, uh, that we're recording next. And, you know, we posted a story and, and asked folks to dump in some of their, uh, their favorite figures of, of 2022. Um, we also have monthly giveaways and, you know, we're always doing fun stuff on Instagram. So definitely, uh, take a look at us over there at AIC underscore podcast, when an LJ and yeah, right now when an LJ and Cody, uh, open till January.
01:14:35
Speaker
31st. Yeah. Yeah. We'll be doing the, the drawing on that or drawing for that on February 1st. So, so, uh, just a couple of these here, none of these, uh, are going, going to be on our list. Um, but really good figures. So, uh, front of the pod shouts all the way to, uh, to our, our good friend Sean in, uh, in Qatar, his, his, uh, he's at the Berg five 11, uh, Brody Lee and negative one two pack was, was his favorite release of the year.
01:15:05
Speaker
Great great to great release at echo underscore bricks triumphant may fax Batman Sir mafex, sorry, I always screw that up. I believe it's mafex That's another toy line that still has not dug its hooks into me. I've avoided avoided mafex At Ryan nickel 44 the Hammond collection t-rex
01:15:34
Speaker
So I know that made a bunch of people's lists. Um, Frankly, I have not bought, I have not bought into any of the new Jurassic Park figures. That's another one. That's the three and three quarters. Yeah. Yeah. That's another one. That's really dangerous. I can't, I love those, those movies, even the new ones that people are not necessarily crazy about. I just love big monsters and dinosaurs. So I need to avoid getting into that. Um, best friend of the pod, Craig stuff at Craig stuff.
01:16:04
Speaker
Uh, the three zero MDLX Optimus prime. Um, this is another figure that falls into the, how can it be a transformer if it doesn't transform transformer. But, uh, this is another one that I've seen pop up on quite a few lists. Uh, gorgeous, gorgeous figure from, from three zero. Um, and I think it's technically in the Michael Bay movie. Like format of optimus, um, at mile high ground.
01:16:33
Speaker
the vintage collection Wandering Jedi Obi-Wan also an awesome figure it's it's another one of those things where like this was almost going to be an honorable mention for me but I think we'll kind of get into it when we get to the number one but the vintage collection another like banner year for the vintage collection definitely not getting as much character love you know in terms of
01:17:03
Speaker
Spread if you will as the black series but again like the figures that they've put out like Pick one pick one from 2022. It's it's amazing. The sculpt is I mean there there was even a Casca Reeves though, like so there's there's been Limited spread. Yeah Yeah, it's mostly and I picked that one up. That's a very it's mostly in the way of like like they've been very kind to the book of Boba Fett and the Mandalorian
01:17:34
Speaker
But like, I mean, there still hasn't been three and three quarter inch versions of the bad batch period, like any of them. And they're all, they're all in, uh, you know, in the black series already. Um, it's like silly things like that. Uh, you know, like we have every version of Dinda Jaren Mandalorian that we could ever ask for. Um, and you know, pass Vizsla, the, the heavy,
01:18:01
Speaker
Is coming but like he's had two black series releases already But yes, I awesome figure of wandering Jedi absolutely great figure And then the last one we'll talk about here is I mentioned SH figure arts earlier at OVA to 209 Says a Krillin the Krillin SH figure arts figure because he came with his destructo disk He has his surprise face in
01:18:29
Speaker
and came with a bag of Senzu Beans that he's holding. Definitely one of the highlights of the Dragon Ball Z offering from the year. I know that's a figure that a lot of people have wanted for a long time, you know, for a re-release that's much more accurate to how we appeared on the show. Awesome figure. I personally think those Dragon Ball Super superhero figures that came out are great. I love the concept that they're doing with Gohan, where they're giving
01:18:57
Speaker
pieces to the Gohan figure that you can, you know, you can use to enhance, uh, packed in with some of the other figures, especially like the, the, the premium Bondi releases. So, um, super, super fun. So, uh, Dave, how do you want to do this? Do you want to do your number one first or do you want me to do my number one first? What would you like to do? Um, since my number two was going to be your number one, why don't I do my number one and you close it out?
01:19:27
Speaker
Okay. So my number one, um, should surprise no
Top Picks of the Year
01:19:31
Speaker
one. It's the same number one from my halfway through the year. Um, it is one of my favorite toys of all time. One of my favorite releases of all time. One of my favorite pieces of in my collection of all time. Um, it comes with everything you'd ever want this to come with. Um, and is, is very much so a labor of love. It's the vintage collection has lab razorcrest. Uh,
01:19:56
Speaker
Amazing amazing piece. It's still something that I walk past it every single day and Every single day I stop and look at it and I've been doing that now for just just over a year and I yeah, I I love that thing so much. I can't wait to see
01:20:19
Speaker
What the Star Wars team has planned for 2023 for, for the legacy scale for, for three and three quarter for, for the vintage collection, because, um, yeah, it's just been an absolute banner year. And like I was just mentioning, you know, the three and three quarter inch vintage collection figures, um, have never been better. The ones that the ones that they do put out the, I don't even think it's an argument.
01:20:45
Speaker
The likenesses are better. The accessories are better. The fact that you can do vehicles at a reasonable size with them is just the way that it should be. It's the reason why Star Wars figures were not put out at the time in that doll GI Joe size, the 12 inch size. It's the reason why they're 3 and 3 quarter inch figures so that way you can world build. If there is one thing I would love to see,
01:21:13
Speaker
They released the best Darth Vader of all time in the vintage collection last year, that dark times Darth Vader. But, um, if there's one thing I would absolutely love to see in, in 2023 from them is just a more, more of a focus on, on the vintage collection. Just, you know, I, I think it's what, uh, it's what the, the brand and, you know, what Star Wars should be scale was. So here's to, uh, hopefully a, uh,
01:21:41
Speaker
uh, more active 2023 for the vintage collection. And my number one was halfway through the year and still is today. The, uh, the has lab razor crest. And that leaves us with Dave to close it out with what my number two was going to be and his number one. And, uh, we will, we will wax poetic together about it. Speaking, speaking of crowdfunding, um, you know, it took a little bit.
01:22:11
Speaker
But it really was just kind of one edition that made this really kind of take off running. And it includes, I think, hands down, the best Ultimate Edition figure that there is at this time, or at least there was at that time. I still think.
01:22:41
Speaker
You know, the community got behind it. They're into it. If you missed out, it's kind of one of those things where it's like, well, you could still, you know, the raw one exists now with the with the cane figure. But of course, I'm talking about the Mattel Creations WWE Ultimate New Gen Arena with the entranceway, with the ring, with the
01:23:10
Speaker
the diesel ultimate figure the doink ultimate figure the macho man early bird if he got in on that announcer slash um wrestlemania 10 macho man and i believe that's 10 yeah i think it's 10 um it's late i'm tired but it's uh just what a
01:23:38
Speaker
down to when it was first announced, and you kind of saw what the entranceway was going to be with the different light patterns. You know, it's one of those playsets. I think if you're a wrestling fan, if you're a wrestling collector, you've always wanted that. Maybe the raw letters, too, from from the 90s and then, you know, Titan Tron and maybe Nitro. But. What, you know,
01:24:08
Speaker
What an excellent job Bill designing and, you know, Steve and the team at Mattel did to get this out and to make it something that is going to be lasting for wrestling fans. And it doesn't even like, it doesn't have to be new gen figures with it too. Cause you can make it work with anything. What that's, that's the whole part about the ring. Yeah, it's just, I mean,
01:24:40
Speaker
I don't know, I don't know what else to say about it. It's just such a cool piece. Um, and I think it was such a smart way to kind of dip their toes into something like this because of just, just that thing, right? Like, you know, you could, you know, if you could pose, you could photograph in this thing pretty much pretty much anything, because even if you think about it, like,
01:25:08
Speaker
You know, they did, they, every now and then they do, you know, a throwback episode of raw or they do a throwback episode of smack down where they pull out the red, white and blue ropes and the blue turnbuckles. And like, you know, the ring gets that retro vibe. And you have enough elite wrestlers and ultimate wrestlers that could fit into that new gen era. Yeah. Where it works as well. And they've been smartly releasing things, you know, like the WrestleMania nine Hogan, the, the, the goon.
01:25:37
Speaker
the fan takeover Shawn Michaels and the ultimate Shawn Michaels that came out last year. Even the original ultimate Brett works for. Yeah. Or the Brett that the elite, what was it? Ninety three, 93 Brett. Oh, the summer slam one. Yeah. Um, yeah, it's just, uh, it really is an amazing project. And I, they now have the tooling done for the ultimate ring and we're seeing it again.
01:26:04
Speaker
You know, with the Ross war, you know, ring. And if that sells well, I'm sure we'll see it again, you know, and maybe a Smackdown ring with an exclusive ultimate with the blue, you know, with the blue ropes. And then maybe even a modern ring, you know. So I think we're going to see it, you know.
01:26:25
Speaker
as many times as they can get it out there in as many different ways. Um, and hopefully we do get it another crowd fund, you know, for, for, uh, you know, a different entrance way. Um, you know, we are, you mentioned the raw letters. We're getting those in that, that target exclusive three pack that should be hitting, um, sometime this month. I know it's already starting to hit in some places, but I know the idea was that it's supposed to be out for that 30th anniversary of raw, which is at the end of the month. So, um,
01:26:56
Speaker
But yeah, absolutely, I love that both of our lists were topped by two very well-received, very well-loved crowd funds. It focuses on, shifts the focus onto the things that the community can accomplish when we all get behind something together. And that message was loud and clear this year.
01:27:23
Speaker
fans of these different products and different, you know, toylines let their voices be heard in ways that got things across the finish line and things that didn't get across the finish line. But, um, yeah, it was an amazing year, uh, as a collector, uh, you know, it's, it's just, it's incredible. Yeah. The his tank, the transformers one. Yep. Yep. Yep.
01:27:51
Speaker
Uh, deathosaurus deathosaurus was the Transformers one. Um, yeah, we've, we've seen, uh, another unprecedented year in, in collecting, you know, we continue to kind of be in this. Amazing Renaissance for toys and action figures. And, you know, I'm just really excited to see what 2023 is going to bring. You know, we put our, our want lists up on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. Um, and, you know,
01:28:20
Speaker
Some of them are already kind of coming in some form or another, but yeah. Yeah. But, uh, with that, those are our, those are our top 10 lists. So thank you to the, to our friends that, uh, you know, uh, left us messages on, on Instagram with their, their top picks for the year. Uh, and you know, uh,
01:28:45
Speaker
Looking forward to, again, just seeing what 2023 brings. If you agree with our lists or vehemently disagree with our lists, we still would love to hear from you. So share your list. We'll be posting about this on Instagram once it goes live. So we'd love to hear what your top toys were for the year. And we'd love to hear what you think about our lists. So make sure you keep an eye out for that post.
01:29:14
Speaker
Yeah, other than a happy new year, Dave, why don't you send us home? We'll see you next year with more top 10s. We'll see you before next year. Yeah, we'll see you before that, but we'll see you at this time next year with another top 10.
01:29:32
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.
01:29:48
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.
01:30:12
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.