Teen Titans GO! Starfire by Imaginext

Last week I reviewed the Imaginext Teen Titans GO! Raven, and today we look at Starfire!

Starfire is a single figure set, one of the basic releases and retails for $7.99 (at Toys R Us). These new Imaginext Teen titans GO! sets are being spotted at Toys R Us and K-Mart as of press time. They should be showing up everywhere Imaginext are sold any day now.

Starfire comes with a pizza flinging bumper car. I may have missed the episode wherein a pizza flinging bumper car is a thing, or maybe it isn't a thing and they just threw in a pizza flinging bumper car because reasons, but either way I'm ok with it. If nothing else, I can pawn the bumper car off on Harley Quinn or the Joker as it is within their interests.

Starfire also comes with a pizza launchign pizza box. It doesn't connect to anything nor is there any way for Starfire or any other figure to hold it. But hey, pizza launcher. Good times.

Starfire is more off-model from the toon than Raven. Her head just isn't large enough. I also take issue with her ears being part of her hair-piece (and therefore not flesh colored.) That said, I'm glad Fisher-Price released Starfire (and Raven) right off the line. It says a lot for how far toy manufacturers have come and for who the Imaginext toyline is aimed at. Ye olde 'girl action figures don't sell' mantra of past decades may finally have lost it's delusional steam.

Ain't no party like a crazy pizza party 'cuz a crazy pizza party got anchovies, son!

Starfire comes with three pizza disks, so your kids will lose them all in about 30 minutes or less.

The Teen Titans GO! cartoon is hilarious and absurd. I'm hoping to see many Imaginext variants based on ridiculous cartoon storylines and moments. I also hope we get a lot of villains and additional heroes too (Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash etc.) In the meantime, it's nice that rounding out the four primary team members won't require you to buy massive and/or exclusive playsets or jump through other ridiculous hoops to accomplish.

Imaginext Teen Titans GO! Raven Review :: Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!

Imaginext is now in the Teen Titans GO! toy game, and they've jumped into the ring swinging!

The sets are hitting retail now, being spotted at K-Mart and Toys R Us so far. I found the single figure sets of Raven, Starfire and Cyborg at Toys R Us yesterday. No sign of the bigger sets though. I picked up the Raven and Starfire sets immediately, as I am both surprised and impressed that the girl characters were both released in the first wave of figures, and as single figure 'starter set' releases to boot!

Had you asked me to predict the release pattern of these figures, I would have said Raven would be in a later wave (or never released at all if the series wasn't popular enough for multiple waves) while Starfire will only be available if you buy a massive, possibly second-time-around-repainted playset. Times, are they a-changin', maybe? Or is the release of both Raven and Starfire right out the gate simply a toy collecting anomaly? I don't know, but I'm not complaining.

The sullen, grouchy, goth, half-demon Raven is a must have for any Teen Titans GO! fan. Who doesn't love her dead-pan delivery and God (Devil) like powers?

Raven's figure design is pretty accurate to the toon. The Imaginext Teen Titans GO! figures are, like the Imaginext SpongeBob series before them, stylized to match their cartoon counterparts. They don't fit seamlessly into the standard Imaginext superhero action figure line-up, (they're taller, and of course their heads are larger and more cartoony) but kids probably won't care. I know mine mix genres and characters all the time regardless of size or scale differences. Adult collectors will be split, many will be fine with the cartoon aesthetic, and many will probably complain, because many usually do no matter what a toy company does. I for one am happy to see the toys looking like they stepped right out of the cartoon. I would have preferred Raven to have her hood 'shadow' over her upper face, but...

...her hood is designed to be removable. So the shadow would not have worked with the hood off. Perhaps there will be a variant, or I'll get a second figure and paint her, as I imagine many collectors will consider doing. I'm just happy the hood is removable, as this fact opens the door for a Lady Legasus repaint! Of course that would also be a pretty simple custom, in the off chance I end up with multiple Ravens.

"Where is 'Hell', Alex?"

Hahaha, 'Mommy, where DID Raven get her tentacles from?' Speaking of the tentacles, they are an ingenious accessory, they make a nice base as well as a rolling 'vehicle': when you push Raven across a hard surface, the tentacles portion of the base rotates! So awesome.

And Raven's cape is not only removable, but it stands on it's own. Not positive if the cape has sentience like Dr. Strange's cape, but I think it does. Anyways, I like to imagine it has a life of it's own.

The full set of Imaginext Teen Titans GO! figures and playsets can be seen on the back of the package. You can get Raven, Cyborg and Starfire at the basic figure level, Beast Boy and Robin at the figure/small vehicle level, another Cyborg at a large vehicle level and another Robin and Mammoth at the Titans Tower playset level. I'm sure Robin will be the figure with the most releases and repaints, and I am optimistic we'll start to see some villains next wave if the theme proves popular. Personally, a Mallah/Brain set is on the top of my wish list! who do you want to see?

The basic figures (Starfire, Raven, Cyborg) retail around $7.99 each. I assume the Beast Boy and Robin w/jet sets are probably around $14.99. The Cyborg and large vehicle is probably around $24.99 and Titans Tower will probably retail for around forty bucks.

Tune in next week to read my Starfire review!

Wonder Woman in theaters NOW!

I saw Wonder Woman last night and loved it. I really believe that if the WW film franchise carries on (and there's no reason to believe it won't) then Gal Gadot will be the Christopher Reeve of this generation. The whole movie was great, but a stand-out for me was seeing the Golden Age villain Dr. Poison, played by actress Elena Anaya. She didn't have a ton of movie time but every moment with her on screen was mesmerizing. I hope the action figure lines are successful enough to get a second wave so I can get me a Dr. Poison action figure!

All the Amazon stuff was great, (I'd watch a whole movie about kid Diana, played by little actress Lilly Aspell), all the WWI stuff was great, it was just a great movie. Go see it!

In the meantime, here's a handful of Wonder Woman toys that belong to me and my daughters. Viva la Wonder Woman!

No Shelter :: Countdown to Halloween 2016

The Adventures of Baby Rick Grimes continues. Keep riding, baby Rick Grimes. There's no shelter for you here.

Be sure to check out all The Adventures of Rick Grimes as we Countdown to Halloween 2016!

Imaginext Ice-Ice-Clayface!

A couple years ago Toys R Us began selling an exclusive Mr. Freeze Lair playset. The set came with a lair, a re-colored Mr. Freeze, a Batman, a Bat-Snowmobile and an ice version of the Imaginext Clayface!

The only piece  from the set that I had any interest in was Ice-Face (as I have dubbed him.) So I couldn't excuse the purchase of the whole set just to get Ice-Face. I just had to bide my time until this past weekend when I literally walked next door to find him for sale at a yard sale for a dollar...and I also got the lair and snowmobile for that same dollar!

Ice-Face is clearly in 'played-with' condition, having a few scuffed teeth and some scratches throughout, but for the price I can't complain. If I never find a nicer specimen I'll still be happy with this one. As with Clayface before him, Ice-Face's head is hinged and you can place a standard Imaginext figure inside him. What gives Ice-Face an added bit of 'oomph' is the fact that he's made of transluscent plastic, so you can see the guy just chillin' in his belly when he's inside.

It's really cool that I was able to skate on over to the neighbor's house and get Ice-Face for such a small amount of cold hard cash! HAW HAW HAW! I may be cold but my jokes are red hot!

Imaginext Doomsday is Here!

Fisher-Price has done it again! They've released another set inspired by current superhero trends that skew a bit too old for the pre-school action figure line, without directly referencing or paying tribute to said source material. Genius!

Similar to the inclusion of an Arkham Asylum Batmobile in Imaginext form, Fisher-Price just added Doomsday (and a battle damaged Superman) to their ranks, influenced by the final battle scene in Batman v Superman, but not a direct reference to the epic moment in a film kids shouldn't see (and some would argue no one should see!).

Fortunately Imaginext's Doomsday is far more comic-book influenced than the film's version. I absolutely love how much of his containment suit is still present. I can't imagine it's even remotely likely, but I wish a masked Doomsday variant would be released in the future!

Toys-R-Us had an online sale over Labor Day, with free shipping on all orders. I was able to get Doomsday and Superman for $11.99 and free shipping! Having not seen him in person at any retail establishment, I couldn't pass on the deal, especially since he's $17.99 (at least) full price. If you can find him!

The set is more like a figure/vehicle set, with Doomsday designed with an action feature dial on his back. An Imaginext figure placed in the footpad on his back can make Doomsday's arms flail when the footpad is rotated. The package shows Lex Luthor in the 'driver's seat' but kids and adults far too old to be playing with pre-school toys can also place Superman there for laser vision lobotomizing good times!

Doomsday even comes with a twisted girder accessory for Kryptonian clobbering fun!

Doomsday's head sculpt is pretty great, and very accurate to his original comic book appearance.

Doomsday is a basic action figure, and his action feature unfortunately makes his arm poseability limited (read: non-existent).  His arms only flail with the turning of the disk, and can't be held in any up and down position EDIT: actually they can be clicked up into more dynamic poses, I just hadn't realized it at first! His wrists do rotate, as does his neck and his legs rotate into a sitting position. Visually, the red footpad disk does little to detract from the beauty of the figure, especially if you place a figure in the footpad for display. He's also surprisingly large. He dwarfs even larger figures like Solomon Grundy and Clayface.

I'm surprised at how impressive the Superman variant that comes with the set is. I didn't get the set for another Superman, and would have gladly bought Doomsday sans Superman, but I'm really happy with this Supes. He may be my favorite Imaginext Superman yet! The angry heat-vision visage is just great, and the torn costume paint app shows this Superman means business! This is now my go-to Imaginext Superman!

I highly recommend this set if you're a fan of the characters. I'm trying to keep my Imaginext collecting more Batman skewed, but I suppose I can forgive this set since it's relevant to the most recent Batman movie, even if it's not even remotely Batman related. I'll have to do an Imaginext Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman vs. Doomsday photoshoot someday!

Imaginext Robot Body Plankton

I'm no fan of the SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon. In fact I hate the dang show.  But I can appreciate a cool character concept and design, and the show does have some good character designs and concepts. The idea of a megalomaniacal plankton is pretty damn clever. And anything that is a character in a robot body is extra awesome. So when Imaginext released a robot body Plankton, well, I knew I had to have it.

Sadly fisher-Price released the robot body Plankton in a large playset, rendering him out of my financial league, at least for a playset for a cartoon I loathe. But fortunately eBay came through again (a few years later) and I was able to grab this little lunatic for a song.

Plankton is understandably not removable (choking hazard!), but he 'sits' up top on the robot body, which is standard Imaginext figure sized. Which means his robot can sit in or on any Imaginext vehicle or playset, and can hold and Imaginext accessory any standard figure can hold, which adds to the fun of this little robot suit.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July from DC's Trinity, Imaginext and Toyriffic!

Funko Snuffleupagus POP! 2015 SDCC Exclusive

I did not make it to SDCC last year, nor will I be in attendance this year. However, my mother in law, who lives in San Diego, was able to procure for our family a 2015 SDCC Exclusive Flocked Snuffleupagus POP! last year. Barnes and Noble apparently sells some of Funko's exclusives at some stores in San Diego, so non-attendees still have access to them. She also sent me a maskless Captain America POP and an Ant-Man POP last year too, and I look forward to her sending along some goodies this year (I hope!)

Snuffleupagus is one of my all time favorite Sesame Street characters. The 2015 SDCC exclusive is a flocked version, giving him a nice fuzzy feel.

Snuffy is also appropriately 'over-sized' and is larger than the standard POP! figure.

"SCRAM!"

Random Toy Pic :: Knock Knock

Happy Father's Day and Fun with Fisher-Price Little People

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there in internet land! Play with some toys with your kids!

Yesterday I took my kids out to the flea market and some yard sales. The day started pretty slim, but by the end I did find a good pile of Little People and accessories. Added to what we already have from when my oldest daughter was small, we now have quite a nice sized collection for my littlest. While playing, I snapped a handful of fun pictures just for the heck of it. Enjoy!

Who doesn't love the iconic Little People dog? He's one of the greatest toys ever created! We now have three after finding one more yesterday, along with the wading pool!

The Engineer with his jaunty mustache wants to take the helicopter out for a spin.

Umm...is the lady of the house in?

We already had the Little People house, but didn't have the staircase, so that was a nice find!

I especially love the older wooden Little People. Old school!

Happy Father's Day!

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Scored this Papo Cerebrus at a garage sale today. He was just too crazy weird to pass up!

The Fisher-Price Little People dog served as Toyriffic Central's welcoming committee, but had to be pulled away once the sniffing began as the head to butt ratio was way out of balance.

Imaginext Batgirl and Batcycle

The Imaginext Batgirl with Batcycle is finally showing up at multiple retail establishments (I found mine at Target, and have read reports of her being found at bot Kohl's and Wal-Mart and a couple other places that sell Imaginext too.)

Batgirl is not perfect - the wall-eyed look leaves much to be desired. I am however quite pleased to see her in her current 'Batgirl of Burnside' costume. She has a lot of little details on her sculpt, which is great but also limits any likelihood of this figure being re-painted into any of Batgirl's other costume colors. Here's hoping this Batgirl figure is successful enough that we get fully re-sculpted Batgirl variants in the future!

Batgirl also has a double colored cape, black on the back and gold on the inside. Imaginext Robin is crying a single tear because he didn't get ANY cape, let alone a duo-toned cape!!!

The Batgirl figure's flaws are more than made up for by the near perfection her batcycle reaches.
This bike is solid and gorgeous, and includes a projectile bat missile up front. I can see this bike getting multiple re-paints and re-releases over the next few years, and being paired with Batman and Robin in different color schemes.

But most importantly, there is finally someone to match wits with the Imaginext Catwoman and Catcycle! Vroom vroom!

I'm just a skater Batman. Said 'See ya' later Robin!'

Christian Slater ain't got nothing on me.

I decided that the Batman figure that came with the Arkham Asylum Batmobile is pretty much perfect for the Bat-Mountainboard.

Skateboarding is not a crime.

His costume coloration and matching batsymbol - not to mention his helmet - make this the best Imaginext Batman for gleaming the cube on those cold Gotham City nights.

The Batmobile? It's in the shop.

I wasn't really a fan of this Batman when I got him with the Batmobile, but I really dig him as a sidewalk surfing Bats! His head also turns (a little bit) which is kind of a pre-requisite when you are on a skateboard.

Mountain Batman & Ace by Imaginext

Back in 2014 Imaginext released one of their most ridiculous Batman variants to date. Batman on a mountainboard. He reminds me of the lugeing Batman from the finale episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. All he needs is a shark to jump.

'Mountain Batman' is packaged with the only Ace the Bathound yet released by Imaginext, and although it's a pretty 'off-model' Ace, it's Ace, so I wanted the set for Ace but didn't really want a skateboarding Batman. Therefore when I saw the set at retail one time, I passed. I regretted it, and never saw the set again until just last week, at which time I not only rejoiced at having an Imaginext Ace, but also though to myself 'what the hell was I thinking not wanting a skateboarding Batman?!?!?!'

Ace looks to be based off the grey Great Dane that was Ace in the Batman Beyond cartoon. I prefer a German Shepherd Ace but whatyagonnado? Sadly he doesn't stand on a flat surface with that paw up in the air like he just doesn't care. But he does have a cape, which is more than most Imaginext Robins can say!

"Tell me. Do you spelunk? You will."

This Mountain Batman is pretty ridiculous until you realize it could well be an armored Batman ala The Dark knight Returns/Batman v Superman, and then it becomes a pretty boss Batman indeed.

The Bat-Board is pretty righteous, and I only regret that Batman can't turn his head to see which way he's rolling. There are pegs so his feet stay securely planted which is a nice touch and in keeping with Imaginext's feet-activated doohickeys. He also comes with a pick-axe because he's spelunking.

This set has been pretty hard to find for Imaginext fans. As I said before, I only ever saw him one single time back in 2014. But perhaps me finding him last week at Wal-Mart bodes well and is proof he has been re-released. Good luck, because no one should be without a skateboarding Batman!