Outgoing and Incoming

Earlier in the week Reis at Hey! Look at my toys! sent out a call for some trades. So, while I was getting an envelope ready for the two I had on hand, a few of my other minifigs decided to show them the door. I don't blame these two for jumping ship now.



Wow that whip has to sting! That's the last time I give my security team a week off. Okay, so, while those two were leaving the EHQ (Eclectorama Headquarters) here is some incoming post.

First is a printed invite I had drawn up for my Niece's baby shower. I included my Niece, her cat and her husband. I tried to personalize it a bit, she likes to shop and he works in the sound and lighting industry. Hope they like it. I had these printed at Faulkenberg Printing Company and I couldn't be happier.



Then there are these sets of awesomeness! In the package from Faulkenberg was a few packs of the first ever Eclectorama Trading Cards! I must have a fan at Faulkenberg, it's really kinda of cool seeing artwork you worked on in a format you never thought you would see artwork you worked on. Don't get me wrong I have had stuff printed both in my day job and as a freelancer, some for Star Wars Kids Magazine back in the day. But this is artwork I just did for fun.



I was sent five packs, I of course I am keeping the one I opened, but was told that all the packs had the same cards... oh and one sticker. So that means I have a few to giveaway! Should I have a contest, a drawing, or just send them at random. Hmmm decisions, decisions. Let me think on it and I will make an announcement next week. I think I will even do a few artist's sketch cards to sweeten the deal. What does everyone think?





Have a cool weekend and thanks again to everyone at Faulkenberg Printing Company, especially the Eclectorama Fan ; )

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

I knew all those little Lego Mariachis would pay off one day! I love these guys!
Cinco de Mayo, any reason is a good reason to celebrate in ole' San Antonio and the Fifth of May is no exception. So while you are just happy to make it over hump day we are living it up here in the Eclectorama HQ!

This guy here, he's crazy!
I know that this is sort of celebrated through out the country, well at least here and So Cal, but I remember in college working for a certain brown shipping company and shipping those damn Corona displays everywhere for weeks leading up to this day. So live it up, tomorrow it's back to work... unless we can do this on the 5th of every month!

I can't get Star Wars off my mind!!!

I do not often do this, but thought it might be fun, here's a weeks worth of Star Wars haul ending today, I guess you could call this a Star Wars Week... or Star Wars Weekending 03-13-2011... or too much Star Wars Swag... oh you get the point, let's see how this goes.

First these two arrived from Hasbro Toy Shop, I had been meaning to pick them up for a long time, they were stationed in the freezer until they climatize to the South Central Texas weather.

Then while looking for cheap AT-AT's I found Han Solo frozen in Vintage Style Packaging. No cheap AT-AT though.

Oh and if you are at Target and hanging around the Easter section here's the Star Wars LEgo set, I don't mean to brag but my wife even refers to it by it's nick name, the Chicken Walker... also if you are looking for those new DC Superheroes Funko Pop Figures, they have them there for 6.99, the Batman ones I saw were pretty bad on the paint so I will be waiting till the next trip to get one.

The finished AT-ST "Chicken Walker" on patrol in the backyard.

Last, I shouldn't have picked these up, but how cool is that Aqua Droid? Like something out of Gundam. Also my favorites from the Clone Wars Series, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka... I saw Ahsoka's Droid so maybe next time I will pick that up and I even might replace a Jedi Starfighter I gave away in a toy purge with Ahsoka's to complete the set.

I also picked up a couple of GI Joes, the first in a long time, since I think the movie came out. They are different versions of two of my favorites and they had so much equipment packed with them I couldn't pass, but you don't want to hear about those.

That's It? Snow Day!

Well we had snow... sort of. If you call less than an inch snow. Still since we live down here in the south the city shut down all the highways till noon (so I have to head off to work in a little bit, bummer), we had a "Blizzard of 2011" graphic on the news, something like 300 accidents called in last night, apparently we borrowed two de-icing trucks from somewhere, because those same two trucks have been driving all over the city, and most if not all schools have been closed. Ah nothing like a little snow and ice to freak us Texans out. Still I was up at the crack of dawn to check it out, because if I've learned one thing living here all my life the weather will change in a blink of the eye, heck I was rocking shorts on Sunday, now I am wearing a Tauntaun to keep warm.

So here's how my morning shaped up...

There was a Wampa Advisory in effect until about 6:00 AM this morning!

The South Texas Snowtrooper Garrison hard at work. The AT-AT driver said it wasn't worth her time firing up the AT-AT, this took the "old timer" Snowtrooper off guard because up until now he thought she was a he...

With Wampa patrol out of the way the "Rookie" decided it was time for Snow Angels!

Back in the AT-AT it was time to finish the patrol of the backyard.

Squee absolutely loved the snow, she was up early and would run in and out of the house only long enough to warm up and go back and play.

Troops were stationed at key landmarks in case more Wampas showed up.

Gonk joined in on the festivities and built a Snowtrooper himself!

The homestead with all the snow we are going to get this year!

Well that's it, I guess I better go get ready for work...yea! to quote one of our news anchors "Ya'll stay warm and be careful out thar, it's cold and slip-r-ee!"

Thar's Silver Troopers in them thar hills!

What no one like the Vader Sketch? Oh well, here's a little heads up. Toys R Us is giving away Silver Stormtroopers again and I finally got one in my grubby little hands, thanks to my son. He also picked up another set of Imperials for my Snowtrooper Army I am apparently building. I think you can skip the purchase though and just buy the Silver Stormtrooper, at least it looked that way on the Toys R Us website the other day. Hey I'm not going to turn down some more Snowtroopers.



This one is going to be opened and put on display with my other Stormtroopers!

LEGO X-Wing set 6212

All this talk about Star Wars makes me well, feel a little bit Star Warsie, so thought I would throw some shots up of the awesome Lego X-Wing. This is a pretty pricey little LEGO set, and I have been wanting it for a couple of years. It always seemed when money was tight they had a ton of them at the store, when money was available they all dried up. So I guess finally after Christmas circumstances were just right for the perfect LEGO storm and I finally landed this set.



First up is the minifigs. You get a Luke and Wedge in X-Wing gear, R2-D2, a Hoth Leia, Bespin Han and Chewbacca. The set includes extra pieces to decorate the fighter like Luke's Red Five or Wedge's Red Two. That's kinda sweet, but now that I think about it LEGO may have made a mistake and included Red Three markings, oh well I guess you can just take one of the red bits off and you have Red Two.



I remember the first time I saw Star Wars and the X-Wing "locked the S-Foils in attack position" holy cow I though that was the coolest thing ever. I mean the wings freaking moved! I still think it's a pretty neat feature. What's cool about this set is there is a whole little LEGO mechanism that helps you do this, let's take a look.



The rubber bands are to keep the wings tight and not flop around while you turn the wheel at the bottom that drivers the cog and gears that turn two "T" like assemblies that are between the wings. As this T assembly turns it spreads the wings apart, it's really kind of a neat solution. I especially like how they made sure you had smooth surfaced bricks for the assembly to glide on instead of it getting caught up on a brick peg.



The front landing gear is kind of a cool set up as well and located right behind (not pictured) is a storage area for when you want to take a trip to Dagobah. It's also a nice place to store Luke's Lightsaber.



There's a spot for R2 right behind the cockpit so he can lock down that stabilizer. Which reminds me besides getting shot, did you see the shape that R2 was in when they took him out of the back of the X-Wing? That would be the last time I would ride back there.



Finally a nice fly over... Whoooooosh! Overall I like this set, the price was the only thing I would fault it for, but then again LEGO always seems to be a bit pricey, which when you think about it, it's not like they are reinventing the wheel every time. 90% of these kits use pretty much the same pieces, with a few new ones mixed in, do they really have to cost so much?



Oh well it's not like I'm going to build a squadron of these, though that would be sweet. My next set is one I have had sitting in a closet for a real long time and I think it's about time to build. Stay tuned.

Trying to stay on budget is not like dusting crops...

My Dusty Fett

Boy! Check all this cool stuff from Toy Fair 2010 out! My budget is shot! Just kidding, I may have some hope, but it will be tight. First up, why is my dusty Vintage Boba Fett headlining this post? Because he's just as excited to see my first must have of the year, Vintage Rocket Firing Boba Fett!

Hear me know and believe me later, this is going to be the year of Boba Fett! Not the whinny one that lost it in the Sarlac Pit in Jedi, but the mysterious, Bad Mother that was in Empire! I am so digging this figure because it is based on the vintage one, and that rocket gimmick isn't hurting it's chances for my love either.

the "New" Vintage Fett, about time!

Now, nobody swallow ANY toys or toy parts till we get this thing in our hands. Understood?

Next up of course is how we get this awesome figure, you have to buy Star Wars figures and send in those proof of purchases. So knowing I'm a sucker for some vintage looking packaging, Hasbro is going to resurrect the Vintage Original Trilogy line, except ditching the extra packaging, and hopefully the extra cost, and straight up releasing these new sculpts on vintage style card backs. Sweet! Like I need another Vader.

Big Freaking AT-AT toy!

Now, what would a Empire-tastic celebration be without that big freaking AT-AT. Yes, I am on board for this big piece of beautiful Rebel killing machine! Go here and check out the video. Nuff said, want, want, want.

Little Cute AT-AT toy!

I also found something for my Nephew this coming Christmas. How cool is this little bitty AT-AT? I might need one of these as well.

That should do me for Star Wars, now onto DC Superhero goodness. Mattel has relaunched the Mego style with the help of Dr. Mego himself and his pals of EMCE toys. These are actually on the list, so I'm good. I can't wait to get my hands on Batman and Aquaman, but check it out... two Face and Black Manta. Too sweet.

Also this little fishy is swimming in from the JLU line, not on the list, but it will be mine.

Now, the list is being bombarded from all sides. Star Wars and DC Superheroes, but where is the Trek? Well, EMCE and Diamond Select have some more Mego Goodness coming from the Classic Trek line. Captain Pike (Pre Wheelchair), Orion Slave Girl (still out if it's Vina or Martia), Nurse Chapel and the Salt Vampire. At freaking last! No pictures were available, but I can't wait to see these. Oh and then there is this.

That's right a Minimates scale Shuttlecraft, packed with a battle damaged Spock. Man I think that's one for the Spocklection there.

Lego has a ton of things coming out, too many for me to list right now, but a new Slave I is on the horizon with a new Boba Fett Mini fig and freaking Bossk! I will sell a body part for this set.

Last but not least I have an eye on this little piece of the Marvel Universe. That's right Galactus. I failed in my quest to pick up one when Toy Biz made him, and then released parts to make one with their Marvel Legends, now I intend to correct that mistake.

That's it for my Toy Fair wants, I'm sure I have forgotten stuff like the Venture Bros Figures or the Gremlin from the Twilight Zone, even the Flash Gordon Stuff, Oh and the countless individual figures I'm sure to want. Man it's going to be a tough year. More than likely I will not get everything here, but I will try to get some and review it here, until then you have to deal with the traveling Spock and stuff from my current collection!


Hasbro upcoming product photos shamelessly appropriated from the Star Wars Blog : )

LEGO my Batman!

Okay so my boss went to the licensing show last week and to rub it in he sends me this from his mobile phone.

They say next year it's my turn, I hope there's some cool Superhero stuff when I get to go. Not to sound bitter though, but I've seen these LEGO things before, so that's all I'm saying...

"Doctor Jones to you!"

"I must be feeling ill", I said as I was recounting my trip to Target earlier in the week to Rob over at The Aquaman Shrine as I told him how I passed on a Red Tornado from the DC Universe line, some New GiI JOES, a Marvel Legends Old School Captain America, and a "hard to find" Star Wars concept Rebel Trooper. I actually carried the last one around the store with me. Like some little kid waiting for his parents to say "oh, okay you can get it."

I left the store with no new treasures in tow, but as we made our way past a Toys R Us, I decided to duck in and look around. I passed over the figure aisle, the whole time thinking the same think that I was thinking at Target, blah, blah, blah... when are we going to see the new JLU stuff, man same ol' same ol', I was totally uninspired I guess.

So I went to check out the other areas of the store and came across the Indiana Jones Legos! I knew these were coming out, but I couldn't pass on a chance to get a little Indy! Plus the set comes with a little version of Sean Connery! That was it, I was sold. So now exploring the mess that is my desk Indy and his Father are busy out smarting the included German Soldier and looking for treasure!

These would have been so cool to get as a kid, back when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out. I'm am probably a bigger Raiders fan than New Hope Fan. I saw that movie something like 6 or 8 times in a row, every Saturday for a couple of months. Then I went back for good measure. When it was released on video I picked it up and burnt out the VHS, then the DVD's hit and I've watched it several more time since. I'll try to dig up some of my fondest Raiders stuff, in the meantime "Throw me the idol and I'll throw you the wip!"

Lego Stormtrooper Landing Craft!

Okay it's really an Imperial Landingcraft, but let's face it, it carries Stormtroopers!

This is one of those rare, and I mean rare, instances that I liked the "improvements" that George Lucas did to the Star Wars films when he re-released them as the Special Editions back in the nineties. This ship was added into the scene in the New Hope, where all the Sandtroopers are looking for the droids. It was a background element, and did a sort of fly by off in distance. I really enjoyed and appreciated the look of the ship, being based on the Imperial Shuttle from Return of the Jedi, this version is a troop carrier.

So, with the special editions being out since the late nineties, I was sort of surprised that this ship did not make an appearance as a Lego until 2007. I will admit I still purchase Lego sets to build, sort of like puzzles, even to this day. Plus being that my wife told me that the Imperial Shuttle was her favorite ship from the movies, I thought getting this would be a slam dunk. So I picked it up and told her that we could build it one night when there was nothing else to do... which happened to be that night. She helped for a little while, but I stayed through out the project until the ship was complete.

I have to say, that the phrase "these aren't your father's, insert toy, comic, cartoon, etc. here!" has never rang so true. Though I really hate that saying, I'll make an exception in this case. This thing, being that it's a transport, is loaded with the gizmos! Working wings, bombs that drop, a payload section you can leave at a landing site, and two firing missiles ( that can fire pretty far!), a pilot, plus not one but four Stormtroopers! Two regular troopers and two Sandtroopers! I almost overlooked the most important upgrade, the debut of the new molded rifles and blasters, before you had to use existing Legos to make the blasters. Never have I seen so much Stormtrooper love in one toy!



The pictures I've included are from before all the damage to the house, so my completed transport in in storage, but I wait for the day that it can find it's way home (which should be soon!) and can claim it's rightful place among the troopers of the collection, until then here's to the memories and it's official entry into the Stormtrooper of the Week!

Medicom Kubricks

Seems like I have a nice little Batman groove going, So why not continue with a little Batman? This is none other than the 89' Batman in the fun little Kubricks style. Kubricks is a toy line from Japan, from a company called Medicom. I have to say they make some of the coolest stuff. I hope to feature some more Medicom wares in the future. These toys are under 3 inches in height and all share some basic features, such as the same shaped head, basic body, arms, and legs. I guess these would be close to Lego mini figs, a little bigger, and I like to think these were the inspiration for Minimates from Art Asylum. I do have a few examples of Kubricks with sculpted heads and not the standard cylinder, these are mainly animal type characters, the ones I have include Bruce Lee. I'm guessing that they needed to have a better likeness of Mr. Lee than the cylinder could reflect, though Art Asylum did a pretty good job with their version.

Medicom has run the gamut with these guys. They cover popular Japanese properties like Astro Boy, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shin Getter, and even a set from the cult classic Battle Royal. They didn't stop there though, they started hitting the American licenses as well, Edward Scissor Hands, Planet of the Apes, Back to the Future, Star Wars, and of course Batman just to name a few.

So far as I can tell they have covered Batman with assortments from the following eras of the Dark Knight; Batman the 1989 Movie with some Batman Returns thrown in, Batman The Animated Series (including a couple Batman Beyond characters), The comic book style Batman, and finally the more recent Batman Begins Movie. I'm still working on getting most of these, but to date this 89' Batman is my favorite of the Batman Kubricks.

Stormtrooper of the Week: Part 7

Legos and Star Wars, what a perfect combination. Star Wars brought us the "used car" Sci Fi look, where everything looked beat up like it was actually being used. I think that this is one of the reasons that makes the movie somewhat believable or pulls you into that fantasy world. You look at it and can identify with the surroundings, even though it out of this world. What does this have to do with Lego? Well besides the "used car" look, Star Wars also struck me as a very cobbled together sort of environment. Take the Jawas for instance, they were always tinkering with things, repairing, modifying, and building. The Millennium Falcon not only looked like it was built from the ground up when we first met it, but Han Solo himself said he had made some modifications himself.

If you look back to the original Kenner line of toys they had a really neat set called the Droid Factory that illustrated this point even further. Now even though I never had the Droid Factory, an believe me I wanted it, I still appreciated what Kenner was trying to do with this set by furthering the Star Wars experience and expanding it's universe. So in a way Lego has made a never-ending droid factory with it's product lines. Capturing not only the fantasy of the Star Wars universe, but that spirit of building and modifying ships and creatures capturing your imagination.

This post though is about our Stormtrooper of the week. The Lego Stormtrooper. This guy is from some of the first sets which is primarily evident by the build- a -blaster accessory, Lego has since come up with better looking blasters that are a little more to scale with the figure. The best part of this trooper has to be the helmet. The helmet is really an outstanding yet simple sculpt, almost stylized in a way. It really is a wonderfully executed piece of Lego technology. As with the sets these little troopers come with, they can be popped apart, modified, posed, and built into armies and armies of troopers for the Imperial Forces. This and they're just cool little Lego figures... I mean who doesn't love these little Lego dudes?