Santa Darth Maul
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 23, 2012
R2-D2 Snowman
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 22, 2012
Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 21, 2012
Super Battle Droid
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Alpha Flight (Toy Biz)
If you asked someone in the early 80's if they'd read the latest issue of Alpha Flight, they'd probably ask you, "What's an Alpha Flight?" Even today the Canadian superhero team is one of the most unknown groups in the Marvel universe. This is odd considering that the characters first made an appearance in one of Marvel's most highly read series, Uncanny X-Men in 1979. Not only that, but they were created by comic legend John Byrne, and their first volume of comics lasted for 130 issues and two annuals. So someone must have been reading the books. Perhaps people just don't admit it?
There have been several members of the team over the years which have included; Aurora, Guardian, Marrina, Northstar, Puck, Sasquatch, Shaman, Snowbird, and Vindicator. All of whom worked for Department H, a fictional branch of Canada’s Department of National Defense that deals with super-powered villains.
In 1999, Toy Biz gave a slight nod to the heroes of Alpha Flight when they released three two packs. Toy Biz was already raking in hand over fist cash for its toys based on Marvel's superheroes, so despite the unpopularity of the line they weren't necessarily phased by the minimal loss of profits when it tanked.
For those few fans out there, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a good portion of the team in plastic form, and to be fair, despite being based on unpopular characters (among the majority of comic book readers), the toys leave little to be upset about. The sculpts are very nice, the packaging unique and eye catching, and how can you frown at getting two figures for the price of one? Today those prices are even more reasonable with mint on card two packs selling for $4.00 to $6.00.
An attempt has been made several times over the years to revitalize the series, and bring attention to it, but so far each attempt has found little to no ground. The team’s biggest comeback was Chaos War: Alpha Flight which was a one shot published as part of the Chaos War series which crossed over the entire Marvel universe. It sparked enough interest than an eight issue mini series was produced on the team, but since then they have gone stagnant again.
Today with the huge success of the Marvel Universe line, a few Alpha Flight characters have trickled out, so somewhere there must still be some love for this underrated team. Though chances are the series will never get the opportunity it had in 1999 to have its own toy line. Not unless something drastic happens that bring 100% focus on the team, such as a Hollywood film.
Join us next time when we take a look at Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Shadows of the Dark Side)!
Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 20, 2012
General Grievous's Shuttle
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 19, 2012
Separatist Shuttle
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 18, 2012
Rebel Trooper
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Toonsylvania (Toy Island)
With the success of Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs in the early 1990's, Steven Spielberg tried his hand at yet another animated series; Toonsylvania. The show was not as successful as its predecessors, but managed to eek out two seasons, the first being shown on Saturday mornings typically during the "The No Yell Motel" block, and the second being aired on Tuesday afternoons. In total, there were only 19 episodes.
A typical episode for season one was split up into several segments. The first revolved around Dr. Vic Frankenstein, his assistant Igor, and Phil, their dim-witted Frankenstein monster. The second segment was more of an interlude which featured Igor and Phil on a couch trying to fix a TV remote. In every segment a new problem would ensue with said remote, and was a running gag akin to the couch gag on The Simpsons. The third segment was entitled "Night of the Living Fred," which was about a family of zombies. However this segment was sometimes replaced with parody versions of classic b-movie horror flicks. This was followed by "Igor's Science Minute" which involved the character Igor doing some form of science experiment which would end in disaster, and finally "Melissa Screetch's Morbid Morals". This sketch involved Phil doing something bad, and Igor teaching him a moral lesson by regaling a tale involving a bratty girl named Melissa Screetch.
When season two aired, the show was changed to a more sitcom motif with Igor, Dr. Vic and Phil interacting with a variety of new characters. The only other segment to appear sporadically during the final season was "The Melissa Screetch Show". Now instead of being a moral lesson for Phil, the segment revolved around Melissa hiding under her covers, pretending to be the host of her own show when she was upset with someone. Each segment involved the party she was upset with being a guest on her show, and her doing away with them in some manner.
Anticipating the series to be as big a hit as Spielberg's prior animated shows, Toy Island was brought in to help promote the series with a line of toys. However, when the show promptly failed, so too did the toy line, and it was cancelled.
Unlike the show itself, the figures weren't too bad. The characters were strange enough to draw attention to the toys, even if one had never heard of or didn't watch the show, and came packaged in eye catching blue packages with green and yellow labels scattered about the front. Each figure also included an impressive amount of accessories to accompany them as well as piece that doubled as a stand.
Along with the five figures produced there were also four playsets. Though each playset was small in nature, they could be shifted to combine together to make a single large one.
A small subset of wind up toys was also produced by Toy Island, but many collectors don't feel they incorporate into the series due to their design and overall quality when compared to the "regular" line.
All and all these figures and playsets are incredibly easy to come by on secondary markets, and they go for real cheap too. A typical figure will set you back about five bucks, while a playset will go for around fifteen. Mind you, these prices are for mint in package, sealed toys.
Join us next time when we take a look at Alpha Flight!
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 17, 2012
Flash Speeder
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 16, 2012
Naboo Royal Starship
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 15, 2012
Imperial Snowtrooper
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Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar - December 14, 2012
Blaster and Lightsaber Rack
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