Usagi Yojimbo (Antarctic Press)

Usagi Yojimbo
Antarctic Press
1998

Many people know Usagi Yojimbo for his numerous appearances in Mirage's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well as the 80's TMNT cartoon - Which lead to the highly popular figure back in the day. However, Usagi is far more than just a here and there sidekick / ally to the Turtles. In fact, his real name isn't even Usagi Yojimbo. It's Myamoto Usagi.

Usagi began his comic book history in 1984 when creator Stan Sakai who conceived the character as a supporting role in The Adventures of Nilson Groundthumper and Hermy. However, as Sakai developed the character, he also created a world where he felt readers would be drawn into. Though he appeared in a few books here and there, it wouldn't be until 1987 that Usagi Yojimbo appeared in his own comic book title which is still being published today.

What has helped Usagi to become so popular is his inclusion in multiple crossover titles. This is made possible by Sakai who is the sole rights owner of the character. As such, he can determine when and where his character makes an appearance without having to first wade through the typical legal red tape which would accompany a corporate owned entity.

It's no doubt his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made Usagi Yojimbo a household name among kids of the 80's, but it's only fair to say this is definitely not a one and done character. As we said above, he's by no means only a sidekick.

By 1998 Antarctic Press were struggling to find a foothold in the action figure market. They had released a few obscure lines since 1996, but had yet to produce that one item which would put them on the map. One of their last attempts was the very small, very short lived Usagi Yojimbo line.

The series is technically a one shot, with only Usagi being produced. However, it does contain some variants / exclusives. The mass market figure was produced on an orange card while the exclusives were produced on blue ones making them easily distinguishable.

If you're looking for a plastic version of Usagi Yojimbo which is spot on to his comic book iteration, then look no further. This figure captures all those details in magnificent detail with just the right amount of articulation. For added fun, the figure even comes packaged with a Tokage - Which for those of you who don't know, this is simply a dinosaur like creature which roams freely around the world of Usagi.

Fun fact: Tokage creatures have even appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Dark Horse Variant (Limited to 500)*Platinum Edition (Limited to 2,000)

Unfortunately for Antarctic Press, 1998 was the last year for them. It seems they were unable to really make make an impact in the world of action figures, and like so many before (and after) them found themselves going out of business.

What makes this all the more unfortunate is the fact that these days the Usagi Yojimbo figure is not only scarce, but also rather expensive on secondary markets. The variants will set you back anywhere from $40.00 to $60.00 a piece. The orange carded figure will set you back anywhere from $20.00 to $40.00. Not a bad profit for a line nobody wanted when it was originally released.

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Star Wars Battlefront II Review

Happy Thanksgiving The Toy Box readers.

I wanted to use today to post something I normally wouldn't do here - A game review of the recent Star Wars Battlefront II.

Okay, so we all know about all the negative press the game has been getting, or maybe you don't, at which point now you (somewhat) do. I'll talk a little about that in my overall review, but for the start I want to focus on the single player campaign.

Warning, there are spoilers ahead.

Starting now...

The game is advertised as being a focal point on the Imperial side of things. In fact, the advertisement even states, "Ignite the inferno and burn the Rebellion to the ground in Star Wars Battlefront 2's single player campaign. Take on the role of Commander Iden Versio in a story following the destruction of the Death Star II and the death of the Emperor."

Sounds like fun, no?

No...Sadly you are part of the Imperials for all of two or three missions when you suddenly switch sides to the Rebellion. Like flipping on a light switch, Iden does a complete 180 along the side of one of her squad mates. Now you're full on Rebel, blasting away at all the Imperials.

It doesn't help that this four hour long campaign rushes from point "A" to point "B" leaving little to no character development. When the game first starts you get the impression that Iden is an Imperial loyalist to her very core. So it turns out to be more so awkward, and down right disappointing, when she suddenly shifts sides. There is also no tension built up between her and the squad mates she turns her back on leaving little to no reason why she would also suddenly go on a killing spree of the Imperials. It would have made more sense for her to try and go into hiding, and the story focus on the faltered Imperials chasing after her for revenge - After all it is her flesh and blood father who she betrays when going AWOL.

Personally I think the story would have been better suited as an opportunity to show how the First Order came to be. See, in the game the Empire is grasping at straws, and trying to regroup against the Rebels who just destroyed the second Death Star. This is all great groundwork, and would be the perfect setting for Iden to decide she no longer can follow her father based on the disagreement of his orders. Instead of running for the Rebel Alliance, she instead uses her squad to rally other straggling Imperials behind her. This then leads to a Civil War of sorts between the remaining Imperial ranks where Iden comes out on top, and essentially reforms the Galactic Empire into the First Order.

I made that story up in the span of two seconds. Whereas EA had a year to develop their cliche predictable mess. But hey, what do I know, right?

At the end of the day, the campaign becomes more so a four hour tutorial for playing online, and even goes as far as to reward you fairly well in terms of credits and crafting parts which you can carry to your online game - Only backing up my point that it is nothing more than a tutorial.

The game also falters by taking you out of the perspective of Iden, and putting you in the roles of Luke, Leia, Han and Lando. If the game is supposed to be about Iden, then let it be about Iden. This only serves to hurt the story further because it shows EA really didn't have a story in mind for this character. Thus why they took the easy road of, "Just make her switch sides."

By the end of the game, I was actually really bored of it, and this is where things got worse with the story. Iden fights her way to the exterior of he father's Star Destroyer where you get the impression of, "Oh, she is going to kill him." Yeah, not so much. She then says randomly how she has to save her father. She attempts to achieve this by crash landing on the exterior of the airborne Destroyer, blasts her way through every Imperial troop - Who for some reason are outside of the ship as well - Only to have a sixty second conversation with her father that litterally went like this;

IDEN: Dad, come with me.

DAD: Nah. I'm good.

IDEN: Okay, bye.

She then runs to an escape pod, and leaves - All of which is just a cut scene. If this weren't bad enough, suddenly her and her one defector friend embrace, kissing deeply when he finds her escape pod. What? They were in love? There was not one single ounce of love story hinted in the entire game until the awkward ending.

Well, I shouldn't say ending because the game has an epilogue which is essentially sequel bait.

So, okay, you finish the single player campaign. You find all the hidden items...Which the game doesn't even bother to tell you what they are, and this results in rewards for online play.

I can't complain about this aspect because quite honestly the loot and crafting materials you get make it worth while to dredge through the shoddy story.

That is however until you actually get online.

Progress is painfully slow, and only made slower if you are bad at online shooters as rewards are dished out based on achievements - AKA kills. On average I get around ten to twenty kills per game which equates to very minimal progress in terms of experience points. This averages out to about 3,000 XP per game, in a game where I need 80K+ to level up.

This is made even more painful by the fact that EA drops you into whatever game it feels like. This means you most likely will end up on unbalanced teams where one of two things will happen. You will either mow over the opposite team in a landslide victory, or sadly be the receiver of said mowing. As I've said before to people I play with online, you either end up on the team of Idiot Savants, or just Idiots.

To put it bluntly - Playing online isn't fun when you make little to no progress, and each game seems more so like your only purpose is be fodder for the other team.

This could have been helped by buying loot crates which provide you with better gear, and sometimes weapons.Unfortunately this too goes back to reward for progress. See, the amount of credits you earn is also based on how well you play. So, when crates cost anywhere from 2,400 to 4,000 for one crate, and you earn (like me) an average of 150 to 300 credits per game, progress is once again halted.

This leads me to my next gripe with the game. The removal of micro transactions.

I don't mind them. I'm an instant gratification kind of guy, and personally my time is more valuable to me than a few bucks here and there for in game transactions.

In fact, in games I really want to play, but I'm not good at I actually look forward to buying them. This would definitely have been one of those games where I could see myself dumping a fair amount of real world money into online loot crates if for no other reason than to make some form of progress through the Star Cards you find in said crates. This way I could least stand half a chance of surviving.

Loot crates were unfortunately removed from the game on the day of launch when the online gaming community erupted in protest against EA for having the nerve to offer loot crates which provided an advantage to people who they deemed could pay to win.

For those of you not familiar with the term, pay to win, this is what gamers call a scenario where those with more money than them can essentially buy their way to winning the game by affording things such as loot crates which give them upgrades to better their characters at low levels (or in general). The backlash was so vast that for whatever reason people keep speculating about, EA pulled the ability for in game micro transactions.

The loot crate system is still in place. You just can't spend real world money to get them - Only in game currency - Which again takes forever to get for people with my skill level.

So essentially I have a game that I want to spend real world money on, but can't because people complained so much the option is gone. People call this a victory, but again fail to see that someone else loses when they claim to win.

Now add on top of this servers that just flat out suck, and problems only get worse. I literally have sessions where I rubber band all over the screen to the point I can't even play, and just shut the game off. EA makes millions of dollars in sales of their games, but can't afford good servers for people to play them on? Makes no sense.

Overall Battlefront II still may very well be as bad as the first installment. In its attempt to make strides to better the complaints from the last entry, EA has somehow managed to make other aspects of this new installment worse.

While the first game had no campaign, the second game's campaign is really bad. In the first game you could buy new weapons with credits. In the second one you have to earn them by achieving kills with the terrible weapons they give you to start with. If you get minimal kills each game, once again you face slow progression. In fact all of the games problems seem to center on an overall lack of progression. It takes forever to level up. It takes forever to get credits. It takes forever to get star cards. It takes forever to get weapons. It just takes too long to play Battlefront II.

As a Star Wars fan, this simply isn't a game I'm prepared to invest 100's of hours in playing. There are other things I want to do with my time...Like complain.

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The Dirty Pair (Dark Horse Comics)

The Dirty Pair
Dark Horse Comics
2002

"The Lovely Angels" - Kei and Yuri are the leading duo in The Dirty Pair. Though the characters were created by Haruka Takachiho, the figures we see today are based on the Dark Horse Comics versions which were adapted from Takachiho's work by Adam Warren when Dark Horse acquired the rights to release comics in the USA based on the characters. Since then, the Pair have been featured in numerous US released mini series, one shots and shorts.

Despite being a limited run of figures, Dark Horse's plastic renditions don't skimp when it comes to the detail, articulation, and in general the great design of everything form the package to the toy. These figures are fairly spot on to their inked versions, and each figure features eleven or more points of articulation.

In addition to the figures, Dark Horse released a few more items based on the characters. One such item was the below ten inch statue. Though we're not big fans of inarticulate "toys", we can definitely see the draw that this particular item would have to fans of the series. It's a pretty cool piece of "art".

10 Inch Statue

As we mentioned, Dark Horse also produced other items based on Kei and Yuri; a pair of shot glasses, and a pair of t-shirts. These items were all advertised on the back of the carded figure packaging - In addition to a handful of graphic novels featuring the two.

Much like a lot of obscure toy lines we've talked about here in the past, The Dirty Pair figures and statue don't sell for too much these days on secondary markets. However, this may be because most sellers are asking far more than people are willing to pay. At $30.00 per figure (mint on card), most buyers with any interest are passing. On occasion a figure will sell for about $20.00, but this is definitely not often. However, the typical price buyers seem willing to pay for these are $8.00 to $10.00.

The statue seems to fair a little better - Though it is definitely rarer than the figures. We've seen sealed ones priced around $80.00 (with no buyers), and opened ones sell for around $20.00.

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Jimmy Page (NECA)

Jimmy Page
NECA
2006

Today we're going to talk about a figure based on a little known guitarist. You may have heard of him - Jimmy Page. He was the strings behind such great bands such as The Yardbirds, The Firm and Led Zeppelin. Of course if we had to explain any of that to you, then you probably have no clue who Jimmy Page is in general. Most people, even those who aren't fans of his work, still know the name.

The figure which NECA showcased page in his infamous Black Dragon suit, hoisting up a double neck guitar. The figure also includes a set of amps with Page's nonsensical "Zoso" symbol - Which to date the guitarist has never said what it means to him.

Editor's Note: Zoso was originally used as a magickal sigil by Cardano to represent Saturn. He first used this in 1557, and the version used by Page is slightly altered from the original design. As such, Page's Zoso is considered by many to be an adapted occult sign.

The figure essentially is what it is - Jimmy Page memorialized in plastic form ala NECA. As we've said before regarding toys such as this, there is a strict niche audience looking for these.

Unfortunately, said niche audience is going to pay quite a bit for it if they want to obtain one these days. The figure can sell for anywhere from $70.00 to $140.00 mint in the package. We're not sure why there is such a large margin of price point between high and low values as the figure isn't too uncommon by any means. We've even seen one sell for $200.00.

Whatever it is that keeps fans paying prices all over the map, there is one thing for sure - Get yours while you can if it's a figure you're interested in.

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Germs (Worlds of Wonder)

Germs
Worlds of Wonder
1988

Worlds of Wonder aren't known for much these days, but back in the 80's they were the group behind the highly popular Lazer Tag and Teddy Ruxpin. Unfortunately that seemed to be their only popular items. Though the company released other toys here and there, none seemed to grab the foothold in toy isles that their laser guns and talking bear did.

Germs were released in 1988, on the tail end of the company's production of Lazer Tag. Though it was a fairly unique and cool concept, at the end of the day, these little guys were nothing short of colorful rubber toys that had no cartoon or comic book support. Additionally, they didn't have any action features. Short of displaying them there wasn't much to do with them, and what kid wanted to do that?

In total, twelve Germs were produced; Ahahchoosiosus (a sneeze), Winkyblinkyigoopiola (eyeball goo), Huppahickasillia (a hiccup), Gidgygidgyitus (a giggle), Oochiachitickleorum (an itch), Grumblerumbleosus (a tummy ache), Innyoutyitis (bellybutton lint), Hackahackasilliae (a cough), Bubblebuppilitus (a burp), Muggywympiosus (smelly feet) and Sweatystinkiosus (body odor). Wow...Even as adults we can't pronounce half of those names.

Each figure came packed in a blister card inside of its own test tube. The only other item included was a fold out lab report which went into over the top details of the germs lifestyle and habits.

Admittedly, these days it is rather cool to display these in a test tube holder on a shelf. So, you know, if you're a collector of unique toys don't rule that option out.

Germs aren't too common on secondary markets, but you can put a set together over time with persistence. Carded ones will run you about $20.00 to $45.00 a piece, and loose ones sell for around $10.00 to $15.00 dollars a piece (with or without the lab report). We have seen a few full (loose) sets sell here and there for around $100.00 to $150.00. However, most sellers typically ask around $200.00 to $300.00 before being talked down in price. To date we have not found a seller with a complete carded set.

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The Fifth of November

Remember remember!

The fifth of November,

the Mountain Beanie seizing and plot

I know of no reason

Why the Mountain Beanie seizing

Should ever be forgot!

 

Harold Mountain and his ex companion

Did the case involve

To divide up their Beanies,

Judge Hardcastle had to solve.
In the courtroom a pile,

Did lay on the floor

While each partner took it in turn,

Picking the one they adore

Maple Bear was the first

To be swooped up by the wife

A three digit value in the year of 99

Now not even worth retail price.

Holloa, boys! Holloa, boys! Take your Beanies from this place!

Holloa, boys! Holloa, boys, your family is disgraced!

Hip, hip, hoor-r-r-ray!

A poem by The Toy Box
Inspired by a true story, and The Fifth of November.

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Monsters + Mutants (Playmates Toys)

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Monsters + Mutants
Playmates Toys
2017

These days things seem to have shifted drastically for the Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line. What was once an abundance of merchandise hitting store shelves on regular intervals has turned into a re-occurrence of peg warmers, scarce new figures, or worse, empty shelves all together. With the announcement the animated series would be coming to an end in 2017, this is honestly not shocking to see happening at all. It seems the line may have run its course, and these days Playmates Toys is more so keen on offloading old stock (or repainting it) as opposed to packing enough supply of new figures to meet demand.

A perfect example of this is Muckman. For over a year he was one of the most highly anticipated figures in the line. Upon his release, many collectors didn't even know he was out until it was too late. As one of only three new figures packed in with wave 19, and at only one per case, he was gone before most people even knew to look for him. The end result is the only figure in the new TMNT series to garner a stable secondary value of over one hundred dollars.


With scarce product to be found, I was actually quite surprised to see Walmart (of all places) had stocked the all new Monsters + Mutants series. Granted there was only one set to be found in the entire store, and this too was among a bunch of peg warmers.

Most of these are definitely among some of my personal favorites from the series as a whole. They're unique, colorful, and most importantly, they're fun. They have unique accessories (though admittedly I have no clue why a vampire Raphael would come with a stake), and the look and feel takes you back to those classic monster movie pics from the black and white era of film. What's not to love here?

 
Okay, fine...The actual monster hunters aren't all that inspiring. Leonardo and Raphael in trench coats? Yawn. On any given day these could easily be passed off as the classic cartoon turtles in disguise. Simply add a mock human face mask.

Furthermore, why another (half) set of the turtles? Couldn't these two have been better served as other characters? Perhaps Casey Jones or April O'Neil? This would have at least fleshed the (sub)line out a little more.

Sigh...Fanboys...We're never happy.

Though they're difficult to find in stores right now, eBay shows they are a little more readily available than the aforementioned Muckman. Perhaps as the holiday season ramps up we'll not only see more of these on store shelves, but perhaps, or should I say hopefully, more Muckman's for everyone to get their hands on.

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World's Greatest Super Heroes: The Mad Monster Series (Mego / Krege / Lion Rock)

World's Greatest Super Heroes: The Mad Monster Series
Mego / Krege / Lion Rock
1973 - 1980

Happy Halloween (one day early), everyone!

This post has taken us years to compile. It's been so long in the making that we were beginning to think it would never come to light. Mego's World's Greatest Super Heroes: The Mad Monster Series is so incredibly difficult to track down. Boxed and blister carded versions of the figures are so rare, and yet there are so many different variations. You would think at some point it would be easy to get your hands on at least one of the versions. Apparently not so much.

What is it with monster related series that make them so hard to track down? Looking at you, Remco Universal Studios Monsters.

The Mad Monster Series began in 1973 with the release of what has become known as "Solid Box". The four characters released were; The Dreadful Dracula, The Monster Frankenstein, The Horrible Mummy and The Human Werewolf. These would be the only four figures produced, and they would be re-released in multiple packaging styles up until 1980.

The Dreadful Dracula

Mego Solid Box*Mego / Krege Blister Card

During its first run, Mego made a change to the production of both Frankenstein and Dracula. Frankenstein was retooled with blue hair, and Dracula received bright red hair. Though it is unknown for certain why this change was made, many collectors speculate it was due to the original sculpts to closely resembling the characters from Universal Studios. Fearing some form of repercussions the changes were made, and the production continued until resculpted versions were completed. Again, this is all just speculation among the collecting community.

 The Dreadful Dracula

Mego Window Box*Mego / Toys R' Us Exclusive Lion Rock Blister Card

Mego produced the figures at some point between 1974 and 1975 for the first blister carded versions - AKA Krege cards. SS Krege was one of the largest retail organizations which later formed into a little known company that you may have heard of - Kmart Corporation which then evolved into Sears Holding Corporation.

Though many sources profess that the Krege carded versions are one of the more difficult versions to find, we can assure, they are all difficult to find.

The Monster Frankenstein

Mego Solid Box*Mego / Krege Blister Card

Mego briefly re-released the Mad Monsters in window boxes, and like the aforementioned Krege cards, many collectors profess that these are difficult versions to obtain. We regress back to our prior statement on the matter - They're all difficult to find.

The Monster Frankenstein

Mego Window Box*Mego / Toys R' Us Exclusive Lion Rock Blister Card

 The Horrible Mummy

Mego Solid Box*Mego / Krege Blister Card

In 1980, Lion Rock released a second version of the blister cards as Toys R' Us exclusives. Though the figures weren't all that popular during their initial release, they have since become highly sought after by collectors who claim...Yes, you guessed it...These are incredibly hard to find.

We're not making this up. According to Mego Museum, the profess that each one of these sets are difficult to find / complete. Why don't they just say that every single one of them is an almost futile attempt?

 The Horrible Mummy

Mego Window Box*Mego / Toys R' Us Exclusive Lion Rock Blister Card

The Human Werewolf

Mego Solid Box*Mego / Krege Blister Card

If The Mad Monster Series is the challenge you've been looking for, be ready to drop a lot of cash. You're going to spend about $200.00 a piece for the solid box versions, and anywhere from $600.00 to $1,000.00 for each other version. Let's do some quick math here...That's about $8,000.00 on the low end, and about $12,800.00 on the high end.

The Human Werewolf

Mego Window Box*Mego / Toys R' Us Exclusive Lion Rock Blister Card

Now, mind you, that price noted above is just for the figures. If you really want to complete the set, you're going to have to also track down the incredibly rare Mad Monster Castle. That's going to cost you another $600.00 to $700.00.

Mad Monster Castle

For those looking to scratch that nostalgic itch at a fraction of the cost, you may want to consider the 2012 Classic TV Toys versions. These reproduced figures (and the playset) are far more common, and will only set you back around $25.00 to $35.00 for each of them, and about $70.00 for the playset. Yes, we know, it's not the same thing, but it may be your only option if you don't want to take a second mortgage out on your home.

Mego's Mad Monster Series is definitely an amazing set of figures from a time of classic toys. It's just not very obtainable by the majority of people interested in it.

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Gomez (Mezco)

Gomez
Mezco
(2008)

Any of you recognize Gomez? There's a hint right in the photo.

Give up, or guessed it?

Gomez was (or may very well still be) the official mascot for Mezco around 2008. This particular action figure was released only at San Diego Comic Con in 2008, and was limited to just 500 pieces. If that wasn't limited enough for you, out of those 500 pieces, the figure also came in four different variations. Gomez could be found with either a black or tan head, and either a turtleneck / leather coat or black suit and tie.

Mezco came up with a fairly unique (and somewhat corny) concept for the figure which is detailed on the back of the package. We'll help spare your eyes squinting at the small text. It reads;

"The mysterious syndicate known only as The Void operates within a level of secrecy so obscure the world at large is unaware of its existence.

The Voids operations sway the balance of the world as we know it. The Voids vast range of intelligence is felt from the fall of governments to why socks are missing from the laundry.

The Void utilizes the skills of a sole agent, Gomez.

His instructions are received by a combination of subliminal messages broadcast on his boombox combined with black martinis known as the "Cocktail Exchange". The Cocktail Exchange is only receivable by the antennas of Gomez.

Gomez, doer of missions, mover of information and eliminator of obstacles."

The figure itself features multiple points of articulation from the antenna at the top all the way down to its feet. Mezco certainly didn't skimp when it came to this aspect. Pretty much every piece of his body moves in some form or fashion. The overall quality is certainly there.

As for the sculpt, it's rather unique and fun. Fans of roaches / bugs and James Bond will definitely see the appeal here.

Of course any good figure has good accessories, and Gomez has quite a few. The best aspect (for us) is the 1950's style alien blaster, which is made all the more a top choice by its weathered paint job. The figure also comes with a boombox (also weathered in the same vain as the blaster) and sword. The last, and really fun accessory is his martini glass filled with Cocktail Exchange. All the accessories fit nicely in the figure's hands, and as an added bonus, Mezco even threw in two additional sculpts for hands so that you can change them out.

The clothing is so far above standards that other companies producing nine inch figures should take notice. From the pleather jacket to the tailored suit, sweater and pant, everything works and looks great. The details are so fine that even the belt has a working metal buckle. The only complaint we have is that the shoes themselves are sculpted to the body. If you're going to go to such detail to get the clothing just right, down to a working metal buckle, then sculpt a pair of shoes too.

As for the packaging, we love it. Not only does it stand out from your typical white box that SDCC exclusives normally come in, but it's completely collector friendly. It opens at the top, and the figure / accessories all slide out neatly in place on their plastic tray. This not only makes for salvageable packing, but fantastic presentation.

When it was released, the figure was priced at $40.00 each. Sadly, unlike most SDCC exclusives which explode in price, Gomez didn't fair so well on secondary markets. These days you can find any of the four variations priced between $20.00 and $50.00 each. However, even at these prices the figures remains unsold.

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Animax (Schaper)

Animax
Schaper
1986

We can't take credit for the majority of this post. That credit belongs to Mel Brinkrant who we have talked about in the past. We've borrowed the photos from Mr. Brinkrant's site, and cleaned them up for presentation here. Truth be told, he tells a much better story on the line than we probably can, and his site deserves a visit for that. In the interim, we'll give it a go here.

The line featured two sides - The RoadTrainers (good guys), and the Motor Mutants (bad guys). The premise behind each of the RoadTrainers figures was that they each had an animal mask that when worn would telepathically link them to their animal / vehicle - Yes, half car, half animal. Or, as the back of the package puts it;

"Part living animal / part vehicle created by mankind. They are the sole surviving animal species."

Hmm...That's actually quite sick and twisted now that we type it out. Anyway...

Unlike the RoadTrainers who love their animals, the Motor Mutants control their beasts through brute force.

Each of the six figures were carded individually, and featured very bland paint colors, and overall a very "cheap" sculpt. No details or paint applications were present in the faces of the RoadTrainers - Which all look the same, save for a different color hair.

Back of Carded Figure

For the very few people who were interested in the series, the animal / figure two pack seemed the more viable option. Not only did it contain the same figures as noted above on the cards, but also their respective vehicles. Kind of a no brainer to go this route instead, huh?

Much like the carded figures, there were six individual packages available. However, with that said, there were initially eight combo packs planned. When the series limped onto toy shelves, X-Tinctor / Obliterator and Max Action / Jungle Max were cancelled.

For the fans of the series, Marvel / Star Comics also produced a very short lived comic book series. These books, when found, typically are in dime or quarter boxes - So they're relatively easy to come by. They're also far more common than the actual toys.

As for the toys, as noted above, they're rather scarce on secondary markets. Additionally, they're priced way too high with each carded figure listed at $100.00+, and the vehicle / figure combos priced even higher. As a result, this line is often times passed on by most collectors.

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Red Faction: Armageddon (Gamestars Collectibles)

Red Faction Armageddon
Gamestars Collectibles
2012

We haven't covered many Gamestars Collectibles (GC) toys around here at The Toy Box. However, in our defense, there aren't many of them. The company seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye in 2012, and has only produced three lines of figures based on the video games; Crysis 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, and the one we're about to go into here - Red Faction Armageddon. Since then, nothing has been heard of from GC, nor can much information be found on the internet.

Red Faction began as a video game series in 2001 with the title of the same name. It was followed up in 2002 with the lackluster Red Faction II, and the series reinvigorating title, Red Faction: Guerrilla in 2009. With such high anticipation, it was disappointing to see Red Faction: Armageddon (2011) fall into the same criticism of RFII. Critics claimed the game was behind the times in graphics, and failed to offer a cohesive story that drew gamers in. Granted, the game did offer a large geographic location to explore (and destroy), all while challenging players with increasingly difficult enemies. Sadly, it wasn't enough though.

Fast forward to 2012.

In an attempt to enter the market of action figures, Gamestars Collecitbles releases six figures based on the game. Each one is highly detailed in sculpt, articulation and paint. However, much like the game itself, this wasn't enough to draw collectors in. Coupled with the figures being limited in availability - Typically only at local game stores (if they bothered to order any), and a very niche audience concept, you can see the vast uphill climb that GC created for themselves.

 Winters

Out of the six figures, the Ravager and Creeper ones seem to be the more sought after. Secondary markets see the pair selling for around $25.00 (for a set of them), and mind you that's in loose condition. The remaining figures don't fair so well, and often times remain unsold.

 Ravager

 Creeper

Despite limited lines of figures, Gamestars Collectibles was always on par with their packaging. With artwork straight from the developers of the game, it was easy to denote (for fans of the series) that these were Red Faction figures just from the top banner.

 Darius Mason

 Hale

Marauder's Officer

As noted above, the majority of the figures don't fare well on secondary markets. Average sales are around $7.50, mint on card, sometimes reaching $10.00, but not often. Even with prices this low, most of the times the figures go unsold.

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Boy George (LJN)

Boy George
LJN
1984

Culture Club blasted onto the synth pop scene in 1982 with their debut album Kissing to Be Clever. The record (or cassette) featured two notable hits; Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, and I'll Tumble 4 Ya which put the band on track for success and fame. Later pressings of the album would also include a third hit, Time (Clock of the Heart).

What came next was a rocket straight into the stratosphere for the band - 1983's Colour By Numbers. It's leading track, Karma Chameleon became the band's most popular song, and made Boy George a household name among teens across the globe. Other tracks followed Karma straight up the charts; It's A Miracle, Church of the Poison Mind and Miss Me Blind. Since its release, the album has sold sixteen million copies.

Unfortunately lightning typically doesn't strike twice, and the highly anticipated third album from the band, Waking Up with the House on Fire (1984) didn't reach the level of success expected. It's real only hit was The War Song. That's not to say it was a bad album. It just didn't seem to have many more radio worthy tracks to help push it up the charts.

Things only got worse from there. George became increasingly dependent on drugs, with heroin being one of his most often abused / used. This lead to delayed recordings of the band's fourth album, From Luxury to Heartache in 1986. Though it too had a couple hits, the album did the worst out of all the band's releases to this point.

The band broke up shortly afterwards, and George proceeded with a solo career which found him mild success as compared to his early days of Culture Club. The band would later reunite for the 1999 album Don't Mind If I Do, but the record was unfortunately a commercial failure.

Let's rewind a bit here back to 1984. Despite the lackluster reception of their third album, Boy George was still a hot commodity in the world of 80's pop. As such, LJN jumped at the opportunity to produce a doll based on him.

Colour By Numbers was hot, hot, hot, and so was the iconic outfit that the singer wore to promote the album. This is what LJN based the look of the doll on. If you think you've seen the microphone accessory from the doll before, you probably have. It's the same (though painted a different color) use in the LJN Michael Jackson line produced and released that same year.

Much like the Jackson doll, the George doll is fairly spot on in terms of likeness. Especially considering that this comes from the 80's where exact likeness sculpting wasn't necessarily a common practice.

LJN followed up the twelve inch doll with a more cuddly, and may we also say, frightening version of Boy George. Just saying - We would not cuddle with this thing.

Boy George; The Huggable Cute Cuddly Doll! (Brown Hair Version)

This particular version was released with both brown and red hair - The latter being the more rarer of the two these days.

Both boxes were decked out in yellow, and showcased a nice close up photo of Boy George on the back, as well as four smaller ones somewhat in each of the corners of the larger one. The front of the box isn't shy of photos either, but they are the same ones as displayed on the back.

The use of bright neon borders screams 80's club scene, and only helps to scream out to you from toy shelves in conjunction with the massive amounts of yellow that make up the majority of the package. This is definitely a toy of the 80's.

Though we're honestly not big fans of the "cuddly" Boy George dolls, the twelve inch version definitely belongs in the collection of any 80's music fan. With how great LJN's line of music related dolls were, we would have loved to have seen tons more from the era. Just think of how awesome it would have been to have a lineup of other dolls like; Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran - Heck, even Weird Al!

To get the twelve inch Boy George these days you're going to spend anywhere from $50.00 to $100.00 for it - Depending on condition (with the box). The cuddly George will set you back even more - About $120.00 for the brown hair version, and $150.00 for the red hair one.

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Monster Mez-Itz (Mezco)

Monster Mez-Itz
Mezco
2002

Mezco has produced a whole bunch of Mez-Itz in their time. While the concept of the line hasn't necessarily blasted off into orbit such as Funko's Pop line did, it certainly has its niche following of collectors. Of course with that said, much like Funko's Pop line, Mez-Itz aren't something you need to collect every single one of. Rather, you can focus on the ones that appeal to you. Mezco has produced the likes of DC Universe characters, movie characters, and in some cases even vehicles.

Today we're taking a look at Monster Mez-Itz, which was a small series released in 2002. No, these aren't based on the Universal Monster designs. Instead, they appear to be Mezco's own iterations on the characters.

(Photo shows series one)

There were two standard packs released in the first wave, and a second wave released shortly after. In total, there were eight characters produced; Vampire, Mummy, Frankenstein and Werewolf (for the first series), and Boris Creepola, Claude Clearwater, Dr. Mezitstein and Grim Grimly (the second series).

Truth be told, they're not the best we've seen in terms of monster character toys, but for what it's worth, they get the job done - Especially if you appreciate the Mez-Itz style.

The above photo is the repainted versions which were released as Chiller Theatre exclusives. For some, these actually stands out as the better iterations due to the use of more color. Unfortunately because they are exclusive, they are also a lot more difficult to track down.

Series two (below photo) brought with it Mezco's own characters (as noted in the names above). It also marked the last of the figures to be released in the "line".

In general the series failed to capture much of an audience, which is why it was only around for one year. Today the figures are slightly difficult to find, but this seems to be more so attributed to the fact that nobody really owns them to sell them. When found, prices typically hover around $15.00 for one pack of series one or two. As for the exclusive ones, we've yet to find them on secondary markets, so a price cannot be determined at this time (by us).

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