Friday, May 31, 2013

Action Figure Friday- Star Wars Expanded Universe Air Speeder!


Ralph McQuarrie truly was the design God behind the original trilogy. There were a few things that did not make the final cut. That is expected, I have a load of unused designs that are sitting around from Xenex the Bug Man. In the late 90's, Hasbro, under the Kenner banner, made three extended universe vehicle toys with pilots based on those design drawings for the Power of the Force 2 toyline. The one that I got recently was the Air Speeder. This was one of those vehicle sets that I had set out to find when the toys released. I had found one at a Target in my home town, but I was short on cash. I new I was getting a paycheck the following day and would then have money. So, I hid the toy elsewhere in the store in order to hopefully buy it later. I went back the following day and it was no where to be found. I want to be upset, but, to be honest, I can't fault the Target floor recovery team for being so good at their job. Since then, I would look for this toy on ebay, but I wasn't sold on spending $30.00 on it or getting one that was in bad shape. I eventually stopped looking for a long time. The first day of the Dallas Comic Con 2013 my best toy buddy Jeff from Marvindog media presents me with a boxed version of this toy. I squealed like a crazy person! I debated if I should leave the toy in the box for about 45 seconds and then tore into the package. I have the box packed away and I have this toy now hanging from my ceiling. Now to find the Cloud Car!


Now you can find this toy at an affordable price on amazon.com!: SW EU Air Speeder.


I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Sketch Card of the Day- Mosquitor!

I spoke a bit about him when I did the Masters of the Universe Classics Mosquitor review for my action figure Friday back in the day. This sketch card boasts the greatness of the 200X Mosquitor design. In my opinion, that is the best design of this particular Evil Horde character. One of the things that I really wanted to have for the Masters of the Universe Classics Mosquitor action figure was the blood vat backpack that the 200X design carries. At this point, I can't expect one to put on my action figure... that is unless I make it. I guess I could still hope for a weapons pack for the Classics toy that would have one. Here's to hoping. You can also see this sketch card in my deviantart gallery

I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Action Figure of the Day- The Savage "Wonder Bread" He-man!


So just want to start this posting off by saying that nobody really knows where this guy actually came from. No one really knows if he is a knock off, or if he was some sort of promotional toy. There are a few defining factors that let you know if you actually have a true Savage He-Man, or if you just got a fake. Fortunately for me, I got a real one. He has seen better days, but I got one. So, what makes a true Savage He-man? There are several production factors that will tell you if you have the real thing. Eric Stettmeier at Toyriffic has a really good run down of the factors as well as Bruno Bliss's photo library. The first big factor is that there is a gap between the bottom of the belt and the top of the fur in the loin piece. The fur sculpt does not go all the way up to the belt. There is a gap between the bottom of the neck and the body.  There is a date on the under side of the neck where it sits on the body. That date should be 1981, and match the 1981 that is printed on his back. The paint on his boots should come up a little onto his calves. The brown of his hair should not be the same shade of brown as his loin cloth. And one really big thing is this, Savage He-Man should not have a pin in his neck. No one really knows what Savage He-Man came with as far as accessories. Honestly, as I had before, no one really knows where this action figure came from. Some people believe that he was a Wonder Bread mail order toy, but Wonder Bread can't confirm it. Mattel apparently has no idea where this toy came from either. I believe that he might have been a first run of He-Man toys in the Conan colors. The molding is way to detailed to be a knock off. I believe that that first run was handed out as a promotional toy to demonstrate the waist action feature to toy retailers and vendors, who then gave the samples to their kids to play with. I doubt I am right about that. Recently, The Toy Hunter sold a Savage He-Man to Scott Neitlich, who is the Senior Brand Analyst at Mattel toys. I haven't sat down to watch my recording of it yet, but The Savage He-Man sold for about $450.00. I acquired my Savage He-Man from Darth Mall toys through art trade. I am currently working on touching up the paint on my toy. I am having a hard time mixing the paint for the hair, but I am sure I can get it done. I have already matched the paint on the face, belt and boots. Even though it is believed that Savage He-Man did not actually come with weapons and armor, I do plan on picking up a black Zodac gun to match the accessories that came with the Masters of the Universe Classics action figure, Wun-Dar (the wonder bread eternian) who was made to pay homage to this Savage He-Man action figure. I'm not sure if refurbishment causes the value of the toy to go down, but this toy is really for me and not trade, so I am going to pretty him up as best as I can. 
 


Number 1 for Topless Robot's post: 10 Exclusive action figures you will probably never own was The Savage He-man. They have a few interesting things to say bout this toy. The weapons that came with my Savage He-Man is in fact the extra weapons that came with the rare to find packaged Man-E-Faces, dubbed, "Man-E.Weapons". I am debating if I will display these weapons with this toy if I get am acrylic case for him. I probably shouldn't plan too far in advance, I still have to match the paint of his hair...

I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Post Dallas Comic Con 2013 Awesomeness!

 I just want to start off by saying thank you, to everyone that stopped by Jeff's and my table. I would then like to give an even bigger thank you to everyone that got comics, art, and prints from me. Your purchases help me keep the tables for these conventions and keep me making art and comics. This recent Dallas Comic Con has been fantastic! I got a nice action figure and vehicle set from Jeff and a few he-man action figures from Darth Mall Toys which one is the vintage Savage He-Man!  I also got a very nice art piece from my nachos fan! I love this piece! I got to see a good friend from my youth, Tim Stuckey, and got to meet his wife. I received a book from Gloria Oliver called, "In the Service of the Samurai" which I can not wait to read. My good buddy, Reese stopped by to visit. She and Taffeta Darling had some awesome Inspector Gadget and Penny cosplay on Friday and she had a stellar Borg queen cosplay outfit on Saturday. I was assimilated... 
Jeff got a lot of traffic for Marvin Dog Media. He was recognized for his "Singing Truck Driver" commercial that he did. I have yet to see the whole commercial yet, but what I saw, I could not stop laughing. I'll have to keep my eyes open for when that commercial come on.

I did have a lot of commission work. I probably had more commission work than I had at the last Sci-fi Expo. I was able to try my hand at some very simple anime styled drawings. I think that they turned out pretty good. I made some new sketch cards that I can scan in for future postings. They are all G.I.Joe sketch cards, so I figured I would start a run of those and get to a point of finishing up the Masters of the Universe cards. I had a lot of fun mash-ups. My favorite mash-up was The Blue Ranger Banana. If you know the cartoon that this joke is based on, I applaud you. Below are pictures of the commissions that I did while at the table. 

















I know that I have already said it, but thank you everyone. I hope to see many of you and many new faces at the Fan Days Convention in October.

I did buy a table for the Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days on October 4th-6th. If you are wanting a pre-Fan Days commission, let me know and I'll get it ready for pick up at that show. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Action Figure Friday- G.I.Joe 30th Anniversary- Hazard Viper!


When a place is lived in, it gets gross after a while. I fear that is just a plain fact, wether you yourself are really dirty or not. I consider myself relatively clean, but when I cleaned my old apartment when I moved out, I found that two to three years in there left a gross mess. I probably being really hard on myself taking this to a ridiculous level, but I felt like it took days to clean that place up. On one of my trips to the store to pick up cleaning supplies, I came across two G.I.Joe carded action figures. Now at this time, finding a G.I.Joe action figure was really rare for my area. I am not sure why, but the 30th anniversary and the POC toys flew off of shelves and then never came back. The two toys were the 30th anniversary Iron Grenadier and the 30th anniversary Hazard Viper. At the time, I could only afford one of the two. So, to be fitting of my bio-hazard situation, I chose the Hazard Viper, who is a Toxic Specialist! He helped me clean the rest of the apartment... Well, no he didn't, but I did have him set up on the kitchen counter. I sought after several of the 30th anniversary line action figures, but only found a couple, one being this Hazard Viper. All in all, I really like this toy. I feel that the reuse of parts that he has is well used. My only complaint is that I feel that the two pistols and the arc cutter were not really needed for this toy. He has no way to hold these extra accessories. I could give the guns to other characters in Joe lines that might need the extra weapons, but I hate breaking up the accessories that this guy came with. I'm afraid I'll forget what parts came with what toy, which is silly due to the fact that sites like yojoe.com which archive in photographic form what parts go with what action figure. I don't know, I'm a weird guy like that. 
Amazon has a listing for this toy here: 

G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary 3 3/4 Inch Action Figure Hazard Viper Toxin Specialist



I have our table setup for the Dallas Comic Con this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We are at table 197 on the ground floor. I didn't snag a good pic of the table to post, but look out for the Xenex the Bug Man banner and the Marvindog Media banner. I look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and hopefully some new people stopping by to chat with us.

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Pin-up of the Day- Master Chief's Creed!

Master Chief's Creed by Taylor Lymbery
The Dallas Comic Con on May 17-19th is right around the corner! I'm finishing early commissions for that show. My first big one was, "The Walking Saboteur". The second big commission request was from Monty at the Darth Mall vintage toy store. He wanted a mash up of two of his favorite characters, Master Chief from Halo 4 and Conner from Assassin's Creed 3. When I saw the helmet that Master Chief has in the new game, I almost didn't think I could pull this commission off. It's pretty detailed, but once I got the main shape structure penciled in, the detail seemed to ink in naturally. After the water color and ink washes dried, I went back with a while paint marker and added all of the (what I call) etherial data that can be seen in the background mist when someone dies in Assassin's Creed. I'm not exactly sure what to call it. I've never finished playing through the first Assassin's Creed.  From what I have been told by my friend Matt over at Video Game Hangover is that I really should find the time to play through all of the games. We'll see. I know I would enjoy them, I just have to find the time. You can also see this piece here to go to my deviantart account. 


I purchased a table for the Dallas Comic Con in May. I look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and hopefully some new people stopping by to chat with us. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Xenex the Bug Man update and the upcoming Dallas Comic Con!

I'll be at the Dallas Comic Con on May 17th-19th. I've updated the Xenex the Bug Man site with news about issue 5 of the bug man comic book. I hope to see all of my Xenex the Bug Man fans as well as meet some new people! If you are going, be sure to stop by and give Jeff and I your favorite toy memory to put on the next Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff podcast! See you there! 


I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 



Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:

If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows! 

Monday, May 6, 2013

Painting of the Day- Battle for the Crimson Planet!


Battle for the Crimson Planet by Taylor Lymbery
Back when I was young and I would play G.I.Joe for hours, I would come up with some of the wackiest play scenarios. One of my favorite play times mashed Masters of the Universe, 
Sectaurs and G.I.Joe all together. It was epic! Back in 1989, I received a really cool Joe action figure by the name of Countdown. Once I got this awesome astronaut, my world opened up to the possibility of having some amazing space battles where Cobra would try their best to beat the Joes in the inky black void. This, of course, came with the belief that I would get at least one of the big space shuttles that were around at the time of this action figure's release. I never got one of the space shuttles. They were too expensive. But that did not stop me from imagining what some of their battles may look like. This painting is a good representation of one of my imaginative adventures of G.I.Joes in space. To make this piece, I took some notes from Michael Carroll in his book, Space Art. I was so intrigued by his "Mars from Deimos" painting that I wanted to do my own but, with a twist. I know that the idea that Cobra burning an emblem onto Mars is a bit ridiculous, but we are talking about the same group that shot the Joes into space from a nightclub in the series cartoon. My piece doesn't seem so silly now. The characters in the painting are, Dee Jay, Maverick and Countdown. The Cobra space vehicles are the Stellar StilettosThis piece is painted in acrylics on a 13" X 24" 60lb polar matte paper. You can also see this piece in my deviantart gallery here


I purchased a table for the Dallas Comic Con in May. I look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and hopefully some new people stopping by to chat with us. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows! And, be sure to give Jeff a hug. He's feeling a bit grumpy.

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Action Figure Friday- Road RIpper!

This is one of those Masters of the Universe vehicles that I ended up getting way after the line was over and I got a wild hair to collect all of these He-Man toys as an adult. I got this Road Ripper in the aftermarket on ebay for pretty cheap. I think I spent maybe five dollars with shipping included. Originally, this toy had only a few of its stickers, which were in bad shape, and it was missing it's rip-cord. I ended up downloading the scanned decals on He-Man.org, scanning in my salvaged stickers from my toy, combining the two and using photoshop to clean up the decals. I tried to get the stickers as close as I could to the original decals that were supplied with the toy. I printed them off on a sticker sheet and laminated the decals with a sealing tape. Later on, I got a rip-cord from DFW Vintage toys to complete this bad boy! This is a very simple Masters of the Universe vehicle, but the design and play value are fantastic. When I got the rip-cord, I sat and played with this thing over, and over, and over. It really is fun! The only complaint that I have is that I didn't have a friend over to wheel the toy back to me. Instead, I had to walk across the room to get it...


If you have a Road Ripper that you are trying to refurbish, you can download the original file here to print your own sticker sheets. Just a warning, I do retain a small bit of copyright on this sticker sheet due to the photoshop work that I did to "clean" the decals. The rest (and almost all) of the copyright goes to Mattel who is the sole copyright holder of the original Road Ripper decal design. Please do not print off my decals to sell on ebay. If I see this happening I will report you to ebay. This is for anyone and everyone who has a Road Ripper that they would like to clean up. These decals are not absolutely perfect and therefore not official. The color may be a little off and the trim lines may not be exact, but I tried to get it as close as I could to the original. Enjoy.



I purchased a table for the Dallas Comic Con in May. I look forward to seeing all of the familiar faces and hopefully some new people stopping by to chat with us. 

I have posted some new shirt designs in my Cafepress store. Head over to my Cafepress store and get a shirt or a couple! 

I have all Xenex the Bug Man comic books available for print on demand. You can see that listing here on my store's tab for comic books. 

Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how. 

If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com  and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
If you like what we have, be sure to tell your friends! We need your word of mouth to help us keep making shows! And, be sure to give Jeff a hug. He's feeling a bit grumpy.

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!