Action Figure Friday- G.I.Joe Sigma 6- Cobra Commander!

When the Sigma 6 toy line came to market, I was living from paycheck to paycheck. Money was scarce, so needless to say, I missed out on a lot of the action figures from this line. And despite not having a lot of money, it also didn't help that the price of the deluxe guys was $20.00 and the basic toys were $16.00. Back in 2005-2007, that was a lot for a 8" action figure line. Hasbro's Sigma 6 series was expensive, but they were totally worth every penny paid! These toys were chocked full of articulation, accessories, and soft good costuming pieces. This toy line didn't have a large roster of characters compared to G.I.Joes' 3 3/4" action figure line. Instead Sigma 6 had a few main characters that got several toy versions changing up costuming colors, pieces and weapons. One of the main characters that I originally missed out on was Cobra Commander. As far as this line goes, I would get all of the Cobra Commanders from Sigma 6. They are all fantastic! But for me, I wanted to make sure that I got the classic first release blue armor Commander. I managed to get him years later after the line was over in an ebay auction. This action figure is my favorite toy from this line. Seriously! I'm a big fan of the armored look that he sports, calling back to the vintage armored Cobra Commander 3 3/4' toy. But, I love that this version of CC has the total blue uniform calling back to his original action figure look. He also sports some nice details that call back to some of the 12" toy line. Honestly, this version of Cobra Commander is all of the good things from all of the other awesome Cobra Commanders thrown into one fantastic version! On top of that, he has a back holstered laser gun, rotating spring loaded action damage plate on his chest, a snake firing missile staff and a saw shield that has a hidden knife in the back! If that is not a selling point, to some of you, well then you missed it (the point)! Seriously! It's a saw shield! That's almost as cool as an Uzi-Shield.

You can find the Sigma 6 Cobra Commander online for sale. Here is a listing of him on Amazon.com. : Sigma 6 Cobra Commander. 

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

Give us a like! And, 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. 

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!

Action Figure Friday- MOTU- Roton!

I'm going classic today with a true classic in the vintage Masters of the Universe toy line. Today, I bring you the mighty evil sawing vehicle, Roton! Let me just start off by saying this, I loved this toy. At one point I had two of these vehicles. I'm not exactly sure why, but I did. For me, I could put just about any sized action figure in this thing and it would work in my play scenarios. I remember that I could fit about four to fives G.I.Joes in there to saw their way into a Cobra camp, or vice versa. Now, let me also say this, my Dad hated this toy because it made this awful clicking noise every time it moved forwards or backwards on its hidden wheel. Did I mention how much I loved playing with this thing? I remember times when I would try and push this toy across the carpeted floor right next to my Dad's orange lounge chair while he watched his shows. Some times, I would put one hand in each of the two Rotons and walk-push them across the floor right next to his chair, again, while he watched his stories. I also remember him taking the toy/toys away till his show was over. Seriously, if you did not see that one coming, you don't know the annoying power of this noise maker. It's really loud. This is the only version of this toy made. There was a model of this vehicle made that had a face shield attached to it. I've personally never seen one of these models in person and I don't think I ever will. Now, I doubt that Mattel will ever make this in the Classics toy line due to the "under" success of the Wind Raider that they put to market about a year ago. But, If they were to make this thing in the Classics scale, I would totally be on board to buy one for my collection. Hell, I might even buy two, for old time's sake. 

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

Give us a like! And, 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. 

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!

Action Figure Friday- Masters of the Universe 200X- Zodak!

For those who know me, this little tid-bit of info will come as no big shock. I am a huge Masters of the Universe fan, and more so, a big fan of Zodac, the cosmic enforcer. As I've said on the podcast, Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff, Zodac, or as I called him, "Mr. Ladybug-head-man", was my first He-Man toy that I had. He was given to me by my cousins one Christmas long ago when I was very young. He was my favorite He-man action figure and he remains one of my favorite characters to date. In 2002-2003, Mike Young Productions re-vamped the cartoon and took a bit different approach with Zodac. First off, they changed his skin tone, gave him tattoos, took away his blaster, and gave him a staff, featured him helmet-less a lot, and dropped the c in his name and put a k in it's spot. There were a good deal of fans that did not like these changes. I actually loved them. I felt that the character got a good bit of attention that he didn't really get years before. When Mattel released his toy to shelves, he sold out quickly and it put me on the hunt for an affordable Zodak action figure for years! Well, I finally got my chance the other day. I got really lucky and was able to buy him off of card and complete. Despite the lack of his one hand being able to hold his staff or blaster, and the fact that his helmet doesn't cover his entire back of head, I truly am happy to have this guy in my collection! He is without a doubt my favorite 200X MOTU action figure. He has both a spring loaded waist, and a attack action spring loaded arm that lets him twist and point! I'm not too keen on having him pointing. I think I would have liked him having a gripping hand in order to hold his blaster. But, since this is Zodak, and I am so happy to have this guy, I'll totally over look that fault.

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

Give us a like! And, 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. 

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!

Action Figure Friday- G.I.Joe 25th Anniversary- Cobra Ninja Viper!

There are times when I speak volumes of how cool my wife is for catering to my toy collecting habit. This is one of those times. As a collector, I do struggle at times to get away from work and stacking projects in order to hunt down those wonderful little plastic wonders that I love so much. So, back in 2008, when I felt that the 25th anniversary Joe line was kind of coming to an end, I was always on the look out for some of the last waves of action figures that I really wanted. One of the last guys I got from that years wave was this Cobra Ninja Viper. Ever since I saw press footage of this ninja, I knew that I had to have him in my collection. And who wouldn't want him, he's a BA ninja! When this toy hit the shelves, I had been working like crazy. I never really got away from work, and when I was home, I was trying to catch up on my artwork. To make matters worst, I ended up sick, so I was truly unable to go out toy hunting. One night I get a call from my wife. She was asking who it was I was looking for on my Joe roster. She had found a Cobra Ninja Viper, and wanted to make sure that I had not already picked one up. When she presented me with this toy, I instantly started to feel loads better and with good reason, this guy is chocked full of goodies! He has a back pack, two swords, and uzi, a dagger, a rope bundle, a claw, a pair of sickles, and a stand! One cool thing about this guy, other than the fact that he is an awesome Cobra ninja, is that you can actually place all of these items on the figure and there is nothing left that he can't hold, so he does not break Jeff's action figure rule: Toy has no more accessories than the character can hold. 

  I am on the hunt for most of the ninjas from the 25th anniversary line. I feel that they would go well with this uber awesome character in my collection. There are some new ninjas that have made me do a second look in the new Retaliation toy line. As soon as I finally see the Retaliation line back on the shelves here, I might have to pick up a few new action figures! You see more pics of this toy here on yojoe.com. 

You can find this toy on Amazon here: GI Joe 25th Anniversary Cobra Ninja Viper Action Figure

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

Give us a like! And, 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. 

Taylor and Jeff: Action Figure Buddies for Life!

Action Figure Friday- Masters of the Universe Classics: Mosquitor!

Back in December, Mattel released the Masters of the Universe Classics Mosquitor through Mattycollector. I was able to get one on its sale date. Unfortunately, I have a budget so I have to pick and choose a few out of a wave instead of getting a whole subscription. At first, I had thought of not getting this action figure in order to get others down the road. I have to say, I am extremely happy that I did not pass on him! He is amazing! He carries the standard Masters of the Universe male buck chocked full of the standard articulation with a new head, hands, biceps, loincloth, chest plate, and boots. Extra care was taken with the sculpt, giving him some ridiculous awesome detail with cracking and bumps on his insectoid body; basically, the sculpt on this toy is nothing short of absolutely amazing. Overall, he keeps the same classic look as the original toy, but he shares a few updates that give a nice nod to the 200X staction by Neca. I know that some have complained about the small insect arms that are located on his back. I'm actually ok with them. I do have to agree with Pixel Dan about a very needed accessory: In his review, he stated that he would have liked to have had a blood vat backpack much like the 200X statue. I will have to agree and I would say that Mattel should be persuaded to include a blood vat in a future weapons pack, though I am not sure how the pack would attach to the toy. Mosquitor comes with a nice modernization of his classic purple gun that has some very nice purple metallic highlights on it. Now, he does not have his blood pumping chest feature, but does feature a blood filled looking chest plate. I have to say, it works nicely. I know that I had said it earlier, but I am extremely happy with having bought this action figure. He really is a shining example of some of the greatness that this toy line can have. Now this toy has come and gone to the mattycollector website. I'm not sure when or if he will be re-released on that website, but you can find him for sale on other sites. Here is a listing of him on amazon.com. 

Masters of the Universe Classics: Mosqiutor

I have my Mosquitor setup with my Classics Hordak, Grizzlor, and Leech. He fits right into place and looks fantastic. If you find him for sale, he is bound to run a little more in costs due to his popularity. He's worth it, well, without going to high in cost. If you have the other horde's men, you will want this guy. 

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. 

The long awaited issue 4 of Xenex the Bug Man is now up for order. It's a great looking comic book! Head on over to the Bug Man site and see what I'm talking about!

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

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

Action Figure (toy) Friday- Dr. Dreadful Zombies Bug Lab!

The other day, I found this little gem on a shelf I was straightening up at work. From the look of the box, I just fell in love! I thought, "My God! How cool would that be if I got that and did a review on it?! I could ask Jeff from the podcast, Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff to a video review with me on this toy." I always fail to remember that Jeff doesn't like bugs, and this set glorifies itself on the fact that you can make candy versions of creepy crawlies. But, I digress. 
The Dr. Dreadful labs toys are made by Umagine which is put out through Spin Master (Spin Master put out the recent Tron Legacy Toys). The toys boast the feature of being able to eat whatever you make in the sets. In other words, this is the naughty food maker to the nice foodmaker, the Easy Bake Oven. Now I only have this one set. There have been other sets that have made me look twice in its direction due to it's looking like absolute coolness! The one set that I would like to add to this is the Organ Grinder. It looks rather impressive. At least the box makes it look impressive. 

From what I found with this Bug Lab set is that it is rather easy to use. I had no trouble putting the toy together nor did I have a hard time understanding the directions (unlike the directions to the Ikea furniture). I did notice that when I tried to push the candy gel into the mold, the gel would also push out of the bottom and onto the kitchen counter. I solved this little problem with a little piece of plastic bag set under the candy disc in the candy well. It's not a 100% clean counter approach, but it will get more mix into the mold instead of on the table. All in all, the candy is ok. The grape is way better than the apple mix. The true selling feature of this is being able to watch the candy mix push up into the semi clear mold. it really is fun to watch. I really like the design of this toy set, and initially that is what sold me on getting it. The other was the price. I was able to get this set for a ridiculously low price due to it being on sell. I do wish that the gray plastic was molded in a darker color. And I also wish that the bug molds were in the bluish color like in the package photo, but what can you do. This would be a fun stocking stuffer and/or small gift to give a young boy or any child that enjoys gross things. 

Here is a listing of this toy on amazon: Dr. Dreadful Gummy Bugs

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. 

The long awaited issue 4 of Xenex the Bug Man is now up for order. It's a great looking comic book! Head on over to the Bug Man site and see what I'm talking about!

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

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

Action Figure Friday- MOTU Classics- Rattlor!

I had a bit of great satisfaction when I opened this newest version of King Hsss's Snake Man General, Rattlor. When I first saw Pixel Dan's review of this action figure, I knew that I wanted him in my collection. This action figure is fantastic! 
To start off, this toy, as with most all of the Masters of the Universe Classics action figures, is chocked full of articulation. You have a ball jointed neck; ball-hinged shoulders and hips; hinged elbows, knees, chest and ankles; and finally swivel waist and wrists. To add to this long list of movement, he also has a swivel tail much like that of Whiplash. So needless to say, this snake man is pretty poseable. One incredible thing about this toy has to be the paint application. It is truly beautiful. There is so much attention to detail that I would have to think that elements of Rattlor were in fact hand painted. The maroon is very vibrant and works so well with the yellows and blue, just like the original release of this character. 

Rattlor comes with his snake staff, an Evil Horde armband, and his neck extension. I like how they paid homage to the vintage and 200X toys with keeping the Strike like head. 

That's leaves the way you want to display your toy with a couple of options. I personally like having his neck extension on the toy. I really makes him tower a bit over all of the other Snake men that have been released so far. 

The tail has a rattle in it to harken back to the original release Rattlor that had a rattle in him. It makes sense; he's a rattle snake. The only problem I have with this rattle is that it is really quiet. Is that a big deal? Nope. Again, overall this action figure is great! Now I know that there have been some problems with some of the recent MOTU Classics toys having the paint rub off to show black plastic. I've seen a little paint peeling up from the ball joint of the neck extension. Other than that, I've had no problems. Now Mattel has said in passing that we might get the 200X armor for this action figure in a battle pack. I'm not too keen on getting the battle packs, but I might be tempted to get it just to get the armor. You can find this guy on amazon and ebay for about $40.00. Normally I would say just to wait to see if Mattycollector re-releases him, but if you want to drop the dollars for this guy I would understand. He's that cool. 

All throughout the month of Movember, I'll be growing a mustache to raise awareness of prostate cancer and I'll be taking donations for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Do you want to donate?! Head on over to my Movember page to see photos of me struggling to make a blonde mustache show and to donate! 

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. 

The long awaited issue 4 is now up for order. It's a great looking comic book! Head on over to the Bug Man site and see what I'm talking about!

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:
Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff on facebook
The Loosely Based Podcast on facebook
The Pilot Episode on facebook

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