Barbecue's Bonfire: 8/28/2020

Hey everyone!

I haven't done a Barbecue's Bonfire for... sheesh, a couple years, but I'm going to try to bring it back. It's my place for lots of weird little things that don't fit within my usual review structure. What to talk about?

First, have you noticed the newest character to get their own review archive? It's Beast Man! Beast Manor is the new home for all of my Beast Man reviews! OK, well it's not super new (I opened it in May) but it's the newest and worth pointing out.

Second, I've been working on 2020's 31 Days of Toy Terror countdown since July 1st! That's why I didn't do a Masters of the Universe themed series for this month. I probably won't until November, either, just because getting Halloween stuff together takes some serious time. This year I'm going to focus on "horror" toys made before the year 2000 (though I can be incredibly loose on the definition of horror). What lines or individual characters from before the year 2000 would you recommend I check out?

More after the break...

Action Figure Review: X-Lord (Scavenger) from Fortnite Legendary Series by Jazwares

   It's time for another review from Jazwares' Fortnite: Legendary Series and this time it's the X-Lord in his Scavenger outfit! From what I can tell, X-Lord is a newer version of Rust Lord who first appeared in Season X/ Season 10, so he's actually a variant or upgrade of that previously released figure who is one of my favorites in the line. X-Lord (Scavenger) may very well be another of my favorites, too, as he has a fantastic post-apocalyptic look that makes him oh so versatile. The Scavenger X-Lord looks like he could easily fit in to the Mad Max universe or perhaps even in the Borderlands universe. Pair him up with Junkrat from Overwatch! Add the first Dreadnok to your G.I. Joe Classified Series roster! Heck, he could even be a bounty hunter in the Star Wars galaxy as well. He's a fun figure with some great accessories! Let's check out the X-Lord (Scavenger) after the break...

Action Figure Review: Blast-Attak #1017 from POP! Television: Masters of the Universe by Funko

   Funko had four Masters of the Universe SDCC exclusives this summer, all offered through online sales, and boy were they tough to get. Funko's 2020 SDCC online sale was a real crap show. I was there and logged in right when things began and I guarantee it took me nearly an hour to get through, most of which was spent "calculating shipping." It gave me flashbacks to the Matty Collector sale days trying to pick up figures that were offered outside of the subscription. I ended up missing out on the two MOTU POP! vinyls at Funko's sale but I managed to acquire Blast-Attak through Toy Tokyo's sale (better sales experience though things sold fast and I missed Clawful there, too). While I still cannot believe that Funko hasn't released Teela yet (one of the true A-list characters) after 7 years of the line's existence, I do like that Funko is going deeper into the characters from the vintage line. I've already talked about Blast-Attak's bizarre affiliations previously in my review of the MOTUC figure so I'll skip over his weird allegiances to both the Snake Men and the Evil warriors and simply jump right in to a look at another figure from the 1987 series of vintage MOTU figures. Let's check out Blast-Attak after the break...

Action Figure Review: Casey Jones & Raphael (In Disguise) from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by NECA

    Every so often a company produces a "dream toy" that you've been waiting to add to your collection for years. Obviously there are hundreds (actually thousands) of action figures that have caught my attention over the years but when it comes to toys I honestly never thought I might own, the list is narrowed down quite a bit. Back in 2018 I reviewed NECA's quarter scale Raphael in Disguise which was a toy I had truly wanted for 28 years at that point. I don't collect much in that scale but Raphael in his trench coat and Bogie hat was a must have. I'm really glad that NECA has been able to produce their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the 1990 film for a wider audience now and I've been collecting the line as possible. They're still pretty tough to come by but I found two of the turtles at GameStop, all of this year's GameStop exclusive figures, and now all of the Walmart exclusive 2-packs. Today I'm checking out my most anticipated two-pack of the three which is Casey Jones and Raphael. The original 1990 film is still the best TMNT movie (2007's TMNT would probably be my second pick, though I have a soft spot for TMNT 2 and 3 as well) and I'm thrilled to be amassing a collecting of the characters from that film. I had almost given up hope of ever finding this set in Walmart but I finally stumbled upon it a few weeks ago. I was ecstatic! Let's check this one out after the break and get the Turtle Power going in here!

Action Figure Review: Han Solo (Carbonite) from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection by Hasbro

    Back in the summer of 2013 Hasbro released their first Star Wars: The Black Series release: The SDCC exclusive Boba Fett with Han Solo in Carbonite. While Boba Fett was released in Phase I as a standard release, Han Solo in Carbonite was always held back to keep him exclusive. While this isn't truly an action figure, Han Solo frozen in carbonite is one of the most iconic elements of the Original Trilogy and the character/ prop has a long history in toy form dating back to his inclusion with the vintage Kenner Slave 1. It always seemed like Hasbro would find some way to release this piece again to a wider body of collectors and finally they have! Han Solon (Carbonite) is an Amazon exclusive figure in the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Collection and I couldn't be happier. Some folks seem salty as a pretzel about this release but I'm loving it. Let's check out Han Solo (Carbonite) after the break...

Toy Review: Battle Cat Vs. Roton from Masters of the Universe by Mega Construx

    Power-Con 2020 was virtual this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and while He-Fans and She-Ravers certainly missed the opportunity to gather together in person it was pretty cool to be able to take part in some great online panels. One of the best was the Mega Construx panel. The designers of the line are awesome and it seems like the Masters of the Universe Mega Conxtrux line is going to get better and better! I was excited to find one of the new sets a couple of weeks ago so today I'm going to check out the Battle Cat Vs. Roton set. My daughter and I built this a couple of days ago and while there's not a ton of building here (basically just the Roton) you do get quite a few items with the set. I'm always excited to see Battle Cat make his way into a MOTU line and the Roton has long been one of my favorite vehicles, so there's that too. Let's take a look at Battle Cat Vs. Roton after the break...

Action Figure Review: Destro from G.I. Joe Classified Series by Hasbro

   I'm a little surprised that the first series of G.I. Joe Classified Series figures only included one villain. Yeah, G.I. Joe's heroes are popular but the villains seem to be the characters that most everyone remembers. Since there are only five characters in the first series, Hasbro went with a split of four G.I. Joes and one Cobra: Destro! Destro was originally released as part of the second series of vintage G.I. Joe figures and ever since then he's always been a key part of the line, appearing in nearly every incarnation of G.I. Joe. Destro is one of the most "classic" looking figures in the line, bearing a great resemblance to his vintage predecessor. Let's take a look at the first Cobra in the line, James McCullen Destro XXIV, after the break...