Toy Review: Kobra Khan from Vinyl SODA by Funko

  When Funko listed the exclusives for the Funko Virtual Con Spring 2021 earlier this month I was able to order both of the Vinyl SODA figures available: Kobra Khan and Man-At-Arms. When mine arrived in the mail I was thrilled to discover that I actually received Battle Mode Kobra Khan, the limited chase variant. Of course, knowing that I was able to order the standard figure for retail price or less made acquiring the garden variety Kobra Khan a pretty easy sell and I scooped him up shortly after getting my exclusive version. How's the regular Kobra Khan? Let's check him out after the break...

Masters of the Universe Day 2021: Twelve of the Most Expensive Vintage Masters of the Universe Figures

 

   Happy Masters of the Universe Day 2021! 

   Today I'm proud to present a very special Masters of the Universe Day collaboration between Action Figure Barbecue and The Toy Box! Matt from The Toy Box contacted me and suggested that we create a post discussing the most expensive vintage Masters of the Universe currently out there. Matt handled the art while I handled the research and the write-ups. As I notified Matt who was on the list he returned some pretty cool MOTU art to me so fast your head would spin! Collecting the vintage Masters of the Universe line has gotten crazy expensive over the past decade or so and it's pretty wild for one line to have so many incredibly rare and expensive pieces. Sadly, I don't own any of these vintage figures so I'm just enjoying them from afar. So what was the criteria for making it onto this list?

1. Only the vintage toylines are included (Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power, and He-Man/ New Adventures. Unfortunately, there just aren't any New Adventures figures as expensive as the guys on this list (though a few were awfully close) so none of them made the cut.

2. I'm only looking at standard figures (though we did include the giants) rather than vehicles and playsets and only at the loose items. There are so many factors that change the value of carded figures that it wasn't really feasible to make a list.

3. Consider this a snapshot in time. These kind of things can change from month to month and prices absolutely fluctuate. The releases of new media, new toylines, and new documentaries like The Toys that Made Us and Power of Grayskull can all have an impact on the prices of MOTU items. 

4. There are figures who I know are extremely rare (most of the Leo Toys and especially Leo Faker) but for whom I just couldn't find enough current sales information to make a good estimate as to their pricing. If you have some information toss it our way!

Enjoy! If you have these figures bask in their glory and share with us how you acquired them! If you don't have own them then think about what organs and body parts you could do without in order to earn some sweet cheddar cheese so you can buy them. Let's get things spinning with Rotar...

Rotar -1987

   Loose and incomplete you can sometimes find Rotar for under $100. When you start trying to find his accessories, though, the price jumps up and you can expect to pay up to $400 dollars for this really odd looking Heroic Warrior. He's He-Man's top man. Top. Man. Get it? Yeah, the Energy Zoids were top-like warriors who were supposed to interact with the Gyratakker, a never released vehicle. I was collecting MOTU stuff at this time (I'm a bit younger than most fans) and I don't remember seeing this guy on shelves at all back in 1987.

The rest of the crew are after the break...

Action Figure: Cobra Infantry from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   If you want to talk about the best action figure line on the market today that's the most frustrating to collect then it's definitely G.I. Joe: The Classified Series. So far the Target exclusive Special Missions: Cobra Island figures have been just too darn hard to find. Last year's Cobra Trooper was a Target exclusive army builder released in limited numbers during a pandemic. That made for a perfect storm of troubles in trying to acquire the figure. Fortunately, Hasbro has released a very similar Cobra Infantry figure which is easier to find and could be preordered from most e-tailers and Hasbro Pulse. Mine was actually found on a shelf at a Walmart which is becoming a less common occurrence these days. The Cobra Infantry is a repaint of last year's Cobra Trooper with fewer accessories. How does he stack up compared to last year's release? Find out after the break...

Masters of the Universe Month 2021: Evil-Lyn from Masters of the Universe Classics by Mattel

 

    Remember how I had to review a figure of the Sorceress in order to add Zoar in for Masters of the Universe Month 2021? Well, I'm going to have to review Evil-Lyn in order to give Screeech his spot this month as I'm trying to cover different versions of all of characters, beasts, and vehicles from the 1983 series of vintage MOTU toys. Now I actually have already reviewed Evil-Lyn for this month as she's first appeared in the 1983 line as well but keep in mind that 1. This is all about Screeech and 2. I rarely need much coaxing to review a Masters of the Universe Classics figure. Evil-Lyn (and Screech) were released in April 2010, just a little over 11 years ago, and I remember ordering her, or trying to order her, from Matty Collector. Moss Man was my first MOTUC figure and Evil-Lyn was the first figure I ordered (or attempted to order) on the day of sale. Ready for a look at this evil sorceress and her evil barbarian bird? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Terror Claws Skeletor #39 (Metallic) from POP! Retro Toys by Funko

 

   

   Earlier this year Funko released the standard Terror Claws Skeletor in the POP! Retro Toys line and shortly afterwards they also released a Target exclusive metallic version of the same figure. Oddly enough, this guy wasn't that tough to find. Lately Target has been an anathema when it comes to exclusives but I managed to snag this one on their website while it was on sale. That was fortuitous, don't you think? It's the same sculpt as the standard Terror Claws Skeletor POP! but now he has a shiny, metallic paint job. You know, just like the Hot Topic exclusive keychain. Ready for a second round with Terror Claws Skeletor? Then join me after the break...

Barbecue's Bonfire 4/23/2021: The Salame, Ascendancy, and End of Phase III Edition

 

   This week's installment of Barbecue's Bonfire is loaded with lots of stuff! It didn't feel like this past week and weekend was this busy but I guess it was! What all was I up to? Well, how about finishing Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We watched Spider-Man: Far From Home on Sunday evening with our daughter, a film my wife and I hadn't seen either, and now Adora has seen all of the MCU films. Wow! It's been a really fun journey and I know she loved it. 

   2019's Spider-Man: Far from Home is technically the end of the Marvel Phase III films and it was really a nice way to end that Phase, giving us a glimpse of what life looked like after "The Blip." Tom Holland's Spider-Man is obviously at the front and center here but the film has a solid supporting cast with Peter's lovable classmates, especially Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned, Happy Hogan providing support, and Nick Fury and Maria Hill struggling to deal with the reality of threats in a post Avengers world. This is a really fast paced movie that balances menace and fun nicely, giving both Peter Parker and Spidey a chance to shine. If you're at all familiar with Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) then you're surely suspicious of his almost mentor-like role towards Peter. He was an interesting choice for this film and I liked how things played out. The mid-credits scene really has me excited for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which seems like it has the potential to be a darker film than the previous Spider-Man installments.

Action Figure Review: Thanos from Marvel Legends Series: The Infinity Gauntlet by Hasbro

 

     It has been almost a year since I last reviewed a Marvel Legends figure but a mixture of some great new releases from Hasbro and a recent rewatch of all of the MCU films have gotten my attention again and I've been picking up some figures I missed out on previously. I saw this fantastic new Thanos figure and I just knew that I wanted him. While I've purchased many of the toys based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters and enjoy them my Marvel Legends collection leans more heavily towards the comic side of things. I really like collecting the comic versions of characters who have appeared in the MCU and considering that Thanos is the big baddies of Phases 1, 2, and 3 he was a must have. Hasbro has released a few Thanos figures before but this guy is the most classic version so far. He comes in the deluxe Marvel Legends packaging with a "The Infinity Gauntlet" branding on the front and seems to be available pretty widely. ready for a look at Thanos? Then join me after the break...