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

 

   Y'all know that Hasbro's G.I. Joe: Classified Series is pretty much my favorite toyline out there right now. Honestly, it's become one of my favorites ever, even eclipsing my beloved G.I. Joe: Sigma 6. Hasbro has been putting so much G.I. Joe: Classified Series stuff out there lately that I'm way, way behind in reviewing it all! I've had the Cobra Valkyries for well over a month but I'm just now getting around to checking them out. Female Cobra Troopers actually appeared in the Sunbow animated series and were released by the G.I. Joe Collector's Club in a few different sets. We're building a huge Cobra army in the Classified Series and Hasbro decided to help us out by releasing two Cobra Valkyries in one set. Now, I will say that while this set does have some deluxe elements to it like lots of firing effects, it still feels like Hasbro seems to misunderstand the idea of buying in bulky. Why are there Marvel Legends, Star Wars: The Black Series, and G.I. Joe: Classified Series multi-packs always more expensive than buying two normal figures? What a weird concept! Fortunately, this set is a good one and it comes with lots of great stuff to full equip the Valkyries. We don't get file cards or bios anymore but there is a blurb on Hasbro Pulse that says: "The Cobra Valkyries stalk the battlefield as 'choosers of the slain' ushering any enemies who cross their path straight to Valhalla." That's pretty grim and definitely makes them seem like some sort of elite unit, though it could always be bravado. Still, darn cool stuff. Let's check out the Cobra Valkyries after the break...

The ABCs of 31 Days of Toy Terror: W is for Wurdulac from Monster in My Pocket by Matchbox

   Monster in My Pocket always has a place in 31 Days of Toy Terror and today, representing the letter W, is the Wurdulac from the fourth series of MIMP minifigures. The fourth series was called the Super Scary series and the figures were a little bit larger, had higher point values, and even had a couple paint applications. Today I'm checking out the Wurdulac, one of my child original MIMPs. According to the Monster in My Pocket lore, the Wurdulac is: "European; a ravenous vampire who torments loved ones and places them under his spell to carry out his deeds."

   It's actually a creature from Slavic folklore with roots in Serbia and Russia. The Wurdulac is kind of like a vampire but it often feeds on the blood of it's own family, eventually desiring to turn them all into wurdulacs like itself. It also might have some connections to werewolves as it's name is a corruption of the western Slavic word volkodlak, which refers to someone who wears the fur or hide of a werewolf. Apparently in older Slavic mythology, the soul still roamed the world 40 days after the death of the body, but if someone was so evil that they were denied entry to the world of the dead, or if they died suddenly, violently, or with improper funeral rites, their soul could return to their body. The name gained more popularity because of the  1839 Aleksey Tolstoy novella "The Family of the Vourdalak."  The Wurdulac has even made an appearance in the horror anthology Black Sabbath and there are Canadian and Norwegian death metal bands named after the creatures. Pretty spooky stuff, right? Let's check out our representative of the letter W, the Wurdulac, after the break...

The ABCs of 31 Days of Toy Terror: V is for Vampira from Vampira ReAction by Super7

 

   I actually struggled to find someone for V in my collection but fortunately I had two figures on the way, both which qualified. Vampira came in first so she wins the coveted spot in the countdown! It also is fitting that she arrived first because while the idea of a horror host is just a cultural staple and something of an archetype these days, Vampira was the first. Maila Nurmi created the character and the concept and everyone following in her footsteps owes her a lot of credit. Elvira, Joe Bob Briggs, Svengoolie, Penny Dreadful, Peter Vincent, Dr. Gangrene, Zombo, Coffin Joe, all of those fine folks and more have followed in Vampira's footsteps. Most modern goths, too. It's a real shame that she might be most well known for appearing in Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space or as being played by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton's Ed Wood rather than as the innovator that she was. Super7 has just released her as a ReAction figure so she can hang out with other horror greats on your shelf, particularly the large cast of Universal Monsters figures. NECA has a Toony Terrors figure of her out right now as well, so Vampira is getting quite a bit of attention at the moment from toy makers. Let's take a look at Vampira after the break...

The ABCs of 31 Days of Toy Terror: U is for Umbreon from Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee Evolution Series by Funism

   For today's installment of the ABC's 31 Days of Toy Terror we have a guest from my daughter Adora's Pokemon collection: Umbreon from the Let's Go Eevee Evolution Series by Funism. This is a blind boxed import set of all nine forms of Eevee (so Eevee and the eight Eeeveelutions) featuring nine different minifigures, each with their own unique decorative display base and a foil card. By purchasing a case we ended up with the full set and Adora got these at the end of the school year back in late May. They're a really nice set of decorative figures and since Umbreon is my favorite of the Eeveelutions, fits the Halloween theme, and helped me cover the letter U, I decided he'd make a great review. For my daughter's Eevees, all of the Eevees and Eeveelutions are girls expect for the Umbreons, which are all boys. Let's take a look at this very cool Umbreon after the break...

The ABCs of 31 Days of Toy Terror: T is for T-1 Terminator from Terminator Salvation by Playmates

   Hey kids! Want to hear a story about a true haunting? It's the story of the Playmates Terminator Salvation toyline, released in 2009, and how it haunted the action figure aisles for years to come! Ooooohhh! Try as they might, no retailer could get rid of it!

   Ok, yes, the Terminator Salvation toyline was not very impressive, even by 2009 standard; incredibly bland figures, a lack of likeness rights, and too many scales. It didn't help that the movie wasn't particularly well received, either. These figures sat on shelves for what felt like a few years, even at clearance prices. I think at some point I had grabbed a couple of the smaller figures on deep clearance just for the accessories, but the only figure I went out of my way to pickup when the line was new was the T-1. Part of the 1/12th scaled "deluxe" line, the T-1 was actually scaled more properly to the smaller 1/18th scaled figures. These battlefield robots first appeared in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and had a larger role in Salvation. I grabbed the figure because it reminded me of something that could have popped up in Kenner's 1993 Terminator 2: Future War toyline. It's a killer robot, so perfect for some toy terror, right? Let's check out the T-1 after the break...

The ABCs of 31 Days of Toy Terror: S is for Skeletor (Savage Eternia) from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe by Mattel

   Well... it's about time that Skeletor showed up for this year's 31 Days of Toy Terror! Remember the year that the theme for 31 Days of Toy Terror was Skeletober? That was crazy! This year Skeletor isn't showing up nearly that much, but he has to make his presence known for the letter S, doesn't he? Today I'm checking out the Savage Eternia Skeletor from the Netflix inspired He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toyline. The toyline really fizzled out this year as the show has ended, leaving some of the latter figures, like Moss Man, to be incredibly rare. Having my Moss Man preorders cancelled drives me nuts! That's some toy terror, right there (he's my favorite character, after all). Skeletor isn't as common a you'd, but he's not fetching the crazy prices of Moss Man. the Savage Eternia moniker showed up on both new versions of He-Man and Skeletor as well as on Hordak, Mer-Man, and Moss Man. My assumption is that this was Mattel's attempt to refresh the line until another season was greenlighted and completed or to just keep things going if it proved to be a success, but these have mostly just been showing up at select e-tailers and at places like Ollie's. We definitely have had multiple Skeletors in the line previously, but this one looks way cooler. Is he a better figure? Let's find out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Whiplash from Masterverse/ Masters of the Universe: New Eternia by Mattel

 

   It's no secret that I love Masterverse and the Masters of the Universe: New Eternia figures are my favorites of all. Today I'm checking out Whiplash, one of the newest New Eternia releases. Like with most of the New Eternia figures, Whiplash works perfectly well as a new take on the character (inspired by vintage concept art) and a straight up classic version of the character. I've been hoping that we'd get a MOTU: Revelation version of Whiplash with his Motherboard outfit on but this guy is still a very welcome treat. In the information on the back of the box we learn that Whiplash is the leader of the Caligar, a species living in the Demon Zone. The cataclysmic event mentioned in some of the other bios opens a portal between Eternia and the Demon Zone, allowing the Caligar to invade Eternia.  Ready to check out Whiplash, the Tail-Thrashing Warrior? Then join me after the break...