Another month down, and another list of top reviews at battlegrip.com. This time around there's really not all that much variety in the top spots, and only one of the toys is a mass market release. What an odd month October was. Let's dive into November, guys, and prepare for the upcoming fun of the holidays.

• Real X Head/Onell Design Pheyaos
  
• Ashley Wood’s Adventure Kartel Shadow Zombie
  
• G.I. Joe 12″ Cobra Trooper
  
• Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 Zelix with Zemerik
  
• Star Wars ARTFX Clone Trooper Statues
  
• Ashley Wood’s Bambaboss DIY

Only four points of articulation, but my crazy bootleg action figure design is coming together. Casting and assembly is finished and now it's time for paint. I've built six of these and before even finishing the work all of the pieces are spoken for.

I love taking photos of toys. Especially photos of toys in water.



This is the Rothan Pheyden from Onell Design's Glyos System. And this particular Pheyden is special because Matt Doughty, designer of the toy, scarred him up for me at the New York Toy Fair.

Wow. It's not as tall as I expected, but it's neater than I had hoped. I want more of these, but they're so expensive . . .

What is he? Photos and info here.

Another month down, another month of toy news, noise, and reviews at battlegrip.com. It was a busy site at the month, with reviews of designer toys, crazy resin bootleg pieces, a cheap knockoff, and a ton of bad X-Men toys.

No doubt the #1 new review of the month was heavily influenced by people searching for reviews of G.I. Joe Resolute. Amazingly, it looks like a lot of the people who hit the site looking for info on the cartoon stuck around to poke at toy reviews.

• G.I. Joe "Resolute" Cobra Trooper
  
• Marvel Universe The Thing
  
• Glyos System Custom Corps Wave 1 - "Sincroid"
  
• Secret Cinnamon Squad Argus 3000
  
• Terminator Salvation 3.75-inch T-700
  
• Wolverine and the X-Men Magneto

Etsy.com always has interesting stuff. Today it's got six more of the white V'r toys. These guys look kinda cool and they're priced very low for hand-cast pieces.



The size -- 3.5" -- makes me think these would go great with Glyos figures.

May 1st is when the new Secret Cinnamon Squad figure is going to be released. Limited to a run of 14, these will probably sell out faster than Argus 3000 did. I'm gonna skip Moakie, because he's just not quite as cool as Argus 3000 and the only way he would look cool is if I had an army of them. And at $25/each -- and a run of 14 -- this isn't exactly a toy you "army build."

I relaxed. A nice, long walk for lunch. A bike ride this afternoon. And a shot at experimenting with some scrap lumber that we had in the garage.

( Photos behind the cut. )

It's by no means perfect, but it's not bad for screwing around with some scrap lumber. The wheels are from Hobby Lobby and all of the joints are dowels that I capped off. There's exactly one nail in the piece; everything else is held together with the joints and/or wood glue.

It needs detailing with paint and some supports so that the car doesn't sag in the middle.

Yeah, this was a relaxing day.

I wanna steal some time today to go outside and look at Vegas. I want to visit a designer (or vintage) toy store, but I'm not having a lot of luck with online searches. I'd also like to hit up a good game store.

And, to make matters worse, I wanna walk there from Bally's. So anything within 3-miles of Bally's is fair game for a short hike.

Help!

Bootleg, short-run, hand-cast/painted resin toys. It's something I've known about for a few years now, but not anything I've ever looked at closely. Obviously, the Sucklord's work is the first thing that comes to mind (at least, if you even know about this art scene) when someone mentions bootleg resin. It's very strange, priced as art objects, and has a following.

Well, last week I ordered my very first bootleg resin toy. The Argus 3000, from the Secret Cinnamon Squad, looked delightfully weird and had a visual style that appealed to me. Add in a low price and I was hooked. I was also lucky, since I ended up with only one of the less-than-a-dozen copies that were sold.

A few days ago, before leaving for Vegas, I posted a review of the Argus 3000 at battlegrip.com. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I could totally create my own resin toys. The only thing between me and a final piece is time. Maybe this is one of those projects I can attempt whenever I take a week off from work.

A ton of awesome. This isn't the complete collection (the Buildman figures and Junk Shop figures aren't shown here), but otherwise this is every Glyos figure I've got as of today. These are great pieces and perfect for anyone who loves tiny toys for the desk.

The bottom photo shows my new custom figure that just arrived today.

Inexpensive, great designs, and fun to play with. That's exactly how I would describe every single one of Kenner's "Mini-Rigs" that they produced in the 1980s. At about $5 each (at the time) they're were just a little cheaper than buying two action figures . . . and a hell of a lot more fun than blowing $6 on two Ewoks. Damn you, Ewoks. What made me waste money on buying Ewoks when I was a kid?

Another month down, and another month of toys. I had a lot of fun in March, and it was the site that helped me maintain my sanity as the stress at the office threatened to push me over the edge. It feels really good to know that I've found something to do that keeps me busy without feeling like work or a work-related activity.

The top new reviews in March were:

1. Glyos System Callgrim
   
2. Marvel Universe Green Goblin
   
3. Marvel Universe Spider-Man
   
4. Transformers Encore Edition Trailbreaker
   
5. M.A.S.K. Billboard Blast
   
6. M.A.S.K. Condor
   
   It's good to see the Glyos series come in at the top of the list, since they're neat toys and they deserve to be noticed.

Even though I had an oven issue, it all worked out in the end.



He's not perfect, but he's pretty good for my first attempt at merging a G.I. Joe figure with one of the new Marvel Universe figures. And now I'm seriously thinking about how I could blend pieces to create an Arctic Weather Captain America. Because after all, the arctic environment makes for a great setting.

So I'm playing around with customizing one of the new Marvel Universe action figures by mixing some G.I. Joe components with a Captain America. I was working on tweaking the helmet to better fit Cap but the oven turned the helmet into goo.

I gotta remember that for the future.

Okay, I'm officially a geek. I got home today just in time to open a package packed with . . . six MOC Transformers cassettes straight from my childhood. Lazerbeak, Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, Ratbat, and another Frenzy (he was packed with both Laserbeak and Ratbat). I got really lucky online and managed to score all three packs for a lot less than a single pack usually sells for. So low, in fact, that I was a little worried that they might not be authentic.

They are.

Now the agony. Do I open them or not? I mean, I really wanna break these out of their packs (especially Ratbat, since he was always my favorite), but when I see just one of these packs listed on eBay for $950 (almost 20x what I paid for all three packs) it makes me hesitate. (That $950 can't be all that accurate, though, since it's such a ridiculous price it makes me think the seller is insane.)

I'm gonna have to think this through a few times before I rip the packages open.

Update: After research I'm positive these are knockoffs and not authentic. The price was still good, since these are intended to be opened, so I'm actually kinda happy to learn that they're not authentic 1984 and 1985 pieces. Now I can open them without any more thought.

I used this site to check the details on these. It's a fun site.

Without even realizing it I've passed the "fifty reviews" mark over at www.battlegrip.com. As much as I enjoy writing the occasional game review, toy reviews are a lot of fun because playing with toys is something I can do on my own and it's not at all related to work. Games, on the other hand, must be enjoyed with a group and every single game -- no matter the type or publisher -- ends in me thinking about work-related issues and coming with new ideas. All well and good, but it means that playing games is almost as much work as sitting in the office dealing with staff, printers, freelancers, and scheduling.

I'll still post game reviews on occasion, but I can say that -- at the moment -- toy reviews are relaxing while game reviews are work.

This Flickr group, "Stormtrooper Legion of Merit", is filled with stormtrooper photos.





Plus many, many more. It's a fun browse.

A few months ago I posted a review of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Volume One, IDW’s guide to Transformers characters paperback written by James McDonough and Adam Patyk. At the time that I purchased the first volume, from Rogues Gallery -- a Round Rock, Texas comic and game store – I also grabbed the second volume in the series. I had intended to follow that first review with a second, but life got in the way.

Well, after some time off from work I sat down with Volume Two and read it over again. Here’s what I think.

( Click here for the review. )

I've posted pics and thoughts on the Callgrim Glyos figures for those of you who have, like me, fallen for these little designer toys. Leave it to me to be suckered by color variations and minor design changes.

It's no wonder that I'm loving these little guys. In an interview at "Let's Talk Toys" designer Matt Doughty says:

"The major influence for the Glyos System Series came from Japanese and American toys from the early 80’s like Dougram, Votoms, Microman, Air Raiders, Manglords, and Battle Beasts just to name a few."