Hot Toys Catch Up! Pre-Order War Machine Mark II, The Joker (1989 Mime Version), and Roadblock!

Those maniac, detail-obsessed artisans at Hong Kong's Hot Toys are still cranking out product with reckless abandon, and more power to them! Many collectors I know are now clearing out their years of K-mart-purchased kid-orientated crap, and graduating to fewer, high-end, screen-accurate art pieces designed for the distinguished (wo)man-child. 

There are three new offerings that our pals at Sideshow Collectibles have up for pre-order, not the least of which is this new diecast metal War Machine Mark II from Iron Man 3 - a film that this armour doesn't actually appear in. But don't let the facts stop you from enjoying the most definitive version of this character so far...

You can rush ahead and pre-order him here: 

Hot Toys Die Cast Marvel Series - Iron Man 3 War Machine Mark II EXCLUSIVE Limited Edition Sixth Scale Figure - MMS Diecast Series (Hot Toys)

But I do recommend that you come straight back, not just for more images and commentary but also to see the two other amazing figures that Hot Toys has announced. All that... after the jump!

Review: G.I. Joe Retaliation!

If you want the spoiler free version because you actually, sincerely want to see this thing then let me start with the short version. Director Jon M. Chu somehow manages to make a film that is dumber, smaller, cheaper, and far more morally bankrupt than the first one - which was a dumb, but fun sci-fi fantasy. This is more of a straight out, gun-boner, b-grade action flick that is sometimes so ridiculously inept that it’s entertaining - just not entertaining enough to pay full price for. Even shorter version: G.I. Joe Retaliation is balls. You were warned.

Now, if you don’t give a crap about spoilers and want to read a no-holds-barred, spoiler-filled rant about why this film is so terrible, then please won’t you join me... after the jump!

Toy Fair 2013: KRE-O GI Joe Coming This Month!

I'm sure you've seen the KRE-O Transformers (pretty cool, especially the sweet minifigs) and KRE-O Battleship (a little meh, mostly because it's Battleship), but did you know that Hasbro is extending it's in-house brick building line to include GI Joe? And it's the classic GI Joe that we all (a/k/a me) know and love.

It's an exciting time for block lines. It used to be just Lego with a license or two each year. Now Lego, MegaBloks and KRE-O all battle for the top licenses, and we're seeing more and more of our favorites pop up in block form. So... how do these hold up to the competition?

They actually look really cool! The figure style is a little wonky, but KRE-O is taking a pretty ballsy approach with their choices of characters and the amount of non-vehicle based playsets. I'm always a fan of an environment based set to house my figures, and 3/8 of the upcoming sets are environment based. Being a fictitious military based license, there are some sweet vehicles as well. And finally, the minifigures. So many good characters in what looks like 3 different series of blind packaged Kreons. (Did you know they are called Kreons?) 

These are expected to release this month and prices are very affordable at just $2.99 to $39.99.

Click through the jump for images of all of it, and once again big thanks to Travis Denman and Vinylmation Kingdom for the images.

Big Bad Toy Store Highlights! Let’s Talk Gremlins, GI JOE, Bioshock and More!

Let’s cast our discerning eyes over the newest list of pre-orders from our pals at Big Bad Toy Store and pick out some toy and collectible points of interest that you and I can chat about. Like this bit of fantasy fulfilment that I feel like I’ve been waiting for my entire life:

"GREMLINS 2" GRETA THE FEMALE GREMLIN STUNT PUPPET 

Did you ever watch the first Gremlins and think, “This is good, but surely the gremlins themselves could afford to be a little sexier?”. Well Gremlins 2 had you covered with a seminal moment featuring female Greta (I thought she was Lady Gremlina?) who was proof of what happens when you show a mogwai a porn magazine after midnight. When I was really young I had a crush on the Miss Piggy puppet and Greta here almost eclipsed it.

This is a 1:1 scale replica stunt puppet, standing nearly 30 inches tall and with her own metal display stand, outfit and wig. BBTS have her for $60 off list price. Snap up this wonderful piece of eighties movie memorabilia which is only marginally easier to explain than a Fleshlight.

What else caught my keen eye?... Join me after the jump!

Pre-Order Hot Toys Snake Eyes (GI JOE Retaliation) 1/6th Scale Collectible Figure!

Mildly anticipated movie sequel GI JOE Retaliation/Procrastination may have been delayed until later this year, but our good friends at Hot Toys are still keeping busy with the surprise reveal of their upcoming Snake Eyes 1/6th scale collectible figure, based on his appearance in the tardy film.

Portrayed by Ray "Darth Maul" Park, this silent, stealthy (except for the sub-machinegun) hi-tech ninja is permanently encased in a rubber tomb, punishment for drinking from the Sacred Soda Fountain of the Dragon Monkey Emperor. Okay, I don't really know anything about Snake Eyes, but I do know that he looks amazingly badass, and that Hot Toys always produces high quality work!

Eager beavers can pre-order him from our pals at Sideshow right here: 

Hot Toys G.I. Joe Sixth Scale Collectibles Snake Eyes GI JOE Retaliation Sixth Scale Figure (Hot Toys) or if you'd like to see more images and read more inaccurate commentary... join me after the jump!

War of the Worlds: Goliath

Synopsis by Joe Pearson; "It's an R rated, retro-history, steam punk epic set in [the year] 1914, fourteen years after the first failed Martian invasion. Mankind has rebuilt her cities and military adapting a lot of the abandoned Martian technology. They've created an international defense force, A.R.E.S., based on the lower end of Manhattan and under the command of Theaodore Roosevelt. They've built a formidable force centered around giant, steam powered battle tripods. Think of "Band of Brothers" meets "Star Wars", meets World WO. It will be cool-steam powered battle tripods, doomed Cossack cavalry charges, victorian decco, steam punk Manhattan, 1500 foot long armored battle zeppelins, Teddy Roosevelt, souped up Tri-planes, blood on steaming metal, sex in the cockpit. The usual." This 3D movie has a budget of over $5 million, and is being produced by Tripod Entertainment Sdn Bhd (joint venture between Elemental Ventures Sdn Bhd and Epoch Ink Corp). This story is not directly based on Heavy Metal, but it is a sequel to the classic The War Of The Worlds novel by H.G. Wells. It is uncertain how connected this movie is to Heavy Metal. It was originally intended on being part of a series of Heavy Metal Videos. And there are War Of The Worlds: Goliath short stories in the magazine"

Read more about it here

I'm not to sure if I like the style (it's sort of that dc animated style). The idea and the mechs are cool. I love the beautiful 2d effects animation (the 3d effects not so much) and that voice acting is a bit weak.

What do you peeps think?

It did remind me a bit of this GI Joe intro to the movie that I think is super boss because it is so effin crazy

haha man that is amazing!

Halloween Costume Ideas - Bedsheet Cobra Commander

Like GI Joe? Love the idea of going as an iconic character from this classic 80s cartoon? Want to put as little effort into it as possible and still be able to walk away saying "That'll do" and look like a 3 year old drew your costume? Then I have just the costume for you!

This P.O.S. gem can be found at 80sTees.com for a surprisingly expensive $9.99 (originally $60.00). Its as if someone saw a picture of Cobra Commander about 15 years ago, and then made the costume from memory in 20 minutes from materials only found at a MC Hammer yard sale, then put belts on in random spots. Personally, I love the choice not to wear shoes with this, as well as that his right leg is not as billowy as the left due to a pair of matching belts. The pillowcase hood is pretty choice too.

More photos after the jump