What Do Lonzo Wilkinson and Laird James McCullen XXIV have in common? They’re both trapped inside the giant plastic prison that is the GI Joe Ultimate Battle Pack. I literally chop open the box to show you whats inside.

Empire Online has the dramatic first look at the Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen toy line with the two preview figures to be released in May.
Bumblebee has been revamped from the first movie with a new head, some new paint details and the car mode has been altered to more greatly resemble the production version of the Camaro.
Soundwave is of course a brand new toy, showing his Cybertronian form, not unlike the 2007 preview toys. What other form he might take in the movie remains a mystery.

Mattel has been hard at work lately trying to meet the concerns of fans of the DC Universe Classics line. One of the initiatives to try and better meet demand is to offer “open stock” to online retailers. This is basically a solid case of a single figure. So if Shazam is doing really well, but Killer Moth isn’t getting any orders, the online retailers can adjust their orders and order a few more cases of Shazam without worrying about getting Killer Moths that there is not demand for. Unfortunately the Wave 6 and 7 chases will not be offered in open stock due to an error or some sort, but it is the intention of Mattel to offer the Wave 8 variants in open stock. This is really great news for fans who order online.

In addition to this news, Mattel also announced that they were able to redirect all remaining stock of the KB Exclusive Maskless Batman Beyond and Sonic Arm Cyborg to online retailers. The status of these figures was in question since KB Toys has gone into liquidation and the exclusives were difficult to come by in the first place.

Great news all around and its good to see Mattel trying to address the concerns of fans and correct some early mistakes in the line’s life.

The FANtastic Exclusive is an annual event that I promote every year.
Here’s the rundown.
Four Horsemen Studios runs a series of polls that anyone and everyone is allowed to vote in.
The voting determines different aspects of an action figure.
After all the voting has completed, the Four Horsemen create an action figure based on the results of all of the polls.
They then offer this figure as their SDCC Exclusive for the year.
Traditionally several variants have been made as well and are sold as retailer exclusives on specific toy-related websites.

The rounds of voting determine everything from the actual character to its articulation and even the accessories that are included.

In this first round of voting we have a battle royale of 28 character designs from various original Four Horsemen properties. Some new and some old. All amazing! The top 6 left standing at the end of this round move on to the next winner-take-all vote.

Go here to vote!

Just a friendly reminder to He-Man fans. MOTU Classics Skeletor will go on sale today at noon (EST). He-Man and Beastman effectively sold out a few days ago so don’t wait until the next figure to combine on shipping. Chances are he will not last the month and you know Skeletor is going to be a hot item.

It’s time for the 2008 Poppies! The Poppies are the Pop Culture Collectibles Industry Awards developed in 2007 by Michael Crawford of http://www.mwctoys.com. Each year judges from all aspects of the industry – from the artists that create them, to the companies that make them, to the retailers that sell them, to the media outlets that report on them, and even to the collectors that buy them – come together to vote on their favorites in over a dozen categories. For 2008, those categories include:

Best Overall Company
Best Overall Line
Best Male or Female Figure 18” and above
Best Male Figure 12 – 18”
Best Male Figure 5 – 11”
Best Male Figure under 5”
Best Female Figure (any size under 18”)
Best Build A Figure
Best Vehicle or Playset
Best Statue
Best Bust
Best Designer/Vinyl Figure
Best Prop Replica
Best Misc

This year, there are 147 judges from within the industry, from every aspect of the business and from across the globe. They have begun their voting as of January 5th, and will complete the process on January 14th. The votes will then be compiled, and the final results announced on January 20th.

But there’s also a chance for readers to give their input! Once again this year, Michael will be running his People’s Picks awards, only this time the readers will be voting using the same categories and nominees as the Poppies Judges. You can vote now for your favorites by going to:

http://www.mwctoys.com/poppies_peoplepicks_2008.htm

Or by going to http://www.mwctoys.com and following the link from the main page. People’s Pick voting will be available during the same period (January 5th until January 14th), and the announcement of winners will also occur on January 20th. Vote for your favorite pop culture collectibles now!

I was, admittedly, a little liberal with the video editing in this one. Hope you guys enjoy!

Just a note on that really tight joint on the wing I mentioned in the video, if you loosen the screw just a bit, it should relieve most of that tension that makes it so hard to twist.

Yes. I know you can see the lamp in the corner. My little camera preview screen apparently crops what it actually records. Which also partially explains the bottle of water.