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We love action figures — but not action figures are created equal. Some action figures have totally awesome attention to detail, and a great concept that opens up lots of avenues of play. And then there are the other kind of action figures... the ones which just kind of suck action figure ass. More »
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Action figures are a fan's best friend. A squadron of Star Trek, Star Wars and comic book figures on your desk is the next best thing to having Darth Vader and Worf physically present in your cubicle to distract you from the horror of being trapped at work. More »
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Very few universities have had realistic "action figures" made of their faculties and staff. One exception is the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas, where Dr. Jesse Weiss (Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies) has produced a collection of them. More »
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Here are some scenes from the battle front in Afghanistan — PFC Rupert Valero, stationed in Kandahar, has been creating his own action figures out of found materials. Valero, a long-time collector of six-inch action figures, has been creating his own new action figures as well as upgrading his off-the-shelf figures. More »
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This is one of the most surreal tributes to science fiction ever. In 1978, the magazine Boys' Life tried to pay tribute to the popularity of Star Wars by getting a group of boy scouts to paint their faces, wear freaky masks, and play with toys. The whole thing just screams, "Show us on the Godzilla doll where the photographer touched you." [Google Books via Paul Di Filippo] More »
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In the 1980s, toy manufacturer Kenner produced the Super Power collection of action figures for DC Comics. In an effort to capitalize on the Mad Max craze, Kenner also drafted designs for a line of "anti-hero" toys that recast DC heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman as leather-sporting ruin dwellers. As you can see above, the designs were fairly over-the-top; note Batman's loincloth, Cyborg's vest of grenades, and Superman masquerading as the lead singer of Dead or Alive. More »
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Even the fearsome Ice Warriors need to take a day off every now and then. Johnson Cameraface's awesome photos show Doctor Who's deadliest foes playing tourist and conquering your hometown. It's all a matter of perspective. More »
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Star Wars has inspired a universe of fan art, but it's been ages since we've seen anything as cool as artist Bwana Spoons' paintings of every classic Star Wars action figure from 1977 to 1985. Check them out! More »
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Chances are, your rare toys, comics and other collectibles aren't just awesome — they're worth serious cash. But how can you get what they're worth in such a lousy economy? Don't panic: We've collected surefire shwag-selling tips from top sellers. More »
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We've shown you the newest doodads and geegaws the Toy Fair has to offer, but in the spirit of Toy Fairs past, here's an awesome gallery of 1980s action figure blister pack illustrations. More »
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The Holiday Season is officially on us again, and that can mean only one thing that isn't watching Christmas In Connecticut over and over again: Time to think about gift-giving (and getting). Where better to start than with toys? More »
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The massive Hasbro booth at Comic Con has multiple toy dioramas, showing off scenes from the upcoming G.I. Joe movie. See what the real American heroes are up to, in a spoilery gallery summing up the movie's many action scenes. More »
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There are plenty of fantastic and necessary collectors items related to this summer's movies that you must buy. But there are also some items that should be smashed, set on fire, buried and forgotten. More »
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Who knew Teal'c could be such a cartoon cutie? We've got the exclusive first images of Teal'c, from the new animated Stargate maquette line. More »
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If you're in Los Angeles next Wednesday, this could be your chance to meet most of Lost's writers and producers. The team behind the island-castaway show will be at Meltdown Comics and Collectibles, signing collectible Lost Kubrick and BE@RBRICK figurines from MediCom. (A BE@RBRICK figure is just a Kubrick figure that happens to be a bear.) And you'll have a chance to buy an exclusive "Dharma" BE@RBRICK figure. Details, and full event poster, below. More »
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We were trolling one of our favorite Watchmen sites recently and noticed that the movie’s action figures are available for pre-order at about 20 bucks a piece. Because we are itching to reenact, say, the Doc Manhattan fighting in ’Nam scene a casa, we naturally need them all—and, well, that’s gonna add up. So instead of handing over cash to The Man for some PVC, we scavenged the net for Watchmen papercraft. And…mission accomplished! We've got pointers to the best Watchmen papercraft how-tos — along with a handy ratings chart so you know which superhero matches your paper folding skills. More »
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Paramount Pictures’ kid brother, Nickelodeon, has designs on turning some of those badass graffiti-influenced Kid Robot toys into, we can only hope, badass graffiti-influenced cinema. According to Variety, Kid Robot's parent company, W!ldbrain Incorporated—which already produces the hipster Yo Gabba Gabba! kids show for Nick Jr.—will work with the studio on these movie projects that will be a "mix of animation and live action." (Hasbro, incidentally, announced similar intentions late last year to extract more lucre out of their arsenal of playthings.) Just who will script this exercise in potential awesomeness? And which action figures will get the big-screen treatment? Kid Robot and Paramount won’t say yet. So we're offering some suggestions. More »
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At Comic-Con, there are a whole batch of new Star Wars action figures, including a gorgeous chess set (with Storm Trooper and Rebel fighter pawns) and a Princess Leia figure with optional Jabba arms that can be slimed around her. Plus, there are awesome figures from the upcoming Clone Wars movie and TV series, as well as some weird new looks for Darth and sexy fighting Siths. Check out our gallery from Comic-Con below. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5029011&view=rss&microfeed=true After waiting in long lines to get into the San Diego convention center, the big event Wednesday night was visiting the Expo floor before things get really crazy on Thursday. Mostly, the io9 crew focused on a few hapless action figures that got in the way of our videocamera. I love this giant table full of a million Batmans and Darth Vaders. Comic-Con is many things, but one of them is that it's a place where grown people can scream about toys — especially toys with really giant breasts. Yes, we've got some work-safe breasts in a video below. More »
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He can unleash universe-obliterating waves of anti-matter, but you can control comic book supervillain Anti-Monitor's powers with the click of a dial. The DC Heroclix Anti-Monitor action pack came out last month, but an alternate version will be offered as a convention exclusive at this year's San Diego Comic Con and Gen Con Indy. Even if you don't play Heroclix, those LED eyes make for one hell of a desk lamp. More »
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It wasn't until seeing a press release about the launch of a new Classic Doctor Who toy line that I realized (a) I may want to own an action figure of a much-beloved fictional character from my youth for the first time, and (b) said action figure should be renamed "Tom Baker Doctor With A Shit-Eating Grin." Sure, you also get some classic monsters and another couple of old school Doctors (Colin Baker? WTF? They wanted to put in one of the shitty Doctors to see if anyone was paying attention?), but, seriously. The Tom Baker one is terrifying. More »
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Someone, somewhere at Hasbro, is regretting pretending to listen to fans in the wake of Star Wars fansite Rebel Scum announcing the final candidates in their action figure wishlist voting. I mean, I'm sure that knowing that you have an established fanbase for new toys is a reassuring thing, but how many random Target shoppers are really going to pick up a figure of Cliegg Lars? Check how geeky you are by seeing if you recognize any of the frontrunners in the voting after the jump. More »
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Someone's got their priorities straight. The first wave of action figures from the BBC's campy Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood won't include figures of main characters Owen, Tosh or Ianto. But the toys will include the absolutely essential glam-rock Cyberwoman, who's sort of Torchwood's mascot. Tosh actress Naoko Mori takes the news pretty well — but insists her character is totally straight, despite all the girl-on-girl snogging. [If Magazine] More »
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Toy Fair is going on right now in New York City, and besides Comic-Con, it's probably the geekiest time of the year, sending shuddering fangasms through everyone who's ever wanted a scale-model replica of the flux capacitor. This year finds a ton of science fiction toys on display, and we've already put several things on our must-have lists for when they hit stores. Check out our favorite goods in the gallery below, and find out why we want a Sleestak coin bank so badly. More »
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The big screen version of the Justice League of America has been put on hold and sent back to the drawing board. Plus, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie was fairly craptastic. But pretend, for a moment, that the two projects collided in your imagination and the resulting movie kicked ass. Got it? Now imagine that it had some even more kick-ass action figures to go with it. Stop pretending and feast your eyes on the gallery below. More »
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We told you yesterday about the upcoming line of Heroes figures, and now we've tracked down more images of the first wave of toys based on the hit NBC show. These are apparently all prototype figures — the real ones will be out later this year. Based on what we've seen, maybe that means there's still a chance to go back and fix things like making Claire actually look like her character, and having Sylar not look like a neanderthal. Check out more mind-bogglingly awful details and pictures inside, like Sylar with his awesome brain accessory. More »
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The most recent issue of Toyfare magazine came out yesterday, and it has a spread on all the new Heroes action figures that'll be out later this year. Since it's looking less and less likely that you'll be seeing new episodes anytime soon, it might be time to pick up some of these and bust out that video camera. Unfortunately, the Sylar figure does not have brain-eating action, so you might want to add your own visual effects. Maybe even ones that make these figures look a bit better because... yow. More »
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