Posts Tagged ‘toys’

Courtesy Playmates Toys

New Star Trek movie? New Star Trek toys. It's a fact of life, a universal constant, a law of brightly-colored, polypropylene nature.

"Thou shalt exalt every franchise movie, yea, unto the seventh generation, with a full line of toys, dishware, tie-in novels, comics, and commemorative plates, all of them limited-edition-collectible-first-run-mint artifacts to be treasured from a distance behind velvet ropes and saved for future generations to also not touch."

That's the way it's been for toys from Star Trek, Star Wars, and superheroes of all stripes for years now. Ever since some enterprising geek sold his pristine childhood memory for more than the one with chew marks and its head missing, new toys have been carefully removed from the peghooks at Walmart and Toys-R-Us and lovingly transported to their new and permanent home in a storage locker while the new owner enjoys the smug satisfaction of knowing it's there, somewhere.

I've never been a good collector. I open my stuff. I sort of always thought that was the point. When I was a kid if someone told me my toys were collectible I'd have thought they meant finding all the pieces again. Back in the 70s I asked for and received the original line of Star Trek dolls from Mego ($2.87 each, any two for $5.50), complete with vinyl-and-cardboard Bridge set ($12.97, with working transporter!). And I can guarantee that the crew of the Enterprise never had a more harrowing mission than the ones they experienced daily in my backyard.

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Much as I love the official stuff, there's no denying that some of the best Serenity merchandise comes from the fans (one reason why QMx keeps hiring them). A perfect example is this custom sculpted 12" Mal figure.

It started life with a Sideshow body — I'm guessing not a Buffy one — and includes "a real suede Brown coat, leather boots, belt, and holster, and Mal’s unique sidearm." And frankly it looks better than any of the official Mals yet, although I do have an affectionate preference for my Firefly Barbie Mal.

I don't know anything at all about this seller, so bid with the usual eBay caution. But damn.

Guess what's out…

The Serenity PVC Set from Dark Horse Deluxe, featuring River, Mal, and Jayne, is out on the shelves now. And you know what? They look pretty good.

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I've mentioned Stevo's Toys (formerly The Toy Smith) here before, but he's been adding more stuff. If you're making your own set of Firefly dolls or if you just want Ken and Barbie to have some protection against those shady Bratz girls, you definitely need to stop by.

Stevo designs sci-fi and movie-inspired weapons and accessories in 1:6 scale, perfect for 12" figures.  First up, Mal's gun.

It's got the familiar outline and, being made of pewter, it's got some heft. Way better than G.I. Joe's plastic stuff. It's sold separately or as a set with the custom holster rig.

We wouldn't want Zoe going around unarmed, so her modified Winchester Carbine is ready to go. Again, it's available separately or with her very distinctive holster rig with that unique leather coloring.

So far, Jayne's just got a knife. But it's a really nice one, complete with tooled leather sheath. I can only hope that Vera is on her way…

As someone who has been working on a set of Firefly Barbies for some time — or rather, watching in amazement as my wife creates them — I have to say these are easily the finest replica weapons I've seen. We had to make do with close-enough versions from other toy dealers, but I'm thinking we'll be upgrading.

Stevo also had a wide range of other items including Dirty Harry's .357 magnum, pirate gear, a wide range of classic and modern weaponry, even a selection of felt hats. Check it out!

New stuff from Dark Horse! New PVC figures of Mal, River and Jayne are now available for preorder from Things From Another World at 20% off the retail price.

The master sculptors at Gentle Giant Studios have taken full-size 3-D digital scans of the main actors from Joss Wheden's blockbuster film Serenity and created a fabulous, realistically detailed PVC set of the favorite three crew members. This process has allowed us to achieve an unprecedented level of accurate detail, both in terms of the distinctive likenesses and the accessories and costumes. Since you can't get these actors to come visit you at home and sit on your bookshelf or computer, this is probably the next best thing!

More licensed stuff! I'm pleased. I must have some more shelf space around here somewhere…

Jayne is 4" tall, Mal is 3.9" tall, and River is 3.45" tall. Shipping May 16, 2007 (I hope).

How many times have you said to yourself, "Boy, I wish I could pick up Dr. Laura Schlessinger and throw her into an open flame"?

Well now you can, with this 11" Dr. Laura action doll! Dressed in a smart yellow pantsuit and equipped with 23 different phrases such as "proud mother of an American soldier," "Now, go do the right thing," "Argue with me, it makes me testy," and more. Not all the phrases are listed, but I assume "Do what I say, not what I did," "If you're gay or a lesbian, it's a biological error," and "What do you mean my TV show was cancelled?" are in there as well.

Display her proudly on your child's nightstand to ward off premarital sex and gay vibes! Send her to that deadbeat brother of yours to express your shame by proxy! Dress her up in tacky lingerie and hook her up with the Bratz boys! Dr. Laura does it all!

I anticipate massive sales of this figure, both from Dr. Laura fans who want to support her and Dr. Laura detractors who will find it far superior to the handmade voodoo dolls they've been using up till now.

OK, I wasn't really expecting any. But it's still depressing hearing it said out loud. From the New Ask Diamond QnA post:

"I was just in the DST online Store and I noticed that the Serenity figures are all sold out except for the Jayne prototype. Does this improve the chances for a second series?

"Nope, it just means we sold some of the stock we had."

Sigh.

Want a soft, squeezable hero to call your own? You gotta check out Custom Rag Dolls by Lily. She's working on creating dolls that resemble "certain characters from a certain show that's not on anymore," and they look great.

There's the Mercenary (pictured), complete with cunning hat and boots, there's the Mechanic in her jumpsuit, and the Psychic in a pinafore, boots, and oversized sweater. There are gorgeously designed and make great gifts for Browncoat friends such as, well, you.

Stardoll.com (formerly Paper Doll Heaven) has added Summer Glau for your sartorial pleasure. Dress her up in any number of different clothing combinations, change the color of her hair, eyeshadow, and lips, and save your creations to share with friends.

OK, she's in a very unRiver pose, there are no Riveresque outfits, and her hair appears brushed. But other that that… So where's the rest of the crew? Where's Morena and her filmy outfits, or Gina and her leathers? For that matter, where's Adam with his t-shirts and guns, or Nathan with his one pair of pants, brown coat, and pretty floral bonnet? You've got some catching up to do, Stardoll!

My wife has spent a scary amount of time creating her Firefly Barbies, making a lot of the materials by hand when she couldn't find a substitute. So it's always interesting when someone else does the work for her…

The Toy Smith, maker of small scale weapon reproductions, has begun making weapons and holster rigs based on the Firefly versions, perfect for your own doll creations. For sale now is Zoe's carbine and rig, and Mal's holster (the gun's on the way). We had already bought his 47 Colt Walker revolver to serve as Mal's piece, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.