Sid & Marty Krofft Figural Bag Clips

 Mrs. Dex got me a couple of these with my Valentine's goodies.

 

 Some people hate the whole blind package thing but we love it here. I don't usually try to go for complete sets so picking up a few rarely results in duplicates.

  

But sometimes you do get ones you're not as excited for. I don't remember much about the Bigfoot & Wildboy show other than it existed. I actually thought this might be Chaka from Land of the Lost when I pulled him out. Bigfoot was huge in the 70s but I'm guessing when you talk about him and TV most people are going to think of when he was on The Six Million Dollar Man.

 

 On the other hand, ElectraWoman and DynaGirl was probably my second favorite of the Krofft shows (just behind Land of the Lost naturally). Live action superheroes on Saturday morning weren't a rarity but unlike the other shows, EW & DG were usually squaring off against costumed villains. Plus they had those cool Electracomp bracelets and a flying car.

 

Other shows represented in this series are Land of the Lost (gotta get that Sleestak!), Wonder Bug, Lidsville, The Bugaloos, The Lost Saucer, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (which got a whole other series of these).

 

I'm hoping there's a series two to give us Fi (Ruth Buzzi) from The Lost Saucer and maybe a Doctor Shrinker. 

Funko Pop - Overwatch Reaper Blizzard Exclusive (520)

I'm aware of Overwatch but have never played it. I don't generally go for squad based games where you might have to actually talk to your teammates. Definitely more of a solo gamer here but I was definitely happy to have been gifted this Pop from someone that knows what I like.

If my quick, uninspired Google search is accurate, this seems to be some kind of alternate skin for the Reaper character and not what they normally look like in game. Which is a shame, I really want a 6" scale action figure of this pumpkin-headed badass! The "normal" version looks more like a sci-fi Death in black with a skull-like mask.

 

He's decked out in a windswept duster, some sci-fi body armor, and his gunbelt has a little skull and crossbones on the buckle. He's also dual wielding a pair of blasters. Ain't nobody smashing this pumpkin!

Not much to see on the back side but the "blowing in the wind" duster.

The best thing about him is the glow in the dark feature which lights up his orange skin and Jack-o'-Lantern features.

New Wave Toys Zoltar Mini Replica

 I've been a fan of New Wave Toys for quite awhile because of their Replicade line of mini (working!) arcade games. If I had the room, definitely would be collecting all their releases and accessories to have a mini slice of 80s arcade heaven. But when they opened pre-orders for their latest replica, I didn't hesitate.

Now, of course a lot of people associate our pal Zoltar with the movie Big and there's no denying that movie did more for Zoltar's career than any arcade ever would. But I also have a fascination with these automated fortune tellers. If you pop over to this Flickr gallery, you can see a few variations I've encountered. 

 

I think it's tied in to my feeling that amusement parks are places of fun but there's a little something spooky just out of sight. Now that I think of it, I did record Something Wicked This Way Comes off cable as a kid and watched it A LOT.

Anyway, let's get a look at Zoltar!

Haunted Library - Dr. Shocker's Auction of Horror (2013)

Ten years and two days ago, Dr. Shocker's Auction of Horror was held. Dr. Shocker is the horror host alter ego of Daniel Roebuck, a collection of all sorts of vintage and rare goodies. All the items in this sale are from his personal monster collection!

 

 

Blacksparrow Auctions is pleased to present Dr. Shocker’s Auction of Horror, a collection that features original, rare and vintage horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy memorabilia belonging to actor Daniel Roebuck. The live auction will take place at the world famous Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, CA on October 26, 2013. This unique collection features original life masks of Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Jr., Alfred Hitchcock and more. It also includes autographs, posters, original artwork, vintage dolls, wax figures, facial appliances, props and other pop culture collectibles.

 

 If you are a monster memorabilia maven, you're going to want to check this out of the Library! There is some unbelievably cool stuff that went up for auction. Of course, since it's already happened, you'll have to be content with looking at the auction catalog like a kid with a Sears Wishbook. Honestly, most of this stuff probably went for way more than I could pay for it anyway.

Click your Library Card to get a copy of the catalog.

Click below to see the full list of Countdown blogs!

Dungeons & Dragons Mystery Minis (Series 1) by KidRobot

 It feels like it's been more than a few months since I first caught wind of KidRobot's Dungeons & Dragonis Mystery Mini series. After waiting and waiting to see them pop up at a local store, I deicded to snag a couple online.

As far as blind packed figures go, I felt they're a little pricey. But I say that as someone that has no clue what KidRobot figs are going for right now. Most places I found online have them around $15. I ended up ordering from ToyWiz who had them at $13.99. Plus they gave a first time sign up bonus of 5% off. They also have series 2 up for pre-order so I guess I'll be grabbing a couple more!

Here are the contents and odds for Series 1. If you're not familiar with these creatures, they're all based on the artwork from the original AD&D Monster Manual. That original art is what gives them their interesting, slightly weird style. As you'll see, they basically took the illustration and turned it into a 3D figure. And if I had planned this post out better, I would have taken the pics from the same angle as the illustrations.

Personally, I was hoping for the Dragon or Rust Monster as those stand out for me and take me way back to flipping through the Monster Manual when I first got into D&D . They're just certain ones that have stuck with me. I also like Mimics but prefer them showing off a lot of teeth. So, what did I get?

Had That Toys & Collectibles

 

After it opening about two years ago, I finally stopped in to Had That, a toys/collectibles shop in Salem. It's not like it's out of the way, it's only about a 15 minute drive from my house but it became one of those things where you drive by and say "Oh yeah, have to check that out some time" and then you don't. Mrs Dex and I had a day off during the week and were in the area so we decided that was the day.

It's not a large place but it is packed with all kinds of nostalgia! While it's mostly toys, they do have a few short boxes of comics and a display case with the latest Pokemon cards.

Funko Soda - Doctor Strange & Gomez Addams

Up until this weekend, I had only owned a single Funko Soda...figure? Piece? Not sure what you'd actually call these. It says collectible on the can but that doesn't sound fun. Anyway! I decided to pick up Strange this past weekend and just couldn't let him leave the store alone.

One of the reasons I don't have many Soda figures is that they're not as ubiquitous as the Pops. You can find Pops almost anywhere and I've only ever found the Soda in one store, Newbury Comics. This is a New England chain of stores that started out selling comics (surprise!) and music. Now they carry all sorts of pop culture stuff. Think Hot Topic without the goth.

Vincent Price in the House!

Over the past few months, Ebay user 3dogreiner has been putting up auctions from the Vincent Price estate. There have been quite the variety of items from personal and professional photos to random bits of paper with drawing and/or notes made by Price. There was even a handwritten letter from Christopher Lee to Price which sold for $400!

Every time a new batch of auctions went up, I would find a few interesting items with his signature or handwriting on them to watch. Most of them were autographed photos and they usually ended up going for over $100.

Persistence paid off and I was able to finally acquire a piece of Vincent Price!

So to speak...

It comes with a letter certifying that this is a piece from Price's family estate which is signed by his daughter, Victoria Price. I've met her on two different occasions (read about them here and here) and she is a wonderful person and an amazing speaker.

What I ended up with is a signed Christmas card. It's not an autographed photo and isn't horror related but I am totally fine with that. People that know Price know he was quite the renaissance man who was also into cooking and art collecting among other thing.

I think this is a pretty cool piece of memorabilia that shows a different side of Price.

Here's a close up of the card. It's worth clicking on for a better look at the little statues on the left side of the staircase.

It says Merry Christmas from The Prices

Mary  Vincent  Barrett 

Mary is Mary Grant, Price's second wife, and Barrett is his son, Vincent Barrett, from his first marriage to Edith Barrett.

I'm definitely going to keep scouting any new auctions to see what else turns up. Even if I don't get anything else, I am beyond thrilled to finally have a Vincent Price autograph!

Star Wars Space Punch

Although the blog post title sounds like something the pilot of an anime mech would shout when attacking, it's actually about a beverage.

I found these last month at my local corner store. It was kind of funny, we were coming back from vacation which was Star Wars-centric (read all about it here) and we had to stop for milk on the way home from the airport. I walked into the store and there was this display.

I hadn't heard of it before but being the collector person I am, I had to grab at least one of these to check it out. I picked up Poe because he was the only other light side can other than C-3P0. Sorry, 3P0. Each character is numbered but there was no checklist with the display. Poe is 20 and I definitely didn't see 19 more cans here.

This was just before The Last Jedi was released so I presumed it was a tie-in but thought it strange there was no TLJ branding on the cans or display. Then I ended up looking at the display photo more closely and noticed that's a Deathtrooper on the second shelf and not a First Order TIE Pilot.

After a bit of Googling, I found these debuted in Europe last year and made their way to the US in October but in limited distribution. Currently, there are 20 designs with possible plans for 40 (!) more in the future. Oddly, I'm only able to find images online for 12 designs in the US right now.

The tall, thin can design would have you think it's an energy drink but it's more of a lightly carbonated fruit drink. And it's got vitamin in the name, so it must be good for you!

But how does it taste?

Not great. It's like all the juice in the fridge had a sip left and they decided to mix them all together. Having made my share of "suicide" drinks over the years I know it's fun to experiment with flavors but this...just....no.

It's a blend of blackberry, blueberry, grapefruit, orange, pear, and raspberry juices from concentrate. That's too many flavors, you're just asking for trouble.

Although the drink goes down the drain, I did go back recently to see if they had any different designs and I was not let down.

You can find Star Wars Space Punch at convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores. Retail varies between $2.50 and $2.99. If you really gotta have it, you can get a 12 pack from Amazon with all different designs for $38.

Krampus Kollectibles

If you're a fan of the movie Krampus, then Entertainment Earth is going to be your new best friend! They have all sorts of goodies to deck your halls with Krampus spirit.

First are these two sets of Beezle-Baubles. These ornaments are 8" in diameter and are perfect for sprucing up your tree (get it?). At the time I'm writing this, Set 1 is temporarily out of stock and Set 2 is very close to joining them. But it's never too early to order for next year, or whenever you want to display them. Leave them up year round if you want, I don't judge.

Speaking of decorating your tree, wouldn't this lovely Cherub Tree Topper look great atop your tree? I think she'd need a couple extra lights right below her to highlight the claws and creepy face.

My favorite item would have to be this Dark Elf statue. He's 1:6 scale, standing just over 10" tall. He's got a single candy cane hanging from his belt, but that's only for the good little kids. The bone saw might be for the other kids.

Are ornaments and statues not your thing. Do you just want something to cuddle with on the cold winter nights? This Klaue Teddy Bear might be the thing for you! You can even peel back part of his scalp to pet his brain! What a good little bear.

See all the Creepmas celebrants by clicking below.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol2 Trading Cards - Retail

As I mentioned in Tuesday's post about the GotG Hobby cards, companies will also make a series of "retail" trading cards. Normally, they release the same base set of cards to mass market outlets with lower chances of pulling hits but at a lower price which makes it more affordable to get the base set of cards. But not here. The cards you get at retail are completely different than the hobby cards.

Why would you make trading cards for one of the biggest summer movies and limit them to WalMart? The stores in my area are the absolute worst if you're looking for cards that are not sports or gaming related. And to put more salt in the wound, there were also promo cards released which are different still from the hobby or retail versions. Basically, there are three different sets of cards!

I don't have any of the promo cards because to get them, you had to buy a pack of underwear or t-shirts. $10-$15 for a 4 cards is not exactly cost efficient. Although individual non-insert promos are going for $3-5 each now.

The 50(!) card promo set has different inserts like blue or gold foils, die-cut cards, chrome-cut (think shiny silver), and super lucky people get a Dave Bautista or Stan Lee autograph! The promo cards have a WP before the number for Walmart Promo. These use a different layout than the hobby/retail cards, opting for a borderless look.

Promo cards (Image from Cardboard Connection)

Then we come to the regular, non-hobby, non-promo retail set. I haven't been able to find a checklist for these so I have no idea how many are in this set. The retail cards are numbered with the prefix RB for...retail box, I guess?

Retail cards

From the few packs I've managed to find, these seem to be character focused. The re-use of art (top row) almost makes me think these are aimed at a slightly younger audience. There are cards that look like they should be stickers (bottom left and right) and also blue foils that really make the images pop.

From what I've been able to gather online, the retail set also has their own hits.

Image from eBay

Honestly, I think these look better than the hobby wardrobe cards, such a cool way to do it.

The good news is, while researching the cards on eBay, it looks like the prices of a complete hobby set are coming down so I may be able to get them after all. It's just not as much fun buying it all at once as it is opening packs though.

Funko Smuggler's Bounty - 40th Anniv

What better way to wrap up a week celebrating Star Wars' 40th Anniversary than the Funko Smuggler's Bounty which happens to have the 40th Anniversary as its theme?

This was the largest box by far, and you'll see why. I was going for the opening crawl effect with the box photo, can you tell? There's usually an info card in the box that tells you about the items and what the next theme will be but my box didn't have one. I don't know if it got left out or if they stopped doing it.

The traditional Funko box pin and patch. X-Wing Luke looks a little...weird? Maybe he's talking to Obi-Wan's ghost.

Funko has a track record of debuting new types of items in their boxes. I'm not sure if this is one of them (because I didn't get an info card) but it's definitely the first Funko wristbands I've seen. Yep, they sure are wristbands that say Star Wars.

See if you're going to Funko-ize something, this is how you do it! I don't know about leaving these two characters on my dining table though, they might get into some shenanigans.

Who shot first, salt or pepper? Wrong! 

The correct answer is no one shot first. 

Han shot. 

End of story.

And here's why this box was so large! Not a Dorbz Ride but a full on Pop Ride Luke in his Landspeeder. I really wish I had a work space where I could put this out. It's just so much fun to look at! The used clear plastic rods to give it a hover effect.

The paint job is great. Not only the weathering but also in the detail on the exposed engine. And check out the ripples in the sand. Of course I can't look at this and not think of the original Landspeeder toy with its pop-up hood.

Well, that's it for the Funko Smuggler's Bounty for me. I've been wanting to cancel my subscription for awhile but every time I see the next theme I think "How can I stop now?" The next one is droids, not that I don't love droids! I just don't have the space to keep piling up all the boxes of stuff.

So May the Force Be With You, Smuggler's Bounty. 

I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future.

My First Light Saber

I guess a more accurate title would be my first Kenner light saber. I'm sure before I got this one I was using cardboard tubes and flashlights and making the sounds while swinging it.

But this is what we got in 1978, kids...

Your eyes don't deceive you, the package does say inflatable sword!

Images from 2 Warps to Neptune

 

Not exactly the dream of every kid hoping for a magical space sword. It's basically a flashlight with am inflatable plastic attached to it. A yellow tube! Not that 8 year old me really cared, I mean the figure of Luke had a yellow light saber, right?

Secrets of the Jedi revealed! The source of a light saber's power? 2 D batteries.

Also, they work best in dimly lit areas. This is because (as I remember) the tube wasn't even as transparent as your standard balloon when shining a light through it.

They also include a patch kit in case your light saber takes a really bad hit while you're out battling Sith Lords and saving the galaxy.

It was the 70s and we were glad to have anything that said Star Wars on it.

Marvel Collector Corps - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Funko's Marvel Collector Corps is back like a fox on the run with everyone's favorite gang of intergalactic a-holes! I don't have a regular subscription to the Marvel Collector Corps but when I saw the Guardians were back, of course I had to order it.

They're not messing around this time, full-on Groot mode is in effect.

They know where the money is.

The inside of the box is loaded with images that I'm sure will be in the GotGv2 coloring book when it comes out. If they made a couple for the first movie, I have no doubt there will be some for this one. But enough about that, let's dive into the awesome mix of stuff inside!

I have to give some serious props to the artist on the pin. They nailed Zoe Saldana's likeness.

This exclusive cover is so adorable I don't even care that it's not a Guardians comic. I get they want to push the current Big Event but I would have been just as happy (more?) with a comic cover sized print of this sans title.

This shirt features the new crew ready to take on the galaxy, including Mantis and Yondu.
Yondu is whistling for his arrow and Baby Groot looks like he's ready to tear someone up!

This Dorbz Ride is a first for the Marvel Collector Corps and features Star-Lord in the Milano. If you're not familiar with Dorbz (honestly, do you not get out?) they're about 3" tall. It didn't occur to me while shooting it to take a photo from above to better show off the ship but you get the idea. Star-Lord is removable...

Funko is spot on with the details as always. Not only does Quill have the alien logo shirt that we've seen but he's also sporting a couple of chains around his neck. At the red carpet premiere, Chris Pratt said it's a logo for an alien brand of candy. Whether he was joking or not, we'll have to wait and see.

On to the final item!

Prepare yourself...

I usually skip taking a photo of the Pop in box but the artwork is just too cute! This 2-in-1 is another first for the Collector Corps. I'm no Funko expert but I don't think I've seen another Pop that has two characters together like this. There are some that come with two separate characters but I haven't seen any where they are part of a single figure like this.

I love Rocket's squinty half-closed eyes like he's ready to kick ass and chew bubblegum. Both Rocket and Baby Groot are bobbleheads. My only problem with this figure is that it doesn't come with a base. This makes it a little challenging to get it to stand up with the extra weight on the head. Not a huge deal though.

The real shame is that when you have Rocket on display, you're going to be missing out on seeing Baby Groot's whole body. I mean...look at him hanging on back there!

And that shot of Groot butt will wrap up the Guardians Vol. 2 Collector Corps box. I don't think they could do much better than this, it's a very solid box all around. The next box's theme is Spider-Man Homecoming, so if you want to order it, head over to the Collector Corps site and sign up. Once you're signed up, you also have the ability to purchase any past boxes, if they're still available. And you get to see everything in it before you decide!