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Precinct1313’s Holiday Swag Bag…
Felicitations, fellow fans of fantastic festive fiction, and welcome to another thrilling treasure trove of terrific toys! That’s right, my beleaguered Bat-wallet has taken a particularly brutal beating at the behest of various geeky retail outlets! But, we’ve come away with, quite possibly, our greatest haul of nerdy necessities yet. So let’s dive on in…
Batman: The Complete Television Series…
“Holy bumper box of bodacious Batman blu-rays!” That’s right, old chum, the swinging sixties sensation has taken up residence in the Precinct with this classic collection of all 120 episodes! So it looks like I’ll be spending the entire holiday period ‘Kapowing’ my way through this camp classic, 2717 minutes of crazy capers, 3 hours of extras at a ridiculously reasonable £30… Bat-tastic!!
Dr Fate Action Figure..
Lord of order – Dr Fate, has magically materialised onto the Precinct’s overburdened shelves with this fantastic figure based upon his likeness from the recent Black Adam film. Dr Kent Nelson (played by Pierce Brosnan in the movie) is a powerful sorcerer and agent for the Lords of Order, originally created in 1940 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman.
I’ve wanted a Fate action figure for awhile now, so was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local HMV during one of their sale periods, to find this striking sculpt, and at a ridiculously cheap £10! With over 30 points of articulation, a stand, so the good ol’ Doc can levitate, and a collectors trading card, this was a complete and utter bargain!
NECA – Ultimate Robocop Figure…
“Drop it, dead or alive this toy is coming with me!” isn’t what I said to my local comic shop proprietor… but thinking back on it, it would’ve been cool if I had, oh well! I was absolutely giddy to find this stunning set in my nearest (and dearest) comic-book shop. NECA make some of the very best figures and statues in the business, and this ultimate robo is another awesome addition to their classics line.
I love Robocop, the original 87 movie is my favourite film of all time, so whenever I find absolutely anything to do with the classic cyborg, I am utterly compelled to pick it up. Standing at 7 inches, and meticulously detailed, this absolutely lives up to its Ultimate appellation. It features a spring loaded holster for Murphy’s Auto-9 pistol, a Cobra Assault Cannon, data spike alternate right hand, and an interchangeable head. “I’d buy that for a dollar” It wasn’t actually a dollar, it was 50 quid, but worth every single penny!
NECA – Elvira – Red, Fright & Boo Figure…
Another notable NECA addition to my collection is this rousing rendition of the devilish and dynamic diva of the double-entendre, the mistress of the dark herself – Elvira!
Thanks once more goes to my local HMV for providing this fabulous figure of Cassandra Peterson’s alter ego, the horror hostess with the mostest… busting out from the collector’s box, this 8 inch figure is fully articulated, with tailor fabricated clothes, and a whole host of horrortastic extras, including an alternate winking head, haunted chalice, skull and snake candle display and figure stand.
Happy Holidays!
Precinct1313’s Monthly Swag-Bag…
Har Har! Avast me hearties!! X marks the spot on another tremendous treasure trove of thrilling toys! That’s right, my poor ol’ wallet has taken yet another beating for the cause, and this month has procured us an admirable assortment of – cool cyborgs, wondrous warriors and voluptuous vixen vamps!!
Robocop And OCP Cruiser –
To say I was surprised to walk into my local Smyths’ toyshop and find merchandise for a 36 year old cult classic movie would be a vast understatement, I was literally gobsmacked! and really bloody happy, as Robocop (the 1987 original, not the horrendous remake!) is my absolute fave movie, ever! Dead or Alive this toy was coming with me!!
Actually, it wasn’t a dollar, but an extremely reasonable 25 British pounds! The Jada Toys 35th anniversary Robo and cruiser are die-cast metal and fantastically detailed (especially ol’ Murphy himself) The OCP cruiser doors, bonnet and trunk are all interactive, and the car is fairly heavy and robust. Even better, it’s from the same range as my previously bought – Robert Pattinson Batmobile and Batman set, so the size and scale are the same meaning I can pit Batsy against Robo in a dynamic duel!
Wonder Woman – Endless Winter – Action Figure…
Suffering Sappho! at last count, I believe I currently possess around thirty Wondy action figures and statues… but then, you can never have too much of a good thing, so when I saw the wondrous one on sale in my local HMV at 50% off, how could I say no (hint: I didn’t!) Endless Winter was a 2020 crossover comic from DC that charted the rise of the Frost King and his effort to cause a global eternal winter, and the Justice League’s attempts to stop him.
I have to say I love the design of Wondy’s arctic warrior look, the figure itself is fantastically chunky, with 22 points of articulation, and comes replete with Diana’s sword and Golden Lasso of Truth! Best of all… it was an absolute bargain at just £12.50!
Elvira – Neca Figure…
Cassandra Peterson’s awesome alter-ego… voluptuous vixen vamp – Elvira, now resides on our spooky shelves, thanks to Neca collectables and (once again) my local HMV. This cleavage-tastic toy celebrates 40 years of the quirky queen of delicious double-entendre! The horror hostess heroine also makes the perfect accompaniment to my recently purchased special edition Blu-Ray of the – Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – movie by Arrow Video (which comes highly recommended also by the way, with a fantastic picture and sound transfer) they make for the perfect pair… rather like Elvira herself (ooh-er missus!)
Why not join us again next month for even more spectacular swag, fellow fans of fantastic fiction!
Call Me Snake…
Well, well…what a surprise, Hollywood – that bastion of original ideas, is remaking (ruining would be the better term), yet another classic 80’s movie..this time – Escape from New York. Now then, I am an 80’s kid, my formative early years were spent in the company of Snake Plissken, Robocop, Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees and all the other amazing celluloid heroes and villains of that great decade. These classic movies hold up as well today as they did back then, thanks to wonderful story telling, great actors and amazing directors, plus most of them were more than the sum of their parts, with an underlying message or theme that was indicative of the era they were made.
Hollywood are incapable of replicating the feel or theme of these classic movies, and yet they continue to churn out badly written remakes, with no wit or feeling and certainly no kind of social awareness or depth. Now some of you may say that all they are doing is updating them for a modern audience, and yet every remake so far had been a braindead, effects driven dud that is unable to compete with their superior forebears.
Halloween, Robocop, Friday the 13th, Total Recall, Fright Night, Poltergeist, Escape from New York….the list goes on, and if they’re not remaking 80’s movies, it’s Japanese or European horror, there really is no originality left anymore…I look to the independent scene more and more, it is here that all the great new ideas spring from these days…sigh, so friends, what are your thoughts on this…please feel free to discuss this in the comments.
precinct1313 