Et Tu…Bruticus?

In 1986, Hasbro released 5 new Transformer toys; Onslaught, Blast-off, Brawl, Swindle & Vortex, collectively known as the Combaticons. Together, the formed into a larger robot, Bruticus (think Voltes V or Voltron).  (geek mode on) In the world of Transformers they were known as a combiner, or gestalt (geek mode off). Anyway, aside from the fact that you had 5 smaller robots that could form into one bigger robot, there really wasn’t anything that special about them.  Like most Transformers back then, they sorely lacked in the articulation department, and so it was like 5 bricks getting together to form one big….brick.

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss (Man)

My nephew: Hey who’s that?

Me: That is Moss Man, he’s one of the Masters of the Universe

My nephew: cool! What’s his special power?

Me: He smells like pine….

My nephew: no….really….

HI, I’m a Marvel…and I’m a DC

Are you a Marvel guy? Or DC? The age old question asked to many comic book collectors and super hero fanatics. If you asked me this question now, my answer would be an easy “Make mine Marvel!”  For as long as I can remember reading comics, I was always into marvel comics.  Sure I read an occasional Batman issue here and there, but growing up, my comic stack was basically composed of Captain America and the Avengers.

A Marvelous History Lesson….

I guess it’s no real surprise that aside from being really into toys, I was an avid comic book reader & collector as well.  From watching the Super Friends or Spiderman on a Saturday morning to reading comics, I loved my super heroes. Back then however, when it came to toys, there really wasn’t much to choose from.  When I was really young I remember having a bunch of Mego dolls…anyone remember them? But they were never among my favourites.  Later on, we got Secret Wars& Super Powers from Marvel & DC respectively, neither of these lines did anything for me.  Although Super Powers came close, none of them could hold a candle to my Joes.

Ewok Hunt...

One night, as I lay in my bed in the dark, I heard a faint rustling of plastic coming from my waste basket.  I quickly shined a light and caught a mouse rustling through my bin. Immediately it jumped back into a hole in my wall conveniently located above the trash.  Upon closer inspection it seemed the little bugger had eaten his way straight through the wall between me and my neighbor!  I opted for a quick fix that night and covered the hole with an expired credit card fastened to the wall by masking tape.  It did the trick of keeping the mouse out but I could still hear him on the other side, TRYING to eat his way through the card, NOT a pleasant sound that you would want to hear while you're trying to sleep.  It was pretty obvious that a more permanent solution was needed....so I got some help from some experts, meet Noh-Apakk, Nanta, Romba, Teebo & Machook...my official Ewok mouse extermination squad....

Silly Rabbit, Toys AREN’T For Kids!

Anyone who’s collected toys has most likely at some point experienced being looked down on or ridiculed for pursuing such a hobby.  We all come across those people in our lives, maybe a parent, a partner or an “ex”, who fail to see the joy that these pieces of plastic bring into our lives.  They refuse to let their inner child out and miss out on realizing often times how much care,expertise & talent go into producing some of these “toys”.  Some of these toys truly are “works of art” in one way or another.

Know Your Joe

When Hasbro started the Real American Hero line of G.I.Joe, they faced the daunting task of trying to win over kids like me who were hardcore Star Wars collectors.  Back then, when it came to 3¾ action figures, Star Wars, was king.  But right out of the gate, Hasbro pretty much struck gold by implementing 3 things into their toy line that would set G.I.Joe apart from all the rest, including Star Wars. 

Dōmo Arigatō, Mister Roboto

The Others Part 3

If these guys look familiar, they should, Machine Robo was the predecessor of the American robot line Gobots.  In the same way that American company Hasbro converted Diaclone into Transformers, Tonka converted Machine Robo into what more people know today as Gobots.  But Gobot toys were never very popular here in the Philippines.  For me, it was Machine Robo.

Childhood Confessions...

The Others Part 2

now THESE bears I could collect!

I Wanna Be A….

OK yes I admit I liked Care Bears….I actually still do….honest.  I’m pretty secure in my manhood to admit to the entire World Wide Web that I like Care Bears….so there.

The Others

While Transformers, G.I.Joe & He-Man pretty much ruled my toy shelf, they definitely weren’t the only ones on it. There were others.  Some of these other toys were pretty obscure and didn’t have the rich mythologies and and stories behind them (translation: they didn’t have an accompanying kick-ass cartoon) like my big three.  Others, although cool were rather simplistic and were eventually over shadowed by more complex and exciting toys.  And others, well I had to give up on due to being persecuted by my friends for liking them….Anyway, regardless of the fact that many of these other toys failed to make a lasting impression on me, they all were at one point in my life a source of joy to me and for that reason alone, I’d like to give them some recognition.  Since this probably will be a rather long piece, I’ll break it up into 3 or 4 parts throughout the week...

The Real Meaning of Christmas...

When I was 7, like most kids my age, Christmas really didn’t mean anything more than a kickass day where everyone gave me toys!  Yes I know my parents taught me that the real reason we had Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but really, at 7, that basically translated to “I get more toys!”