Transformers Dark of the Moon: Air Raid (Hasbro)

Presenting the new Air Raid from Transformers Dark of the Moon (Deluxe Class). Let's make it a bit clear that this is the Hasbro release of Air Raid. Though I have not seen an actual piece, there is supposed to be a Takara released Deluxe Class Air Raid (the gray guy to your right) that's basically a re-paint of Thrust and also has a MechTech weapons system attachment. If you want that guy, click here to visit Seibertron.com.

Sadly, neither of the Takara version nor the Hasbro version - which is a new mold by the way, not a re-paint - look anything like the Air Raid that appeared as one of the bosses in the Transformers DOTM video-game - which was a prequel of the movie.

At any rate, here he is. DOTM Air Raid transforms from a... I really don't know what he transforms into. DOTM Air Raid transforms into a reconnaissance jet with a huge AWACS (Airborne Warning |And Control System) dish up top. Unfortunately DOTM Air Raid is kinda small. At best he's a small hybrid between a Northrop Grumman E-10 (Which is the only AWACs bearing airplane in military service today with twin jet engines) and a Gulfstream - I'll have to ask my friend who worked for the US Navy to confirm.

But I feel that, given the weird location of the intakes (on top of the plane) and the fact that an airplane with a Control System requires more space as it's supposed to coordinate other aircraft, that this probably just fell out of someone's imagination in Hasbro and is not based upon anything real.

G.I. Joe Renegades: Duke

Presenting Duke from the new G.I. Joe Renegades line. Renegades Duke is the second of the set of four new G.I. Joe figures that I came across thanks to E-bay supplier Victoyoyos. The first of the four features of course was Renegades Snake Eyes. As mentioned, the set of four was purchased for PhP 2,400 (Roughly US$ 13.95 or what you would probably what you'd pay for it on Amazon).

Anyway, Sgt. Duke here is the leader of the G.I. Joe Renegades: A splinter group of G.I. Joes whose exploits are chronicled in a brand new cartoon.The cartoon's opening credits state: "Accused of a crime they didn't commit, a ragtag band of fugitives fights a covert battle to clear their names and expose the insidious enemy that is... Cobra. Some call them outlaws. Some call them heroes. But these determined men and women think themselves only as "Ordinary Joes". And this is their story."

Yeah it's the A-Team.

And hot on their trail is, ironically, 1st lieutenant Flint who turns out to be a long time high-school arch-rival of Renegades Duke.

G.I. Joe Renegades: Snake Eyes

Presenting Snake Eyes from the spanking brand new GI Joe Renegades line. Sadly I haven't seen the new G.I. Joe Renegades cartoons and I have to say that I am not a big fan of "anime" type action figures with their wiry bodies - which is why there is a plethora of Star Wars action figures over the past few years that I haven't bothered with.

I'm also not so sure about Renegade Snake Eyes' "X-Force: colors. I'm sure someone out there will be taking him and customizing him soon.

Anyway, I picked this particular Renegade Snake Eyes off the black-market (Victoyoyoys) as part of a set of four that includes Duke, Cobra Commander and Firefly for PhP 2,400 - or PhP 600 each (Which matches the Amazon price of US$ 12.99 to 14.99 plus shipping).

Over the next few days I'll present each of the four and Renegade Snake Eyes here will kick things off.

Halo Reach: Gauss Cannon Vehicle Upgrade

Presenting the Halo Reach Gauss Cannon Vehicle Upgrade for the Warthog. Whoever said that "Size does not matter" never met the business end of a Gauss Cannon.

The Halo Reach Warthog is actually one of the first entries into Darklord Dungeon all the way back in November 2010 when this blog started. Please do take the time - and I do suggest you do look at it first - before reading any further just to give you a better appreciation for the Warthog and for this upgrade. The link to the Warthog can be found here.

You might also want to visit the Noble 6 Team collection here.

In a nutshell though, this upgrade removes the rear mounted M41 Anti-Aircraft gun (That, if you've played Halo, players love to lug around) and replaces it with an M68 Asynchronous-Linear-Induction Motor - AKA the M68 Gauss Cannon.  To the uninitiated, Gauss Cannons use high-powered magnets embedded in the Cannon's barrel to hyper-accelerate projectiles - usually spent Uranium. In Halo, you can find individually standing M68 Gauss Cannons and M68 Gauss Cannons mounted at the back of Warthogs.

No I've never seen a Spartan lug around a M68 Gauss Cannon, nor do I think they can.

Toy on a Budget: G.I. Joe Jungle Buggy

Presenting a G.I. Joe Jungle Buggy. The G.I. Joe Jungle Buggy is an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) from a set of cheap military toys from China that I came across in Robinson's Galleria's Department Store for PhP 250.00 (Around US$ 5.80).

The set included the ATV, two poorly molded soldiers who looked like stunted Americans with incredibly large barrel chests, another vehicle - a motorcycle - that was a size too big for either soldier - or even a G.I. Joe - three rifles that were too big for the soldiers - or G.I. Joes to use; two jungle survival packs which could be adapated for G.I. Joe use; and... a tree - well technically a pair of Bonsai coconut trees.

So the actual cost of the G.I. Joe Jungle Buggy is roughly maybe just a third of the PhP 250 cost or, rounding up, PhP 84.00 (roughly US$ 2.00).

I originally picked it up thinking that it would be a fine vehicle for the G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra Jungle Team, but then I also realized that because it was an ATV, just repaint it and you have a fine Artic vehicle.

Marvel Legends: Sunfire (Age of Apocalypse)

Presenting: Sunfire one of the briefest X-Men ever to join the team (Has actually spent more time fighting the X-Men) and one of the hottest character re-designs to come out of the Age of Apocalypse. AOA Sunfire's design is so iconic that, if I'm right and I think I am, it is the ONLY Age of Apocalypse costume/design to make it - and remain - in the main Marvel Timeline (The 616 Dimenson) - Blink does not count and her 616 counterpart does not dress like her AOA counterpart. If rumor is to believed, AOA Sunfire - specifically his mask - was so iconic that it inspired the mask used by rival DC Comic's Kyle Rayner (Click here to compare).

AOA Sunfire was released in 2010 as a Marvel Legends exclusive at the San Diego Comics Convention. The bad news is that Hasbro did not bother building a new body for Shiro Yoshida (That's Sunfire's real name), but rather re-sculpted the existing Marvel Legend Yellowjacket body. But I do have to say that they did an incredible job.

Lilah (Megan Fox) from Jonah Hex

Presenting Lilah - played by Megan Fox - as she is seen in the 2010 sleeper Jonah Hex. For those who did not bother with the movie - I'm not even sure if it was released here in the Philippines - Lilah is Jonah Hex's love interest in the movie.

This is the 3rd of my Sexy Action figure collection following my favorite Queen Gorgo and Princess Leia in a Steel Bikini.

Megan Fox's Lilah is a prostitute who shows obvious interest in Jonah Hex - what can we say? Women love tortured bad-boys - despite his hideous looks and seeming dis-interest in a serious relationship. Rumor has it that Megan Fox's corset squeezed her waist down to 18".

Personally I think it was quite a shallow written character. Why would a strong-willed woman like Megan Fox's Lilah who is credited as an expert markswoman who wasn't afraid of a fight and could handle herself well (A character very reminiscent of Sharon Stone's Ellen in the Quick and the Dead) resort to being a cheap prostitute?

Granted her character could just be a nymphomaniac (yay!), but Megan Fox's Lilah did not seem the type. If anything else she was quite cold with the one other customer who she "serviced" in the movie.

G.I. Joe City Strike Team Kills Captain America

(Click on the image for a larger perspective)

Not having much to do one Sunday morning I realized that Captain America dressed in Cobra Blue would never be able to work with the G.I. Joe Team. This cast here includes the entire G.I. Joe City Strike team save for Ashiko and his Cycle Armor. The cast includes (L-R) General Hawk,  Beachhead - who looks really good with Captain America's helmet on - a very guilty looking Lowlight, Snake-Eyes- trying out Captain America's shield - and Quick-kick.

Toy News: Custom build by Jan Calleja

Presenting a custom Munny Doll transformed into Voltes V by Jan Calleja. I spent most of my formative years with Jan - Elementary to Highschool. Everybody who has been through highschool or even seen a poorly written high-school movie knows that there really are "jocks", "nerds", "teacher's pets" "bad boys/girls". Everyone tries to find their niche, what they're good at, and more often than not, these niches define us for the rest of our live.

Jan Calleja is an artist.

He's this small guy - really small, but then I'm 6'2 so everyone is small - who did wonders back then with pencils, crayons, pastel and water color. But what he does today is simply magical. He takes completely blank "Virgin" vinyl Munny dolls, re-sculpts them by hand, creatively looks for extensions and add-ons and comes up with what can only be described as art worthy of a museum.

Pop Culture Community raises money for Disaster Relief Effort

I soo want this version of the Beast

Comic and Toy fans put their money where their hearts were last weekend for the first ever Heroes Give Hope  charity auction.  The Live Online Auction event featured dozens of custom made action figures and works of  art specially commissioned for the event, and raised nearly $1000.00 for the Disaster relief agency ConvoyofHope.org

Sponsored by internet Auction House TheBigToyAuction.com, the first of its kind event showcased the talents of both professional and amateur artists from a broad range of fields.  Each artist was asked to create and donate a piece in the theme of "everyday heroes."  Pieces ranged from a tongue-in-cheek GI Joe based custom "bootleg" figure by Suckadelic Toys to UK Illustrator Dave Williams' original print featuring dozens of minimalist interpretations of Comic, TV, and Movie heroes arranged to form the word "Hope." The big item of the night, selling for $125.00 was a watercolor painting of the Iconic He-Man and Battlecat Figures by artist Jonathan Reincke.  Other works included versions of Batman, Transformers, the X-Men, Micronauts and Star Wars as well as a number of original creations.

STAR WARS Legacy of the Force: Darth Krayt / A'Sharad Hett (Part 2)

Presenting Part 2 of our Darth Krayt/Asharad Hett review. This time we will be focusing on the founder of the One Sith Empire - and one of the more expensive STAR WARS 2-pack characters in the market today, Darth Krayt - who retails with Imperial Knight Sigel Dare for as high as US$ 79.95 and is currently available for US$ 55.95 on Amazon (PhP 2,579 plus shipping).

You know? I don't remember how the 2-pack came into my possession though I am 100% sure that I did not pay that much for the pack. If I'm right, I lucked out on the duo and bought Darth Krayt and Sigel Dare at retail price.

Before we begin in earnest, we have to point out that there is some debate as to whether or not Darth Krayt's armor is Vonduun Skerr Kyrric or Vonduun Crab - the biological armor used by the Yuuzhan Vong in the Star Wars universe. It is a definite sure that Darth Krayt is afflicted with Coral Seeds (Yorik-Kul) - biological implants that allow Yuuzhan Vong slaves to  receive mental commands but lose their sentience in the process - and this is seen on Darth Krayt's arms, but his armor?

Personally I think that it is Vonduun Crab because when Darth Krayt activated the Sith Holocron of Darth Andeddu in an attempt to find a solution to his Coral Seed problem, Darth Andeddu forced Darth Krayt's armor to grow to the point that Darth Krayt resembled a Krayt Dragon.

STAR WARS Legacy of the Force: Darth Krayt / A'Sharad Hett (Part 1)

Presenting the rogue Jedi who would plunge the galaxy into the darkness of the One Sith Empire: Jedi Knight A'Sharad Hett, the man who would become Darth Krayt.

These two actually come from two separate STAR WARS comic-book packs. A'Sharad Hett comes from STAR WARS Expanded Universe two pack  that includes A'Sharad Hett and A'Sharad's former master: the notorious Dark Woman: Jedi Master An'ya Kuro (A Gray Jedi who deserves her own write-up and will get one soon) which retails on Amazon for around US$ 24.99 (PhP 1,074 plus shipping).

A'Sharad's older, Dark Side incarnation Darth Krayt comes from the quite rare 2009 STAR WARS Comic book pack that includes Imperial Knight Sigel Dare. The pack is considered quite rare and once retailed on Amazon for as much as US$ 79.99. It's available now for still a most impressive US$ 59.99 (PhP 2,579 plus shipping)

Transformers Cybertron: Optimus Prime (PART 2)

Here we go with part two of our Cybertron Optimus Prime Special. As you can see he's been joined by friends and this part of the review will cover Cybertron Optimus Prime's ability to merge, link-up or power-up with the help of his fellow Autobots, specifically: (R-L) Wing Saber, Leo Breaker, Vector Prime and Leo Prime.

Technically there is one more Autobot who should be present here the Giant Planet Autobot Metroplex whose axe Cybertron Optimus Prime can use. Unfortunately, I don't own a Metroplex.... yet (soon my pet, soon).