Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Shattered Glass Targetroids Optiaim and Hot Flame.

Presenting the Shattered Glass versions of the Targetroids Optiaim and Hot Flame from TFC Toys.

Or we could just say the Shattered Glass versions of the Targetroids Optimus Prime and Hot Rod (Rodimus Prime) since Hasbro probably won't go after us for copy-right violations - we hope.

We first featured the Targetroids Optiaim and Megashoton all the way back in 2011 and left the collection alone till we saw this on a Facebook forum and just had to have them for the Shattered Glass Prime (he's still a Prime after all) - we would later grow to love Hot Flame as well - but for a reason that we will discuss later.

To the uninitiated the Shattered Glass Universe is a fictional alternate reality where Earth is under attack by the evil Autobots with the only thing standing in their way being the virtuous Decepticons.

So these are bad guys.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Marvel Universe Valkyrie

Presenting the Valkyrie from the Marvel Universe Infinite Series Toyline.

This is the Valkyrie  Brunnhilde  - she who was chosen by Odin himself to lead the Valkyrior, "the Choosers of the Slain, a group of warrior goddesses who would appear over the battlefields of mortal worshippers of the Asgardian gods and choose which of the fallen were worthy to be taken to Valhalla, the land of the honored dead in the dimension of Asgard".

To the uninitiated this is also Annabelle Riggs - an archaeologist who has the distinction of being Valkyrie's human host - after having been killed by a rage-filled berserk Valkyrie who then, remorse filled and with the help of Clea, gave up... half her existence (?) so that Annabelle could come back to life. Today they switch forms. Whenever Valkyrie is needed, that's when she appears.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Transformers Combiner Wars Powerglide

Presenting Powerglide from the Transformers Combiner Wars toyline.

In 2012, we reviewed the Transformers Dark of the Moon Cyberverse verson of Powerglide and we were quite happy with the modern depiction of the figure back then.

We did however cite him for having big feet, a cantaloupe between his legs and the loss of articulation due to the fact that his wings were positioned on his outer arms instead of being next to his body like his original incarnation and this Combiners Wars version.

Anyway we're particularly fond of the Autobot flying daredevil because of the fact that he is the only Autobot - that we can think of - that fell in love with a human female -socialite Astoria Carlton Ritz. Who gave Powerglide a broken heart.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Transformers Generations Headmaster Brainstorm

Presenting the Headmaster Brainstorm from the Transformers Generations toyline.

To the uninitiated, this is actually two characters: A Nebulon scientific genius who created the HeadMaster Technology called Arcana, and; an equally gifted Autobot called Brainstorm.

When Koraja, the Nebulon capital was seige by Decepticons, they actually had Autobot prisoners who refused to act unless the people of Nebulon trusted them.

As a compromise, Arcana developed a procedure that would allow him to merge with the Autobots and gain some form of control over their actions. The Autobots agreed and the Headmasters were born.

He/they would later go on to handle the reconstruction of Fortress Maximus and be among the first victims to be eaten by Uniron - who found him "Pathetic but tasty"

Brainstorm would later be rebuilt - sans Arcana (Dead) - using his original head.

We kinda prefer this orgin story to the one where Daniel Witwicky is injured and, to survive, is merged with Arcee. That's just f*#ked up

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

GI Joe Alternative Weapons


We at the Dungeon recently found some GI Joe Alternative Weapons: Fully modular modern military weapons (Well... one sci-fi weapon) and we thought we'd try to share it with you all in a more creative fashion.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Halo 5 Master Chief

Presenting the Master Chief from the upcoming video-game Halo 5: Guardians - as depicted by McFarlane Toys.

This is without a doubt, one of the saddest figures in the Dungeon. We'll talk about it later, but if you haven't seen the Halo 5 Guardian's video, then we need to tell you that Master Chief to your left is holding and looking at the recently departed Cortana's data crystal chip which he still keeps with him tied with a chain like a necklace or omamori.

So expect Halo 5 to contain a lot of Heartbreaking moments as the Master Chief struggles to come to terms with his loss - or hopefully fights to restore his loss - and perhaps figure out one of Cortana's last requests to him "Before this is over, promise me you'll figure out which one of us is the machine."

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

MP-10 Optimus Prime Replacement Hands

Presenting the MP-10 Replacement Hands and Ion Cannon for Optimus Prime from KFC. AKA the KFC (Keith's Fantasy Club) KP-06.

If you read our Year of the Horse MP10 Optimus Prime Review, you would have noted that we cited it for having poor hand articulation, and; we totally enjoyed how the UFO Replacement Hands beefed up our movie Optimus Primes; so we absolutely had to get these when we saw them on Ebay.

The fact that the KFC-KP-06 came with an improved and more realistic sized version of Optimus Prime's Ion Cannon seemed quite trivial to us since we really didn't mind the smaller ion cannon.

What did get us though was that a few weeks after purchasing this, we saw another version of the KFC-KP-06 intended for the YOTH Optimus Prime. What we have is the one intended for the plain old MP-10.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Lego Star Wars Rebels The Phantom (Ghost Part 2)

Presenting the LEGO version of The Phantom from the Star Wars Rebels Animated Series.

With the Lego version of thief, all-around scalawag and Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger at the helm.

To the uninitiated the Phantom is a Corellian Engineering Corporation Attack Shuttle that docks with the Ghost - while docked, it serves as the tail-gun of the Ghost  keeping in line with the B-17 design of the Ghost.

It comes armed to the teeth and actually packs a punch - though it trades off defensive power for its firepower.

The Phantom comes armed with a of Taim & Bak MS-2B twin laser cannon up front and a Taim & Bak KX4 dorsal laser turret up top.


Thursday, December 4, 2014

Dr Wu TF4 Hound Belly Add-On

Hello. I am Baymax, your personal Healthcare Companion.
Presenting the Dr Wu MO 02 Mercenary Belly Add-On for the TF4 Hound.

When we reviewed TF4 Hound all the way back in June prior to the Transformers Age of Extinction's release, we admit that we did not bother to check the spoiler images on-line.

Then surprise! TF4 Hound was fat! He was so fat, he collapsed in the movie not because he was dying in the last stand that Michael Bay put him in, but because he was freakin exhausted from all exerting himself.

Major fail.

Quite different from the barrel chested wall of a figure that we reviewed back in June.

The only redeeming thing out of the TF4 Hound was that he was voiced by the wonderful John Goodman but frankly he looked more like a Bulkhead than a Hound. Perhaps Bay should have called him Bulkhead.


Friday, November 28, 2014

Lego Star Wars Rebels The Ghost (Part 1)

Presenting the Lego version of the Ghost from the Star Wars Rebels series.

To the uninitiated, this is the primary freighter used by the main cast of the spanking new Star Wars Rebels animated series.

It is a modified VCX-100 light freighter, made by the same company that created the Millennium Falcon - . Corellian Engineering Corporation - which explains some of the similarities the Ghost may have with the Millennium Falcon particularly the dorsal mounted cannon and the two docking rings on starboard and port sides.

Aaaannd that, that's about it.

The VCX-100 actually has more in common with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress from World War II. And you can see the dual cockpits and the forward, dorsal and aft guns. The only things missing would be the waist and belly guns.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thor is back

Thor, Odinson, is back as the Thor we all know and love - kinda. Having been deemed "unworthy" to raise the Marvel 616 dimension Mjolnir, Thor is now wielding the Mjolnir of a psychotic duplicate (Thorr - double 'r')  from another dimension.


Sunday, November 23, 2014

FWI-4 Optimus Prime Jetwing Upgrade Kit

Presenting the FWI-4 (Fans Want It - 4) Optimus Prime Jetwing Upgrade Kit.


In a nutshell this is the movie accurate jetwing used by Optimus Prime in Transformers Dark of the Moon. A movie later, in Transformers Age of Extinction, this is the jetwing that had fans (ex-fans?) screaming "Hey Prime! If you can fly what the f*$k did you need that jetwing for?"

But what can you expect from someone who built a movie around the question "How much is my special effects budget for explosions?"


Monday, November 17, 2014

GI Joe Bomb Disposal Vehicle

Presenting the GI Joe Bomb Disposal Vehicle - under the tender ministrations of Tunnel Rat.

The GI Joe Bomb Disposal Vehicle is one of what we in the Dungeon like to call "mini-rig" vehicles of the GI Joe team since they were support vehicles.

There were two that we were aware of in 1985, the Bomb Disposal Vehicle and the Weapons Transport. At one time we had both vehicles in the Dungeon but they disappeared over the years and we only recently reacquired the Bomb Disposal Vehicle.

This is actually THE FIRST GI Joe vehicle in the Dungeon in the same way that the Star Wars Mini-Rig INT-4 Interceptor was the first STAR WARS vehicle in the Dungeon. So as with the INT-4, this vehicle holds a special place in our hearts.

Friday, November 14, 2014

McFarlane Halo 2 Master Chief

Presenting the Master Chief as he appears in Halo 2 from McFarlane Toys. 

Okay before you get your hopes up, NO, THIS FIGURE DOES NOT COME WITH A CORTANA.

Cortana is from the Mega Bloks HALO UNSC Cryo set.

But she fits perfectly in the hands of the McFarlane Halo 2 Master Chief. We don't think playing HALO as John-117 would ever be the same without her.:(

Just occurred to us that we never finished HALO 2 on the X-Box. And it wasn't because we weren't good enough, it's just that we got bored every time we had to slip into the guise of the Arbiter - which we hated. We were here to play Spartans after all.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Avengers 2 "Age of Ultron" official trailer

The Avengers 2 "Age of Ultron" official trailer is out and it is SUPER Creepy! Can't wait for the actual movie!


There are no strings on me.

Monday, October 20, 2014

AOE Dinobot Snarl

Presenting the Snarl from the Transformers Age of Extinction - AOE - toyline.

AKA the Dinobot that probably seemed least menacing in dinosaur mode that he wasn't included in the movie and was instead replaced by two raptor looking Dinobots - Scorn and Slash.

But then history has never been kind to Snarl. As we've discussed before, his name was co-opted by Slag in other toy-lines of the Transformers simply because "Slag" somehow over the years ended up being a derogatory term for women.

Probably simply because Dinobot Snarl transforms into a tranquil Stegosaurus - which is usually looked upon as prey for T-Rex's.

Which is a great injustice to the legacy of the Dinobot Snarl if you were to ask us.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Star Wars Vintage Edition Darth Vader - Anakin Skywalker

Presenting Darth Vader - Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars Vintage Edition Series.

Obviously this was what Darth Vader looked like before his best friend and mentor General Obi-Wan Kenobi left him for dead burning next to a river of molten lava on the planet Mustafar.

So Darth Vader didn't really spend much time looking like this since he had a busy day: First he cut off Mace Windu's sword arm allowing Chancellor Sheev Palpatine to kill him (Yes, just today it was revealed that Emperor Palpatine's first name is Sheev - I'd keep it a secret to - and he'll be referred to as such in the upcoming book: Tarkin by James Lucerno); assembled the 501st and purged the Jedi temple; said goodbye to his girlfriend, and; flew all the way to Mustafar to wipe out the last of the Separatist council.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

AOE Dinobot Slog - Sludge

Presenting the Voyager Class Dinobot Slog - Sludge - from the Transformers Age of Extinction toyline - AOE.

Slog is based upon the Dinobot Sludge. Michael Bay in his infinite wisdom decided that, as with Slug / Slag,  that it would be better to call Sludge, Slog.

To the uninitiated, Slog is actually a real character in the Transformers timeline. Slog is a Deception Pretender - a robot that hides within the hide of some hideous looking beast and one of the combiners who formed Monstructor. The Decepticon Slog also formed the artistic movement called Slogism which depicted the war between the Decepticons and the Autobots in mangled horrific forms.

Michael Bay decided to remake him as a Dinobot. To his credit, Bay also remade him from being a Brontosaurus - a creature that actually never existed and was created out of the erroneous combination of two distinct dinosaurs - to being an Apatosaurus. It's interesting how much our knowledge of dinosaurs has grown since we first saw the Dinobots in 1984.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

New 52 Supergirl Action figure

Presenting a Kara Zor-El - Supergirl action figure from the DC New 52 toyline.

Too bad DC decided to create her New 52 Red and blues instead of placing Supergirl in her more recent Red Lantern costume.

Yes to the uninitiated, having been born to a life of strife, loss and death, the New 52 Supergirl is no longer that teenager trying to find her place in the world, and has instead released her anger and joined the dark side as a member of Guy Gardner's Red Lantern Corp - where cursing your enemy usually results in his/her being barbecued.

Frankly we think that the Red Lantern costume is an improvement.

Anyway, prior to that, this less "Gifted" (nudge, nudge, win, wink) cousin of Superman - whom she has fought to a standstill - appears here in the a quite unique remodeling of the traditional Supergirl uniform.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Transformers Prime: Optimus Prime Gatling Gun - Aristocratic Creature Huntsman

Presenting the Gatling Gun for Transformers Prime Optimus Prime AKA the Aristocratic Creature Huntsman.

We should note that he's also dragging Dr Wu's Starsaber / Skybreaker.

The Aristocratic Creature Huntsman is from Zenith Forge  the same people who made the Cretaceous Advancement upgrade for the FOC Grimlock (Which we recently gifted to our Nephew - hope he's still whole). The Gatling gun's ID number is ZF-002.

We should probably also take the time to point out that this is technically not a gatling gun as it is not crank activated. It's energy powered so it's technically a mini-gun, or more accurately a weapon's pod.

But calling it a Gatling gun sounds cooler.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Marvel Universe Elektra

Presenting Elektra from the 5th Series of the Marvel Universe toy line.

To the uninitiated, Elektra Natchios is not the Mexican appetizer Foggy Nelson makes her out to be. She is one of Frank Miller's greatest and most beloved creations: a kunoichi (Female assassin), long time flame of the Daredevil  - the Man-Without-Fear (The title where Frank Miller debuted); Current member of the Thunderbolts, and; now the love interest of the Punisher (Another title that  Frank Miller is famous for writing for).

Elektra has had quite a colorful history in the Marvel Universe (And we don't just mean red). She's one of Marvel's more famous testaments to the Marvel Universe statement "Nobody stays dead forever" - what with having been killed by the assassin Bullseye and brought back from the dead by the Hand - hell she even brought Daredevil back from the dead after his death in the Shadowlands series. She is remembered by most as the 1st hero kidnapped for the Skrull invasion. Rumor has it that she was experimented on during her captivity.

She's been both a hero and a villain. Daredevil's lover and the greatest thorn at his side.

One of those rightfully called an anti-hero.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Batman Evolution - The Piano Guys

Presenting Batman Evolution by the Piano Guys. We at the Dungeon are so in love with the talent behind this group and we are definitely buying their album just for this track. This particular rendition of their was made with a Piano combined with over 100 tracks of cello - you have to appreciate that kind of dedication to these guys put into their craft.

We had the distinct and very very fortunate pleasure to meet them last year when they visited the Philippines


Also the 1966 Batman theme is the best Batman theme.... EVER!!!

TF Generations Windblade

Presenting the battling beauty Transformers Generations Windblade.

Admittedly we once again did not understand the hype behind why people were dying for her - other than that it's a female Autobot which is always a plus.

Turns out she has quite a history - and we're not referring to the one created by IDW for her.

The Autobot Windblade is apparently the first officially "fan-created" Transformer.

Between April 18, 2013 and SDCC of 2013, fans voted for the creation of an Autobot; with a Jet alt-mode; whose signature weapon was a sword; with a red & black color scheme; a valiant personality; was named Windblade; was female; hails from the city of Kaon; and was a Telepath. SDCC concept sketches moved her from being a European Knight or a Roman Warrior to the Japanese stylings that she now bears. Designer Lenny Panzica made her hairstyle to match the one commonly used by the  upper-class warrior women (Onna Bugeisha) of Feudal Japan.

Lastly her name refers to a variety of things: Windblade is a real variety of industrial fans and she turns into a jet with turbofans; Hasbro thought it would be cool if her sword was powered by the spinning of the turbo blade in the hilt of the sword - Stormfall; she has a tessen or "iron fan" in her hair, and; because the fans said so. Do check out her wiki for more about this.

Friday, September 19, 2014

New 52 Starfire Action Figure

Presenting Starfire Action Figure from the DC New 52 Red Hood and the Outlaws Series.

There are many sacred thing that DC has learned not to mess with over the years: Power Girl's Boob Window; Wonder Woman's pants; Star Sapphire's barely there uniform and of course, the sexually carefree usually naked form of Starfire. In the first issue of the New 52's Red Hood and the Outlaws, she asks Arsenal quite frankly "Do you want to have sex with me?" When Arsenal initially rejects the offer because he thinks she is Jason Todd's girl she replies "Absurd.  I am free to do what I want when I want..." Naturally Arsenal is more than happy to oblige. he asks her "So, is there anything I need to know about making love to a Tamarranean?" and she replies "Just that love has nothing to do with it."

21st Century writing at it's best ladies and gentlemen.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Transformers Generations Skids

Presenting the Autobot Skids from the Transformers Generations toyline.

We chanced upon Skids at retail and frankly had no interest in buying him. He's Skids after all. In the greater scheme of things, he's nobody - no offense to Skids lovers out there - but he is Decepticon cannon fodder (Check out his yellow eyes below. He'll never be a Prime).

But everyone in the community seemed to want him so we had to find out why.

So we picked him up.

When we opened him, we were quite disappointed with the Transformers Generations Autobot Skids. Skids had beyond poor articulation, horrible feet, used gimmicks - though we had to admit the shoulder-mounted mini-missile launcher system is new.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

SirToys STAR WARS Ultra Build Darth Vader KO

Presenting a knock-off version of SirToys' STAR WARS Ultra Build Darth Vader.


It's amazing what you can find when you get off the couch and walk through the toy black-markets. We found the Ultra Build Darth Vader while walking through St. Francis Square in Ortigas. He was just sitting there and we thought "That's cool"

A few days after shooting it, we chanced upon a review of the orginal SirToys Star Wars Ultra Build Darth Vader on YouTube via BensCollectibles. Ben referred to his Ultra Build Darth Vader as being a part of a cancelled line of Star Wars figures that included Boba Fett, C3-P0 and the Imperial Storm Trooper. JC Gold on the comments section of Ben's Youtube page said "This was a fan project on Lego Cuusoo ( now Lego Ideas) and Lego rejected the idea because they did not have the right to make Star Wars action figures. " So not only is this a knock-off, it's also illegal :)

Here's the thing, based upon Ben's review, this Knock-Off is actually better than the original SirToys Ultra Build.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

HALO 4 Warthog

Presenting the HALO 4 UNSC Collector's Edition Warthog.

Okay! This is the M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, Warthog (or simply Hog), as it appears in HALO: 4. Now we should point out that when this blog started a lifetime ago in 2010, we featured the HALO Reach Warthog. Till today, that Warthog remains one of our most valuable Dungeon displays.

But this puts it to shame.

Over the past ten years or so Bungie has really made it a point to refine the graphics that went into the HALO games, but what here is more than a polish or design enhancement.

No.

This is a completely different vehicle.

Monday, August 25, 2014

TF4 AOE Scorn

Presenting the Transformers Age of Extinction TF4 AOE Deluxe Scorn.

TF4 AOE Scorn is a Bayformer Dinobot - meaning he's not based upon any G1 Dinobot and was made just for the movie.

We suppose Michael Bay found the idea of a Brontosaurus and a Stegosaurus too.... peaceful for the rampage he intended in Hongkong, and instead went for the dinosaur that killed the Tyrannosaurus Rex (Grimlock's Alt mode) in Jurassic Park 3 by snapping the T-Rex's neck: the Spinosaurus (We wonder if Bay is a fan of Jurassic Park).

A Spinosaurus supposedly rivals the size of a T-Rex so we're wondering if one day we'll see a Leader Class version of Scorn.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Marvel Legends Black Widow

Presenting the hard-to-find Black Widow from the Marvel Legends Captain America the Winter Soldier Series.

It really took a long time to find her. We're not sure if this is because Marvel wanted a female chase figure or because a lot of people like the Mandroid BAF and are chasing her because she has the connecting torso for the Mandroid. We have seen people complain "How does Marvel expect us to army build Mandroids?"

We believe it's a toss up. There are those like us who don't care about the Mandroid and just want the hot Marvel Action figure, and there are those who just want the Mandroid (This is supported by the fact that she's quite common, loose on ebay where she still goes for quite a high price). So the Marvel Legends Black Widow is Hard-to-find, not rare. There is one on Amazon for US$ 34.99 plus shipping (Roughly PhP 1,539.56 plus shipping).

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Transformers Generations Whirl

Presenting the Transformers Generations Whirl - in his "Heloped" mode.

Okay: We're Robotech fans and we really love the Guardian/ Gerwalk mode. The Guardian/ Gerwalk mode is an accidentally discovered mode for a Veritech/ Valkyrie fighter in mid transformation to Battloid/ Battroid mode as you can see here in our review of a VF-1S Strike Valkyrie. And we've loved how this "accident" looked on various Starscreams that we've reviewed.

But.... this isn't Robotech.

These are Transformers.

A triple-changer is a Transformers that shifts from one solid concept to another i.e. car to robot to helicopter (Springer), car to robot to hover-craft (Sandstorm); Train to Space-Shuttle to robot (Astrotrain), etc....

None of them make use of in-between forms like Transformers Generations Whirl.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Marvel Universe Rhino

Presenting the Rhino from the Marvel Universe Series 5 toyline.

To the uninitiated, the Rhino is Russian enforcer Aleksei Mikhai-lovich Sytsevich. He was chosen by the mob to undergo radiation and chemical experimentation because... get this.... "They thought he was stupid so they could control him"

Anyway, like the Hulk, the Marvel Universe's Rhino is Gamma Radiation born. Like the hulk, the Gamma Radiation gave Aleksei enhanced strength, endurance, resistance to injury and speed. To give him even more strength and resistance to injury the Russian mob bonded a suit to his skin that made him stronger, faster and more resistant to injury. The suit was later destroyed and the Rhino today uses a suit that isn't bonded to his skin.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Marvel Legends Gamora - Guardians of the Galaxy

Presenting Gamora from the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy collection.

If you haven't seen it yet, Guardians of the Galaxy is officially the Dungeon's "Best Movie of the Year!" (For now. After all we've yet to see Expendables 3).

Spoilers now: In the movie, Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos forced to become an intergalactic assassin who is currently taking orders from Ronan the Accuser. She is played by the incredibly beautiful Zoe Saldana - who we suppose really has a thing for science fiction having starred in Star Trek and Avatar.

We should probably note that Zoe Saldana doesn't look anything like the original Marvel 616 Gamora who dressed in snake-skin and could give the She-Hulk a run for her money as "Hottest Green Amazon." She also wore waaaaay less clothing than Zoe Saldana (Though later on her writers actually gave her real clothes).

Oh yeah! Gamora in the comic books is known for making Tony Stark cry "Uncle" in the sack!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Marvel Legends Satana

Presenting Satana from the Marvel Legends 2013 SDCC Thunderbolts Boxed set.

The 2013 SDCC Thunderbolts set comes with Satana, the Modern Day Luke Cage, Moonstone, the Ghost and Crossbones carrying a really big gattling gun.

We've always wanted this particular figure set but since we stopped collecting Marvel Legends in the Dungeon in general thanks to the sad destruction of our core collection of Marvel Legends, US$190 seemed a bit to pricey to get the 2013 SDCC boxed set when all we wanted was Satana.

But as you can see fate has brought us together. We found Satana a few nights ago in JAE's Collectibles in Megamall. When we saw her we had to have her, and here she is.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Marvel Universe Thanos

Presenting Thanos from the Marvel Universe Toyline.

We acquired Thanos roughly the same time we got the 3D Game of Thrones Puzzle of Westeros - hence the Iron Throne (Duh!) - and we couldn't help but wonder "Would Thanos covet the Iron Throne of Westeros?"

Eventually we decided on "No." Yes, Thanos would be amused that such a trivial icon could drive men to homicide, patricide, genocide and practically any kind of homicidium. Yes, Thanos is no stranger to matricide - having skinned his own mother alive to satisfy "A curiosity."

But we believe that Thanos is not given to a need to rule. He's driven by love. Love of Death - a lover who has more than once - spurned his advances.

But we do believe he'd sit in it.... and like it.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Transformers AOE Strafe

Presenting the Deluxe edition Dinobot Strafe from the Transformers Age of Extinction (AOE) toyline.

No he's not Swoop. Let's not pretend he is.

Let's get the great white-elephant out of the way, we hated the movie. And before some people get their panties in a bind, it's simply because the movie cannot stand as entertainment on it's own - regardless of the fact that Michael Bay likes to trample on G1 (Our opinion on that matter is that G1 and Bay are two different genres that should not be compared).

It's a long list of complaints. Anti-alien (to the point of hatred) secret government alien forms alliance with, you guessed it, an alien; Hound gives up the fight not because he's wounded, but because he's fat; Advertisements galore; no way is anybody going to believe that Marky Mark is an inventor; Marky Mark never runs out of ammo, why did Hound? his daughter - who falls for a useless coward - is the worst slut of a daughter we've ever seen. If only she was of legal agethen  we can imagine her getting the spanking she deserves;

Optimus Prime can fly? Apparently the best and fastest way to get this "seed" away from the bad guys was never considered from the guy who likes to just roll; The Dinobots are soooo mighty it takes one punch from Optimus to tame the great Grimlock; Speaking of which, what's with Prime getting his ass kicked throughout the movie? The only time he wins is when he's backed by giant Dinobots or when he stabs someone from behind. Speaking of which, a while back the new Decepticons were shrugging off anything the Autobots through at them, then when the Dinobots come a bite or a sword slash is all it takes?  And Optimus Prime is perfectly fine with his Autobots acting more like Decepticons than the Decepticons. Really? They have a fist fight in front of him and a sword is at Bumblebee's throat and he's "Meh"?

What extinction event are we looking at? At best if the seed went off HongKong would be gone. Not that it's any safer there now that Optimus Prime let four giant prehistoric semi-intelligent creatures roam the countryside.

And Strafe keeps crashing. He didn't really do anything. We went in with low expectations, just expecting a nice adventure. This was not worth what it cost to have it made, or the price of admission.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Pandoras Box PB02 Mekbuda Optimus Prime Upgrade

Presenting the Pandora's Box (PB02) Mekbuda Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime Armor Upgrade - with the FOC Ultra Magnus' sword.

When the War for Cybertron Optimus Prime (WFC Prime) was released followed by the Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime (FOC Prime), they were quickly followed by a plethora of 3rd party upgrades that made the playing experience... closer.... to the game experience (Check out the FOC Sword and Shield here).

Hot on the heels of the two video game Primes was an Ultra Magnus that was basically a repaint of the FOC Prime with a new face.

A lot of people complained though that it looked nothing like the FOC Ultra Magnus that appeared in the Nintendo version of the game. So Pandora's Box made armor for Ultra Magnus, called the PB01 Mebsuta. As the two molds were similar, Pandora's Box made a re-colored version of the armor which we have here: PB02 Mekbuda

Still didn't look like Ultra Magnus from the video games.

Monday, July 7, 2014

The Dungeon on AHA!

The Dungeon's Star Wars collection was put out for a local Philippine TV show called AHA last Sunday. Here's the clip that features the big lug (Denis) who writes this stuff as well as his STAR WARS toys. You can also catch glimpses of his other stuff in the background. That's also his Captain America and Wolverine in the opening sequence. It was fun :)


Sunday, June 29, 2014

Presenting the Arkham City Armored Batman

Presenting the Arkham City Armored Batman from the DC Comics Multiverse Series.

Okay, this is the Armored Batsuit from the Batman: Arkham City video game. It's been a while since we've played Arkham City, but we do not recall Batman having electric powered gloves til Batman Origins. He didn't even have an Armored Suit.

But then we realized that that was because we only play Arkham City in the X-Box. A quick glance on the internet revealed that there was an Armored Edition of the game released for the Nintendo wii U. The game introduces us to the Battle Armored Tech (B.A.T. duh) - or an armored version of the Batman that allows players to build up an electrical charge in Batman's gauntlets and release them in combat just as we saw in Batman: Origins.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Black Series Padme Amidala

Presenting the Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala as she appeared in the Geonosian Arena in Episode II - right after a Nexu ripped off precisely enough of her clothing to get our motors running :)

Surprisingly there aren't that many Star Wars 3.75" figures of Padme Amidala from the arena. We think that there are about one or two. We have the original that comes with a chain and a miniaturized column that you can chain her to that splits in half. We really didn't like that figure because it was one of those still-posed spring-action figures. Kinda sexy, but severly limited.

So when we saw a Black Series Padme Amidala we just had to get it but it was not being distributed by local retailers. Happily a dear friend took a short trip to Hong-Kong where she found her.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

TF4 Grimlock Platinum Edition

Presenting the Mighty King of the Dinobots Grimlock from the TF4 Platinum Edition set.

This is the Grimlock that accompanies the Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from the aforementioned Platinum edition set.

Let's get the big white elephant out of the way, this is a Bayformer, which means that, other than the name and (surprisingly) the ability to transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, this Grimlock has little or nothing to do with the original G1 Grimlock. We're actually surprised that he didn't transform into a scooter.

As with the Platinum Edition  Evasion Mode Optimus Prime  this Grimlock is obviously heavily stylized with Chrome parts.

The other big question that remains is as to whether or not Grimlock will actually transform in the movie - as none of the trailers show him in Robot mode - or if he will just remain in his dinosaur mode.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

General Grievous Vintage Edition

Presenting General Grievous from the Star Wars Vintage Edition Series.

We have to admit that we really didn't want to get this guy having been seriously disappointed with past General Grievous Action figures from other Star Wars series that.... just didn't give him justice or capture how deadly General Grievous is - especially as depicted in Star Wars Episode III.

So we held off from buying General Grievous when he was on the stands. We didn't bother giving him a second glance. That is until a particularly horrid day at work found us looking at him on sale on the toystands - the very last one available.

And we took him home.

Easily one of the best buys the Dungeon ever made.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

TF4 Autobot Hound

Presenting the Hasbro Voyager Class Autobot Hound from the TF4 Age of Extinction Toyline.

Hound is one of the Dungeon's most beloved characters from the Transformers series, and we have to admit to feeling a bit of anxiety after seeing his "Bayformer" version.

Yes we're quite aware that these are not the Transformers from the 80s and that they had to be rebuilt for the movies. (Kinda caught up on that on the first movie.)

But no one can deny that the "Essences" of the characters were maintained.

So how will Hound be portrayed? We shall see quite soon.

Have you ever played those medieval RPG type video games? Ever notice that there's always a warrior class weapons-smith or blacksmith? That one guy who always wears breastplate armor and carries all these weapons? That's what we have here - perfectly down to the unkempt facial hair and the skull cap. The persona seems to fit perfectly with the "knights" persona that we first saw with the AD-01 Optimus Prime - and have since seen as well with the TF4 Drift.

Friday, May 30, 2014

New 52 Catwoman Action Figure

Presenting the Catwoman action-figure from the DC New 52 Super Heroes vs Super Villains 7-pack.

SPOILER: Things should get interesting now that Forever Evil is finally over and - having had her love for Batman rejected (again) - Catwoman has decided to stop walking with the Angels, left the Justice League of America and has recommitted herself to a life of crime (But not after hacking her criminal record and totally distorting all digital records of her existence).

Also because apparently Bats and WonderWoman have this "connection" that neither Bruce nor the Martian Manhunter wanted to expound on.

We really don't mind the change. Catwoman is supposed to be a solo-act anyway. An anti-hero lurking alone in the dark.

Monday, May 26, 2014

AOE Dinobot Slag - Slug

Presenting the Transformers Age Of Extinction (AOE's) Slag - or as they put it, Slug.

Apparently Hasbro found out that one of the most common expletives in the Transformers Universe was the word "Slag!" If you visit the wiki page you can find this jewel of a curse: "Slaggit! The slaggin' slag-faced motha-slaggin' slagger slagged the slaggers!" So to avoid parental sensitivity issues, sometime back in 2011 when the Dinobots (Grimlock, Swoop and Slag) had to be released as a part of the Transformers Animated Series Cartoon and Toy Line, a lot of people missed that Slag had been renamed Snarl - which was a slap to the face of all us Snarl lovers (Snarl has yet to be avenged).

Also "Slag" in most parts of Europe means... well... "bitch." So naturally Hasbro could not market Slag in Europe and had to change the AOE Transformer's name to Slug - which some have pointed out refers instead to the solid part of a bullet instead of a slow shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc that can be tortured to death with copious amounts of salt. But seriously? The first thing that comes to your mind when the word "Slug" is mentioned is a bullet? Where did you grow up in? Bosnia? Afghanistan? Somalia?

So honestly? Marketing problem yes. Correct solution? Er..... We don't think so.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Transformers Evasion Mode Optimus Prime - Platinum Edition

Presenting the Platinum Edition Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from the Transformers Age of Extinction Toyline.

This Voyager class Optimus Prime is part of a two-pack Platinum Edition that includes a just as Chromed up Voyager edition of Grimlock.

From the trailers and the blister pack, we can already surmise that the Autobots in the Age of Extinction movie are going through the break-up of the "Human Alliance", and as such have transmorphed into other vehicles in an attempt to stay as incognito as possible - specifically "junkers" (In the same way that Bumblebee kept a low profile in the first movie by transforming into a beat-up 1977 Chevrolet Camaro).

Optimus Prime has chosen to abandon his 1997 Peterbuilt body sported in the Transformers, ROTF and DOTM movies, sample of which you can see here (Jetwing), here(Striker), here (Modified Striker) and here (JetPower Upgrade), in favor of a 1973 Marmon Cab-Over-Engine which is quite similar to the Freightliner Cab-Over-Engine Class 8 truck he transforms into in the original cartoon series (Later on in the movie, Optimus Prime adopts the appearance of a Western Star semi-truck that you can see here).

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Transformers Age of Extinction AD01 Optimus Prime Takara

Presenting the Takara AD01 Optimus Prime from the Transformers Age of Extinction Toyline.

We were one of those that severely lambasted the Transformers Age of Extinction First Edition Optimus Prime, and we have still yet to get one. We believe that it's till over-priced and an insult to Transformers collectors worldwide - that being said, we will purchase it if its price falls to between PhP 500 and PhP 1,000 (US$ 11 to US$ 22).

We almost didn't get the AD01 either given that early pictured depicted that the AD01 Takara and Habro Optimus Primes all had those blocky untransformed backs that reeked of budget cuts.

But he wasn't as bad as the First Edition AOE Optimus Prime - who looks like he has a bed attached to his back (Here in the Philippines there are actually people who walk around peddling full size wooden Beds or shelves on their backs, the First Edition AOE Prime reminded us of them).

So we got him. And because everything Takara is better (Bias), we got the AD01 Takara Optimus Prime.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Friday, May 9, 2014

STAR WARS Black Series StormTrooper

Presenting a Star Wars Black Series 6" StormTrooper!

The Black Series Stormtrooper is actually one of the more coveted pieces to be created in the series because of its troop-building potential and we at the Dungeon were extremely lucky to find this on retail.

We have never seen it on retail again, and those that do have it do not seem keen to part with it.

We've always felt sorry for the way StormTroopers were depicted in the movies i.e. the inability to hit anything; being taken apart by little teddy bears. These are the Emperor's elite troopers! Inferior to their Clone counterparts for sure (Commander Cody hated them), but still no pushoevers. So we're glad that books like Allegiance and Choices of One by Timothy Zahn gave us a better look at what just a handful of StormTroopers can do. This "Hand of Judgement" would go on to form Grand Admiral Thrawn's new 501st Legion.

We hope that the new movies will redeem the StormTrooper name - assuming the Imperial Remnant from the Expanded Universe survives.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

STAR WARS Lego Rebel Snowspeeder KO

Presenting a Star Wars Empire Strikes Back KO Lego Rebel Snowspeeder.

Ever since LEGO's patent ended these have been proliferating the market. We have 8 Lego mini X-Wing Fighters and only one of them is original. The remaining seven come from two different Knock-Off sources and unless you were to look for the "LEGO" logo on the pieces, we swear that you cannot tell the difference. They're really well made.

This particular KO Snowspeeder is based upon a LEGO Snowspeeder which comes with a Rebel Pilot and the Planet Hoth that retails for around US$ 10. You can see the original in Brickwars and we cannot tell the difference between the KO and the original.

Everything down to the paint.

We just hope that we're not being poisoned by lead.

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