Thursday 25 December 2014

Hoardsmas 2014: S.K.I.P: Strategic Kangaroo Impact Patrol (Huggingtons Twisted Toys) / Thrashor (8-Bit Zombie)

Hoardsmas looks a lot more like a present swapping pictorial in 2014.


I can't believe it's that time of year again. Yet, it is. It's HOARDSMAS. We've covered the day itself at least two times before in 2012 and 2013 as well as Hoardsmas themed articles you may care to read (or re-read) about He-man, Power Lords, Super PowersDear Santy Letters and Holiday Listicles.

Despite all this, you'd be surprised at how many letters we get every day asking us about HOARDSMAS. 

Predominantly stuff like "What is it?" and "Isn't it just Christmas?" or "How do I celebrate it? I need to know for my lifestyle."

So let me clarify it all for you, right now, once and for all, and for those playing along at home.

HOARDSMAS is about buying material possessions you absolutely don't need and giving them to people you mostly like (and occasionally people you only tolerate), under the guise of a magical creature is the one actually giving it to them. You may NOT take credit for these presents. The magical Hoardo Beast dropped them at your recipient's house for funsies! Don't mess this part up or you'll ruin hopes and dreams.

HOARDSMAS occurs whenever Hoardax can be bothered taking photos of the event. Sometimes this coincidentally lands on your planet's "Christmas Day." Often, not.

HOARDSMAS is about including everybody (regardless of denomination) in something most people can bond over: Alcoholism and Consumerism. If done correctly it can be a fun time for all.

I may or may not be drinking Egg Nog as I write this.

Please commit Hoardsmas responsibly.

But don't forget the most important aspect of HOARDSMAS!

After the magical Hoardo Beast gives you your material possessions, you have to briefly look at your new gifts with unbridled awe and a sense of satisfaction, before putting them in a box and not looking at them again for years.

Rinse. Repeat.

Do this for long enough and you too can have an area in your very own headquarters that gives you anxiety when you walk in there.

Now, that's the true spirit of Hoardsmas! 


Saturday 15 November 2014

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HALLOWEEN ON HOARD WORLD? aka PLEASE READ MY GUEST POST ON DOOMKICK.COM

Behind-the-scenes pic from my guest review of Bob Hope's lesser known relative and She-Ra's BFF Light Hope over at Doomkick.com
Hi everybody!

My reasons for writing you all today are two-fold.

Firstly, I just thought I would let you know that my guest review of Light Hope has gone up and is ready to peruse at your leisure over at the Doomkick site!

If you've never been there before, then now is a good time to start. It's a lovely place. I highly recommend it.


You can read my guest review right HERE.

Secondly, even though Halloween has clearly come and gone, it would be remiss of me not to share with you how it all went down on Hoard World. It was pretty wonderful you guys.

Two of these things are not like the other.

Thursday 13 November 2014

HAPPY HONDA DAYS VS YOUR CHILDHOOD featuring Skeletor, He-man, Jem, Gumby, Pokey, G.I. Joe, Strawberry Shortcake, Stretch Armstrong & Fischer-Price Little People.


What If........Robot Chicken did a car commercial?

Honda's latest batch of U.S. based holiday season car commercials have dug deep into the Nostalgia factor this time around, featuring a variety of predominantly 80s toys hawking Honda's automotive wares to appeal to......well, everybody that was a kid in those eras, I guess.

While the idea is undeniably clever, what does it say about today's "adults" that Honda feels the need to tap into that demographic by reminding people of the joy they might've felt as a kid with a new toy, and likening it to buying their latest model?

It makes me feel funny in my tummy.

What it doesn't do is make me want to buy their car because they've found a way to "speak" to me.

It makes me want to burn everything I own because I'm a chump that is still dealing with the after-effects of exposure to 80s toy advertising as a young timer. And worse than that, continuing to celebrate it as an adult.

This ad says, "Hey Chump! Remember when we made you like this? We're going to use the same crap we made you like as a kid and use it to make you like our new car! You chump. Buy it chump. Welcome to capitalism."

Oh, hey Gumby...what's that? You can't find your soul?

Friday 7 November 2014

WHY I SOLD MY BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA ACTION FIGURES.



I make no secret of the fact that I help support my addiction to stuff by selling my other stuff. It's the circle of life. And in a real world scenario where you have finite space, the reality is you just can't keep everything. That's just how it goes, bro.

We've been through this before but this is called Hoard World for a reason. I have a problem. Or had a problem. Or am getting better at least with incremental amounts of small yet important progress.

Two years ago when I started Hoard World, never in a million years would I have thought I would ever sell my Big Trouble In Little China figures. Never. They weren't for sale. At any price. The fact that 10 years into the action figure series' existence they had become quite rare and incredibly sought after perhaps further cemented my resolve in a reasonably unhealthy way.

The Hoardax of yesteryear would rather have been buried with those figures than let anybody get their greasy mits on them. Besides that, it proved that I was a true fan of John Carpenter, Kurt Russell and the major motion picture Big Trouble In Little China, right? Only a true fan would have bought the Jack Burton figure the day he was released! Only a true fan would have picked up David Lo Pan and Egg Shen a little while after on a discount table for $10 a pop because the figures were a massive commercial failure and the toy company that released them was never heard from again.

All wrong. (Except for the part about the discount table, the massive commercial failure and the toy company never being heard from again. Those bits are fact.)

But even though we can all agree my Elitist Fan Pride was misplaced and whether you own hard to find licensed merchandise of a cinematic/televisual/animated/musical/comicbook property is no indication of how much you love something (although obviously it can be),  why then did I end up selling my Big Trouble In Little China figures?

Thursday 6 November 2014

SNEAK PEEK: KRANG AMAZEBALLS by HUGGINGTONS TWISTED TOYS




About 9 seconds ago, on the Huggingtons Twisted Toys Facey B page, I saw some WIP (work-in-progress) shots of the first entirely sculpted piece 'KRANG AMAZEBALLS' by J-F Tranquille.

You might have already realised this but it's a genius (and completely fitting) mash-up of Krang from TMNT and Madballs.

Yes.

Source: Superhero Wiki
Source: Memoirs Of A Roving Mind

Thursday 9 October 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON: INTERGALACTIC SKELETOR aka SPACE SKELETOR! aka NEW ADVENTURES SKELETOR by MATTEL

Intergalactic Skelly just flew into Hoard World and boy are his intergalactic arms tired!

You know, in all the years I've been doing Hoard World, I don't think we've ever done an actual spotlight on a Masters of the Universe Classics figure. Sure, there's been lots of pictures of them but never a focus on a single figure release. Well, maybe it's time to do more of that.

"Welcome to the Galaxy, bonehead."
The idea of Space He-man or Space Skeletor is a strange one (even though it makes perfect sense to yours truly) and something that never quite gelled with the children of 1989 or even the adults of the 2010s.


Tuesday 2 September 2014

BRING YOUR MAN-E-FACES TO WORK DAY ON HOARD WORLD!



So there I was. At home. It was September 2nd. Just trying to do a nice, honest day's work. Taking pics. Listing on eBay. Being excellent on social media. That sort of thing.

That's when it happened. This guy (I think his name was "Manny") turns up. No hello. No nothin'. And he just won't leave me alone. He doesn't say a word. He just stands there. Watching me. Hugging me. Posin' for pics like the one you just saw.


Thursday 14 August 2014

AN OPEN LETTER TO JEFF WADLOW - DIRECTOR OF THE UPCOMING MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FILM.

Jeff Wadlow (Writer/Director of Kick-Ass 2, the upcoming X-Force film and allegedly the new He-man film).
Pic Source: Celluloid & Cigarette Burns.
I don't expect that Mr. Wadlow will ever see this (however, I plan on immediately tweeting this to him after I publish it....so, who knows?) but I do think that if there was ever a director on Earth who was directing a Masters of the Universe film who might actually read this, it's the one who turned up to SDCC 2014 and chatted to MOTU fans about the Masters of the Universe movie.

Previously here on Hoard World, I have dream cast the new Masters of the Universe film if you haven't read that yet (Jeff, you can take a look too, if you like pal) but this will indeed be the first time I have directly addressed a current director of the new Masters of the Universe film using the magic of the internets.

Ahem.

Here goes...


Wednesday 13 August 2014

6 OF THE WORST ACTION FIGURE LIKENESSES EVER MADE

These two guys are not some of them. In fact, I think that's a pretty good "Bad Tummy Time" Bill Paxton likeness. And that Michael Biehn likeness is undoubtedly superior to what you are about to witness if you read on. As a side note, both of these figures are currently on sale at the All Star Comics Melbourne Toy Cabinet!! Whoa. Shameless Plug.

There's something about enjoying a movie property that often makes us want to own merchandise of it. This wasn't always the case, but certainly these days it has become quite a common occurrence. It's practically expected. That's a good thing because otherwise I'd have nothing to write about this week.

And as the title of this feature may have already given away, I will not be focussing on the crowning glories of silver screen to action figure accuracy. Nay! I want to look at some of the ones that look nothing like their cinematic counterparts.

What you are about to read is by no means definitive. In fact, the chosen examples were literally the first that sprang to mind. I know, for a fact, that there are many, many more to choose from. As such, we may revisit this subject again in due course.

Note: This feature was written whilst sick with The Death Flu, and as such, I uncharacteristically have not sourced or linked any of my borrowed photos (which is pretty much all of the pics that don't have a blue background). Now I can't remember where I got them from - if this is you, tell me and I will add links. So sorry.


Friday 8 August 2014

10 THINGS I WILL PROBABLY NEVER OWN (AND I'M FINE WITH THAT)

Picture by DoomKick (strangely enough not actually taken by me)

The idea for this latest feature was taken from the wildly popular Facey B folder of the same name that's an ongoing update of all the nice things that I wouldn't MIND owning, but for a variety of reasons including availability, finances and where they are on my list of consumer priority, will probably never own. That was a long sentence. My condolences.

And I'm fine with that. I've already made my peace. I tell myself.

So let's take a sneaky look at 10 of these aforementioned things that I will probably never own.

There's nothing the people of Earth like more than self-indulgent flights of fancy all wrapped up into a juicy Listicle!

Wednesday 30 July 2014

WHAT HAS HONG KONG PHOOEY DONE FOR ME LATELY? aka HOW TO KENNY ROGERS.


The answer is: Not enough.

Sometimes you have to be Kenny Rogers.

You have to Kenny Rogers the heck out of an aspect of your life.

And that can be a gamble.

But knowing when to fold 'em. When to hold 'em. When to walk away. And when to run, is how you be Kenny Rogers successfully.

And sometimes you have to be Kenny Rogers about something. You have no choice.

The time for me to be Kenny Rogers is NOW and that "something" I mentioned earlier is my vast collection of things I quite like.


Sunday 6 July 2014

HOARD WORLD: YEAR TWO - HOW TO CELEBRATE THAT DIFFICULT SECOND YEAR WITH A BIRTHDAY PARTY

It's my birthday. It's my birthday. I'm gonna spend my money.
p.s. I'm broke, so not really.
Long time readers might recall around this time last year when I took an exhaustive, obsessively critical and self-indulgent look at the first year of Hoard World in all its various guises.

For Hoard World's 2nd anniversary, let's not gaze into my plastic, slime-filled navel too much; instead, why not remember what it is that we actually like about Hoard World with a nice, laid back retrospective? (And then celebrate our difficult second year with a birthday party.)


Sunday 1 June 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON: HUGGINGTONS TWISTED TOYS PART TWO featuring THE SAVAGE BOBBY PIN! (RAGE BEAST EDITION)

Note: The Filmation-style MOTUC Trap Jaw in this photo shoot was created many years ago by Hunter Knight Customs. P.S. I love the way The Savage Bobby Pin is packaged.


Yesterday (hopefully) you read about Frankentrooper and PINCER M.D. in part one of our Spotlight on Huggingtons Twisted Toys.

Today I bring you another fantastic piece of Toy Art in the conclusion of our very special Spotlight on Huggingtons Twisted Toys.

Huggingtons Twisted Toys is the brainchild of artist J-F Tranquille (you can check out his new blog that goes behind the scenes of his work HERE) who is based in Melbourne, Australia and has had displays and exhibitions of his art, sculptures and toy creations all over town (most recently, and most often, at the awesome Art Boy Gallery).

All of the independently produced Toys you see in this Spotlight are either available to purchase now (or will be very shortly) from the Huggingtons Twisted Toys Storenvy.

Let's get started, shall we?

Saturday 31 May 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON: HUGGINGTONS TWISTED TOYS PART ONE featuring PINCER M.D. & FRANKENTROOPER.


Note: The Filmation-style MOTUC Trap Jaw in this photo shoot was created many years ago by Hunter Knight Customs.

It's been far too long between pop cultural drinks here on Hoard World.

To be fair, while I frequent the Facey B often, and update The Hoardstagram so regularly that one magnificent Hoard Worlder instituted the catchphrase "Hoard World: Bringing you toy insanity on a daily basis!", I have been rather lax with The Blogging and such.

Until now.

And golly gee willikers is this a doozy!

For today I bring you TWO fantastic pieces of Toy Art in Part One of our very special Spotlight on Huggingtons Twisted Toys.

Huggingtons Twisted Toys is the brainchild of artist J-F Tranquille (you can check out his new blog that goes behind the scenes of his work HERE) who is based in Melbourne, Australia and has had displays and exhibitions of his art, sculptures and toy creations all over town (most recently, and most often, at the awesome Art Boy Gallery).

All of the independently produced Toys you see in this Spotlight are either available to purchase now (or will be very shortly) from the Huggingtons Twisted Toys Storenvy.

Let's get started, shall we?

Monday 28 April 2014

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE DAY 2014: THE CLIP SHOW

We hadn't really planned on doing anything for MOTU Day this year. Never say never.
FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE.......

MOTU Day is April 28th or so it was decreed back in 1987 by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

He might not have meant for anybody to celebrate it in 1988 or ever again, but it's still an absolute fact.

This actually happened.

It doesn't matter that it was created for the sole purpose of promoting the POWER TOUR that was running through LA at the time - if it was good enough for Mayor Tom Bradley and the fine people of Los Angeles, it's good enough for you.

MOTU has an actual day. (See: Los Angeles Times Article April 23rd, 1987 to read it transcribed in print)

So it was declared, so it shall be done. Forever and ever.  He-men.

The oversized He-man and Skeletor heads in this pic are actually vintage pencil toppers, in case you didn't already know. I just shoved them on top of their Classics counterparts. 'Cause I'm an artist.


Friday 21 March 2014

6 YouTube VIDEOS YOU NEED TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE.


Friends that YouTube together, can die happily together.

There's 1001 lists of things other people think you should be doing before you die. But who are they to tell you? And more importantly, who the heck are they to tell ME?

Not one to be left behind by such modern day fads as "Doing Things", "Achieving Inane Goals Set By Others" or "Living Life to the Fullest" (yuck!), I have concocted a list of my own. Afterall, you can hoard experiences too, you know.

These are 6 achievements you can reach right now without even getting up!

All of them are YouTube videos. All of them (with one exception) are clips I have only come across this year so there's a slight chance you might not have already seen them! All of them are awesome in their own way.

And all of them you NEED to see before you die.*

Remember folks, the future is uncertain, and the end is always near. At least that's what Jim Morrison said, and he was right about that for himself!

Let's begin shall we?

Wednesday 19 March 2014

HOARDAX DOES DAYLESFORD (AGAIN) featuring THE BRICK LANE BAZAAR.



Once a year, your pal, Hoardax goes on vacation. The last time it happened we took a gander at the (now defunct) Mill Markets located upstairs at the Rex Theatre in Daylesford. Since that time, it has now reverted to an actual movie theatre downstairs, that screens a handful of movies per day, and upstairs is now an Art Gallery. The Mill Markets still exist at their original location in Daylesford, however. You can call off the riot.

The events of this following adventure actually occurred all the way back in November 2013, if you can imagine such a simpler time.

Sunday 2 March 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON: E.A. HORDACUS & DARK RIDER by KABOOM TOYS


Geldor, E.A. Hordacus and your pal, Hoardax.

It's a great pleasure to be back again to spotlight more fantastic Toy Artists from around the globe.

This is the final installment of what has been a quartet of specifically focused Hoard World Spotlight Features.

The previous spotlights (in case you missed them) were:

Monday 17 February 2014

NEW YORK TOY FAIR REVEALS: ETHERIA SUB - SUPER POWERS 2014 RETRO LINE - BATMAN: ANIMATED SERIES - NECA ALIENS - RIO BLAST - MINI MASTERS

Upcoming NECA Aliens 7" Figures Series 3 featuring LANCE HENRIKSEN as Bishop!!
Picture Credit: Big Bad Toy Store

It's New York Toy Fair 2014, and while I'm sure, even as I type this, not everything has even finished being revealed, I thought I'd quickly chime in with the reveals that already, I am absolutely beyond stoked about.

Let's start with NECA's upcoming series of 7" ALIENS figures (pictured) that are on its way to a store near you in July.

The Lance Henriksen likeness? Just...WOW. Bishop looks amazing, and this guy is going to make brilliant custom fodder for all sorts of Lance Henriksen variants.

Add to that, the awesomeness of a 7" Kane figure with the facehugger suffocating him through his space suit helmet, and this line is really coming together.

Next up, is some of the fantastic Mattel announcements for their Masters Of The Universe Classics line.

Friday 14 February 2014

VALENTINE'S DAY featuring EXCLUSIVE tips from TV's Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame.


Welcome to Valentine's Day on Hoard World - the only blog that is 99.1% pure...ROMANCE.

Last year, that jerk Hoardax gave you the Top 5 Valentine's Day Tips of All Time.

Well, I'm here to tell you - his romance was inferior.

This is the new shizz.

Let's cook.


Tuesday 4 February 2014

UNPOPULAR TOYS: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE ACTION FIGURES & DOLLS

These two guys know all about unpopular action figures.
Hi everybody.

As many of you might already know, on Hoard World we strive to stay away from negativity as much as possible. If something sucks, some times it's best just to keep your mouth shut and move on.

That said, some times you can't shy away from the naked truth.


Tuesday 28 January 2014

THE COLLECTIONARY: THE INTERNET'S NEWEST PLACE TO HOARD PHOTOS OF STUFF featuring TMNT AVENGERS!


It's not easy being TEEN.

Edit: Sadly as of the end of May 2014, despite my excellent spruiking in this, still very enjoyable blog entry (stay for the Avengers TMNT pics!), The Collectionary is KA-PUT. Sad Face.


About a week ago, I was approached by The Collectionary to take a look at their site. I did that. I liked it. I added a badge like the one above to the most popular Hoard World blog post of all time, and that was that.

Shortly afterwards I was invited to have a chat with Josh at The Collectionary about exactly what The Collectionary was all about.

Monday 27 January 2014

SPOTLIGHT ON: M.U.S.C.L.E.'s of the UNIVERSE by ERIC NILLA & WOLF VOIGT.


It's with great pleasure and extreme excitement that I am back, yet again, to spotlight more fantastic Toy Artists who have found their way into my plastic, slime-filled heart. This is the third part of what is to be a quartet of super special Spotlight Features here on Hoard World.

If you missed out and want to read the first spotlight in this series that started way back in September, and focused on the awesome Goodleg Toys, you can do so right HERE. If you want to see December's focus on Ryan Hall's 3-D Paper Toy Art pieces, it's waiting right HERE for you.

What do you get when you cross Masters Of The Universe with M.U.S.C.L.E. Men?

Friday 17 January 2014

NEW ITEMS AVAILABLE TO BUY AT THE HOARD STORE: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE! SPIDER-MAN! MARVEL LEGENDS! WALKING DEAD!

That one time I met Errol Flynn's son and MR. T's dad.

Oh hey.

Didn't see you there. It's your old pal Hoardax.

You remember me, right? Hordak's nice twin brother? Blogger? Ebay Store proprietor?

Anyway, I listed some awesome shizz over at the Hoard Store.

I don't mention stuff like this as much as I should because I'm too busy dream casting the upcoming Masters Of The Universe live action film or spotlighting awesome 3-D Paper Toy Art or filming Battle Cat doing stuff like this.....

Thursday 2 January 2014

ASK HOARDAX - ROUND 2 featuring DARKSEID & THE NEW GODS, THE PHANTOM & THE PHANTOM LIMB

TIME does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO! HOARDAX!

For those who came in late, ASK HOARDAX is a forum where you can ask ME anything you like about anything you like! Whether it be hoarding related, cooking tips or relationship advice - I'm ready to believe you!

ASK HOARDAX was originally supposed to be a weekly occurrence on Facey B, but during early experiments I decided that, if anything, it should instead exist as ongoing semi-regular rounds, similar in format (if not in content) to something like ASK MATTY.

I open up the floor, you guys submit the questions and  then everything is collated into a lovely, more in-depth blog post right here on Hoard World for all to see!

Got a question for me? Email us at: hoardworld@gmail.com or contact my human assistant directly over at the Facey B.

And if you wanna read how ROUND 1 went down, you can relive it HERE.

Without any further ado, let's proceed with the long-awaited answers to ROUND 2 of ASK HOARDAX....

Wednesday 1 January 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR HOARD WORLDERS!





Happy New Year for whenever it's happening to you!

As you can see, It's happening on Hoard World right now!

Thanks for Hoard Worlding with me in 2013.

All the best to everybody in 2014!

yr pal,

HOARDAX.

"Greetings True He-Believer!
I was just testing out this Battletastic Battle Armour of yours!
From now on....MAKE MINE MOTU!"
Also....Happy 91st Birthday to STAN LEE aka STANDOR.