Hoardsmas 2015: Vintage 80s / 90s Australian Toy Catalogues

Oh, hey. Long time no see. Soz. It's been quite a year. I've been a tad tardy with my bloggings.

I just thought I'd pop in and say:

HAPPY HOARDSMAS! 

Ahem.

Now that's out of the way, let me take you on a journey through some vintage Australian toy catalogues from both Zig-Zag and Toyworld, courtesy of my pal Mr. Brendan Ryan.

If you follow the Hoard World page on Facey B, you will likely have run into Brendan or heard mention of him via links. But if not, you will no doubt recall his magnificent toy catalogue collection that was featured way back in 2013 with THIS POST.

But wait, there's more. Quite a bit more. And today we're going to take a look at a bit more of these catalogues that are exclusive to the Hoard World blog. Thanks to Brendan.

Masters of the Universe Classics Light Hope Figure Review (Mattel)

This review was originally published way back in November 2014 on Doomkick.com. It was written specifically for the Doomkick site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. This is the very last of my guest reviews on other sites to date. With the exception of the little piece I contributed to Dinosaur Dracula a billion years ago, all my off-site work has now been republished right here on Hoard World! Yay! You can check out the originally published version of this Light Hope review at the Doomkick site here. Thanks for reading!

Light Hope. Yes. That guy. One of the three extra special BFFs along with Madame Razz and Kowl who knew She-Ra's secret identity. Also pretty much one of the hardest characters to ever make an action figure out of.

Because he's just a beam of rainbow-esque light (see above). You know?

Unless you do something almost cool but mostly awful like NECA's "Lightning Gremlin" action figure, you're really up Snake Mountain without a power sword when it comes to making an action figure of Light Hope.

Yet they did. And here he is.

Zombie Superman Knock-Off Review (Unknown)

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in July 2013 on ThEpicReview.com for their Resident Evil Zombie Celebration Week. It was written specifically for ThEpic Review site so may contain specific references to the site etc; For example my mention of whether Zombie Supes is "epic" or "great" or "good" towards the end is a reference to ThEpicReview's ratings system. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat (like there aren't as many of these knock-offs floating around on eBay as when this was first written). You can check out the originally published version on ThEpic Review's site here.

Marvel Select Marvel Zombies Colonel America Review (Diamond Select)

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in July 2013 on ThEpicReview.com for their Resident Evil Zombie Celebration Week. It was written specifically for ThEpic Review site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat; although this figure came out in 2007 so was already practically a billion years old before it was "reviewed" in 2013. Much like most of us wish George Lucas hadn't, I have also made a handful of changes and edits to this piece; so this is a"Special Edition" if you will. You can check out the originally published version on ThEpic Review's site here.

SDCC Toy Reveals 2015

If you're inclined to pay attention to things like the San Diego Comic Con and its subsequent reveals of nice things you might like to buy in the future, then you might have already seen a lot of what I'm about to show you from other sites.

But there's literally so much stuff on show, a lot of times stuff slips through the cracks. Hoard World isn't just an outlet for me to vent and share my stupid pictures with a few hundred people from time to time. And it's certainly not a viable business. More often than not, it's a public service. Or so I tell myself.

This is one of those Public Servicing times. I already know what stuff I liked from SDCC. I have filed pictures of it forever in my brain meats so I can obsess over said items for the next 12 months or more.

This is for you. The people. And at the end of it, I'm going to offer up some advice that might help those of you who have a genuine fear of "missing out."

Let's begin, shall we?

Return of the Living Dead Tarman Action Figure Review (Amok Time Toys)

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in July 2013 on ThEpicReview.com for their Resident Evil Zombie Celebration Week. It was written specifically for ThEpic Review site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat; for example the film 'Warm Bodies' is not recent. You can check out the originally published version on ThEpic Review's site here.

Masters of the Universe Classics Eternos Palace King Randor Review (Mattel)

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in June 2013 on Poeghostal.com. It was written specifically for Poe Ghostal's site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. For posterity (in case Poe's site ever goes offline forever) I have included screenshots at the end of the article of a selection of the 20+ comments I received for this guest review; to date, still a comments record for anything I've written. Booooooo. You can check out the originally published version on Poe Ghostal's site here.

Masters of the Universe Classics Spirit of Hordak Review (Mattel) / Vale Earl Norem 1924-2015

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in October 2013 on Poeghostal.com. It was written specifically for Poe Ghostal's site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. For example, obviously since the Spirit of Hordak chase figure came out, we've had Loo-Kee and Kowl as well as the recent Spirit of King Grayskull (Which I still don't have! OMC*). This version contains slightly different wording as well as many new links that were originally removed from the final version by the editor. You can check out the originally published version on Poe Ghostal's site here.

Before we begin this recycled review, I'd just like to pay tribute to one of the greatest illustrators who ever walked the Earth: Mr. Earl Norem. Along with the likes of William George and Alfredo Alcala, Earl Norem was an integral element of the Masters of the Universe mythos in its illustrated form. Aside from MOTU however, he was just an all-round wonderful artist. I was literally only just looking at some of his brilliant work and reading the interview with him in the recent Masters of the Universe Art Book a few days before he passed. Here's some footage of the man himself hanging out with Stan Lee at a con a few years back. Rest in peace, Earl Norem. You will be sorely missed but thankfully your decades of amazing work will be with us for generations to come.

VALE EARL NOREM 1924-2015

*Oh My Crom!

MOTU DAY 2015: FIVE THINGS YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FROM THEIR VINTAGE GOLDEN BOOKS ADVENTURES

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.

MOTU DAY 2015 logo by The Toy Box

Masters of the Universe Classics Hordak Review (Mattel)

This review was originally published way back in April 2013 on Doomkick.com. It was written specifically for the Doomkick site's 1st Anniversary celebrations so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. Although this piece was actually published before my "Mosquitor" guest review on Poe Ghostal's site, it is still chronologically (in terms of the order I wrote them) the second guest review I ever did. You can check out the originally published version (that comes with an introduction from Hoard World's "management") on the Doomkick site here.

Hi. I'm Hoardax.

Yes, the Hoardax. Maybe you've heard of me or maybe you've heard of me!

This isn't about me today, though. That was just a formality to set my new audience at ease. I am completely out of my comfort zone. Normally, I'd be talking to the legion of Hoard Worlders over on my Facey B page or on The Blog - to rapturous applause, often a standing ovation.

But today, I talk to YOU - The Doomkickers. Be gentle with me, won't you? Like many artists, or siblings of Evil Dictators who have become estranged due to a conflict of interests (He wanted to murder everybody all the time; I enjoy collecting nice things and sharing my love of said things with the world via the internets), I am very sensitive.

NEW YORK TOY FAIR REVEALS: NECA 8-BIT VIDEO GAME FIGURES - MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS - BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES - MARVEL LEGENDS - KOTOBUKIYA SUPER POWERS - BIF BANG POW 3.75" FIGURES - MEZCO 1:12

I weep both tears of happiness and sadness at the New York Toy Fair reveals.
Happiness at the beauty of the nice things.
Sadness at probably only ever seeing about 14% of them in real life and owning about 8% of those. 

Is it that time of year again already? It seems like only yesterday that I was ogling a sample of 2014's New York Toy Fair wares!

Well, it is. It is that time of year. And what a year Toy Fair 2015 has turned out to be!

There was soooooo much stuff displayed this year that it literally gave me anxiety. And I didn't even attend Toy Fair! Frankly, I blame the internet.

While many reputable sites have beautifully delivered massive amounts of footage and pics direct from Toy Fair already, here on Hoard World, I'm borrowing a mere selection of those very same pics and showing you the stuff that I am personally excited about. Ya dig?

Let's start right away, shall we?

Masters of the Universe Classics Mosquitor Figure Review (Mattel)

This review was originally published way back in May 2013 on Poe Ghostal.com. It was written specifically for Poe's site so contains many references (and links) to his other reviews. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat.  This is the complete, unabridged version. You can check out the slightly edited version on Poe Ghostal's site here.

The latest addition to The Mighty Horde's army is Mosquitor The Evil Energy Draining Insectoid, who was released last December. He sold out reasonably quickly after he went on sale but has since turned up on Mattycollector for sale as excess Customer Service Stock. Which has also sold out. If you missed out, there's a pretty good chance he's still floating around on eBay for prices somewhere higher than Chief Carnivus or Dekker but much less than Whiplash or Beastman.

To my knowledge, Mosquitor never made an appearance in the Filmation cartoon or the 200x version. He did, however, get his own front cover fighting He-man in one of those Marvel Star Comics of the late 80s. Issue 8, I believe it was.

As such, we've never really known that much about him. All we know is that he's one of The Horde, he has a Mosquito head and he sucks blood. Oh, and that he's actually FEMALE thanks to The Fwoosh and their magnificent, fact-based logic.

It's well documented that Mosquitor is Pixel Dan's favourite MOTU character EVER. This was irrefutably proven once and for all by this video where Dan's celebration of finally receiving a MOTUC version results in a Kafka-esque Metamorphosis....and Gangnam Style Dancing. These days it's hard to even think about Mosquitor without thinking about Pixel Dan. (Or do I have some kind of problem?) In fact, Poe talked to him just the other day about the concept of a Toy Fan's favourite obscure character being called "My Mosquitor."

The "My Mosquitor" definition revolves around a "guilty pleasure" character that isn't popular with everybody. Now, there's a chance Pixel Dan might read this but this isn't why I'm saying what I'm about to say.....

WHO DOESN'T LOVE MOSQUITOR? Seriously. I want a show of hands.

He/She is a MOSQUITO-headed vampire that SUCKS BLOOD! The vintage figure had a blood-pumping chest action! Are you kidding me? That's objectively the best thing that ever happened.

But is the MOTUC re-imagining of Mosquitor a piece of black plastic recycling? Let's find out.