There’s SO MUCH cool toy stuff to talk about for this installment of Figure Friday I almost can’t stand it! Hopefully, you all read last week’s column that Rich did about toy photography. It was super interesting and made me silently curse his name for making me consider yet another hobby to invest my time in.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch Silver Shamrock Trick-or-Treaters Three-Pack
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is probably my favorite non-Michael Myers Halloween movie. It doesn’t matter that it’s the ONLY non-Michael Myers Halloween movie, but I appreciate it for the delightful oddity it was. As the story goes, the Halloween films were intended to be somewhat of an anthology series that was centered around the holiday rather than Michael Myers. Season of the Witch was supposed to be the first of those but it was met with a…mixed response.
Over the last three decades, it’s gained some traction with fans, due in no small part to the Silver Shamrock jingle featured in the film (you’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?) and that the story is about as far from the slasher genre as you can get. Since it’s gained so much popularity over the years we’re finally getting some cool tie-in mercy to go with it.
From NECA: “It’s almost time, kids! The clock is ticking!” This set of three clothed action figures includes the three iconic trick or treaters from the 1982 horror movie Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.
Each character is dressed for a night of fun and comes with two interchangeable heads: one in the distinctive Silver Shamrock mask and one displaying the effects of the triggered mask.
These articulated figures stand approximately 6 inches tall and come with trick or treat bags and a TV set accessory with lenticular effect. Window box packaging.
Now for the bad news. While these are up for pre-order NOW, they aren’t scheduled to be released until January 2020. While it’s one of the spookiest months of the year it’s no October, but it’s never too early to get a jump on decorating for next Halloween.
RoboCop 2 RoboCop 1:18 Scale PX Previews Exclusive Figure
Since I live in Michigan and I’m currently Detroit-adjacent, I am bound by local ordinances to purchase any and all RoboCop merchandise. It’s a weird law but I’m a fan of RoboCop (despite that none of them were actually filmed in Detroit) so I don’t mind serving the public trust.
Hiya Toys came to my attention earlier this year when they released an awesome Injustice 2 Red Hood figure in the same 1:18 scale (that’s roughly the Star Wars 3.75” scale if you’re curious). The figure was ultra poseable and came with a ton of accessories and is probably one of the best Red Hood figures out there. So when I saw that Hiya was set to release their take on RoboCop, it was an instant pre-order for me. Now I just have to wait until August of next year for it.
Recent Purchases
Since my last entry for Figure Friday, I was fortunate enough to luck out not once but twice when it came to figures I had been hunting for. While online toy shopping is cool and everything, I much rather prefer to find a toy in the “wild” and give it the once over before purchasing it. Buying stuff online takes some of the sport out of collecting toys. Why, I’d bet there are some younger collectors out there who don’t even know what the term “short packed” means!
Whenever I’m at a retailer that just so happens to have a toy department, it’s always my first stop before doing any other shopping. It doesn’t matter if I’m picking up an important prescription or just doing the weekly grocery run…toy department first. In the pre-internet days of toy collecting, you had to be both quick and first to get the figures you were after. Every seasoned collector knows the crushing defeat of hearing a stock clerk tell them that they had opened a case of Power of the Force figures twenty minutes ago…and they were already sold out.
Star Wars The Vintage Collection Episode VIII: The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker (Crait)
Previously, I’ve written about my collecting habits largely drifting away from the Hasbro Star Wars line. Well, it’s not a hard and fast rule and exceptions are made every now and then. I have a particular soft spot for the Star Wars The Vintage Collection figures since the cardbacks are throwbacks to the original Kenner-era toys I collected as a kid. I’m sure a lot of toy collecting is about chasing that high you got from finally getting that Greedo you’d been after for so long.
This figure, in particular, is a version of Luke Skywalker as he appeared on the planet Crait at the end of The Last Jedi. Decked out in his Jedi robes, he comes with a blue lightsaber and lightsaber hilt which (kind of) attaches to his belt. The figure is loaded with articulation which is sadly hampered by its long, sculpted robes. The face sculpt is also a little iffy, but if I’m being real I wasn’t expecting any great likeness out of such a small figure. It definitely looks like a guy with a beard which is something Luke Skywalker was in The Last Jedi.
Also, if Hasbro doesn’t do a translucent “hologram” variant of this figure they are literally leaving money on the table.
Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege Deluxe Mirage
I was going to link to Hasbro for this figure too but they have the wrong damn toy listed on their own website. Anyways, I was quite surprised to find this guy on the pegs early one Saturday morning at Walmart near my home. I wasn’t aware that this wave of the Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege figures had hit the shelf yet so I was geeked to get my hands on one.
Mirage was one of the first deluxe Transformers I got back in 1984 (Windcharger was my absolute first Transformer that I received on my birthday that year) so the figure and its various iterations have always held a certain sentimental value for me. This is all to say that if I see a Mirage…I’m gonna get it.
There are few things cooler than a robot that transforms into a Formula 1 car…and a robot that transforms into a space-Formula 1 car is one of them. The robot mode for Mirage is heavily influenced by his cartoon appearance, but maybe a bit broader through the chest which works for him in this release. The best part of this figure was the transformation from car back to robot. It’s a bit difficult to describe but the front end of the vehicle splits apart and folds into the legs of a robot in a really satisfying way. All the pieces peg together solidly and there’s not a lot of extraneous “kibble” (insider term, look it up) hanging off of the figure in its robot mode.
