I’m writing to you from a dark place today. Literally.
Thanks to some freezing rain we got here in my small town of (REDACTED), Michigan I’be been without power for most of the last 24 hours. Personally, I’m faring much better than my neighbor behind me who had their garage and a small portion of their house pancaked by a falling tree. If you’ve ever wondered what the answer is to the zen koan “if a tree falls in the middle of the night, does it make a sound?” is, I can tell you it most certainly does.
My cats are largely unconcerned, hungry and I am a bit on the cool side but not cold…yet. Figure Friday cannot be stopped so I’m writing this column on my tablet by candlelight just like the pioneers would have done had they the tools to do so.
Poochie The Simpsons Ultimates by Super7
Now, unlike losing power this was a pleasant surprise. Last week I was grifted this figure by a friend and I’ve got to say I’m pretty taken with it. Just having a physical representation of one of the most memorable and ridiculous characters from The Simpsons is a sight to behold.
The figure is something I’d have never purchased for myself and now I cannot imagine my shelf without it, making it an ideal gift. As a toy collector, and moreover one with incredibly specific tastes, the people close to me generally know to not buy stuff for me. However, having a friend that runs a comics and collectibles store where I make a great deal of my purchases gives them the inside track on my collecting habits which brings us to Poochie.
There’s a lot to love about this figure aside from the fact that it’s Poochie. Three interchangeable heads, multiple pairs of hands, a guitar, a skateboard, AND a surfboard makes him one rad dog dawg that’s sure to be a hit with the kids. The figure also has more articulation than a Poochie figure should legally be allowed to have.
From a technical standpoint, I found some of the joints on Poochie very loose, others were a bit on the tight side. The head was easy enough to swap out but I can’t say the same for the hands. I may need to soak the hands in hot water (when I have hot water again) to loosen up the pegs, because if I cannot make it look like Poochie is ripping a sick guitar solo I will have lead an incomplete life.
Poochie retails for around $55 dollars which may seem like a lot, but if you’ve been living a Poochie-less existence all this time it’s actually a small price to pay.
Transformers Legacy Evolution: Tarn
What in TARN-ation is this? A new Transformers figure?
Yes. Yes it is and I only purchased it partially so I could shoehorn that pun into a column. But also it’s (to my knowledge) one of the few IDW characters Hasbro has seen fit to canonize by giving it an official figure. It’s kind of a big deal.
I was a huge fan of what IDW did with the Transformers license and there were some really spectacular books that I should have collected in trade paperback while I had the chance because they’re out of print now while the license is in limbo. I could pad this column out by copy and pasting Tarn’s entry from the TFWiki but it’s much simpler to say, if you know, you know.
Also, he’s the guy with the Deception symbol FOR A FACE and it does not get much cooler than that. It’s like being in a house in February with no heat and I have it on good authority that’s pretty cool.
Tarn would be an awesome figure even if he didn’t transform into a tank and I suppose this is an incomplete review because I’ve not had a chance to transform him yet. According to the box, it’s only 27 steps and I just may attempt it later since I won’t be watching TV anytime soon. To that end, I’m wondering what kind of dark magic was involved in this toy’s design because the robot mode is very much a super-posable action figure. I’m finding it hard to imagine how it turns into a badass tank.
I’m super pleased with this figure and I’m hoping its indicative of Hasbro’s desire to bring more IDW inspired designs to the figure line. I don’t think the well of G1 inspired designs will ever run dry, especially with the 40th anniversary of Transformers right around the proverbial corner, but there are dozens of fan favorite characters from IDW that would look great as toys. Trust me, I purchased a third party Lost Light-style Rodimus a few years back and it’s amazing, but I’d still like to see Hasbro take a crack at some of the IDW designs.
