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Retro Anime Collectables: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 19, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
For us old time anime fanboys PBM Express USA had a great collection of retro goodies at the Toy Fair! Shown above are action figures for Mazinger Z and Grendizer, and below is a highly detailed Captain Harlock Statue: Levitron Anti-Gravity Technology Demo: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 18, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
The geek friendly company Fascinations (based out of Seattle, Washington) had an interesting display of a technology that would allow you to float and rotate a small object. Their thinking is that this might appeal to fanboy toy collectors looking for a unique way to show off prized items in a unusual way. Shown above is their Stellanova line of floating globes using the technology, and below is a video I shot on the showroom floor: Erector Spykee Robots: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 18, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
Sometimes it takes just the right twist to make something interesting, in this case the Spykee Spy is a WiFi robot which is controlled remotely by you but the cool thing is that the robot can take pictures and video. So while at work your robot can wander about your home and report back to you. Each robot features a bitmaped face which lends some humor to the design. But best of all certain models of the robots can act as a cradle for your iPod or iPhone (which is a nice touch): Toy2R: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 18, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Hidden in the basement of the Javits Center the Toy2R was a wonderful oasis of urban toys in an ocean of rainbow colored plush at the Toy Fair. The first goodies that caught my eye were the Reservoir Dogs Qee Series shown above and below.
Sadly I’ve grown jaded now that Domo has gone mainstream, but I wouldn’t be ashamed to have these colorful variations hanging out near my computer: Hexbugs: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 18, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
I hate insects with a passion but my favorite new toy line of the entire show was Hexbug — this is a collection of actual working robots each of which is equipped with a different type of sensor (light, sound, motion, etc.) which effects how it interacts with you. I’ve seen these sorts of creatures before made by robotic fanboys, but this product will bring these sorts of critters more into the mainstream as they very low priced (I was told they were going for about $10 on average – you can buy the entire line of 10 for $100 too). In fact the CEO of the company told me that kids were using these toys as fundraisers for science fairs in order to build their own robotic creations. Here are the Hexbugs in action at the fair: Shin-chan Plushies: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 17, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Wandering about the plushies section at the Toy Fair you wouldn’t expect anime, but much to my pleasant surprise Toy Network LLC has done a deal to bring out a full line adorable Shin-chan characters! And the whole crew is here: Boo, Georgie, Penny, Hima, Shin Chan, Maso, Whitey, Principal Ench, Action Bastard and of course Happiness Bunny. By the way you can buy them in bulk for your local anime convention! Bandai: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 17, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
The Bandai booth blew me away! Most of their display was behind closed doors, but guarding those doors were two huge oversized statues of a robot from Power Rangers and Ben 10: Read more… Attakus Collection: Toy Fair 2009
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 17, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
From a fanboy point of view one of the coolest exhibitors at Toy Fair 2009 was the Attakus Collection booth which was packed with highly detailed collectables that take your breath away. The Star Wars Probe Droid above first caught my eye due to the huge scale (and loving detail), but they also had a an amazing collection of smaller scale figures based on everything from Marvel Comics to AstroBoy: Read more… Peanut Butter and Chocolate: The Food of Nerds
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 16, 2009 in Television
I hadn’t realized just how geek focused the early advertising for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups was until I came across these two spots: The first advert above is from 1980 and has a bit of a Star Wars feeling to it, while 1982 commercial below is inspired by the first generation of home videogames. Habitable Planets: Upgraded from 40,000 to Billions!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 16, 2009 in Science
It was only less than a few weeks ago that we reported that Astrophysicist Duncan Forgan had boldly calculated that there are about 40,000 planets that would support intelligent life — well like a free nerd upgrade Dr. Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science now claims that our galaxy could have billions of earth-like planets! Boss’s thinking is that each Sun-like star has on average one “Earth-like” planet, although sadly he wouldn’t go on the record like Forgan and take his math to the next level to make predictions about intelligent life. In fact on the negative side (or positive?) Boss feels that many of these planets are in primitive states and are populated by less advanced life forms like bacteria. But up on the up side Dr. Boss thinks that NASA’s Kepler mission might begin to spot earth-like planets in just a few years. The Galaxy Railways: It’s Deja Vu All Over Again!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 14, 2009 in Animation
The Galaxy Railways is a 2003 anime series produced by Leiji Matsumoto which reminds me a great deal of Galaxy Express 999. What’s neat is that Funimation is starting to put full episodes of this series up on YouTube. What makes Matsumoto interesting to me is that he was the king of steampunk long before the term was invented — his work in the 70s was filled with space pirates and Victorian trains in a Star Wars universe. This latest series feels slightly xeroxed from his older work, but just the same it is neat that Funimation is putting it out there. Read more… Authentic Akihabara Karaoke Comes to Manhattan: Cosplay Singer Reni
If you’re an otaku near New York City you’ll want to reserve Sunday March 1st on your calendars: Japanese cosplay singer Reni will be performing her “Japanese Maid Show” which features anime and J-Pop songs done in an authentic Akihabara style of singing and dancing: Top Tunes, 303-305 East 53rd Street at 2nd Avenue New York Comic Con Afterthoughts: It Keeps Getting Bigger and Better!
Posted by Guest Author on Feb 13, 2009 in Comic Books, Fandom
Editor’s Note: In this column animation critic Joe Strike gives us an overview into his adventures running around the New York Comic Con this past weekend. This damn thing keeps getting bigger and bigger, not that that should be a surprise to anyone. The only surprise is why did it take so long for NYC to get a world-class con of its own. When the New York Comic Con opened for business in ’06, four years ago, its exhibit area was a tiny (for the massive Javits Center) basement space that was overcrowded from almost the instant the con opened its doors. This year the exhibitors took over most of the high-ceilinged main floor, an enormous space that the equally pop-culturey Licensing Show used to fill before moving to Las Vegas. Read more… Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino Goes to War
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 12, 2009 in Cinema
Brad Pitt’s accent doesn’t quite cut it for me in this trailer (compare him to the performance of R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket) but I’m sure Quentin Tarantino will have enough guts-n-gore to make up for that! And of course even if QT isn’t making a great film he never commits the sin of making a dull film, you know that when you enter the movie theater you’re going on a long roller coaster ride. Read more… Mickey Mouse Dalek
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 11, 2009 in Dr. Who
I think anyone who who has found Disney a bit corporate and cold would appreciated this Mickey Mouse Dalek by illustrator Darryl Cunningham. Darryl also does an amusing web comic called Super Sam and John of the Night which is well worth checking out. Coraline Baubles Bubble Up
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 11, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Slowly I’m starting to see the first signs of Coraline merchandise appear here and there — although what little I’ve seen so far hasn’t impressed me at all. For a film that looks so rich and has so much promise, most of the toys seem pretty unimaginative. Although perhaps the toy vendors are waiting to see if the film will be a hit. Two of the cooler things that I’ve spotted is the Coraline Lunchbox
My Aspirational Amazon Kindle 2
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 10, 2009 in Tech
The first Amazon Kindle looked like something from the 90s, you’d half expected that it would be running HyperCard with some Voyager CD-ROMs providing the content. So with the debut of the Amazon Kindle 2 I was sort of surprised to see them still sticking with the same old ugly plastic buttons, a black and white screen and that awful off white casing surrounding the display. Frankly in a recession I’m not going to drop $360 on something that looks like it should cost under $100. Read more… Reinventing NASA: Internal Video Aimed at Changing Culture
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 10, 2009 in Science
What makes this video amazing is that not only does it address what was once a taboo subject at NASA (embracing innovation) but in a bold step towards transparency NASA is making this video public and putting it on YouTube for the entire world to see. I applaud this as the agency has been facing criticism of being too bureaucratic, and this video shows the right stuff to having the correct mindset to change. Read more… Zombie Skateboarders: They’re Undead AND Rad!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 9, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
This weekend at New York Comic Con I heard the line “if you add a zombie to anything it will get better!”; And these skateboarding zombies by Tsuchiya Shobu are proof of that concept. These beautiful (but undead) vinyl figures are 8″ to 10″ tall and have a wonderful amount of detail in them: Read more… New York Comic Con 2009: Toys and Collectables Gallery
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 8, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
The ATMs at the Javits Center charge a whopping $3 fee — however this may not be a bad thing as the New York Comic Con could empty your wallet rather quickly. The showroom floor is so packed with goodies it’s as if the Mall of America were run by fanboys — every inch is crammed with everything from arty urban toys to rare collectables. I’m also always blown away with the wide variety of trinkets, there’s something for everyone from anime hats to punk rock stickers.
Chocolate Milk and Atari: What More Could You Ask for in 1983?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 8, 2009 in Videogames
That old Jesuit quote of “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man” always comes back to haunt me when I see old commercials like this for Nestle Quick from 1983. Years later as a elder fanboy I find myself addicted to mocha flavored coffee drinks and still playing with computers day and night. By the way the bunny is playing with an Atari 2600 VCS: Read more… New York Comic Con 2009: Cosplay Photo Gallery
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 7, 2009 in Fandom
The Ghetto of Geeks vs. the Geriatric Wards of Success
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 7, 2009 in Comic Books, Fandom
Editor’s Note: This essay is the result of my walking about the New York Comic Book Convention this year and asking myself the question “What brings you here?” While escaping the New York Comic Book Convention I came across a series of Watchmen posters in the street, saturated by the orgy of the show I naturally assumed that the posters were aimed at folks entering and exiting the mega gathering of geekdom. However several blocks I realized that I was only kidding myself as I came across the same set of posters again — what was once the realm of fanboys twenty years ago was the mainstream of Hollywood today. In this way Watchmen is no different than Oprah or any frat boy focused reality TV show on MTV that’s a hit. Read more… Latest Land of the Lost Trailer
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 6, 2009 in Cinema, Television
This latest Land of the Lost trailer goes into a bit more detail than the Superbowl spot — I have to say that I love the idea that the producers have decided to make this a comedy instead of trying and botching up a more serious film. While I loved the fact that the original series had some A+ science fiction writers on board Hollywood just doesn’t have what it takes to pull that off, so it was smart move to do what they do best. |
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