by Radar Toys
on Sep 08, 2011
Admittedly it's sometimes hard to get us too fired up about Batman.
Batman is already a comic book legend, and that has been certified for
decades and decades. He's been crushing it in the box office pretty much
since the beginning and that doesn't look to be ending anytime soon.
His action figures generally look great on the shelves, and when they go
our of print, a new line arrives as reinforcements. His storyline has
survived years and years, and is very well known in the mainstream. So
why such Batman apathy sometimes over here at Radar Toys?
When it comes to Batman, you know what you're getting. You know the
story, you expect the results, you still grin from ear to ear the entire
time in the theater, but generally there is no surprise. Batman has a
franchise storyline that is fairly intact, having been drummed out over
years and years. There are very few options when it comes to changing or
tinkering with the story that wouldn't weaken or be a disservice to
what we all love as Batman. That means that the Batman franchise can
seem stagnant to us here at Radar Toys sometimes. We keep thinking,
"Wouldn't it be awesome to see another part of the Batman story that was
completely fresh? Completely original?" And then....this:
by Radar Toys
on Aug 11, 2011
In the world of G.I. Joe, vehicles can be hit or miss in terms of both quality and awesomeness. Rarely, does it seem, that the two features overlap. It's either super awesome for the concept, or great quality for what it is. That's where the 30th anniversary Sky Striker reissue comes in. It's pure awesome collector level quality redux. Before we brush up on some G.I. Joe history, let's take a look at the reason why we're here:
by Radar Toys
on Jul 26, 2011
Sometimes when we are extremely lucky, great franchises and product
lines will culminate together creating an awesome brew of a decade.
There is no better example of this than perhaps the 1980’s. Anchored by
Transformers, it is perhaps one of the most revered decades of
franchises. Cartoons, blockbusters, comic books, and of course, stellar
action figures - Transformers is the golden child of the 1980’s.
One great thing about Transformers is that Hasbro has always been great
about making sure that releases have an adequate spread of price
points, quality levels and sizes. What this means is that there is ample
opportunity to stumble into a unique and affordable Transformer. A
prime example, and the purpose of this article, is to promote and shed
some light on the 2010 Transformers line of figures called the Reveal
The Shield.
A great example of how fast some lines of Transformers come and go,
Reveal The Shield featured the expected staple characters and a sprinkle
of unique subsidiary ones. Based on the “classic” styling’s of original
Transformers, Reveal The Shields was Hasbro’s goal of generating some
interest in the origins of the franchise, albeit in a low key way.
Nowhere near reissue or replicas, there is altered paint schemes and the
use of “rubsigns” to show each character’s true allegiance. Hence the
Reveal The Shield. aspect.
Let’s take a look at what we here at
Radar Toys enjoyed the most about
this here - and - then - gone line of Transformers, the subsidiary
characters:
To sum things up, the Reveal The Shield line hit a sweet spot for
us. An easy, medium price point, combined with a unique rubsign feature
harkening back to the Transformer roots. You can find all three of these
figures on our website at the best prices online, as always. Thanks for
reading and I hope that you enjoyed the article.
- Radar Toys Team
by Radar Toys
on Jul 01, 2011
Since reviving franchises from the 1980's is all the fashion these
days, we thought we'd take a moment and celebrate the moment that we've
been waiting for since the 1980's became "cool." Thundercats!
Thundercats! It's about darn time that this franchise got a second look
and perhaps, if we're lucky, some new life. Lot's of storied franchises
from that decade have gotten some new life and a second wind. G.I. Joe,
Transformers, and heck, even the Smurfs are coming back. While we are
somewhat satiated by the Masters of the Universe releases over the
years, we are still waiting for more He-Man. That chapter had better not
be closed...laugh.
Thundercats, however, has been deserving it's due credit for some
time now. One reason that Thundercats is so deserving of a re-release
and revival is that it was one of the franchises that helped make the
1980's become so "cool." Reprint Thundercats tee shirts were among the
first vintage remade apparel celebrating that decade. So it is
definitely about time.
Thundercats was not some weird flash in the pan 1980's cartoon, as
many people who missed it believe. It ran from 1985 - 1990 and had a
television movie. It was a huge success in the merchandising arena. The
action figure lines actually lasted longer than the syndication of the
cartoon. Not to mention apparel, lunchboxes, and games. Thundercats was
big time. It's seems like some kind of error that the Thundercats
franchise has somehow been left behind in all this.
by Radar Toys
on Jun 17, 2011
Here at Radar Toys we
spend a lot of time doing one thing - time traveling. Epic nostalgia
adventures into times gone past, until we wake up and it's time to pay
bills. The great franchises of story, television, and movies from the
last five decades have been aging very well and holding their own
against the media of today. And given the media of today, originality,
it seems, is harder than it appears. The fashion the last few years is
to revisit, re-make, and reinvent things that were revered in the past.
So, it seems these days that anything good is actually only "recycled
good." We could insert a very long list here that could go like,
Transformers, Willy Wonka, and about a dozen superhero movies. And you
know what....
That's okay. People enjoy seeing their revered franchises see the
light of day again, and they cross their fingers that the new spin will
do the franchise justice. It gives people the opportunity to share
something that was special to them at one time, with someone that they
care about and experience it once more. If done well, it can be a very
good thing for beloved franchises. So what's the point of all this, you
say?
The other day we were time traveling again and sharing stories. The
conversation turned to a product that we all had as kids, and yet they
were all different. What was it, you say? It was something awesome,
something functional, and something we loved and yet, beat up on with
healthy amounts of abuse. Drum roll please..we give you... metal
lunchboxes. At Radar Toys
we are certainly all unique and different individuals, and yet, we
laughed at how amazing it is that we all had this one product in
common.
