Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar Hits Amazon for Retail Price

...Or pretty much retail, depending on where you're from:

Transformers Reveal the Shield Wreckgar has hit Amazon.com for 14.99, pretty good if you're a Prime member and can get the free shipping. Follow the link to purchase if you're in need! There are only a few left, but there's also one for about a dollar more on there from Past Generation Toys, also Prime eligible. Will post any other findings of newer/hard to get toys as I come across them!

Nintoaster Instructional Video

From vomitsaw, here's a fun look at how to combine your humble kitchen toaster and old-ass (but eternally awesome) Nintendo Entertainment System into a...NINTOASTER. This is win. This is epic. I know these are over-used adjectives. "Win" isn't even an adjective to begin with for fucking out loud! Nintoasters though? Oh yeah. Those deserve the "epic win" label above all else.

This how-to is not only insightful but a well made parody of oldschool instructional videos as well. Everything needed for the proper atmosphere is there, right down to the ridiculously cheesy synth music. Well worth a look!

The process appears to be a good bit of work. I don't think I'd have the patience for it myself. How about you, imaginary reader?

Hasbro Toy Shop Coupon Code: 20 Percent Off

UPDATE: See this article for more stock updates and a NEW Promo Code - http://www.castlegeekskull.com/2011/04/newer-transformers-in-stock-at-hasbro.html

DISC10 still works for 10 percent off as of July, 2011.

At HasbroToyShop.com, use promo code SPRING2011 at checkout to have 20 percent knocked off of your purchase! With this, the shipping and tax you pay will be minimal at best. The code expires on March 28th.

This was quite useful for those looking for Transformers Generations Wheeljack and Thundercracker, both of which went on sale today...and quickly sold out!

Take a look around and see what else you can find!

Venture Brothers Seasons 5 and 6 Confirmed!

From the Jackson Publick LiveJournal:

We've recently signed a new contract with adultswim to produce two more seasons of The Venture Bros.

Doc and I officially started writing last week. Though, in truth, we technically started writing season 5 last year when we accidentally brainstormed a handful of (we think) pretty hot new stories while we were writing the season 4 finale. Our goal is to have enough scripts to comfortably begin pre-production by June.

But wait...that's not all!

Our contract also includes a long-form (60-90 min.) Venture Bros. special. Don't ask me when we'll make it, what it's going to be about, or whether it'll be on TV or direct-to-DVD, because we don't have a clue yet. Nevertheless: good news!

Tell them what else they get, Jackson...

We've been secretly working on an 11 minute Venture Bros. special for the past couple of months. A sort of light-hearted, one-off little aperitif we're producing and animating entirely in-house at Titmouse Studios in NY and LA. It will premiere some time this summer.

I think that's enough for you to chew on for a while. More news later as it develops. Now go buy some DVDs or something...

Great news if you're a Venture fan! If I must say, The Venture Bros. has remained one of the very best shows on television and I'm quite glad to see that more is coming. Hilarious, cleverly written, and rarely for an Adult Swim program: well animated! This news comes right on top of the Season 4 Bluray release today, so it's a total sensory overload. Perhaps the old idiom that too much of a good thing is somehow BAD...is total bullshit. Bring on the waves of pleasure, I say. Here's to feeling good...all the time!

If you haven't picked up your Season 4 BluRay, Amazon has a lovely price for it. Check 'er out:




Go Team Venture :D

Donate to Japan Relief via Playstation Network

From the Playstation Blog:

It’s been over a week since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, inflicting serious loss of life and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The Japanese people, together with support and compassion from the global community, are beginning what will be a long recovery process.

Sony Computer Entertainment’s headquarters are located in Tokyo, and so we’ve heard firsthand of the disaster’s impact from our colleagues and friends. As we here in America watch the tragic events that continue to unfold, you might be left thinking, “Is there any way I can help?”

Sony Group is aiding the recovery through financial contributions and donations of radios, batteries and other equipment that can be used in the relief efforts. Today we’re making it possible for you to contribute directly to the earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts through a medium you’re already quite familiar with – the PlayStation Network.

You can make donations in the amount of $2, $5, $10, $25 and $50 from your wallet in the PlayStation Store. With your donation, you’ll get a free theme for your PlayStation 3. In order to make a donation, go to the “Aid Japan” area under the New Releases category on the PlayStation Store.

It’s important to note that your contributions will go directly to the American Red Cross – Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund. Every penny donated will go to the fund, which supports emergency relief and recovery efforts, including deploying personnel, sending relief supplies and providing financial resources.

Classy move, Playstation! Any of you that sign on to the PSN, please make a donation if possible. I will reiterate: every little bit helps!

Hasbro Toy Shop: Free Shipping for St. Patrick's Day

In case you missed it, Hasbro Toy Shop has free shipping today, March 17th! I suggest hitting their Clearance section which has plenty of Transformers, Marvel, and Star Wars items in stock. You might just find something you enjoy. There are some nice newer items in stock such as Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime (G2 Laser Prime homage) and G.I. Joe Skydive as well. It's well worth taking a look around.

PS: Use promo code HTS10 for an additional 10 percent off :D

Transformers Collectors Club "G2" Classics Ramjet Packaging

From TFW2005:

The Transformers Collectors Club have updated with yet more cool new information on their upcoming exclusive toys - this time it is the turn of their Generation 2 Ramjet! A continuation to last year's Botcon set, Generation 2 Ramjet's packaging has now been revealed on the Transformers Collector's Club homepage - it's a wonderfully retro Generation 2 style packaging right down to the font, logo, and even the starburst behind the artwork! Click on the link above to check out the awesome box art, and click here to see the actual figure.

Whoo baby! Nostalgic bliss. I was born right in the midst of the original Transformers' climb to fame and retail toy-shelf POWER. As such, my puny human brain remembers G2 toys hanging on the shelves more vividly than the 80s series. It's only natural that seeing this packaging has really drawn me in. Wildberry Poptart Ramjet...you shall be mine. I will never judge your blinding colors. No. I understand you. You're safe here. Ahhhhhh. Yes.

Blaster Armor Thor by Hasbro

From Marvelous News, as you can tell by their handy dandy watermark:

What the hell is this? Thor cosplaying as...Seaspray from Transformers? Look Hasbro, your Marvel/Transformers crossovers were far better than the Star Wars ones up till now, but this? Way to ruin it. RAGE. RAGE SO INTENSE I NEED NOT BOLD MY CAPS FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT, AS THE IMAGINARY READERS CAN FEEL IT EVEN WITHOUT SUCH TRICKERY.

Ok, yeah. Pathetic attempt at "toy-related comedy for the sake of blogging without a single relevant thing to say" over.

If you think you're wacky enough to handle such a toy, BUY ONE:

Rick Grimes and the Temple of the Walking Dead

Hey kids, wouldn't it be fun to create a mash-up between Indiana Jones and The Walking Dead?

You bet it would.

If you need more Indy and Walking Dead in your lives, you should probably consider pre-ordering the Indiana Jones Blu-ray Collection ($69.99) and grabbing The Walking Dead Season 1 Blu-ray ($21.22) if you haven't by now. Do it. They're good and stuff.

Super Hero Time - Charity for Japanese Earthquake Disaster

"On March 11, 2011 magnitude-8.9 earthquake hit off the shore of Japan, unleashing a 23-foot (seven-meter) tsunami and leaving enormous destruction in its wake. Hundreds have been killed in this disaster and thousands have been left homeless, as the tsunami swept through, causing mass destruction and setting off widespread fires that burned out of control.RRR, CSToys International, Youtube Reviewers & Renz Media have created this fundraising page to aid with the enormous relief efforts that will be required to help Japan recover and rebuild. Together we can make a difference and a change. So let's all henshin, call upon our giant robots and help save Japan! Thank you for your contribution to this cause!"

Anyone that may stumble upon this...I implore you to donate anything you can. This is truly a devastating event, and collectively, the tiniest little bit may be of some help. Thank you.

Visit ChipIn's Super Hero Time site for more updates: http://superherotime.chipin.com/super-hero-time

First Look at New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nickelodeon

Slashfilm has a look at the new Nickelodeon TMNT cartoon! Check it out by clicking these ooh-pretty glowly letters. For the imaginary readers of this blog, I'll mirror the image below:

My thoughts? I'm fine with this. As long as the animation is of high quality, it looks like the personality needed to make the turtles fun to watch will definitely be there. It sucks that I'm not utterly offended, because that certainly makes for more entertaining reading. Sorry. If this bugs you, you know the drill: I'm going to fight you.

As for my hopes for the show, I suppose if it can be somewhere inbetween the more mature 2003 series and the somewhat goofier original series tonally, if only for the sake of it feeling "fresh", that'll be good enough. I'm turned off by too much silliness and childishness though, so you can imagine which series I hope they take more cues from. Oh, then there's those comic things too. Yeah.

More info:

The Wall Street Journal quotes executive producer Ciro Nieli as saying that the newly revamped turtles will have “more individual attributes” than they did before. From the image, I’m not really seeing it — they still look pretty similar to me, aside from their eye shapes — but of course, it’s tough to tell from a single picture what the characters will look like once they’re animated.
Their expressions, at least, seem to fit what we’ve come to recognize as their personalities: Michaelangelo looks like a one-man party, Leonardo looks serious and intense, Raphael looks like he has anger issues, and Donatello… well, I’m not really sure about Donatello. He’s got a weird crazy-eyes thing going on, and as I recall the character was generally sane. At least he looks like he’s having fun.
The show will debut in 2012 on Nickelodeon. While I’m generally a bit cranky about reboots and remakes, I’m actually tentatively optimistic about this new series — Nickelodeon’s done good work before, and knowing a whole new generation of kids will have their own version of the Turtles to obsess over kinda warms my heart.
Also currently in the works for our favorite heroes in a half-shell is a live-action movie adaptation. Paramount announced last summer that Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway had been tapped to write the script, but little else about the project has been revealed at this point.

 WELL ALRIGHT THEN.

Troop Building...IS IT MYTH?

When toy collectors buy up tons of the same generic "soldier" toy to amass an army, like say an A.I.M. Soldier, this is the fine art of troop building...or "army building." This is often an impressive sight. Wanting to marvel at the displays of toy addicts wealthy and patient enough to buy 500 storm troopers and line em up in pretty little cannon fodder rows, I did an image search for troop building. Much to my dramatically over-reacted disdain, all I got was shit like this:

Sigh. I suppose some of the images are perhaps vaguely related. You COULD troop build that Bayformer-y Insecticon from the first two results, but it's still only a picture of ONE. And a fucking dog? I love dogs, but what the hell? THAT IS NOT A PICTURE OF ONE THOUSAND COBRA TROOPERS.

I realize I should have simply changed my search to an even more specific term to get the "right" results, but man, troop building is a pretty common term for what I want. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT. ARGH. It's as if the fact that people make armies of little 4 inch dudes is trying to be covered up somehow. CONSPIRACY. I will fight this madness, and I will win.

Internet, I am disappoint. Disappoint so hard. I am faux-rage for the sake of blogging about *something*, to insane degrees never known before. Die.

Transformers Universe finds on Amazon

I was doing some "window shopping" on Amazon and stumbled across some decent prices for these somewhat harder to find Transformers Universe redecos:



These prices are all somewhat higher than their original retail value, but they're really not bad considering how high most Transformers sell for after they've left stores. Regardless of how popular or hard to find they are, you'll often find two year old toys priced two to ten times as much as they "should be." There are always exceptions if you're patient however, and these Amazon listings are right up my alley. They're are all eligible for free-ass shipping with Amazon Prime as well. Even better!

I'm pretty much in love with Amazon. If I had more money I'd have boxes coming to the house all the time. So go forth! Explore the wonders of online shopping as I have. Even if you don't need these things, maybe there are others on the site that WILL temporarily sate your nerd gut. DO IT.

PS...if you happen to be a college student, I highly suggest grabbing a free Amazon Student account, which gives you access to all of Amazon Prime's shipping benefits. It really helps out!

Life Lessons

Oh, the things you learn.

This is probably inappropriate for a half-baked, mostly deserted blog about toys and other geeky nonsense, but since approximately no one really checks this out, it's probably the safest means I have for expressing myself. 

I'm not much of a sports guy. However, my mom loved baseball and I'd watch games with her quite often. She always took control of the television, so hey, it was there. I generally felt I could tolerate that one more than some of the others. Even so, watching it was not a habit I took on for myself. I became fairly baseball free once I started living on my own. I didn't even give it a thought, but it wouldn't be long before it unexpectedly crept back into my life.

Sometime last year I read comedian/actor/late-night television personality Craig Ferguson's autobiography about becoming an American citizen. Great book. Within those well written and entertaining pages he mentioned that American baseball truly exemplifies what he liked most about the American way of thinking. Guys with a 300 batting average are super stars, MVPs, hall of famers. That's only 3 out of 10, folks. You hit the ball 30 percent of the time and you're gold. Despite all odds, you give it a fucking go, and there's little shame in missing.

That's amazingly inspiring to me. Maybe it's corny, but for some reason, that game has a lot to offer in terms of life analogies. In my own life, I've encountered various situations where I let fear control me. Knowing a negative outcome may lie around the corner has kept me tied down. Let's jump in the game. Instead of going up to the plate and taking a swing, I've kept myself on the bench. That fear of striking out has paralyzed me. It's given me nothing but long term regret. There are so many things I wish I could do over.

From now on, I'm going up there and at least taking a chance. I could still fail, but at the same time, I might get a hit! No matter how brutally life will remind you that it is not biased towards you, you absolutely can't roll over and let every opportunity pass you by. It's monumentally better to try than do nothing. It seems like total common sense, but sadly, I'm only figuring it out now.

If only I'd learned all of this much earlier...ah, what could have been. At least now I know better.

3D Star Wars gets a release date

 
StarWars.com has announced it: the oh-so necessary 3D version of the theatrical Star Wars saga begins in 2012 with the 3D-converted Phantom Menace on February 12th. It'll be as if you can reach out and touch the mediocrity! The pain of dull film making will surround you much like the force itself! CAN'T WAIT.

Let us all collectively sigh.