Lego: Vic and Elsa

Back in February I wrote about the episode of Jeff Stormer’s podcast Party of One where I played the RPG Atomic Highway.  My character in that game was a descendant of Frankenstein rebuilt to resemble the famous monster.  That episode was actually the second that Jeff and I recorded but the first one is lost to the ether.  I think it was something on my end but Jeff is way too polite to say so. 

With two games under my belt I think about the character a lot.  Randomly one day I was thinking about how Lego had made a greaser style hair piece and how I had a few Frankenstein’s monster head pieces.  The idea clicked into place like two Lego.  The moment I could dive into my parts bins I quickly threw together Vic.  I was super happy with the results but I immediately knew I wanted more.  Vic was nothing without his car Elsa (named after Bride of Frankenstein actress Elsa Lanchester).  I knew I had to build the car too.

Luckily for me I didn’t have to work completely from scratch.  Lego’s Speed Champion line currently has a Camaro two pack.  Once of those cars is based on the current model while the other is an older version that looked ready to drag race.  It was a perfect base.  There were things that needed to be on Elsa through; specifically a ram prow and two linked machine guns.  The ram prow was easy enough, Lego has made enough old style trains that getting a cow catcher just meat spending a few minutes on Bricklink. 

  The machine guns were a little different; Lego doesn’t care for realistic looking weapons.  After looking around for a little bit I decided to go the third party route.  I placed an order for the Brick Arms machine guns and clips that allow them plug into jumper plates.  The ram prow and guns required me to rework the front and hood of the car.  I lost a lot of the sleekness that’s in the original set but it looks far more dangerous.

Because of all extra hardware on the hood I raised the passenger area and roof up by one stud.  I also replaced headrest with a stickered tile that has a 13 on it.  Vic always had a rockabilly vibe to him, so when I found the 13 stickers I knew I had to use them.  I originally wanted the back end to be fully of survival type gear.  I really, really wanted propane tanks and things like that.  The scale eventually got the better of me.  Had I made the car 8 studs wide instead of 6 I think my original vision would have worked but by this point I was already fully committed to the smaller vehicle. 

I also wanted to only use half the back end.  That way I could still have part of the white stripe that goes down Elsa’s hood.  This literally was the longest part of the build.  I took apart and rebuilt the back end numerous times until I got to a version I was happy with.  The tool sled slides into place and is held in the back with the ladder and a chain.  It rests on smooth tiles so it’s easy to pull out for use.  Under the sled I used another of the 13 stickers.  With the scale I was only able to get a hammer, wrench, and socket into the tool area but I feel it gets the point across.

In the end I’m really happy with the results.  Both Vic and Else turned out extremely close to how I imagined them.  If you want to hear more about the character check out the Party of One Podcast.  Make sure you give a listen to more than just the Apocalypse Highway episode though, there are far funnier people playing there that me.

Lego Rogue One

I don't believe anything has been officially released yet, but it is inevitable that Lego will have sets based on Star Wars Rogue One. Today they posted this image to their Facebook.

Needless to say I'm excited beyond words that we may have a Star Wars move that isn't knee deep in Jedi.

Flash Friday: Happy Meal Car

Happy Flash Friday everyone!  You have my wife to thank for today's update.  I don't normally go to McDonald's so if she hadn't told me about the newest promotion I would have never known it was happening.  Right now McDonald's is putting superhero themed cars into their happy meals.  They also have Barbie Spy Squad themed stuff too if that's your thing.

Anytime there is a Flash car made there is always the joke made about why the world's fastest man would need a car.  Moving past that low hanging fruit we can see they certainly picked a fast looking car for the Flash.  The red paint job has gold glitter in it, although it certain lighting you probably won't notice it.  There is printing on the sides and the roof consisting of both Hot Wheels and Flash logos.  The car does have a pull-back motor to sending it racing across non-carpeted surfaces.

The rest of the car line up consists of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Robin, and the Joker.  I guess because this is considered the "boy toy" that they left out Wonder Woman.  I found it strange that they include a single villain to go with the seven heroes.  Finally if you need one or more of these in your collection, remember that McDonald's will sell you the toy without having to eat their food!

X-Wing: The Ghost

The Star Wars cartoon Rebels is a big, big hit in my house.  It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that knows me that I love the main ship on the show.  When the first images were released I didn't care for it.  The odd angles and design elements shoved together were a little off-putting.  As I watched the pilot episode I quickly grew to love the design and watching the ship in action.  I was extremely excited when Fantasy Flight announced that they were creating the Ghost for use in their table top miniature game, X-Wing.

For those unfamiliar with X-Wing: The Miniature Game is game where players form small fleets of ships representing the Empire, the Rebellion, or a criminal faction known as the Scum.  Players maneuver their ships in space combat and try to either fulfill some scenario based objective or just try to eliminate the other player's ships.  Today's update is going to really talk about how the Ghost preforms in game.  I haven't had the change to even use it once yet.  The set comes with enough pieces and cards that it will take a few games before I really get a good feel of the piece.

What I wanted to show off was just how nice the model looks.  The Ghost is huge compared to other ships and the small details really shine through on it.  The package comes with both the Ghost and the Phantom but I've also used an A-Wing in one of the pictures to show off just large it is.  Unlike Warhammer, X-Wing miniatures come pre-painted.  I've heard about other people having issues with badly painted pieces but I've never seen it.  The paint on the Ghost looks far better than I could have put together.

The surprising thing is that the model is hollow.  When looking at it you expected it to have some weight to it.  The model is super light, which is a good thing considering its size.  It already has to use a different flight stand than the other ships if it weighed more it would have to use something even larger.  I should point out that the Phantom doesn't actually dock into the Ghost model.  Instead the Ghost is sculpted to already have a Phantom back there.  Expect another Ghost article in about a month from now once I've gotten to do more than fly it around my kitchen making "pew pew" laser sounds.

Iron Fist Teaser

With the release of Daredevil's Season 2 we started getting a lot of information about the other upcoming shows.  Luke Cage got a release date and a teaser trailer.  Iron Fist got a confirmed star and this image.

I'm beyond excited.  This image is also a reminder that I need to continue my Iron Fist 101 series, so I'm announcing that it will be returning in April.

Baloo and Bagheera?

C'mon Baggy, get with the beat!

There are some insane deals on Disney Infinity figures right now.  Best Buy has some figures marked down to 5 dollars and most of the others down to 9.  In addition to that a lot of the discs are also half priced.  Toys R Us has buy one, get one for a dollar on all of there figures.  I had to get Baloo because Jungle Book is my favorite Disney movie.  As soon as my son saw Black Panther something clicked in his soul and he needed to have him.  When we got the two of them home I realized just how appropriate the paring was.

Flash Friday: Lego Mighty Micros

Happy Flash Friday everyone!  I had really wanted to post this last week, but sadly real life kept me from getting my order on time.  Ultimately that may have been a good thing, because I’ve had more time put my thoughts together.  Mighty Micros are a new Lego line that started showing up on store shelves this month.  For around 1o dollars you get two very small, almost kart-like vehicles and two mini-figures with short leg pieces.  The current wave contains both Marvel and DC characters; although we’ll be talking about the Flash set today.

  

The first thing you have to remember is these are small sets.  To get two vehicles at such a low price point they had to keep them pretty simple.  The Flash set totals 88 pieces.  That’s 88 pieces split between two figures, two vehicles, and accessories.  Flash gets a tiny race car and Captain Cold a tiny snow plow/tractor.  The Flash symbol on the front of his car is a printed piece; in fact there are no stickers at all in the set which was a really nice surprise.  Both vehicles in this set are pretty sturdy and roll around well.  If you have the urge to really build something out of Lego, these aren’t going to satisfy that, but they are fun to zoom around your desk.

For a Flash fan that isn’t normally interested in Lego this seems like a great set to grab to get a cheap Captain Cold and Flash figure.  Before this Flash was in two sets a Riddler themed set that ran about 20 dollars and the Grodd Goes Bananas set that was about 60.  Captain Cold was only available in the 60 dollar set.  The Might Micro figures are not the same as the ones that came in those sets though.  Besides the fact that the figures come with the short legs that are usually used to represent Lego children the face and chest designs are almost more simple and cartoonish.  The full sized Flash figure has a smaller lightning bolt symbol and detailed muscles on his chest print.  The Might Micro has a much larger symbol and belt print. 

The other big difference in the Flash figures is the face.  The full sized Flash has visible eyes when his mask is on.  The Might Micro has white eyes.  Between the white eyes and the split belt I can’t help but feel the figure was influenced by the Bruce Timm Justice League run.  I don’t have any facts to back that up, it just seems likely.

Much like the Flash, the two Captain Colds are very different.  Let’s talk cold guns first.  The full sized gun is a gigantic collection of thrown together pieces that in my opinion tries to do too much.  The entire lower section cold be left off and it would only improve the look.  The Might Micro cold gun is a ray gun with a few clear blue bricks attached to it.  The large Captain’s torso is done very realistically while the Micro’s is again cartoony and simplified. 

The full sized Captain Cold’s face was always a little wrinklier than I wanted, but was otherwise very good.  The Micro version is cartoony but isn’t so over the top.  Regardless of the design, both figures are instantly recognizable as the captain.  The parka hood on both figures is identical.

The Mighty Micros are a very fun line.  At the price it’s hard not to recommend them.  But I did want to show off the differences between the minifigures. 

Slight Delay

I had a great Flash Friday planned out but my order didn't come in on time and it left me high and dry.  Next Friday expect a lengthy update.  Sorry the mess up.

Next week will have some more Lego related content so I hope you haven't gotten tired of seeing all my bricks.

Lego Hex Girls

Yesterday’s update was about a Lego version of Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics. Tthose familiar with Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated may have been wondering where the musical counterpoint to the undead skankers were.  So today I present a Lego version of the Hex Girls.  To be honest, the Hex Girls were originally the only band I was going to create in Lego form, but as I started working on them I decided it would be fun to recreate both bands in the episode Dance of the Undead.

 Much like the Rude Boy display this stage is modeled more to represent the theme of the band than it is an accurate depiction of the rooftops used in the episode.  This one is still a work in progress too.  The two bright red areas have changed a couple of times and I have the pieces for two more versions.   Dusk, the drummer, also has the wrong hair piece.  The blonde pigtails that I need won’t be available until September when series 16 of the Collectable Minifigures is released.  It’s hard to see in photos, but the stage actually has a clear red line bordering the edge.  It helps to offset all the black and I love the look of it.

I spent a ton of time obsessing over how to bring the Hex Girls into Lego form.  The first thing I had to figure out was the version.  In the classic Scooby Doo look they all wear vampire fangs.  Luna, the keyboardist, has a skin color that seems to change a little between appearances too.  Because I love Mystery Incorporated I decided to do that version.  Even using that as a guide the girls changed up their appearances a few times in their two episodes.  As much as I wanted them there was no way I could make the Dia des los Muertos versions with stock Lego parts. 

Once I figured out faces and hair that would work I had to figure out torso and legs.  Finding a perfect match for these things was sadly impossible unless I wanted to print my own stickers.  So I really picked things that I thought would match, even if it isn’t a perfect representation of what they wore on the episodes.  I’d like to do a Crush minifigure to represent Daphne when she joins the band, but I don’t even know where to start because of how little she wore.  If I ever figure it out I’ll post an update here.

Lego Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics

I’ve been very open about my love for the show Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated.  I honestly think it is one of the best written cartoons I’ve ever seen.  One episode in the second season (Dance of the Undead) introduces Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics as the monster of the week.  The back story is that Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics were a one-hit wonder that failed to catch on.  The group faked their own deaths in order to take a year off and write the perfect song.  The perfect song actually took them 30 years and when they were ready to come back they realized the ska movement was dead.  So they dressed as zombies and infused their music with voodoo to turn everyone that listened to them into dancing zombies. 

When the Scooby Doo Lego sets were released last year I immediately started thinking of other things from the shows that I wanted to see put into Lego form.  Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics were one of those things.  The first thing I have to say about it is that the stage isn’t show accurate.  In Dance of the Undead the band is playing on a rooftop with a large checkered banner behind them.  I knew I’d never be able to do their logo correctly; so I did a checkered floor instead.  I was able to keep the coffin backdrops, so I was pretty happy about that.  I added a few skulls for some additional flair.  It doesn’t look like a screenshot from the show, but I think it fits the characters.

You’d have to really look closely at the picture to notice, but it also isn’t finished.  Despite the big bags of Lego bricks I posted yesterday I’m still missing a number of tiles that I need to complete the stage.  Those will be fixed after I make my next order. I somehow mixed up the drummer and the keyboardist in this picture, something that probably no one else besides me would ever notice.  That one is an easy fix that will happen as soon as I finish writing this.  I'm pretty happy with how the band translated into Lego.  Obviously there are repeated pieces between the band members.  Sticking with official Lego parts didn’t leave me a whole lot of options to work with when I needed Zombies in suits.  I was happy that I was able to get the two different heads and bodies to split up between the four figures.  They really would have looked like clones if they all had the same head and clothes.  

This mini-Lego week continues tomorrow with another original build and then a Lego Flash Friday to end the week.

Lego Brick Haul

I've been spending too much time on Bricklink.com.  If you haven't heard of the website before Bricklink does two things.  It is an resource for finding Lego parts.  Every piece and color variation are cataloged there and most of the pieces are accompanied by pictures.  It can be a huge help when planning build projects or when checking to see if certain part/color combinations even exist.  In addition to showing you the parts that are out there, you can also buy them.  The site allows users to set up their own resale shop.  The site makes it very easy to find who has the parts you're looking for and directs you right to their store.  It makes it way too easy to drop a bunch of money by filling up your cart.

The pictures included today are from my two latest Bricklink hauls.  It doesn't look too exciting now, but these are some pretty important parts for four different projects that I'm currently working on. Two of those projects will be complete enough that I feel comfortable showing them off this week.  They aren't 100% where I want them yet, I have to order a few parts for each display.  On top of that one of the hairpieces I had to use is completely wrong and the correct one won't be available until September. The other two projects need a lot more work.  I guess what I'm saying is expect a lot of Lego content over the next couple days/weeks.

NPR Tiny Desk: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

For the past few months I've been super into Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.  I first heard them on a local radio station.  Their music didn't fit the format at all but I was immediately blown away by the powerful vocals and amazing horn section.  S.O.B. quickly became one of my favorite songs and I dove into the rest of the music the band released.

Because the songs are still stuck in my head I wanted to post up a few of the videos here.  While searching through YouTube I found that I had somehow missed their appearance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.  So instead of posting a handful of videos I give you one 15 minute plus one.  Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I do.

Scooby Doo and the WWE

So last night I ran to Twitter and laid out the plot to a sequel to Scooby Doo Wrestlemania Mystery movie.  Someone had mentioned the movie early that morning and then I couldn't get my idea for a sequel out of my head.  So during a night of everyone being political I carpet bombed Twitter with my 12 part story.  It's hard to get a lot of information out there when you're worried about character limits.  So instead of letting all that brain power go to waste, I'm reposting it here where it is easier to read.  Of course this is all made up in my head, there is no chance in hell of this story becoming real.

The film opens to a shot of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins wrestling in WWE city. Fog rolls in, there is a ghostly flash, and the sounds of a fight. When the fog clears the ring is empty. Other wrestlers look around shocked.  Then there is a quick cut to the theme song.  After the theme we cut to the Scooby gang showing up to WWE City.  After all their help the last time, John Cena called them to help look into the missing wrestlers.  When the gang walk into the training center they see Miz practicing with Kalisto.  Suddenly a ghostly Roddy Piper appears.  He taunts the wrestlers before smoke fills arena. When the smoke clears the Miz is gone.  

In the confusion the lights go out and the Wyatt family arrives by lantern light.   Bray cuts a promo how he is the true evil and how his family will be taking over the WWE.  Luke Harper makes faces at Shaggy and Scooby, scaring them while Bray talks.  Meanwhile Eric Rowan wordlessly stares at Velma.  When the Wyatts leave Cena, Kalisto, and Paige offer to help the gang investigate the ghosts and the missing wrestlers.  Everyone was creeped out by Wyatt's and Shaggy and Scooby are sure that they are behind the missing wrestlers.

As the team look for clues the pattern repeats itself.  Ghosts of past wrestlers show up, taunt the living, and then disappear with current wrestlers.  Then the Wyatt family show up saying how they are going to take over WWE City.  Everyone is getting worried and the big WWE Championship match is coming up, because someone will have to face Bray.  When Paige is kidnapped the Hex Girls quickly arrive to help.  Because of course the Hex Girls are friends with Paige.

The night of the big match arrives.  It will be John Cena versus Bray Wyatt and the winner will get the championship belt.  But before the match Cena is attacked by the ghost of Andre the Giant!  Before the gang can save him he disappears.  The WWE is terrified the Wyatts are going to capture the belt and only midcard wrestlers are left to challenge him.  Before any of the other wrestlers can step up, the Hex Girls volunteer a plan.  Using their magically infused rock and roll they summon the Undertaker.

The Undertaker begins to fight Bray Wyatt when the ghost of the Ultimate Warrior arrives.  But the Scooby gang have an elaborate trap to catch the ghost this time.  Except Luke Harper scares Scooby and the trap is disrupted letting the ghost go free.  The rest of the Wyatt Family tries to interfere in the match but the Hex Girls fend them off.  Scooby and the ghost end up crashing down onto Bray Wyatt letting the Undertaker pin him one, two, and three. 

The ghost is quickly unmasked to find Damien Sandow!  Banished to the midcard, Sandow thought he could get a title shot by kidnapping all of the higher ranked Superstars.  He used his acting ability to impersonate all of the past wrestlers.  He would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling kids!  All of the kidnapped wrestlers were stashed under the ring, because that’s the kind of silliness that would fly in a movie like this.  The newly crowned champion Undertaker scares Scooby as everyone else watches and laughs.  After staring at Velma all movie Eric Rowan shows up and gives her a flower, obviously geniuses can recognize each other.  Cut to credits and the theme song.

Detroit Grooming

On a website dedicated to comics, games, and booze we don't usually spend a whole lot of time talking about hygiene or style.  I've been using some products lately that I felt deserved mention through.  Over the years on the site I've grown out a few playoff beards.  The one I'm rocking now was born more out of being too lazy to shave.  Somehow beards a big conversation starter for guys, because I've had a lot of people asking me questions.  The biggest is, "how do I keep my beard from itching?".  The simple answer is shampoo.  If you're willing to spend a little more time taking care of yourself I recommend you check out Detroit Grooming.

Detroit Grooming does offer shampoo just for your beard which works out great for me since I shave the rest of my head.  Lots of people don't think to shampoo their beard.  It's hair, it still needs to be clean. In addition to that they also offer beard oil.  Beard oil moisturizes the hair and the skin underneath.  It helps keep the beard soft and smelling nice.  I've been using the Corktown oil for three months now and it's made a noticeable difference in the look and feel of my beard. 

If you're looking for the opposite of growing beards Detroit Grooming has a large number of shaving goods.  They carry safety razors and straight razors.  I haven't gotten brave enough to shave my head with a safety razor, but that day may come.  It isn't just the razors though, they have all sorts of brushes, creams, gels, etc.  Check out Detroit Grooming.  If you've just been grabbing the cheapest thing you can find in the Target aisle the price will surprise you a little, but the extra quality is worth it.  There are a number of grooming kits that will get you started.

Harley Quinn Real Doll?

Even when I'm not buying anything, I'm always looking at comic shops pre-orders and new releases.  Last night I saw a pre-order for the life sized replica of Harley Quinn and I had to talk about it.  I skim over most things Harley because there is a lot of merchandise out there.  "Life sized" got my attention but what really got me looking at the listing was the word replica.  There are lots of life sized busts or even statues out there.  Replica was something different and instantly I felt it was something a little creepy. 

I wasn't wrong either.  This replica stands 5'11 and is made of foam rubber and latex.  The hair is a synthetic hair to make it more realistic.  Each replica is hand painted.  Harley is sculpted from digital files from Batman: Arkham City.  It's all a very impressive looking piece but all I can think about is someone is going to have sex with it.  Sure, I know that is my sick mind and not the product itself but I can't get around it.

 

If the real product looks at good as the pictures, it is pretty impressive.  If you're looking for a villain to outfit your Batcave this one is going to run you 1,200 dollars although you may find it slight cheaper at some online retailers.  But to all you wannabe Batmans out there, please don't fuck the Harly replica. 

Kung Fu Fortunes

I don't know much about the Kung Fu Panda franchise.  While I've heard the original was enjoyable, the only thing I've actually seen was a very charming Christmas special.  I was aware that a third movie was in theaters but I was still very surprised when I went to my local Chinese restaurant and wound up with Kung Fu Panda fortune cookies.

Such simple marketing and it was done perfectly.  A takeout order of shrimp fried rice is certainly a more appropriate tie-in than a cheese burger at one of the big chains.  It works because of how big a surprise it was too.  How often do you see anything different on takeout packaging.  Honestly it made me laugh.  In fact I said to my co-worker that I hoped my fortune would be something like blatant like, "Go see Kung Fu Panda 3, in theaters now!".  I didn't really expect that actual fortune to be movie related though.

Turns out it totally was!  Really there is only so much more I can write about a fortune cookie.  I thought the whole thing was a cute, unexpected promotion.

Joey Ryan Is Awesome

Joey Ryan is a professional wrestler best known to the general public as "the penis wrestler" due to a recent recording that went viral.  Whether wrestling as one half of the World's Cutest Tag Team or going out and stealing the show him, he is always entertaining.  He can seamlessly transition from serious to comedy wrestling.  The clip below is from a recent match against Joey's girlfriend Laura James at Finest City Wrestling in San Diego.  Even if you're not a wrestling fan you should watch it.

Congrats to Joey and Laura.

Party of One: Vic Frankenstein

Last month I wrote about how much I enjoyed Jeff Stormer’s podcast Party of One.  The show consists of quick one-shot RPG sessions starring a game master and a single player.  Some of these are very funny, others more exciting.  With a new player and story every episode the tone can change dramatically.  I’m talking about the podcast again because I got to record with Jeff and that episode is now available. That’s right, if you ever wanted to sit around a game table with me run over to Party of One’s Soundcloud page or look it up on Apple’s app store or Google play.

The game I got to play is called Atomic Highway.  It’s a perfect system to get that Mad Max style you may be interested in after watching Fury Road.  Our game took that formula and mixed in equal parts 50’s style Sci-Fi.  The basis of the game is I’m playing a literal Frankenstein’s monster who makes a living as a courier across the wasteland in his armored muscle car.  I’m in love with the character and the setting, so if you enjoy the episode you should let Jeff know how much you love Vic Frankenstein.

Here is the background I sent to Jeff when we were coming up with ideas for the game:

To protect itself the human mind is capable of ignoring those truths that would cause it shock and damage. Things that would demoralize the populace were trivialized and transformed into myth and legend. Yet even before the great disaster there were monsters roaming the Earth. The members of the Frankenstein bloodline had guarded Victor’s original work closely. Passed from generation to generation the burden caused most family members to hide themselves in the remote, hard to reach corners of the Earth. When the End Times came, Henry Frankenstein and his wife were already safe deep in a compound hidden in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Time passed and Elizabeth bore Henry a son. But times had changed and even a routine delivery was no longer as easy as it once had been. Elizabeth died not long after Victor was born.

Henry was a warm and caring father and did everything he could to make sure his son was protected. Young Victor grew up with a hunger for learning. He was a teenager when the raiders had found the Frankenstein compound. While he and his father had managed to fend off the attackers, Victor was struck with a bullet through the heart. The boy died almost instantly. Henry’s grief was unbearable; he had lost everything. Except he was a Frankenstein, he didn’t need to let fate dictate who lived and who died. The dead raiders provided more than enough material.

Vick was not Victor, the personality was different. The memories of the past were gone. Vick was less studious and wilder, but Henry loved him anyway. The two lived happily for many years until Henry’s age had finally caught up to him. Vick mourned his father but knew he couldn't hide from the world much longer. Sealing up the compound Vick loaded up his car. It was like him, an amalgam of the cars the raiders had attacked in. He headed out into the wasteland to sate his wanderlust, to finally see the world that was beyond the mountain peaks.

Party of One podcast can be found HERE.

Kickstarter: World Wide Wrestling RPG Season 2

Kickstarter has had a lot of incredible campaigns in the past.  I don't have shelves filled Kickstarted goods, but I have backed my share of products.  One of my favorites was Nathan D. Paoletta's World Wide Wrestling RPG.  The game which involved both in ring action and backstage maneuvering was perfect for the person like me who writes sprawling backstories for created wrestlers in video games.  The game is easy to play, true to the source material, and obviously written with a lot of love.  Because of this I was thrilled to see that a second book is recently been added to Kickstarter.

World Wide Wrestling RPG: International Incident is adding more testicular fortitude to the main game.  As the name implies many of the new gimmicks will have an international flavor to them.  Lucha Libre wrestlers can now show those High Flyers how it's really done.  Japanese style Puroresu will teach those American audiences what "Strong Style" really means.  Besides the new gimmicks the game also introduces rules for growing your promotion, audience moves, mythic moments, off camera stroke, long term play, and additional tips on match flow.

I backed the project the moment I heard about it.  If you haven't picked up the original yet, there is even a pledge tier that includes both games.  Check out the Kickstarter by clicking HERE and check out Nathan's website by visiting ndpdesign.com.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Video Game

After being leaked all over the internet last night, the new Lego Star Wars game has been officially announced.  The game will release on June 28th and I'm sure all of those places that take pre-orders already have their systems set up to do so.

At this point you should know what you're getting with Lego video games.  You either like them or can't stand them.  There is no doubt that some are better than others, the first Marvel one was probably the best one I had played.  It's nice to see Star Wars back in Lego form though, it's been awhile.

Flash Friday: Lego Boomerang

Happy Flash Friday everyone!  This week there have been a few toy shows and the leaks from the Lego summer sets are coming fast and furious.  In fact the pictures I’m going to be talking about come from the website zusammengebaut.com.  There isn’t a lot of Flash news coming from these Lego sets.  We already know that a set with both Flash and Captain Cold mini-vehicles will be released in the upcoming Mighty Micros wave.  But these summer sets also revealed a new mini that Rogue collectors will surely want to add to their collection.

  

In the big set titled Killer Croc Sewer Smash we get the first Lego appearance of Captain Boomerang!  The set features a Bat tank of some sort and a rolling bear trap on wheels.  It’s a odd design to be sure.  The minifigures shine in this set though.  A big fig of Killer Croc, Katana, and Captain Boomerang.  Why do all those characters sound familiar?  It’s almost like Lego wanted to cash in on an upcoming movie without using a name that some might find questionable for a kid’s toy.  So yeah, this is the Suicide Squad set.

Sadly it is a big set.  So to add Boomer to your home lineup you either are picking up a big box or heading to resellers like eBay or Bricklink.  I know that’s the route I’ll be going.  He looks too good not to join my Captain Cold and Trickster.  I mean, look at his little hat!  I need that in my life.  I just don’t need a Batman tank, nor do I need the pieces I’d get from dismantling the Bat tank into spare parts, even if I do only work in black…and sometimes very, very dark gray.

Kickstarter: Greebo Games Un-Renaissance

At a recent event Games Workshop had fliers showing off four new molds for a new version of Blood Bowl with the announcement that the game is coming in 2017.  Obviously great news for fans, that still means the new core set is still over a year away.  And that’s just for Humans and Orks.  Thankfully companies like Greebo have been making “Fantasy Football” miniatures for years.  Their newest Kickstarter shows off all the skills they’ve acquired.  The characters may be dead, but the sculpts are beautiful.

The Kickstarter has a great variety of ghouls, skeletons, mummies, and werewolves available.  That means when picking your figures you could easily create an Undead, Khemri, or Necromantic Blood Bowl team.  The Kickstarter is already fully funded, so you don’t have to worry about pledging to something that has little or no chance to ever seeing production.  In addition to already hitting their goal the Greebo team has a nice set of Add-ons and Stretch Goals set up. 

If you’re in the market for a new Blood Bowl team this is honestly one of the best looking third party teams I’ve seen out there.  Check out the Kickstarter for yourself by clicking HERE.

First Comic Book

I’ve talked about the first comic I can remember liking, but I honestly can’t tell you what the first comic I’ve ever owned is.  I grew up in the era of spinner racks at the convenience store, so my first could have been any number of different things that would have made me happy.  I can without a doubt tell you what my son’s first comic book was though, because we just bought it this weekend.  Sure he had all sorts of kid’s books about superheroes, but he didn’t have an actual comic. 

The week before I had heard him ask for one.  Not in a store or anything.  I think something on television had mentioned them, but I heard him say, “Where’s my comic book?”  At that very second I knew what he and I were doing on Saturday.  I took him down to a local shop.  It wasn’t where I got my first comic, but it was as shop I’ve been going to since I was 8.  By complete chance the owner was there, the same man who helped me start my first comic pull file.  We chatted for a bit and then headed off to the kid’s shelf where my son found Scooby Doo.

Not only was it Scooby Doo, but it had a dinosaur.  Or to be more correct a gh-gh-ghost dinosaur!  The little man was thrilled.  We read it together as soon as we got home.  The book actually has two short stories; one about a ghost dinosaur and another about a town given bad luck by black cats.  The dinosaur one is certainly a favorite, but since we have a black cat at home the second story was still pretty popular.  Sadly there was no Hex Girl appearance in the book, but that’s okay since it was for my son and not me.

The end of the book had some superhero stuff like “spot the differences” and stuff like that.  Oddly it also included character files on Darkseid and the Highfather.  I get the concept, but I found the character choices a bit funny. 

 

Youtube: Kids Edition

I’ve been thinking a lot about today’s update and it was something I’d be totally unaware of if it wasn’t for my 3 year old son.  People, I have to let you know, you’re kids are watching some weird shit on Youtube.  Truth be told, everyone is watching weird shit on Youtube but I was still surprised to see the things that were hypnotizing my son.  It’s not just my kid either; I was talking with a few other father’s and found out that their kids are watching the exact same channels.  I’m not going to directly name or link to any of the Youtubers I’m mentioning here.  And while I may find the content weird, I’m not really attacking them.

Eggs.  I don’t know how my son found them originally, I don’t know how he still finds them; but videos about toy eggs are huge.  So here is the thing.  In other countries there are lots of chocolate eggs with toys inside them, but America doesn’t trust its children no to eat toys so they are illegal here.  Instead these videos focus on toys hidden in plastic eggs, paper mache eggs, or even eggs made out of play-doh.  After the narrator talks about the eggs they then open them up and reveal the toys inside.  Sometimes it’s just the toy.  Other times there may be things like slime or glitter in there too.  The eggs range in all sizes.  Some are barely big enough to hide a matchbox car and others are huge.  These eggs hold a power over my son that I don’t understand. 

Fan Fiction.  This one takes a serious second place to the eggs.  There are a number of videos where people are playing out stories with their toys.  Usually this involves massive crossovers where the Toy Story cast is helping the Transformer Rescuebots participate in a race again Lightning McQueen.  Sometimes narrated by children and their parents, but most of them are just done by adults.  They get odd.  I mean every version of fan fiction gets strange, and this is safe for kids, it’s just strange.

Bootleg videos.  The final one is the most horrifying.  Crappy 3d animated Spidermen in rainbow colors dancing to songs meant for toddlers.  Like the fan fiction these routinely mix characters from different franchises.  Some of these are serious nightmare fuel and I’m glad that my son doesn’t seem to care for these ones.

As I said previous, none of these things are unsafe for kids in moderation.  I was just amazed that these things exist and I wouldn’t even know about them if I didn’t monitor what he was doing/watching.  To the people making these things, more power to you.  You’re entertaining thousands of kids from the looks of your page views.

Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel

Disney Infinity's 3.0 edition has been going strong with the Star Wars releases.  I haven't played the Force Awakens playset yet, but I can say that the Prequel playset is fun, the Original Trilogy playset is amazing, and the light up figures work better than imagined.  The Marvel news has been pretty quiet though.  We knew that there was a Marvel Battlegrounds playset coming out.  That it would allow up to four people to play and that one of the figures included would be an unmasked Captain America.  Unmasked if the perfect way to symbolize the movie universe because no one keeps their damn masks on, but that is a rant for another day.  But seriously, superheroes in movies and television need to keep their damn masks on.

The new Marvel lineup has been revealed even though many of the figures had already been teased or easily guessed by looking at Marvel's movie lineup.  An amazing looking Black Panther will be hitting the shelves along side Vision, Ant-Man, Black Suited Spiderman, and a pack of Power Discs.  Black Suited Spidey was a Vita exclusive for 2.0, but will finally be available to everyone.  The Power Disc pack includes The Tesseract, Nova Corps, Darkhawk, and Ghost Rider's Bike.  Which means everyone who buys that pack, really just buying it for that awesome motorcycle.

The other interesting thing to note is many of these packages have a wi-fi icon on them.  This is to let players know that these figures will require a software update on Disney Infinity to work.  Most consoles are connected to the internet but this an important fact for those who may have difficulty getting their game system online.

Flash Friday: Rubber Ducky

Happy Flash Friday everyone!  Last week I said I had found my Flash Mopeez while running errands. The Mopeez wasn't the only thing I found that day at Walgreens; I also found a Flash Rubber Duck. The really strange thing is I have no idea where it was supposed to be in the store.  I looked for the box, I was interested into seeing any packaging and what other characters were in the set.  I couldn't find anything and the one duck I did find was sitting on a random shelf that had nothing to do with any other toys.

The odd thing about this duck is it isn't one you actually want to take into the bathtub with you. Under the duck are two metal studs. When you press the studs the duck lights up a number of different colors.  It might be water safe, but I wasn't willing to give it try.

There isn't much you can say about a rubber duck that strobes different colors like a party favor.  I have no idea what other characters are in the series.  I've seen a few of the ducks on ebay if you want one and don't want to randomly explore your local drug stores.