|
  Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column by yours truly. Read on for whatever crap I posted. I had to rewrite it, it was late.
Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of the Saga Collection, it's almost like a history lesson! (As it also has funny hats and wars.)
From left to right (top to bottom): Yoda, Clone Trooper, Padme, another Padme, Count Dooku. These are all new since our last update, and another one will be going live today! Who will it be? Keep checking Galactic Hunter for Day 60 in Figure of the Day!
--AP
|
|
  It's no big secret that we have a love/hate relationship with how toys (and games) are perceived in the media. (There's a reason we take a small amount of glee in writing press releases for the industry.) Of course, some people use press releases for the powers of evil. (Relatively speaking, of course. We're not one to "think of the children" due to our acting like big and in some cases, stupid kids.) We post this not out of spite, but because, in all seriousness, this is pretty much all the press that the line got during its too-short run in North America. And yes, this is Zoids-centric.
In a market where toy stores have dismembered circus freaks and Dorothy being lead around in a bondage costume, while on a leash, by munchkins, we were more than a little shocked and in many ways, disappointed with the Lion & Lamb Project's missing out on some really gnarly toys for 2002-2003. Here's a quote on how the Zoids Gun Sniper will infect your soul, curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war:
"This toy takes the dinosaur concept and gratuitously adds a sniper element. The Gun Sniper includes "missile-launching side cannons!" The packaging promotes other Zoids, which children can 'customize for battle!' They include the Liger Zero with a 'Hel Digunner cannon' and Raynos, with 'turret and launching cannons.' The Zoids line melds two traditional toy categories-construction toys and animals - and adds violent themes, which are then marketed to pre-schoolers."
While all publicity is good publicity, these toys designed for kids ages 8 and up. Unfortunately even labeling them dangerous did little to boost sales-- after all, animals tend to make everything skew young.
In 2003, we made a huge toy run around Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Glendale, and beyond to look for Zoids, and picked up the toys at 75% off or more at numerous stores, including the deadly Gun Sniper for a mere $1.99. We can safely say that the Lion & Lamb project neglected to indicate just how ridiculously overarmed this little velociraptor is, with a giant cannon on each wrist, three guns on the back of the tail, a giant cannon on the back, two missile launchers on the side of the aforementioned cannon, a large gut-gun, and of course two huge toe claws. This also ignores the fact that Zoids aren't kid-friendly, with a lot of assembly, small parts, and cutting required to build the toy.
Today, the Gun Sniper kit can be had on eBay for a few dollars, or you can search on a site like Froogle and find the Japanese edition of the kit for $8 and up. It's a small kit, easy to build, and in need of a loving home. Won't you help it? We're not sure of the real crime here-- perhaps the lack of awesome dinosaur toys on the market at the time, beyond the death throes of the Jurassic Park line and the random Dinobots put out by Hasbro for Transformers, but those have guns, too. And skew younger. So, the moral of the story: the world needs more good dinosaur toys. And Zoids, so hook us up.
Of course, Zoids are just one of many violent dinosaurs-with-weapons toy lines. Let us not forget Kenner's Bone-Age, a series of skeletons with missile-firing pieces and cavemen. Or Dino-Riders, Tyco's now legendary line of realistic dinosaurs with snap-on armor, guns, cannons, and more with some of the best toy packaging art of all time. Of course, there was also the Brazil-only line for Dinosaucers, which had dinosaur-like space aliens with similarly themed spaceships and an episode where they assume there's a shrink ray because the villains can't read and think that a number of costumes were "reduced for Clarance." (You don't remember that one? It was a classic.) And who could forget the Dino-Damage of Jurassic Park, with bloody dinosaurs with exposed wounds? No guns, but still-- not exactly kiddie friendly fare.
--AP
|
Like eBay? Enjoy quasi-legal images of toys? Check out the 
They're back! 
Hear all about the Star Wars Endor wave! We play with Cybertron Primus! We blather about Titanium Transformers, and Sigma 6 2.5-inch G.I. Joes! Holy crap, download me now!!
