Category: Collectibles
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 171 – More than meets the eye
In addition to the new KRE-O kits, I picked up the super-duper new figure of Sentinel Prime from the upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie, which can’t possibly be any worse than the last one. Leonard Nimoy voices this character too.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 170 – Hasbro takes on LEGO with Transformers KRE-O
While wandering through Toys R Us today (as I do quite regularly), my attention was quickly grabbed by what appeared to be Transformers LEGO sets, something that had never been released before. But upon closer look I realized they weren’t LEGO sets after all, but rather KRE-O, a new brand of building blocks from Hasbro that’s taking on LEGO head-to-head. It even says in a shiny sticker on the boxes that it works with “other” building block systems. That’s right, the pieces are nearly identical to LEGO blocks.
I’m not sure how Hasbro can stay clear of a LEGO law suit for patent infringement as they’re so similar. The good news about Hasbro not using LEGO for their kits is that they’re less expensive this way. A KRE-O Bumblebee 335 piece kit was only $25, where as a similar specialty, movie-licensed LEGO kit would likely be $40-50. Likewise the massive 542 piece Optimus Prime KRE-O kit from Hasbro is only $59.99 – likely to have been $70-100 if it were LEGO branded. So, naturally, I bought several of the kits and will happily build them soon!
Check em out on Amazon here.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 165 – Hail to the king, baby
After waiting since high school more than a decade ago, Duke Nukem Forever finally arrived to my house today. And it’s just as Duke Nukem as Duke Nukem ever was. After pre-ordering it a couple days ago, I was alerted to poor reviews of the game, citing low frame rates, bad graphics, and dull gameplay. And all that meant to me was… I would love it. Hardcore gamers will hate everything about this game. It’s not serious. It’s allows zero precision. And each level seems to aimlessly meander. But that’s Duke Nukem.
Anyone who played the original Duke Nukem 3D years ago (as I did for hours on end) will love this new game. It’s like I’m a freshman in high school all over again. All the immaturity and vulgarity of the original is back, along with Duke’s hilarious one-liners. Sure the game is silly and moronic, but that’s what makes it fun. It’s not serious gameplay but a pick-up-and-go adventure through absurdity that I’m enjoying greatly.
And I’m glad I shelled out the extra $40 for the “Balls of Steel” limited edition version that came with a ton of fun Duke Nukem collectibles. I have no idea what I’ll do with them all, but I’m happy to have them. And now I need to stop writing this so I can go play some more Duke Nukem Forever. (Yeah, I never thought I’d say that…)
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 141 – Donald Duck in Carbonite
At the end of a busy day today, I swung by Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the third time in two days after realizing that despite the fact that I was just there yesterday to cover the grand opening of Star Tours, I completely forgot to check out the merchandise tent. I also wanted to see this year’s Hyperspace Hoopla, which I was too tired to stay for at the end of the day yesterday. The new bigger stage is amazing and Dance-Off with the Star Wars Stars 2011 is one of the best yet (full video here).
In the merchandise tent (which is also bigger than ever), Michelle took a photo of me with this life-sized Donald Duck in Carbonite. Boba Fett seemed uninterested.
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 124 – Ninjago
I finished a rather slow day of not much going on with an hour or so of building LEGOs. I started and completed a Ninjago (Ninja + LEGO) skeleton bowling kit. Fun! The little spinning ninja really wipes those skeletons out with his sword. I’ll probably build another Ninjago kit next to continue the battles.
