Tag: action figure
Buyer Beware: Don’t buy from CCG Armory
I know I haven’t posted here in several weeks and I do hope to resume regular posts in 2010. Maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution (though I made a resolution several years ago to never make resolutions and I’ve been holding to it pretty well). But here’s a quick Christmas-related post that needs to be said…
NEVER buy from an online company called CCG Armory.
I don’t want to link to their site here, as they’re not worth linking to, but the company sells action figures, toys, and other collectibles – items that always fill our Christmas tree.
Michelle (my wife) ordered 13 items for me from them that I wanted for Christmas. She placed the order on Dec. 2, leaving plenty of time for the company to either ship the purchased items or let her know that they weren’t going to be able to fulfill her order.
Days went buy with no communication whatsoever. Michelle had tried to email and call them with no luck. Finally they responded and said they would be able to get everything to her by Christmas, so she was happy and waited… and waited… and waited. Day after day she watched our mailbox to see if the big package arrived.
Finally, Christmas came and went and I ended up short 13 presents, which I wasn’t upset about but Michelle was very disappointed. Her phone calls to CCG Armory were *never* answered and email responses only came once a week (if that).
Today, the day after Christmas, a package finally arrived from them and it only contained 4 of the 13 items she ordered. They never told her that they wouldn’t be shipping the rest. On top of that, she had been promised free shipping by ordering $150 worth of stuff, but instead was charged $8.40 for shipping since they only sent 4 items instead of all 13. Again, no communication from them letting her know that this was going to happen.
All in all, buying from CCG Armory is like playing the lottery, but with worse odds. Do not buy from them unless you want to have a painful shopping experience. It’s merchants like this that give online shopping a bad name.
TweetGhostbusters Action Figures – Finally!
Ghostbusters fans are finally getting the action figures we’ve been longing for!
In 2004, NECA released an excellent series of Ghostbusters action figures. While it was great to have Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, Gozer, and two Terror Dogs, there were no actual Ghostbusters to be found. Now, 5 years later, Mattel is coming through for the 25th anniversary of the original Ghostbusters film with what appear to be the ultimate figures. Prototypes were available for viewing at the New York Comic Con and they look fantastic.
From mattycollector.com:
Mattel’s “Ghostbusters” collectible line, debuts with 12-inch figures in June 2009, and will be available exclusively at MattyCollector.com. Each figure will feature window box packaging and include authentic Ghostbuster equipment unique to each character. For the first time, Mattel’s line will include talent likeness of Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore.
[…]
“Ghostbusters” collectors can also look forward to 6-inch figures, with one debuting at San Diego Comic Con in July 2009. Sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios, the team currently working on Mattel’s popular DC Universe™ Classics and Masters of the Universe® Classics collectible lines, the 6-inch line will come complete with authentic “Ghostbusters” equipment and ghost.
[…]
Mattel will also create characters and ghosts from the classic animated series, “The Real Ghostbusters,” to go along with the classic “Ghostbusters” film.
More photos, including close-ups of the insane detail level of the proton packs, can be found here.
Tweet
WEEKEND WEB: Action-Figure.com
This week’s web link is for all you collectors out there. My favorite spot for getting all of the latest action figure, figurine, and sculpture news is…
Action-Figure.com
I’m sure this site is familiar to many of you, but for those of you who haven’t visited it, head to action-figure.com now. The site is updated several times a day with all of the latest news and pictures of new and upcoming collectible releases.
My favorite feature of this site are its RSS feed, which allows you to easily grab all the latest from the world of action figures in whatever news reader you like to use. I use Netvibes.
My other favorite feature surrounds action-figure.com’s excellent photo coverage of every comic con and toy show that exists. Currently, they’re covering the New York Comic Con.
Do you have a favorite collectible news site? Post it in the comments!
TweetDevo Action Figure with Interchangable Heads
From Retroist:
Tweet
Leave it to Devo to bring economy to the action figure world. Sure it makes it difficult for reenact the Mothersbaugh brothers having a creative discussion, but if that is a particular fantasy of yours you can always buy a 2nd figure.
All joking aside, as a Devo collector, I wish they had released these as a set, with the whole band included with instruments (instead of the whip and energy dome). I gladly would have paid for the complete set. Still in this modern Devo void we live in, something is better than nothing and this looks pretty awesome on the shelf.
WEEKEND WEB: Lucas Francis Studios – Theme Park and Movie Prototypes and Merchandise
Here is a Web site guaranteed to entertain you for at least a few seconds this weekend:
Lucas Francis Studios – lucasfrancisstudio.com
If you’re a fan of sci-fi movies or Disneyland, there’s a good chance that you’ll want one something that Lucas Francis Studios created the prototype for. Here are a few of my favorite examples:
This was a prototype made using the Polar Lights model kit and through many hours of trial and error Lucas Francis Studios managed to make this work with ease. This was a cool concept designed for the Universal parks but never picked up due to the demise of the Back to the Future ride and overall costs of production. To my knowledge we are the only company to ever make a floating Delorean prototype.
Link (They also created a hoverboard prototype)
A couple of Haunted Mansion prototypes that I would have loved to have seen hit the market (click the images to find out more):
Ever wanted to build your own army of T-800 endoskeletons from Terminator 2? These life-sized replicas should do the trick:
Sideshow Collectibles
and Lucas Francis Studios are proud to present the Fully Licensed Terminator 2 Endoskeleton.Created by Stan Winston Studio, the Endoskeleton is one of the most recognizable characters ever created for film. This 1-1 scale replica was molded from screen used original Endoskeleton parts and stands over six feet tall. The Endoskeleton has been offered before, but never with the level of detail created by Lucas Francis Studio. This replica was cast from new masters, new molds and uses new techniques.
More Terminator 2 products and prototypes were made including an Endoskeleton arm (which I own the smaller version of) and a T-1000 set with plenty of liquid metal excitement.
Any fan of Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs has wondered why Dark Helmet’s collection of action figures was never released. It looks like John Francis Studios made their own Dark Helmet prototype figure:
“No, sir – I didn’t see you playing with your dolls again!”
There are many more interesting prototypes to be found throughout the site, including a Disneyland 3D sculpted puzzle, Frank the Pug from Men in Black, and a Rocketeer rocket pack.
Tweet
