In 1978 ABC Television took us all on a journey across the stars with a gaggle of refugees who were seeking to set up a new home on the little blue marble we call Earth.
Tag: battlestar galactica
Commander Adama from Bif Bang Pow!
Watch the video for the short take and then read on for the long drawn out review you know and love me for
(rate and comment if you would so kind as well)
Who it is
Commander Adama from Bif Bang Pow’s Battlestar Galactica line of 8 inch classic style cloth costumed action figures.
Where it Came From
This particular specimen came as a gift from my Mego Museum Secret Santa. Man I love that place.
Why I’m writing this:
I loved this show as a kid. It was Star Wars but better because it was on TV every week! The toys had already gotten a bad rap because of the one kid who just had to choke on a missile but what ya gonna do? Plus outside of the ships which were not in scale with the figures, Mattel really created some boring and bland looking toys. But honestly, had Mego gotten the license I don’t think we would have seen anything much better.
The company had already moved away from the magical 8 inch format and was focusing on the new more cost effective, but poorly detailed, 3 and three quarter inch line as well. But that was then this is now.
Bif Bang Pow has once again fixed this gaff in my childhood by picking up the 8 inch retro ball and running with it. And while all 4 figures released so far (I consider the variant cylons as one figure) the leader of the pack is simply awes
Why it is I have a strange fascination with “Old Guy” figures is beyond me but I dig ‘em. And this particular figure is really sweet. Not only is he the heroic leader of the colonists, with the weight of his entire civilization on his shoulders, it’s also Lorne Greene man, in 8 inch form! But that doesn’t come without some critiques of the final product. But as always I like to look at the positive side of life first…ome to me.
The Good.
Moving away from my fan boy gushing I would like to draw your attention to the costume. If anything Bif Bang Pow does remarkably well is the layered look. As I pointed o
ut in my review of Dr. Orpheus from the Venture Bros. line I really appreciate what all is going on here in regards to really adding value for your buck. With a retail price tag of $22.99 it’s nice to get more than just a hunk of plastic. Let’s break him down shall we?
The Bad
My biggest gripe is the flesh tone. Commander Adama was never this pale. Watching clips from the show you see that Poppa Joe still had his radiant tan that was earned while riding the range at the Pondarosa Ranch, despite being sealed up on Galactica. This pale face look is what I believe takes away from the likeness of the sculpt. Also to note the paint for the hair color is wrong. But then again if the hair was the proper shade of white versus the grey that was used this Adama would look more like a Jedi ghost and we wouldn’t want to open up that copyright can of worms now would we?
The Ho-Hum
he card art is cool but honestly it bores me to tears. Each of the figures uses the exact same card back with the only deviation being the name and UPC sticker applied over the bottom corner. While I understand the need to cut costs to keep these dollies affordable I still feel just a little cheated here. Not enough to not buy the figure but the sameness of the cards doesn’t enforce my compulsive need to purchase two of each (one to keep carded and the other to open). Again this is more of a ho hum gripe than a real problem. One thing I do like however is that the card is compact in size like the latter series of Venture Brothers figures.
During the Shoot
As I was taking the pictures and video for this review a few things popped out. Well actually needed to be popped in. I thought the figures head looked a little odd in the packaging. As if Adama was trying to bury his chin deeply into his pimpin’ turtleneck. During the strip down I quickly noticed that the head was actually not all the way in the body. It was a quick fix and added a lot for the figures presentation.
Also to note there are a lot of threads hanging bout on the sleeves and pant legs of the now exposed cuffs on the body suit. Of course these are well hidden when the figure is fully assembled. Speaking of which, it was a bit of a bear in layering him back up. The sleeves and pant legs were quick to bunch up when booting the boots and overcoat back on.
I did like that you could adjust the cape to lay over the shoulder. Observing the figure from in the package I assumed that it was held in place with Velcro tabs. I’m happy to report that’s not the case. There is actually a strand of the silver ribbon / piping serving as the tie. Nice touch if you ask me.
In Conclusion
This line has taken some hard pot shots on the web and in some cases rightfully so. With that said however I won’t say that you shouldn’t buy this figure. If your like me you can appreciate what all is going right with it. However if you haven’t been bitten by the 8 inch classic style bug then I think you’d be much happier avoiding this line and cutting your teeth on a much more visually pleasing line such as the Venture Bros. Now, Go Play! – Jim 1/2/2012
Get yours today straight from the source at Entertainment Earth! Be sure to tell ‘em Jim sent ya!
Now, Go Play!
Jim 01/02/13
[ebay width=”355″ height=”300″ query=”Retro Action Figure” ]
My muse is old and green with a hint of Lava.
Introduction
Okay so I haven’t written a new blog in forever and now that I’m finally getting to it what subject matter inspires me? The massive amount of 8-inch classic style action figures coming from Bif, Bang, Pow and EMCE toys? Nope. The Lando’s that I’ve been accumulating that I’m supposed to be blogging about? Nope, again. Or even the insanely super cool and already pre ordered 8 inch KISS classic style figures from Classic TV Toys? Surprisingly no. In fact the muse that has ignited my fingers is perhaps one of the most oddball additions to my collection… ever. So fellows and girls without further ado may I introduce to you my muse of the moment… Vintage Star Wars Yoda Soap!
What it is
Yoda Soap from 1981
Omni Cosmetics Corporation
Where I got it
From an ebay auction that I threw a token bid on because of the vintage, all be it a beater Colonial Viper that was in the lot of star wars stuff. And yes that interested me only because of all of the talk coming from Bif Bang Pow and their new 8 inch Classic Style Battlestar Galactica figures (available for pre-order now by the way via Entertainment Earth).
Why this is cool
It’s old and green just like Yoda, perfect product representation there. No actually it’s cool to me not so much for the soap but for the copy that is on the box. “Wise Yoda, the Jedi Master, dwells on the bog planet Dagobah. He’s taught all the Jedi Knights including Obi-Wan Kenobi. And because he’s had over 800 years of experience, he’s a maser at helping to keep you clean,,,”
Stop right there. That is just creepy and a little sad. Not for the obvious modern day, ‘everything is a dirty joke waiting to happen’ reasons. No it’s sad because we seem to have lost the innocence of copy / marketing such as that. It was written for kids. Kids who loved Star Wars and couldn’t get nearly enough of the, at the time two movie Empire and was most likely picked up by either a mom but most likely a dad who just wanted to surprise their kid with something Star Wars other than another of those silly plastic men. Touching moment complete, back to the copy from way back when…
“…Lather up with Yoda.” Dang – there they go again.
“…He’ll help you destroy ugly dirt and grime.” Again I must pause and dissect some of the components in that simple eight-word sentence. First off the word ‘destroy’. Man, that is pretty hardcore! And then there’s dirt and grime, which were the enemy of every small boy back in those early Reagan administration days. Those two words also serve as a pretty good snapshot of the times. Their usage evokes memories of the fact that kids actually played outside and not only did they get dirty they got so dirty in fact that grime formed. For today’s generation here’s what that means: grime [gra’m]- n dirt, soot, or filth, esp when thickly accumulated or ingrained vb(tr) to make dirty or coat with filth. Needless to say Yoda soap is pretty bad ass! Back to the copy…
“… And he’ll make you feel mighty good about yourself, too!” – Okay here’s where they lost me. Obviously the copywriter never saw Empire. They must have gotten a very basic character outline before they crafted this prose. Yoda make you feel good about yourself? Not in Empire sister. In the second (okay now fifth installment) of the Star Wars saga Yoda was anything but a booster. In fact he was a real drag for Luke’s self esteem. First he suckers him by way of not revealing his identity… then he busts his balls by saying that he is too old to begin the training (perhaps this was because the older padawans wouldn’t let the little green dude lather them up)… then he tells him he’s gonna be all scared and junk essentially calling our former farm boy a sissy. Luke may have been winey, but farm boys ain’t sissy’s. And that’s not even bringing up the whole “Do or do not, there is no try” hard-assery. Yeah that Yoda, he’s a booster.
Oh who am I kidding I appreciate the humor and attempt of a completely out of touch 40-something copyrighter who was still holding onto the promises of the Woodstock generation all the while working copywriting gigs like this one, selling his formally flower powered pen to feed his $200 a day cocaine habit. Or maybe he was just an old stiff who really had no clue and didn’t care considering he was probably only pulling down about $75 bucks a week and hoping that his ’72 Gremlin could hold up for at least one more year. Boy, the psych students in the audience are probably and very easily translating my own current emotional state in regards to employment or disdain thereof. I think I need a Yoda bubble bath.
Why you should care
No real reason outside of this; Yoda Soap (and actually all of the oddball stuff in the lot it came with) serve as a reminder that the Lucasfilm marketing machine has been milking this franchise long before there was a 3-D, special edition version of Episode 1- The Phantom Menace to berate because it and he are selling out the franchise. I mean seriously, “Lather up with Yoda”? This line was approved by the guy who wouldn’t allow for Star Wars to be licensed to vitamin manufactures because of fears of promoting drug usage?!? If it was me and I created such a merchandising juggernaut you’d have seen “Official Star Wars lightsaber syringes for diabetics”. Still, I wouldn’t recommend anyone plunking down $12 to see Phantom Menace again when you can buy the BluRay collection and fast forward through the pod race and all extended Gungan dialog exchanges.
In Conclusion
All silliness aside I want to say thanks to the ebay seller who hooked me up with this odd yet cool lot on the cheap, expertly packaged and promptly shipped. And to you dear reader the lesson I would like all of you to take away from this little rambling is this; drop ten bucks on an oddball lot that only makes a mild amount of sense. Upon closer examination you may find your muse packed carefully in between the items wrapped in the September 16th 2011 edition of the Post Standard.
Now Go Play! – Jim 02/12/2012
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