Ace, Peter, Paul and Gene are back together again and with your help they can all play nice too! Check out these prototype pics of some really awesome classic KISS merchandise that will have the KISS Army mobilized and totally worth a Deuce! (Yeah, the Rock and Roll all Night puns are well done and over with 😉 )
And we’ve only just begun…
Now, Go Play! – Jim 1/08/2015
May 23, 1979 – KISS released the album “Dynasty.”
May 17, 1980 – Peter Criss left KISS to pursue a solo career. Truth be told it had more to do with Peter’s drug addictions than musical aspirations. Thankfully Peter did get clean, rejoined the group in the late 90’s for a farewell tour and then joined the gang one more time to be inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame. And despite it all he is still the Catman, an entertainment legend and another reason why my Toy Box is the coolest place to hang out. God bless you, Peter.
Figures Toy Company has done something that I can’t help but applaud loudly:
While their first series of KISS action figures made me all giddy as you may recall these new figures blew me away. All of my complaints except for one has been addressed and corrected. In a totally backwards fashion I’ll go ahead and start with that one gripe just to get it out of the way.
That gripe? The packaging. Still huge. Takes up too much real estate and the card art is far from inspired. And the reproduction album jacket is still pretty lame. But honestly I could care less about those things because these bad boys demanded to be freed from their giant plastic prisons! I was more than glad to oblige.
The “Alive” series of KISS classic Mego style 8 inch action figures have improved heads and shoulders above the first series I reviewed back in 2012. New sculpts from the incredibly talented Farrow; the wonderfully stylized costumes that capture the essence of the “Alive” stage show; and last but most certainly not least the improvement in the stringing of the bodies. No longer are they twisted and tough to pose. These figures are most certainly ready to Rock N Roll all night and party every day!
Considering each character is its own personality it seems only fitting to devote time to each one Solo album style….Click on the corresponding Solo Album to get to the individual review.
In my Sheldon Cooper review I put the Bif Bang Pow body to the test by manhandling the figure. It passed with flying colors all to the Kid’s Bop version of “Can’t touch this”. This time however I had a much better stress tester; my 4 year old daughter. Actually I didn’t have a choice. She really wanted to play with these figures. Being that I’m not an over the top IT MUST REMAIN MINT CONDITION collector these days (and I love watching my daughter play) I said, you know what? Go for it baby! And she did.
The figures held up wonderfully. I’ll be honest I held my breath for the first few poses but by golly they took the playtime like true toys should. And that really, really impressed me. Not only was I pleased with the looks of the figures and felt that those positives alone justified the retail price, seeing my daughter actually PLAYING with them made my purchase completely satisfying.
How much do I like these new figures? So much now I and Kaitlynn want ‘em all! Except the Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer figures. Thanks to Paul I could really care less about those two. They are now scrubs and impostors in my eyes. I will say though that the sculpts do look really good and I’d venture to guess that the quality is up to par overall. For me though the characters have no nostalgic connection. If I want a spaceman I’ll buy another Darth Vader. If I want a Catman I’ll just do a gender swap and get a Catwoman.
Seriously though these figures are excellent and I will most certainly be saving my pennies to pick up the Dressed to Kill figures. Probably some extra sets actually so I can trade out the Love Gun and Hotter than Hell with these new sculpts. Still need the first album figures too. I also hope that Figures will continue the line with at least Dynasty. Sure it was a lack luster album but the costumes were sweet.
Be sure to click out all of the individual reviews including the review of Paul’s new book as well as my take on the KISS / Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Debacle.
Now, Go Play!
Jim 04/ 10/14
8 Inch Figures
12 Inch Action Figures
Carrying Case
Show your KISS colors!
Fun Stuff
PLUSH
Confession time. I saved this review for last as far as actually doing the write up and pics. Why, Jim? Why? What do you have against the Catman? Nothing at all. He’s just boring compared to the other three guys. Sorry Peter but it is what it is. Still love you though.
The sculpt is great! Mego completely dropped the ball with the repurposed Lex Luthor head back in the day and as such the first series fell on this dagger as well. I don’t fault FTC for that considering their goal was to offer reproductions of that line. In that they nailed it. For this new line however they did the right thing in again reaching out to The Farrow to create a brand new sculpt. The only detractor to this head is the hair. But as I’ve stated in my review of Ace, this is forgivable considering the production process, scale and cost. Plus everything else about it is so very right even if it is a bit boring.
To clarify, when I say boring I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. This is a very well made figure. The costume is really simple and clean. The quality of the boots are top shelf. But that’s about it. Nothing else really jumps out at me. Again nothing bad to say and I can easily say you should get this figure without reservation. But then again having one and not all four is just out of balance.
But that’s about that. Unlike his counterparts I don’t have a drum set for him but that may change in the future. I’ll keep you posted.
Now, Go Play!
Jim 04/10/14
8 Inch Figures
12 Inch Action Figures
Carrying Case
Show your KISS colors!
Fun Stuff
PLUSH
I wanted the best and I got the best! These figures are simply amazing in their detail for this format. There is so much more I want to say and share about these but time is not my friend today. I will share these pics to tie you over. But don’t wait for my “final word” to go order yours today!
KISS: Debut Album
8 inch
12 inch
Hotter Than Hell
8 inch
12 inch
Love Gun
8 inch
Dressed To Kill
8 inch
12 inch
Sonic Boom
8 inch
Monster
8 inch
12 inch
Carrying Cases
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