Muse - Uprising of the Teddy Bears

How can we not love the cover art of Muse's single 'Uprising'? Art work by Dan Abbott/Storm Thorgerson.


Single Cover Art



Vinyl Cover Art



Source: Muse Website & Muse Wiki
Buy the album here!




Watch their performance at MTV VMA Awards. Spot the teddies!


You can also purchase an official Uprising Teddy at their online store

DC Universe Classics - Gotham City 5 pack PREVIEW

If you're into variants of previously released action figures than this is the set for you. Mattel has released Wal-Mart exclusive Gotham City 5 pack which mostly consists of previously released DC Universe action figures with different paint jobs. Lets take a closer look.

The "Gotham City 5" includes Catwoman, Two-Face, Batman, Superman and a brand new sculpt of Lex Luthor. But how different are some of these action figures from previous versions you may already own. Lets start with Superman.

The most similar DCUC Superman action figure to the Gotham 5 version would probably be the Superman from the Braniac/Superman 2 Pack released in the Spring of 2009 (2nd stock photo from the set). The only difference between the two toys is the 2 pack version has red "heat ray" vision eyes. The Gotham 5 Superman (first one above) is your standard classic Superman. Personally, I like the figure. Mattel did release a long hair version of Superman in DCUC wave 6 but not a classic looking one like this since the DC Superheroes toy line was around. Be sure to check out my DCSH Superman review for more details. Look for this Gotham City 5 version of Superman to be sold individually when Mattel releases their DCUC wave 11 (Kilowog) set in late 2009/early 2010.

Next up is Batman. The first photo above is the Gotham City 5 version and the 2nd, from my own personal collection is a photo of DCUC wave 1's Classic Detective Batman. The sculpts are exactly the same. The only difference is the blue and grey suit vs the Gotham City 5's black and grey suit. Also, this is the same Batman sculpt we saw with the DCUC 2 pack of Batman and Clayface, except, this time, Batman is not covered in clay. Oh ya, if you're looking for new accessories with the GC5 Batman, forget it. You get zip in this pack . Again, Mattel appears to be selling this figure individually with the DCUC wave 11 set as there are a few sites on the internet that are taking pre-orders for it. Is this figure worth the purchase. Perhaps. Depends on the collector. You may already have a Batman in Black in Grey from the DC Superheroes wave 8 set. But this is a new sculpt. Decisions, decisions....

Above is the Gotham City 5 version of Catwoman in her purple outfit. The 2nd photo is Catwoman from the DC Superheroes wave 8 set. The only difference between the two figures is one, the purple vs black outfits. And two, the accessories. The original DCSH version came with a whip, a backpack, a pearl necklace and a cat statue. The GC5 version of Catwoman is the only one of the 5 action figures in this set to come with an accessory, however, she only comes with a whip and that is it. If you check my review of the DCSH Catwoman figure, you'll see I wasn't too big of a fan of this toy compared to the others from the set. Its very thin and flimsy. She could not hold the whip very securely, the paint job on the face was sub par and her goggles are not removeable. The DCSH version was very hard to find back in 2007 so if you were not lucky enough to get your hands on her, you are probably interested in grabbing the GC5 version. Just be aware that the figure is really nothing special.

Above you will see the Gotham City 5 version of Two-Face in purple and orange, and the 2nd photo, again from my personal collection, is a picture of the DC Superheroes version of Two-Face. Other than the colors between the two figures, the one main difference I can see is that Two-Face's left hand has changed. Possibly to make it easier to hold a gun....but wait GC5 Two-Face doesn't come with any accessories, so whats the point?? Oh well. I did have a few issues with the original Two-Face action figure. One, its was hard as HELL to find. Two, the paint job was mediocore at best and had a lot of botches. Click the link above for my review. Other than the face, it was not an original sculpt. (Body was taken from a previous DCSH Clark Kent release). For me though, I am interested in getting this version of Two-Face. I quite like the more colorful look with the green face. Its a little more....comic booky.....if thats even a correct term, than the previous version.

On to the final figure of the DCUC Gotham City 5 set and that is the only original sculpt (sort of) of Lex Luthor. I say "sort of" because, yes there are a lot of standard looking parts used for this figure but compared to the DC Superheroes version of Battlesuit Lex Luthor, it is a huge difference. The head is a completely new sculpt giving it a very classic look of Luthor. Again, the crappy thing is GC5 Lex does not come with any accessories, were as Battlesuit Lex came with a very cool ray gun and a piece of Kryptonyte which fit in either Lex's hand or the actual gun. Despite the lack of accessories, personally this is the Lex Luthor figure I've been waiting for Mattel to release.

So, is this set worth the purchase? Depends. Do you like the characters. Do you like repainted variants. Is the new Lex Luthor figure worth it? Personally, I like the repaints....Catwoman I can do without but the Two-Face, Superman and Batman would be cool to have. Lex is a must for my collection though. If you're not lucky enough to find this set at your local Wal-Mart, there are tons of auctions on eBay right now for these figures individually (loose) or for the full pack. Expect to pay between 20-35 bucks for Luthor and 10-15 for the other 4 if you decide to by them loose. For the full set, you're looking at 60-90 dollars (plus shipping costs of course).

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 set on eBay, click here and on Amazon.com, click here.

Hope you enjoyed this DC Universe Classics preview. Be sure to come back to Action Toy Review for more news, info, previews and reviews of Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figure toy line.

Storybook Land Collection

The Storybook Land Collection is finally here! Fantastic Toys is proud to announce the arrival of this new collection of plush and paper toys. Say hello to Humpty, Lit'l Red and all their friends! This kawaii collection features handmade dolls made with a wool/acrylic blend felt. I even made the old womans shoe and gingerbread cottage in felt. Also available is a paper playset with all your favorite characters and their village of cute homes depicting Storybook Land.

Leave a comment and email address to qualify to win these two printed cloth key chains from the Storybook Land collection. A winner will be notified September 30, 2009. Join my mailing list to receive notice for future giveaways.

DC Universe Classics - Atom Smasher

The final review for Mattel's DC Universe Classics wave 7 is the collect and connect figure Atom Smasher. Before we get on to the review, be sure to check out the selection on eBay or Amazon. if you're looking to by purchase any of the DCUC wave 7 action figures.

Mattel has been doing a great job with the collect and connect action figures. The sculpts are nicely detailed and the paint jobs are usually very clean and Atom Smasher is no exception.

Atom Smasher stands at approximately 9 inches tall. A similar height to wave 3's Solomon Grundy and wave 5's Metallo.

A close up looks at the action figure gives us a better look at the paint job. There is a little bit of dark shading around Atom Smasher's eyes and in the chest, ribs and leg areas. Also on the arms, specifically around the veins on his arms, there is some orange highlighting.

Atom Smasher's Articulation is fairly standard. He has all the same joints as any of the other DCUC figures have. My only complaint is that I find the neck joint does not allow him to look upwards very well. Other joints include shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, abdominal, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. All joints work well and are not too tight or loose.

Don't expect any extras with Atom Smasher. He's a hands on kinda guy, so no weapons are necessary.

Overall, Atom Smasher is as good as any other DCUC collect and connect action figure but may not really appeal to those who are just looking for the main or popular DC Universe Characters. Those who collect wave after wave religiously or DC fanboys will appreciate Mattel going deep into the DC Universe library to bring us a large variety of characters.

Sculpt/Design - 9, Paint - 9.5, Articulation - 9, Accessories - 0, Fun - 7

That concludes my look at Mattel's DC Universe Classics wave 7 set of action figures. Now that wave 8 is out and there are a few people lucky enough to even have started collecting wave 9, all the wave 7 action figures should be easily available and cheap.

To find DC Universe Classics wave 7 action figures at Amazon.com - click here

To find DC Universe Classics wave 7 action figures on eBay - click here

If you're looking to just purchase Atom Smasher on his own without getting any of the other figures from wave 7, then click on the eBay link above. That will be your best bet to find him.

Be sure to come back to Action Toy Review for all your latest news, info, previews and reviews of Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures. Next up, DCUC wave 8 reviews, 2 packs and more.

Ollie the Munny-World Entry Munny

Yo!

Ollie here (named in honor of my wife's dearly departed and beloved goldfish of many years) didn't quite make the cut in the Munny World Contest, but He did make the first spot in the 'check out these cool 'other' customs' list!

Ollie's fins and tail are made from armatron wiring and masking tape (simple in theory , difficult in practice). The paint-job is primarily the result of layering with orange, white, gold and silver spray cans, and the face details and portions of the tail are sculpted with green stuff (a 2 part epoxy-like sculpting putty - no baking required). Enjoy!!!

The full frontal view. Check the subtle coloring on his belly!

A 'little bit o' detail' shot. Put this guy in water, he could swim with those fins!

Congrats to all the winners - whoever you all are. Rampage Toys will keep chugging away, and maybe they'll do another one of these comps!

As alway, send any inquiries about t-shirts, stickers, customs or any questions to:

rampage.toys@yahoo.com

Up next - some plush and a ROCKET WORLD I.W.G custom. Yeeah! Give me a couple weeks though...

DC Universe Classics - Kid Flash

So I'm still stuck in wave 7 trying to get through all my reviews meanwhile, Mattel has released wave 8 and very recently, wave 9, along with a couple of 2 packs and a walmart exclusive 5 pack. So here we go with my 2nd last wave 7 review, Kid Flash.

For starters, Kid Flash comes in your standard Mattel DCUC packaging. Nothing new here folks.

Significantly shorter than you're standard DC Universe Classics action figure, Kid Flash stands at about 5.5 inches tall similar to fellow Teen Titan, Robin from wave 3.

As far as sculpt goes, Kid Flash has his wings on the sides of his boots and on his head but other than that, is fairly basic. His head sculpt is unique of course with his wavy red hair.

As far as paint job goes, the face is very clean. Kid's blue eyes are neat and there are no runs or overlapping or paint blotches of any kind.

The one paint/color issue that continues to keep coming up is on the action figures who have mainly a yellow costume. For some reason, Mattel continues to shade yellow with a red wash. So all over Kid Flash's torso and boots you will see this red shading technique. Other action figures that have this same problem include Mr. Miracle from wave 6, Robin from wave 3 and Firestorm from wave 2.

Kid Flash's articulation is pretty standard compared to other DCUC action figures. He has all the typical joints starting with his neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. All joints move free of any obstruction and are not too loose at all.

Alas, other than the collect and connect piece of Atom Smasher, unfortunately Kid Flash comes with no additional accessories. (How will he ever help Flash defeat Gorilla Grodd???) . A bummer yes, but really, what could they give him????

If you're a Teen Titan fan or a fan of the Flash and his cast of characters, then you may want to pick this figure up. For those of you who are casual collectors of the DC Universe Classics toy line however, Kid Flash may not be your first choice.

Kid Flash: Sculpt - 8.5, Paint - 5, Articulation - 9, Accessories - 0, Fun - 8

Kid Flash is a very easy action figure to find and you could probably get him very cheap now that wave 8 and 9 are making their rounds. eBay is always best. Click here to see what auctions are available.

That concludes the reviews from Mattel's DC Universe Classic wave 7 action figures. My next review will be the Collect and Connect action figure "Atom Smasher" from wave 7 followed shortly after by action figures from wave 8 and 9. Be sure to come back to ActionToyReview for all your DC Universe Classics action figures news, reviews and information.