Being the toy fanatic that I am, I always love finding new lines to start collecting. Recently, in my Internet and social media stumblings, I came across a line of small collectible figures called Metals Die Cast by Jada Toys. The California-based company is well-known, I’ve learned, for their awesome die cast car models, which are a must for collectors who are into authentic, spot-on replicas of their favorite rides. Continue reading
This week on Funko Friday, I’m finally welcoming my very first Deadpool figure into my varied collection of Funko’s Pop! dolls. I’ll be honest if it weren’t for my nerdy compadre Cory, who is a Deadpool superfan, I would likely have been oblivious to the character’s existence until the movie came out. And what a movie that was. Played PERFECTLY by Ryan Reynolds, the “merc-with-a-mouth” slayed audiences, myself happily included, with a full-throttle ride full of blood, guts, unbridled profanity, and even a mushy love story. Reynolds proclaimed that he waited over ten years to make this movie, and just to prove a point to that end, reportedly stole the character’s trademark suit from the set. Continue reading
This week on Funko Friday, everyone’s second favorite character (arguably) from Marvel’s blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket Raccoon takes the stage! Rocket, featured in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series, is a galactic warrior who in his current state was born of genetic experimentation that granted him superior intelligence, and the ability to walk on two legs. He was also given a raging attitude and hangs out with a mutated tree named Groot. And this, my friends, is how intergalactic fiction can be great.
In the movie that nobody saw coming, and that nobody expected to do as well as it did, Rocket, the pint-sized mammal with a mouth was voiced by Bradley Cooper. If you didn’t know any better, you’d never guess that it was Cooper, as Rocket’s gruff, gravelly intonation was most certainly a put-on for the actor. I can’t imagine it was anything short of a blast to do, however. Rocket will be returning to the big screen to get into more trouble with his merry band of misfits for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017.
Peter Quill: I can’t believe I got taken down by a raccoon
Rocket: Raccoon? What’s a raccoon?
Peter Quill: You are! I’ve seen many of them, like you, on Earth!
Rocket: Ain’t nothing like me, except me!
I picked up the Rocket Raccoon vinyl Pop! doll from Funko at Hot Topic a while back, as the store’s combination of selection of the collectibles and “buy one, get one half-off” sales is, well, just goddamn irresistible. This model of Rocket is depicted as he appears throughout most of the movie, in his orange body suit, gripping his weapon of choice. Let’s not forget the menacing stare – he may look diminutive, but he’s fierce. Look at him, he’s about to kick your ass. The Rocket Pop! is also one of the select few that features a bobble-head! Funko’s line of Pop! dolls also consists of Star-Lord (masked and un-masked), Gamora, Drax, several versions of Groot, Ronan, Nebula, Yondu, Thanos, and The Collector!
This has been another edition of Funko Friday here at The No Seatbelt Blog. Past and future installments of this series can be found under “The Toy Chest” section on my website. Check out all the other blogs that I write on movies, music, beer, toys, and more, every week! Until next time, keep calm and collect on!
This week on Funko Friday, I introduce one of the newest additions to my collection of Pop! vinyl dolls, Daredevil! I picked up this Hot Topic-exclusive the other day at the mall, and I can’t say enough how impressed I am with the store’s ever-increasing selection of these great collectibles. Their enormous wall of Funko’s signature line of toys is the sole reason I would ever set foot in one of their stores these days, lest I be blinded by obnoxious pastels splattered all over everything. Continue reading
Funko Friday is back at The No Seatbelt Blog, casting a spotlight on one of my favorite superheroes of all-time, Spider-man! I have always loved Spidey (and have had to put aside my abiding hatred for actual spiders), and since Marvel has brought him to the big-screen over the past decade, that love has only grown. When geeky, science-obsessed teen Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, he is blessed with superhuman strength and the desire to rid New York City of crime. Continue reading
Groot is perhaps the most lovable member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a group of intergalactic troublemakers who nobody but the most seasoned Marvel comic book geeks had ever heard of before the movie came out. This big, dumb tree, voiced by none other than Vin Diesel in the film, only says “I am Groot!” throughout, with only his buddy Rocket Raccoon being able to understand him, knowing that each time he says it, it means something different. It’s quite entertaining to watch Rocket translate and then respond to the same declaration again and again, and the gag is used just enough to not be annoying. Continue reading
This second edition of the world’s greatest nerd box from Marvel and Funko is centered around the movie studio’s newest release, Ant-Man, starring my personal hero and the man who I’d want to play me in a movie, Paul Rudd, as well as Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, T.I., and rising star Corey Stoll (of the wildly successful Netflix series House of Cards). This box contained Funko’s unmasked Ant-Man Pop! doll, along with the shrunken version which is the company’s smallest vinyl collectible. Along with that, there were two bobbleheads, including another unmasked Ant-Man, and Yellowjacket, the movie’s villain. Continue reading
In April of this year, Marvel, in conjunction with the toy company Funko, launched Marvel Collector Corps, which is a bi-monthly subscription-based nerd box of epic proportions. Each box comes complete with at least one of Funko’s popular Pop! vinyl dolls, other collectibles, a t-shirt, a comic (so far), and a collector’s pin and patch. Everything found in the box is 100% exclusive to it- you can’t get it anywhere else! Continue reading
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