Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Costume Designs

Yeah, this actually doesn't look too bad. A significant improvement over Michael Bay's version of Transformers, these are actually recognizable as the characters they're supposed to represent. But knowing Bay, we should still expect the movie to be awful. Actually, knowing every and all Toy Line-turned movies, we should expect "Ninja Turtles" to be awful.

2.5 years of Toys and Bacon... What's next?

I've been producing content more or less regularly for over two years now, and now is the time to either take this to the next level, or scale it down significantly.

Some of the content I produce has been well thought out, starting out as a plan, going through a process like any article. I do research, I take pictures, I think thoroughly about what I will write. In order to maintain the schedule, I have also churned out zero-effort content. We're talking single pictures, news updates, content where schedule has taken precedence over quality.

I look through the list of updates from the year that has gone, and I see stuff like the recipe for How to make Artichoke Pizza, the list of the Top Ten Female Action Figures of the 80s, the article on Masters of the Universe Artwork, or the thoughts on toy collecting and nostalgia. 
All these are from 2013, and they are all work I can be proud of.

But I just don't have time to produce stuff like this every week. For every quality update, I see too many fillers, too much fluff. I can't stand by content that doesn't really fit my standards when I know what I'm actually capable of producing.

Truth is, I'd rather produce quality content when I have the time for it, than to stick with the schedule and share updates with no substance.

So going forwards, I will not bind myself to a schedule, but rather produce and share content when I feel I have something meaningful to say. I'll continue to produce articles on toys, recipes, top ten lists, even videos, but I won't promise content two times a week.

I think this is a good change, and I'd rather see Toys and Bacon 2014 contain ten great articles than 70 mediocre ones.

All this said, 2013 haven't been bad. Feel free to single out your favorite article I made this year. Feel free to share your own favorite recipes and toys of 2013, your opinions on the year in general even. I welcome your comments as usual.

If you have any sort of comments, suggestions, or even would like to write a guest article, let me know in a comment here, on twitter or on youtube.

Happy new year, people!

More Minecraft Action Figure Pictures

Just a few more from Tuesdays photo/filming session.

Minecraft Action Figures - A review...?

I reluctantly call it a review, because I feel I know far too little about Minecraft to do them justice. I can call it like I see it, and I can try to put it into context as an action figure collector. But the thing is, with the constant and seemingly endless amount of Minecraft spinoff effects, I'm not sure these action figures are a big deal.

They would have been to me, had I played even a minute of Minecraft, because these are great toys.

Read on for a closer look, or check out the video reviews on youtube of both Steve and the Creeper.

Marvel Legends Dr. Strange

Another video. This is Dr. Strange from Toy Biz' Marvel Legends line. This particular wave of figures came packed with parts you could use to build a giant sized Galactus. I showed Galactus here a while back. He's still my favorite Marvel Legend figure, but when I started playing a bit with my old collection, I notice that I actually like these toys. Yesterday I opened Dr. Strange, and he's an excellent figure in some ways, and not so excellent in other ways.

Snake Eyes v.3

In 1982, Hasbro released the first version of Snake Eyes. A very tactical design, clearly a commando, very different from the rest of the 82 line up. 1985 gave us the iconic design which we usually picture when we talk about Snake Eyes. A truly magnificent design, and a great action figure. Landed a spot in my top 5. And then in 1989 came the version that no one cares about. In fact, do anyone care about any 1989 G.I. Joe figures?

When I thought about it, I could barely remember any 1989 Joes. I know we got an updated version of Rock n' Roll. I know we saw a repaint of the impressive Payload mold from 1987. And... I know we got a new version of Snake Eyes. On it's own right a cool enough figure, but compared to the previous two versions, and even compared to the one that followed, it's difficult to care about this one. But I will try anyway. As usual, there are far more going on than you realize. Snake Eyes has tons of sculpted details, and actually came with an impressive amount of accessories - some of which I have misplaced over the years.

Snake Eyes is all black plastic, with silver paint applications. Not too exciting, but like I said, the sculpted details are numerous and impressive. He came with a backpack with nice details, a sword that would fit in the backpack. He came with a three-piece ninja-weapon I can't identify, and a blow dart gun and a machine pistol that probably lies in the bottom of my Joe box. This is absolutely a decent amount of accessories, even for a 1989 Joe.

What I really don't like about the figure is the head sculpt. His head just looks too tiny for his body. I also can't shake the knowledge of how Snake Eyes got hold of this costume. In the comics, our silent commando is about to be tortured by three clowns called "The Payne Brothers". One has black pants, one has black shirt, the last one has a black mask. Snake Eyes of course ends up taking out the three fools and steals their clothes. Now, why didn't they have more clothes? Why did only one of them have mask? I need to re-read this comic, maybe it actually is less ridiculous than I can remember.

Like I said, 1989 wasn't a strong Joe year... Until I gave it some thought.

We got two really cool army builders in the Alley Viper and the Night Viper. Some of the Joes were cool, like Backblast, Scoop and Stalker in arctic gear. Some of my favorite vehicles in the insane looking Arctic Blast, the dealy Cobra Condor, and of course, the mighty Thunderclap.

Fan favorite figures

Thunderclap was one massive toy with great playability

But there were reasons I could barely remember anything good about this year of Joes. We got a lot of wonky characters. Take a look...

Well this doesn't look dangerous at all...

Yes, that orange Cobra trooper has bombs strapped all around his ankles, and is carrying a cannon bigger than himself. Yes that Joe has machine guns connected to his hips, and is about to fight Cobra with a lawnmower.

I haven't been buying too many of the modernized Joes of late, but I doubt they have come around to modernizing Heat Viper and Pathfinder (the two guys above, likely to kill themselves as well as everyone around them). But we have seen modern versions of Alley Viper, and something that could pass for the Night Viper. Take a look:

But I digress. Back to our ninja...

Snake Eyes v.3 was modernized in the 25th anniversary line, and suddenly the design behind the character made sense. The previously sculpted details were suddenly functional, like the knives and the socket for the night vision goggles. Suddenly it was clear that this costume was a perfect blend between the "ninja" and the "commando", maybe even more so than the previous version.
This time around, the proportions felt more right too. In fact, the 25th Snake Eyes v.2 Is probably my favorite among the modern Snake Eyes versions.

Lego + The Simpsons

I've never been a die hard fan of The Simpsons. I mean, like any sane person, I've enjoyed the occasional episode when I stumble upon one, but I have never had the interest of watching entire seasons of the show. But I know there are many fans out there, enough for the upcoming Lego Simpsons sets to be insanely popular.

I can't confirm whether that Ned Flanders figure is production. The head looks weird, but we've seen similar oversized heads for instance in the Toy Story Lego series. The body looks like production to me.

Personally, I don't think this works as Lego sets. What sets could they possibly make? The inside of the power plant? The bar? The couch? At least they don't have to change skin colors for the figures. They are already Lego colored.

I will of course keep an eye out for the sets, but I'll pass on them - luckily, I'd say. Lego is sooner than later going to get hold of the building set license for something that really peaks my interest. Macross/Robotech? Starcraft?
They're probably also well underway with producing something like a Lego Galactus, or some other incredible set within the Marvel Superheroes line.

That said, I think it's interesting, and probably a wise move for Lego to do Simpsons sets.