Cons had a big presence on our little show this week, including TFCon, MCM, 1027, and more. Mastermind Creation’s new Devastator won big against Hasbro’s. The biggest baddy for Joe has finally come to fruition. Star Wars had its own new big bad added to its Black Series line. Meanwhile, the only Masters news was there would be a con four months from now.

Hasbro represented at New York Comic Con. Well, kind of. I think Joe stole the show again with the absolutely amazing Snake Eyes and Polar Bear. The only real stand-out for Star Wars was the Revenge of the Sith carded Black Series Commander Cody. Transformers was pretty light too, but Mandalorian Crossover N-1 looked alright. Mattel was a no-show, so the only booth repping Masters was Mondo. Not a lot of surprises, but their Faker v2 looks nice.

I have to admit I totally forgot to post this episode. All of my reminders and tracking methods failed me. I didn’t even notice until I was adding the episode for tomorrow. Mrs. McFavorite and I have a big date night tonight, so I have to make this quick.

Roll out!

I’m really lucky the big four are pumping some great mass-release toys. I’ve been hot and cold on New Eternia, but loving the Roboto. I missed Cosmos the first time around. I will definitely enjoy opening him at a $25 price point instead of $70-80. Speaking of great, I am so happy to see Shadows of the Empire in the Black Series. We’ve talked about Dial Tone a couple of times now, but the Classified team did not disappoint.

Something that’s definitely manageable for collectors are kid’s meal toys. Looks like Transformers One is not going to disappoint. Classified continues to manage their assets correctly, including the amazing job done on this Dial Tone backpack. The least manageable scale, in my opinion, is 12 inches. But the Jumbo 14.5-inch IG-11 is pretty dope. Since there was no MOTU toy news, we’ll have to settle for the announcement of Camila Mendes as Teela. Let’s hope that Amazon manages to finally get this project out the door.

We had a few instances of this over the last couple of weeks. The Once a Man SDCC Cobra Commander sold out way too fast, twice. Mattel’s new Snake Lair looks like it might be going back to the drawing board. When will these companies learn that we don’t all want $500 toys? The Four Horsemen put out one of their lowest-priced Mythic Legions figures to date, which also turned out to be one of their most popular figures, selling out much faster than most anticipated. The Origins concept figures Lord Gr’Asp and Terroar found a new home at BBTS, but if you didn’t act fast, you probably missed out again.

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joe!

Since I’m behind on getting these posted, I’m going to skip the insight into my life. That’s usually the first paragraph of each post. However, I will say what my favorite things were from each franchise. While the Rattler is amazing and already backed, my favorite Joe item is a Transformer. I’m very excited to see the crossover line continue with Kup as the Triple T with Slaughter and Leatherneck. For Transformers, Hasbro finally came up with a good reason to combine Dinobots. The Dinoking box set looks like it will be a lot of fun. I missed some reveals from Masters, but of the ones I did see, I think I’m most excited for New Eternia Roboto. Star Wars, as usual, was the least interesting, but minimally we’re finally getting a Blurrg from The Mandalorian.

It’s going to be one of those weeks. So, I’m going to bow out of writing this time around. We have tested our technology for doing the G.I. Joe: The Movie commentary, and we’re going to do it live. Listen to our next show for details.

Indie companies have been flexing their expertise as of late. No longer relegated to just making 3rd party add-ons, these companies are now direct competitors to the big boys. Ramen’s new modular tank is simply amazing. Longtime Transformers 3rd party company Fans Hobby comes in swinging with a new Sky Hawkesque vehicle. Companies are even picking up new licenses like C.O.P.S. n’ Crooks. Some of the best stuff is comimg from forgotten trademarks that have been reimagined.