3B's Toy Hive

Last year I was happy to see more Golden Age JSA members make it into DCUC. The year it seems Mattel was holding out until the latest wave to release more of them. Wave 19 is composed of all JSA, or JSA-related figures, even the "collect & connect" figure, S.T.R.I.P.E. I'm mostly interested in the GA characters, though, so The Atom and Sandman were on my priority list. Let's see how they turned out.

Boom! Today I'm reviewing my first ever Kofi Kingston action figure. I can't say I'm a huge fan of his, but he's nonetheless a very talented Superstar and consistently delivers great in-ring entertainment. His WWE Elite Collection debut came in series 4, but I wasn't too crazy about the headsculpt, something I thought would be improved on a future release. Apparently that was wishful thinking on my part. Let's jump into this review and see if we'll need to send an "S-O-S" to Mattel.

Although Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics toy line proved popular enough to sustain itself through their online collector store and ridiculous subscription model, they weren't sure that success would carry over on to retail shelves. To test the waters Mattel decided to create redeco'd versions of the most popular characters and pair them with characters from the DC Universe, borrowing figures from the Classics line. Aside from the initial set featuring He-Man and Superman, none of the two-packs proved successful enough to continue creating them, so the tactfully titled DC Universe Classics vs. Masters of the Universe Classics line was cancelled, but not before three more sets were released. Let's look at one from the final wave.

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're getting ready to enjoy a good meal with family and friends. If you've been eagerly awaiting the final reveal in the Hive's "Christmas Comes Early" contest, then rest easy! The final piece is revealed after the jump!

Today I'm reviewing a little third party figure/accessory that serves to enhance your TransFormers collection. Remember in the G1 cartoon how Megatron would convert into a powerful pistol that another robot could wield? Well, the old toys never had an in-scale Megatron pistol, instead Megatron would transform into a toy gun YOU could play with. But now in this cool age of third party toys, we can finally have our "classics" Starscream blast Autobots into oblivion with his own Megatron handgun. Check it out!

Today I'm (finally) finishing out my reviews for WWE Legends series 3 with the last figure, Brian Pillman. I wasn't a fan of Pillman during his brief time in the WWE in mid-to-late nineties, but his contribution to the industry left a lasting impression on fans and Superstars alike. Like his fellow Hart Foundation member, Davey Boy Smith, Brian Pillman belongs to that group of entertainers that were lost way before their time. I wasn't crazy about how the British Bulldog's figure turned out, let's see if Pillman's faired any better.

With the news of the name change and new address today I thought it was the perfect time to reveal the fourth part of our "Christmas Comes Early" prize package! Yep, this one includes two figures! First up is the Elite Series 3 Randy Orton figure that was reviewed just a few days ago! Second is a WWE Legends Sgt. Slaughter which I painstakingly (not really) customized with black wristtape as suggested by Facebook follower, Jeff R., a couple of weeks ago. Now the Sarge matches his card art and we all know how rare that is in the Legends line!

Orton and Slaughter join a prize package that includes the TRU-exclusive Mr. McMahon, WWE Rumblers HHH & HBK, a mint-in-package Hillybilly Jim and the as-yet-unrevealed, fifth item. The last figure will be revealed on Thanksgiving Day and you will have until midnight on December 1st to enter for your chance to win! Follow this link for complete rules and instructions on how to enter.

Good luck!

Hello readers! I just want to take a moment of your time and announce that "Killer B Hive" is now "3B's Toy Hive"! I found that the old name and address was painfully long to type out, so I decided to create a custom domain name. I felt it was a great time to change the name to something that at least hints at what the blog is about. You'd be surprise to know how many bee enthusiasts would write complaining about the lack of bee content. That last sentence is completely false.

Anyway, welcome to the Hive... um, I mean the TOY HIVE! Very soon you can access the blog at the new address: 3bstoyhive.com and the previous web address will still redirect here, so don't worry about updating your bookmarks. Thanks for following along!

In my continuing effort to review all WWE Elite figures (or at least all the ones I own) I'm bringing you a figure from early on in the Elite series. Today we're looking at Randy Orton from way back in wave 2. Ironically I've already reviewed Orton before in the WWE All-Stars series of two-packs, which was released over a year after the E3 figure. Well, no time like the present...

Ready for the next reveal in KBH's "Christmas Comes Early" contest? Well, if you can't see the image above, it's WWE Legends series 4's Hillbilly Jim! What better way to celebrate the holiday with the big bearded man, than having an action figure of a big bearded man?!

This one is brand-new, mint-in-package, waiting to join YOUR collection! So enter now for your chance to win HBJ, WWE Rumblers Triple H and Shawn Michaels, the Toys R Us exclusive Vince McMahon and two more, soon-to-be-revealed, prizes! The contest ends on the 1st of December at midnight (so you have all day Dec. 1st to enter).

For complete rules follow this link and read them before submitting your entry. You can now enter via any of the contest-related posts on KBH's Facebook page, however, you can only enter once, so DO NOT ENTER ON EACH POST. Don't worry, all entries will be included in the final drawing.

Good luck!

Today I'm finishing out my reviews of Mattel's WWE Legends series 2. Kamala is part of a wave that focused on wrestlers from the same era of (then) WWF, including: Iron Sheik, Jimmy Snuka, Rick Rude, Terry Funk and Jake Roberts. While I remember those other guys fairly well, my recollection of Kamala is really vague. In fact, if not for his outlandish attire, I'm sure I wouldn't remember him at all. As such, I don't have much to talk about in terms of the character, so we'll just be taking a straight-forward look at the figure and see what he brings to the collection.

Heavy Labor is the second release in TFC Toys' "Hercules" series of transforming construction vehicle-themed robots. The series is an obvious homage to the classic TransFormers Decepticon subgroup, the Constructicons, and their combined form, Devastator. Heavy Labor is specifically based on Long Haul, who transformed into a dump truck and formed Devastator's lower torso. Does this second release build upon the foundation laid by the first "Hercules" figure, or give cause to quit now and skip the rest of the pricey team? Let's find out!

Yesterday I reviewed a Shawn Michaels figure and today I'm giving one away! Yes, the second part of the Hive's "Christmas Comes Early" prize package includes Shawn Michaels and his best buddy, Triple H, from the WWE Rumblers series! These were the actual figures used in my review earlier this year and now is your chance to win them!

Follow the contest link to the right for instructions on how to enter for your chance to win these two figures, the TRU-exclusive Mr. McMahon, PLUS three more yet-to-be-revealed figures!

Good luck!

Mattel may have replaced their inaugural WWE Entrance Greats collector line with the better articulated WWE Defining Moments, but that doesn't mean the EG line was without it's gems. Case in point, "the Heartbreak Kid", Shawn Michaels, commemorating his entrance (and subsequent first World Title victory) at WrestleMania XII. When he was first released I thought he was a cool figure, but not twenty-two dollars cool, so I skipped him. But just a couple of months ago I spent several weeks hunting for bargains at the major discount stores and just a couple of days after finding EG Undertaker, I found HBK for 8 bucks and change!

We're just a few days into November, but it seems will be chowing down on turkey and pumpkin pie soon and then the horror that is "BLACK FRIDAY" will once again be upon us. I haven't done ANY Christmas shopping, yet, and can't say I'm looking forward to it either. Just the thought of standing in long lines at the toy stores makes me cringe... Thankfully, while I'm home and can sit back and enjoy the toys on display this month.