3B's Toy Hive

Hello, readers! 3B here to prove reports of my demise were only partially accurate. Since my last post, I've been working on several customs (two of which you can view on the Facebook page) and I was on vacation the past few days. However, just like the Rock, I too have returned... home. And there's a bunch of great stuff coming up.

Keep your eyes peeled for more WWE and DCUC/GLC reviews, with a few other surprises I received for my birthday, along with in-depth looks at my current custom creations.

The 2011 New York Toy Fair wrapped up yesterday and there was tons of great upcoming stuff revealed! Like many fans I did not attend the event, but kept up to speed on the reveals thanks to several sites covering the show. I'm focusing on Mattel's reveals for their World Wrestling Entertainment lines. I recommend you click over to WrestlingFigs.com and/or Toy News International to view images of the figures.

When I started up Killer B Hive in May of 2010, one of the first figures I reviewed was also one of the first figures I purchased from Mattel's then-debuting WWE Elite Collection. That figure was the Undertaker. Looking back at that review now, I'm not happy with the handful of pictures I took and to correct that we're taking another look at Taker in a new edition of Stinger Shots!

The New York International Toy Fair starts today and press releases are already heading out. This comes from Bandai regarding their upcoming ThunderCats toy lines. Click on over to Inside Pulse for the release and several images.

The 4" line is obviously based on the new animated series, but thankfully Bandai is also releasing a collector-oriented "ThunderCats Classics" line based on the original cartoon. The first wave will include: Lion-O, leader of the ThunderCats and Tigra. These are looking pretty accurate to the old TV show. It looks like they may be made of hard plastic like Bandai's Power Rangers figures, but we'll have to wait and see how they turn out.

DC Comics' Blackest Night storyline has come and gone, but we can still enjoy great figures from the super maxi-series! Mattel's just starting to tap into the depth of characters involved in the series, but DC Direct has been churning them out almost before the first issue. Today we're looking at the story's big bad, the Black Lantern himself, Nekron!

At the end of 2010 both K-mart and Target stores had great sales on DCUC and I was able to complete waves 13 & 15, while scoring a few figures from the Walmart exclusive wave 14. Here's a look at the display's inside the Hive.

We're already over a week into February and while some of us are recuperating from Groundhog Day (you can celebrate it however you want, I drink beer and burn meat on my BBQ grill), others are preparing for Valentine's Day on Monday (which also happens to be my girlfriend's birthday). But before V-day drops, we have the New York Toy Fair! I'm really looking forward to seeing all the great stuff coming up in the next few months, especially with the blockbuster films slated for this Summer.

On top of all that, I'm anticipating my birthday next Thursday (the 17th), so seeing as next week will be pretty busy around here, I'm aiming to pack this week full of new reviews! I already started with today's look at CM Punk, but hope to add a Blackest Night figure that's been hanging around here since October and a two-pack of figures that I desperately tried to avoid. Of course, I have all of Green Lantern Classics wave 1 sitting here and several WWE Legends that have yet to be reviewed.

In the meantime, there are some cool contests going on at a couple of fellow blogger sites. I'd like to direct you to Freak Studios where you have a chance to win a very unique and interesting item. It's a fun contest and a cool blog, so head over there and check it out.

Also, Novelty's holding a contest for another Spy Monkey Creations/Poe Ghostal Exclusive fantasy accessory, this time the "Sword of Ages," at Toy A Day. Head over there for details and the usual non-stop toy fun!

Keepin' the prognosticating rodents at bay,

3B

CM Punk receives his second entry in Mattel's WWE Elite Collection this figure from series 6. At the time of it's release, Punk was already sporting a shaved head, so the figure was already somewhat out-dated. Let's take a look at what makes this figure unique and whether he's worthy of joining your collection.

I finally got around to purchasing a TNA Wrestling figure and here it is for review! TNA (short for "Total Nonstop Action") is viewed as more of an upstart promotion, although they've been around for nearly ten years. They would like to think of themselves as the new "ECW", but that's not the case. TNA has produced action figures before with different companies, but currently have a contract with former longtime WWE toy manufacturer, Jakks Pacific. Let's take a look at Shark Boy!

There are only a few clowns I actually like: The Joker, Krusty the clown... that clown on Bozo cups (although, that one has more to do with the ice cream than the clown himself). And that's pretty much it. That's not hard to believe, not many people like clowns, especially scary ones, but every now and then you get one, like the Joker, that's just the perfect amount of... twisted.