3B's Toy Hive

I don't know about you, but January kind of flew by! February begins tomorrow along with the countdown to my 30th birthday (17 days to go!). This year I wanted to keep better track of my toy-related purchases and thought it would be fun to add a new feature on the Hive where I recount my toy haul for the month. I debated doing this as a weekly feature, but decided it would be too much work (although they seem to have a good time with it over on OAFE). So instead I'll keep it on a 30-day schedule, linking all available reviews and eventually add a group shot of all the purchases. "SWARM" to see what came in this month!

The WWE is often criticized for the lack of new Superstars today, but one man seems to have received in enormous push and has more or less remained in the top-tier of the roster. His name is Alberto Del Rio and today we're looking at his debut figure in Mattel's WWE Elite Collection. His second Elite figure is already scheduled for series 14, so let's find out what this version has to offer.

Hello and happy Saturday to all!

Looks like 2012 is already shaping up to have it's own bit of action figure controversy. Apparently Hasbro cancelled the rest of their shipments of the Transformers: Prime "First Edition" series, at least in the US. WTF, Hasbro?! I've only seen Bumblebee, Starscream and Arcee in-store around mid-December. I skipped the Bumblebee because I already had the NYCC set, but I really liked blue Arcee and Starscream and was eagerly waiting for Cliffjumper, Bulkhead and Optimus Prime. I have yet to see those anywhere and I'm simply not willing (or able) to pay eBay prices for them.

The real bummer here is that the new(er) Prime figures already hitting England and a few other places under the "Robots In Disguise" series look like stripped down versions of the FE wave. They are significantly smaller and not nearly as detailed. I'm sad to say that it seems this line is strictly targeted to younger fans, but I'm perplexed on why they would invest in tooling the much nicer FE figures only to follow it up with new molds almost immediately. Truth is my toy budget is much less this year, so in a way it's a blessing that I can't get the FE figures and that I don't like the RID Prime figures, I'll be saving loads of cash!

In much better Transformers news, early reports from the London Toy Fair indicate that the "Generations" line will return later this year with figures based on the upcoming Fall of Cybertron videogame. Jazz was already announced and the line will feature at least 8 different characters. I'm just hoping for one thing, specifically: a Voyager-sized FoC Grimlock. Fingers crossed!

WWE fans, if you don't already now, the Legends line will make it's debut on www.MattyCollector.com this Monday (January 30th) with the release of Andre the Giant, a reissue of the SDCC 2010 "Ministry of Darkness" Undertaker and new, stackable display stands. This is the only way (except for probably RSC, at an inflated price) you will be able to buy new WWE Legends.

In Hive-related news, I finally completed TFC's monstrous Hercules figure (see available reviews here) and he is AWESOME! Look for reviews of the final two figures and then a review of the combined robot. Also, I received BTS' "classics" version of Soundwave, dubbed Sonicron, along with his "minions", Tremor (G1 Rumble) and Frequency (G1 Frenzy). I'm pleased with the mini-cassette figures, but Sonicron is a bit of a letdown. I also finally found WWE Elite 12 at retail and picked up Alberto Del Rio, Papa Shango and Kane in his debut attire. Reviews for those coming very soon!

That's pretty much the round-up for this week. I'm eagerly anticipating the New York Toy Fair next month to see what's coming down the pike this Summer.

Here's to good news!

Last week, TFC Toys surprised everyone by releasing the final two figures in their Hercules series of combining robots that serve as an homage to the classic Transformers: Generation 1 combiner, Devastator, well ahead of the original release schedule of Spring 2012. I promptly placed my orders for the last two figures and Madblender arrived yesterday while Neckbreaker should be arriving today. TFC caught me a bit off-guard, so today I'm reviewing the fourth figure released in the series, Dr. Crank.

He's based on Constructicon Hook, doubling as a crane and serving as the upper torso and head for the combined Hercules. To date this series has delivered some fantastic modernizations of the G1 team and I'm obviously in for the whole set, but how does the good doctor measure up to the rest of the team? Find out now!

Now entering it's third year in production, Mattel's WWE Elite Collection continues to set the standard for pro-wrestling action figures with great sculpts, awesome articulation and fantastically detailed accessories. Series 12 was released in late 2011, but serves as a great preview of what to expect from the line in 2012. Here is a review of my first (and so far only) Elite 12 figure, Randy Orton.

Don't have enough Ultimate Warrior figures in your collection? Have you skipped Mattel's first two UWs, waiting for the "perfect" one? Good news! Mattel recently unleashed their third Warrior figure (second in the "Legends" line) and it may just be the quintessential Ultimate Warrior action figure. But part of what makes an action figure great is not just the figure itself, but what accompanies it in the box and this version of the Warrior certainly has an odd choice of accessory. Jump ahead and find out if this Ultimate Warrior leads us to "Ultimate Victory" or ultimate defeat!

Today I'm reviewing my very first toy purchase of 2012, Eddie Guerrero, from the sixth wave of Mattel's WWE Legends. If you haven't heard by now the "Legends" series is coming to an end at retail, making series 6 the final wave you'll be able to find in stores. That had me a bit worried about whether or not I'd ever see the last set locally, after all it was technically released back in November, but all through the last two months of 2011 they were nowhere to be found. It wasn't until January 1st that I would find the first few series 6 figures at Toys R Us, including Kevin Von Erich, Texas Tornado and Guerrero. The other two figures: Kerry Von Erich and the Ultimate Warrior in his WrestleMania VI attire, were out of sight. My first choice was easy, "Latino Heat", Eddie Guerrero.

The final two figures in TFC Toys' "Hercules" series are scheduled to ship out this week. In anticipation of their arrival I'm looking to review the third and fourth releases, Structor and Dr. Crank, starting with the former. He is an homage to the G1 Constructicon leader, Scrapper, and similarly takes the form of a front loader (apparently, also known by several, similar names) and forms the gestalt's right leg when all six members merge. With the arrival of Structor we were halfway in for the six-member team. Let's see what Structor brought to the table and whether or not we jumped the gun on preordering the fourth member almost simultaneously with his purchase.

The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be. He is Bret "The Hitman" Hart and his first ever Mattel action figure was my pick for the best WWE Defining Moments figure of 2011. There's really nothing to complain about with this figure, so let's jump ahead for a gushing review of the Hitman!

I picked Mattel's WWE Defining Moments as my favorite action figure line of 2011 and with good reason. It delivered detail on an epic scale, case-in-point, this Undertaker figure. It may not have been my figure of the year, but it's impressive nonetheless. If you missed out on him last year, don't fret because he along with his wavemate, Stone Cold Steve Austin, are readily available online and should pop up at Toys R Us once they clear out some wave 3 Triple H and Ricky Steamboat figures.

Hello, Hivers and happy new year! I hope everyone had a great holiday break and is ready to start a brand new (and possibly final???) year of toy collecting. I've had some delays and setbacks in working on the blog, so I'm eager to get back to posting regularly. Today I wanted to share a few of the things I'm looking forward to the most this year. It won't be as structed as last year's 11 Toy Wishes for 2011, but hopefully touch on everything I'm excited about for the next 12 months. So, swarm ahead to read about 3B's toy wishes for 2012!