Day 304

Day 304 October 31^st

Happy Halloween!!

            Happy Halloween from MiniJeff Productions and everyone involved with Portrait of an Addiction!  Hope you have a safe and spooktacular time!!

…and here’s our ghosts after the shots been done!

Day 303

Day 303 October 30^th

Sundays with my Son

            Happy Halloween from my Ghostbusters ghosts!  Oops I forgot my clear Slimer with the food in him for this picture!  He is one of my favourites!

Day 302

Day 302 October 29^th

Custom SHIELD Dum Dum Dugan

            Once it was revealed that we would get a Dum Dum Dugan minimate from the Captain America movie this was a simple part swap custom that I am sure many people planned to do.  While I don’t have the Dugan minimate yet I did manage to grab this custom for a nice price on Ebay.  With the reveal of an actual comic SHIELD army builder I may end up changing the body around with that one, it will depend how it all looks, for now I am happy with how this one looks!

Day 301

 Day 301 October 28^th

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Undersea Rescue 2-pack Review

            This 2 pack is the second new set of people in the second series of M.A.X. minimates.  The undersea rescue minimates are designed to be able to find people or things lost in water filled regions.

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

Undersea Rescuer 1 – The first member of the undersea rescue team comes ready to get to the depths of the rescue with the big oxygen tank and full face mask; showing that he is ready for a deep dive.  This is actually an ingenious reuse of the slime blower tanks from the Ghostbusters movie line, huge props to DST for that design idea!  He has a nifty black wet suit with blue stripes on the arms that match well with the blue accents on his harness.  He includes some blue flippers that again match the blue he has elsewhere, great job making sure the colours match DST!  He is also outfitted with a knife and an ankle sheath for it.  Take off his dive tank and mask and he comes with a hairpiece and has a plain black torso block.  Looks good except for the fact that the dude in the package with him has a nice looking grey and blue tampo on his torso block; looks like this might be a case like the series one Law Enforcement set where only one of the minimates had a chest tampo.  No as serious here though since it is just a wet suit and not a police uniform.

Undersea Rescuer 2 – The second member of the search and rescue team is a ready for work in a bit more shallower area, outfitted in a sleeveless wetsuit and only a light scuba tank and eye mask.  He has the same blue flippers as the first guy, and the blue matches the blue on his torso as well as the blue of his scuba mask.  He has a silver belt that has a bunch of pouches on it, perfect to hold an assortment of tools that might be needed underwater.  This is a great looking minimate for shallow water exploration!

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First off is the extra set of arms, and the deep diving oxygen tank and harness chest piece.  These are attached to a clear torso block.  To go with that is another full face diving mask.  There is a set of bare arms to give the first rescuer the sleeveless look and both rescuers get s set of bare feet to swap with their flippers.  There is another knife and sheath as well as a cream coloured heavy duty flashlight.  There is also a spear gun and a larger blaster type gun, originally scene with the 90’s Cable minimates.

I feel the Undersea Rescue set to be a great new addition to the M.A.X. brand!  Underwater themed toys were always a fun part of my childhood memories of toys, especially in the G.I. Joe line so these score big points in the nostalgia category.  To tell the honest truth I have been most excited for this set, almost more then some of the other minimates coming out at the same time!  I even bought several things to be able to do some fun photos with these minimates once I have the time to get it all set up.  The lack of a chest tampo on the first rescuer is a bit of a miss on DSTs part I don’t really find it to be that much of a big deal since I will have multiples of them so some will just stay in the deeper diving harness all the time.  Even though the amount of gear in this set is probably the least amount of any of the M.A.X. sets I think they were really well done and give them 5 out of 5 with a splash!!

Day 300

Day 300 October 27^th

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Search and Rescue 2-pack Review

            This 2 pack is the first new set of people in the second series of M.A.X. minimates.  The search and rescue minimates are designed to be able to find people lost and hurt in hazardous terrain.

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

Search and Rescue 1 – The first member of the search and rescue team comes ready to get to work with the big rugged jacket chest piece in a bright blaze orange colour.  This piece is nicely detailed with all sorts of gear, pouches and a backpack; pretty much what you hope a person in his position would be outfitted with.  The arms match the coats bright orange colour with a black stripe running from shoulder to elbow and they added slip on elbow pad pieces, which completely makes sense given the line of work this minimate is in.  He includes bigger, more rugged looking boots, again perfect for this line of work and he also has a helmet that has goggles on it.  He does include a hairpiece for when the helmet is off and under the jacket he has the same black shirt tampo on the chest as the other guy does but this one does not include arms to completely remove the jacket!

Search and Rescue 2 – The second member of the search and rescue team is a bit more relaxed looking, wearing a black long sleeve sweater/shirt and a black and blaze orange vest which has ‘Search and Rescue’ printed in white across the back.  The torso block has nice grey lines on it and some definition lines, a nice looking top and I am leaning more to it being a heavier weight shirt like a sweater.  Instead of the helmet that his partner has on this guy has just a cap with goggles on it.  He also comes with a belt piece that has a knife in sheath attached to it, but the knife is a part of the belt and not removable.  Still it suits the look quite well.  The vest is of course removable and he comes with a hairpiece to swap with the hat. 

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First off is the extra set of arms, and the spare jacket piece; both of which are attached to a clear torso piece.  Along with this are the boots which are attached to clear leg pieces and of course there is another helmet.  There is also a spare set of plain feet so that the first guy can take off the big boots if need be.  These guys come equipped with two green heavy duty flashlights, the perfect tool for their job.  They also have two walking sticks and a coiled rope; though I do wish there would have been one or a couple uncoiled lengths of rope similar to the web lines that Spider Man gets in the Marvel line.  These would have added some extra fun and play factors to this set.  In this set there are two mobile phones and then another device which could be a G.P.S. device or something else like that.  I think my most favourite accessory in this set though has to be the medi kit!  A great tool for these guys, it is a great size and best of all it even opens up to show that there are some compartments and such inside.  The inside is not greatly detailed but just the fact that it opens is a nice touch right there!

As a new release to the M.A.X. brand I think these Search and Rescue guys fit into the line perfectly!  There is tons of playability in the set and the gear they come with is well planned to the job they have to do.  While I wasn’t as excited for these as the other new set in this series since I have them in hand I have great ideas and plans for them in photo shoots and can’t wait to lay some of these plans out more!  While it would have been nice to have the extra set of black arms to complete the non-jacketed look of the one guy I am sure it will be an easy to fix with a parts bin search.  This set climbs its way to a well deserved 5 out of 5!

Day 299

 Day 299 October 26^th

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Fire Fighters 2 pack Review

            This 2 pack is a rerelease of the fire fighters M.A.X. minimates from the first series.  This was done since the first release sold out so quickly DST wanted to ensure people could get their hands on these minimates.  What a great idea, kudos DST!

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

 Fire Fighter 1 – The first fire fighter in the package is the one in full fire fighter gear.  Much like the first release these guys have the great helmet and the huge jacket piece.  There are larger cuff pieces at the wrist to give the jacket a more complete look of a real fire fighters coat.  It even has the clasps on the front like an actual fire fighters jacket does!  Nice attention to detail right there!  The boot pieces are made to look like the high boots a fire fighter would wear yet are made in the style that makes them so much less bulky.  This is great as the bulky boots can sometimes really limit movement and playability factors.  Under the jacket is the blue t-shirt with the fire fighters emblem on the upper left chest and red suspenders.  A great feature but they did not include the non jacketed arms to complete the look.  The helmet is just like helmets you would see on real life fire fighters and has the number ‘77’ on it.  He also has a spare hair piece for when the helmet is off.

Fire Fighter 2 – The second officer in this set is in a more plainly dressed fire fighter, likely to be found hanging out in the station house waiting for a call. He is dressed in black pants and the blue t-shirt with the white crest on the upper left chest.  The red suspenders are a nice addition to the chest block and are nice a clean lines, no colour bleeding here.  In the package he is packed with the flashlight on a strap accessory. 

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First and foremost in this set is the extra set of arms, and the spare jacket piece; both of which are attached to a clear torso piece.  Along with this are the boots and helmet of course.  There is also another helmet that has a full face mask attached to it.  This goes along with the backpack style harnessed oxygen tank for when the fire fighters are in situations that they need the direct oxygen supply.  Also included for gear is a fire extinguisher, to axes, a pole arm and a jaws of life.  All of these are essential tools to the fire fighters and are nice made in the minimate scale!

As a re-release from the previous wave this is a great addition to the previous fire fighter forces.  The new hair piece was a nice nod to the fact that these are a new set.  It would have been perfect if they had included the t-shirt arms for the first fire fighter.  As with the law enforcement officers, my only other issue with this set is still the fact that they have the same faces.  Easy to fix with a parts bin but still would have been nice to change them from the first release.  This is a minor issue though since they are mostly just background characters and if I want any to stand out I can make that happen pretty easily on my own.  I give this set another smokin’ 5 out of 5!

Day 298

Day 298 October 25^th

**UPDATE**

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Law Enforcement 2 pack Review

            This 2 pack is a rerelease of the law enforcement M.A.X. minimates from the first series.  This was done since the first release sold out so quickly DST wanted to ensure people could get their hands on these minimates.  What a great idea, kudos DST!

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

 Law Enforcement Officer 1 – The first officer in the package is the one in full riot gear.  Much like the first release these guys have the great helmet and huge chest armour which includes two pistol holsters.  The chest armour looks like full on riot gear; being big and bulky and having all sorts of pouches for any kind of tools and equipment they might need.  The armour on the upper arm is a full sculpted piece along with removable forearm armour/gloves.  On the legs the armour and boots are both separate pieces, fully removable.  In his full gear he definitely looks ready to hold back any rioting hockey fans on the streets of downtown Vancouver or the mean streets of any Miniopolis.  The face under the helmet is a plain face with a more stern expression, a good face for a police officer.  The best part of the M.A.X. minimates is the fact that when you strip off the armour there are other pieces to put on for another look.  In this case once you take off the helmet there is a headpiece with a hat and hair.  Now in this release there is actually a uniform tampo on the chest block under the armour, a mistake corrected from the first wave.  The set includes an extra set of regular arms to swap with the sculpted arms as well as regular feet to switch with the boots.  So he can be completely transformed into a regular dress officer minus the belt piece that his partner in the set has; just a minor miss for this minimate.

UPDATE: The hat piece is actually not the same as the hat used in the first release.  The first release used the hat from the Blackhawk minimate where this release sees them use the hat used for General Ross; I thought it looked different but hadn't done a full on compare yet.  In the picture the series 2 officer is on your left, holding the phone and gun.  When discussing this with fellow collector, friend and genius behind Tales from the Minibar Eric, we made the discovery.

Law Enforcement Officer 2 – The second officer in this set is in a more plain uniform, the only added piece outside the hat/headpiece is a belt that looks very much like an officers belt would with various pockets for the things they have on their persons at all times.  The chest tampo is a great looking uniform top, a perfect look for a police officer.  Given that he has more of a on the street look I tend to have him posed with a pistol and the cell phone accessories. 

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First and foremost in this set is the extra set of arms, boots, leg armour and chest armour included to make the second officer in full on riot gear as well.  One fun feature here is the fact that some of this gear is held on clear minimate body pieces.  In this set the gear is on a clear torso, crotch and a set of legs.  I know some customizers really love this little bonus in these sets.  This set also includes another riot helmet as well as a gas mask.  The gas mask is rather a needed touch since on the weapons is a gas grenade launcher.  The other weapons included in this set are a shotgun, a rifle and of course the standard pistols.

As a rerelease from the previous wave there has been an improvement in the fact of the missing uniform chest tampo has been added.  It would have been perfect if they had included the second belt piece for the second officer.  My only other issue with this set is still the fact that they have the same faces.  Easy to fix with a parts bin but still would have been nice to change them from the first release.  This is a minor issue though since they are mostly just background characters and if I want any to stand out I can make that happen pretty easily on my own.  I give this set a solid 5 out of 5!

Day 297

Day 297 October 24^th

Dedicated to my good friend Jeff Hollick, in honour of his zombie filled obstacle course!

NYCC Maximum Zombies promo Review

            This promo was given away at the 2011 New York Comic-Con to help promote DST’s new in house line of Maximum Zombies minimates.

Packaging – As with all promos this one comes in a sealed plastic baggie and has a sticker affixed to it.  The sticker has the year on the top and the line title on it, in this case Maximum Zombies.  It also tells where it is from, so the NYCC logo is there too.  All other necessary information and the DST and Art Asylum logos are also on it; pretty standard fare for a promo minimate.

 The Zombie – Right out of the gate DST hits us with some great detailing on a basic minimate body!  The colours are bold and crisp and the yellowy skin has a nice zombie feel to it.  Nice facial details and expression go hand in hand with the great detailing of the shirt on the torso and they even gave some pants detail to the crotch piece.  All of this is great but it is the bloody gore detailing that helps push this one to the top as a great zombie minimate; he is covered in it!!  On the face, chest, arms and even the legs!!  The choice of hairpiece suits the look and the clawed hands are perfect!!

This minimate zombie is the part of the first crop of the new line and thusly carries a big role as flag bearer heralding the arrival of the Maximum Zombies.  Yet he doesn’t have a name and looking at him I am torn as to what exactly to call him.  I am leaning towards Carl for some reason.

Day 296

Day 296 October 23^rd

Sunday with my Son

            This setup is so much fun! I really like how the ghosts seem to be running the ship.  The clear Slimer has the picture of food in him, so neat!  The Ghostbusters have to clear the ship so everyone can come on.

Day 295

Day 295 October 22^nd

Pirate Ship

            I was defiantly not one of the people who complained about the ‘deformed’ or squished look that the vehicles in the minimates vehicle line had to be in order to work in DST’s price plan since it meant we would be getting vehicles which I think add a whole new level of fun and play to the minimate brand.  The first ship in the Pirate Raiders line is of course Calico Jacks ship and it does indeed add that next level of fun to the line.  Yes it is not in scale to the minimates but really it is so loaded with awesome that really doesn’t matter.  I don’t even know where to begin talking about it!  The amount of details in it are incredible, from the mast with crows nest (which has a foot peg!) to the frosted/semitransparent windows to the captains quarters, the opening doors to the captains quarters and the little lamps hanging outside that.  The flag and sail are both emblazoned with the skull and crossbones, done minimate style!  I have long been using a minimate-esque skull and crossbones as my Minijeff Productions logo but this one is pretty slick and might prompt me to revamp mine!  The mast is in several pieces which allows for some height play and if you purchase a second ship you can add the mast from that one to one ship as there are two holes on the deck for mast placements and they even mention it in the assembly instructions!  I love how the wheel is in scale to a minimate and they can actually hold the handles, makes for some great play and poses!  The top deck over the captain’s quarters flips open to allow a good access to the room below, which contains a nice chair for the captain to have a seat in it.  The cargo hold grate on the main deck opens to the hold below and the whole deck itself is removable.  The amazing wood details from the outside of the ship are continued below deck as well and there are rows of little cannons inside!  These are really neat looking and I love the fact that they actually slide back and forth (to a degree) to give for more detailed playing fun!  There are also hidden planks on either side of the main deck that slide out – I love this even though I recently learnt that pirates didn’t actually make people walk the plank as it was far too much hullabaloo and they would just throw the offender overboard or kill them.  Overall this ship is awesome!  Loaded with tons of details and fun I think DST has a great idea on its hands with the whole pirate line and I look forward to adding more of it to my collection!

Day 294

Day 294 October 21^st

Bearded Pirate

            This oddly unnamed pirate came with the first pirate ship in the Calico Jack’s Pirate Raiders minimates line.  My wife took one look at him and named him Ginger McBearderson and thus he shall be called!  He comes decked out in the flared boots and gloves common in this line.  His chest cap piece is a repainted reuse from Old Dad the Cooper and he also borrows the blunderbuss from him as well.  He has a great orange beard and hair piece (reused from Volstagg) which has some grey showing along the edges; really giving him a weathered pirate look.  Add to this a more hardened face with a scar over his left eye and it all adds up to a great looking pirate!

Day 293

Day 293 October 20^th

Cartographer – Glow in the Dark

            I am more than happy to see DST release another round of the minimate collector’s/carrying case.  It really is a well made case and has huge a usefulness especially for those of use that want a nice way to store/transport minimates that are not on display.  This release of the case came with a pirate minimate for the Calico Jacks Pirate Raiders line; more specifically it came with an undead glow in the dark pirate minimate!  DST has officially named this guy the cartographer and he is a variant of the minimate that is included with one of the upcoming pirate ships.  Some simple additions of a chain belt piece and wrist cuffs are really just bonus when you look at the awesome details on this minimate!  His facial details alone are great, with the big ‘X’ over an eerie yellow eye and the tattoo treasure map design that runs down the face and chest and even on the back of the torso.  When not glowing there are faint pink body details on the front and back of the torso as well as on the arms; these details pop out when the minimate glows however, looking great!  The cartographer is a great addition to the undead crew of Captain Vanes and will really look fantastic with the upcoming glow in the dark pirate ship!