Hasbro 2010 Marvel Universe Series 3 #010 Cyclops

I'm overwhelmed. I never was a super hero toy collector until I started collecting Batmobile's, and then some of the fast food restaurant super hero toys that were in some tied in to Batman. After seeing "Captain America The First Avenger" in the theater last year I bought a few more figures, then a few more, then more....arrrrrgh! I've now started to take pictures of my acquisitions and in doing a little research it is now clear to me that this is a fruitless task. I never fully realized until just a couple of weeks ago just how MANY different super hero figures the toy companies have produced. These things must generate a healthy income otherwise they wouldn't keep spitting them out the way they do. Okay, so here's the deal - I'm gonna post what I have for Sunday Comics Sunday's here at Toys & Stuff which should take us into May or June and once that's done I may have to move on to other things. perhaps I'll pick a certain hero (or villain) or group of heroes and just stick with that. We shall see...

Now, on to today's featured toy - Hasbro's Marvel Universe Series 3 #010 offering from 2010, Cyclops! Cyclops was the first member of the X-Men enlisted by Professor Xavier. His history is long and convoluted as befits today's super hero story telling - the twists and turns in his 'life' are what keeps the comics going and for a better understanding of who and what he is check out Marvel Universe at:

http://marvel.com/universe/Cyclops

The toy itself is of the 4" scale variety and comes with a display stand which has the character's name and series number on it. I also noticed a defect in some of these stands. There is a problem with the little pegs which are supposed to fit under the feet of the figure.One of the pegs are too long (or the hole in the foot is too short) to accept the peg. I had to trim it down in order for the figure to stand halfway decent.  Still, it's a neat figure and the base allows for easy display. Enjoy!

2011 Hasbro Comic Series #02 Captain America Paratrooper Dive

Well, I took the plunge - sort of - by purchasing some more Marvel Super Hero Figures. But really, what better way to celebrate a day Toys & Stuff has set aside for the Comics, in toy form of course. Today on Sunday Comics Sunday we have the 2011 Hasbro Comic Series #02 Captain America Paratrooper Dive. Now, this toy is supposed to represent a character which appeared in the comic but it is so close to what was presented in the movie, "Captain America, The First Avenger" that it still becomes a nice reminder of that movie experience. The biggest difference is of course the weapon the toy Captain is wielding, being of a more modern outline. The set comes with a 13 1/5" (34.3cm) diameter parachute with strings attached which in turn attaches to Captain America's harness. The idea is the fold the parachute, wrap the string around it a few times, and give it a hardy toss into the air and watch him float to the ground. Personally, I haven't yet tried it so I can't report how well it works. There is one small flaw to this set: the edges of the fabric parachute aren't finished (hemmed). If you look closely at the photos you can see where threads are already starting to separate. This is a part of the toy which won't last long - what a shame, because it's a neat toy. I'm not a seamstress, I don't work with fabric, so off-hand I have no suggestions as to how to remedy this. 

Also featured in today's blog is a neat item most people will never get the chance to see. Here's the background. About two years ago, if my imperfect memory serves me well, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES - pronounced 'A-fees') started passing out, free-of -charge at the register - mini- comics of Marvel Super Heroes. I call them mini-comics as they were only a few pages long, not full blown graphic novels. All the artwork was original and they were exclusive to AAFES customers. Now, dummy me, I have already gotten rid of these first issues, having done so prior to starting my blog. Crap! Oh well. Not all of the these freebies are comics. The cover shown below is actually from a 14pg coloring book which is essentially one long advertisement for AAFES with a few pages devoted to AAFES history dating back to the American Civil War. You'll notice the top of the cover is cut off - not the result of a bad scan, the original wasn't cut properly. If I come up with more I'll post them but today's selection was a natural as it features Captain America. So, without further ado, let's get on to the the photos - Enjoy!

An extract from the coloring book. here's something you won't see every day; Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor at a burger burn!