Posts

My Favorite Things From Target’s Halloween Section!

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It’s been a few years since I’ve reviewed Target’s Halloween offerings. To be honest with you, it was a mixture of things. A combination of not feeling the Halloween spirit as much as I once did and Target kinda phoning in didn’t help. Yes I know that may be controversial to say, but the last few years, I just haven’t been blown away by Target. I mean not every year is going to be the biggest and best ever, I get that. Sometimes you need a year or two to calm things down to bring you back up. And if I may say that after my latest trip, Target DEFINITELY brought me back up. I think the fact that all the Target stores near me have been taking their time setting up kinda helped. By mid October (sometimes even as early as late September) I’m just over Halloween and it usually has to do with so many places putting out decorations food and costumes so early while I’m trying to enjoy the summer. I mean I can’t dive into a pumpkin cookie while it’s a hot day outside and I’m enjoying lemonade a
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Review: Colonel Mustafa Elite

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  Just when you think he’s gone, Iron Sheik always finds a way to come back when you least expect him… Hey! Wait a minute, that isn’t the Iron Sheik! This is Colonel Mustafa, a member of The Triangle of Terror! Back in 1991 when Sgt Slaughter turned his back on America and became an Iraqi sympathizer, the WWF decided he needed to be paired with Sheiky Baby, now reborn as the evil Colonel Mustafa. One problem…Sheik was from Iran. So it was a little weird to for many people to see Sheik, even in storyline, trade up for another country that was usually at odds with his homeland. But that’s another story for perhaps a more knowledgeable blogger.  This gimmick and storyline went over my head as a kid but in a bit of childlike naivety, I didn’t care because Sgt Slaughter was the champion and he was one of my heroes. Now? Yeah I can see it being bad taste. That said, Sheik got a nice little run alongside the Sarge and their manager General Adnan including a main event spot at Summerslam 1991!
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Tribute To Lionel Kiddie City

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  So a discussion on Twitter prompted me to think about my favorite childhood toy store and I thought I’d bring it here. I’ve been meaning to write this entry since I began this blog(I’m talking even pre-HorrorMovieBBQ days!) and while I’ve written tributes to other places and memories, for some reason this just always fell by the wayside. Well not after today. I’m gonna give you a trip down that blue and orange memory lane and help you turn that frown upside with a tribute to Lionel Kiddie City Toy Stores!!!! In my area growing up, specifically the Annapolis location, Kiddie City was king. From what I’ve heard other locations where called Play World but I can’t recall one being in my area. That’s ok, because we had a darn good store to explore. And it remained an enormous part of my childhood until it closed around 1993. At that point, Toys R Us had moved in, no more than 2 miles, down the street on West Street directly across the street from the Annapolis Mall(which had a great KayBe
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Figure Review: The Warlord

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The Warlord Elite 87. 2021   There’s a lot of excitement in the wrestling figure world these days. Lots of new independent companies popping up, some fun podcasts are thriving and new and old fans are rediscovering the hobby of wrestling figure collecting! It’s the best time to be a collector! Naturally, Mattel is at the forefront of the game with their WWE line. Continuing the tradition of delivering some of the best figures of the past and present in their Elite line, the company recently revealed that we fans will get a chance to grab a figure of one of the most memorable and intimidating stars of the 80s and 90s: The Warlord! Featured in his Powers of Pain tag team attire, this isn't Warlord’s first figure rodeo! He’s received many other figures through the years and while this new figure looks absolutely terrific, I wanted to showcase and pay tribute to what I believe is his best figure ever… Released by Mattel in 2017, this amazing figure    represented The Warlord in his Spa
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Opening A Pack Of American Gladiators Cards!

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 I've been on a massive American Gladiators kick lately thanks to the 24 hour AG channel on PlutoTV. In fact, I think I'm even more in love with this show NOW than I was in 1992. I've really been sent down some deep rabbit holes in regards to our heroes and naturally that's taken me on eBay journeys as well.  Thankfully Gladiators merch is rather cheap, especially the action figures. Those things are super easy to hunt down. I mean, heck I was able to find one for .50 at a flea market just recently. Other merchandise for the brave and beefy heroes of the Gladiator Arena became run the gamut from lunchboxes to candy bars to video games and of course the old reliable of any quasi-popular franchises from the dawn of time...TOPPS TRADING CARDS! I was recently gifted a pack of these beauties from my friend Brandon aka BORT and decided I needed to share the wealth with you guys. So come take a journey back in time and check out these amazing pieces of 90's beefcakery!    
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Review: WWE Legends Series 10 Big Van Vader

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 Oh it's time alright...   Big Van Vader, know to be one of the greatest "big men" in pro wrestling history, has had many action figures through the years so it's kinda hard to give collectors a new reason to buy another one. We've already seen two previous figures of the legend(mainly in his well known WCW and WWF gear) released in the Legends and Elite lines but Mattel decided to give us something relatively new:   This figure, recently released in the most recent Legends series, is based more on his New Japan days and his WCW debut in 1990. The appeal of this figure, in my opinion, is that we here have never gotten a figure of him in this particular getup. Like...ever! I don't exactly know the reason for not seeing this version of Vader but I am glad we're finally getting it in this form. I don't think it would've been done justice had it been released during the Classic Superstars/RA(Ruthless Aggression) era in the mid to late 2000s. The proll
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The 2021 Flea Market Kickoff!

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    Well, last year was a bust for flea markets. Then again, thanks to COVID, everything was a bust. As much as I look forward to flea market season every single year, digging through dusty bins of old tapes and action figures weren't exactly on  my list of things to do. That's anxiety for you. I don't think I was ready but after being vaxxed, buying a sexy( read: bland looking) mask, and noticing that I haven't bought old vhs copies of Cannon Films lately, I was beyond ready. Plus, I suppose being outside and knowing the flea market would instruct people to wear masks, kinda helped. And believe it or not, most if not all people were wearing masks, which for someone who gets paranoid, was very assuring to see.  
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