Don’t get me wrong, I know they’re trying to preserve a good bit of the G1 characters, and that this is supposed to be a darker chapter in the series of movies… but holy frack, I will not be able to hide my disappointment towards the newly conceived Soundwave  “look”.  He’s my favorite Transformer of all time, so forgive me for being overly critical.  Considering he’s one of most sinister and menacing characters of the Decepticons, I would have expected the updated look to be this complex, and yes, in the 80′s he was no more than a mere boombox (which was why he was so freaking fun to play with)…but what the hell is he now!?

I suppose I should reserve any more judgment until after I see the film (which reportedly has been moved up 2 days from the original release date, to June 24th 2009 instead of June 26th.)

Here’s a gallery of the rest of them, for your consideration.  As far as feedback, what do you think of the new Soundwave?

via You Bent My Wookie

Aw. How cute. Classic, old school gaming papercraft toys. Pong is just precious.

You can download the template to print these out and make yourself, over at Marshall Alexander’s official website. This is definitely going to give me something to do during my lunch break at work, and on the way to Comic Con tomorrow. What? Talk to Tim? Hah! What a silly suggestion.

Enjoy!

Fold School Heroes via ALBOTAS

I like vinyl toys, but I’m not really into the whole Dunny thing the way some people (*coughTIMcough*) are. However these wonderful Dig Dug Dunnies by Ryan Crippen, the man behind Reactor 88, have certainly grabbed my attention.

Just look at them! You’ve got Pooka, Fygar, and the main man himself, Dig Dug.

You can read up more on these custom Dunnies over on Ryan’s blog.

Custom Dig Dug Dunnies via Offworld

Yes! Now you can act out the eternal battle of Bacon vs. Tofu with these neat vinyl action figures by Fred Flare. Who will you place your bets on? Mr. Bacon, who stands at about 5 and a half inches high, or Monsieur Tofu at 3 and a quarter? I think the answer is fairly obvious. Bacon, FTW!

Thanks to Brian, who has a custom made couscous figure, for the link! I will buy you a shot of bacon vodka at National Mechanics soon.

Tofu vs. Bacon Action Figures @ Fred Flare

I had this little gem sent to me over the weekend by Caroline and I totally want one.  Yes, I know what you’re thinking — A guy with a My Little Pony?  I think it’s ok, right?  I mean, it’s a stormtrooper and it’s totally crossed over into the Star Wars collectible genre where everything is fair game.

In any case, this modded figure was created by Mari Kasurinen, an avid My Little Pony customizer.  The My Little Alien and My Little Predator are fairly intriguing, as is the My Little Darth Vader if you want to pursue that Star Wars thing…however I think her best piece is My Little Joker (2nd Edition).  Yea, it’s a little disturbing, but that’s how you know it’s done right!

Click on the photo to see more!

Sent in by Caroline via MAKE

Yes, the title of this post has been confirmed.  First there was a rumor that a store manager position for a Lego store in King of Prussia was posted on Monster.com (I checked, it’s still online but I suspect they already hired someone …damn, I’m too late!)

Then a helpful enthusiast on FBTBForums noted that the official Lego Store website has announced three grand openings in the month of September, and the one in King of Prussia is one of them!

I’m particularly excited because at this very moment I’m blogging right from the heart of King of Prussia (I’m there 3 days a week).  What’s next?  Well I plan to organize some form of lunch-time field trip to the store and rousing co-workers into coming along seems to be working somewhat.

We’ll post Grand Opening details as soon as we know about them – keep checking back to find out, or you can email us if you know something we don’t!

In case you were completely out-geeked by fellow Star Wars fans and haven’t had anything to show for standing in line at Toys’R'Us’ Midnight Madness extravaganza, here’s something for you. The templates and instructions can be found at Japanese site Piro Model. Truthfully I think we could benefit from an english version of the site but the photos seem to be pretty self explanatory. Stay tuned for my attempt at one of these, especially their Shadow Stormtrooper version.

Some other Available templates:

• Clone Trooper (Episode II)
• Clone Trooper (Episode III)
• Stormtrooper
• Boba Fett
• Commander Cody
• Commander Neyo

I always enjoyed PETA’s “I Am Not A Nugget” campaign. Why? Because it’s hysterical. Little cartoon chick, you are a nugget. Deal with it. However, this adorable robotic baby chick by the people over at Brando, is not.

Produced by Sega, this little baby chicken will flap its wings, chirp, cry, and act like an actual chick. While you hold it, it’ll flap, pet its head or back, and it chirps happily. The baby chicks come packaged in clear eggs where it can sit on a little nest. In order to make these little chickens come alive, you’ll have to give it constant human contact. Without, it’ll only chirp once and a while, out of loneliness or something.

It’ll set you back a solid $30 US dollars. But it’s worth it. Especially if you were Phillyist’s asshole of the week, and need to start giving out robo-chicks instead of real ones.

Baby Robo Chick via Brando Toys

If there is one movie that I’m excited to see this summer, it’s Iron Man. Trailer after trailer, the movie just looks incredible. I was pretty skeptic about it at first, but I’m pretty sure it is going to be awesome.

To celebrate, you should pick up this sweet looking Iron Man bobble head for your cubicle. Seriously, the first person to email us with a picture of this guy in their cube, you’ll get a pair of tickets to see Iron Man when it comes out, on us. I’ll buy them. You can even photoshop it into your cube.

I say this because I’m pretty sure no one will do it, and if anyone does, it’ll be Tim.

Iron Man Bobble Head via Entertainment Earth

Hasbro is releasing their own line of vinyl toys, Mighty Muggs, and they’ve got some pretty cute looking figures lined up. Marvel characters, Indiana Jones, and of course, Star Wars, are all thrown into the mix. I know a certain social media guru who is going to want the Chewy figure.

I recently discovered Jinxed here in Philly… I wonder if they’ll be carrying any of these. They carry a ton of designer vinyl. Maybe Brave New Worlds will. We shall see.

Mighty Muggs @ Hasbro via Uncrate

Make no mistake, Tim and I really like designer vinyl and action figures. We even made a video about it, starring a Storm Trooper. Remember that? Good times. Btw, a new one is coming soon.

Coop, a photographer / artist / Japanese toy collector living in Los Angeles, has an amazing collection of Japanese monster toys, which he has been photographing in his Flickr. Give it a look, but be warned, he takes hot n00dz of models, and it might not be safe for work if you open one of those galleries.

Japanese Monster Toy Collection on Flickr via Boing Boing

You know, I’m willing to accept the fact that I might be a bad person. Because every time I see a new, cute, adorable remote controlled toy, all I can think of are the ways I plan on using it as a means of reigning havoc inside my cubespace on my poor neighbors. The iBird… is no exception.

This cute little RC flyer simulates the flight of a bird using “realistic” flapping wings. I’m not sure how realistic two pieces of flimsy plastic are, but it still looks neat. The official website states that it’s “ultra-tough to survive the roughest landings,” which is good, because if I get one, it will need to survive the roughest of crashes-into-heads-of-coworkers.

Here’s a link to the video of the little guy in action.

Check it out at the UK retailer here.