Sometimes I Get Drunk And Talk About Toys. For YouTube.
 

So since a lot of places I wrestled for the past couple of years don't like to share footage, my YouTube channel's been kind of sparse. My wife and I were talking about ideas to get some new content going and have a little fun; we've been hitting the local flea market pretty hard lately, so we decided to try a video review series for vintage toys. It passed an afternoon.

Anyways, I know I'm not great at it, but it's alright for a first shot, I guess. We tried to have a little fun with it. First up is an animated Justice League Superman figure from 2003 that I picked up on Saturday.



The video works, the thumbnail picture will take its own sweet time, I guess.

I'm at least half-drunk for most of it. We shot some stuff for a second one that I think came out a little bit better. We'll see what happens.

Be nice, I'm new.

Hahaha... I love it. I wasn't even that far from the mark.

If nothing else I hope to get an angry phone call from Susan Sarandon outta this. :trazz:

It actually was a really good review. You gave good details.

Not sure about the missing scene cut aways unless they’re supposed to be part of the overall theme.

I too take my stuff out of the box. I think it’s better to display them. I’ve kept a few packages. It depends how nice they are.

I don’t collect Superman but I agree about that base. It sticks out too far. The peg should be in the middle. The figure should stand on the logo imo.

Also you remind me of someone but I can’t place it. :ohwell:

Well thanks brutha.

We just tried to have some fun with it and add a little humor to keep it from being too dry. A million people do really great videos and they've got all kinds of pro-looking stuff they can use to really shine their videos up, and I ain't on that level so we just tried to do the ol' ECW/punk rock "Make the most of what you have" gimmick on it. One thing I really used to love was old comedy records by guys like Carlin and Denis Leary, and in between the stage bits there'd occasionally just be some random gag or non sequitur; they'd last for two seconds but they'd make sure you were still awake and would sometimes be the funniest stuff on the album. So we decided from the beginning that we were gonna do stuff like that with the cutaways. Give it kind of a Monty Python/"Spinal Tap" kinda feel. We plan on doing more in future videos, we just got tired.

Aside from humor I try to give a little background info and historical perspective. I genuinely love this stuff, I mean it's literally my oldest hobby. I pretty much do this exact same thing every time I get a new figure; we just decided to film it and see how it goes. Like instead of just rambling to my wife about articulation, paint apps, and what year sh*t came out and so on, we'd just point a camera at it. :lol: I think it came out alright for a first try that we threw together in an afternoon.

I definitely keep at least the card backings for most of my stuff. If it's a really nice box and I can get the figure in and out with minimal damage, I'll often keep it. I mostly display things loose but it's nice to have the option of doing either/or; thankfully most newer packages allow for that.

I pretty much agree about the base. Although "Why put his logo there if he's just gonna be standing on it?", but I'unno, that's an issue with the bases in general. As it is, just those six small figures along with their display bases would eat up a whole shelf. I almost always prefer that a figure does come with a base, but that one seems like a neat idea that simply misfired. I don't hate it, though; it's just not what I would've done.

I'm sure I have no idea who I remind you of, although some people suggest a slightly more rugged and handsome Kiefer Sutherland. :tgrin:



Anyways, glad you liked it, I'm sure they'll get better. For starters, I'm much more drunk in the second video! :tgrin:

Not sure when it will be posted, but here's a hint: It's a toy from an amazing old-school Batman line... but it's NOT Batman.

Thanks for watching and giving feedback. I do sincerely appreciate it.

Ya I understand the cutaways. I think they’d be funnier if they tied into whatever you were reviewing. Like stuff that was supposedly not allowed in the review.

I still can’t place who but now that you mention Kiefer Sutherland I can kinda see it. :D

Terrific. Terrific!

I'll take it under advisement. It will probably end up being like that some of the time but not every time. I like the idea of the gag bits being as random as possible, just because I don't have to script or set up anything for starters, but also because it's less predictable.

Everything was also in one take. With the cutaways and on-screen text, my wife just put them in wherever she thought it was best. She puts everything together, I'unno how to do any of that sh*t. So when it came to the "extra" stuff I told her to just do whatever she felt like. I thought she made some interesting choices.

Oh. I thought the on screen text about shutting up and how you kept talking was funny.

She thinks she's very clever. :trazz:

Oh man, this was great. The random cutaways are perfect, if you had tv time for your other profession, this could so work for segments in between promos .:lol: (let me know if this is already a thing so I look stupid for suggesting it)

I love this. Please make every one at a minimum 20 minutes.

Thanks guys! We'll see what happens. :tgrin:

Of course mid-video I'm on eBay looking for that nicely iconic animated Superman figure......

Anything I can do to make a positive change in the world.:)

Longer. Drunker. Catwoman.



Huh. Thumbnail works this time.

Next one will be a sharp left turn as we get away from super-hero stuff for a little while.

Loved both videos; gave me something interesting to listen to while working.

"Popeye arms and chicken legs", LOL. Never heard that before, but hella accurate.

Now I know what to watch after work.

Well that's much appreciated. :tgrin:

I like the first one better but they're both pretty good. They were a lot of fun to record. I know they're a bit long - I tend to go on a bit when I'm drunk :lol: - but I really get nostalgic and emotional whenever I talk about this stuff. Some episodes will be shorter, some will be longer, a lot of times I'll do just one figure but in a lot of cases I'll do a couple at once if they're from the same line. It's gonna be all over the place, but figure 15-30 minutes depending on what it is. I've got some really awesome plans for when I get some of my stuff unpacked from storage.

I've already got a few things planned out but if anyone has any requests I can take 'em under advisement. Just FYI, I don't have any 80s Transformers or G.I. Joe stuff, I've had a few people ask about it but I never got into those so as of now I can't do 'em. :ohwell:

Thanks again.

Leo, your two reviews have both been glowing and positive. I'm curious to see you review a toy that you think ISN'T well made or serves its purpose well. Both ends of the spectrum, y'know?

Oh, I've definitely given some thought to that as well! :lol:

Thing is, I really do trend towards the positive as much as possible (in spite of my online reputation :lol:). BUT. As much as I love every single one of my toys, nothing is 100% perfect and there will definitely be some reviews that give me a lot to talk about as far as things that could have been better.

For example, in brief: I have over 100 DC Direct figures from between 2000 and 2009. Anyone who's ever had an entire limb snap off from a stiff breeze, or tried to make a female figure stand without a display base, can write you a f*cking novel about these things. :lol: Lots of good, but some BAD as well. I'm definitely gonna be doing a good number of these, so rest assured, all flaws will be covered!

That doesn't even get into the horrible WCW OSFT figures, or the early Jakks WWF stuff. Rest assured, it's not gonna ALL be sunshine and rainbows, haha.

It's just gonna inevitably be more positive than negative because if something looks like sh*t I don't buy it. :trazz:

Drunk? More like unsure of yourself. You are so sure of yourself in the forums and in the ring. Youtube is not much different!

Justice League figures? My brother has a near complete set out of the package. Myself? I stuck to just Bat villains and Spider Villians in heroclix outside TMNT figures, I am a selective and vile kind.

Well it ain't like sh*t's free (or even cheap!), brother. I totally understand how most people have to be quite selective with their purchases.

With most lines I only try to get one of every "major" character in their most basic or traditional look, and even that can be a huge undertaking.

That's why I have a ton of DC Direct but only a handful of Mattel DC figures, or how I have a million Jakks WWF/WWE but only about a dozen Mattel WWE ones. If I'm heavily invested in one line, it's VERY tough for me to shift gears into another, similar line, even if it's got some improvements.

Can't have everything. That's the toughest thing for anyone to deal with.

These remind me of, like, 2009 YouTube and I love it.

I'd love to see you review some of the more f*cky DC figures, like those Legends of the Dark Knight ones. Those would be hilarious. I'd recommend the Joker with another Joker inside him, or Annihilus Robin.

Hahaha, I skipped all that sh*t on purpose. Maybe if I find something outrageous for cheap.

As a rule I always skipped those kinds of things because they're essentially clutter. Even as a kid I hated that goofy sh*t. :lol:

Yeah, we're not very tech-savvy people so it's a low-fi, no-frills project. I'm hoping to skate by on personality. :tgrin:

Second review was good.

I only have a few Batman things. A figure from the 89 movie and some different Batmobiles. I have this really tiny one that must have come from Micro Machines. It’s really cute.

Only Catwoman I’d consider getting is the Neca Batman Returns figure or if an even better one gets made. I’ve always liked Michelle Pfeiffer.

Eh. She's alright. It was an interesting performance but it's nothing at all like Catwoman, aside from the whip. The review figure is pretty much my favorite look for Catwoman, I think, aside from the '66 TV show.

DC Direct did some awesome Catwoman figures, including one with pretty much that same outfit (but a more comic-accurate color scheme), so hopefully I'll get to talk about those at some point. I'm definitely going to be doing some DC Direct sooner rather than later. I could get a lot out of just my Superman and Batman stuff. But I also want to do some stuff that's a little more obscure.

I have a lot of stuff from storage to go through and re-pack, so that will have a lot to do with what I end up covering and when. The next one is gonna be totally different and hopefully really, really cool. I just need to find a couple of things for it first.

I shot a bunch of stuff for the next two videos today, so those might be coming out some time in the next few days. One is really long and one is more standard-length, but they share a theme. Lots of fun, hopefully done soon.

So hey, I know it's not important but I felt like mentioning it anyway. We actually have a bunch of stuff shot for at least three more videos, but the laptop we use for putting them together died a few days ago. I think we have the footage saved to a memory card but it's going to be tough to finish them anytime soon, I think.

The good news is, we had managed to get YouTube working for us again recently, so If/When we manage to finish them, we'll have at least three new videos up at some point. And even though I'm unemployed and thus won't be buying toys again until God knows when, I still have tons of stuff in storage, so if I want I can keep this going forever.

So yeah, we'll see what happens. Just didn't want anyone who did care to think I abandoned the project. Not yet. :)

Now is going to be the best time to buy stuff as businesses want the income and might mark down. Or, now is going to be the worst time to buy stuff because businesses might price gouge.

I seriously have no clue how that might work out at the moment.

The places I buy most of my comics and toys from are, for now, staying open through mail-order, but given that I'm out of work indefinitely (yet still expected to pay rent with $0 income :roll:), I can't see how I'll have money to spend on "nonsense" anytime soon. But man, I'd love to.

I'm a materialist; "things" make me happy and fulfilled more than people do, and buying stuff often gets me through the tough times. So this really, really sucks for me. "Stay inside, and don't spend a penny on anything but food." That's not "living", to me. I've been there before and it was not a fun time. I was hoping that was all behind me. Being forced back into that situation through circumstances far beyond my control is incredibly hard to cope with.

Guess we'll see what happens. :ohwell:

Can you let us know what the 3 figures are, Leo? I enjoyed these videos a lot when they came out,so it's good to know that there might be more coming.

Leo, I sometimes hate when people offer me advice but it seems to me like this is a good time to put up more of your videos. People are looking for content now and maybe you could eventually get some ads attached or something.

I say this because I think it's pretty smart to dump your hobbies into a YouTube channel, and actually starting it up seems to be the biggest hurdle, which you've already cleared. If I were in your position, I would potentially focus on that.
Of course, I'm not you, which is why I offer my opinion with hesitation.

Ahh, thanks dudes. I wholeheartedly agree, but unfortunately we had some broken laptop problems come about at the worst possible time. That might be resolved in the near future however, hopefully. Lord knows it'd be a good way to pass some time and have a little fun.

I also have a boxed of on-card figures that I specifically bought to open on-camera so yeah, the sooner we get a working laptop the better because I ain't got room for all that sh*t. :lol:

And without saying too much about future plans, brother, at least one of 'em will definitely make it perfectly clear that "THIS is where the power lies!", brother dude jack. Unfortunately I don't believe in giving obvious hints so it'll just have to wait for now.

I also did a fun one that is toy-related but not an action figure. So yeah, lots of fun stuff! I seriously do appreciate the vote of confidence, and I will be sure to keep everyone updated. Hopefully soon!

So hey, yeah, this is still a thing. We've been shooting stuff and have like 4 or 5 videos' worth of footage, at least, and it just needs to be edited and uploaded.

We were HOPING to fix the old laptop but it ain't happening, unfortunately. However, we found a decent used one for cheap so we should have that in a few days or so. I don't wanna shotgun all of them out at once but I don't wanna drag it out too far either, so by the end of September they should all be up, finally.

There's also gonna be a few "format" changes because I don't want things to get too stale. For one thing the basic idea is still going to be "retro" toys, but I've already broken that a little bit so some of them are going to be also more "retro-inspired", like reissues of old toys, or newer things based on an old character or line or whatever. It'll still mostly be action figures, but also rings and playsets and stuff when I can manage to do that.

There will also occasionally be things like "Custom Corner" where I showcase some of the stuff I've been working on, and "Rescue Mission" where I've been able to fix up old figures that were otherwise headed for the trash. We have an episode coming up about the LJN/Jakks ring I fixed up, just for example. Lotta fun stuff.

I might also start doing ones about vintage trading cards of the 80s and 90s, since I recently got back into that again and have several awesome sets that I just feel like talking about.

It's all still gonna look and sound like sh*t because we're not tech-savvy and I refuse to learn. :trazz: It also kinda goes with the gimmick, seeing as I'm dubbed "The Retro Rocker" and therefore I prefer to keep it having more of a "Wayne's World"/DIY kinda punk rock feel to it. I actually don't want the presentation to be "too good", take that for whatever it's worth. :lol:

But yeah, lotta fun stuff coming up. Oh, and in case anyone missed it, we had a blast not long ago talking toys and collectibles with Coola, ssjup and Jack Knives on the Jack Rants Podcast. So if you missed it this should keep you busy in the meantime until I get the new stuff up. :tgrin:

ALRIGHT, so FINALLY we have something new to talk about! We finally got a new laptop to cut stuff on, so we'll be putting up several new videos in the near future.

First up, one we shot a few weeks ago, as we go over the restoration of the LJN/Jakks WWF ring I picked up used and in rough shape a short while back. Dig it!


As mentioned, we'll be doing lots of different stuff going forward, including stuff like this from time to time. This was a lot of fun to work on, so hopefully you'll like it.

We'll be posting stuff all out of order, as the next few will be stuff that we shot many months ago before the computer problems. I just wanted to lead in with something more current. The next few are gonna carry a bit of a theme, BROTHER, so be ready!

I appreciate your patience, hopefully things will go a lot more smoothly going forward.

Only FIVE MONTHS overdue, but better late than never, as they say... "From The Vault" is back with a guided tour of the "DC PRIMAL AGE" BATCAVE by FUNKO!



Recorded in September, and uploaded now because "F*ck you, deal with it, that's why." :trazz: Better snuggle up, it's kind of a long one. But well worth the wait!

Thank you for your patience. We have about four more episodes in the can waiting to be cut together, so hopefully we'll be more on track soon.

Here's one we just finally got cut together and uploaded. Originally recorded late 2019, then we lost the footage when a laptop died, etc. etc., and finally it's done.

Episode 6 (originally Episode 3) of "From the Vault", I review not one, not two, but FOUR Hulk Hogan action figures by Mattel! Just in time for the Hulkster's Birthday, brother!


This is Part 1 of a multi-part series where I reviewed various Hulk Hogan stuff. A fun weekend as I recall. More to come soon.

We actually got the next one cut already. Since the footage is like a year and a half old already I'm not terribly inclined to space out these uploads. The sooner we get 'em up, the sooner we can move on to some newer stuff.

In this one we take a look at a Limited Edition Hogan figure from the Jakks "Classic Superstars" line:



And here's something of a little different spin, where I take old beat-to-sh*t figures and fix 'em up. For this first "Rescue Mission" segment, I take a near-worthless LJN Hogan that looked like it was destined for the trash pile and turned it into something awesome.

To really put over how completely trashed this figure originally was, we started filming AFTER I gave it a hot bath and scrubbed all the black marks off with nail polish remover. This thing legit looked like it came out of the trash, so to say I'm really happy with how it turned out in the end would be something of an understatement.

Better late than never, here's one we filmed a while ago where I look at a couple figures from the Mattel "Superman Returns" line!

Super busy this past weekend, as we did multiple videos in one shot!

First, we did a review of the Mattel Elite Series 96 "War Bonnet" Hulk Hogan, commemorating his short-lived and very ridiculous September 1988 house show look:


Second, there's this awesome Mattel Elite "nWo Wolfpac" Hollywood Hogan, which faithfully commemorates his early-1999 look and is a Ringside Collectibles Exclusive:


And third, there's this incredible Mattel "Ultimates" WrestleMania 1 Hulk Hogan, which honestly might just be the single greatest Hogan figure ever made, at least until they do an "Ultimates" version of his 1989/1990 look:


And finally, not a full "episode" but I wanted to give a quick shout-out in video form to Ralph's Figure Clothing (www.ralphsfigureclothing.com) for hooking me up with some awesome stuff over the years. If you collect wrestling figures, specifically Mattel, Jakks and Hasbro/Galoob-scale wrestling figures, and are missing some iconic gear to really complete the look, definitely check them out! Some stuff rotates in and out of stock though so it pays to check back often and/or make special requests via email. Anyways, I've gotten some awesome stuff from them and I show some of it off here:

(Video works, not sure why the thumbnail is being weird)

There's a bunch more stuff in the editing workshop, enough for another 5 or 6 videos at least, including some stuff that's a few years old already that we lost and then found but never edited. It's a f*cking zoo over here. :lol: But anyways we got a lot more stuff on the way, is the point.