BoPPV WrestleMania XXVIII Shawn Michaels

  Today was a great day for me. A day before Thanksgiving I was lucky enough to snag a Mattel BoPPV Elite Shawn Michaels from Toys R Us.com so I could complete the Ricardo Rodriguez build a figure that is exclusive to Toys R Us sadly. Unlike last time when they had Michael Cole, I had to buy one figure to get the part I needed to complete him, this time however I bought 2 figures, Big Show and Shawn Michaels. How did I manage to get the other parts? Well through trades with other members on wfigs.proboards,com. Now this figure is pretty cool. Why is that? Well this is a current Shawn Michaels from when he was the special guest referee for Undertaker vs Triple H at WrestleMania XXVIII this year. Plus you get a referee shirt. This is the closest to a referee that Mattel will give us.

MOC

BoPPV Shawn and Sig Series Shawn

Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto Del Rio

My Hot Wheels Monster Jam Collection

  Today I thought I'd share my Hot Wheels Monster Jam collection. It's quite modest since I basically started from scratch last year around Christmas time. I had a couple of trucks before I started collecting these again such as The Monster Bus which was a ride truck. An oddity of sorts. I used to collect them when the suspension systems were different and the wheels and tires were smaller than today's versions. Let's start shall we?

First up is the Grave Digger family, 52 Ford Truck, Chevy Panel, Current Look, 52 Ford Competition truck, The Legend and Son Uv A Digger

Next Up is Backdraft from Pottsville PA! Driven By Jeremy Slifko. Backdraft is 28.5 miles away from where I live!

Virginia Giant Then and Now

Samson I and Samson

King Krunch Then and Now

Madusa and Metal Mullisha

Newest trucks

Air Force Afterburner and Iron Man. Get the reference?

Batman driven by John Seasock from Frackville PA!

Batman and Grinder Both Driven by John Seasock.

Last but not least my favorite, The Monster Bus Ride Truck

Complete collection... So far.

Top 20 TV and Movie Cars that Hot Wheels Should Make

  I was thinking of what to write about for the past week or so. I didn't find any new WWE figures to post about so I could only think of one thing to write about. No other than my very own expertise, TV and movie cars and Hot Wheels. What a great combination.

1. The Munsters Koach
2. Wagon Queen Family Truckster
3. The General Lee
4. 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (Sam Raimi's car that always has a cameo in his movies
5. Bessie from Doctor Who. 
6. Face's Corvette from The A-Team
7. SWAT Van from Batman The Animated Series
8. Gotham City Police car from Batman The Animated Series
9. The New Batman Adventures Batmobile
10. Two-Face's armored car from Batman Forever
11. Black Beauty from The Green Hornet
12. 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Truck from The Beverly Hillbillies
13. Batcycle from Batman The Animated Series
14. 1975 Chevrolet K5 Blazer from Jaws
15. Jurassic Park Ford Explorer
16. Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler
17. Any of the NASCAR's that were in Day's Of Thunder
18. 1955 Peterbilt 281 from Duel
19. 1970 Plymouth Valiant Signet from Duel
20. The Monkeemobile from The Monkee's

Twinkie Scalping

  There is a new plague in the United States. No It's not the rising debt. It's the most idiotic thing a person can do. I hate scalpers with a passion, they have no life whatsoever. They make money by grabbing valuable items such as concert tickets at face value and resell them at a really high price. Most of them are fat idiots. Now on to the new form of scalping.
  As you probably already know, Hostess the makers of Twinkies is going out of business. Now people are clamoring to the stores to get any Hostess branded product that they can get their grubby paws on. This includes Twinkies and Wonder Bread memorabilia to resell on eBay. It's really pathetic for people to sell boxes of Twinkies on eBay. One seller is selling a single box of Twinkies on eBay for $10,000 Buy It Now. Is that seller on drugs? If so I would like what he's smoking. As P.T. Barnum once said There's a sucker born every minute. He's exactly right.
  Hostess will probably be bought by Grupo Bimbo who owns many American bread brands. So Twinkies scalpers better save their money they get from selling their Twinkies because Twinkies are probably going to be on the market again soon enough, Just give it some time.

Mattel Basic 21 Beth Phoenix

  Today I was on my lunch break and headed to the mall to see that the seasonal toy store, ToyZam was open already. I took a look for WWE figures and stumbled across a fresh case of Mattel Basic 21. I immediately looked for Beth Phoenix. Sure enough I found her and I saw a E16 Kevin Nash. I didn't have enough money for both. They don't take checks so I couldn't buy both. I already have E16 Diesel which is also Kevin Nash. So here is my new Glamazon.

Lifetime Movies Vs SyFy Movies

  Lets cut to the chase here, We all love to hate SyFy Original Movies and Lifetime Movies. They're all just so bad they're good. They're also very addictive. Especially when you are being a couch potato. Trust me on this one. Let's take a look at what makes them so bad and addictive.
  Let's start with Lifetime Movies

1.  There's 3 major recurring plot points. Lifetime movies are either about a woman who is being beaten, raped or killed.
2. There's 3 other plot points that are less common. A woman's husband is having an affair with them, Their daughter has got pregnant and wants revenge on the baby's father, or child abuse.
3. They all have terrible acting to the point that Troll 2 and The Room seem like Oscar winning films.
4. They are predictable Mad Libbed scripts

  Now lets talk about SyFy Original Movies

1. SyFy Original Movies have very low IMDB user ratings.
2. SyFy Movies have stupid and laughable plots.
3. SyFy movies have bad acting and CGI.
4. Most are made by The Asylum
5. Mega monsters vs [insert animal name here] Saurus 
6. Sea creatures combined with octopuses
7. Washed up 80s pop stars
8. Riffable

  So which channel wins? SyFy.

Mattel Basic 23 Hunico

  Well Today I finally got all of what I wanted out of Mattel Basic series 23. I have been hearing that Target has been getting this wave in lately and I decided to check this out for myself. I went to Target after my 8 AM class today to check out what they had.

  Sure enough they did indeed have Mattel Basic 23. I checked to see what was on the pegs. I spotted an Alicia Fox but I already had her because I bought her from Ringside Collectibles to be on the safe side to save money on gas that I would have spent on looking for her in stores and coming back empty handed. So I asked a worker if they had anymore of them in the back. He scanned the figure with the Telxon gun and there were more figures in the back. I told him the Hunico figure. Sure enough he comes back with the Hunico figure. Naturally I bought the updated figure. 
  Hunico's new figure is way better than the masked imposter Sin Cara gimmick he had. Also his figure is taller than his first figure because his Imposter Sin Cara figure was just a lousy repaint of Sin Cara. Hunico is packed 1 per case unlike his first figure was.

His first figure

10 Movies That are Based On Books that People Don't Know About

  I have been planning to write this for a while now and have been putting it off due to Mattel WWE action figure posts. So I have been thinking Movies that are based on books but not many people have heard of or read the book. So Here is my list of movies. I'll list the book title first and then the Author and if applicable the Movie's title if it was changed.

1. The Incredible Journey by Shelia Burnford. Movie was made as The Incredible Journey in 1963 and it was remade in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.
2. Forrest Gump By Winston Groom.
3. Jaws by Peter Benchley. Not many people from my generation would know this hit 1975 Movie was based on a book at all.
4. The Stupids Series by James Marshall and Harry Allard. Was made into a movie in 1996 called The Stupids which bombed the box office.
5. The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch. Most people know of the animated movie but don't know that the classic film was based on a book.
6. The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars by Thomas M. Disch, The sequel book nobody really knows about. Made into a crappy Disney Direct to Video Sequel.
7. Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. Most people know of the movie that is known as Mrs. Doubtfire.
8. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. It was made into a 1990 movie retitled A Cry in the Wild.
9. Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
10. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 

 Bonus Not based on a book at all

1. Jurassic Park III.

Mattel Basic 23 Kane

  Back in October I ordered a Mattel Basic 23 Kane from Ringside Collectibles. It was on backorder for Late October. Due to Hurricane Sandy, all orders that were supposed to be shipped was delayed until Friday November 9th. So due to another delay, Veterans Day, my Kane came today. I was hoping I would get the Dark mask variant and believe it or not I did get just that.
  This figure is one of Mattel's best WWE figures they have done. I was very impressed with the figure's detail and quality. Kane's figures sell out instantly in stores and they are very high in demand especially in the secondary market. Just type Mattel Kane on eBay and you will see what I mean.

B23 Kane MOC

Loose

Right Side

Back Side

Left Side

Evolution of Kane. I haven't changed the Tag Team Belt over to the new one yet.

Elite 17 Mankind

  It really pays to have the early shift. Today I went to work for my 9-4:30 shift and did my routine morning  check of the Toy dept. I was going to buy the Hot Wheels Monster Jam Then and Now Excaliber 2 Pack but that plan was put on hold because I found this. I hoped to find this at retail and sure enough I did do just that. Overall this is a great figure that Mattel collectors have been dying to have ever since Mattel got their hands on the WWE License.

  Mankind is packed one per case and is not present in the revision cases without the one per case Kelly Kelly, Zack Ryder and Mankind. My Walmart was putting out the revision cases until now.

Monster Jam Then and Now 2 Packs

  One of the things that has gotten me into monster trucks again is the Hot Wheels Monster Jam Then and Now 2packs. These are really cool and interesting. You get 2 Monster Jam trucks for around $7.99. One is it's first incarnation and the second one is it's modern form.
  First off the Then trucks have a a different frame on them and also a different suspension system. Also they have a different body style than the Now truck respectively. So far there are 4 different Then body styles, a 1980s Chevrolet K10, a 1985 Ford F250 and a Early 90s Chevrolet and finally a 1952 Ford F100 for Grave Digger. The Then trucks really steal the show out of the 2 trucks in the pack. So far there has been in series 1 Excaliber, Samson, and King Krunch. Series 2 has King Krunch, Grave Digger and Predator, and Sudden Impact. Series 3 has Virginia Giant and Black Stallion and King Krunch again. I don't know why King Krunch is being in all 3 of the 2packs. It makes me wonder sometimes.
  Most of the trucks that have been featured in the Then and Now 2 Packs are independent trucks, ones that are not owned by Feld Motorsports with the exception of Grave Digger. I like the independent trucks that have been around since the beginning of monster trucks. It shows that Mattel cares alot about them.
  The Now trucks are just the current look of the truck. With the modernized frames, engine layout and suspension system. Basically you don't really give a damn about the Now trucks but you play with it anyway. I do but not as much as the Then trucks. These 2packs are really marketed at the old school monster truck fan in my opinion. Little kids might not care that Grave Digger was originally a 1952 Ford F100 pickup. I hope this line continues because I will be buying them all.

I Hate It When People Don't Take Down Election Signs

Slimmer For President

  The day after every single election is one of those days where campaign workers should get to work picking up campaign signs whether their candidate won or lost. It really grinds my gears to see these signs littering the roadside. The election is over take them down for crying out loud. I guess people have other priorities than to take down signs.
  This doesn't only bother me, it also annoys my mom. I late friend once had a gripe about people who didn't take their garage sale signs down after their garage sale was over. Where has all of the common sense gone today? Remember the rule when you were younger Put it Back when you are done with it? Well I am going to remix this rule. Take It down when the election is over. I believe that there should be some law enacted that you if you don't take your signs down a week after the election, you will get a fine of $200 for every 20 left up somewhere. The incumbent's or newly elected would only have to pay a $25 fine.
  There's a reason that Maine has no billboards anywhere. It's against the law there to have billboards. I don't know the exact details of it but I sure do like it. Election signs are also a driving distraction that can cause accidents. Yes accidents. So If you are running for office, take down your signs after the election.

List Of One Hit Wonder Mattel WWE Action Figures

  I have bn meaning to write out this list of Mattel Basic WWE figures who only have 1 figure. Many of these superstars have been released from their WWE contracts. Please note I am not counting Elites.

1. B3 Mickie James
2. B4 William Regal
3. B5 Mike Knox
4. B5 The Hurricane
5. B7 Michelle McCool
6. B8 Maryse
7. B11 Skip Sheffield (Not technically since his new Ryback gimmick will be getting a new figure next year)
8. B13 Vickie Guererro
9. B14 Bret Hart
10. B15 Layla
11. B16 Ultimate Warrior
12. B16 Eddie Guerrero
13. B19 Jinder Mahal
14. B22 Booker T
15. B23 Alicia Fox
16. B24 AJ Lee
17. B25 Brock Lesnar
18. 2Pack3 Shad
19. 2Pack4 Tommy Dreamer
20. 2Pack4 Chavo Guerrero 
21. 2Pack5 Ricky Steamboat
22. 2Pack7 Luke Gallows
23. 2Pack10 Darren Young
24. 2Pack10 Michael Tarver
25. 2Pack11 Jimmy and Jey Uso
26. BattlePack15 Bella Twins
27. BattlePack16 Michael McGillicutty
28. BattlePack17 Trent Baretta
29. BattlePack19 Epico
30. BattlePack20 Curt Hawkins
31. Entrance Greats2 Ted DiBiase Sr.
32. Entrance Greats2 Rowdy Roddy Piper

My Greatest Thrift Store Find Yet

  Yesterday I decided to take a walk to a local independent thrift store. I have found great things there before. So I walk down and immediately look at the toys hoping to find something. All of a sudden I notice there was a bunch of WWE action figures. Jackpot! Anyway I told the lady who works there you are better selling them individually instead of one big bag of them. She took my advice and asked how would you price them. I sad around $2.50. She went on $2.34 somewhere around that. Anyway I ended up getting 2 Mattel WWE figures, Basic 2pack series 4 David Hart Smith and Basic Series 4 William Regal. You can't complain there.

I Hate it When DVDs are Released in Volumes

  One thing that really grinds my gears is when seasons of TV shows are released on DVD in volumes. I feel like you are getting completely ripped off when you buy a season of a TV show in volumes. For instance one of my favorite childhood TV shows, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was recently released on DVD a few months ago. I didn't buy it because I outgrown the show and it wouldn't be the same watching them at 23 years old. I saw the DVD in Walmart and happened to notice that MMPR was Season 1 Volume 1. It had me thinking why wasn't the complete season released on DVD instead of releasing select episodes from the season.
  It makes no sense at all to release a TV show in Volumes. In some cases it does make sense. For instance, the classic TV show, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is released in volumes with four episodes in each volume. Why would they only release 4 episodes? Well since MST3K is longer than your typical TV show, due to showing movies plus host segments it brings the airtime from the typical 44 minute runtime to about 90 minutes, factor in the licensing for the movies they show brings out 4 episodes per volume. Not all of their movies are in the public domain.
  Another one of my favorite childhood TV shows, The Angry Beavers, was also released on DVD in volumes. Again I did not buy that either because I feel like you're getting ripped off by not getting the complete season. When a TV show is released on DVD in full seasons, you get your money's worth. When you get a TV show released in Volumes, you don't get your money's worth. I think that they release TV shows in volumes because they want to get as much money out of it as possible. Such as beating a dead horse that was popular during the 90s. They think the fans of the show are stupid and will buy it regardless no matter what the cost is. It's stupid and redundant to release a TV show in volumes. I for one will never succumb to buying a season of a TV show in Volumes. You can count on that,