The Famous Starstore Blog

Now that the McFarlane’s Dragons saga has come to its grand climax, the next fantasy line to come from Todd Mcfarlane’s legendary studios is here! The first series of McFarlane’s Fantasy action figures goes under the title LEGEND OF THE BLADE HUNTERS and consists of four action figures and one box set. The box set hasn’t arrived yet, but the figures are now in stock! The first series of McFarlane fantasy figures contains Tyr, Eternal Dragon, Basilisk and the mighty Ogre. Based around that old fantasy standard of a quest for ancient and powerful artefacts (or in this case, weapons), this is a great new line from the popular manufacturers. What I’m curious about is what else they have up their sleeves for this series. The Dragons series originally contained a chapter of a prose story in each package, but there’s nothing like that with these figures. So, whats their background? I don’t know, but the things look very cool. Each comes packed in an individual clamshell package, andare of the typical high standards we’ve all come to expect.

• Hmm, looks like the guys were too busy to Twitter last night. I’m back though *big grin* How is everyone? #
• Cripes, tonight has flown by- been too busy to Tweet! Hope you all have a great weekend. Why not come visit the store? #

Our resident Final Fantasy addict, Rich, is here with the lowdown on the new Cloud Strife box set. Take it away…

With the original series of Final Fantasy VII play arts action figures still flying hot off the shelves, this week saw a new release in the form of the Cloud Strife & Hardy Daytona box set! Just as they did with the Advent Children figure range, makers Kotobukiya have decided to give fans an extra treat by releasing the iconic hero astride his mighty motorbike Hardy Daytona. Fans of the original game will remember this famous vehicle from the cut scenes and mini-games.This new Final Fantasy box set contains the same Cloud figure released individually, complete with alternate hands and, of course, the famous Buster Sword. So if you haven’t already purchased him (and if not, why not!?) you can bag him as part of this great deal.

The Hardy Daytona itself is presented in exact scaled detail, together with rotating rubber wheels, suspension pistons and a retractable bike stand. The features carried over onto the bike really are incredible, with every little nook and cranny filled with moving engine parts and game-accurate detail, right down to the grubby bandages holding the exhaust together!

This box set is a must have for any Final Fantasy fan, so grab one whilst you still can, whack on some extra hold hair gel and prepare to fight the forces of evil! Or, y’know, just put him on your shelf….

Cheers Rich. I’m starting to see why you love the character so much. This is a fantastic set. I just wish you’d offer us some tips on copying his hairstyle- you’ve mastered it!

• Andy here, blogs underway for the day, and some very cool stuff to report. #
• like this: FRAGGLE ROCK TO RETURN! http://tinyurl.com/5926hy #
• The Gate III is coming! http://starstore.livejournal.com/8139.html #
• http://tinyurl.com/69z3za Iron Monger Helmet from Sideshow Collectibles! #
• I think Kevin Smith stole my life for the script of Clerks 2. It keeps getting closer to my existence by the day. #
• Although I’ve never ordered a Donkey. #
• New Comic day today- come by and check out the goodies! #
• @mightymur it is ALWAYS a good time to eat pie. #
• I do wish someone would cancel that Elm Street remake. #
• http://www.starstore.typepad.com news on SAW V… #
• Your blogger is finishing up for the day. I’ll pass you over to the guys in the shop now. Back tomorrow! #

 

Smallville may have been twisting and rewriting DC’s continuity throughout its run but the show keeps on bringing fans season after season of action and intrigue. Now DC Direct have created a new set of Smallville action figures based on the show’s recreation of the embryonic Justice League! Each fully articulated figure comes packed in a Smallville themed Clamshell package and most come with detachable hoods. The set includes new action figures of Clark Kent, Green Arrow, Impulse, Aquaman and Cyborg. While the notion of the Justice League coming together way before they’re supposed to meet grates with many geeks’ fan glands, the show seems to pleasing its many fans, and these Smallville figures will do the same! The figures are just £8.77 each or 41.77 for a set of all five!

• We’re back! Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday- we were busy remerching! #
• http://tinyurl.com/668m5h new blog up on a range of forthcoming video games movies… #

• We’re back! Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday- we were busy remerching! #
• http://tinyurl.com/668m5h new blog up on a range of forthcoming video games movies… #

(aka THE WRATH OF KHAAAAAAAAN, aka MY OTHER CAR’S A BATMOBILE)The life and times of a group of dedicated fans of comics, movies, anime, TV shows and sculpted chunks of plastic.We’ve hit that time of year again. The blockbusters are coming, and thus we are being inundated with people wanting to ask all about the background of Iron Man, Speed Racer, Batman and the like. We love this. A chance to talk to customers about the things we have in common is always appreciated, and always enjoyed by everyone here. There’s people coming in asking about the new Star Trek movie, the Dragonball film, the next Transformers film, whats going to happen in Doctor Who and allsorts else. This is a blast, and we’re happy to help. That’s why we’re here- to help you find out more about the stuff you love. It doesn’t get old. We do get tired, and we do get cranky now and again like everybody else, but the practice of telling people how cool something is never stops being a brilliantly satisfying thing.Recently the big thing of course has been Iron Man, and we’ve been filling new fans on on the Avengers, the different suits, War Machine, the Mandarin and so on, and it just serves to hype us up even more for the comics and the movie itself (which, by the way, is fantastic). The next big one that we’re getting a lot of queries about is, of course, The Dark Knight. As a chunk of the movie is based on the infamous Batman graphic novel The Killing Joke, we’ve been getting through a lot of copies of the hardback rerelease, and answering all manner of questions about the film’s content, whether the Joker dies and the appearance of Two-Face. We live off this stuff, and we hope you’ll come say hi and check out the store, and have a chat about anything you want to. Chances are there’s someone here that will have a mass of knowledge about it. It is a great time to get into this big wide universe that loyal geeks have been inhabiting our whole lives. You see, this golden era of attention the industry is getting is something we’ve waited ages for. The characters and stories we love are finally getting the exposure and respect they deserve, and people are discovering that it isn’t all kids stuff.

Thus we’d like to encourage you to show a few cool things to your non-geek friends and family. Try them out with some of the greats, be it anime, movies, comics or whatever, nd then let them know there’s so much more out there to discover and enjoy. I’ve put some signs up around the shop today for parents to check out, encouraging them to get their kids into comics. Comics encourage literacy, spelling, storytelling and inspire children to pick up a pencil and create their own worlds. I love that. What an amazing gift it is to help kids discover what their imaginations can do, and also what they are capable of themselves.
The basic point I’m trying to make is; There’s always room for a hero or two in your life. Why not discover them all?

• Quoting Black Books is a way of life round these parts. #
• Witchblade movie announced… http://www.starstorecom.blogspot.com #
• Just wondering. With a 3rd Mummy movie coming, does anybody actually want to see one? #
• Sam is catching up with Doctor Who- she’s halfway through Tennant’s first full series and loving it. Another convert! #

TARDISWATCH 2008: DOCTOR WHO FEATURE REVIEWS
EPISODE 6: THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER
An independent, unofficial series of Doctor Who reviews and analysis from a lifelong fan of the show

The subject of The Doctor’s Daughter has been a source of great debate ever since the episode title was announced. As the first Doctor’s companion was his own granddaughter, Susan, it was feared that we would discover the truth about the Doctor’s family in this episode. Thankfully, the mystery is largely still intact. It does raise the issue of the Doctor’s background in this new era. Having a few morsels of information about his origins is a great thing, but I’d hate it to get bogged down in continuity again (Anyone else remember Trial of a Time Lord?). The mystery of the character of the Doctor came back to a certain extent in classic era stories such as The Curse of Fenric (which is an excellent story- I recommend getting the DVD version as it contains the story cut into a movie with new CG effects and extra stuff), but it was too little too late and the show disappeared up its own TARDIS. Since the show came back in 2005 however, the subject of the Doctor’s history has remained low key. It has been the Time War that has had more screentime than anything. The series 3 glimpses of Gallifrey were wonderful, and rather than give too much away actually served to create more of a mystique around the Time Lords and their demise. The way things are going though, we may well see some remnants of the Time War again before this series ends…

Keep checking back for the latest news on new Doctor Who merchandise!

DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER EPISODE REVIEW

From the opening scenes this episode doesn’t let up, and rather than losing you in the madness, it grabs hold and takes you running through the corridors with it, kicking and screaming as the Hath chase after you. The setup is dealt with in the opening seconds, and after that it is a mad dash for the finish line with the plot unravelling at a steady pace and the thrills coming thick and fast. The character of the Doctor’s daughter (played by the 5th Doctor Peter Davison’s real life daughter, Georgia Moffett) is handled very well, and the moments later in the episode where some of Dad’s traits start to shine through are wonderful. The Hath are convincingly odd aliens, and the design of the prosthetics is first rate. I do like the fact that we don’t get to understand what they’re saying, and this is most effective in the scenes where Martha is taken captive. It makes a nice change for a Doctor Who episode to contain creatures that don’t speak perfect English (albeit via the TARDIS). Catherine Tate is on excellent form as Donna (I am quite surprised that I actually just typed that) and the character has really come into her own. One thing that did grate a bit when Donna is working out what the numbers on the walls mean- a plot device rather reminiscent of modern science fiction classic CUBE. That aside, the climax was incredible, featuring a wonderful performance from David Tennant, who really is perfect as the Doctor in this series, and the revelation surrounding the ‘war’ was inspired. The closing moments are heartbreaking and uplifting in turn, and with Jenny resurrected and flying off into the expanse of space, who knows when or where we’ll see the Doctor’s daughter again? This episode was brilliant in pretty much every way. Encore.

9.5/10

DOCTOR WHO NEWS

TORCHWOOD FIGURES- FIRST IMAGES REVEALED
We’ve been given the go ahead to post these first images of items from the forthcoming TORCHWOOD range of action figures. These first images show the Weevil and Cyberwoman action figures. Due in August 2008, this first set of licensed Torchwood action figures is also set to include Captain Jack and Gwen. Images of those two will be posted as soon as we are allowed to!