Cubix: Robots For Everyone - ABBY!

Cubix: Robots for Everyone - Abby and Dondon - Trendmasters 2001

Cubix was a Korean CGI-cartoon that was translated for English audiences in 2001.  The main character was a boy named Connor who lived in Bubble Town in the year 2044 when robots outnumber humans.  When Connor arrives to Bubble Town, he does not have his own robot, but soon he manages to fix Cubix, the "Unfixable Robot."  Cubix ends up having unexpected abilities and his relationship with Connor is the focus of the show.  Abby is Connor's nosy neighbor who shows him the ropes of the robot world.  They first met when she sent her robot pet Dondon to fly over and spy on him.  This action figure is a random acquisition for me.  I got her in an eBay lot several years ago.  She's not the type of figure I would ever make an effort to buy on her own, but for some reason never wanted to part with her.  When I realized she was made by the commendable, but defunct, Trendmasters (90's Godzilla, Voltron: 3rd Dimension, Mars Attacks), I knew I had to give her a proper review.  Let's check out Abby below!

Voltron: The Third Dimension - HAGGAR THE WITCH!

Voltron: The Third Dimension - Haggar the Witch - Trendmasters 1999

Sometimes there's nothing worse than a bad reboot of a property that you love.  Voltron: The Third Dimension was a CGI continuation of the 1985 animated Voltron series done in the style of ReBoot and Transformers: Beastmasters.  Maybe it's just early CGI that I have an issue with, because in researching this review, I discovered that this show received a decent amount of awards during its brief tenure.  I just have trouble watching it.  One positive note though was really cool character designs and some fantastic toys.  Just the Stealth Voltron and Voltrex the dinosaur Voltron were enough to win me over, let alone the human characters.  I loved how all the pilots now had cat-shaped helmets, and that Allura was now wearing blue instead of pink.  But most of all, I loved this toy of Haggar.  Haggar's look in the show seemed to be almost identical to the original design, but I figure at some point in the series she transformed into this "Sorceress of Doom."  I love the look of this figure and her cool face-changing action feature.

Godzilla Force's MARGARET O'BRIEN!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - G-Force - by Trendmasters 1994

We've been a little spoiled in the past ten to fifteen years by very well-made, well-proportioned, beautiful female action figures.  That definitely wasn't always the case.   A lot of early plastic ladies had the unfortunate origins of being a male buck with add-on breasts.  I don't have any proof that this kind of corner-cutting actually happened, but I do know I have a lot of figures from the 90's that certainly look the part.  This figure of Margaret O'Brien is a prime example.  Godzilla Force is a team of monster-fighting experts whose sole purpose is to protect the human population from the wrath of Godzilla and other Kaiju.  I have seen versions of this team in movies and comics, but I think this specific roster was created by Trendmasters for this toy line.  I think this is also the first time that I've seen a Godzilla-fighting team not wearing matching outfits.  This group ends up looking a bit like the Power Rangers when all lined up.  Check her out in detail below!

Women of Halloween Part 10 - MARTIAN SPY GIRL!

Everyone's Favorite Undercover Extra-Terrestrial from Trendmasters 1996

I loved Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!"  I haven't watched the movie in at least 15 years so my memory may be a little fuzzy, but I remember having a blast with my friends in the theatre. I remember shockingly violent quacking martians running around with ray guns and buggy eyeballs.  The celebrities cameos were plentiful and absurd (do I remember Sarah Jessica Parker's head on a chihuahua?).  But mostly I remember Martin Short being smitten over the giant, wobbly bombshell with a raygun in her purse.  She was hilarious and mesmerizing.  Whoever orchestrated her walking technique should have won an Oscar.  I didn't learn the history behind Mars Attacks until much later.  They were wonderfully subversive pulp trading cards in the early sixties that caused quite a commotion in their heyday.  For children of the eighties like myself, this film would be the equivalent of a Garbage Pail Kids movie. (Sounds amazing actually)