MASH-UP MASTERS: LARAMI AND TIARRI DRAGON MASTER SETS

Here's a classic mash-up: Dragon Master.

The 'fantasy monsters' are our old friends the LP aliens - these one's suckered - and here being recycled as part of the sword and sorcery craze. I saw it on auction so saved the snaps a while back.

And its a Larami toy and not LP!

There's a bar code over the word Master, so its relatively modern as LP aliens go.

Do you like it?

 

Larami developed the line into proper dragons and warriors like this one.

and a sub-set of pocket puzzles.

Here's the same 'LP' set shown first - now called Fantasy Figures - released by someone else, Tiarri Management Services of N.S.W - New South Wales? Was this for the Australian market?

Tiarri were busy too: here's their dinosaur mash-up - are they Imperial's - with two unknown dragons at the top.

and what appear to be robot orcs and goblins. Are these from another line?

SCHLEICH!

When it comes to toys, Germany, where we recently visited, is a land of Playmobil, Kinder and Schleich. These brands are massive there.

Always expanding and reaching out, the ever-heavy Schleich now do DC Batman and Joker figures, together with countless fantasy creatures and heroes.

They even have their own kids comic, which includes a collectable figure, like this bio-biollante-esque Dschungel-ungeheuer.

But it's one toy from the Neue Helden line that stopped me in my tracks at a fleamarket, the big white battle elephant.

Large and solid, Schleich's models are always top quality and they've even made an add-on for this one, an intricate Moorish battle platform.

Together they look superb!

Have you any Schleich?

THOR LOSER

Being a big fan of super hero films I had a bash at Disney +'s new THOR: Love and Thunder entry, as I am keen on the Asgardian god and was a comic-reading kid.

Alas, despite an obviously large budget, Love and Thunder has done what I personally dread in super hero flicks. Its descended into a parody of itself, with comedy the main thrust of the plot. Not even Christian Bale's creepy God Butcher could wrestle the thing out of cosplay cheese for me.

Such a shame. I won't spoil it as my cinematic tastes won't be universal so I'll leave Love and Thunder at that [except to say what an awful title!]

Oddly enough, I saw an earlier Chris Hemsworth fantasy tale last week, The Huntsman: Winters War. I saw the first Huntsman: Snow White years ago. I get them both mixed up in my mind with the two Malificent movies for some reason. Hemsworth clearly cut his teeth for future Thoring during these Huntsman flicks.

I also caught Jason Momoa, he of DC's Aquaman, in Wolves, an early vehicle for his action style. It was on Legend here on TV in the UK last week. For Legend [nee the Horror Channel] it wasn't a half bad bite at a werewolf picture, without filling the screen with teens too! I enjoyed it.

Have you seen any of the flicks readers?

Red Sonja

We're currently watching Red Sonja at Moonbase. A great Sword and Sorcery flick in the tradition of Conan. Arnie makes a few appearances for good measure but it's Brigitte Neilson's show. Seen it a few times and always good fun. I'm convinced the head priest is the Nazi who gets his face melted off in Ark of the Covenant!

Do you like Red Sonja?

THE WILLOW GAME 1988

 

I remember finding a mint example of this boxed game, Willow, from 1988, at a car boot sale. Finding anything mint was always a thrill and I quickly included it on my mail order sales list in the late 90's and on my toy fair toy stall. It sold.

I've never seen Willow or played the game.

Have you?

BONE TO BE WILD

This bad boy is a Super Monstruos Skeleton Soldier by Yolanda 1992. Part of my summer Sword and Sorcery compulsion, I found this fella at a local car boot sale.

Have you any fantasy figures?

LITTLE THINGS OF PLASTIC

This is yesterday's meagre haul from the local car boot sale. 

I found all of these in the same big box of little bits and bobs. I got the Pikachu for a friend and the Kinder leopard because it reminded me of the big cat seen with Tarzan in the Lone Star set. I got a Tarzan figure two weeks ago so it'll let me play and dream of the real thing!

The two sentry boxes, having googled them, are Timpo ER versions. The yellow monster is the Mad Gasser of Mattoon from Monsters in my Pocket, the shaolin-like character is Kibito from Dragonball Z. The big fellow at the back is a Scooby Doo glow in the dark Zombie.

The blue creature, which I thought was a manticore from something like Dungeons and Dragons, is actually from a horror lucky bags toy range. 

When I listed these toys on Ebay last night the blue monster went straight away!

Wish I'd have bought the whole box of bits now!

Do you like small plastic thingies like these?

UNDER THE SPELL OF SWORD AND SORCERY

As a kid I was mad about knights on armour and adored my plastic breastplate, helmet and sword. having a mad love for monsters too it was only natural that I'd like fantasy films that involved swords and beasts. Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad films filled my head as a nipper.

This sub-genre became known as sword and sorcery, which I suppose was a fantasy off-shoot of the older Sword and Sandal genre.

In my twenties I enjoyed films like Beast Master, Conan, Red Sonja and Legend [the one with Darkness].

Thanks to Netflix I've recently caught up on a few more modern Sword and Sorcery flicks of late, mostly mythological in nature:

The Immortals: rather than the ubiquitous Perseus, this film was about Theseus, another of Zeus's half-human super sons.  His epic struggle against a barbarian army was quite enjoyable and I particularly liked Mickey Rourke's portrayal of its brutal leader. It reminded me of his role in Sin City and the film had the look generally of 300. The other baddie in the movie is the Minotaur, who was disappointingly small. I would have loved a colossal bull beast man. Theseus was played by Superman Henry Cavill so the Minotaur had no chance.

Seventh Son: I enjoyed this film a lot. It had all of the main food groups: witches, monsters, warriors and warlocks. It also featured Pendle Mountain, which was clearly based on Pendle Hill in my birth county of Lancashire and the spiritual witch hill of England [the new Hell Boy features it too!] Jeff Bridges and his old chewy voice is a real gem playing the Warlock and the film's lead.

Gods of Egypt: its unusual for a big film to be about Egyptian Gods. Osiris, Anubis, Ra, Seth. They were all present and correct and knocking seven ankhs out of each other. I enjoyed it as well.

Do you like these sorts of films readers? Have you any Sword and Sorcery toys or games? What about the action taking place on other planets like John Carter of Mars?