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I Don't Have a Plan...At Least I've Got a Van

Generally, I'd rather buy my review subjects than have them given to me. Not that I like spending the extra money, mind you, but doing things that way lets me skip some subjects that I know aren't going to go over well. They may not be bad, per se...maybe they're just not my thing, or maybe they have some flaw that is a dealbreaker for me. But if I am sent something, I will review it to the best of my ability and try to be as fair as possible.

Which brings us to the Mr. Universe van.

I first saw it at this year's Toy Fair, and after McFarlane's Walking Dead vehicles I was somewhat disappointed. The boxy look put me off, and so my plan was to skip it and go right to the Rick & Morty sets. But then I received a review sample, and figured I'd give it a shot to see if I was wrong.

Turns out I still don't care for the boxy look, and was further hindered by vague instructions and an overabundance of stickers. Your mileage may vary, but for me it turns out that those first impressions are usually right.

A Scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The World Trade Center as seen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The one constant in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from the comics to the cartoon to the live action movies, has been that the Heroes in a Half Shell have always called the Big Apple their home. As an extension of that, the World Trade Center frequently appeared in establishing shots and was even used some plots. One of the most overt uses of the WTC was in the original cartoon's third season episode "The Big Blow Out." In it, Krang and Shredder have mobilized the Technodrome and attached it to one of the towers, using the tallest building in the city as an antenna to open a portal to Dimension X. While the art in TMNT isn't quite as accurate as in some other shows, the profile is unmistakable and Donatello even called it by name as the Turtles approached the scene.
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The Truth is Out There

It always amuses me when model makers claim "authentic scale replica" on UFO kits. Seems like a big hole in the conspiracy when the Men in Black let Lindberg in to take measurements off the Area 51 flying saucer. But since they get to make up a scale, I do too...and I say that the "I Want to Believe" craft is piloted by tiny beings and so is no more than 10' (3m) across, perfectly scaled to 1/24!