By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor The Anime Heroes Tony Tony Chopper figure from Bandai is a cute addition to any One Piece collection. short in stature in his small reindeer form, the figure captures the essence of the beloved character from the anime. Tony Tony Chopper is a unique and beloved character in One Piece, known for his ability to […]
By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor If you were a kid in the 1980s, then you had to have had, or at least heard of, Madballs. They were those gruesomely awesome balls about the size of a baseball but designed to look like some type of monster. A totally cool concept that I, along with my brothers, owned some of but […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor The ’80s and ’90s were a great time to be a toy collector. We had it all back then. Transformers, Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, you name it, we had it. Well, “we,” being most kids who weren’t as tight on money as me. But some really excellent, more in my price range kind of […]
By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor Not too long ago, I had the chance to review the awesome Action Force Sgt. Slaughter figure from Valaverse, and it did not disappoint. Now I’m back checking out another great figure from their Action Force line, one of their original characters, Duster. Duster, aka Timothy F. Kennedy, is a special forces weapons sergeant loaded […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor While I’ve seen pictures of those fantastic little mecha animals that transform into boxes, hence their name being Beastbox, from toy geniuses 52Toys, I’ve never actually owned one until now. I recently had the opportunity to review the mechanical horse BB-43, known as Beastbox Lava. Lava comes in a beautifully designed window box that […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor It was September in the early ’90s, and I was at Target with my Mom and brother one night; as we went past the toy aisle, there was a fully stocked Ninja Turtle section. I remember seeing a new figure on the top peg hook. It was some jailbird mutant cat named Scratch, and […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor When I was a kid, Sgt Slaughter had a massive impact on my childhood. He was a WWF superstar, but I got introduced to this badass character on the animated G.I.Joe television series in the 80s. That tough-as-nails drill sergeant known for beating Cobra with his bare hands was one of my favorites. I […]
By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor LEGO is a big part of my life. I enjoy getting in the zone in full-blown LEGO mode and ripping open a box for a new set, eager to start building. It clears my head while making it think, and the finished build is so rewarding. I love the challenge you get with some of […]
By Jason T SmithCreative Editor By now, everyone knows what Thundercats Ultimates by Super7 are, and they should know that they just keep getting better. The last time I reviewed the Snowman of Hook Mountain from Wave 4 and I thought it couldn’t get any better. Well, I was wrong. I just opened up another figure from that same wave, […]
By Jason T Smith Creative Editor Top-of-the-line premium Thundercats figures are nothing new to toy giant Super7 with their wildly popular Thundercats Ultimates line, and the Snowman of Hook Mountain does not disappoint. Snowman is the Abominable Snowman that eventually becomes an ally to Lion-O in the 1980’s television series, which I watched religiously. I was stoked when this guy […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor ThreeZero is known for their premium quality non-transforming Transformers figures, and their latest is their best one yet. That one being the new Transformers MDLX Bumblebee, a smaller-scale figure that packs a masterpiece punch! Standing at almost 5 inches tall, this guy has the same caliber paint job you would find on the larger […]
By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor Fighting Armor Deadpool. Those three words alone are enough to get me to buy an action figure without even seeing it. It just sounds so badass, especially if you’re a Deadpool fan. Thanks to the good folks over at Bluefin/Bandai, I did see it and touch it. They were kind enough to grace us with […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor The holidays are upon us, and what better way to get ready for your shopping than our Holiday Gift Guide. We have carefully selected a variety of gifts from all corners of pop culture. We have something for all, from action figures and video games to books and fashion accessories. Our next selection is […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor The holidays are upon us, and what better way to get ready for your shopping than our Holiday Gift Guide. We have carefully selected a variety of gifts from all corners of pop culture. We have something for all, from action figures and video games to books and fashion accessories. This selection is more […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor The holidays are upon us, and what better way to get ready for your shopping than our Holiday Gift Guide. We have carefully selected a variety of gifts from all corners of pop culture. We have something for all, from action figures and video games to books and fashion accessories. For this selection, we […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor Thanks to the folks at Bluefin, today I take a look at one of the most anticipated action figure releases of the year- the Miles Morales Spider-Man figure from Sentinel. Based on the amazing animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. This is a great figure, let’s go ahead and say that first off. The […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor Are you looking to up your Joe game? Then the Hardcore Coldplay Blue Falcon- U.S. Army Airborne Division by Joytoy is just what your 1:18 scale army needed. Modeled after the U.S. Army Airborne Division, this little guy is what we’d have if G.I. Joes had a Masterpiece version. Joytoy, the company behind these […]
By Jason T. SmithCreative Editor The latest wave of Hasbro’s popular Marvel Legends figures hits it out of the park in a major way. An Ursa Major way! What is being dubbed as “the Iron Man” wave fires on all cylinders, giving us seven outstanding action figures, most of whom are Iron Man related, and what I find to be […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor Look! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the Mafex Superman! Mafex, the company known for its impressive super-articulated action figures, has done it again. While they’ve never disappointed, especially with their DC Comics characters, their Batman: Hush series takes it to the next level with their latest release, Superman! This comic-accurate Kryptonian […]
By Jason T. Smith Bluefin has put out many amazing toys from various licenses, but one of my favorites is their wildly popular Storm Collectibles line of premium action figures. Storm covers many excellent properties, but their Street Fighter series has to be in my top two. The Street Fighter line has given us many outstanding figures with dead-on likenesses […]
Welcome to our new column devoted to food reviews: To Eats His Own. Food reviews have been the #1 requested feature since we started Pastrami Nation, so we are excited to dive in! This column will feature food reviews from across the country by Pastrami Nation’s founders, Nolan P. Smith and Jason T. Smith, as well as other Pastrami Nation […]
By Jason T. Smith Creative Editor In 2012 the movie Bigfoot was released. Unfortunately, some missed this hidden gem the first time around, but thanks to Peacock, a streaming service brought to us by the good folks at Universal, fans of Sasquatch related films like myself now have the opportunity to watch it, with unfortunately being the keyword here. Bigfoot […]
By Jason T. Smith The Transformers franchise doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to live action flicks. The critically panned Michael Bay series of films abandoned the heart of the robots in disguise from the days of animated series and comic books and went with a loud, soulless series of films with the Transformers named attached to it. […]
By Jason T. Smith One of , if not, the most anticipated movies of the year has been unleashed in theatres everywhere this past week. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom is now open and this film does not disappoint. The sequel to the highly successful 2015 Jurassic World and it continues to raise the bar. Fallen Kingdom takes place four years […]
By Jason T. Smith (Victor Valley)– Halloween is just around the corner. It also means that it is time once again for Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con. Formerly known to many as the Comikaze Expo, Stan Lees L.A. Comic Con has graced Southern Californians for 6 years and counting with comic book greatness in the heart of the southland. […]
Magnetic Releases Another Masterpiece with Love: The Dinosaur By Jason T. Smith Magnetic Press, now known as the Magnetic Collection from Lion Forge, has given us a lot to “love” with their beautifully illustrated hardcover Love animal series. It all started with Love: The Tiger, where we got our first taste of these amazing silent comic stories. It took us […]
Titan Comics brings sharks to the forefront with Hook Jaw By Jason T. Smith Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Titan Comics reminds you that it is definitely not. Their debut issue of Hook Jaw takes us on a very scary adventure with some Great White Sharks and the thing they do best” […]
By Jason T. Smith The Long Beach Comic Con kicked off today, and with it, troves of fans from across Southern California, tons of cosplayers, and more. Saturday was packed, from aisle to aisle. Vendors ranging from artists, writers, comic publishers, cosplayers and more all too over the Long Beach Convention Center. Celebrities were on hand as well, including the […]
By Jason T. Smith “To the father, son and Holy Spirit, I hold you dearest..” The tongue twisting Yelawolf rides a sinister beat in “Best Friend”, a song that sounds like it would be more of a soft song than what we are used to from the Slaughterhouse collaborator. What we get is some extremely dark lyrics and imagery when […]
Review by Jason T. Smith (Victor Valley)—Visionary artist Ricardo Delgado has done it again with his latest tale in the critically acclaimed Age of Reptiles series, Ancient Egyptians from Dark Horse Comics. The four-issue mini-series is now collected in one, slick trade paperback with bonus content like concept sketches of the dinosaurs and more. The collected version of this visual […]
