Mattel SDCC news

June 25, 2009 | Poe

Over on Mattycollector, Mattel has announced its panels for SDCC:

Comic-Con is coming!

For us toy collectors, the granddaddy of events has to be San Diego Comic-Con. The 2009 show starts July 23rd (preview night July 22nd) and runs through July 26th, and this year I’m bringing more cool stuff than ever before!

FAN PANELS
First off, we’ll have not one, but TWO fan panels at the show:

Mattel & DC Comics, a Powerful Partnership
Friday, JULY 24
11:00 AM – 12:00 NOON
ROOM 2

MattyPalooza
Friday, JULY 24
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
ROOM 2

NEW PRODUCTS
Then, visit me at Booth #2845, and you’ll find tons of new toys either just coming on the market or soon to come. We’ll have Ghostbustersâ„¢, DC Universe, DC Universe Classics, Infinite Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, Masters of the Universe Classics, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Disney/Pixar CARS, Toy Story, Hot Wheels, Scene It? The DVD Game, and the insane new Mindflex game — plus a few surprises!

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT COMIC-CON
Products will be sold starting preview night. Customer service and safety is our number one priority, so we’ll have a separate booth run by our Toy Club to handle sales. Lines will only be allowed to get as long as the designated roped-off area, but “fast-pass” tickets will be handed out to reserve your spot later that day. Limits on all exclusives will be six per person, per visit to the Mattel booth.

If you choose to wait in line a second time, you’ll be eligible to buy another 6 figures (there will also be a limit of six figures for online purchases after the show). It should all go very smoothly for the best buying experience yet!

We’re going to have plenty of gotta-get products available for sale, including (click each for all the scoop):

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT MATTYCOLLECTOR.COM
Can’t make it to Comic-Con? Fear not, fair comic fan! You’ll be able to get everything listed above on MattyCollector.com starting at 12:00 Noon on Monday, August 3rd, except these items:

  • SDCC variant He-Ro
  • SDCC variant Buzz Lightyear (with “Andy” on his foot)
  • SDCC Gleek (but the onder Twins without Gleek will be available)

Whew! That’s it for now, but stay tuned to MattyCollector.com, because I’ll have more news as Comic-Con gets closer.

—Matty

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

June 22, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Dave Van Domelen reviews the Hasbro Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe class Sideways, Sideswipe, Rampage and Breakaway figures. Excerpt: “(Re: Breakaway) It may end up being a pegwarmer, which is a shame, as it’s probably the best overall TOY (i.e. thing for a kid to play with) of the wave.”

Darren Cilenti reviews the Hasbro Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Scout class Ransack figure. Excerpt: “… a mightily impressive effort for the first Transformers biplane.” (See also.)

Darren Cilenti reviews the Hasbro Transformers Universe Classic Series Legends class Jazz figure. Excerpt: “… Jazz’s biggest failing is an injudicious lack of paint in some areas …” (more…)

5 Good (and 5 Not-So-Good) ’80s Toy-Based Feature Films

April 7, 2009 | Poe

prime_dead

With the imminent release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and the announcement that Tom Hanks may star in a Major Matt Mason movie, big-budget films based on toy lines are big business. The last (and first) time this happened was in the 1980s, when there was a slew of feature films based on the various fad toys of the era.

Here’s a look at some of the best and worst toy-based films of the 1980s. With one exception, all of these movies received a theatrical release. (more…)

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

March 9, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Michael Crawford reviews the DC Direct Watchmen Dr. Manhattan 1/6-scale figure. Excerpt: “The best feature of this figure is the suit …”

Michael Crawford reviews the DC Direct Watchmen Ozymandias and Silk Spectre (Modern) figures. Excerpt: “… the lack of articulation is disappointing.”

Michael Crawford reviews the DC Direct Watchmen Nite Owl (Modern) and Rorschach figures. Excerpt: “(Re: Rorschach) … the figure is basically a statue, and the selected pose really ain’t doing it for me.” (See also.) (more…)