Odds ‘n Ends > New 3.75″ DC Figures, Possible New DC 6″ Mattel Lines, TMNT, Arkham City
- It’s been a light week around here, primarily because DMG and I have been preoccupied with moving into our new house. Don’t worry, the toys were well taken care of during the move. Now maybe I can finally start opening and reviewing some of the MOC/MIB toys I’ve got laying around.
- DC Collectibles is doing a 3 ¾” DC superheroes action figure line!…that will only be sold at conventions. No doubt this is due in some way to DC’s licensing deal with Mattel. This despite the fact Mattel obviously has no interest in doing this scale right (or at all). I am thankful I do not collect 3 ¾”, because if I did, “apeshit” would only begin to describe my reaction. The best analogue for me would be Hasbro announcing a Marvel Legends-style 6″ Star Wars line that was only available at conventions.
- Speaking of DC action figures, IAT has a report on some EntertainmentEarth solicitations for “Batman Unlimited” and “DC Unlimited” 6″-scale toy lines. Could this be the future of DCUC? Maybe…? I’ll believe it when it’s announced at SDCC.
- While I’ll be getting the retro TMNT figures, I haven’t had much interest in the ones based on the new cartoon. That said, this SDCC exclusive Leonardo is beautiful and I want it.
- You knew it was coming – Square Enix is making Play Arts Kai Arkham City figures, starting with Batman and Catwoman. I really need to review the Arkham Asylum Batman one of these days…
- The already-somewhat-controversial documentary Toy Masters – about the development of the vintage Masters of the Universe line – will have a panel at SDCC, including some exclusive footage. The documentary attempts to answer the question of “Who created He-Man?” The panel will include former Mattel artist Mark Taylor but not, notably, former Mattel designer Roger Sweet, who in his tell-all Mastering the Universe (my review here) claimed sole responsibility for creating He-Man. Word is Sweet is already unhappy with the whole thing, or at least is “declining to participate further.” For the record, I’m on Team We-May-Never-Know-The-Truth.
- Shadowland Magazine has a special Masters of the Universe-themed issue, available right now from their website. Articles include an interview with minicomic writer Donald F. Glut, a retrospective on the controversial 1987 Masters of the Universe film starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella, and an in-depth overview of MOTUC.
The Avengers Starring Marvel Legends
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1aXoemMSFc&w=500&h=284]
This redo of the Avengers trailer starring Marvel Legends figures is making the rounds today, so I thought I’d share it here.
The figure choices are obviously a bit dated – as if the filmmaker or one of his friends had picked up some of the really early Marvel Legends, stopped collecting, then dusted them off when they got the idea for this project. (Damn, that Schwarzeneggerian Thor looks laughable now, doesn’t he?) Assuming the idea was to use comic-based figures and not the actual 6″ movie figures, I would have used:
They had the right Loki, though, and as far as I know there’s not a better Bruce Banner out there. And the recent Extremis Iron Man shows up near the end of the trailer. Using Fin Fang Foom at the end was cute.
To be clear, I’m not dissing the video – it’s still an amazing piece of work – I just kept thinking about how old those figures looked. If you’re going to put that much effort into the production, why not spend a couple hundred bucks on better figures? I don’t know though, maybe the figures I listed are really expensive these days on the aftermarket.
Thanks to Topless Robot for the heads-up.
DC Universe Tragic
I’ll admit I’ve been remiss in covering this, but Mattel’s DC toy lines are in trouble. Young Justice’s 4″ and 6″ lines have been cancelled; JLU ends this year. But what about the DC Universe 6″ lines? To quote the Magic 8-Ball, “Outlook not so good.” (more…)
Pic of the Day > Red Hulk, Wolverine and Hulk by paulmkelly
Poest Office > New Marvel Legends Sculpts a Cut Above?
Today’s question comes from Poester TP:
Dear Poe: Do you know any of the sculptors for the new pieces in Marvel Legends 2012? It’s been all the gossip that this new wave of ML is really a cut above Hasbro’s old ML offerings, and I’d like to acknowledge credit where credit’s due. I’ve been collecting things by the 4 Horsemen in various lines for so long that’s it’s tough not knowing who sculpted the new Iron Man figure, for instance…
I checked with my contacts at Hasbro, and their response was, “We’re not set up for fan questions right now, unfortunately. We’re going to be relaunching the fan Q&A program soon, so keep an eye out! Sorry!”
So, I’m afraid I can’t answer your question quite yet, TP. Perhaps someone else out there already knows the answer?
Toy Fair 2012 Updates, Part II
There’s already a ton of news and the damned show hasn’t even started yet (though it will have by the time I get this post up). On a side note, the Mattel collector show–and subsequent MOTUC reveals–will be at 3pm ET today.
JediCreeper is going to do a write-up tonight, including the Mattel event. In the meantime, he’ll continue to tweet all day.
I’ve also uploaded a ton of Hasbro press pics of yesterday’s reveals, which you can check out on my Flickr account. If you want to see pics of the Horsemen event, including pics of the upcoming Raven and Vampire Queen figures from FANtastic Exclusive, I recommend this gallery from PCN.
Toy Aisle Trolls > One Cyborg is as Good as Another
Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items.
Submitted by: Lovable-Bill
What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This
Lovable-Bill writes: “I went to one of my local K-Marts in Peoria, Illinois, trying to hunt down the exclusive Batman Legacy: Batman and Batmite. To my shock I found this sitting on one of the shelves under the other DCUC figures. Looks like someone returned a ML Deathlok in place of a Cyborg Superman, the card back was also very loose and sticky.”
Pic of the Day > Marvel Universe Archangel by (Talyn)
Odds ‘n Ends > SDCC Day 1: Super-deformed MOTU, 6″ Star Wars(!?)
- Not quite as much awesome toy stuff revealed today–preview night is always the big one, aside from panels–but apparently Mattel did put the above figs in their display case today. They appear to be super-deformed MOTU toys in the style of the DC Action League (or Galactic Heroes or Superhero Squad or whatever line you prefer). Mattel certainly seems interested in trying some new styles with MOTU–and that can only be a good thing. Anyway, I’m definitely in for these. The above pic was taken by Pixel Dan, who’s covering SDCC for PopCultureNetwork; check out this link for a larger pic of the minifigures.
- DC Direct had their panel today. I was primarily interested in their Arkham City figures, but they still haven’t revealed anything beyond Harley. I’m speculating this is because the other figures are of characters who haven’t been revealed yet, i.e., Nightwing. They’re also making figures based on the JLA in their Brand New DC looks. I have to say the figures look rather uninspired, and what’s more, you won’t be able to buy the first one for another thirteen months.
- In Poe-Could-Go-Bankrupt news, ThreeA toys had some 6″ Star Wars prototypes that they’re evidently trying to pitch to Takara. Why Takara? I don’t know. I only know I don’t want these to be made because I want to have a house and kids and so forth someday, and I won’t be able to afford it if I’m buying these. Head over to ActionFigurePics for more info and photos. Poester and Star Wars pedant misterbigbo informs us that apparently the Stormtrooper head sculpt is based on the F/X 501st helmet and is not screen-accurate; I’ll take his word for it.
- Marvel Legends are back! And…could it be true? Am I finally getting the 6″ Constrictor I’ve wanted since I read a backup story about him in Marvel Comics Presents #74? I find it a bit amusing they’ve got Steve Rogers there in his “Super Soldier” costume–has Marvel really not got him back into the red, white and blue for the movie release? Good for them for sticking with story over marketing, I guess. Anyway, check out ActionFigurePics for pics and info on the ML relaunch.
- Evidently Mattel’s WWE line is becoming a Mattycollector exclusive for 2012. That’s–kind of weird, right? WWE figures seem to have been perennial sellers for the last decade. Is this a.) due to waning popularity of the WWE and wrestling in general; b.) due to the waning popularity and market oversaturation of wrestling figures in general and the WWE in particular; c.) due to the waning popularity of action figures in general among youngsters, the WWE’s main demographic; or d.) Mattel actually managed to bungle a surefire seller like WWE? Anyway, the good(?) news for wrestling fans is that they get to vote on five of the figures to be released in 2012. UPDATE: Commenters correctly pointed out to me below that it’s only the Legends sub-line that’s going Mattycollector-only. The regular line still sells well.
- Should I be covering Voltron? Do people care? I never watched the show, and the only toys I had were the old diecast 6″ figure and, believe it or not, the vehicle Voltron.
- The Mattypalooza panel happens at 2pm PT (5pm ET) Friday, thus bringing this farce to a close (I hope). The DC panel is two hours later–here’s hoping for some more Batman Legacy awesomeness. Apparently Matty himself might stop by! To quote Hudson, “He’s coming in. I feel safer already.”