User Samttary of the HKFigureClub, a Hong Kong-based toy site, has revealed the rest of Batman Legacy Wave 2. It looks like the rumored Catman is indeed part of the line-up, while Batgirl comes with a motorcycle and Golden Age Batman comes with none other than Bat-Mite!
I’m not 100% sure the motorcycle comes with Batgirl (can anyone read the page? – my Google Translate efforts were messy), but it stands to reason, particularly since she has no new sculpting to add value.
Mattel revealed the packaging and bios for Hurricane Hordak and Leech late last week on their Facebook page.
They also mention that Hordak’s attachments are compatible with Trap Jaw and Roboto.
I’m still not digging that Hordak, but I like Leech more every time I see him. It’s starting to remind me of how much I loved the original figure. I have to admit, though, I’m having trouble getting as psyched up for these figures as I have been the last couple of years (as evinced by the lateness of my reviews of Catra, Faceless One and Battleground Teela). I can’t even remember who’s coming out when without checking MOTUclassics.com (props to IAT for that calendar).
The bios have been the source of some controversy already, mostly that odd Hordak one. The Leech bio is uncontroversial, with the exception of the mindwipe business. Is Hordak utterly incapable of getting anyone to work for him without brainwashing them? Learning to motivate your employees is one of the seven keys to successful management.
Poester Southzen sent in an email asking to spread the word about CoilCon, the annual convention of the Midwest-based G.I. Joe fan club Coil Club. Now in its sophomore year, the 2011 CoilCon will be held in late July at Kokomo Toys and Collectibles in Kokomo, Indiana.
From the press release:
The 2nd annual COIL Con GI Joe Swap Meet and Get Together will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2011. Admission is FREE and open to the public. There will be FREE hot dogs and drinks throughout the day in addition to great prizes, giveaways, games for the kids and contests for adults.
Like last year, Joe fans from all around the Midwest will be bringing GI Joe related items to sell and trade in our FREE vendor tents. That’s right, there is NO charge for vendor set up!! Even if you are not a vendor and want to sell some items, there will be tables for private sellers too!
Fans from far away as Utah and many online community regulars from Hiss Tank, Joe Battlelines, Joe Sightings, YoJoe, Joe Intel, Joe Declassified and Terrordome attended COIL Con I sharing rare and prototype pieces of their collections.
We are pleased to announce the second of our special guest joining us this year. Pre-production collector and Modern Era “documentarian” Gary Head will be on hand to join in the festivities of the day. We will also be joined by published author James Kavanaugh, Jr., with copies of his new GI Joe reference guide! See our GUEST page on the menu bar for more details.
Available THIS year will be a Convention Exclusive COIL Commando, Codename: Sidewinder. Quantity will be extremely limited. Price has not yet been announced. It will only be available at COIL Con II!
Come early to shop, stay late for the conversation! COIL Con II will be a GREAT TIME!
For those of you with Netflix, you can now watch any episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe or She-Ra via streaming. That’s right, any episode.
Kinda makes me wonder if I should start a regular episode review feature…
With my blessing, Spy Monkey Creations is now selling the original Sword of Ages, along with three brand-new variants.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for the Faceless One? For Battleground Teela? I’m a 4 on FO, 9 on BG Teela. That said, my excitement for BG Teela is less about the figure itself and more about the fact that she’s a figure from the 3-issue DC miniseries, my favorite piece of MOTU fiction.
Faceless One, though…for some reason I just can’t excited about him. Maybe that’ll change when I have him in hand.
This month we’ve also got:
On another note, let me tell you yet another Tale of Mattycollector Woeâ„¢. The credit card I’ve used for the site for years was about to expire, so when I got the new one I logged on to the Mattycollector website and carefully updated my payment information. That’s all–no change to my shipping or billing address, not even a new card number. Just a change of expiration date.
So then I get my renewal email…which referred to me by my mother’s name, and told me it was using my parents’ house as my billing address. (more…)
Mattel was so intent on keeping Megator’s secret accessory a secret, they actually removed it from the samples they sent out to reviewers like Pixel Dan. It was a good effort, but in the end they were saved from themselves (more on that in a moment) by one of those sketchy eBay sellers.
Don’t click below (and you may want to keep your eyes away from the “Recent Comments” in the sidebar) if you don’t want the surprise to be spoiled. Note to Poesters: Please don’t discuss the Megator secret accessory anywhere else but this discussion thread (and that includes the forum).
Pic of the secret accessory after the jump. (more…)
Huh. So it turns out if you go on an unofficial hiatus and ignore toy news, important toy news slips by you.
Specifically, this. From Worldscreen.com:
NEW YORK: Classic Media is partnering with Mattel to roll out a new consumer-products program for Masters of the Universe to celebrate the brand’s 30th anniversary in 2012.
The new line will encompass apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts, thermals, track jackets and fashion tops for men, women and kids) and accessories (wristbands, belts and belt buckles, key chains, costume jewelry and more) from Changes, costumes from Disguise and a special 30th Anniversary edition DVD box set from Mill Creek Entertainment. Publishing partners will be announced soon. Plus, the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line from Mattel will continue through 2012.
“Masters of the Universe is an iconic franchise with a legacy that’s deeply rooted in fantastical storytelling which translates naturally to play experiences and products kids of all ages love,” said Michael Riley, VP of franchise development at Mattel. “In 2012 the property celebrates its milestone 30th anniversary allowing us to create a robust synergistic program that offers something for all fans.”
Classic Media is introducing a new Masters of the Universe style guide for the anniversary celebration featuring retro artwork, all-new modern artist renderings, as well as a special 30th Anniversary logo. Classic will also work with Mill Creek Entertainment on the DVD release.
“We’re very excited to be working with the team at Mattel to celebrate this iconic franchise’s 30th anniversary,” said Nicole Blake, executive VP of global marketing and consumer products at Classic Media. “This is the perfect opportunity to re-engage fans with the original series and to introduce Masters of the Universe to the next generation.”
Since the 1982 debut of the Masters of the Universe toy line, there has been a 1983 TV series, a 1987 Warner Bros. film, a 1990 series The New Adventures of He-Man and the 2002 Cartoon Network show He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Now, obviously, there is nothing specific in this press release about Filmation characters in MOTUC. But Classic Media owns the Filmation rights, and now that Mattel and CM have a working relationship, it’s conceivable that Filmation-only characters–such as Shadow Weaver, Sea Hawk, and Plun-Dor–are now on the table, not to mention Filmation-style repaints and retools.
Anyway, for now: fingers crossed.
P.S. The 30th Anniversary logo was found here.
Unfortunately, the much-ballyhooed relaunch of PGPoA is postponed indefinitely. That doesn’t mean months, but it does mean at least a week or two.
We want to make sure we get this right. We’re still hard at work reworking Poe’s costume and origin, making him younger and adding awesome jeans and t-shirts and tattoos and all that stuff that the young people like.
NECA lied to me.
OK, maybe that’s not quite true. They may have been telling the truth at the time, so far as they knew.
It was on April 20 of this year, when I asked them if they could make Portal 2 toys. Their response: “to date Valve does everything on their own, no outside licensing. We’d love to work on some of their titles, great stuff!”
Well, turns out Valve does do licensing, because NECA’s got it.
NECA Enters into Agreement to Produce Valve Consumer Products Based on Valve’s Game Properties
June 7, 2011 (Hillside, NJ) – The National Entertainment Collectibles Association, Inc. (NECA) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Valve Corporation to produce consumer products based on all of Valve’s titles. Merchandise will include action figures, toys, board games, accessories, and apparel for all Valve properties. “When Valve approached us to make their content, characters and art come alive in the physical world we were of course excited at the possibilities,” said Joel Weinshanker, President of NECA Games, “We quickly realized that our two companies have a similar view on how to ensure products exceed expectations of devoted fans and are thankful to be working with them”.
About National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA)NECA INC. operates as a media and entertainment company in the US and internationally, with divisions dedicated to Consumer Products, Filmed Entertainment, and Online Retailing / Digital Distribution. The Consumer Products division is a leading manufacturer and distributor of entertainment related products, dominating the specialty market. The Filmed Entertainment division is investing in the production and distribution of content that will benefit from NECA’s unique and proprietary distribution and marketing model. The online division leverages NECA’s properties to provide an immersive, platform-agnostic entertainment experience through subscription and transactional models.
So…Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 action figures, anyone? What’s even better is NECA’s videogame figures typically get tons of articulation, so this we have some great toys to look forward to–never mind a full-size Turret replica, replica Portal Gun…