ToyFare #157 & 2011 Club Eternia/Club Ecto-1 news

July 15, 2010 | Poe

The latest issue of ToyFare, #157, hit newsstands this week, and it’s chock (what’s a chock? anyway) full of news. News you didn’t already know. Or maybe you did, but I didn’t. Among the highlights:

  • The Four Horsemen’s new line is Symbiotech, which should be familiar to Fantastic Exclusive voters. Still early on in the production development, but they’re coming!
  • Fantastic Exclusives Scarabus and Raven are still coming–look for more when the Horsemen relaunch the FE website just before SDCC.
  • Mattel will be producing a 6″ Ghostbusters II 4-pack with removable Santa hats which will be available at TRU in October. That’s Toys ‘R Us, Matty haters. Relatively minor bummer: no slime throwers.
  • DCUC Wave 16 includes Jonah Hex and the Creeper, with CnC Bane. (Pics of all, plus Green Lantern Classics ’90s Kyle Rayner, included in magazine).
  • The DCUC Fan Poll candidates, the winner to be turned into a CnC figure, are: Blockbuster, Girder, King Shark, Nekron, Shaggy Man, and Wildebeest. Vote at Wizardworld.com. Nekron will win.
  • JLU is getting the Gray Ghost (might be old news?)
  • Gentle Giant is creating massive 12″ versions of the vintage Boba Fett, Stormtrooper and Walrus Man 3 ¾” figures.
  • DCD Arkham Asylum Bane is just as crazy as the videogame version.
  • There’s a full-page ad of Carnivus (no Whiplash ad, apparently), that says he carries the “Sword of Saz,” which is apparently a reference to the Filmation series–“Saz” was some sort of feline mythological hero.

Mattel also released official news on the 2011 Club Eternia subscription. It’s all-in, so those of you hoping for tiered subscriptions are out of luck, I’m afraid. The sign-up will go from 7/21 at 4 p.m. PT through 8/4 at 4 p.m. PT. The January figure, Club incentive figure, and map poster will be revealed at the Friday SDCC panel.

But wait–there’s more! Ghostbusters fans get their own subscription, Club Ecto-1. It’s $20 for six figures plus a club exclusive figure.

But to quote Geordi La Forge, don’t take my word for it–buy your copy of ToyFare #157 today! Then you get all the pretty pictures.

Odds ‘n Ends > Manwich Edition

July 14, 2010 | Poe

  • The Dread Axes are almost gone (as in, there’s currently 1 left!), and we will be doing a second run. Thanks to all who helped make this exclusive a success! Sadly, Faker remains unpurchased.
  • In even better news, Spy Monkey and I are now discussing the possibility of a new item as the next exclusive. Nothing’s set in stone yet, but it’s an item I’ve wanted for a while now, and I think a lot of fans will like it too.
  • I’m impressed to see Mer-Man has, as of right now, overtaken Hordak in the “Least Popular Real Name” contest. I guess that’s what comes of having your name refer to a completely different-looking species–like if my real name were “Fox King.” Wait–that’d be awesome. Never mind.
  • Entertainment Earth has teamed up with Toys R’ Us’s website to create a “Collector Store,” and they’ll even be offering their SDCC exclusives (starting July 21). I’m not sure how this partnership came about, but clearly the fans win.
  • On a related note, Jazwares is offering their first Robot Chicken figure as an SDCC exclusive: the Convention Nerd. I decided I need to have him to hang out with Mo-Larr. He’ll also be available on Toys R’ Us.com on 7/21.
  • Does anyone else find it vaguely surreal we’re getting new Futurama episodes every week?

Dread Axe of Darkness goes on sale at 6pm!

July 12, 2010 | Poe

Just a reminder, the Dread Axe of Darkness (yes, I changed the name) goes on sale at 6pm Eastern Time at poeghostal.ecrater.com. The production run is limited, but we’ll make more if it sells out (within reason–if it takes 2-3 weeks to sell out, then given the small size of the production run, that tells me it wasn’t popular enough to warrant another special run).

Review > Twitch (Deluxe, Toy Story 3)

July 12, 2010 | PrfktTear

Meet Twitch, the Insectaloid warrior, where MAN + INSECT = AWESOME! This sturdy action figure stands over five inches tall, with more than 15 points of articulation, including ferocious chomping mandibles. Use his powerful wings and impenetrable exoskeleton to evade capture! Twitch is meticulously detailed and includes his signature magical battle staff and removable chest armor. For children ages 4 and up. Other Insectaloid figures sold separately.

As a toy collector it’s rare to not know about figures months in advance before they start hitting shelves or go on sale. That is all well and good, but sometimes it’s nice to walk down the toy aisle and have something jump off the shelves that you had no idea about. I’ll be honest, I didn’t exactly have my first encounter with Twitch in a toy aisle, I found a review for him over at Michael Crawford’s site, which is probably the next best thing.

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