As we wait for SDCC to begin in earnest tonight, let us indulge in one final orgy of speculation regarding the “new” subscription Mattycollector will be offering. (more…)
Odds ‘n Ends > New DKR Movie Masters, Hot Toys Arkham City, Weekly Roundup
- Mattel revealed two new Dark Knight Rises Movie Masters figures: Alfred and Officer Blake. I remember being very excited for the MM line in 2008, but I’m not quite as enthused this time around – maybe because I’m just not as into Batman at the moment, maybe because an action figure of Joseph Gordon-Levitt wearing a cop outfit just isn’t that exciting. It’s great that we’re getting Alfred, though, and the new packaging looks a lot more dynamic than the DKMM stuff.
- It seems the Flash and Larfleeze have been removed from DC All Stars Wave 1 and the new lineup is JLA Superman, JLA Batman, Red Robin, and Superboy Prime. No word on why this has happened; perhaps they’re just shuffling around the lineups.
- On a related note, you may or may not have noticed that Hot Toys is doing Arkham City figures. Given that I can’t think of a single Hot Toys figure that wasn’t based on a movie character, I’ll be interested to see how these turn out. I won’t be getting them, though, because I don’t make enough money. Or collect 12″ figures.
- I didn’t put up a post about the passing of Ralph McQuarrie, mostly because better tributes have been posted elsewhere and this isn’t really a Star Wars site. But it definitely deserves to be noted, given the legacy Mr. McQuarrie’s designs have had for all of us, especially toy collectors.
- This somehow flew under my radar until now, but C.S. Moore is apparently getting back into the action figure business. First up is a line of articulated 6″ figures based on the Zenescope comic Jurassic Strike Force. You can see in-design pics here and preorder them from BBTS here. They’re also making articulated Monster Hunter figures from the Monster Hunter Survival Guide. I am all aboard for a 6″ articulated Sasquatch. ALL aboard.
- Weekly Roundup: This week in PGPoA, Doc Thomas reviewed the Star Sisters, Poe reviewed Hurricane Hordak, Shadow Weaver and the Mutant Gorilla from Papo, and discussed the bios of Megator and Leech. Toy Aisle Trolls here and here, Odds ‘n Ends here, and Figure It Out here.
Bat-Week | Review > Prototype Suit Batman & Lt. Jim Gordon (Batman Legacy, Mattel)
One of the most beloved rarities among action figure collectors are action figures of supporting cast characters. I don’t mean sidekicks or team members, but “everyday” characters such as Lois Lane, Jarvis, Uncle Owen, and many others. Such characters rarely get figures, for a few reasons. Though popular among diehard fans, casual fans are rarely interested in them. There’s little chance of a casual toy collector picking them up because there’s nothing particularly interesting about them in and of themselves–often they’re just a person in a suit (seen any Movie Master Harvey Dents at your local TRU?). The figures aren’t eye-catching, so parents ignore them. (more…)
Odds ‘n Ends > SDCC 2011 Preview Night Edition
- The Entertainment Earth/TRU exclusives are now on sale on the TRU website–here’s the link. HOWEVER: Rodimus is already sold out, and the Bizarro vs. Faker pack isn’t listed, apparently because it “missed the boat.” That’s what my pal at SDCC was told by the booth operators. Whether that means it will show up later in the ‘con, or not for another three to five weeks, is not something I know.
- Mattel posted another MOTUC list. This one seems pretty obviously fake–Zombie Randor? Gwildor? Lodar? And Slime Pit He-Man as the exclusive, when we’ve been told the sub exclusive isn’t a He-Man variant?–but the odd thing is that one redacted bit after Sweetbee. Who redacts a fake list? Anyway, I have some limited knowledge of what may or may not be coming down the pike for the rest of 2011, and this doesn’t square with that at all, so I’m calling this fake.
- There’s a “Project Photog” sticker next to Captain Glenn in the Mattel display case, including the names of the astronauts on the flight. The two that stick out to me are Mason–obviously a reference to Major Matt Mason, who, btw, would be an awesome MOTUC figure–and Bitner, a reference to Nathan Bitner, creator of Fearless Photog (who, until the lists popped up recently, was the frontrunning rumor for the 2012 sub exclusive).
- NECA had most of its Evil Dead II line on display. There are three Ashes: a one-armed version, a torn-shirt version with a chainsaw, and Deadite Ash, whom I’ve wanted a figure of forever–plus Henrietta. Sixteen-year-old Poe would have LOST. HIS. S*** over this line. I’m a bit removed from that now–and bummed by the lack of leg articulation–but I’ll be buying every single Evil Dead II figure NECA makes.
- You can also see the NECA Robocop behind that Henrietta–he looks pretty good.
- I have to wonder, is it awkward shilling products for a failed blockbuster like Green Lantern at SDCC after the movie has come out? Still, Parallax looks awesome.
- One of the bizarre things I’ve seen was the 1970s’-colors Arkham City Batman. It’s a TRU exclusive you get when you buy the game there, so I assume it’s going to be a skin in the game, too. Is it me, or is that head placed much better on the body than the regular version?
- Possibly the best thing I’ve seen out of the show so far is the evidence that there will indeed be more Futurama figures. Lrrr! Morbo! Clamps! Joey Mousepad! The Donbot! And yet…NO HEDONISM-BOT. It’s a crime we’re getting the Destructor, whom I barely remember, before Hedonism-Bot. This line cannot end without that figure.
- He is Vigo! The scourge of Carpathia!
- Hot Toys is making a 1/6th Jack Nicholson Joker and a 1/6th Burton Batmobile; I can only assume a Keaton Batman is coming. I mention this solely because it irks me we still don’t have some Movie Masters of these in 6″ scale.
- Speaking of Movie Masters, we’re also getting a figure of the Joker as he looked in the two-second scene in The Dark Knight where he dressed as a cop and shot at the mayor. Yay?
- Mezco’s making a new Earthworm Jim figure. Weird, but cool. Oh, and it looks like there’s an Uncharted 3 Drake figure next to him. Square Enix is making a figure of Drake, too. Not sure I need one of those, but unless the Mezco one has articulated legs, of the two I’ll take Square’s.
- Any photos that weren’t links to other sites were taken by Rustin Parr. Thanks Rustin!
Toy Aisle Trolls > The Broker
Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com. Also, please note: I’m deliberately being over-the-top with my condemnation of these people–I don’t actually wish bodily harm upon them. Just severe mental anguish.
Reader MrG sends in this sad pic from a TRU in Torrance, CA.
Toy Aisle Trolls > De-Faced
Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com. Also, please note: I’m deliberately being over-the-top with my condemnation of these people–I don’t actually wish bodily harm upon them. Just severe mental anguish.
Today’s T.A.T. comes courtesy of Poester L.
Says L:
I just found this at a Toys R Us: a Movie Masters Two-Face figure with a swiped coin.
In the photo, the flap is folded up a bit – I did that to more clearly show what had been done. I also removed the TRU clearance sticker that had mostly covered the damage (you might notice some orange bits around the hole). As they had reduced the price accordingly, I actually bought the figure.
I can understand why someone would want the scarred coin – it’s a pretty cool pack-in. But the blackguard responsible for this deserves some imaginary punishment. If I may make a suggestion; I think it’s appropriate to flip a coin…
Heads, he (or she- but really… how likely is that?) is horribly disfigured like Mr. Dent, to a degree such that he will forevermore make small children cry at the mere sight of him. The lowlifes with which he is no doubt friends will all shun him. He will find his way to Coney Island, and put himself on display in a sideshow. There he will be cruelly mocked by inconsiderate jerks who will seem to be eerie reflections of his former self. He’ll live under the boardwalk, scavenging scraps of food that fall through the cracks.
Or tails: he develops a nasty rash. It will clear up in a few weeks, but he will have to suffer the indignity of buying an anti-fungal ointment.
Personally, I don’t understand taking just the coin. I couldn’t care less about those “props” they included with this line. Is it even metal? If I came across this in a store, I probably would still buy it just for the Two-Face–I can’t find anything but Harvey Dents at the TRUs near me.
Happy Optikk Day!
Here’s a link to today’s all-in-one page. Remember, you should login to your account before the screen-of-death begins, so that you can skip that step during the ordering.
Here’s what’s on sale:
- MOTUC Optikk
- MOTUC Tytus
- MOTUC Mer-Man
- Ghostbusters Walter Peck
- Movie Masters Two-Face
- Retro-Action Green Arrow
Any guesses as to how long Optikk, Tytus and Mer-Man will each last?
New Dark Knight Movie Masters hitting TRU
Although in their round of Q&As yesterday, Mattel suggested they didn’t know when the new DKMM figures (now exclusive to TRU) would hit, the answer seems to be: last week sometime. Even the as-yet-unreleased-on-Mattycollector Two-Face has popped up. This thread on Fwoosh has the pics and info.
I’ll get a Two-Face if I see him in the store, but frankly, man, if the distribution on these is anything like DCUC it might be easier to just get the guy on Mattycollector. Which I won’t be able to do because I’ll be frantically ordering some MOTUC product, so never mind.
What do you think? Will you get any of these? Is the Dark Knight iron way too cold now? DISCUSS OR PERISH.
Happy Adora Day!
Here’s the link to the all-in-one sale page.
I’ll admit it–Adora is the first MOTUC figure I’m pretty lukewarm about. I never watched She-Ra as a kid, so Adora is even less interesting to me than She-Ra. That said, I don’t regret having bought the subscription, and I certainly don’t begrudge She-Ra fans (like Rob of Topless Robot) their long-overdue Adora. And as a completionist on this line (so far), I’m buying her no matter what.
Fortunately, she’ll be followed next month by Battle Cat and Trap Jaw, who look to be the finest examples of MOTUC figure to date. And she also comes at the same time as Battle Armor He-Man. Oddly enough, I’m pretty excited about him. As my friends can tell you, I tend to loathe variations of characters; I just want the iconic version (Trenchcoat Hellboy, Batman minus any ridiculous armor or gear, the regular Ninja Turtles sans gimmicks or costumes, and so forth). But for whatever reason, some of He-Man’s alternate looks really appeal to me, and Battle Armor is one of them. I’ve also got my fingers crossed for an Ice Armor He-Man (on a side note, check out that link…apparently I’ve been saying I “loathe variations” for years).
But don’t forget–there’s also the reissue Beast Man and Movie Masters Harvey Dent. I’m tempted to get a new Beast Man, since my original has very loose knees, but given the odds of ending up with some other QC issue–like weak ankles, which are becoming the Achilles’ heel (HA!) of this line–I figure I’ll just stick with what I’ve got. Besides, Beast Man looks pretty good hunched over.
As for Mr. Dent, I’ll just wait for Two-Face. But for those of you who have anxiously awaited an Aaron Eckhart action figure, this is your time!
(Should I even mention the CARS exclusive? Does anyone here collect those?)
Ask Mattel > Answers for Mid-December ’09
1.) Some collectors received Scareglows with QC issues (such as two left legs), or missing either the key or the entire reliquary. The response from customer service was that there are no replacement Scareglows available, only refunds. In the past, you’ve made it clear that a small percentage of each figure’s production run was held back for exchanges. Why has this changed, and will the option to exchange return? It’s badly needed when collectors aren’t able to check the figures before purchasing.
Faulty figures can be exchanged by contacting customer service through Mattycollector.com.