Guest Post > Interview with Spy Monkey Creations

July 11, 2011 | VENENOR

I recently had the pleasure of talking first hand with the three-headed weapon-making machine known as Spy Monkey Creations, Inc.

Team members Jeremy Sung, Brian Stevenson and Bill Murphy are the minds behind some of the coolest custom-produced weapons and accessory packs for action figure collectors today. And as a fellow collector it’s always a bonus when you can find top-notch items that compliment your figures perfectly. From energy-based accessories to swords and shields, Team SMC has amped up many of our action figure arsenals and have made playing, er, posing that much cooler.

Be sure to check out their store if you haven’t already to pick up some of their current available stock.

Now enough of my rambling, let’s get to the interview! (more…)

Toys R Us Announces SDCC Exclusives

July 1, 2011 | Poe

Toys R Us has announced their SDCC exclusives for this year, and they’re kind of awesome.

Did I say kind of? I meant totally.

  • Exclusive 8″ Classics Thundercasts Lion-O with metallic finish
  • Bizarro vs. Faker MOTUC 2-pack
  • Jazwares 6″ Mortal Kombat Dark Raiden
  • Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates
  • And more that I care a bit less about, but you can see for yourself below.

Best of all, these figures will be available on TRU’s website as well as SDCC. Check out all the pics after the jump! (more…)

New Thundercats Goodies

May 12, 2011 | Poe

Bandai has passed along some hi-res pics of their new Thundercats product.

There are no pics of the 6″ or 8″ figures, but there are plenty of pics of the 4″ playset, vehicles, and roleplay toys. These are the toys the kids are going to enjoy more than the collectors, but it certainly appears Bandai is prepared to give Thundercats the full product treatment.

I think the coolest thing in the assortment below is the roleplay Sword of Omens, which is as close as collectors are going to get to a real one without spending hundreds of dollars on a custom. The Thundertank is pretty great too, and I like the little lizard dude with the cannon.

Pics after the jump. By the way, click on any spot outside the photo frame to get back to the page (for some reason the “close” button doesn’t work). (more…)

New Thundercats Trailer

April 4, 2011 | Poe

I actually just watched the original Thundercats cartoon for the first time yesterday, so it’s interesting seeing the twenty-five year difference with the new show. Aside from the obvious–much better animation, storytelling, character designs, etc.–the new show also has a stronger anime feel (though the original show did too–anime just wasn’t as stylized back then).

The other thing that struck me was how similar this felt to the 2003 He-Man cartoon. We have a bigger, older-looking version of the main character, a la King Grayskull, for example. Even the art style, particularly the backgrounds, seems similar.

There’s also a LOT of the Battle of Helm’s Deep from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers, from the archers to the exploding wall. There are worse things to rip off, I suppose.

Is that voiceover at the beginning the same guy playing Hugo Strange in Batman: Arkham Asylum? (I think it’s Corey Burton, but while he’s listed for Arkham City on IMDB, I’m not sure that’s been confirmed.)

Thanks to Topless Robot for the link.

Toy Fair 2011 > Thundercats (Bandai)

February 17, 2011 | Poe

DSCF0383

(You can peruse my Thundercats gallery here.)

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of being given a tour of Bandai’s showroom, which included their much-anticipated Thundercats product line. My tour was conducted by Katie O’Neill of Weber Shandwick, although Bandai marketing director Brehan Maul was the one who personally guided me through their Thundercats world. (more…)

Bandai’s 8″ Classics Lion-O unveiled

February 3, 2011 | Poe

Toynewsi has what appears to be a rough but large scan from promotional materials of the 8″ Thundercats Classics Lion-O. The article adds that the figure will have 18 points of articulation and come with a with long Sword of Omens, short Sword of Omens, and ThunderClaw glove.

I have to say, the sculpting on that figure is pretty darned good…I wonder whose it is. Anyway, while I’ll be passing on the 4″ line, I’m in for this one.