Hello and welcome to a fresh baked edition of Toy News Tuesday – FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN! We’re the one weekly column right here on ScienceFiction.com where we seek out all of the awesome news you need to know about any announcements and cool happenings in the toy industry and put them all in one easy to find place for you! New York Toy Fair 2015 is kicking into gear RIGHT NOW! It doesn’t technically start until this weekend, but damn if that isn’t exciting! We can only imagine how much cool stuff we’ll be seeing later this week, but even now there is already a ton of cool stuff happening so here’s the rundown for the Toy News for the week of February 10th, 2015!
A Peek At The Hottest New Hot Toys
Never ones to be too far behind the trends of the collectors market, Hot Toys recently announced their new stylized vinyl figure collection ‘Hot Toys Artist Mix’! The first wave of figures in this series is designed by acclaimed Japanese Vinyl artist Touma for a wave of Artist Mix figures based on Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’! This week they posted a bunch of cool concept art and preview images of the figures themselves! Check out the full release from Hot Toys below:
Hot Toys is expanding its product line yet again to bring more diversity to fans, and today we are very excited to present the new Artist Mix Collection series! As the name suggests, Hot Toys will collaborate with different artists and designers from various spectrums to re-imagine movie characters in a special art form with unique style.
To kick-off the Artist Mix Collection, Hot Toys is joining hands with famous Japanese toy artist Touma* and introducing a number of Artist Mix Figures based on one of the biggest movies of 2015 – Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron!
This first series will include Iron Man Mark XLIII, Captain America, Hulkbuster, Ultron Prime, and two versions of Ultron Sentry! Each Artist Mix Figure has a bobble-head and stands approximately 14cm tall (Hulkbuster stands approximately 20cm tall) and perfectly combines the movie characters’ designs with Touma’s distinctive art style!
In celebrating the launch of this new collectible series, a deluxe set will be available that includes the powerful Hulkbuster and Mark XLIII (Battle Damaged Version) which is exclusive to this figures set.
These Artist Mix Figures will look great on your shelves or desk, so don’t miss the chance to expand your Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron collection!
Kotobukia is Developing Superpowers
As if nostalgia for the 80s wasn’t rampant enough for comic book fans these days with the return of the ‘Secret Wars’ at Marvel, another ‘Crisis’ type event happening at DC, and the recent wrap up of the Mattel DC Universe Classics line’s tribute to the original ‘Superpowers’ toyline form the 80s…. and we’re set for even MORE! The crew over at Kotobukia has announced an all new ARTFX statue line based on the classic toyline, which from the sounds of things is going to be comprised of statues that look like the classic figures in a much larger scale. As statues, these figures won’t retain any articulation, but will be posed in “Power Action” stances and feature real cloth capes! The full release from Kotobukia’s Facebook Page is below:
Return to the classic era of action figures with the DC Comics SUPER POWERS COLLECTION, a vintage-inspired line of ARTFX+ statues from Kotobukiya! With features such as “Power Action” stances, multiple points of non-articulation and real cloth capes it will feel like the 80’s all over again! Remember…only you can decide the battle of good vs. evil!
Penguin Comes Home To Roost At NECA
If you’re over the 80s by now, maybe 90s nostalgia is more your thing? Well if so, you’re in luck! NECA has released a ton of new images of their upcoming quarter-scale figure of The Penguin as seen in Tim Burton’s iconic 1992 film ‘Batman Returns’! Based on Danny Devito’s portrayal of the villain in that film, this is actually the first ‘Batman Returns’ product to come out of NECA to date; and we can only hope it isn’t the last! There’s a full release from NECA below with all the details on the figure:
Introducing our first-ever action figure from Batman Returns!
We are proud to present this 1/4 scale rendition of the Penguin, featuring the likeness of actor Danny DeVito, whose memorable performance as the twisted Oswald Cobblepot in the 1992 movie still defines the character. The fully poseable figure stands 15″ tall and features synthetic hair and a movie-authentic sculpt. Penguin comes with a removable fabric coat trimmed with faux fur, removable top hat and umbrella accessories.
Loaded with extraordinary detail, this figure is a must-have for Batman fans!
Bif Bang Pow Snags The DC License
In what sounds like an excellent pairing, Bif Bang Pow and DC Entertainment have teamed up to create a ton of cool new DC Comics products! While no products have officially been announced yet, there is already talk of “nesting and kokeshi-style” wooden dolls, as well as tin wind-up figures and jack-in-the-boxes! These products are expected to be available through Entertainment Earth, although as of now there is no word as to what other retailers might carry these new products. The full release from Bif Bang Pow is below:
Bif Bang Pow! and Warner Bros. Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Entertainment, have partnered to produce all-new and unique DC Comics collectible products. This exciting line-up includes nesting and kokeshi-style wooden dolls, jack-in-the-boxes, and tin windup figures based on the ever-popular Super Heroes and Super-Villains of the DC Comics universe.
“Fans of Metropolis and Gotham City have never seen the likes of the new collectibles we’re coming up with at Bif Bang Pow!,” said Jason Labowitz, President of Bif Bang Pow!.
“We’re thrilled to be able to provide collectors with our all-new, innovative line of DC Comics products rolling out later this year.”
In development now and rolling out in 2015 and 2016, these reimagined toys and collectibles from Bif Bang Pow! will be available at Entertainment Earth – entertainmentearth.com.
(via AFI)
NECA Teases ‘AvP’
As if Toy Fair 2015 wasn’t close enough, NECA’s own Randy Falk posted a few ‘in progress’ shots of one of the figures from their upcoming and highly anticipated ‘Alien Vs. Predator’ toyline! The Post from NECA is below:
“In case you missed it yesterday, NECA’s Director of Product Development Randy Falk revealed some new behind the scenes photos of the upcoming Alien Vs. Predator action figures!
“BTS – Base coated & then glossed. Building the new AvP Predators for Toy Fair.” — via http://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS”
Mezco Shows Off The ONE:12 Collective
At a recent Pre-Toy Fair event, Mezco showcased a ton of the upcoming product from their new ONE:12 Collective line! Besides showing off the various versions of Batman from ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and Judge Dredd figures, they showed off a few brand new products like The Mutant Leader figure! The Mutant Leader is based on his iconic appearance in Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and looks to be a really nice piece! It’s also worth noting that this is the first time anyone has made a figure of The Mutant Leader!
Besides the figures themselves, Mezco also showed off a sweet ride for their ONE:12 Jude Dredd Figure- The Lawmaster Motorcycle! This thing looks HUGE, and it’s the perfect companion piece for Dredd himself! We really hope they show off even more cool new ONE:12 Collective product at Toy Fair later this week!
(via ToyArk)
THUNDERCATS! MEZ-COOOOOO!
The crew from over at Toy Ark are live at Mezco’s Pre-Toyfair event and are reporting that Mezco is bringing us more Thundercats! We’re at the very least getting a Mega Scale Tygra figure to go with the already released figures from the series like Lion-O and Mumm_Ra. What’s even cooler, is that that they have confirmed with Mezco that they (Mezco) have the licensing rights to produce ONE:12 Collective style figures of the ‘Thundercats’ characters! While there are currently no official plans to produce them, the option is on the table, which is still pretty exciting!
“If You Build It, They Will Produce It”
The LEGO Ideas program is truly a thing of beauty, as it allows fans to submit their own ideas for LEGO sets to potentially be put into production. Each set submitted is voted on by other fans, and once an idea gets enough votes it is sent before the LEGO Ideas Review Board where they determine if the set will be produced or not for the masses! Today we’re happy to reveal the two newest approved products, and they’re both from some of your favorite Science-Fiction stories! We’ll be getting a set based on Disney and Pixar’s ‘Wall-E’; and the one we’ve all been waiting for- a set based on ‘Doctor Who’!
LEGO Ideas #011 WALL-E
Big congratulations to Angus MacLane who created this blocky version of everyone’s favorite hopelessly romantic robot. MacLane is a Pixar animator and director, who actually worked on the WALL-E film. He created the model during the WALL-E production, and submitted it to LEGO Ideas in hopes of it becoming a set. Your hopes and dreams for WALL-E have come true, as the creation will become the next LEGO Ideas product.
LEGO Ideas #012 Doctor Who and Companions
YES! The LEGO Group will produce a “Doctor Who”-themed project and the LEGO Review Board has chosen the “Doctor Who and Companions” project by LEGO Ideas member AndrewClark2. Andy Clark is an artist at a gaming company by day, and a LEGO builder and pretend run-away Time Lord by night.
The images posted with the announcements are the fan produced versions and are not the final products, so the end result may still look quite different than what you see here! There are currently no prices or release dates set.
(via AFI)
More Walgreens Exclusives Walking
McFarlane Toys has revealed that they aren’t quite done with Walgreen’s exclusive figures yet! This week they revealed an all new Daryl Dixon figure that is set to be exclusive to the drug-store retail chain when it releases this summer! This new Daryl figure features a new sculpt and a bandana covering his face, to replicate his Season 4 look from the hit AMC zombie series.
(via TNI)
Funko Forecast
Get ready for the Funko Forecast! This is where we’re going to be showcasing all of the cool new announcements and reveals from Funko! With all of the awesome that consistently seems to be flowing out of those guys, it shouldn’t be hard to keep this section alive each and every week!
Funko Fabrikations Alive and Well
While the fate of the line was in question recently when Funko announced a ton of new products for 2015 and made no mention whatsoever of Fabrikations, it looks as though the line is alive and well! To prove that, Funko released images of some brand new collectibles in the line based on Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Star Wars fans can expect to see Darth Vader hitting shelves sometime soon, and TMNT fans can start counting the days until they can pick up all four of the heroes in a half shell in Fabrikation form!
Vinyl Vixens
The team at Funko is teasing yet another product line from Vinyl Sugar, the all new ‘Vinyl Vixens’! While not much is known about this line, it appears to be focused on female villains of the DC Comics Universe so far. Oddly enough, these were originally supposed to be produced under the regular Funko banner, so it’s interesting to see them move to the Vinyl Sugar brand. No word currently on when these will be widely available, although Harley Quinn has already been reportedly spotted at Hot Topic locations.
And with that, we bring this week’s Toy News Tuesday to a close! What do you think about the new items announced this week? Do you plan on picking up anything we mentioned in this week’s column? Are there any lines or brands you’d like to see more coverage of? Let us know in the comments section below! Until next week, happy toy hunting!
