Welcome back once again to an all new edition of Toy News Tuesday! Just in case you‘re new (hello!), Toy News Tuesday is 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! Currently, there’s just over a week until Thanksgiving here in the states, or as people in the collector community call it ’The Day Before Black Friday.’ There are sure to be lots of great deals on some of your favorite collectibles, but for now, here’s the Toy News for the week of November 18th, 2014!
Star Wars Is Back In Black
A long time ago, at a Comic Con far far away… new ‘Star Wars‘ Black Series figures! These figures were revealed back at San Diego Comic Con, but now Hasbro is giving us an up close look at the new figures coming up in the super popular Star Wars 6” scale Black Series!
We’ve got two new single-card figures with bounty hunter Bossk and Stormtrooper Han Solo (with removable helmet!), and then we’ve got two new creature packs featuring some of our favorite heroes and beasties from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’!
The Creature Packs coming up include Hoth Luke Skywalker with the Wampa Snowbeast and Han Solo with a Tauntaun!
These figures are all expected to be hitting shelves in the immediate future, so be on the lookout for them while out hunting for all the gifts on your wish list!
(via AFI)
Morning Coffee Couldn’t Be Cuter
While this isn’t necessarily ‘toy news’ per-se, it certainly falls into our general wheelhouse! Entertainment Earth has announced an exclusive Baby Groot mug based on the characters appearance at the end of this summer’s mega blockbuster ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’! This mug is big enough to hold around 16 ounces of liquids, so it’s perfect to hold your morning coffee in, while simultaneously showing off your Groot love! Groot sit’s happily atop your mug to keep your beverage warm when you aren’t drinking it, and makes the mug into a fun prop replica when you aren’t even using it!
The only real downside to this epic piece of drink ware, is that it doesn’t actually release until May of 2015! Luckily, as he is an Entertainment Earth Exclusive, he’s available there for pre-order already!
It All Started With a Mini ‘Big Bang’
I suppose it was only a matter of time before the cultural juggernaut that is ‘The Big Bang Theory’ took over the mainstream toy market. The show’s cast have already been made into action figures several times over, and now they’re shape shifting into Minimate form!
These all new Minimates from Bif Bang Pow! and DST are the standard Minimate fare, coming in two separate 4-packs of figures. The first pack includes Sheldon (Green Lantern Shirt), Raj, Howard, and Amy, while the second pack includes, Leonard, Sheldon (The Flash Shirt), Penny, and Bernadette. Each set comes packed with a bunch of cool accessories, and if you buy both sets you can even complete a ‘build-a-figure’ of the show’s famous couch! Other accessories include a TV remote, a video game controller, and my personal favorite, a pair of hands for Sheldon holding a Chinese food container and shopsticks! These two sets might have the single best accessory pack-ins of any set in recent years!
These two sets of Minimates are due to release in January of 2015, so luckily you won’t have to wait too long for them!
(via EE)
ALIENS Minimates In Action
Diamond Select Toys new wave of single-pack Minimates based ont eh sci-fi classic ‘ALIENS’ are in stores now, so the crew at Diamond Select Toys has release this fun new video featuring some of these awesome new Minimates in action! Figures in this series include Carter Burk, Pvt. Wierzowski, Crew Chief Pvt. Spunkmeyer, and Xenomorphs of various forms like Alien Warrior, Attacking Alien Warrior, and Battle Damaged Alien Warrior! Check out the video below!
NECA’s ALIENS Going To The Dogs
The crew at NECA has recently released all new images of their upcoming ‘Dog Alien’ figure based on the classic Xenomorph from ‘ALIEN 3’! This figure is a part of the third wave of NECA’s ‘Aliens’ toyline, which also includes franchise fan favorites Bishop and Kane! There is a full gallery of new images on NECA’s website!
Today we take a look at the last figure in the Aliens Series 3 assortment. The long-awaited Dog Alien is from 1992’s Alien 3 — it’s fully articulated and has a bendable tail.
Check out the gallery below for action shots and a final photo of the figure in packaging. Series 3 will be shipping to retail in a few weeks, so get ready!
But First, Let me Take A Selfie
If you’re a fan of the recently rebranded ‘Batgirl’ ongoing series from DC Comics, you’re about to get some reeeeally good news! DC Colelctibles recently announced plans for Batgirl’s debut in their long running ‘Batman: Black & White’ line of statues! The full press release is below, along with a video preview of the statue itself, which is due in stores next fall!
From the streets of Burnside to the ranks of Batman: Black and White! DC Collectibles is proud to present Batgirl’s first appearance in the bestselling Batman: Black and White line of statues. Based on the acclaimed series written by Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher and drawn by Babs Tarr, look for our Batman: Black and White Batgirl statue in comic and specialty stores in Fall, 2015.
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!
No One Gets Left Behind
Ohana. Ohana means family. And your Funko POP! Vinyl ‘ohana’ is about to get bigger by at least three figures with the reveal of new POP! Vinyl’s based on Disney’s classic ‘Lilo and Stitch’! This new wave of ‘Lilo and Stitch’ POP! Vinyl figures includes Lilo, ‘Experiment 626’ Stitch, and Skrump! This trio of new POP!s are due to hit stores in December.
Funko Enters ‘The Matrix’
Say what you will about the quality of the sequels, but ‘The Matrix’ was and still is one of the best science-fiction-action movies of all time. To celebrate that, Funko is releasing a new wave of POP! Vinyl figures based on the classic ‘Matrix’ trilogy of films! This wave includes Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and of course Agent Smith! These POP! Vinyl figures are due to hit store shelves in March of 2015!
(via EE)
All Aboard The Pork Chop Express
You know what ol’ Jack Burton would do if he found out there was a new wave of Funko POP! Vinyl figures coming out based on the cult classic ‘Big Trouble In Little China’? He’d probably buy the whole set! This new wave of POP! Vinyl figures includes Jack Burton, Gracie Law, Lo Pan, and The Storms; Rain, Lighting, and Thunder! These are expected to be hitting shelves in February of 2015!
(via EE)
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!
