Happy Holidays from the whole team here at ScienceFiction.com! Welcome to an all new Toy News Tuesday, 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! Hot Toys and Funko are spreading holiday cheer with some awesome new announcements, and Big Chief Studios is following suite with one big reveal! No sense in wasting any time, here’s the Toy News for the week of December 23rd, 2014!


Hot Toys, Assemble!

With events happening all around the world, sometimes it’s a little hard to keep up with some of the toy industry’s big reveals! This past week, Hot Toys announced a ton of new figures for next year’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and more at the Toy Soul 2014 event in Hong Kong, China!

First up, we’ve got the reveal of the main classic ‘Avengers’ team characters in their new gear from the upcoming ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’ There are new figures coming out of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye! These new 1:6th scale figures are all sporting their updating costumes and looks to be as highly detailed as ever!

Besides The Avengers themselves, there’s also a gigantic 1:6th scale figure of Iron Man’s ‘Hulkbuster’ armor coming out way! This thing looks MASSIVE, and will give all of your Hot Toys Hulk figures a run for their money for sure!

Finally, straight out of this summer’s biggest hit, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, we’ve got the mad titan Thanos! Thanos is another figure that looks like he’ll be pretty sizable, and he comes complete with his iconic throne! It’s unknown at this time whether Thanos will appear in ‘Age of Ultron’ or ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2‘, but he’ll be returning for sure to take on The Avengers in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ parts one and two!

No release dates are currently set for most of these figures, but at least a few of them are expected to hit during 2015! Be sure to stay tuned to Toy News Tuesday for updates!

Hot Toys Iron Man Preps To Face Ultron

Speaking of Hot Toys ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ figures, we do have some more information on at least one of them! The upcoming Iron Man Mark XLIII Armored suit is coming out way straight from the film! This armor looks to see a return of Tony Stark to the Iron Man armor for the first time since *SPOILRS* having the Arc Reactor removed form his chest at the end of ‘Iron Man 3’, so it’s likely to be a rather unique set! The full release from Hot Toys is below:

The extremely-anticipated, Avengers: Age of Ultron, is only a few months away! Our favorite superhero team is assembled again when Tony Stark’s peacekeeping program goes awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans…

To get fans ready for this super exciting film, Hot Toys is thrilled to jump start the Avengers: Age of Ultron collectible series by presenting the 1/6th scale Mark XLIII Collectible Figure! It is also the newest addition to our MMS Diecast Series which the collectible figures are made of diecast material, and realistically designed to look even more like the armor as it appears in the blockbuster.

The movie-accurate Mark XLIII Collectible Figure is highly detailed and specially crafted based on the image of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Mark XLIII in Avengers: Age of Ultron, featuring a newly painted Tony Stark helmeted head sculpt, metallic red, gold and silver armor with weathered effects, LED light-up functions, and a specially designed diorama base with a damaged Ultron Mark I. A special edition will be available for selected markets which includes a LED lighted battle damaged helmet as bonus accessory.

Another Billionaire Genius Playboy Philanthropist

Well, if you’re tired of Hot Toys announcing new ‘Iron Man’ armors for the ‘Hall of Armor Collection’, then maybe a regular old Tony Stark is a step in the right direction? Hot Toys has announced an all new Tony Stark figure based on his appearance in ‘Iron Man 2’. Tony here comes packed with a ton of cool accessories to recreate the scene from the film in which he creates an all new element to power the Arc Reactor in his chest that keeps him alive! Now you can show off your love for the man in the armor, Tony Stark himself! The full release from Hot Toys is below:

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark was being slowly poisoned to death by the palladium arc reactor in his body, but with the help of the information left by Howard Stark, Tony was able to create a new element for use in a new Arc Reactor. The scene greatly displayed Tony Stark’s immense intelligence when he re-discovered and created a new element by using a particle accelerator.

Hot Toys is delighted to introduce today the new 1/6th scale Tony Stark with Arc Reactor Creation Accessories Collectible Set. This collectible set includes a specially crafted collectible figure based on the image of Robert Downey Jr. as the genius billionaire Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, featuring a newly developed head sculpt, an advanced body with light-up chest light, detailed outfit, the Captain America shield prototype which he has used to level the particle accelerator and workshop accessories.

This collectible set will serve as a great expansion for your Iron Man series collection!

Oooh Baby Give Hot Toys One More Chance….

On the off chance you haven’t already jam packed your collection with a half dozen different variations of Dancing Baby Groot by now, you’re in luck! Hot Toys has announced their all new Quarter Scale Little Groot figure! This guy is a 1:4th scale figure, but he looks like he’ll be pretty close to a life-sized version of the character from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ since the character itself is supposed to be so small! The full release from Hot Toys is below:

“We are Groot.” Marvel Studios’ blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy, has taken the world by storm earlier this year. Groot has become many fans’ favorite character and the special scene of Little Groot dancing to The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” has been one of the most memorable and cutest scenes from the movie!

Now Hot Toys is excited to present one of the cutest 1/4 scale collectible you’ll ever see – Little Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy! The movie-accurate Little Groot Collectible features 3 interchangeable head sculpts, special paint application to reflect his distinctive appearance, and movable arms and body to recreate Little Groot’s dancing scene.

This Little Groot collectible will be a great addition to your display that will bring smiles to people!

Boba Fett is Upping the Scales

While they’re mostly well known for their amazingly well done 1:6th scale figures, Hot Toys also does larger figures in the 1:4th scale for collectors with serious display space! Now, Hot Toys is debuting their very first 1:4th figure in their ‘Star Wars’ series, and who better than fan favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett! The full release of this Mandalorian badass from Hot Toys is below:

The name “Boba Fett” is no stranger to all Star Wars fans. With his customized Mandalorian armor, deadly weaponry, and silent demeanor, Boba Fett was one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy. Following the introduction of Hot Toys’ Star Wars 1/6th scale collectible figures, today we are very excited to officially reveal Boba Fett as the first collectible figure of Hot Toys’ Star Wars 1/4th scale collectible series!

The highly-accurate quarter-scale collectible figure is specially crafted based on the image of Boba Fett in ‘Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi’ featuring finely sculpted Boba Fett helmet and armor, his signature jetpack, highly detailed weapons, accessories, and a specially designed sail barge figure stand all with skillfully-applied distressed effects. A special edition will be available for selected markets and include a blaster sidearm with holster which Boba Fett has in ‘Star Wars: Episode V: Empire Strikes Back’.

He’s Got New Kidneys!

Over the last 50+ years, ‘Doctor Who’’s infamous Doctor has had many different incarnations, and of those incarnations, there have been plenty of toys and collectibles made in his image. Now the crew at Big Chief Studios have announced their all new 1:6th scale Twelfth Doctor figure! This figure is the spitting image of actor Peter Capaldi, and represents the most recent incarnation of the Doctor. The full press release from Big Chief Studios is below:

He’s lived for over two thousand years and not all of them were good. The era of the fiery Twelfth Doctor is upon us and he’s a new man! The previous Doctor’s genial nature was gone and in its place a sharp, impatient and at times insensitive soul. The Twelfth Doctor may not be big on hugs but he’s still brave, heroic and drawn to danger.

BIG Chief Studios are proud to announce an all-new 1:6 Scale Collector Figure in celebration of the Twelfth Doctor. Officially licensed by BBC Worldwide and produced in a limited worldwide edition, each figure features a fully realised likeness of Peter Capaldi as the fierce Time Lord in his series 8 costume and comes packed with numerous accessories including: Jelly Baby Sweet Case; Yo Yo and the TARDIS in Siege Mode, plus a light-up display base.
Estimated shipping date: July 2015.

As an added bonus the first 500 customers who purchase the Twelfth Doctor Series 8 1:6 Scale Collector Figure from BIG Chief Studios, and choose to pay via one of our Payment Plans, or by paying in full, will receive a FREE Shrunken TARDIS accessory whilst stocks last. The Shrunken TARDIS features opening doors, a connection for a wrist peg to fit any of the interchangeable hands and a printed image of the Twelfth Doctor’s face to insert inside.

Specification
1 x 12th Doctor Portrait Head featuring an Authentic Likeness of Peter Capaldi
1 x Anatomix Standard Slim Male Body with over 30 Points of Articulation
1 x Overcoat with Magnetic Fastening
1 x White Shirt
1 x Cardigan
1 x Pair of Trousers
1 x Belt
1 x Pair of Socks (Partial)
1 x Pair of Boots
7 x Interchangeable Hands + 1 x Gloved Right Hand
1 x Display Base with Illuminating Gallifreyan Symbol & Stand
Accessories
1 x Sonic Screwdriver (Closed)
1 x Sonic Screwdriver (Open)
1 x Wallet with Psychic Paper
1 x Case with Jelly Baby Sweets
1 x TARDIS Siege Mode Cube
1 x Gloved Hand and Spoon
1 x Yo Yo
1 x TARDIS Series 8 Interior Printed Backdrop

EXCLUSIVE: 1 x Shrunken TARDIS FREE with Purchase via Payment in Full or Payment Plan (Limited to first 500 sold)

(via AFI)

Building The Dead

The man himself Todd McFarlane has come forward to give an update on the recently released McFarlane Toys ‘The Walking Dead’ building sets! Besides noting that the already released sets are a huge success, Todd  even gives fans an early peek at an upcoming set! The full post from the McFarlane Toys Facebook page is below:

THANK YOU!!!! All of you that have been supporting us with our The Walking Dead building sets (now on sale at Toys ”R” Us).You’ve made this a HUGE success for us! So here’s a SNEAK PEEK at one of next years toy building sets.

Two weeks ago we had our best week of sale yet (beating even the ‘Black Friday’ sales week). Then the numbers came in from last week and they were DOUBLE our best sales week so far (and some of those earlier weeks were very strong!) So, again, thank you.

That means we will continue making these sets for you as we try and get as creative as we can (with both the builds and the figures). Below are a few photos of a Prototype we’ve made of the Boiler Room from inside the Prison Block. I just wanted to share with you the cool detail that will be on this build, and the scale of it. Ignore the figure standing in it as it will be a Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead) human figure and another Walker figure.

I just put it in there so you could see how big the set will be. My hand might help too!

We’ll have this set coming out in the back half of 2015, and it should be selling for about $19. I’ll post some more of our upcoming sets/figures in the future. See you around.

TODD

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!

The Walking Mystery Minis

Funko’s Mystery Minis have been dominating the blind-box figure market for months, and now they’re back with an all new third wave of figures based on AMC’s hit zombie survival series ‘The Walking Dead’! This new wave is set to hit in February, and includes a ton of fan favorites from the fourth season of the hit show!

Funko Freezes Over Again

Well, since the droves of fans REFUSE to listen to the movie and ‘Let It Go’, Funko is releasing a bunch of cool new ‘Frozen’ merchandise! First up we’ve got a second wave of POP! Vinyl figures based on the animated hit! This new second wave of figures consists of Young versions of both Anna and Else, as well as Coronation versions of Anna and Else, and of course how could you have a series of ‘Frozen’ toys without Olaf? Summer Olaf completes the wave, which will be hitting in February!

Besides POP! figures, Funko also plans to release an all new assortment of Mystery Mini blind box figures based on the film. These are also set to hit in February and are made up of a huge assortment of different characters from the film! With 17 figures in total, it’s going to be quite the task collecting them all!

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!