Hello and welcome to yet another all new edition of Toy News Tuesday! 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! Summer is coming to a close and fall is upon us, and with it it brings forth wave upon wave of awesome new collectibles to hunt down just in time for the holiday season! We’ve still got a few months to go, but there is plenty to look forward to in the Toy News for the week of September 15th, 2015!
Diamond Select Returns To The DCAU
Much like the rest of us, our friends at Diamond Select Toys seem to be having a hard time letting go of the DC Animated Universe that started with 1992’s ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and ended nearly a decade ago with the finale of ‘Justice League Unlimited’ . Many fans see the ‘Timmverse’ (named for animator Bruce Timm, who was responsible for much of the shows artistic style and designs) as the definitive adaption of the DC Universe, so it isn’t hard to see why so many people have found this particular rendition of the DCU so hard to let get of! Thankfully DST has us all covered, with a bevy of awesome new products coming our way from the DC Animated Universe! Check out the full releases below:
Batman The Animated Series Harley Quinn Vinyl Bust Bank
A Diamond Select Toys release! A good partner-in-crime is worth her weight in gold! The Joker often fails to appreciate the value of his loving assistant Harley Quinn, but her value won’t be in question once you fill her with your spare change. With a coin slot in the back and an access door in the base, this approximately 8″ vinyl bank depicts Harley as she appeared on Batman: The Animated Series, and features collectible-quality sculpting and paint. Best of all, she’s in scale to the companion Joker bank, so you can pair them up for the crime of the century! Packaged in a clear polybag. Sculpted by Varner Studios.
Bank SRP: $22.99Batman The Animated Series Two-Face Resin Bust
A Diamond Select Toys release! You won’t have to flip a coin to decide whether or not you need this bust! Joining DST’s line of resin busts based on Batman: The Animated Series, heavily scarred lawyer-turned-gangster Harvey Dent has been captured just as he appeared in the classic cartoon. Posed atop an art-deco base, this approximately 6″ resin sculpture of Two-Face comes with a certificate of authenticity, inside a full color box. Limited to 3,000 pieces! Sculpted by Varner Studios.
Bust SRP: $59.99Batman The Animated Series Pint Glasses
A Diamond Select Toys release! Pour a tall glass of justice in two different pint glasses inspired by Gotham City locations from Batman: The Animated Series! One glass is from The Stacked Deck, where super-villains go to exchange stories about how they “Almost Got ‘Im,” the other is from Gotham City University, where the students study hard and party harder. Each pint glass comes packaged in a full-color window box.
Batman TAS Stacked Deck Pint Glass SRP: $10.99
Batman TAS Gotham University Pint Glass SRP: $10.99Justice League Animated Femme Fatales Hawkgirl PVC Statue
A Diamond Select Toys release! Build your own league of heroines! The line of DC Animated PVC statues continues with this sculpture of Hawkgirl in action! Depicting the winged Thanagarian warrior as she appeared on Justice League, this approximately 9″ scale plastic statue has Shayera Hol brandishing her mace in combat. Packaged in a full-color window box, Hawkgirl is in scale to other Femme Fatales statues, including Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl! Sculpted by Varner Studios.
Statue SRP: $45.00
(via AFI)
On top of these wonderful new releases, Diamond Select Toys also has one more special new item in store for us with the reveal of this Entertainment Earth exclusive Talia Al Ghul statue from their ‘Femme Fatales’ line! Check out the full release from DST below:
Batman The Animated Series Femme Fatales Talia Al Ghul PVC StatueBatman’s femme fatales are numerous, but none are more fatal than Talia Al Ghul! A member of the Society of Shadows, Talia Al Ghul captured Batman’s heart when she appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, even as his mind told him to resist. Now, Batman’s forbidden love is the newest Femme Fatale PVC statue in the DC Animated line, and she’s exclusively at Entertainment Earth!In Batman: The Animated Series, Talia Al Ghul is the only daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, the leader of the organization of assassins known as the Society of Shadows. A highly trained operative and her father’s primary emissary in most affairs, Talia al Ghul first met Batman on a mission to Gotham City, where the two developed strong feelings for each other. These feelings were encouraged by Ra’s, who sought a successor in the Dark Knight, but they were denied by Batman, who could not fully commit to a woman with ties to such an amoral organization.This approximately 9-inch rendition of Talia Al Ghul was sculpted by Varner Studios based on her appearance in Batman: The Animated Series. It is constructed of high-grade vinyl and features a high level of detail and an exacting paint process, packaged inside a full-color window box suitable for display. Exclusively available through EntertainmentEarth.com, she is in-scale to other Femme Fatales statues, including DC Animated universe versions of Batgirl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Supergirl, Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman.Statue SRP: $44.99
Egg-citing News Inbound From DST!
After nearly fifty years, there are still countless fans of all ages that have a lot of love for the classic ‘Batman 66‘ television series! The team at Diamond Select Toys seems to have at least a few of those fans among their team, as they continue to pump out great new merchandise based on the classic series. The crew over at The 13th Dimension were recently able to get a sneak peak at the latest piece in DST’s ongoing series of collectible resin busts based on the series, the villainous Egghead! This notorious villain was played by the legendary Vincent Price, and was a recurring character on the hit series. As it’s a rare sight to see merchandise based on the character, this piece is expected to disappear from shelves quickly! Don’t wait too long to pick this guy up when he releases later this year!
Mass Effect Minimates Making A Comeback
Fans of Bioware’s popular ‘Mass Effect’ video game franchise are going to be pleased to find out that Diamond Select Toys has announced an all new ‘Mass Effect’ Minimates box set! Kotaku has announced that this four figure box set is set to continue the ‘Mass Effect’ Minimates line that began as a Gamestop Exclusive assortment of blind bags, and bring this series to wide release! This box set contains fan favorite characters like Miranda Lawson, Aria T’Loak, Husk, and Commander Shepard (with both male ‘John’ and female ‘Jane’ interchangeable heads). This box set is expected to hit stores before years end.
‘Fantastic’ News From Big Chief Studios
Big Chief Studios has big news for ‘Doctor Who’ fans! While it was revealed a bit ago that they were planning to release a 1:6th Scale figure of the Ninth Doctor, they have now officially revealed out first full look at the upcoming figure! If Nine is anything like the previous ‘Doctor Who’ releases from Big Chief, expect a superb figure with a ton of great accessories and an incredible likeness to the actor! Just looking at this figure it’s almost like staring at a tiny real life Christopher Eccleston! Safe to say, he looks… dare I say it? Fantastic.
In Your House, Everyone Can Hear You Scream…
And you are almost DEFINITELY going to if you pick up this next item! Hollywood Collectibles Group have announced a super limited run life-size statue of an Alien Xenomorph straight out of the sci-fi classic sequel, ‘ALIENS’! This 1:1 Scale statue is MASSIVE and will scare the bejeezus out of all of your house guests in a most satisfactory manner! This item is going to be limited with a run of only 150 pieces, and with a pricetag of just under $6,000, they are sure to go quickly! The full release from Hollywood Collectibles Group is below:
From the iconic movie Aliens™, we are proud to present our Officially Licensed Life Size Aliens Warrior statue!This magnificent Xenomorph stands a full 80” tall and was made by an Aliens SFX professional utilizing some screen used components in its creation. Constructed from fiberglass and mixed media, and with intricate attention to detail, the Aliens Warrior is captured perfectly in terrifying attack stance, and features a semi posable tail.Each piece is hand finished and individually painted with the Aliens Warrior’s signature wet and glossy appearance. This stunning piece stands on an Aliens themed display base accentuated with atmospheric up lighting. With a Limited Edition of just 150 individually numbered statues, this is the ultimate centerpiece for anyone’s Aliens collection.The piece is priced at $5,999.95, or as little as $472 a month if you use an optional payment plan. An Early Bird Discount is available – SAVE $500!! Place your order before September 30th, 2015 and receive a $500 discount! The Aliens Warrior is available for pre-order through hollywood-collectibles.com.
(via AFI)
“You Sure You Know How To Drive One Of Those?”
While they’re been teasing it for months, NECA has finally given fans everywhere the big reveal with a full new image gallery of their upcoming P-5000 Power Loader Deluxe Vehicle from their 7″ scale toyline based on the eternally popular ‘ALIENS” franchise. The iconic vehicle is in scale with the figures from the line, allowing you to put one in the drivers seat (and really, who else would you put in there but Ripley herself?)! Fanboys everywhere can finally check this legendary vehicle off of their wishlists as it’s set to hit stores before years end! The full release from NECA is below:
Do you need more power?It’s coming soon! In less than a month, the best powered exoskeleton any Marine could ask for will start shipping, and we’re sure that everyone is eager for a closer look. Check the Power Loader in action below – packaging photos included! The Aliens – Deluxe Vehicle – Power Loader P-5000 from the thrilling 1986 movie Aliens!Whether you’re loading heavy ordnance or fighting a terrifying alien queen, the Caterpillar P-5000 Powered Work Loader has the extra muscle you need to get the job done. Now the iconic exoskeleton used so skillfully by Lt. Ripley is available as a Deluxe Vehicle that fits most 6.5-7” action figures.NECA’s Power Loader P-5000 Deluxe Vehicle stands over 11” tall and features more than 30 points of articulation (including fully articulated arms and legs), 20 wires and hoses, working pistons and exceptional detail. Figures sold separately.
Mezco’s NYCC 2015 Exclusives Are Judge & Executioner
I guess we will just skip the jury this year, as this week the team over at Mezco have announced some of their epic New York Comic Con Exclusives! This years offerings include a few that seem like they’d be right up science fiction fans alleys! The two big bads this year are a special ‘Black and Gold’ edition Scorpion figure from ‘Mortal Kombat X’, and a ‘Black and White’ edition of Mezco’s 1:12 Scale Judge Dredd figure! The full releases from Mezco are below:
Mortal Kombat X : Scorpion Exclusive Black & Gold Variant
Scorpion, the hell-spawned specter, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his own family, is one of the game’s most popular characters. To ensure a game accurate likeness, correct to the finest detail, Mezco’s award-winning design team has digitally sculpted the figures using the digital files from the game developers themselves. Mezco’s 6inch scale version features 23 points of articulation, many with ball joints, allowing him to recreate all the moves and poses that have made him part of gaming legend. All ninjas need weapons and Scorpion has them. He comes complete with his spear tipped wrist chains, as well as 2 game accurate swords. He also has an additional pair of fighting hands for even more game accurate poses. This exclusive variant features a unique Black & Gold game accurate color scheme and comes in a collector friendly blister card perfect for display. Only a limited number are available, so get yours while you can, but don’t delay because once they are gone, they are gone forever!
New York Comic Con One:12 Collective- Judge Dredd Black & White Variant
Ripped from Rebellion’s award winning comic is Mega-City One’s most notorious Street Judge, Judge Dredd. Some time in the near future Mega City One is part of what is left of a dystopian society and the law is upheld by Judges. Charged with the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner Street Judges are on the front line of maintaining order in a post apocalyptic world. Working closely with Rebellion and comic book artist Ben Willsher to design the most accurate figure possible based on the characters current look the One:12 Collective has crafted a finely detailed figure with some truly amazing features. The Judge Dredd figure has a comic accurate, digitally sculpted likeness, a specially silkscreened spandex uniform with a real working zipper to create a realism at this scale not seen before and numerous accessories as well as interchangeable parts.
This exclusive variant pays tribute to Dredd’s comic origins with a stark black and white color scheme.
The One:12 Collective Judge Dredd features:
– Iconic helmet with translucent visor
– Real leather-like fabric uniform
– Equipment belt with working compartments for grenades and ammo magazine
– Boots with holster and knife sheath
– Boot knife
-Handcuffs
– Lawgiver pistol
– Lawgiver ammo magazine
– Daystick
– Two grenades
– One set of fists
– One gun/holding hand
– One open hand
– One pointing hand
– One choking hand
– Display base with posing post
Each figure is packaged in a box designed for collector convenience, the packaging allows for both maximum protection as well as ease of removal for display.
Smaller Scale ‘Star Wars’ Goes Exclusive
With all of the hub-bub around ‘Force Friday’, one minor detail that was announced by Hasbro went missed by many. It seems that in a press release issued prior to the event, Hasbro had actually dropped a bit of a bombshell for ‘Star Wars’ 3.75″ Scale collectors, with the reveal that the smaller scaled ‘Star Wars’ line would now be a Walmart Exclusive toyline moving forward! This is a huge announcement that seems to have been mostly glossed over, but when you think about the fact that the 3.75″ Scale ‘Star Wars’ line has been the toylines mainstay series since the 1970’s, it’s a pretty big deal to see it go exclusive to one retailer! Thankfully for most collectors, the new 6″ Scale ‘Star Wars Black Series’ figures will remain nonexclusive. The release from Hasbro is below:
WALMART: This fall, Walmart is the home for STAR WARS collectors and the exclusive home of the fan-favorite STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES3.75-inch action figure line. A limited number of the first wave of the new line will be available in Walmart stores, and the second wave, featuring brand-new figures from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS and a brand-new PRINCESS LEIA figure, will be available for online pre-order!
(via AFI)
McFarlane’s Dead Still Walking
The team at McFarlane Toys has revealed the figure lineup for their highly anticipated 9th Series of figures based on AMC’s hit zombie television series, ‘The Walking Dead‘! This new way is set to hit stores in Spring of 2016, and is comprised of a ton of long awaited characters from earlier in the television series (spoiler alert for characters who haven’t been in the show for over two seasons!). This wave is made up of fan favorites like Beth, T-Dog, Michonne, The Water Walker, and ‘Grave Digger’ Daryl! We’re also getting a special new ‘Death Scene Dale’ figure! It certainly looks like this zombie series still has some life in it!
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!
These Are Very Likely The Droids You’re Looking For
Funko collectors have been going nuts over the Marvel Comics themed ‘Marvel Collectors Corps’ subscription box from Funko since it launched earlier this summer, and now Funko is trying to bring that same magic to ‘Star Wars’ fans with their new ‘Smugglers Bounty’ subscription box! This new subscription will ship every other month and be jam packed with exclusive ‘Star Wars’ products you can’t get anywhere else! The first ‘Smugglers Bounty’ box ships this November and is set to include two exclusive POP! Vinyl figures! Check out the full release from Funko below:
Star Wars.com and Funko are proud to unveil Smuggler’s Bounty, the only OFFICIAL Star Wars subscription box in the galaxy! Featuring 100% exclusive collectibles, apparel and accessories from the Star Wars universe, the debut box – entitled Star Wars: The Force Awakens – will ship this November.
For just $25 every other month, members will receive a box full of exclusive Star Wars-themed Funko items valued at over $50. Each box will focus on a different part of the Star Wars universe and include memorabilia exclusive to the program. The initial November box will contain TWO exclusive Pop! vinyl bobbleheads from the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as a host of other surprises perfect for any Star Wars fan. Boxes will ship every two months, and there are two member levels available – a monthly plan (Pirate), and an annual plan (Boss) featuring a mystery reward upon completing one year in the program.
Don’t miss this chance to get in early and acquire the premiere box from Smuggler’s Bounty – Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Sign-up today at www.smugglersbounty.com!
New POP! Exlcusives
As always, Funko has some sweet new exclusives coming our way! And also as always, they’re not going to be easy to obtain, with several new exclusives coming to several different retailers! The three latest exclusives Funko POP! Vinyl figures coming our way are Metallic Armored Baymax, Hatless-Syringe-Fingers Freddy Krueger, and Metallic Vision! Baymax is going to be exclusive to online retailer FUN, while Freddy is exclusive to Hot Topic (just in time for Halloween!), and The Vision is going to be exclusive to FYE. All three exclusive POP! vinyls are set to hit stores this month!
(via PopVinyls)
“You’ve Got Red On You”
While they will be a little bit late for Halloween, Funko has announced that this November horror fans can be on the lookout for this pair of brand new POP! Vinyl figures based on the horror comedy cult classic ‘Shaun Of The Dead’! These POP! vinyls of Shaun and Ed look fantastic, and can only leave us hoping we get POP! vinyls based on the rest of the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ from Edgar Wright!
Choose Your Blindbox Wisely
Funko has revealed two all new waves of Mystery Mini Blindbox vinyl figures! Each of these new waves is a follow up to a previous series, with Wave 2 of ‘Nightmare Before Christmas‘ Mystery Minis hitting stores this October, followed in November by Wave 2 of the “Science Fiction‘ Mystery Minis! While the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ series is pretty straightforward and filled with a ton of great characters form the iconic film, the new wave of Science Fiction minis will consist of a ton of great characters from all across the genre. We’re getting figures from ‘The Fifth Element’, ‘The Iron Giant’, ‘The Matrix’, ‘Voltron’, ‘Godzilla’, ‘Futurama’ ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and more!
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!