Got that morning after feeling? I do. I not only spent all weekend being abused by toy companies long term plans to take my money, I foolishly vowed to have the IAT Checklists updated before the weekend was out (they are!), Once I was done, I remembered there was still that little matter of Armchair Coverage…
Before I get into any of the nitty gritty, I want to give a huge shout out to the folks that attended this year. For those of us that are unable to attend, they make this weekend miserable for our wallets instead of just miserable for us. It feels like more sites attended than normal this year and coverage came back very quickly. Some of the coverage is getting so well-organized that I almost wonder if Armchair Coverage is even going to be needed next year.
Page 1 – Marvel, Captain America, Thor, GI Joe, Transformers, & Star Wars
Page 2 – MOTU, Action League, JLU, DC Classics, Young Justice, & DC Direct
Page 3 – Thundercats, Power Rangers, Ghostbusters, NECA, Tonner, Cars, & Universal Monsters
Areas denoted in red have been updated for Tuesday.
I’m going to start with Hasbro because they simply blew me away on Saturday. I had errands to run that night and I had to be peeled away from the computer to get them done.
MU is that line that’s worming its way into my collection even though I know Legends is coming back. I’m not anywhere near completist with the line but the newly revealed lineups including Steve Rogers, Darkhawk, Scarlet Spider, and a First Appearance Captain Britain have me double checking my Marvel budget for the upcoming year. The Marvel Universe 2011 page has been updated with the press kit images – and, as requested, the new pics will open to larger images when you click ‘on em. We did hear about some variants like a Classic Darkhawk and Astral Doc Strange and a 2pk of Adam Warlock & Thanos (I just bought that guy!) that weren’t shown, as well the upcoming inclusion of Rocket Raccoon & Groot into the line.
For some great booth pics – including images of the Fantastic “Three” and Original Avengers 3pks (love the gold FA Iron Man) check out ToyArk’s Booth Coverage. Oh, and on that note, if you’re like us at IAT and love that the new Cable comes with baby Hope, buy him early. Later shipments won’t have Hope. I’m sure there’s a bad pun in there somewhere…
Marvel Legends
I wasn’t expecting much Marvel Legends news since 2012 is still a bit way, but we did get some tidbits! ToyArk reported that the first figure out of the gate will be a SDCC 2011 Exclusive modern Thor with the first full wave to follow in Spring 2012. A few names were dropped for that wave including Bucky Cap & Modern Hawkeye, but more importantly, there will beBAF and the first one is none other than Terrax!
Until then, 6″ fans will be tiding themselves over with the IM: Armored Avenger line which is continuing with figures of the Crimson Dynamo and War Machine (Initiative). On that note, the Iron Man 2 4″ line appears to be wrapped up. A few IM2 items were shown, but nothing for that scale except for a repaint of the Indy Car (which come to think of it, still needs added to that checklist… doh.)
The Captain America line only had a handful of items that we hadn’t seen before and how much you like ’em might vary. Personally, I love the idea of a Red, White, & Green Cap figure and I’m going to buy it (Hasbro calls it “Jungle Fatigues”, but I’m calling him “Captain Italy”). Other variants included Night Landing, Desert Fatigues, and Arctic Gear. Press Images can be found on our checklist while I recommend the gallery at MarvelousNews for up close shots of the newer Cap items.
The Thor movie line is a real conundrum. The figures look really well done, but I’m not sure how into them I can get with no comic figures in sight. It’s that silly situation where you’ll spend money on a crappy comic-based Thor while passing on an awesome movie-based one. The NYTF lineup revealed a fairly deep roster for this early in a movie line with 12 characters from the film. Our Thor Resource has the press images, but I might have a couple of the Thor figures out of order – I’ll get it fixed if I do. For booth images, I’m going to stick with MarvelousNews for some great closeups.
G.I. Joe
While I was impressed with a lot of Hasbro’s Marvel offerings, it was the G.I. Joe section where I was sure Hasbro was out to get me. Not only is the line veering back towards updated figures of my 80s favorites, but they sprung for an all-new Skystriker (the original mold was destroyed/lost years ago) and to make it that much more appealing, it’s getting a Transformers Starscream redeco. That news shot through the internet so quick, I think we all knew within minutes! It’s pretty cool even if it doesn’t transform. The SDCC version will be piloted by Cobra Commander and he comes with a Megatron pistol to boot.
After I calmed down a bit from that TF/Joe combo, there were a great mix of Joes to check out including updated versions of Sci-Fi, Crazylegs, the last Storm Shadow you’ll ever need, a Techno-Viper (!!!), and Steel Brigade. I honestly couldn’t pick one to be most excited about. There’s a few others I didn’t mention (including some Renegades stuff, Zarana, and a sweet new Hazmat Viper!) so check out HissTank for Press Pics & Booth Pics.
Transformers
Honestly, I think Transformers was the one area where I wanted to look and find some cool stuff, but I got lost in all the sub-lines. There was Mech Tech, Cyberverse, Prime, Dark of the Moon, Robopower, Rescue Bots, Kre-O, and eleventy billion others I can’t remember. I’m glad that one of my favorite properties is clearly doing very, very well, but I didn’t always know what I was looking at.
I did notice a curious lack of Generations-esque stuff. With Kup, Wreck-Gar, Scourge, etc., hitting stores, I wanted more of the same and didn’t find it because the overall line appears to be transitioning back to movie product. I did read that more Generations were in the pike though, so here’s hoping.
Some stuff did catch me eye like the little Kre-O minifigures (think G1-styled Lego dudes) and this awesome Sentinel Prime (pictured right, click on the image to see the bot mode). That gobbedly gook on his cab in alt mode has to go, but he looks cool otherwise. My suggestion for TF coverage is to just hit up TFW2005’s Toy Fair category and poke around.
Star Wars
I realized some time back that I’m anti-George Lucas. No, I don’t have a beef with the eternal tinkerer. It’s just that Lucas has all the time & money for Star Wars and I don’t have enough of either, so I just can’t keep up with the line these days. One thing I couldn’t miss though was a giant Death Star 12-figure pack coming to SDCC (via ToyArk). It’s a giant package with 12 big packages in it. I honestly don’t know how you’re supposed to get it home.
I also spotted a really sad looking Bariss Offee. She’s covered in worms or tentacles, so the sad look definitely makes sense. Rebelscum has a galleries of both the press pics & the showroom for your viewing pleasure.
As a collector, I’m kinda happy that Mattel will be mass-producing your custom Super Powers Mr. Freeze, because I’ve been trying to acquire the goggle-less varaint for a while to copy your amazing work for my own collection!
That said, as a customizer myself, I’m sure your reactions were a little mixed this weekend. If Mattel had shown a Kalibak or Penguin in Super Powers colours, which looked exactly like my own customs (http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc25/zellers_r.shtml), I’d be torn. It’s perhaps not a novel idea that I can claim much credit for, but at the same time, I spent a while carefully choosing my colour palette and which regions would get which colour… So, flattering that an idea took on, but a tiny bit of recognition would be nice, too, right?
I know your Mr. Freeze is far more intricate, paint-wise that even my Kalibak was. I imagine you made many similar decisions that you can see here on their prototype that you (also? first?) made during painting. And I’d guess you’re also asking “well, why didn’t they use the goggle-less head, as well?”. As an example, I went back and forth so many times on the decision to paint a mustard-coloured midriff on Kalibak – if they showed a prototype with the same deco, I’d see my decision there I think… not their creativity.
It would be very nice of them to at least give you inspirational credit. Or a shout-out. Palisades was the king of giving credit to the community at large for participating in the creative process; Mattel couldn’t possibly be hurt for mentioning your participation, however tangentially, in public, right?
Damn! I knew I’d seen that Freeze before! I don’t know if I’d be ticked off or flattered.
Man-e-faces should not be a part of the Shore… PASTY MEF FTYW!
Thanks for doing this. I’m happy that we have the guys going to Toyfare to get the pics, but I’m thankful for sites like yours that pull it all together too.
Thanks for all the “points” Noisy. It was hard to find a website that had pic links that would even work yesterday and you have a few listed here I didn’t even think of.
I personally want both versions of Man E Faces. The vintage figure was my fave as a kid so I’ll want that for notalgia’s sake, but I’m also a huge fan of the mini-comic mythos, so I’d like his concept colors too. Hopefully whichever one doesn’t make the cut ends up in a MotUC/DC 2 pack or some other alternate vending.
BTW, I never thought of his orange body as his “skin”. If it was supposed to be his skin, then that means the vintage figure’s helmet plugs directly into his body. Ewwwww.
this TF looked quite excellent, but honestly, toypocalypse ruined TF for me. exploded scarabus image, along w/ reveals for raven, and then the numerous symbiotechs, AND new OSM to boot! come on, the other companies are getting around to almost treating us as well as the horsemen have treated us for years. that said, come on… the starscream skystriker w/ megatron weilding cobra commander takes the grand prize for 2011 for responding to fan demand in the coolest way possible. blonde bikini teela takes a distant second, though she too is welcome.
Just think of it as flattering that you’re getting your own custom made… 9_9;…. (except I like Vault’s more… ^^; )
For the Crime Syndicate figures, the Green Ring and Johnny Quick both were back as the versions in a recent issue of Justice League of America. I dont have it in front of me to reference but they seem pretty close to how they appeared there.
One way of looking at it is, each team is now a single two-pack away from completion. Or, knowing Mattel, two two-packs.
I was disappointed when I saw the Batman Legacy teasers. When they turned out to be mock-ups, it was a different kind of disappointing. Now that the full reveal shows they cheaped out on Freeze, I’m worried for Catman. They wouldn’t really use that crappy DCSH body, would they? I wouldn’t pay one dollar for that Catman, let alone whatever they’ll be charging by the time he hits. It doesn’t take much to do him justice, just repaint a decent base, maybe add a few sculpted details/new parts. A new head for sure, accessories would be nice… On a related note, why the Hell are they putting out the Supergirl no one wants again? That and Hal/Zodak are terribly unappealing. Are they trying to kill the DC/MOTU two-packs?
I’m in love with the 6″ Young Justice line. Price will be a sticking point, but I’ll spend hours trying to convince myself Artemis and Aqualad are worth it. Quality is the trump card. And oh, the possibilities… New Black Canary with useful hip articulation? Yes, please. This could be the DCU/DCAU hybrid line many have clamored for for years. Mattel can bolster the DCU ranks with Red Arrows and Cheshires without making room in the main line.
And hey, wave 18 doesn’t completely suck! Go figure. Not a fan of Boomer’s headsculpt, but Bronze Tiger must be mine.
Weapon shop! *squee* I can hardly wait.
The Mr. Freeze custom use is absolutely the funniest thing I saw this weekend. I guess you guys probably won’t take it too hard kind of being affiliated with Fantastic Exclusive and all? The Batman Legacies line was a wasted opportunity. Understanding its Movie Masters from Dark Knight Rises but I thought they we’re going to a Batman Classics DCUC subline like the Lantern line earlier this year. More “lack of retailer interest” excuses?
Best thing I saw though was Battleground Teela. June can’t get here soon enough! They stayed faithful to MOTU Teela’s look without falling into the trap of making her yet another stereotypical barbarian female in the Thor/Conan vein.
Triad Toys also had some good stuff in their booth, now its just matter of getting them to release the stuff in less than a year. These guys have nothing on Mattel.
The total lack of any Generations/RTS Transformers stuff is disturbing but its a movie year and Hasbro will focus completely on the film. Takara can pick up the slack with some repaints in the United import line.
Theres still some time left before Toyfair is over so I hope some surprises creep in. Overall I’ve been thrilled with far less stuff this year than in past years. SDCC can’t get here soon enough.
Love your writing, but, I’m sorry, don’t you mean Legion 12 pack instead of 5 pack? Or did they change plans?
Symbiotech stands up for me as the new toy line I’m most excited about. Has there been any word on release?
Transformers – Sad to see Generations suffer. Mechtech is not for me at all. Cyberverse looks fun, but again isn’t for me. Prime is okay and I may grab the Starscream. Generally a huge letdown after how awesome Generations has been.