Now back again one year later with a wealth of new content, Lego Dimensions is poised to cement itself as the preeminent toys-to-life game.
Droids are the unsung heroes of the Star Wars universe, and that holds true in the toy department too. Though the bigger droids of the franchise have been honored numerous times throughout the years, but those that have only appeared a few times across the saga haven’t had quite as much figural success. Yeah, you’ve got your GNK droids and your interrogation droids, but it’s rare these days for any true Imperial droids to get any play.
Where at least the droids that pal around with the Rebel Alliance have had some adventures beyond the 1/12 scale, it’s rarified air for anyone that doesn’t know a Skywalker personally to get any love --- particularly at sixth-scale. Sideshow Collectibles appreciates the little guy, and with the release of the R2-Q5 has finally given the 1/6 bad guys a droid all their own.
The NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Set was arguably one of the most anticipated and sought-after San Diego Comic-Con exclusives this year. Fans have been after more NECA TMNT figures ever since the company delivered its Mirage-inspired foursome way back when. The rest of the planned line, which consisted of Shredder and the Foot Clan, never saw the light of day --- though those "lost" figures were retooled and repainted to fit into the Foot Clan companion set to this Turtles collection at SDCC.
The Turtles themselves got all-new sclupts, paint apps and accessories that more closely resemble the animated characters on which the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game were based. The wait has been long for some truly quality TMNT figures, and even though these are a very specific set of ninjas, they're damn brilliant.
Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Serie typically get all the headlines from Hasbro at San Diego Comic-Con, but that doesn't mean Transformers gets left out in the cold. In fact, this year, despite having a bit of smaller showing compared to other shows like Toy Fair and even 2015's New York Comic Con, Hasbro brought out some rather big guns for the Transformers line. We're not just talking about the exclusive Fortress Maximus either.
The Combiner Wars have been running through the Transformers toy line (and through the IDW comics and Machinima animated series), so it only made sense that a new Combiner would make its triumphant debut at SDCC. Liokaiser is a massive Transformer, and one that pays tribute to an oft-forgotten Japanese animated series and that will finally see the character released in the US after more nearly 20 years.
If you've been following the site closely these past few weeks, you'd know that I was eagerly anticipating the release of an all-new set of Marvel Masterpieces trading cards. Announced back in 2014, the Upper Deck card set was delayed ever so slightly to allow artist Joe Jusko the proper amount of time to complete the entire set on his own. Finally, after more than 20 years since the last time Jusko took on the challenge, and after a few years of wondering when Upper Deck would finally release this new collection of 135 paintings to the wild, it happened. Marvel Masterpieces returned.
For all the popularity Deadpool has enjoyed over the years, it's quite possible that his star has never shined brighter than in 2016. The dude is in about a dozen comics a month, he had a smash hit film (finally) that's earned the right to move into sequel talks, and he's still on more merchandise than just about any X-person without the words Wolv and Erine in their names. That includes action figures, of which Wade Wilson has has plenty. But there are more on the way, including his first from NECA Toys.
NECA's made a smidgen of Marvel figures before, all in quarter-scale size as the license permits, but they've all been tied to the movie versions of the Avengers. Deadpool will be the company's first Marvel figure based on his comic interpretation, and actually NECA's first comic book-based figure from either the Marvel or DC lines. Anyone that's been collecting NECA's 1/4 scale figures knows the kind of detail they bring to the table, but if this is a glimpse of the potential to come from other comic-based figures, the competition just got real quiet.
Over the past year or so, Tamashii Nations' Movie Realization series for Star Wars stormed onto shelves and became one of the most sought-after lines in the collecting community. While the standard Star Wars figures will always suffice, Tamashii's bold interpretations took the brand back to its own inspirations, and gave us some of the most unique Star Wars toys ever. Now the Japanese company is turning its eye to comics, and putting heroes like Spider-Man through the same feudal era lens.
Courtesy of Marvel, ComicsAlliance brings you an advance look at new periodical comic books, collected editions and graphic novels going on sale in April 2016 (and in some cases beyond) from the publisher’s mainline Marvel Universe titles, its licensed properties, and the creator-owned label Icon.
For three years, DC Collectibles has been churning out figures based on the beloved Batman: The Animated Series. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but after seemingly righting the ship at the tail end of 2015, it looks like the line is set for some smooth sailing in the coming year. At Toy Fair, nearly 20 new figures for the line were unveiled for the first time, with final production versions of few others appearing as well. Given that the show, and its successor The New Batman Adventures, ran for so long, there's still plenty of mileage to get out of this series. There's no signs of DC Collectibles slowing down at all, and that's just fine by us.
A few of the figures were teased prior to the show, including the tremendous new box sets for "Girl's Night Out," "Legends of the Dark Knight," and Batman Beyond. Even in the early stages, all three of these collections look fantastic. Supergirl and Livewire are the only new figures to the "Girl's Night Out" set, but both are welcome. The two characters had great designs on the show, and those come through wonderfully here. The Batman Beyond set comes with some accessories for Terry, including wing attachments, so there's a lot of promise in that set. Both Batman Beyond and "Girl's Night Out" also hint at potential expansions for DC Collectibles' animated figures. Keep those fingers crossed for an Inque and Bruce Timm-inspired Darkseid.
Though you would have thought a great deal of Mattel's Toy Fair event would have been focused on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which to be fair it was, there were actually more new figures on hand from August's Suicide Squad film. Many of the Dawn of Justice figures have already hit retail, but the upcoming villain-led film made a surprise showing, and Mattel revealed almost the entire team this weekend.
Interestingly enough, there was no Suicide Squad branding on any of the new figures. Where DC Collectibles and other specialty lines can get away with putting the word "suicide" on the box, it's a tougher sell for mass market figures that will show up in Target and Walmart. The Suicide Squad will fit in with the DC Multiverse line, offering 6" versions of the team in the branding you're already seeing for characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman for Dawn of Justice, and Flash and Green Arrow from their respective TV shows. Where those media properties get the film/show logo slapped on the side of the box, it'll be interesting to see what Mattel puts on these packages to indicate just where these guys came from.
Baby-fied versions of pop culture characters aren't anything new. Chibi-inspired art has been around for a loooooong time, and we've had the X-babies and Muppet Babies and Skottie Young's Marvel babies continually reminding us that everything old can be made new again just by turning it into a child. The same can be said of Hot Toys' Cosbaby line, which appropriates the company's various licenses for highly-detailed adult action figures into itty-bitty versions with exaggerated features. Given the popularity of the Star Wars franchise, it was only a matter of time until Hot Toys turned its chibi-loving eyes towards The Force Awakens.
Yes, soon you'll be able to enjoy miniaturized figures of your favorite members of the First Order, rendered with the same affection of the caricature artist from your favorite amusement park. Twelve different figures will comprise the first two series of Hot Toys' Star Wars: The Force Awakens Cosbabies, including that rapscallion Kylo Ren and his bestest of friends, FN-2187.
Boy, these new Barbie body types are sure getting really specific. I mean, it makes sense for Mattel to attempt to reach a broader, more diverse audience by releasing new Barbies that better match the girls and young women of the world, but aging, rich white dude with trust issues hardly seems like it will strike the right chord. The only thing this might strike is fear into the hearts of criminals.
Though Mattel had announced the full DC Trinity (in their Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice garb) would be getting the Barbie treatment at San Diego Comic-Con last year, the only doll anyone got to see was Wonder Woman. The Amazonian princess certainly looked the part, but nobody really knew what to expect from a potential Batman or Superman at the time. With Toy Fair 2016 right around the corner, and Mattel having a large Barbie and DC Comics presence at the show, it seemed like we might get our first glimpse at the Bruce and Clark Ken dolls in a few weeks. Thanks to Amazon, we no longer have to wait for Batman.
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