John Ary here with a quick look at a few action figure lines that are making headlines...
1/6 Scale Léon from The Professional by Enterbay
In 1994, Jean Reno starred in the French thriller Léon. The film is better known by most Americans as The Professional and would launch the career of an 11 year-old Natalie Portman. Enterbay has paid homage to Mr. Reno with this 1/6 figure. It features 30 points of articulation, 6 guns, six grenades, a switch blade, 10 interchangeable hands, a brown pleather work vest for holding weapons and tools, a movie-accurate cloth costume, houseplant, figure stand and more. He’ll run around $230 when he arrives in the fall.
1/6 Scale Mark IV Iron Man with Gantry by Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys
Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys have teamed-up for this 1/6 scale Suit-Up Gantry with Mark IV armor from the Iron Man 2 movie. The set features five mechanical arms, a Mark IV limited edition figure with 36 points of articulation, a Robert Downey Jr. head, helmet, LED-lighted eyes and ARC reactor, detachable chest armor, three pairs of interchangeable hands, figure stand and much more. That’s up for pre-order on the Sideshow Collectibles website. You may need Tony Stark-like pockets to purchase him though. This set will cost you $499.99.
Marvel Legends 2012 Wave 1 from Hasbro
It was sad to see the old Marvel Legends line shrivel up and die. Toy Biz started this series of 6-inch figures back in 2002 with great articulation, sculpting, paint applications and industry-changing innovation. When Hasbro acquired the license in 2007, many felt the quality began to slip. Eventually, production slowed down and the product line faded away. 2012 will mark the resurrection of this celebrated toy line. Here are a few of the slides Hasbro presented at it's San Diego Comic Con panel showing off the new figures.
Lego Super Heroes
Lego will bring both Marvel and DC Super heroes to toy shelves in May of next year. Construction sets, minifigures and buildable characters will feature fan favorites like Spider-man, Superman, Captain America, Batman and more. Lego has already launched a website for the new wave of figures at www.LegoSuperHeroes.com, but so far it only features three DC heroes (Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern) and information about several of their Super Hero-themed contests. Here are some pics courtesy our good friends over at From Bricks to Bothans of a few of the figures shown off at San Diego Comic Con.
DC Universe Online Series 1 by DC Direct
DC Direct will base this new set of 7-inch scale figures on Sony Entertainment’s MMO game. Based on the art of Jim Lee, Batman, Catwoman, Cyborg and Wonder Woman will each come with accessories and 4-color clamshell blister card packaging. These will go on sale March 21, 2012.
Voltron by Mattel
MattyCollector.com has announced a new Voltron subscription for it’s 2012 wave of figures. Much like the Masters of the Universe Classics subscription, collectors will get first dibs when the Voltron figures go up for sale every two or three months. They will also receive several perks for being a subscriber. Here’s how MattyCollector.com is explaining the subscription:
 | Overview of Club Lion Force
The 2012 Voltron line includes five Lions (black, green, yellow, blue, red) that form robot Voltron. The five Pilots include Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Allura, and Keith. |
| | Here’s how much the subscription will cost you: Subscriptions are available from MattyCollector.com until August 5, 2011.
|
And finally, to celebrate the return of the National Football League, here's a video review of McFarlane Toys new wave of Playmakers action figures. These hit retail shelves a little over a week ago.
Have a great week and keep collecting!
John Ary is host of the action figure web show Articulation Times. For more toy updates and action figure reviews, follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
