John Ary here with a super-sized look at some action figure lines that are making headlines this week... As always click on the photos for an embiggened version and for more pics follow the pre-order links...
The Avengers Iron Man Mark VII from Hot Toys
Another Iron Man film appearance, another deluxe 1/6 scale action figure... This upcoming Mark VII from Hot Toys features movie-accurate armor with articulated air flaps, 36 points of articulation, interchangeable plates, a wrist laser, forearm rockets, a Robert Downey Jr. interchangeable head, a light-up arc reactor on the chest, a figure base and a special edition hologram figurine. He’s up for pre-order here with an expected arrival in the first quarter of 2013.
The Dark Knight Rises from Hot Toys
If a 1/6 scale Dark Knight Rises figure is too small for your action figure collecting needs, Hot Toys is upping the ante with this upcoming 1/4 scale version of Christian Bale as Batman. Although this is being marketed as a Dark Knight Rises figure, it includes several accessories and features from all three movies. It stands 18.5-inches tall with more than 32 points of articulation, 3 interchangeable heads (sonar vision with light-up eyes, masked head and unmasked head), three interchangeable lower faces, three pairs of interchangeable hands, the batsuit with a fabric base covered with armor, cape, the utility belt with a die cast buckle, forearm gauntlets, boots, grapnel gun, sticky bomb gun, ultrasonic cutter, radiation detector, light-up EMP gun, three batarangs, a miniature mine, flight pack, and a figure stand with masks of Bane, Joker, Scarecrow and a special edition batmask. It will release in the first quarter of 2013 or you can pre-order it here.
Play Arts Kai Arkham City from Square Enix
The sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum will soon get the Play Arts Kai treatment. Batman and Catwoman will stand 9-inches tall and feature character specific accessories and full articulation. They will release in November or you can pre-order them here. If you want to see more pics of these two, we have them over at ArticulationTimes.com.
DC Unlimited and Batman Unlimited from Mattel
Rest in peace DC Universe Classics. Welcome to toy aisles DC and Batman Unlimited. Mattel will launch two new lines of 7-inch comic book-inspired action figures soon. Wave 1 of the DC Unlimited series features Superman, Flash and Hawkman while the Batman Unlimited series kicks off with Batman, Batgirl and Penguin. These will hit retail in December.
The Terminator from Hot Toys
Terminator fans have a new deluxe figure on the way courtesy of the folks over at Hot Toys. It stands 18.5-inches tall with over 30 points of articulation, LED-lighted eyes, an electroplated endoskeleton with diecast parts, articulated fingers, a plasma rifle and a display base. It should release in the first quarter of 2013 or you can pre-order it here.
Halo: Reach from 3AToys
These 1/6 scale versions of Commander Carter and the Mark V Commando feature magnetized modules for connecting armor, weapons and accessories to the body, a rubberized suit, articulated fingers, a rifle, 2 frag grenades and a combat knife with sheath. These will report for duty in December with Commander Carter available for pre-order here.
Lego Star Wars
The force is strong with 4 new Lego sets based on the Star Wars universe. The Desert Skiff and Jabba’s Palace give us a one-two Return of the Jedi punch, while the Republic Striker-class Starfighter and Sith Fury-class Interceptor represent the Old Republic era. These will release in September or you can pre-order them here.
Masters of the Universe Classics 2013 from MattyCollector.com
The toy realm of Eternia is in danger of vanishing. If Mattel doesn't receive enough subscriptions for their various collector lines of figures (DC Universe, Watchmen, and MOTUC) some of their planned toys may not make it into the hands of collectors while the others may go up in price. Here's the 2013 lineup set far for He-Man and company: King He-Man will be the subscription-only figure. He will include a staff, battle damaged electronic Power Sword and a mini-comic that explains the secret origin of Skeletor. Netossa releases in January with her net/cape and her shield. In February Jitsu will wield with three swords, two of which snap into his back armor. From the Filmation series, Fang Man will sink his teeth into March. Ram Man should be the first of the quarterly over-sized/variant figures. He will feature a second helmet-less head and an ax. The second quarter oversized/variant slot will be taken by the Fighting Foe Men 3-Pack. They will also include swapable chest logos to turn them into members of the Horde. Finally, Strobo will serve as the “traveling convention figure.” He will come with his orb, orb holder, ray gun and a maskless Zodak head. The last day to get your pre-order in is August 6 at MattyCollector.com.
And finally, with wave 19 of the Marvel Universe swinging into action next month, I thought that it would be appropriate to end this week's column with a fun San Diego Comic Con video. Devin Faraci and the lucky folks over at BadassDigest.com got a tour of the Marvel Universe booth and I couldn't be more jealous. That 3.75-inch scale diorama looks pretty epic. My favorite part of the video comes towards the end as the guys chat a little about the upcoming figure of Spider-Man wearing a Fantastic Four outfit with a paper bag on his head...
That's it this week. Just a reminder, we're giving away a deluxe 1/6 scale figure of The Shadow from Go Hero. Find out how you can win him here. For more action figure news, you can follow my toy blog ArticulationTimes.com on Twitter and Facebook. Also, be sure to check out our AICN Youtube channel.
