February 2007
Amazingly on schedule!
-ExVee, February 1, 2007
Well, it's been over a year in the making, but it's finally here, ready to be viewed. We at It Figures! are proud to present our second annual year in review feature, Gundam Of The Year: 2006! This year we feature a couple of new categories, as well as something of immeasurable importance: you! We'd like to extend a big thanks to everybody who voted and commented in our polls (set up in the forum space generously donated by Gundam Board in Action!!) and gave us an awards special of much broader scope than we could have pulled off all by ourselves here. Yeah, some of the results are pretty obvious. But just try and count how many times one particular figure won out... Thanks again to everybody who contributed and made this way better than last year!
Suspicions confirmed, and news of great interest
RAC, February 8th 2007
Thanks for bearing with us during our site outage yesterday! As a thank-you, I bring the EMS-10 Zudah review, as promised elsewhere.
I haven't changed the review as I wrote it the other day, but in going through the photographs taken to support it, I found it wasn't just me: our new friend the Zudah hails from 2005. Since the climactic battle of the Zudah's focus episode in MS Igloo centers on a showdown with a GM MS Team, I think it's logical to assume that the Zudah was originally planned for early 2005 as a playmate for November `04's GM Second Version and Launch. This is reinforced by the reports that the GM is likely to be reissued this month.
Want a Zudah? US fans should consult their local comic shops. Gundam Board in Action!! webmaster Tercero reports that Diamond Comics Distributors is now offering MSiA in their Previews catalog. SRP on the Zudah is $11.99, so the additional wait could well be worth it. (Previews generally solicits items three months in advance, so you'd be getting your Zudah around May, most likely.) $11.99 USD+tax is a heck of a lot less than the $23.50 I paid for mine after shipping! What effect will this have on online MSiA retailers? Time will tell, but I think the ultimate effects of this new competition will prove positive to the market as a whole.
It's looking to be an interesting year for MSiA, eh?
Deadline!
RAC, February 9th, 2007
If you're in the US and looking to preorder some MSiA from Diamond Comics Distributors, get a move on! The deadline for preorders is Tomorrow, February 10th. Check out http://previews.diamondcomics.com to see the necessary order forms and to locate a comic shop near you. The prices look extremely good, with the most expensive of the upcoming MSiA being the Hazel, at $17.99. The others range from $10.49 to $11.99, and the usual ETA for items ordered in the February Previews is April 2007. Worth the wait, if you ask me!It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
RAC, February 11th 2007
Toy Fair is underway! We're starting to get a look at the toys that will be up for sale later this year, and so far what we're seeing and hearing is good.Altered States Magazine has extensive galleries for Hasbro and Lego's offerings, with more to come. The galleries for the Transformers Movie showcase Ultimate Bumblebee and the nifty Optimus Prime roleplay toys, and apparently Hasbro has most of the rest of the line under wraps for now. Similarly, the bulk of Marvel Legends and the other 6-inch Marvel lines is apparently being held back for Comic-Con, though there's plenty neat new stuff being shown for Spider-Man 3 and Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer in the new 5-inch scale.
And though it's amusingly one of the only lines Hasbro has which doesn't get a movie this year, Star Wars is still moving along with a new focus on Expanded Universe and other alternate versions of characters. Most notably, a subline based on Ralph McQuarrie's concept art, featuring a figure based on McQuarries striking painting of Darth Vader, and the early version of Boba Fett in Stormtrooper white.
Speaking of Boba, there's also "Animated Debut" Boba Fett- in other words, Fett as he appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special, which George Lucas has repeatedly refused to reissue and has in fact stated he never wants anyone to see. How damn hypocritical is that?
Star Wars Transformers are looking good, with the new Episode II-style Jedi Starfighter (complete with Hyperdrive Module!) and Death Star being the standouts. I wasn't really sold on these before, but it seems to me like Hasbro is working the kinks out now, with some pretty solid-looking robot modes this time around.
See, I've rambled on for paragraphs now and barely scratched the surface of what one company is offering. Check out the pictures and coverage for yourself at ASM, and check back often- Toy Fair is just getting started!
ToyFair: Epilogue
RAC, 02/27/2007
As mentioned before, Marvel Legends were held back for New York Comic Con. Waves 2 and 3 can be seen here, and all in all they look quite good, with the usual few exceptions. I'm sure there'll be countless comic fans telling Hasbro that Captain America has always had the A on his head, though, all the way back to his first comic cover. No sign of the rumored 6-inch Spider-Man and Fantastic Four waves or the catch-all Marvel Heroes line, but I'm sure Hasbro will announce something when they can. They always do.I'd also like to draw attention to this press release about Tonner Character Figures. Not because I like them, or because I think they deserve mention- quite the opposite. But more because Mr. Tonner doesn't know his history. He claims his figures are an exciting new hybrid of fashion doll and action figure, done at a large scale with removable clothes and featuring costumes and accessory packs sold separately.
Those of us interested enough in the medium of action figures to actually know something of their history know that this is a remarkably accurate description of Hasbro's strategy for GI Joe when it debuted in 1964. Bringing ideas from the fashion doll world and applying them to action figures is nothing new, because the people who created GI Joe were consciously trying to take the Barbie sales model of dolls and accessories and applying them to boys' toys. Not a new idea, though I'm fairly certain nobody's ever tried to make Tobey Maguire's face look like that before.
But, onward and upward. Soon, we will have a very special feature. Check back within the next few days to see!
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