Mattel Announces San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive DC Universe Classic TV Series Batusi Batman

It’s actually a re-announcement, for those of you paying attention, since Warner Bros. had introduced the Batusi Batman as part of a licensing launch announcement at Meltdown Comics back near the end of March. Since I wasn’t paying attention back then, the re-announcement suits me just fine. I am curious about the “internal mechanism” of the figure – is this some kind of action feature in the torso? I’ll have to look back at my earlier TV series Batman pics to see if the regular figures have ab articulation. (Yes, they have ab crunches.)

Mattel also introduced a classic TV series Catwoman Barbie and a Hot Wheels A-Team van. Holy nostalgia, Batman!

BATMAN Classic TV Series BatmanBatusi Batman

BATMAN Classic TV Series Batman Batusi Batman

It’s the dance craze that swept the nation! For the first time ever, this Batusi Batman™ figure recreates the iconic dance from the BATMAN Classic TV series! Sculpted with authentic likeness and featuring a fabric cape, this figure has unique articulation and an internal mechanism that allows it to perform the Batusi. The diorama package features vintage-look art from Shag, and a sound feature plays music with a ‘60s vibe to perfectly capture the scene where Batman™ shows off his unique Batusi moves. The package is designed so the Batusi dance moves can be activated without removing the figure.

This product will be available for pre-order at MattyCollector.com on June 4, 2013, to be picked up at San Diego Comic-Con (details to come). It will also be available for purchase at the show, then at MattyCollector.com on August 5, 2013.

via Matty | News.

Mattel Announces San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive DC Universe Club Infinite Earths New 52 Shazam

I’m not quite sure why Mattel went with the “Club Infinite Earths” moniker for their second DC Universe exclusive for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (the first being the Man of Steel: Superman vs. General Zod 2-pack). Since Club Infinite Earths is the MattyCollector subscription that is targeted for the more obscure collector-oriented choices, it seems like this New 52 Shazam exclusive would fit better with the DC Unlimited branding that has focused on the New 52 and the Injustice video game more than anything else. Mattel had the copyright issue with the Captain Marvel name when they released his classic comic look in the DC Universe Classics line. I haven’t read any New 52 with Shazam in it – is Shazam his name in the comics now, or is Mattel still towing that copyright line?

The second exclusive announced today was the Hot Wheels Atari Beach Bomb with an old school Asteroids deco. It comes in packaging that looks like an old video game cabinet. I miss the 80’s!

DCU Club Infinite Earths “Shazam!” New 52

DC Club Infinite Earths Shazam

Sculpted by the Four Horsemen, this is the first ever figure of the New 52 Billy Batson, the boy turned DC Super Hero known as “Shazam!” Not included with club subscriptions, this figure arrives with a removable hood in Club Infinite Earths die cut packaging with distinctive silver foil. The perfect addition to your DCU collection!

This product will be available for pre-order at MattyCollector.com on June 4, 2013, to be picked up at San Diego Comic-Con (details to come). It will also be available for purchase at the show, then at MattyCollector.com on August 5, 2013.

via Matty | News.

Q&A with Nate Baertsch, Designer of the Icon Heroes Castle Grayskull

heroic 1

You may know him as Baena at many of the toy and collectible forums, but Nate Baertsch is also an accomplished illustrator, and happens to be one of the designers behind the Icon Heroes Castle Grayskull Polystone Environment. Nate recently got one of the Icon Heroes Castles off the production line, shared these pictures, and kindly answered some of our questions.

AFP: How did you get involved with Icon Heroes for this project?

Nate: Dumb luck! Okay, that’s not entirely true. I’ve had a good working relationship with the Four Horsemen since somewhere around 2007? I started out doing packaging art for their Seventh Kingdom line. Ramathorr was the first painting I did for them, and to this day still one of my favorites.  Over time my work with them has increased from packaging artwork for their figures, to occasional design sketches and concepts for figures for the variety of lines that they work on. Over time, and meeting up with them when I could at conventions, we’ve established a good working relationship and friendship, as we all love all things MotU and general super fantastical spacey geeky goodness. A lot of “geeking out” about MotU lore, Seventh Kingdom, their other properties, Outer Space Men and now Power Lords!

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New Mattel Superman: Man of Steel Figures Revealed – BigBadToyStore

Man of Steel Movie Masters Figure - Faora Man of Steel Movie Masters Figure - General Zod With Armor Man of Steel Movie Masters Figure - Superman With Key

Online retailer BigBadToyStore has listed new Superman: Man of Steel Movie Masters figures from Mattel, revealing a new character and two variants for the line-up. Included in the assortment are Faora, an armored General Zod, and Superman with chains and key. I purposefully have not been following the movie news, but was a bit surprised that the new character wasn’t Ursa. I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to Superman lore, and don’t have any recollection of a character named Faora from the comics or the previous movies – but I’m not going to Google her now, for risk of spoiling myself for the movie that opens June 14th.

It’s not clear whether this is a second wave of figures or if these will ship with the Man of Steel figures previously shown – BBTS has them listed all with a 2nd quarter ship date.

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Border Patrol: One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman, DC Universe Classics Earth 2 Flash, and Marvel Legends Black Widow

One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman 1 One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman 2 One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman 3 One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman 4

One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman by dreamntigers – this 14-inch tall Arkham City Batman will fit in great with your 1/6 scale DC Collectibles figures – the suit is a latex skin and the head, gauntlets, and boots are scratch sculpts – comes with 4 Batarangs and the figure retains most of its original articulation – ends May 02, 2013 19:18:40 PDT

In AFP’s Border Patrol, we scour active eBay auctions for customized action figures that you won’t want to let slip by!

Continue reading “Border Patrol: One Sixth Scale Arkham City Batman, DC Universe Classics Earth 2 Flash, and Marvel Legends Black Widow”

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