Awesome Toy Blog

Hasbro sent out a quick set of images today revealing a few new items in the Marvel toy universe. Of course, all eyes are on the big screen debut of ‘The Avengers’ in a few weeks. The trailer revealed that Loki’s starting a war with earth, but who are his troops – and what do the toys look like?  In the first two images, Hasbro revealed their Avengers scale basic and deluxe “Loki’s Army” figure – of course there’s no additional details so who they are, where they come for, etc…all needs to wait for a trip to the talkies.

The other pair of new images are of Miles Morales as Spider-man from Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. Miles as Spidey will be available in both 3 3/4″ scale in Marvel Universe and in a 6″ scale.  Check out images of all 4 of these figures below.

Via the Nerdist, Gentle Giant has announced their first 2012 San Diego Comic-con exclusive – a 7.5″ bust commemorating the 50th anniversary of Mars Attacks! The Mars Attacks! alien comes which his torso emerging from a flying saucer with exhaust flames as the base for the bust. This piece will be limited to just 550 pieces – which will make it a very tough item to get at the show, be ready to make Gentle Giant your first stop of the day!

As if the exclusive toys, giant (3rd party toy free) dealer room, Transformers news, and panels weren’t enough to make Transformers fans happy at Botcon; an added perk for attendees was announced earlier in the week. As part of their involvement in Botcon, Jagex – makers of the Transformers MMO, Transformers Universe, will be giving Botcon attendees first dibs at registering their character name and affiliation. Jagex will also be hosting a panel on their MMO where new details and trailers of the game will be revealed.  Check out the full press release after the jump!

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It a bit of re-branding news from C2E2 – DC Direct is dead!  Well, not really, DC Direct is re-launched into the brand DC Collectibles. Other than a name change, they will be launching a full on-line store giving consumers more outlets to get their DC wares.  Check after the jump for the full text of the announcement press release.

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After years of teasing, Diamond Select Toys announced a partnership with IDW that will bring Battle Beasts back to toy stores everywhere. Both the comic and mini-mate based toy line will be launching this July with wave 1 of the toys being revealed at SDCC. A website, which features a press release (which you can find below) has been launched - www.battlebeast.com. Finally, there will be an exclusive pair of figures at SDCC from DST.

Keep reading after the jump for the full press release from DST on the re-launch of Battle Beasts.

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Funko, one of the faves here at AwesomeToyBlog HQ, sent over their latest batch of photos today. Up first are 9″ plush of the 1990′s superstars Beavis and Butt-head from the groundbreaking MTV series ‘Beavis and Butt-head’.   I always have to remember that if not for Beavis and Butt-head, Daria may have never existed.

Also on the horizon are the 3rd series of Star Wars Pop! vinyl figures, which may be my favorite yet. The line-up includes a Jawa, Luke Skywalker as an X-Wing pilot, a Clone Trooper, a Tusken Raider and two other figures. Of course, those two other figures are Slave Leia and Jabba the Hutt – and they are awesome and awesomer.  All these figures are due May 24th; check them out in the gallery below.

Some news out of Hasbro about their animated properties landing on Netflix.The first series that will be available on Netflix include Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, Pound Puppies, G.I. Joe: Renegades and The Adventures of Chuck & Friends.  Later this year classic Hasbro shows will be joining these with Jem & The Holograms, G1 Transformers, Transformers: Beast Wars, Transformers: Rescue Bots and G.I. Joe: Real American Heroes set to add to the line-up. This will be a great way to catch these shows without having to invest in the DVD sets. After the jump, see the complete text of the press release.

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Want to win an Incredible Hulk minibust from Gentle Giant?  Who wouldn’t? Just head over to their blog for all the details on how to enter – the contest runs through Tuesday evening of next week. Granted there’s already 7400 entries, but your luck is bound to be better than it was for Mega Millions.

Skylanders, the hit console game that combines video gaming with collectible action figures is now making the jump to your favorite iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) with its latest installment ‘Skylanders Cloud Patrol’.  In this game, you can unlock new Skylanders and access existing ones using the code printed on the figure’s packaging. If you’re new to the Skylanders world, you can build a virtual collection using in game currency. ‘Skylanders Cloud Patrol’ looks like its a great way to have your Skylanders on the go, and bide the time until ‘Skylanders Giants’ is released in the fall. You can find the game on itunes. Check below for a gallery of screenshots of the app – or keep reading after the jump for the full press release.

The Skylanders Franchise Comes to the App Store with

Skylanders Cloud Patrol™ for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Cloud Patrol Features 30-Plus Characters From Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure^TM, Arcade Shooting Gallery Style Gameplay, Ranking And Reward Systems, Unlockables And More

Santa Monica, CA – April 5, 2012 – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), is expanding the reach of the phenomenally popular Skylanders franchise, the #1 kids game of 2011, with the debut of Skylanders Cloud Patrol™, an entirely new gaming experience for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users, available exclusively on the iTunes App Store.

“Skylanders is already a huge success both on consoles and the web with Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Spyro’s Universe and we are excited to bring the franchise to the mobile platform,”said John Coyne, vice president, consumer marketing. “Now with Cloud Patrol, fans have a brand new way to interact with their favorite Skylanders characters on the go in fun a new form of gameplay.”

Skylanders Cloud Patrol is set in a new region of Skylands that has been overrun by the evil minions of Portal Master, Kaos. With all 30-plus skylanders available to unlock, the game lets players take command of a magnificent sky-ship and use their favorite skylander to dispatch the baddies using touch gestures to tap-and-shoot or swipe the screen to create amazing combos.

Skylanders Cloud Patrol lets fans unlock skylanders and Magic Items and bring them to life in Cloud Patrol using the code bundled with each Skylanders action figure. Additionally, new Portal Masters may earn or purchase in-game currency to build their virtual mobile skylanders collection, Magic Items, and more. Cloud Patrol also features Game Center leaderboards and achievements and a 3D character viewer that allows players to browse their entire in-game collection.

The Skylanders App is available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

For more information about Skylanders Cloud Patrol please visit www.skylanders.com. Skylanders Cloud Patrol is developed by Vicarious Visions, an Activision studio located in Menands, NY.

It has been a bit quiet on the exclusives front for the past few weeks, but today I bring news of the Bluefin Tamashii Nations SDCC 2012 exclusive Super Saiyan Son Gohan Special Color Edition. Whew – that name’s a mouthful, but if you’re a Dragon Ball Z fan, then this collector targeted figure may be for you.  Check out it out below.

Just in time to wear to the Avengers movie opening May 4th, Junk Food clothing has released their latest Avengers t-shirts.  Yea, I know this is an action figure / toy website, but these are the perfect shirts for hunting down the latest figures. In all honesty, Junk Food makes fantastic printed tees (I love their Star Wars and Peanuts ones) – not only are the designs fantastic but they are soft, high quality shirts. Check out these and others on www.junkfoodclothing.com.

A few years ago there was the casting and filming for Morgan Spurlock’s SDCC documentary “Comic-con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope”. It’s big day is here as the documentary is having it’s star studded Los Angeles premier tomorrow!

This documentary follows 5 attendees as they converge on SDCC 2010:

• Eric, an aspiring illustrator, is hoping to impress publishers and land a job
• Holly, costume and creature designer, hopes her creations will win the big prize
• Chuck, a long-time comic book dealer, is looking for a big sale to pay off his debts
• Skip, longtime amateur illustrator wants to be discovered at this year’s event
• James, a young fan, hopes his girlfriend will accept a dramatic proposal

 The 88 minute film includes one on one interviews with Comic-Con veterans who have turned their passions into professions include Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Matt Groening, Seth Rogen and Eli Roth among others.  The film also includes full coverage of all aspects the show, panels, parades, etc…all the great stuff that gets you to the show. COMIC-CON EPISODE IV:  A FAN’S HOPE, brought to you by Stan Less and Joss Whedon is directed by Morgan Spurlock; produced by Spurlock, Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin, Harry Knowles and Thomas Tull; and written by Spurlock and Chilnick.

You can see the trailer at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/comicconepisodeivafanshope/ the website here:  http://comicconmovie.com/ and the facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/comicconmovie

Worried that the Easter Bunny is going to let you down? The fine folks over at FigureOfTheDay.com sent over word of that they’re giving the Bunny an assist this weekend by offering a blind box of collectible figures (with value of $40) for just $20 shipped, this weekend. The promotion starts Friday, April 6th at 12AM PST and runs through 11:59PM PST Sunday, April 8th. Be sure to be early!

This is a peek behind the curtain, if you will – but the New York Times published an feature on the top notch, fan favorite, Four Horsemen Toy Design Studio. The article covers their banding together as employees at McFarlane Toys to their continued work with Mattel (on DC Universe and Masters of the Universe Classic) to their attempts to expand and diversify their product offerings with their own IP. It’s a really great article and gives some perspective on the business side of the hobby. Check it out here.

Sideshow Collectibles posted an update to their website today with an announcement that they’ll be offering Lego sets on their website in the near future. Buy purchasing the sets through Sideshow there’s access to the flex pay system and 5% cash back as part of their Sideshow Rewards program. Check the vague, detail lacking announcement on Sideshow’s website here.