Hot Toys Samurai Predator

Hot Toys is more than happy to present the first artist collaboration project with celebrated Japanese artists Mr. Takayuki Takeya (竹谷隆之) & Mr. Yuji Oniki (鬼木祐二) to bring their unique design and sculpture to the 1/6th scale collectible world.

This Samurai Predator is proudly designed and painted by Mr Takayuki Takeya (竹谷隆之) and specially sculpted by Mr. Yuji Oniki (鬼木祐二), which will be firstly unveiled in the Ani-Com & Games event in Hong Kong for preview from 29th July to 2nd August!

Fans, please visit our specially designed America Theatre themed booth (booth # F18-22, 27-31) at Ani-Com Hong Kong to check out our exciting exhibits and products! Stay tuned with us for more update on our Ani-Com event tomorrow!

Hot Toys MMS 146 Thor

When Hot Toys first announced MMS 146 Thor, I was not terribly excited.  For one thing, I had been looking at trailers of the Marvel film it was based on and was not really impressed with the movie.  Fast forward to opening weekend, and boy, did my outlook change on both counts!  The film was excellent, with the right summer blend of action, humor, and story.  Now, not only was I hyped on the movie, I wanted the figure as well!

Well, Thor finally arrived, and I must say it's another solid offering from Hot Toys.

As usual, HT brings us a well-designed shoebox-sized package with a clever system of plastic vacuum-formed trays for the figure, accessories, stand, and cape.  The cape is almost easy to miss--inside the top cover.

The main tray with the figure is covered by a nice color sheet with photos of the figure.

The figure itself is solid and weighty, thanks to a special body with a rubberized muscled torso.  The head bears a good likeness to actor Chris Hemmsworth, with the usual amazing paint application from JC Hong.  The somewhat blank stare may be offputting to some, but is par for the course with may 1/6 figures.  The costume fits well, but seems to limit the range of motion of the arms somewhat.  You can display the figure either with helmet or without, and Hot Toys included their special magnet system with a detachable piece for the back of the head for full haired, or "helmet hair" posing.

Of course, Mjolnir is included, and the God of Thunder's hammer is made of real metal and fits into a special base shaped like the rock from the movie.  You can either pose Thor with Mjolnir in hand or in the base--a nice touch that captures the essence of the film.

While the costume is nice, it's not really complete without the flowing red cape, and HT did a nice job with this.  Although attachment of the case is a bit tricky, the way the cape hangs over the shoulders and how the folds are represented is very well done.

Overall, it's another winner by Hot Toys.  I highly recommend the figure to fans of the movie and collectors of 1/6 movie figures alike.









Sideshow G.I. Joe Stalker Bash

Just received Sideshow's 12" GI Joe Stalker Exclusive version figure about a week ago.  It's an excellent figure, but of course, I had other plans.  First thing I did, as I've been doing with most of the SSC Joes, is replace the body with a Hot Toys TrueType Advanced AA.  I used a spare Hot Toys Blade head, and Hot Toys Sergeant Barnes' boots.  The rest is all stock Sideshow, from the molded gloved hands, weapons, belts, pack, harness, drop down, knife and sheath, etc..  Overall I'm very happy and with some of the custom stuff I used, I have enough spare parts to start another Stalker or other military bash.

SDCC Hot Toys Booth Teaser

All I can say is...IRON MONGER.

Hot Toys MMS Iron Man Gantry

Wow, a special Iron Man dio/environment from Hot Toys!

Hot Toys MMS159 Avatar - Jake Sully

It's been almost 2 years in the making, but Hot Toys' 1/6 scale Avatar figure has finally come to market.  This blue behemoth is a bit over 18" tall with an all new articulated figure body, a highly detailed tribal outfit complete with feathers, light up LED base, and Hot Toys' signature paint apps.  To accompany this amazing figure is also an amazing price: retailing for $315 USD, this is one of the company's costliest figures yet.  If you've over 300 bones burning a hole in your pocket and you aren't already overwhelmed by this month's new 1/6 scale figure releases, then you can look for Hot Toys Avatar Jake Sully in quarter four of this year.  Hopefully, the talented team over at Hot Toys sees fit to release Jake's better half, Neyteri!

Hot Toys VBSS Team Leader

Here's some shots of  Hot Toys Military Navy Seal VBSS Team Leader.  Overall, it is a nice figure for it's time, although I kind of had to give up on figuring out how to correctly attach his life preserver.  I just couldn't get it to look like the box photos.

Hot Toys Star Wars DX07!

Wow, so Hot Toys finally got a Star Wars license!  Look for the new Bespin Luke Skywalker to debut when San Diego Comicon opens it's doors this coming weekend.

Read about it on the official Sideshow Collectibles website!


http://www.sideshowtoy.com/?p=35883&ref=footer&prod-blog1&ssc

Hot Toys MMS 157 and 158 Baby Doll and Amber Sucker Punch

If there was a movie license from the beginning of the year that I would've loved to see some 12 inch action figures of, Sucker Punch was it.  And now, my wishes have been granted as Hot Toys debuts 1/6 Baby Doll and Amber sets!  I think they are step above Barbies, don't you think?

Hot Toys Sucker Punch Baby Doll and Amber

Courtesy ShiGangYu of OSW Boards

Hot Toys TTM19 Muscular Figure Body

In a first, Hot Toys will be releasing a carded male muscle body.  This base figure features a specially designed torso and upper arms which are appropriate for bare-chested, or sleeveless display options.  Previously, collectors could only look for these types of bodies on the secondary market (ie eBay), through boxed figure break downs.  The demand is currently enough where such bodies could command over $100 at auction.  Hot Toys will retail this body for $54.99.

The set includes a head with the apparent (and unofficial) likeness of actor Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as two sets of hands and one pair of feet with ball joints.

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

Dragon's Linh figure features rooted hair, carefully braided, and a decent head.  I picked this one up from a member of the One Sixth Warriors scale figure board, so she has some bits that weren't included with the original figure.  The articulation isn't great, but overall it's a nice period piece.

Hot Toys MMS 121 Whiplash Iron Man 2

Sometimes you just know when a project is a labor of love.  In the case of Hot Toys rendition of Whiplash from the movie Iron Man 2, the devil is literally all in the details.

From the eerily accurate likeness of actor Mickey Rourke (complete with natty dreads), to the screened tats on his custom muscle figure body, right down to the hyper-detailled mechanical exo-skeleton, no corners were cut in making the most amazing 1/6 scale version of Whiplash possible.

However you feel about the actor, or the character he portrayed, it's undeniable that MMS 121 is a masterclass in 1/6 scale realism and I'm still blown away by how much Hot Toys was able to cram in to this toy.

The figure depicts Whiplash as he appeared in the beginning of the movie, with his torn pit crew jumpsuit revealing the crude, but ultimately effective arc-reactor powered exo-skeleton used to attack Tony Stark at the Monaco Gran Prix.

The craftsmanship on the exo-skeleton is simply a work of art.  Not only highly detailed, but with working joints that follow the movement of the figure's arms and torso.  It even has a working LED light for the chest rig.  Just a brilliant piece of action figure engineering.

As if that wasn't enough, the paint apps, as Hot Toys almost always shows us, is outstanding with realistic skin tones and facial detail.

The only notable niggle I have with this figure is the color of the jumpsuit.  In the film, it is a rather bright safety orange, yet in Hot Toys' version, the suit is more of a dark brown or burnt umber color.

The Internet already has a fix for this little gaffe, however: simply soak the jumpsuit in a bleach and water mixture until the burnt color dissolves away.  While the exact recipe is up to you to experiement with, be aware that the more bleach you use, the shorter the time it will take for the darker dye to fade.  I shouldn't have to tell you also that bleach is highly toxic and must be used with extreme care--follow the manufacturers' guidelines for its use as I am not responsible for any mishaps to you or your toys as a result of misuse.

Overall, Whiplash is a top notch figure and I would highly recommend it as a 1/6 scale collectible.  In addition, due it's apparent lack of popularity among collectors, you can still find it for MSRP or less with some dilligence.

Hot Toys MMS 137 Falconer Predator

The Robert Rodrigues movie franchise reboot "Predators" takes a band of unsavory characters to an alien planet where they become the prey in a deadly other worldly safari.  While I wasn't a particularly big fan of the film, there was just something rather compelling about the Hot Toys action figures based on it.  To date, I own Royce, Berserker, and now (thanks to a sale at gohastings), the Falconer. 

Hot Toys Falconer Predator is, for all intensive purposes, a palette swap of the Berserker Predator.  That is, they are basically the same figure with different paint applications and slightly different costuming.  The biggest differences, besides the rich lizard green paint scheme, are the outfit and accessories.  Unlike Berserker, the other Predators in the movie never removed their masks to reveal their visages underneath, hence Falconer has a non-removable mask.  Individual hobbyists more intrepid than myself have pried off the mask to reveal what is essentially an unpainted Berserker head, but as I lack any painting or airbrush skills, I left things as they were on my figure.

Like other Hot Toys Predators, Falconer comes with a light up LED feature, which is a nice touch considering the included accessories are rather light.  With only one pair of swap out hands (one closed fist, one open palm), a set of three real metal gauntlet blades, and a decorative skull, this figure is somewhat low on the value scale.  In a concession to fan outcry, however, Hot Toys saw fit to include the "Falcon", a bird-like robotic drone, even though it saw perhaps a minute or two of actual screen time at best.  The Falcon has a clear plastic peg post to mount it to the Falconer's shoulder armor, if you want to diplay it as "flying" next to him.  Some may think it's a bit awkward-looking in practice, but I'm ok with it.

Another thing to note is how heavy the figure feels in hand.  This is a substantial bit of plastic, and while it doesn't feel exceptionally fragile, it should be noted when posing to avoid tipovers or shelf dives.

Overall, the Falconer is another solid movie monster figure from Hot Toys.  What it loses in value with it's limited accessories and higher price, it makes up for with strong details and high workmanship.  I would definitely recommend it to fans of the movie, although for others, the lack of removable mask would probably make owning the Berserker enough.

Hot Toys MMS 155 - The Dark Knight Batman Begins Toy Fair Exclusive Edition

If you ask me, Hot Toys is doing a disservice to all collectors by limiting this to Convention and Toy Fair attendees only.  Amazing Christian Bale likeness!

Yes, not only will it have a switch out head, but the masked version has 3 swappable mouth expressions!

Femme Fig Photoshoot of the Day

A quick Fourth of July weekend peek at Hot Toys Silk Spectre II.

Nice likeness of actress Malin Akerman