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Important Toy News: A new challenger appears in the battle of adorable Godzilla figures
Welcome back to Important Toy News, the SYFY WIRE column that flashes the best of the week in toy culture. Join me, your humble obsessed-crazed-toy collector as I lead you on an incredible journey through a new world of toys and action figures you didn't know you needed.
Together, we will take the physical challenge with a game I call "how fast can we drain that wallet" by filling our lives with tasty, tasty shelf candy. We have a lot to cover this week, so let's jump right back into that toy bin with a true battle royale… of extreme and unrelenting cuteness.
A few weeks back, we reported on the painfully adorable mini-Godzilla vinyl blind box toys from Taiwan. They were more or less the cutest things in the world, questionable in whether or not they were licensed, and fully unattainable in you live anywhere that is not Asia. Well guess what, friends — Wave Two is here and you still can’t have them! (Though it's come to light that these are in fact officially licensed!)
Wave Two features four new 3-inch Godzilla vinyl toys, plus two King Ghidorah toys. (One where he’s attacking and one where his smooshy-cute little faces are talking to each other). There is a vague listing here, are said to cost about $10 each, but in a similar vein to last time, I just can't recommend you do anything more than just drool over these.
But these irresistible little muffins aren’t the only heart-melting Godzilla toys on the block anymore! Just yesterday, Bandai teased three new vinyl toys from the "New from Toho" storybooks Chibi Godzilla. "Chibi Godzilla, Do Your Best" and "Close Friends, Chibi Godzilla" are Japanese kids’ books that were published in October 2018 and May 2019, respectively. The first wave of toys in this line are Chibi Godzilla, Chibi Ghidorah, and Chibi Mothra. There is no price point or ordering information for these quite yet, but compared to AdorbZilla that continues to break the internet, we’ll take bets that we can actually own Chibi Godzilla and friends should we want to!
From strange and unique toys to some toy industry news, Hasbro made a delightful and surprising announcement: they have acquired the rights to the classic Micro Machines franchise. Together with the toy brand Wicked Cool Toys, new lines of Micro Machines are expected to hit the shelves in Fall 2020.
Think about all of Hasbro’s IPs — we could have everything on a Micro Machine! Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Star Wars, Transformers, all on little collectible cars! It’s brilliant!
Speaking of Transformers, it’s been quite a week for new Transformers toy announcements. But right now, we’ll discuss the best of the best. First up from Super7 is their Super Cyborg Optimus Prime – G1 Figure! This latest version of Optimus stands 12-inches tall and features 7 points of articulation including poseable arms and legs, an ion blaster, and a removable chest plate to reveal his Cybertronian technology! Optimus Prime has an MSRP of $75, comes out in June 2019, and can be preordered from BigBadToyStore.
While it may not be the G1 Soundwave Walmart exclusive we’re all holding our breath for, Takara Tomy has a (more expensive) Soundwave reissue in the horizon. The Transformers Masterpiece MP-13 Soundwave with Laserbeak figure is on its way. It has an MSRP of $150, will ship November 2019, and can be preordered from BigBadToyStore or HobbyLink Japan today.
What’s amazing about this is that through this reissue, fans who didn’t get a chance to snag the Masterpiece Soundwave the first time around (it now costs about $300) will be able to own it via Takara Tomy for a much more affordable price.
And while it may not be news to many fans who saw the original news of this lovely little crossover, some Canadian fans of the Transformers Generation Ectotron are getting an early treat — the Ecto-1 Transformers figure is dropping onto shelves already! This incredible toy has a release date of July 2019, costs $49.99 USD and can be preordered from Hasbro Pulse. However, reports are surfacing that you might be able to find one in Canadian retail stores for $59.99 CAD.
Last but not least in the Transformers world and due out in August with an MSRP of $27.04 is an amazing TCV-10 TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE BURNING FLAME GRIMLOCK. I can’t even begin to go off on how much I love this figure. I know the Cyberverse designs are hit and miss among fans, but to me, this design is super appealing and I really love the chunky primary colors used on Gridlock. I also like the flame spitting effect. All of it for its price point is really working for me. You can preorder it now from HobbyLink Japan.
On the topic of giant robots, let’s talk about one more exciting piece from Super7: a classic and amazing Voltron figure. While there’s no price listed on this tasty 7-inch figure, it will likely be in the $70-$80 range if it’s anything like their Transformers figures.
Preorders will begin on June 10 and go through the month, closing on June 30. You really have to order within this window because otherwise, there’s a chance you could miss this beautiful figure. I really like the integrity that Super7 kept, while adding their own signature chunkiness.
While we don't want to give away too many San Diego Comic-Con toy exclusives (because really, that can be an article in and of itself), there’s no way we could ignore this one.
In a stroke of brilliance, Mattel announces this stunning piece of pop culture nostalgia by revealing a "Snap into a Slim Jim" Macho Man Randy Savage action figure. No MSRP has been announced yet, but in addition to the Mattel booth at San Diego Comic-Con, you can preorder this one from Entertainment Earth starting June 18.
We’re nearing the end, my toy loving friends, and it wouldn’t be an issue of Important Toy News without discussing the newest in Marvel Legends waves. Coming soon, the X-Force, X-Men, and Alpha Flight are making their triumphant return to the Marvel Legends Series 6-Inch line! Each figure (and this wave includes Wolverine, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Nightcrawler, Minster Sinister, and Guardian) features detailed articulation, sculpting, and deco, and each one comes with a piece for the Build-A-Figure of Wendigo. You can order them for about $20 separately, or all together for $129.99 from BigBadToyStore, or wait until they hit store shelves in August.
Let’s wrap this up with some Movie Toys news! Coming soon from the S.H. Figurarts line, Bandai is showing off their newest Episode IV - A New Hope-style Stormtrooper figure, and their Episode VI - Return of the Jedi-style Darth Vader figures. Both have an October 2019 release date. The Stormtrooper has an MSRP of $50, and Darth Vader costs $53.
The iconic Stormtrooper from A New Hope gets a long-awaited upgrade in Bandai’s newest S.H.Figuarts release! With improved articulation over earlier versions and 3 different types of blaster, this is the definitive version of the Imperial "bucket head." First released in 2015, Bandai’s S.H.Figuarts Darth Vader from Return of the Jedi gets a renewal, with improvements made possible by the newest modeling technology! The helmet is removable to reveal his ravaged human face, with digital coloring adding an amazing depth; an interchangeable right arm with the hand missing is also included. The chest instrument panel is also more highly detailed than before.
And just in time for them to whip out their 12-inch John Wick and show up Mezco Toyz’s recent One:12 Collective Wick-Reveal, Hot Toys unleashes a stunning figure into the world. There is so much good happening with this John Wick figure, including the (low for a Hot Toys) price point of $246. This phenomenally detailed figure features a highly detailed head sculpt, a finely tailored three-piece suit, multiple articulations and an arsenal of weapon accessories including a variety of pistols, shotguns and rifles.
This figure also features a knife, John Wick’s signature pencil, two Blood Oath Markers, several gold coins and a specially designed figure stand. Preorders for this figure are currently sold out on many collectible sites, but keep your eyes on Toy Origin for restock information. Or… you know… if you really need your Keanu fix, you can still preorder the Bill and Ted action figures from Incendium Online, or whatever. We can at least afford those, right?... Right?!?!?!
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