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Important Toy News: Turtles in Time, your favorite arcade game, finally has great action figures
Welcome back to Important Toy News, the SYFY WIRE column that shows you how two, three, or even four of the same toy with slight variations is not only a good thing, but a required thing in the toy-collecting world.
Yeah, now you're curious about my Emperor Palpatine collection, aren't you? Because I'm telling you now — it's big.
Join me, your resident toy journalist, as we take another dive right back into the toy box and ogle all of the collecting world's pretty, pretty things. And this week we are taking the battle of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the second power.
From their depictions in the Turtles in Time video game, NECA presents Wave 2 of the awesomely cool pixelated TMNT action figures. Wave 2 includes Michelangelo, Raphael, Leatherhead, and Super Shredder.
And personally, this Super Shredder is really working for me.
Via NECA: "Michelangelo and Raphael come with their signature weapons and a brand new hoverboard with display stands that can be used for even more poses. Leatherhead is equipped with his throwing knife to keep the turtles at bay, while Shredder wields a beam sword and two different fire blast effects. All feature special deco that recreates the pixilated look of the video game and come in individual window boxes with graphics from the original arcade cabinet."
You can order the entire wave today from BigBadToyStore for $89.99 and they will ship May 2020.
Ready for some more Turtle Power? Then check out Super7 and its newly announced (like the same week as NECA's) Wave 2 of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates line.
These 7-inch, "super-articulated" figures come with an impressive stock of accessories, including a painted and unpainted set of weapons just as in the original vintage Playmates toys! The characters in Wave 2 are Mutagen Man, Shredder, Bebop, and Leonardo.
Each figure costs $44.99, will ship 2nd Quarter 2021, and is available for preorder today.
Speaking of toys that are announced immediately after another company does it, do you guys remember the Mandalorian life-sized Baby Yoda/The Child by Sideshow Collectibles that we discussed last week?
Well, within a day or so after Sideshow opened preorders on its piece, Hot Toys announced that it would be releasing a life-sized version of its own. Hot Toys are premium figures, typically in the $250-$300 range, and they are gorgeous. Super realistic, incredibly detailed and sculpted, with paint jobs that will blow you away. And another funny thing about Hot Toys — they're distributed by Sideshow Collectibles.
So, look, as much as I love Toy News and gossip and would adore the opportunity to mix them together, I'm not sure there's anything more here than "Huh. That's strange timing." We also still don't have a picture of it.
To quote from Hot Toys' Instagram: "The adorable Child with big ears and large eyes is expected to arrive, joining Hot Toys as the incredibly accurate life-size collectible, quarter & one sixth scale collectible and brand new Cosbaby figures that will capture the hearts of many! Stay tuned to our upcoming announcements for the acclaimed line-up inspired by The Mandalorian, Star Wars' first live-action series."
But on the topic of Hot Toys, let's take a look at one they will let us see!
It's Harley Quinn as depicted by Margot Robbie in the upcoming Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Hot Toys is unmasking the latest 1/6th-scale Harley Quinn collectible figure. According to Hot Toys, the movie-accurate collectible figure features "newly developed head and hair sculpture with incredible workmanship, a sophisticatedly tailored golden overall outfit as seen in the first trailer of the film, a pair of interchangeable roller shoes, Harley's iconic mallet, a chain necklaces, a figure stand with specially designed graphic cards and character backdrop."
They really sell it, huh?
From premium figures to premium statues, let's take a look at the newly announced ThunderCats statues from Iron Studios. It's got some serious '80s cartoon-series-accurate Dungeons & Dragons statues in its portfolio that I really, really like, as well as some newly announced super-deformed chibi ThunderCats statues that I really don't like.
But these new ones are really working for me. In this new wave are five statues: Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Wilycat, and big daddy Lion-O and Snarf. All of the first four statues are in the $150 or so range, but Lion-O is clocking in at $239.
You can order these statues directly from Iron Studios, or you can preorder from BigBadToyStore. They are shipping in Q3 2020.
We're nearing the end, my toy-collecting friends, but we can't finish this issue of Important Toy News up without checking out some … you know it … Super Hero Toys!
It's true! Hasbro is showing off its upcoming Marvel Legends Series 6-inch Scale Venom figure that will be available this spring. The $29.99 retail figure (now available for preorder) is a huge improvement over the previously released Build-a-Figure version of Venom.
We're wrapping it up with Medicom Toy, which is adding two new figures to its October 2020 release schedule — it's Catwoman!
Check out the DC Femme Fatale and order your own from HobbyLink Japan! Catwoman, Batman's foe/paramour, gets a new MAFEX action figure from Medicom. As seen in the acclaimed "Hush" DC Comics arc, she's "sleek and sassy in her black catsuit, complete with a hood with her trademark cat ears and goggles with clear lenses. Fully posable for maximum action, she has three interchangeable heads, interchangeable hands, whip parts and a figure stand with a posable arm!"
She costs $68 and can be preordered today.
