DC Minimates Wave 1 arrived today!  Above is an exclusive look at Lex Luthor without his armor!  To see more pics, stay tuned for tomorrow or take a sneak peak over at the Minimate Multiverse forum!

Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Shockwave by Lurch. Click for a larger pic.

Lurch’s Laboratory: Transformers - Hearts of Steel

By Lurch

With the Transformers movie right around the corner and with the interest in the regular G1 designs that I’ve already created, here’s a different look for the Robots in Disguise… Transformers Hearts of Steel is a comic miniseries that has the robots in a different time era. (check out more info on the series here and here).

Optimus and Bumblebee are both modified trains. I did the designs around the regular minimate body, figuring chest-pieces with shoulder pads for front of the engines. Also gauntlets and boots with Bumblebee having a full boot width foot piece.

Megatron’s design was perhaps the easiest, I just took my G1 design, changed colors and added shoulder pads and some little bits to the gauntlets and boots. Shockwave’s boat design was fun too; he would need a big chest-piece with shoulder-mounted turrets along with gun hand and sculpted head.

All together a fun set of designs and a very cool Transformers mini-series!

Waves 17 & 18 teaser poster. Click for a larger pic.

By Fujis

The Spider-Man 3 Minimates, which span waves 17 and 18 as well as a box set, were solicited today! It seems that the info which Wizard Universe revealed on Friday is true as the character line-ups are the same. It’s neat to see that Sandman comes with what appears to be a sand base and some hand accessories as well. Can’t wait to see pics of the actual figures!

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Click here to join the discussion on the Minimate Multiverse forum and thanks to Ady and The Vox for the info!

…and I ain’t talking about the prom!

Nic Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliot, Peter Fonda, Nic Cage, and Nic Cage.

By Fujis

Ghost Rider made $15.9 million dollars on Friday which is putting it on track to set a record for the President’s Day weekend as well as possibly becoming Nic Cage’s best opening since National Treasure.

I haven’t seen the movie yet but I doubt I’ll see this one in the theatres. As I’ve said before I’m not a huge fan of the character or of Nic Cage but there are two reasons that I would go and see it. The first is Minimates. I like to have a frame of reference when it comes to my collection. I like to know the characters, their stories, which is why the flood of new Minimates is going to be doubly expensive. Not only do I have to buy the Minimates themselves but I need to see the movies, television shows, and comics that they’re based on.

The second reason that I would see Ghost Rider is because of the reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes.com. RT is an online review site which posts reviews of movies (among other things) from critics of accredited media outlets and online film societies. The current rating for Ghost Rider is 24%, placing it firmly in the ‘Rotten’ category, but some of the quotes sound promising:

“…damned if this one shouldn’t make your so-bad-it’s-good list…” -Peter Howell, Toronto Star

“…if you’re going to go see a movie you know is about a biker with a flaming skull and magic chains, you forfeit the right to complain about how the plot isn’t logical or realistic.” -Luke Y. Thompson, E! Online

Not exactly favorable but then again neither were the reviews for Employee of the Month, which made me chuckle a few times.

I think the bottom line is this: Marvel movies, with the exception of the Spider-man franchise (although that could be debated), are poorly executed. Ghost Rider seems to be no exception but man, I am so damn curious now that I’ll probably end up sitting through the whole thing and love that I’m hating every minute of it!

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Click here to see the reviews of Ghost Rider at Rotten Tomatoes.com

“Spins a web, any size, catches thieves just like flies, look out…”

The Spider-Man box set. Pic from Wizard Universe.

“Here’s comes the Spider-Man!”

By Fujis

If the latest news from Wizard Universe is correct Diamond Select Toys is making sure that it can capitalize on the release of Spider-Man 3. The two articles claim that wave 17 and 18 are both based on the wallcrawler, and this is on top of the news that there will be both a Spider-Man box set and a Target exclusive Spider-Man wave!

The line-ups for each wave are as follows: Wave 17 - Red Spider-Man/New Goblin, Black Suited Spider-Man/Sandman, Peter Parker/Eddie Brock, and Peter Parker/Venom (variant). Wave 18 - Transformation Spider-Man/Venom, Battle Damaged Spider-Man/Sandman, Unmasked Black Suited Spider-Man/Gwen Stacy, and Unmasked Black Suited Spider-Man/Mary Jane (variant).

What is interesting to note, and a relief to newer collectors I’m sure, is that the Black Suited Spider-Man in wave 17 is not the chase figure. Also, there is overlap from the Target wave into wave 18, so I assume that the Venom and Sandman listed are the Powerhouse versions that we saw at Toy Fare (which are pictured above).

Man, Chuck wasn’t kidding when he said he had a thing for ol’ Webhead! But a great marketing move. Can’t wait to see the prototypes!

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The articles from Wizard Universe can be seen here: Wave 17, Wave 18. And thanks to The Vox for the heads-up!

Click here to join the discussion on the Minimate Multiverse forum.

And away we go!

Part of the Minimates display at the American International Toy Fair 2007. Original Pic by Superhero Times.

By Fujis

As I write this, it is the eve of the third day of the four-day American International Toy Fair 2007 which is being held in the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Toy Fair (as it will referred to herein) is the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere attracting over 20,000 industry professionals who come to buy and sell products, licenses, and ideas.

I’m sure many exciting deals were made. I’m sure at least one person made the find that they were looking for. And no doubt, some of the attendees went home empty-handed, hoping for better luck next year at the Toy Mecca. But I couldn’t tell you for sure, I was too damn busy sorting through all of the news on Minimates! And let me take this opportunity to say something:

Holy Crap!

We have truly been swamped this past week with nothing but good news. In complete contrast to 2006, a year which saw little in the way of new releases and a year in which even die-hard fans lost their faith and walked away, the Minimates brand has risen from the ashes, thanks in no small part to Diamond Select Toys, and has returned with a vengeance. The faithful are being rewarded with a bounty not seen since Zeus gave Almathea the cornucopia. And a bounty which will no doubt attract an equally large number of new fans to the brand and possibly even jaded fans back.

Diamond Select Toys surprised everyone with the announcement and product debut of Back To The Future Minimates, not to mention the “soft” confirmation of the film properties Desperately Seeking Susan and For A Few Dollars More which brings the number of Minimates lines to twelve, eight of those being direct partnerships between Art Asylum and DST (still counting the up-in-the-air Streetfighter line).

I’d like to take a walk down memory lane and recap the events and surprises as they were revealed, just in case you missed it or just because you love this stuff as much as I do. And away we go!

February 7th, 2007: Nisha Gopalan posted First Look! Toy Fair ‘07 at Entertainment Weekly. In the 9 page preview there are three Minimate related images: the first being a new pic of Battlestar Galactica Minimates (introducing us to a newly sculpted “cigar-hand” for Starbuck), the introduction of a selection of Minimates from the hit show 24, and a re-introduction to the 15th Marvel Wave, aka the Ghost Rider wave.

February 8th, 2007: Diamond Select Toys released it’s monthy Radical Confidental (to those that have become Radicals - members of DST’s fan club) and in it was the first pic of the packaging for the Battlestar Galactica Minimates as well as some hints at upcoming lines, such as the new Spider-Man and Zombie Minimates, as well as revealing that 24 Minimates would be released in box sets.

February 9th, 2007: Staff at DC Direct posted DC Direct At Toy Fair 2007 on their website which was a slideshow previewing some of the products that DCD would be showcasing at the Fair. The slideshow, containing fifty images, had images of three of the four 2-packs from the upcoming 5th wave of DC Minimates including: Guy Gardner and Killowog, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and Shazam and Mary Marvel. Ma Hunkel and Red Tornado were added to the gallery later. This was the first time the accessories for the Hawk People was revealed reinforcing the fact that the DC Minimates were simply loaded with accessories.

February 10th, 2007: Contributors at Wizard Entertainment posted [NYTF] Back To The Future, which gave us the first look at eight figures from the new property as well as what might be a prop replica Flux Capacitor. It also mentions the figures will be released in box sets of four with exclusive 2-packs as well. They also posted [NYTF] Marvel Zombies, which revealed a quintet of decaying superheroes from the fan-favorite comic book of the same title.

The staff at Figures.com posted five Minimates galleries containing dozens of images of Minimates including 24, Rocky, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek, all of which (except the Trek gallery) revealed new characters from upcoming waves as well as some BSG packaging shots. Even more exciting than that however was the fifth gallery. Called simply Movie Minimates it contained more pics of the Back To The Future Minimates, but it also had pics of five Minimate-styled movie posters including: Desperately Seeking Susan, Spider-Man 3, Back To The Future, Rain Man, and For A Few Dollars More.

Action-Figure.com also posted five galleries, with great close-ups, including 24, Back To The Future, Battlestar Galactica, Marvel (with more X3 packaging shots, as well as Zombies, Spider-Man, Avengers, and Ghost Rider), and a gallery called Minimates which contained eight Minimate-styled posters, three of which weren’t in the gallery at Figures.com: Platoon, Silence Of The Lambs, and Rocky (which was revealed on the Minimate Multiverse forum on February 9th).

Mike posted two galleries at Superhero Times.com: first, a Minimates gallery which contained images of a new Spider-Man box set, including the new character Hydroman and some vastly different variations of the Wallcrawler, Venom, and Sandman. It also had more detailed pics of the Marvel Zombies, which now seemed to be painted over a clear figure base (as opposed to the first figures which were seen which were painted over a wite base), more pics of the 16th wave of Marvel Minimates (Avengers) and the 14th wave (X3) including some new packaging shots. And second, a Ghost Rider gallery, which had some pics of the Ghost Rider Minimates.

And Steve at Action-Figs.com posted a Minimates gallery with pics of the DC Minimates as well as the first look at packaging shots!

And Toy Fair hadn’t even started yet!

February 11th, 2007: Wizard Entertainment posted [NYTF] 24 Minimates, which revealed that each series of figures would be based on a season of the show and that there would be exclusives as well (not to mention a Minimate stretcher!).

Playthingz posted Buzz Report: 2007 Toy Fair Edition No. 1 which stated the following: “New MiniMates licenses for 2007 include: 80’s Madonna film Desperately Seeking Susan, Rocky, 24, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Ghost Rider, A Few Dollars More as well as new DC and Marvel comic characters and Battlestar Gallactica additions, ” which confirmed that the posters revealed on the 10th were more than simply ways to generate product hype - they were actually heralding new lines of Minimates!

Also on the first day Fizzle introduced us to the Toy Fair Exclusive Starbuck which was given to retailers who placed an order of $300 with Diamond Comic Distribution.

February 12th, 2007: Action-Figure.com posted a DC Minimates gallery, again with great close-ups, which revealed the first look at Ma Hunkel’s face and hair accessory (as it was added later to the DCD slideshow).

I’m A Toy Geek.com posted a link to some pics he took at Toy Fair on the Minimate Multiverse forum. Some great pics of all of the new lines as well as an interesting shot of the product card for the new Classic Spider-Man box set which has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $19.99 but a cost of $11.99 for the retailer.

Toy News International added a Battlestar Galactica gallery.

The first handful of Toy Fair Exclusive Starbuck Minimates are sold on eBay ranging in price from $24.99 to $49.99 USD.

February 13th, 2007: Diamond Select Toys posted a press release officially announcing the Back To The Future Minimates (which initially stated that Biff would be part of the first box set instead of George) and they also officially debuted the second wave of BSG Minimates.

Chris Haley posted info and pics from the latest ToyFare magazine which revealed plans for both a Spider-Man box set and a Target exclusive Spider-Man wave. This is the first time “Civil War” Spider-Man (aka Iron-Spidey) and Unmasked Green Goblin were seen. Other characters include a McFarlane styled “Torment” Spider-Man, a big-chested Venom and Sandman, as well as a Web Armor Spider-Man! Nine unique figures are available if you buy both the wave and the box set.

February 14th, 2007: A plethora of Toy Fair exclusive Starbucks hit eBay and at a more reasonable opening price of $24.99.

The latest issue of Toy Fare (#116, April 2007) hit the stands and revealed a second BSG Retailer Exclusive in the way of Dr. Baltar (w/test tubes). Also, they confirm that four new Speed Racer characters will be released: Trixie and Captain Terror from the classic line and Speed Sr.and Racer X from the modern line. Even Kellogg’s Minimates get a mention with a fall release date but no info on how exactly they’ll be released. My guess would be a box set with one exclusive or mail-away 2-pack.

And most importantly, on the final day of Toy Fair (which also happened to be Valentine’s Day) Titan, a Minimate Multiverse member, and his wife had a baby! Truly the best Toy Fair exclusive one could ask for!

Whew!

It was an exciting week full of products debuts and surprises. I am absolutely dying to see the prototypes of Desperately Seeking Susan and A Few Dollars More not to mention the official Spider-Man 3 Minimates (which I’m sure will be wave 17). I’m also anxious to know whether the remaining posters (Platoon, Rain Man, Silence of the Lambs) are also making their way to the prototype stage or if they were, in fact, being used to generate some hype and interest.

Despite the excitement I am exhausted. Trying to stay on top of all of the news coming in was daunting, especially when trying to compete with a forum! I couldn’t have done any of this without the help of people who found the information first and shared it willingly. Thanks to Ady Carter, antacost, Danny Mills, drgnrbrn316, Chris Haley, Fizzle, mini-jeff, Mini-Myte, MisterPL, Samwise Gamgee, and anyone I’ve forgotten to mention!

A big thanks to I’m A Toy Geek.com, Figures.com, Action-Figure.com, Action-Figs.com, Toy News International, Superhero Times, Playthings, and Wizard Universe for gathering and posting the info and pics straight from the Fair.

And a huge thanks to Diamond Select Toys, Art Asylum, and DC Direct for the incredible week! Ladies and Gentlemen you have outdone yourselves! Cheers to an incredibly successful 2007 Toy Fair!

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All of the text in green should link to the appropriate galleries and/or articles. If they don’t or if I missed something, leave a comment and let me know!

Racer X and Speed Sr. from the modern Speed Racer line.

By Fujis

In the latest issue of Toy Fare it mentions another retailer exclusive, Dr. Baltar this time (with some kind of test tube accessory), but it gives no more details than that. I haven’t seen the magazine yet but I’m heading over to my local comic shop shortly so I’ll update this post then. There also should be pics of over at the Minimate Muliverse forum in the next little while so I’ll get those up when I see them.

The magazine also mentions that four more Speed Racer figures are coming out (presumably with cars): Trixie and Captain Terror from the classic line as well as Racer X and Speed Racer Sr. from the modern line.

Thanks to drgnrbrn316 for the heads-up!

*edit: okay, I picked up issue #116 of ToyFare and there are five pages of info on Minimates! The Retailer Exclusive Baltar has glasses, a lab coat, and a rack of red vials (blood perhaps?) but no details on how to get one. My guess would be eBay, unless you happen to be a retailer. (Thanks for the scan, Mini-Myte!)

It also mentions that DST has been given approval on the first three waves of Star Trek figures. Furthermore Chuck says, “…we’ve also got plans for the entire main cast as well as aliens.”

Even Kellogg’s Minimates get a mention with a Fall release date although no info on how they’ll be released yet.

Melee Symbiote Spider-Man, Unmasked Green Goblin, “Civil War” Spider-Man, and Hydro-Man. Click to see the full page.

By Fujis

In the latest edition of Toy Fare magazine the above pic reveals that not only will Iron-Spidey be joining the growing roster of Marvel Minimates along with some new (as well as revamped) characters from Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, it also shows that DST (along with Target) are emulating DC Direct’s approach of eight characters per wave with no variant.

This was done before with the Target X-Men wave but I didn’t notice until now as those were rereleases with one repaint whereas this wave is comprised of one new character in Hydro-Man, and drastically different versions of existing characters in the rest.

The line-up consists of “Torment” Spider-Man/Powerhouse Venom, Melee Symbiote Spider-Man/Powerhouse Sandman, “Civil War” Spider-Man/Transformation Venom, and Web Armor Spider-Man/Unmasked Green Goblin (w/removable mask). You can see pics more pics of the characters here although this is the assortment that will be available in the box set as opposed to the Target wave - but there is some overlap.

The box set, which consists of five characters from the Target wave, will be available, presumably, at specialty shops but I wouldn’t be surprised if they show up at Suncoast, like the Cylon box sets, or even Toys ‘R’ Us. It consists of Melee Symbiote Spider-Man, Powerhouse Sandman, “Torment” Spider-Man”, Powerhouse Venom, and Hydro-Man (who is exclusive to this set), which means that the remaining three - “Civil War” Spider-Man, Transformation Venom, and Web Armor Spider-Man - are Target exclusives.

So although there are no “variants” to hunt, the Target wave and the box set each have exclusive figures. Damn, that is some slick marketing!

Thanks to Chris Haley for the info and pics!

Packaged shot of Wonder Woman and Ares. Check out that axe!

Action-Figure.com has added a DC Direct Minimates album which you can see here. Great pics of the packaging (take note Marvel!) and another reminder that this line is full to the brim with accessories! Thanks to Mini-Myte for the heads-up!