Thor doing his best John Travolta. Pic by Lobsterman.

By Fujis

The sixteenth wave of Marvel Minimates were released yesterday. At least in some places, my local comic shop only had the second wave of Battlestar Galactica in, and since the planned fifteenth or Ghost Rider wave has been pulled from the regular line-up does that make this wave the fifteenth?

In any case, this wave brings us a slew of long-awaited fan favorites including two versions of Thor! Bring on the Thor Corp customs!

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Click here for pics and a review by Lobsterman!

Click here to see some packaging shots courtesy of maxcarnage!

By Fujis

I finally bought a display case from IKEA for my Minimates and I’m in the process of setting up my collection. I have almost every Minimate ever made but my inherent need to buy more Minimates has forced me to seek unique Minimate-related items. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t buy the prototype Javelin that was on eBay - $1000 is well worth it in my opinion - but what I did manage to buy is a piece of art which I wrote about last year.

Cerial Wars: Super Minimate Illout is a piece which was created by the Sucklord (of Suckadelic fame) and was featured in the first Art of the Action Figure Exhibit and it’s now sitting atop my Detolf glass-door cabinet.

What’s the centerpiece of your collection?

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Click here for more info on Cerial Wars and the Sucklord!

By Fujis

On the 17th, AsylumDude posted some high-res pics of the first Rocky box set over on the Minimate Multiverse forum and while he speaks highly of the line in general, particularly the facial designs (which are incredible it’s true) one thing bothers him:

“The ‘Boxing Gear’ Rocky does not come with a separate hair piece.”

At first you might think that this is a one-off and Rocky’s hairpiece is just missing from his set but we’ve got confirmation from other sources that there isn’t even a space for said hairpiece in the box set. As AsylumDude says in his review this is a little disappointing since the separate hairpiece has been featured in all of the promotional images and prototypes that we’ve seen since the line was announced. In fact, the very first control art sample has the hairpiece!

I highly doubt that this was an oversight on DST’s part. All of the latest releases and recently revealed prototypes show their continued desire to improve and expand the brand. If I had to guess (and I do since I have no insider info whatsoever) I’d say it was a problem at the factory, possibly a defective or broken mold, but in any case I’m sure we’ll get official word soon.

I would love to see some sort of “mail-away” promotion (as was suggested by MINI-MYTE in the same thread) where DST offers the hairpiece to buyers. They had a similar promotion for the “tongued” Venom head so it could be possible.

And although this is definitely a set back to the Rocky line I’m sure it will overcome and succeed. Eye of the tiger, right?

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Click here to see some high-res pics of the Rocky box set and to join the discussion about the lack of hairpiece on the MMMV forum! Thanks to AsylumDude and dukelyon for the pics.

Click for a larger pic.

Lurch’s Laboratory: Super Smash Brothers Brawl

By Lurch

SUPER —- SMASH —- BROS — BRAWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, ok, hold on, for those of you that are lost already go to the Smash Bros Dojo site to get educated, we’ll wait for you … … … … … … up to speed now, alright, let’s go!

The new Smash Bros game is just around the corner and what better way to get ready than some new concept art! With such a large number of characters to choose from I thought we’d check out some of the returning verterans and the new players. From top to bottom, the Veterans: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Dr. Mario, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Samus, Capt. Falcon, Young Link, Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff, Ness, Mr. Game & Watch, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Falco and Ice Climbers. The new players: Snake, Pit, Metaknight, Wario, Zero Suit Samus.

Most of the characters are done using the basic 2″ minimate body, with DK at 2.5″ and Bowser at 3″. For the rest to have the shorter body, they have the shortened feet like some of the DCD minimates (Robin, Penguin, etc). Jigglypuff and Kirby are just the lower minimate legs and feet with ball around them. Same goes for Metaknight, but I added in stubby minimate arms and hands (he’s got to have some way to hold his sword!).

A few highlights of the characters designs: Donkey Kong has larger size hands and feet; Bowser has a custom headpiece along with his shell & tail; Mewtwo has a torso-piece and legs designed like the OMAC minimate; Yoshi is just a regular 2″ body, large boots, tail and custom headpeice; Fox and Falco both have tails with custom headpieces; Pit has wings attached to the back; Wario uses a larger 2.5″ head with a custom fatsuit torso-piece.

You can tell I created a lot of the designs after characters that we have already seen in all the Minimate lines. There are many of the characters that have noses, I know that’s a minimate faux paux, but the Mario Bros along with the animal characters just didn’t look right without them. Also be sure to check out my thread on the MMMV forum for alternate costumes, colors, backs and acessories of the characters (especially check out the back of Capt. Falcon’s and Wario’s outfit, those came out quite nice )

So there you have it. Hopefully there will be some cool new characters to go along with these in the game. And hopefully there be some sort of network play, because I’ll be out there …. waiting to kick your butt!

By Fujis

The Action Figure Xpress Exclusive Defenders Box Set is now available for preorder on the AFX website. The set debuted at this year’s San Diego Comic Con and is limited to only 3000 pieces! Get yours while you still can! Thanks to Cloneme for the heads-up!

In other news, the second wave of Battlestar Galactica and the first wave of Star Trek were released yesterday. Check the pegs at your local comic shop and head over to the Minimate Multiverse to see more pics from dockingbay97 and maxcarnage. Thanks guys!

Capt. Pike, Spock, Vina, and Capt. Kirk. Pic by maxcarnage.

Figures from the second BTTF box set. Pic from Art Asylum.

By Fujis

Pics of the second Back to the Future box set as well as another Previews exclusive 2-pack were posted over on the Art Asylum forums. Click here to check them out and thanks to Neo for posting them!

The DC Universe faces off! Pic by Greg Hyland.

By Fujis

Our friend Greg Hyland, who updated our banner a few months ago, recently wrote an article for Brick Journal entitled Not Quite Lego #3 which features the first three waves of DC Minimates. I can’t seem to find the previous NQL articles so I don’t know if this is a regular feature for Greg.

I have always been confused by statements that I’ve read, mostly on the Art Asylum forums, where people bash Minimates calling them “Lego knock-offs”. I suppose for AFOL’s (Adult Fans of Lego) Minimates only became visible when the C3 line started appearing alongside LEGO sets. For them, it must have seemed that another company wanted to muscle in on the building block market when in fact, and Minimate fans will already know this, the C3 line was the only way that Art Asylum could produce DC Minimates. The Minimates were the focus of the sets and the bricks themselves seemed like more of an afterthought, as anyone who tried to build the Batcave can attest to.

I will grant the LEGO fans the fact that the C3 bricks were inferior to LEGO bricks but they did feel more substantial than MegaBloks bricks to me. I wonder what would have happened to the C3 line had it been given time to mature and evolve?

There is little need to speculate for long though since DC Direct and Diamond Select Toys have released four waves of DC Minimates with four waiting anxiously in the wings. I believe the DC Minimates will eclipse their C3 counterparts and will not only drive their secondary market prices down but decrease their popularity as well.

So are Minimates “not quite LEGO”? Maybe. But what I do believe is that LEGO minifigs aren’t quite Minimates. Not even close.

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Click here to read Greg’s review of the first three waves of DC Minimates and don’t forget to check out all of his great pictures!

By Dragon

Hello and welcome to a very special edition of Minimate Review here at Minimate Headquarters. What makes today’s review special? We’ll be examining “The Hunt” Minimate Exclusive from the 2007 San Diego Comic Con!

The Hunt 2007 Minimate Exclusive

Design: The Hunt Minimate was a unique opportunity for the gang at Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys. The Hunt was a Minimate event unlike any other, and thus had to stand out from standard blank Minimates of the past. The Hunt mate, which I will refer to as Mini-Mike from here on, achieves this goal quite well. Mini-Mike possesses his own personality, with a shirt, shorts, and sneakers, rather than just a blank body. Despite being just a standard Minimate body with a unique paint job, the design done on this figure is exceptional.

Design: 5 out of 5

Attention to Detail: Mini-Mike is loaded down with detail. Starting with the face, Mike has a beard that is carefully applied in great detail that wraps around the bottom of his face up to his ears. The facial expression works really well and is not too crowded with details. It really matches the tone of the rest of the Minimate universe. Mini-Mike’s shirt sports the Minimate emblem for the event on the front, with the “the Hunt 2007: a Minimates Adventure” logo sprawled across the back. It even shows the collar detail, despite the darkened shirt’s appearance. The shorts are equally detailed, with pockets, belt loops, and a zipper visible, as well as the appearance of the shirt hanging down a bit over the waist line. And the sneakers are what really make this figure stand out, as painstaking detail was used to recreate the look of a classic pair of Converse sneakers. Overall, no corners were cut when it came to detailing this figure.

Attention to Detail: 5 out of 5

Accessories: Mini-Mike comes with no accessories. Considering that this is a convention exclusive, the lack of accessories is understandable. Also, considering this is a figure not based solely on any particular person or character, I could not say what accessories would be necessary for capturing the look.

Accessories: 0 out of 5; (adjusted) 5 out of 5

Part Implementation: Mini-Mike is just a basic Minimate body. Again, considering the convention exclusive status of this figure, this is by no means a bad thing. The usage of the original head mold that lacks a hole in the top was a smart choice, as the portrayal of bald figures with the new head mold just looks off. This figure is also one of the first to use the new taller pelvic pegs. One final point of interest is that the torso of this figure seems to be translucent underneath the paint application. I’m not sure if this was for a specific purpose or not.

Part Implementation: 5 out of 5

Mechanics: Mini-Mike does not seem to suffer from the stiffened or weak joints of other recent releases. The time taken in the implementation of this figure seems to have allowed the paint adequate time to dry, eliminating the part snapping issues of recent days. The joints are just stiff enough to keep the limbs from dangling, but not so stiff as to cause concerns.

Mechanics: 5 out of 5

Availability: Being the centerpiece of a convention-exclusive event, the Hunt Minimate will be a hard one to track down. Originally, it seems that this figure was available only for those that participated in the Hunt event at the 2007 SDCC. However, a crop of them are appearing on eBay, and there is rumor that some may be available in an upcoming contest on the Minimate Multiverse message boards. Outside of these two avenues, there have been no other signs of availability.

Availability: Extremely Rare

Overall: Mini-Mike, as I have affectionately dubbed the Hunt minimate, is a true example of what happens when a smart design, a great attention to detail, and an adequate amount of production time come together. Lacking any noticeable flaws, the only thing that should be stopping you from acquiring this Minimate is the limited availability.

Overall: 5 out of 5

Salakk from the 8th wave of DC Minimates. Pic from TNI.

By Fujis

The eighth wave of DC Minimates was revealed at WWC today and with little fanfare considering the line-up. Red Son Superman, Red Son Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Raven, Batwoman, The Question, Sinestro, and Salakk (pictured above).

The appearance of Salakk in Minimate form confirms what I said in a previous article that Minimates are evolving. They are packing more detail into a 2″ action figure than anyone else has before. It is both amazing and astounding what the designers are coming up with. And Matt and Barry, if you guys are working on these: keep up the amazing work! And would it kill you to leak some control art?!

Thanks to effective1 over on the Fwooshnet forums for snapping the first pic and to hypno for pointing the Minimate fans in the right direction!

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Click here to see the pic over at Fwooshnet.

Click here to see the gallery over at Toy News International. (Thanks TNI and MINI-MYTE for the heads-up!)

Scarlet Spider and Hobgoblin from WWC. Pic by Gillbob316.

By Fujis

This new Marvel 2-pack of Scarlet Spider and Hobgoblin turned up in Chicago today at the Wizard World Convention. It comes as a bit of a surprise considering the San Diego Comic Con just wrapped up but it’s nice of DST to hold on to a few of their cards for the fans in the Windy City. Apparently this 2-pack is a Suncoast/FYE exclusive and it will be released later this year or early next. No word yet on the cost.

Thanks to Gillbob316, AmazingJL, and Cloneme for the pics and info! Click here to see more pics and here to join the discussion on the Minimate Multiverse forum!