Speed Racer’s Trixie and Captain Terror, from the April 2007 ToyFare.

By Dragon

Though not the most popular line to stem from Art Asylum’s creative juices, Speed Racer was an interesting line nevertheless. In a unique concept, each figure came equipped with a car from the show, related to the character in some way. With support from Toys R Us and specialty stores, as well as a strong cult following, the line sounds promising, yes? Not so much. Minimate fans and Speed Racer fans both were a little disappointed with the premiere wave of figures, based on Racer X and Speed himself. For starters, the cars were out of scale to the characters and weren’t very well designed to boot. In addition, Minimate fans were saddened to learn the line would kick off with a part reuse gimmick, where you got two white blanks with minimal paint detail and only a single hairpiece between the two of them for accessories. Speed didn’t come with his trademark helmet, which would only puzzle fans more. So, it was a rocky start for a new license.

Still, Art Asylum had longterm plans for the license and the line, funding the production of a new show and releasing a wide variety of products based on both the classic and the modern. More Minimates were planned, including Speed’s friend Trixie and the villainous Captain Terror, both of whom would sport more character specific designs and sculpts, as well as a Modern Speed and Modern Racer X, both simple repaints of the first wave of figures, though far better detailed.

Images from the trade shows surfaced throughout early 2007, but a release date was never finalized, with the closest to an exact time being pegged at Fall of 2007. Fall came and went and the protos of this line disappeared with little word of the future of the line. It is believed that underwhelming consumer support of the lack luster first wave helped spell the end of this line, with the 2007 merger of Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum being the final nail in the coffin. With the upcoming movie based on the property, and the soon to be released Lego sets based on the film, the demise of this line is something the fans won’t soon forget.

By Dragon

In a follow-up to yesterday’s story of the classic Avengers coming down the line, it seems the people at Wizard have a bit more information:

They did reveal a Jack-Kirby-inspired Avengers box set, which will feature extra pieces to convert the characters into different versions of themselves. It will be available through Previews in October or November.

It should be noted that they also reported that parts will be available to convert the Wasp into her first, second, or third costume. Take that for what it’s worth. To read their complete report on DST’s Minimate Panel, check the linkage.

By Dragon

Some big things coming out of the New York Comic Con this weekend, so let’s get to it.

Avengers Assemble!

Early design sketches were revealed at Friday’s Minimate Panel based on the original Avengers team. While the assortment and release details were not known, expect to see a Jack Kirby Hulk alongside classic Wasp, Ant Man, Giant Man, and gold armor Iron Man.

(Images courtesy of TNI)

We need a Hero

It was also revealed that a line of Minimates based on NBC’s hit show Heroes is in the works. It should be noted that the deal is still in the developmental stages, meaning that this is not an official announcement just yet. Assortment and release plans are yet to be determined.

That’s not all…

While these are the two biggest items to come out of the Minimate Panel, there was plenty more discussed.

• No plans for lines based on Star Wars and Indiana Jones due to similar licenses with the Lego brand.
• No plans for a line based on Halo due to Microsoft’s Kubrick license.
• While Target shows little interest in Minimates at the moment, Toys R Us is expected to pick up the brand again in the coming year.
• Still no vehicles in the future for the Marvel license.
• No plans for playsets unless sales indicates a high interest.
• Expect to see exclusive sets at San Diego’s Comic Convention.

All of this information and more can be found in Toy News International’s NYCC coverage. You can also join in the discussion over at Minimate Multiverse. Special thanks goes out to Avenger, Reideen, minimadman, and Arnim Zola for helping assemble this news.

By Dragon

Hasbro’s Superhero Squad line acts as one of the chief competitors to Diamond Select’s Minimate line. Both brands are based in the 2″ scale and feature a host of characters from the Marvel Universe. Also, both lines seem to predominantly feature Spider-Man as a mainstay, with other characters filling out the ranks when possible. It’s here that the similarities end.

From a mechanical standpoint, Minimates are the superior brand. Minimates sport a higher amount of articulation and often carry a wider array of accessories. In addition to this, the uniform design of Minimates allows for more customization and more possibilities with character design and posing by giving the option to switch out parts to achieve different looks with the same character.

On the other side of the coin, Superhero Squad boasts a higher quality design, as each character is sculpted to great detail to best achieve the look of the individual. The uniform Minimate design does not allow for the subtle differences in a character’s overall look. Though newer Minimates feature a higher amount of sculpted detail, there still exists a ceiling to how much detail can be applied in order to preserve the standard Minimate look.

So, with Minimates holding the edge in articulation and poseability, and Superhero Squad holding the edge in detail and design, the deciding factor would have to be character assortment.

Announced character line-ups for both lines.
Excluding numerous duplicates and slight modifications to existing characters, here’s a basic list of the character assortment between the Minimate line and the Superhero Squad line. A total of 286 characters exist between the two lines, including significant costume variation of major characters, as well as movie versions of some characters. Of the 286, 78 of them are shared between the two lines. Superhero Squad hosts a hefty 71 characters exclusive to their own line, while Minimates holds a staggering 137 unique characters. One could argue that Marvel’s numbers are inflated by the excess of Spider-Man and Wolverine variants, but this does not change the fact that they do boast a significant number of unique characters as well.

So, when comparing the Marvel brand of Minimates to the Marvel Superhero Squad, Minimates hold the edge. Sporting more articulation, a larger character assortment, and being more approachable for customization purposes, Minimates are the clear favorite, at least to this fan.

THE WINNER:

Nightwing and Starfire from DC Wave 7

By Dragon

Nightwing

Formerly Robin, Dick Grayson would evolve over the years, outgrowing the title of the “Boy Wonder” and finding himself a hero in his own right as Nightwing. Here we have the more modern look of the character. Given that his costume is predominately black in the source material, this would present quite the hurdle for the designers. They seem to have handled it quite nicely, though, using a dark gray color for the costume with black detail lines accentuating the torso and legs. The blue on the shoulders, chest, and arms stands out nicely, really capturing the look of the character. The facial detail is also well done and the new hair piece seems to suit Nightwing as well. For accessories, he comes with two sticks. Having never read the comic, I can’t say if he is supposed to rub them together, but I can say that they closely match the source material and are far better as new sculpts than simply reusing the Daredevil sticks. My only real concern with Nightwing is the lack of emphasis on dividing the gloves and boots from the rest of the figure. In many of the images that I perused preparing for this review, I noticed a significant divide where his gloves met his arms and his boots met his legs. Here, however, it just simply appears as one seamless piece, giving the look of a man running around in a onesie. Still, Spider-Man catches no flack for sporting the same look, so it is not a major issue. Overall, Nightwing is a great addition to the DC Minimate cast, far surpassing the previous attempt back in the C3 line. With only some minor grief over a couple detail lines, I’m inclined to say that this is amongst the best figures and another shining example of why this line will be missed.

Starfire

Koriand’r, former princess of Tamaran, is actually the third person to wear the name Starfire, but is by far the most commonly known. Having a long history with Robin/Nightwing, her inclusion in this set was a no-brainer. Starfire is expertly detailed, with a great deal of work going into capturing the look of her skimpy attire and womanly…charms. The detail is done very well, with an excess of detail on the cuffs and boots. The face is done simply, which has proven time and again to be the best way to do a woman’s face on a Minimate. The hair is sculpted to match the source material closely and really helps make this figure. My only complaints are some minor paint problems on the arm and the lack of accessory. The armband on Starfire’s arm doesn’t really line up with the detail lines applied over top, which does hurt the look somewhat. Also, the lack of a starbolt or some sort of stand like the Human Torch’s take away from the look of an alien hero. Still, these are minor concerns, and hardly take away from an otherwise beautiful Minimate. Overall, I’m really impressed with the detail on Starfire, though some slight paint app problems and the lack of accessories make her fall a bit short of perfect.