NECA is the latest toy manufacturer to jump on the urban vinyl bandwagon with its new line of Bastu figures for Gears of War. In what traditionally has been the realm of niche designer toy makers like Toy2R, Neca’s Batsu joins Hasbro’s Mighty Muggs, McFarlane’s Odd Pods, and Mezco’s Mez-Itz in the mass and specialty markets. I wonder if Mattel will follow suit with the AttiTUBES they showed at San Diego Comic-Con.
Shifting Gears
NECA announces new BATSU Gears of War figures!
Sure, we’ve got our regular Gears of War figures and they’re awesome, but now things are getting Batsu.
In Japanese, the symbol “batsu,” like the English ‘X’ is used to show something wrong. Like when you get a strike on Family Feud, that’s a batsu. For NECA, it’s a whole new way of experiencing some of your favorite characters and lines, and we’re starting with the three most popular Gears of War combatants in limited production runs (translation: get ’em while you can).
The highly-stylized Batsu versions of Dom, Marcus and The Locust each stand over 5″ tall, are poseable at the neck and shoulders and designed with urban vinyl in mind. They also have the Lancer accessory, and you’ll know them when you see them because of the window box packaging.
Once again, these are limited runs, which means they won’t be around forever. They hit stores next month, so make sure to keep an eye out, and of course they’ll be available online at our Amazon storefront. Keep it tuned to necaonline.com for more info on this and other lines from your favorite games and movies.
I guess I’m not up on my movie news, because I didn’t know that Disney was delving into the video game genre looking for its next summer franchise. I played the original Prince of Persia game that came out in the late 80’s, but haven’t revisited it since. This movie is titled for the 2003 video game from Ubisoft, and Disney and McFarlane must be hoping it’ll spawn many sequels, just as that particular game did.
McFarlane plans to make figures in both the 4-inch and 6-inch scale, and the smaller scale will also get horses (not much in the way of vehicles in ancient Persia, I suppose) and a playset. The figures are planned to hit retail in May next year, around the same time as the movie is planned.
I wonder if Disney will also produce toys exclusive to their Disney Stores, like they did for Pirates of the Caribbean.
Here’s your chance, folks – if you didn’t get on board when Hot Toys released its Iron Man Mark III, they’ve just released a teaser pic showing a battle-damaged version of the Mark III suit.
I was reluctant to spend the money the first time and passed, and I’ve been more than a little regretful about it. On this version, I’ll wait to see what the differences are, because I am positive Hot Toys will release another version of the Iron Man suit for the Iron Man 2 movie next summer.
Marvel Legends Zabu (custom) with Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Deadpool (custom)
Let me start by saying that I normally don’t take action figures outside to take pictures of them. I do love seeing outdoor shots, but it’s just a lot of trouble to get them set up, and I would rue the day that one of my neighbors catches me doing so. But for this custom Marvel Legends Zabu, I was compelled.
You may remember GrownNerd’s entry in CustomCon 22, Savage Land Face-Off Zabu & Ultra-raptor. If you haven’t seen that, you’ve got to check it out. What you may not know is that the Zabu in that CustomCon entry is the *second* Zabu he made. When he posted the recipe for Zabu on his customs thread at TheFwoosh.com, he revealed that he wasn’t happy with the first. I suggested that I take the first one off his hands because it was such a piece of crap, and shortly thereafter, I had this beauty in my hands. Never underestimate the power of sarcasm coupled with suggestion!
Close to the start of the month, Mattel announced that Teela and Zodak would be on sale in October on their Facebook page. Now both have been added to the Mattycollector site and the sale date set to October 15. While Zoar is in the original deco, they hinted at a red and blue Zoar coming later – is this a hint that the Sorceress is coming?
Teela – with Zoar
Teela – in Snake Armor
Teela – card
Teela – card back
Zodak
Zodak – back
Zodak – card
Zodak – card back
Teela® Figure
Available October 15, 2009
Warrior Goddess
$20.00
Respected leader of the troops of King Randor™, Teela® is the ultimate warrior – especially when armed with her magical Staff of Ka. Highly-detailed and fully-articulated, her feisty figure is ready for action with these accessories:
Staff of Ka
Sword
Sword
Snake armor
Extra head
Teela® Bio
Real Name: Teela®
The adoptive daughter of Duncan™, the current Man-At-Arms®, Teela® grew up in the palace of King Randor™. Trained from an early age in the ways of battle, at age 18 she became Captain of the Guard, leading the troops of King Randor™ and acting as a defacto member of the Masters of the Universe®. She is yet to become aware of her true heritage as the magically cloned daughter of, and heir to, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull®. She carries the Staff of Ka, which was once used by the Snake Men™ in their epic battles against the Horde and King Grayskull™ during the Great Wars. Teela® uses her magical staff to track her foes’ every move!
Available October 15, 2009, only on MattyCollector.com.
Zodak™ Figure
Available October 15, 2009
Mystic Enforcer
$20.00
Don’t be fooled by this meditating man’s mild manner. When duty calls, Zodak™ becomes a force to be reckoned with! Feel the power with this highly-detailed, fully-articulated action figure that comes complete with a Cosmic Staff.
Zodak™ Bio
Real Name: Kar-tor™
An ancient and powerful enforcer for the Council of Elders, Kar-tor™ studied the teachings and mystic fighting techniques of the Cosmic Enforcers and knows how to instantly identify an opponent’s weakness. After his mentor, the original Zodac®, left Eternia® to fulfill the Elder’s bargain with Trolla, Kar-tor™ took his place on the Council and helped lead them in battle against the Snake Men™, eventually trapping King Hssss™ in the Void with the power of his staff. Although he prefers a solitary life of meditation in the Mystic Mountains, when he is called to battle, Zodak™ attacks his enemies using all the power at his command!
Available October 15, 2009, only on MattyCollector.com.
. Keep it tuned to necaonline.com for more info on this and other lines from your favorite games and movies.
