2009 In (Cool Toy) Review: Action Figure Of The Year
Hot Toys launched their brand new MMS DX (Movie Masterpiece Series Deluxe) 1/6 scale collection with a figure that celebrated the character-defining portrayal of Batman’s number one villain, The Joker, by the late actor Heath Ledger. Throughout his all-too-short career, critics and moviegoers alike have always praised what he brought to the roles he played, creating a realism that submerges you completely in the films. While many people have jumped on the Heath Ledger bandwagon since his untimely passing on the 22th of January 2008, the accolades he received aren’t hyperbole. With his death we all knew that no one would ever be able to play The Joker and as such, the feature film, The Dark Knight, will never have the sequel originally planned. Ledger’s Joker wasn’t a silly clown like Jack Nicholson’s or Caesar Romero’s earlier performances as much as he was a force of nature like Bruce the Shark in Jaws, The Tornado in Twister, or Darth Maul In Star Wars. You couldn’t reason with him, and you couldn’t stop him. Even in capturing him, he proved to be the one pulling the strings. In a nutshell, Ledger’s Joker was terrifying and will forever be known as one of the best motion picture villains.
While this is the third Joker figure produced by Hot Toys, this one is clearly the definitive version, with it’s incredibly realistic skin tones, and PERS (Parallel Eyeball Rolling System) eyes, other companies are going to have to work over time to create a better figure. No expense was spared in packaging or in accessories, and as such, Hot Toys’ MMS DX Joker, which saw release late in the forth quarter, is unquestionably the best action figure released in 2009. Full Report
2009 In (Cool Toy) Review: Wasteful Packaging
It is surprising that none of the domestic retail action figure producers have stood up and said they are going to create less waste. In fact, over the last decade we've seen more materials going in to the packaging than ever before. In the struggle to win the consumers' hard-earned cash, almost every mass market toy company has offered very complicated packages that include multiple layers of printed cardboard and non-recyclable plastic, not to mention more little rubber elastics and twist ties than you can shake a stick at. Even though the packages these days look great, and one has to marvel over their design, ultimately it is nothing more than trash that will sit forever in landfills all over the planet. Some of the high end companies have taken us in the right direction by creating packaging that is intended to be saved, that uses less plastic and no twist ties or rubber bands. In fact, most of the products from companies like Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys don't even have tape on them! Moving into 2010, lets hope a responsible company like Hasbro, who has a long history of listening to their customers, will very publicly address this waste and vow to create packages that consider the environment, and challenge all the other toy companies to follow their lead. Think this is exaggerated? When you photograph as many toys as we do, you learn very quickly that the action figure industry creates far too much waste. Full Report
2009 In (Cool Toy) Review: The Line That Just Won't Quit
Many franchise fans will tell you with the conviction of a faith healer that the second film in the Terminator series is the best they have evert been, and we couldn't agree more, but one has to tip their hat to the strains of continuity that has been respected from one film to the next. While Terminator: Salvation didn't live up to many people's imaginations, it did nothing to offend the history it has become a part of like another film in the series (we're looking at you Terminator 3*). Regardless of the reactions the film had, one thing we can all agree on is how rich the character and robot design in the film was. That design, as you are well away, was totally over looked with the domestic atrocity that was Playmates Toys figure collection. Juxtaposed to that was Hot Toys' Terminator: Salvation line, which gave us film accurate figures that look almost alive! While the movie may have tanked and may not be Blu-Ray worthy to some of you, no action figure collection is complete without at least one of the figures in this line. Stay tuned for more to be added to our Photo Archive very soon.
*Ah, Terminator 3. We have figured out an easy trick to make this movie good. You see, just like Escape From The Planet Of The Apes, T3 is a film that bridges the movies together, and like EFTPOTA it does just that. Our simple trick to making this film awesome is super-easy and anyone can do it. 1) put the disc in the player 2) skip to the last chapter 3) sit back and enjoy. Full Report
Hot Toys: Judgement Day T-800 Update
Terminator fans take note, Hot Toys' Terminator 2: Judgement Day 1/6 scale T-800 Movie Masterpiece figure goes up for pre-order through Sideshow Collectibles January 7th. As always, expect to find a direct link to the pre-order right here. In the meantime, follow this link to check out the preview page. Full Report
Photo Archive: Hot Toys' 2009 Christmas Gift
A cool surprise showed up at my studio door this week and as you know, any cool toys that show up at my door get shot for our Photo Archive... Follow this link to check out Hot Toys' Preview This Magic Of X-Mas -The 2010 Product promotional gift set. Full Report
Hot Toys Reveals Judgement Day T-800
Hot Toys continues teasing us with their plans for 2010. This time they have released a couple images of their Terminator 2: Judgement Dat 1/6 scale T-800 Movie Masterpiece figure. Click the thumbnails above to check out the full-sized images. Full Report
Sideshow Collectibles has opened the pre-order on Hot Toys' Tony Stark -Mech Test Version 1/6 scale Iron Man Movie Masterpiece figure. Follow the link above to get yours! Full Report
Hot Toys Announces Four New Licenses
2010 is going to bring us a lot of new Hot Toys products, and above the stuff we are already expecting form their Watchmen and Marvel Entertainment lines, four new 1/6 scale lines have been announced. Stay tuned for more information on the figures based on Disney's Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time, James Cameron's Avatar, Clash Of The Titans, and Iron Man 2. Full Report
Hot Toys: King Leonidas Is Up!
Sideshow Collectibles has opened the pre-order for Hot Toys' 1/6 scale King Leonidas Movie Masterpiece 300 collectible figure. Follow the above link to get yours! Full Report
Hot Toys Not Finished With Iron Man Yet
Images have surfaced of Hot Toys' next 1/6 scale Move Masterpiece Iron Man figure. Click through to check out the images of the Tony Stark (Mech Test Version) figure and stay tuned for more information (and bigger images) coming soon. Full Report
Hot Toys: King Leonidas Update
Sideshow Collectibles has announced that they will be offering Hot Toys' King Leonidas 1/6 scale figure next Thursday. If you haven't looked at this great figure yet, follow this link to check out our previously published press release. Make sure to keep your eyes on CTR for a direct link the moment it goes live! Full Report
