By Chris Troy
Well okay, the title’s kind of a lie. Most of the new stuffs we’ll be looking at came in towards the end of 2011, but you know, I was busy playing catch up with the best of list and attending MAGfest (which again, was awesome). However most of the awesome new arrivals are STILL in stock (for now!), so we might as well go over what those things are just in case you the reader are interested. Which hopefully, you will be.
On the left, you’ll see a picture of the Robot Damashii Wing Zero Custom (from the Gundam Wing OVA “Endless Waltz”) from Bandai. I’m not exactly how new it is on the shelves of Japan, but we finally have it in at FPNYC, so that’s all that matters right? The Winger Zero Custom joins the Tallgeese 3 as the 2 Wing-related Robot Damashiis we have in, as well as the Gouf Custom and the Gundam Unicorn from the Universal Century line. All 3 of these figures are super articulated, come with a nice selection of variant parts and weapons, and are 2nd only to the Revoltech in overall mecha quality, which is impressive for a line that hasn’t been around as long. We’ve sold out of the One Piece/DBZ/MegaMan/Tiger and Bunny releases super fast, so if you want yourself a super articulated Gundam figure, you best come get them as soon as possible.
Our next new item is definitely not as articulated or well sculpted as the RD figures, but are a fraction of the price, and are awesome none the less! It’s the first line of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates, featuring a selection of familiar faces, as well as some more obscure one, something Art Aslyumn has been good at doing for the last couple of years. The first four 2-packs consist of The Phoenix & Morrigan, Iron Man &Arthur, Dormannu & Trish, and 2 of my favorite characters from the game, Dante & Deadpool. Wade aside, Art Asylum has done a terrific job of building upon the basic Minimate bodies, giving each character a unique look. Be warned that not all of them come with cool accessories like Arthur, Dante and Deadpool, but hey, they retail for $10 and come in 2 packs. It’s a pretty good deal none the less. And there’s at least 2 more waves to drop in 2012, including the likes of M.O.D.O.K., which will be a must buy.
Wrapping up the new releases, we have the final 2011 wave of Marvel Universe figures (Wave 17), as well as the final wave of direct retail DC Universe Classic figures. On the Marvel side of things, we have X-woman, Storm, and Psylocke making their debuts; Young Avenger Patriot, and regular offender Thor in an appearance from a Matt Fraction penned mini series as the new unique sculpts, with Shadowland, Daredevil, and Iron Fist as repaints of pre-existing versions of the characters. I picked up Storm so expect a spotlight/ review on her soon. On the DC end of things, we have a modern (pre new 52 modern) Green Arrow, a pre-relapse Red Arrow, Hawk and Dove, and slimmer Sinstero figure, a Reverse Flash, and a variant White Lantern Flash using the same sculpt, with Blackest Night villain Nekron as the Build a Figure for the wave. Both line posses the strengths and weaknesses that you’ve come to expect over the years, but do a good job expanding both lines universes. As always, I urge you to come pick any figur you want from these lines ASAP, especially given how given the MU stuff sells out, and the fact that DCUC line is now over in the direct market.
And with that, we’re off to an awesome start for collectors in 2012! Happy hunting FPNYC faithful!
MARVEL VS DC be made