This announcement came a bit of a surprise to me.
I didn’t even know Hot Toys had a license for X-men 3: The Last Stand. Which this Wolverine is based from.
This is Hot Toys second Wolverine. The first one was based on the Wolverine Origins movie.
The first Wolverine got me into Hot Toys, somewhere back 2009.
I always despised 12″ figures. I my head they were dolls. Like barbie and Hasbro’s GIJoe. At that size, they always looked to fake to me. Especially the clothes were a jail breaker for me. I only had a SideShow Stormtrooper and the Hot Toys she-predator and Iron Man mark III at the time. All armored figures. Then I saw the announcement for Wolverine  mms103. He looked awesome. The clothing looked life like and the head sculpt was the best I’ve seen at the time. So I took a leap of faith and since than, I spend way too much money to Hot Toys.
I wasn’t the only one. The first Wolverine figure has become a rarity and goes for $500 at ebay. Crazy!
Back to this one. It’s like stepping in the Delorean and going back in time. Back to X-men The Last Stand from 2006. I like the X-men film. But I didn’t really dig the costumes and I always thought Wolverine’s hair looked stupid.
Here We are. 6 years later. Wolverine hair still looks stupid and on this figure even more so. The costume is starting to grow on me. And it’s fair to say Hot Toys again did an terrific job at the tailoring. I thing the head sculpt doesn’t look bad. But still it’s not 100% Hugh Jackman, the actor portraying Wolverine.
Still I would have bought him if this price wasn’t ridiculously high. With only four extra hands, a figure stand and an environment base, I think $230 is just to steep to take is seriously. So i’ll let this one pass.

For images and specifications, read more after the jump.

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Finally! Ever since Hot Toys got the license for the Avengers, Ffans got excited about a sixth scale Hulk figure. Including me
Well, he’s finally here. “We Have A Hulk”.
Before there was even a mention if a Hulk was going to be produced, people got speculating the size, if the joints were visible, what material he was going to be made of. And so forth. So he got very hyped by the fans.
First shown at Ani-con in Hong Kong, heated discussions were unleashed with very mixed reactions. About it’s sculpt, the color, if the arms could bend, if the hands were unchangeable and about the exposed shoulder joints.
Now we have an official announcement.
I, for one, am very happy. This Hulk is a monster. He’s approximately 42 cm tall. I love the head sculpt.
A few thing could’ve been better in my opinion. I think his abs are extenuated to much compared with the movie. He has very limited accessories.  Seriously, It doesn’t even have a figure stand! I expected at least another head scupt, more hands or a Bruce Banner figure.
I don’t  mind the exposed shoulder joints. I understand It can’t be covered unless there is some kind of cloth. I Like the hidden elbow joints. I wonder what material is being used for the arms and If if can stand the teeth of time. With previous figures with covered joints with “skin”, they used rubber. Which will wear out and cracks happen over time. Is the rest of the figure’s skin made of the same material.
And how far will the arms bend? I am also curious what independent rolling eyeballs are. Does that mean we can pose him cross eyed?
Everything is new with this guy. He entire body is newly sculpted. I wonder how they will milk this figure. Will we see a Red Hulk in the future as a convention exclusive? Maybe a Hulk version 2.0 in a couple of years time?
I understand some people are very disappointed with what Hot Toys delivers in oppose what they had in mind, which is the sky. Hot Toys can only R&D and produce this much while keeping the price ‘down’. I can’t wait until march 2013 when he will be released when I have him in hand.
He would stand nicely against my Hot Toys Wolverine of beside Iron Monger. Or just being part of the Avengers!

For images and specifications, read more after the jump.

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No big surprise for Hot Toys to release this figure. It was just a matter of when.
The mark VII was featured in the Avengers movie and marks the return of the circular light in the chest. The differences between this and the previous mark again is very subtle. The first images of the figure unleashed some heated discussions  between fans. Mainly concerning about the chest piece and differences compared to the movie version. And of course about the head sculpt.
I have tho admit. Hot Toys set the bar for high quality and lifelike head sculpts very high for themselves . Which resulted in disapoiting head sculpts in their Avengers line. All the sculpt seems to be just off. Well, they still are high quality and lifelike and to be fair, we’ve seem some great sculpts like Loki and Black Widow and I am more than curious to judge them them real life. But overall you expect better from Hot Toys.
Like this head sculpt of Robert Downey. To me it’s not Downey. It could be his brother. Sure, it’s a great sculpt and I love that little smirk, but he looks more like Dustin Hoffmann to me than Robert Downey.

What sets this figure apart from the rest of the Avengers line are it’s accessories.  It’s common place for an Iron Man figure.  Interchangeable armor plates, battle damage and a an extra head.
Unfortunatelythis is felt by the steep price tag. Did the previous  Iron Man mark II (version 2.0) go for just under 200 euros. This baby would go up to 250 euro featuring far less accessories.
That’s where I will draw the line. This would probably my last Iron Man. I also dare to say that, because the images I’ve seen of the new Iron Man armor from the third movie didn’t get my heart pumping. In the meantime, this mark won’t be released before March 2013. So I have to time to save up.
For images and specifications, read more after the jump.

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I just got around posting this announcement here. And what a better timing than Spider-man turning 50 today! It’s not long ago Hot Toys released their Spider-man figure from the Spider-man 3 movie. Just after the first trailers of the Spider-man reboot movie began emerging.
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As my review from last year stated, the Hot Toys Spider-man from the third movie is great figure in it’s own right. It was for me, a must have within my sixth scale super-hero collection.
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Now there’s this new one. From the rebooted franchise. I made no secret I like the redesigned costume. I think it’s has a more Kirby-feel to it than the previous Spider-man, which was technically a more accurate comic-version.
This new Spider-man is sleeker and more athletic-looking than the buff Spider-man from last year. And it feels more ‘grounded’. A better fit in a real world setting than the previous Spider-man which was part of a some what more campy world director Sam Raimi created.
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I think it’s cool the makers had the balls to go forth with a redesign of such a iconic super-hero suit.

I’m not sure which Spider-man I want to put in front. I have to see this figure in hand to make a judgement. I like the detailing. This time there’s a head sculpt included of Peter Parker, portrayed by Andrew Garfield. And he has webshooters! The spider emblems are reminisced of the Raimi’s Spider-man, but I like that. What I don’t like are the yellow lenses and the glossy coating on the suit. But then again, I have to see it in real life.
A really big disappointment is the lack of accessories  and the price tag. Almost $50,- more than last year’s version, which had more accessories and even a cool piece of building.
This Spider-man is expected to swing by around februari, next year.
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This is the Hot Toys’s rescue version of Captain America from the movie Captain America: the First Avenger.
Long awaited and finally announced. But in another way I imaged.
I thought this figure would come out as a regular  release. Instead, the lucky few attending the San Diego Comic Con can get their hands on this figure together with Angelica from Pirates of the Caribbean and Jim Gordon from The Dark Knight.
Both very, very awesome. I will post the Jim Gordon announcement later on.
I bet Sideshow will have this exclusive figure at pre-order pretty soon.
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I digg this figure. A great miss in the previous release of Captain America was the headsculpt. This release as a great lifelike head sculpt of Chris Evans, who plays the character of Steve Rogers.
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I really like the colour-scheme and love the leather bomber jacket.
This is Cap’s pre-star spangled, WWII outfit. And the costume designer really nailed it.
Cap is holding his triangular shield. A really nice nod to the first couple of comics of Captain America.
I don’t have any WWII soldiers to accompany him. That’s the only reason I won’t add him to my sixth scale collection. All the other [super-hero] figures in my collection are from present time. Somehow this figure would stand out beside them. True, I have a Captain America from the forties. But I really like his WWII ‘battle’ classic costume, and it looks like it still could be worn by Cap in present time.
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Yeah, I need to draw the line somewhere. This looks like a great figure. Again, great colour-scheme, very contemporary, and spot-on head sculpt. But then there’s the price tag. I find $220 just to much for a figure packing not a lot of accessories.
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I just added a new set of Hot Toys -MMS 186- The Avengers: Hulk announcement photos on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/tales2astonish/sets/72157630998438320
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I just added a new set of Ani-com coverage photos on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/tales2astonish/sets/72157630772751442
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Well, isn’t this a great surprise? Hot Toys just teased a sixth scale figure of Agent Coulson and a Chitauri footsoldier from The Avengers line.

I would very much like to add Coulson to my collection. I don’t really give that much for the footsoldier, however a pleasant surprise.
I like a ‘normal’ guy standing next to my superheroes.
This news make me wonder if I should buy the Nick Fury figure…?
Wallet says no.

The Coulson figure should be pretty straight forward. Normal Hot Toys Truetype body type. The clothes aren’t really complex. Only Coulson head sculpt and gun are the most work. I expect an official announcement pretty soon. And to see the figure early next year.

The Chitauri footsoldier, on the other hand, looks like will need a new bodytype. and a lot of R&D to get this figure right. Within the next 4 month I expect more news with a release somewhere mid-2013.

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I just added a new set of Tie Fighter MOC photos on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/tales2astonish/sets/72157630347220616
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Wow. That’s more like it! Hot Toys just officially announced Black Widow from the Avengers line.
We got a Hot Toys  Black Widow before. From the Iron Man II line.
At that time she was a must-have. A very hot figure. People were saying the figure captured Scarlett Johansson’s likeness very well.
There where some complaints, mostly about her breasts. So at the hands of some people she got a boob job. Not because they were small, but because were sitting to low.
Looking back at the old Black Widow figure now, I wonder who that Black Widow was. Sure she’s a hot lady, but doesn’t really look like Johansson.
So when the Avengers line was announced I saw a new change for a Black Widow. And a more accurate Scarlett Johansson.
Ow boy, The prototype images are promising. Hot Toy’s new Black Widow just looks awesome. The likeness of Scarlet Johansson is really close. I’d say the best in in the Avengers line so far. As far of accurate sculpts go. Hot Toys also uses a new body type for this figure. The proportions are more ‘balanced’. The figure has smaller breasts and head is slightly bigger compared to the previous Widow.  I think this figure is smaller than the previous one. Who’s as tall as Spider-man and slightly smaller than Thor. While in fact Scarlett Johansson is a lot smaller than Helmsworth. I believe Hot Toys made the body height more accurate.  After all, we all saw them standing side by side in the movie. Hot Toys can’t ignore the fact Black Widow has to be smaller and Thor taller.
Again this member from the Avengers also does not pack a lot of accessories. The price tag is reasonable. Compared to Loki and Captain America.
I can’t wait for the end of this year, when I have her in my hands. ;-)

Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale Black Widow Limited Edition Collectible Figurine from the smash hit The Avengers. The movie-accurate Black Widow collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Scarlett Johansson in the movie, highlighting the newly sculpted head, hair implantation, prominent body shape, highly detailed costume and accessories.
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