Vinylmation preps for the Super Bowl with a pre-order

23 minutes ago - 7:00 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Natalie Kipper

Ah yes, the Super Bowl, where two teams meet for one final climactic battle. Chips and dip are devoured. Hot wings are massacred... Okay, I can't do it. I honestly prefer watching Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl which also airs that day. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying the Super Bowl. My family watches it. I am just personally not a fan. 

I am, however, a fan of Disney Vinylmation. And with "the Big Game" coming up soon, Vinylmation is also getting in on the act with Vinylmation figures themed to sports teams (football-both college and professional, baseball- Major League and college, and the National Basketball League). The coup d'grace is a limited release 3 inch Vinylmation figure celebrating Super Bowl XLVI. It will be available for pre-order on Sunday, Feb. 5th, at the Disney Parks online store but, because the figure will have the winning team on it, it will take a couple of weeks in production. 

The regular sports team Vinylmations will be released on three different dates. Both the college and professional football team ones will be released starting Feb. 3rd. Coming up next are all of the baseball Vinylmations on Feb. 10th. And on Feb. 17th, the basketball figures will start to be sold. These figures aren't blind-boxed, so you can choose which ones you want. If you aren't close to a Disney theme park, you can order them online at the Disney Parks online store.

Sideshow's Aayla Secura ready for duty

3 hours ago - 3:30 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

The Alien Warrior is not the only exclusive from Sideshow Collectibles on the pre-order block. Also teased last week, The newest Sideshow Premium Format Order of the Jedi statue is available in the form of Aayla Secura. Aayla stands 18 inches tall, which is 1/4-scale and features a fabric costume and light-up lightsaber. The only difference between the two versions is the exclusive has a severed Clone Trooper head for the base display.

Both the regular and exclusive versions are available for US$349.99 with a non-refundable US$35 deposit required. Aayla ships in 3rd quarter 2012, and yes, as you might remember, Kristina said it was her DO WANT for January. Are you thinking of picking her up?

Sideshow's Alien Warrior statue invades Planet Pre-order

4 hours ago - 3:00 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

Last week, we showed off the teaser for Sideshow Collectibles' Alien Warrior statue. The good news? It's pre-orderable in two versions. Both the regular and exclusive versions are 18 inches tall and feature the beastly Alien Warrior upon a perch, ready to attach some unsuspecting prey. The exclusive version's lone addition is a Facehugger accessory that comes along with the statue.

Both the regular and exclusive versions are available for US$249.99 with a non-refundable US$25 deposit required. The Alien Warrior ships in 3rd quarter 2012, and as you might remember, Tian said it was his DO WANT for January. Will it be on your list? 

Gift gets even more squishy with Wonder Festival plushes

5 hours ago - 2:00 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Jonathan Tubbs

Earlier in the week we saw Gift announce a pair of new Vocaloid Tako Luka plush phone straps for Wonder Festival 2012 [Winter]. Being that plush is Gift's forte, they have more than just those coming for this big event. The company has revealed a few more plush and straps on their Wonder Festival event page with characters from Vocaloid, Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, and Touhou Project.

Miku Hatsune is back to playing in the snow again with the latest Snow Miku exclusive so it comes as no surprise that Gift would also have a plush of this yearly winter Miku. Gift will be selling the standalone 200mm tall plush Miku Hatsune Plush Series 01 Snow Miku Fuwa Fuwa Coat ver. and the 150mm tall phone charm Snow Miku Plush Strap Fuwa Fuwa Coat ver. as a part of Wonder Festival 2012 [Winter] and the 63rd Sapporo Snow Festival. Each will be selling for ¥3,000 and ¥2,100 respectively.

From Ikoku Meiro no Croisee comes the little lady Yune whom I know some of you find to be the most adorable lady ever. Well, not ever but you now what I mean. And now she's even more so with Gift's 200mm tall (while sitting) plush of her. Yune will also be sold for ¥3,000. Touhou Project fans who want a phone strap of Flandre Scarlet can now do so with the 150mm tall limited Touhou Project Plush Strap 6 Flandre Scarlet. You can have her with her hat on and be as is or remove her hat and connect to your phone. Like the other strap, Flandre will be sold for ¥2,100.

All these plushes will be available at Gift's booth at Wonder Festival 2012 [Winter] on February 12, 2012 as well as the Gift ONLINE SHOP starting February 14, 2012. Gift will also have a batch of their previous Vocaloid and Touhou Project plush releases including Kaito, Miku Hachune, Fumo Fumo Chen, and Fumo Fumo Momoko to name a few.

These are only event exclusives so if you want your hands on them, get yourself that proxy service or that plane ticket to Japan.

Cospa's newest Miku Graphigs are event exclusives

6 hours ago - 1:00 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

Next weekend marks an event everyone's been waiting for all year ... wait, what? No, not this Wonder Festival non-sense. I'm talking about the 63rd Sapporo Snow Festival! And while Good Smile's Snow Miku exclusive won't be tied into the event this year, there will be exclusives. Only available at the event will ne Cospa's two newest Graphig papercraft models, Snow Miku 2012 and the Tricolore Airline Tropical Resort Mix (Sangatsu Youka ver.) Miku!

The Snow Miku model is based on the design of this year's Snow Miku Nendoroid, while the Tricolore Airline Miku is based on her appearance in the video for the song of the same name (and as drawn by Sangatsu Youka). Both are rather inexpensive exclusives, only ¥630, and they'll be shipping in April. Would you consider picking up either of these?

[Pre-order at Amiami: Snow Miku 2012 | Tricolore Airline Tropical Resort Mix (Sangatsu Youka ver.) ]

Amie-Grand gets fresh again for WonFes with Pretty Cure

7 hours ago - 12:00 PM on 02.04.2012   |   Jonathan Tubbs

Wonder Festival 2012 [Winter] is a little over a week away and more and more companies are releasing information on their exclusive goods. Kit maker Amie-Grand doesn't look to be bringing much of anything new, focusing once again on their 1/8 scale poly resin kits from Fresh Pretty Cure.

That doesn't mean they do not have anything new up their sleeve. Debuting at the event will be the lovely Eas along with the returning kits from Treasure Festa in Ariake 6 of Cure Passion, Cure Pine, Cure Peach, Cure Berry, Space Miki-tan. Not from Fresh Pretty Cure will be Bakemonogatari's Suruga Kanbaru. Amie-Grand will also have some kits from Amie-Taishou of Cure Moonlight from HeartCatch PreCure! and the debuting Princess of the Crystal from Mawaru Penguindrum (not pictured).

Each kit will be sold at the event from ¥9,000 to ¥10,000 and will be sold in limited quantities. I'm not a big fan of Amie-Grand's quality so I do wonder if these constantly returning kits are always leftover stock or if they do make more for each event. There are talented folks out there so I'm sure they can do wonders to make these kits better looking.

You killed my father, prepare to... statue!

9 hours ago - 10:00 AM on 02.04.2012   |   Rio McCarthy

I'm sure you've heard of Inigo Montoya... I mean, you might have killed his father, and... you should probably prepare to die? Well, then you better have heard of the Dread Pirate Roberts as well! Both of these fine gentlemen are ready to make their way to your homes in the 2nd Quarter of 2012.

Both statues are priced at US$223.99, and are limited to 500 pieces with Inigo standing at 13 inches tall, while the Dread Pirate Roberts is 15 inches tall. You can also put the two statues together to make a diorama if you can get your hands on both, and let's hope you have somewhere sturdy to hold them. These statues weigh 12 pounds a piece! Factory Entertainment has created some awesome pieces for your collection if you're a big fan of the movie, and I mean.. who doesn't love The Princess Bride?

[ Pre-order via Alter Ego Comics - Inigo Montoya | Dread Pirate Roberts ]

Timmy the Toxic Slimeball heads to Sideshow

11 hours ago - 8:00 AM on 02.04.2012   |   Rio McCarthy

Well, there's a face I haven't seen in a while! Long time readers might remember my review of Timmy the Toxic Slimeball from way back when he originally made his debut on Patch Together. The Toxic Slimeball vinyl figure stands about 3 inches tall, and comes in its original sea foam green color scheme.

You can order him now through Sideshow Collectibles, where he will cost you US$19.99 plus shipping. If you didn't pick this little guy up the first time around, I definitely suggest you nab him this time. He's well worth the money for an adorable, even if a little odd, piece that would be wonderful to add to your collection.

Vinyl Thoughts 2 coming March 15 with a video game theme

21 hours ago - 9:30 PM on 02.03.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

In September, Dallas saw the one-night Vinyl Thoughts custom toy show. On March 15, Vinyl Thoughts 2 takes the stage at The Quixotic World (2824 Main St., Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas) for a video game-themed show featuring all kinds of custom toys! 

So who's participating? So far, we have Jason Chalker, Debbie Pucek, Jeru Gabriel, Denise Vasquez, Johnny Tieu, Brad Albright, MonsterBot Studio, and Chris and Hallie Garcia. For more info, check out the show's website and Facebook page. More info should be on the way soon!

Raw Emotion's Kibun plush needs your help to become real

7:00 PM on 02.03.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

Plush fans should pay attention to the latest Kickstarter to pop up, which is for Raw Emotion's new Kibun plush. Kibun himself is a serious little fellow whose name means "feeling" or "mood" in Japanese. Raw Emotion hopes to feature Kibun in an ongoing series of stories and art projects, like art books, stationery, gifts, games, and of course, toys like this plush. The plush Kibun is about 9 inches by 9 inches by 7 inches, covered with a top-quality velboa fabric and x 7in. The outside is covered with a high quality velboa fabric while the interior is filled with a vinyl foam, so he's spongy and squeezable.

The Kickstarter drive ends Monday, March 19 at midnight Pacific (3 a.m. Eastern, 7 a.m. GMT). Raw Emotion is looking for a total of US$9,000 to get Kibun off the ground. So far, they're just under 5 percent of the way there with US$433 and 13 backers. 

Follow the jump for a lot more info, including Kibun's full story, the pledge gifts for each level and a video. And if you like the little dude ... well, give and make this happen!

Show and Tell: Duffy and Shellie May, the Disney Bears

4:00 PM on 02.03.2012   |   Natalie Kipper

I got into the Duffy craze very early in the game. I fell in love with him when he was an exclusive to Japan's Tokyo DisneySea. I became even more enamored with the Disney Bear after being granted attendance to the Disneyland press event where they announced Duffy's release into the U.S. It was there that I purchased my very first Duffy the Disney Bear plush. Since that day, I have acquired five more Duffy plushes (six actually; my Duffy wristbag is hiding in my room somewhere) plus his lady friend, Shellie May. That's not even mentioning the outfits.

Has the Duffy bug bit you too? Or perhaps curious about this theme park exclusive character? Hit the jump to see more about my collection!

FoxBox's Hades opens for pre-order February 17

3:00 PM on 02.03.2012   |   Brian Szabelski

In December, we got a sneak peek at FoxBox Studio's Hades figure. While pre-orders were supposed to go up in January, they're actually going up this month, with a Q4 2012 release planned. As mentioned last time, Hades comes with a handgun and a laser cane sword, which is still awfully cool if you ask me. 

Hades will set you back US$165 when pre-orders open Friday, Feb. 17, at 9 a.m. Pacific (noon Eastern, 5 p.m. GMT) in the FoxBox Studio store. The first 30 customers to complete the payment process will get a free exclusive art print of Hades signed and numbered by the artist, and it's a limited edition product, so don't wait too long. Also in the gallery, you'll find the concept art for their next release, Inari!