2012 – Action Figure Insiderhttp://www.actionfigureinsider.com
The Best Darn Toy News On The Web!Fri, 09 Dec 2016 15:00:38 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.161893577AFi #THUNDERWEEK #THUNDERCATS EXCLUSIVE – Bandai “The Lost Year” Finale!http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-finale/
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-finale/#commentsFri, 17 Jun 2016 10:53:29 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/?p=139249Today we wrap up our Thunderweek reveals of Bandai’s “lost year” of ThunderCats product. For our final installment we will look at what would have been the next/last wave of basic 4″ figures.

If you are just joining us, former Bandai line manager, and old friend of AFi, Amanda W was gracious enough to pass along the proposed 2012 line of Bandai’s ThunderCats action figure line. If you missed any of the previous installments you can go back and check out the Day 0 Preview, the Day 1 reveals the Day 2 reveals,the Day 3 reveals,the Day 4 reveals and the Day 5 reveals. This will also help you get caught up with the story of what happened and why the line was canceled.

Before we get to the last entry in THUNDERWEEK I have to once again say a HUGE “thank you” to Amanda W for allowing us to post this. Without her sharing this information the news of all of these great figures, vehicles, playsets and role-play items would be lost to toy history.

On this last day of Thunderweek we will look at the basic 4″ action figure line. The 4″ line was the main thread of the line. These are the figures that all of the playsets and vehicles supported.

The line up for this wave of figures was to have been:

Tygra (second outfit) – This is the costume that Tygra wore in the first two episodes of the show. His first figure reflects the outfit he wore for the majority of the season.

Translucent Cheetara – With the other vehicles we would have gotten most of the team in translucent plastic. The Cheetarin the assortment would have rounded out that version of the team.

Jaga – The old cleric that trained Cheetara and ultimately sacrificed himself to save the team.

Kaynar – Another villain for the line and another of Mum-Ra’s generals. Kaynar was the 2011 version of the ThunderCats Classics character Jackelman.

And finally the 2-pack I think most folks were looking forward to- the Bearbils, specifically Ro-Bear Bill and Ro-Bear Beebo.

There you have it. Over these past 6 days we have shown you the “lost year” of Bandai’s ThunderCats line, the figures, the vehicles, the playsets, the role play items and more. I hope you enjoyed this week of reveals.

But wait… there’s more….

I mentioned in an earlier post that Bandai had a 3 year plan for ThunderCats. While there wasn’t any product created for 2013, Amanda was kind enough to send over the spreadsheet that showed the 2013 proposed line!

Let’s ride off into the sunset with a list of what was proposed for the 2013 line.

On the list there were 2 more figures listed for the tail end of 2012 that weren’t in the materials I had: Claudus and Lizardman. They only name 3 figures for the basic 4″ line on this list, most likely they were waiting on the outline for the 3rd season and the new characters that would have been involved to fill it out, but the threethat were proposed were Vultureman, “Chase Figure” and a Classic Lion-O. The other slots are the generically named place holders “Spring 13 Character” and “Fall 13 Character.”

There were plans for 2 more 2-packs of the 2″ stylized figures. For Classics 2-packs it would have been: Jackleman & WilyKat and WilyKit & Jaga. For Modern 2″ 2-packs it would have been: Lizzardman & Panthro V2, Lion-O & Berbil, Mumm-Ra V2 & Tygra V2 and Claudus & Lion-O V3.

Also on the list were a proposed line of 3″ Die-Cast Vehicles w/ base including: the ThunderTank, ThunderClaw, HoverCat, Mutant Fist Pounder and Mutant Nose Diver.

New Roleplay items would have included Tygras whip/gun, Cheetara’s staff and a Deluxe Claw Gauntlet.

There is a placeholder for a new playset in 2013 as well as 4 new vehicles (2 basic and 2 deluxe).

The bulk of the 2013 list was made up of new releases in the 6″ ThunderCats line both modern and Classic. Had it lasted until 2013 we would have likely gotten:

As you can see, by Cartoon Network moving, hiding and then cancelling the show we missed out on a lot of really great product. Now the work on the 2012 line has been revealed to the world and is no longer lost to the ages.

Thank you to everyone for following, sharing and reading THUNDERWEEK and again a BIG thank you to Amanda for sharing it with us!

THUNDERCATS, HOoooooooooo!

]]>http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-finale/feed/4139249AFi #THUNDERWEEK for Bandai’s #THUNDERCATS ‘The Lost Year’ – Day 5http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-for-bandais-thundercats-the-lost-year-day-5/
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-for-bandais-thundercats-the-lost-year-day-5/#commentsTue, 14 Jun 2016 15:49:00 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/?p=138770We are coming to the end of our Thunderweek reveals of Bandai’s “lost year” of ThunderCats product. I know this posting is a little late. I’m actually going to split this last post into two posts so that I can get this half posted today. Today we are going to look at the vehicles that were proposed for the second year of the the line and tomorrow we will look at what would have been the next/last wave of basic 4″ figures.

If you are just joining us, former Bandai line manager, and old friend of AFi, Amanda W was gracious enough to pass along the proposed 2012 line of Bandai’s ThunderCats action figure line. If you missed any of the previous installments you can go back and check out the Day 0 Preview, the Day 1 reveals the Day 2 reveals,the Day 3 reveals and the Day 4 reveals. This will also help you get caught up with the story of what happened and why the line was canceled.

Vehicle with Addictus Figure – I’m not sure what the name of this vehicle was going to be, but the figure is Addictus, one of Mumm-Ra’s generals. As you can see this vehicle comes with several projectiles that can be loaded into those rear tubes. Attached to the rear wheels are a pair of arms that can reach back, catch a ball and fling it. Addictus was a larger character on the show and this looks to be a big figure which would lead us to believe this would have been a pretty good sized vehicle in the line.

THUNDERRACERS with FIGURES – The ThunderRacers were one-man two wheeled vehicles that were sort of like the Light Cycles in TRON. Each one of the ThunderRacers came with an exclusive variant 4″ action figure and an action feature. The Red Racer came with a firing drill projectile and an exclusive Lion-0 figure with red, translucent hair, arms and feet.

There were some blue versions of the ThunderRacers that were included with the 2011 ThunderTank, but they were smaller, solid and didn’t have opening cockpits that could hold figures.

The Orange Racer had a flashlight/light-up action feature and an exclusve 4″ Tygra figure with translucent orange arms and feet.

The other interesting feature that both the ThunderRacers had were that they would both attach to the sides of an all NEW, larger, battle-damaged ThunderTank!

BATTLE DAMAGED THUNDERTANK with exclusive Panthro figure – The new battle-damaged ThunderTank is an all new sculpt from the year one vehicle. Looking at the pictures the damage is more than just a paint deco, it’s got some serious sculpted damage! It looks like some of the features from the original are stripped out of this version, but it does have a pop open canopy and would have had some kind of ThunderLynx magnetically activated feature..

The 2011 ThunderTank came with a Snarf figure, this newer version would have come with a translucent purple Panthro action figure.

There was one more vehicle in the works that we don’t have imagery for, but we were told Bandai also had a working model of an RC thunder tank for the new show that they showed some of the retailers before the line was halted.

Come back tomorrow for our final instalmet of AFi’s THUNDERWEEK!

]]>http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-for-bandais-thundercats-the-lost-year-day-5/feed/3138770AFi #THUNDERWEEK #THUNDERCATS EXCLUSIVE – Bandai “The Lost Year” Day 4http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-4/
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-4/#commentsWed, 08 Jun 2016 07:47:52 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/?p=138257Welcome back to Thunderweek on AFi. Thank you all for your patience with me having to split up the reveals.

We are looking at Bandai’s canceled second year of Thundercats products that would have been released in 2012 had the animated series gone forward with a second season.

Bandai America had a 3 year plan for new and classic Thundercats collector items – figures, vehicles, role play and some die cast. A lot of that plan was pitched and a lot of it was approved in concept, but some Bandai top corporate execs missed the whole collector appeal of the line and when the show got canceled so did the team’s prospects of continuing it as a collector only line. We will discuss the year 3/2013 plans tomorrow.

Today we are going to look at ThunderCats Classics. When Bandai America picked up the license for ThunderCats they didn’t just get the rights to the new show they also had access to the classic animated series from the 80’s. When Bandai first launched the ThunderCats Classic like they launched it with Lion-O as a line of super-articulated 8″ collector figures. This was a strange scale and was upsetting to many fans who wanted their ThunderCats to work alongside the 6″ Masters of the Universe Classics line from Mattel. They released Lion-O (SDCC Exclusive and regular) and Tygra. The line sputtered a bit because of the scale and Bandai re-evaluated the scale to be more in-line with the 6″ versions of the modern animation.

The line relaunced as a 6″ line with a Lion-O and Mumm-Ra as well as a Singapore Toy, Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2012 Exclusive of Lion-O in red armor. The red armor Lion-O was based on a specific episode of the animated series that was actually Mumm-Ra in disguise. As mentioned last week there were plans to fast track Cheetara as the 2012 San Diego Comic Con exclusive, and now for the first time we get to reveal what would have been wave 2 of the 6″ Classics collector figures:

THUNDERCATS CLASSICS

Just a reminder- These images are of unreleased Bandai ThunderCats Classics figures and have NOTHING to do with the upcoming Mattel ThunderCats Classics action figure line sculpted by the Four Horsemen.

TYGRA – Lion-O’s second in command, Tygra, would have been a super articulated collector figure based on a similar buck as the Lion-O figure. He would have come with 2 pairs of hands and his bolo-whip.

PANTHRO – the mighty Panthro was a new sculpt based on a larger buck as he is a bigger character. He would have come with 2 pairs of hands as well as his cat-paw fighting sticks.

Come back tomorrow for the final reveals in our week-long exclusive feature on the “Lost Year” of Bandai Thundercats products on AFi’s THUNDERWEEK!

]]>http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-4/feed/4138257AFi #THUNDERWEEK #THUNDERCATS EXCLUSIVE – Bandai “The Lost Year” Day 3http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-3/
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-3/#commentsThu, 02 Jun 2016 08:53:00 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/?p=138255Welcome back to Day 3 of THUNDERWEEK where we are taking a look at the lost year of Bandai America’s ThunderCats products that would have been released back in 2012 if the show and the line had not been cancelled. If you missed any of the previous installments you can go back and check out the Day 0 Preview, the Day 1 reveals and the Day 2 reveals. This will also help you get caught up with the story of what happened and why the line was canceled.

We’ll probably never know WHY the show was cancelled, despite the critical and fan success, but my theory on why Cartoon Network didn’t keep the show, in spite of the fact that Warner Brothers and Cartoon Network are sister companies, is that at the time, ThunderCats wasn’t an owned property for them. Cartoon Network most likely had to pay broadcast rights for the show. They would rather replace it with something they owned/had a piece of so they didn’t promote ThunderCats as much as they could have during the first season and decided to cut their losses on the second season.

The craziest thing is that even though Bandai knew that the show would not be moving forward for a second season or their 2012 line up, Cartoon Network still never confirmed to fans that it was cancelled! Some fans remained hopeful all through 2012, despite the rumors and speculation, that maybe it was just an extended hiatus and that the show would still come back. “Official” word of the cancellation didn’t come until early 2013 when series art director Dan Norton posted confirmation to the “Save ThunderCats” Facebook page.

That was the final nail in the coffin for ThunderCats the animated series.

That was some of the history of the show, now let’s talk more about the toys and get to they Day 3 reveals:

One item that was in the works for 2012 that I don’t have any images for for THUNDERWEEK was going to be the 2012 San Diego Comic Con exclusive – an 8″ ThunderCats Classic Cheetara figure. She was sculpted but got cut as well as the rest of the 2012 product because it was all part of the same tooling timeline for the fall line, albeit she would have had slightly tighter timeline to be at the con.

THE SABER TANK PLAYSET – In the first wave of Bandai’s ThunderCats line we got a REALLY impressive Tower of Omens playset along with an exclusive figure. In the 2012 line we would have gotten the Saber Tank which is a combination playset and vehicle! This set also would have come with an exclusive figure, which on this original B-sheet is shown as Lion-O but was later changed to be a translucent Ro-Bear figure. (Spoiler Alert you will see more of the Ro-Bears in tomorrow’s update). The playset had both a vehicle mode and a command center mode as well as the side treads being removable to include a small vehicle mode. All that was included as well as firing missiles and light-up feature as part of the ThunderLynx Magnet system.

SUPER COLLECTOR FIGURE – These Super Collector figures were a new sub-line that was pitched for 2012. Essentially they would have been like Bandai Japan S.I.C. (Super Imaginative Chogokin) figures with Kenji Ando (who is one of the Bandai Japan SIC designers) sculpting/designing them. Originally Bandai’s plans were to do Lion-O, Cheetara and Mumm-Ra, but then they scaled back to launch with just Lion-O.

It would have been a fascinating experiment to see figures like these at mass retail instead of having to hunt them down and pay an import fee. I would have loved to have seen where this line would have gone. The designs for the others looked great and the prototype for Lion-O looks INCREDIBLE! I have to wonder where that prototype ended up…

Sorry this update was a little late! We still have two more days of reveals and AFi’s THUNDERWEEK ahead so stay tuned and thanks to everyone for the feedback on this event week and for spreading the word about it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram! I appreciate it!

]]>http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/afi-thunderweek-thundercats-exclusive-bandai-the-lost-year-day-3/feed/4138255Diamond Select Toys to Unveil New Products, New Licenses at Toy Fair Internationalhttp://www.actionfigureinsider.com/diamond-select-toys-to-unveil-new-products-new-licenses-at-toy-fair-international/
Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:33:28 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/?p=55423This weekend, Toy Fair International begins at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Not open to the public, the event allows toy manufacturers to present their new offerings to buyers from retail stores around the world, and it always offers fans the first look at the hottest toys of the year. Well, this year Diamond Select Toys will once again be in attendance, and once again they will have plenty on display to dazzle fans!

Lost in Space: The classic 1960s TV show, which updated “The Swiss Family Robinson” for the space age, will receive Minimates and an electronic replica of the B-9 robot.

Aliens: The 1986 science-fiction classic that drove the Alien franchise to new heights will receive Minimates and Minimate vehicles, as well as electronic vehicles of the Colonial Marines’ military transports.

More new licenses will be revealed throughout the year, so keep your ears open for more news from DST!

]]>55423Top Ten Action Figures of 2012http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/top-ten-action-figures-of-2012/
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/top-ten-action-figures-of-2012/#commentsTue, 01 Jan 2013 02:16:45 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/blog/?p=8952As the year comes to an end, it’s been tough been trying to decide who will make my short list of Top Ten Action Figures for 2012. It’s been tough to pare it down to ten, with some really great toys just missing the cut. My criteria? well, the web has enough articulate, detailed, and fantastic reviewers – this is just what I thought looked cool on the shelf, and gave me that “wow!” feeling when I opened it up and played with them.

*ahem*

Yes, I open and play with my toys.

Anyway, instead of my usual overblown pontification, I’ll keep it short and just post the pics…

So there it is. Let me know what figures I totally missed and/or how wrong I am in the comments below…and have a Safe and Happy New Year.

]]>http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/top-ten-action-figures-of-2012/feed/78952Doctor Who: The Snowmen – Christmas Special NEW Trailerhttp://www.actionfigureinsider.com/doctor-who-the-snowmen-christmas-special-new-trailer/
Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:22:09 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/?p=53889This morning the BBC has released a NEW trailer for the 2012 Doctor Who Christmas special (airing on Christmas Day). This year, The Doctor and new companion Clara face the sinister Doctor Simeon and an army of snowmen!

]]>55014First Look at Updated Arctic Adventurer Variant for Captain Actionhttp://www.actionfigureinsider.com/first-look-at-updated-arctic-adventurer-variant-for-captain-action/
Fri, 02 Nov 2012 07:42:17 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/?p=52799During Comic Con 2012 we broke the news that Round 2 and the guys at Captain Action Inc. would be doing a “holiday” variant of the good captain. Then in September we showed you the press release on the Arctic variant.

Now our friends at Captain Action Inc are letting AFi debut an updated photo and give you some more details on what is essentially the first variant of Captain Action that has ever been produced in over 40 years!!

This figure will be on sale on toy shelves right before Thanksgiving.

Since it’s Captain Action’s first holiday in stores in many years, they will have the following on store shelves: the variant version , the basic version and the costume sets, available in Toys R Us and Comic Shops.

This yuletide variant features Captain Action in his arctic uniform, recolored in an icy white and permafrost blue.

The figures comes with the special Arctic Gloves and Boots, as well as an Arctic White Captain’s hat, sword & gun holders. The Arctic Adventurer has a variant silver belt. Two regular hands are also included.

This is an extremely limited run, and they are now expecting it sell out quicker than originally intended. The retailer response has been very strong.

Be on the lookout as these will be in stores VERY SOON! If you spot one on stores shelves let us know in the forums!

]]>52799Diamond Select Toys Celebrates Halloween ComicFest with a Horde of Horror Toys!http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/diamond-select-toys-celebrates-halloween-comicfest-with-a-horde-of-horror-toys/
Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:29:39 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/?p=52770Happy Halloween! Over the past few years, Diamond Select has established itself as the preeminent purveyor of horror toys, and this Halloween they’re pulling out all the stops! In addition to a black-and-white Walking Dead Minimates two-pack that’s exclusively available at comic stores participating in Halloween ComicFest, they have a horde of haunted merchandise that’s available in comic shops everywhere! Check out the in-package Minimates pictures at bottom, and check out what’s available below!

]]>527702012 NYCC DCC Exclusive JOHN STEWART & ATROCITUS 3 3/4″ 2-PACK Now Availablehttp://www.actionfigureinsider.com/2012-nycc-dcc-exclusive-john-stewart-atrocitus-3-34-2-pack-now-available/
Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:34:03 +0000http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/?p=52703For those of you unable to attend NYCC 2012 you now have the chance to pick up the NYCC exclusive DC COLLECTIBLES: JOHN STEWART & ATROCITUS 3 3/4″ 2-PACK. Much like the SDCC 2012 exclusive set DC Collectibles has turned over their remaining stock to Graphitti Designs so now all fans have a shot at the set at the original price (plus shipping).