figurines
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YouTube gamers are getting their own 'Minecraft'-inspired figures
If you head down to your local toy store today, you'll likely find that the shelves are dominated by video game packs and figurines. Franchises like Minecraft, Disney Infinity and Skylanders mostly dominate proceedings, but their popularity also encourages rivals to cash in on the latest craze. One such toy maker believes that fusing YouTube and Minecraft could be the answer, so it's created a new range of "Tube Heroes" toys that immortalize some of the video service's most popular gamers as Minecraft-like figures and plushies.
Nintendo makes millions on Amiibos and other companies want in
It turns out that there's another reason for Nintendo's Amiibo character shortage: they're selling like crazy, and now third-party games are using them too. Nintendo said that it's sold over 700,000 of the figurines, as many as its best-selling Super Smash Bros. title. Third-party publisher Bandai Namco is also supporting the NFC-enabled characters for costume unlocks in its One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X on 3DS, making it the first non-Nintendo game to use Amiibo. Nintendo added that Wii U November sales were up 90 percent over last year, and that the console recently had it's biggest week since it launched in 2012.
Disney Research's latest tech will accurately 3D print your mullet
Printing in three dimensions allows for a ton of really cool (and life-saving) stuff, but one area it apparently hasn't conquered just yet is realistically reproducing human hair. The masterminds at Disney Research think they have a solution for that conundrum. Instead of trying to capture individual strands of someone's coif, the team is taking a similar approach to that of Michelangelo, and attempting to capture an overall "essence" of a person's hairstyle by fitting it on a bust like a helmet. And while the applications for most of what Walt's science department cooks up are a bit ambiguous, it seems pretty likely this tech'll be found in the myriad souvenir shops lining The Magic Kingdom. Disney says that the ultimate goal is to make more realistic (and possibly nightmare-inducing) figurines that accurately capture the subject's personality. What's more, the outfit has pointed out that it's even capable of accurately capturing facial hair. I might be a tad biased, but here's to hoping that means sideburns too.
Hasbro's new site lets you sell 3D-printed fan art
Hasbro recently opened up its toy universe by letting you sell fan fiction; now, it's giving you a chance to make some officially-sanctioned toys of your own. The company has just teamed up with Shapeways to launch SuperFanArt, a site that lets you both buy and sell 3D-printed designs based on Hasbro's brands. You're currently limited to producing art based on My Little Pony, but other imaginary worlds will be allowed in the "coming months." You know, just in case you're not quite so fond of Pinkie Pie's crew. No, SuperFanArt's catalog won't be as good as picking up an actual doll or action figure. However, it might do the trick if you're looking for a simple desk ornament -- or if your kids aren't very fussy about their playthings.
Nintendo's Amiibo figurines explained, smashing retail this holiday season
Nintendo issued a trailer explaining the Amiibo figures it revealed during its E3 2014 livestream today. In the first Amiibo-compatible game, Super Smash Bros., players set the figures on their Wii U to bring their respective characters into the game to do battle with both other figures and human opponents. With each battle, the figures level up their attack, speed and defense powers. Players will also be able to customize their figure's special powers over time. The first series of roughly ten NFC figures will debut with the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. this holiday season. Among the games Nintendo confirmed Amiibo compatibility with are Mario Kart 8, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario Party 10 and Yoshi's Wooly World, with more to come. The company is also planning a NFC reader/writer device for 3DS, scheduled to arrive in 2015. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. gets NFC figures, Mii support
Super Smash Bros. on Wii U will include support for NFC (near-field communication) figurines called "Amiibo," as Nintendo demonstrated during its E3 2014 livestream today. Additionally, players will be able to bring their Mii characters into battle, lending their likeness to their fights. Mii fighters are divided into three classes: Mii gunner, Mii brawler and Mii sword-fighter. They will also get to pick four special moves among 12 different options. As for the NFC figures, the Skylanders-esque physical toys will summon characters to the battlefield and enhance your fighter. Nintendo noted that Amiibo will interact with multiple games, including the previously-released Mario Kart 8. [Image: Nintendo]
Check out the front, side, pilot of Threezero's Atlas Titan
Remember that $320 Titanfall Atlas Titan figure that toymaker Threezero was teasing? You can get a multi-angle view of it in the below gallery, along with its prototype pilot. The photos were snapped at the Thailand Toy Expo, presumably after the Atlas crashed through the ceiling. [Image: Threezero]
Vega, Chun Li figurines ready for pre-order from Tsume-Art
Ultra Street Fighter 4 will stoke the flames of rivalries in June, but perfecting frame-perfect combos isn't the only way to appreciate the newest entry to the Street Fighter series. Actually, you don't even need to have played SF4 to appreciate these - Tsume-Art's Chun Li and Vega figurines should work just fine for any Street Fighter fan. While Tsume-Art notes that fans should expect "full availability" of both figurines in the second quarter of 2014, you can put your quarter up to claim your place in line right now. Each figurine is 1/8 scale, leaving the tribute to Vega's wall-climbing tendencies at 35 centimeters and Chun Li's soaring kick at 28 centimeters. Both are sculpted from PVC and are available for preorder at €119.90 each ($162). They're pricey, no doubt, but both fighters make a great first impression. If we bought both, we could probably reenact the dozens of times Vega taunted us from the walls of SF2 ... right before he slaughtered us in midair.
Batman: Arkham City's Clayface figure shows his ugly mug
A custom Clayface figurine, modeled after the character's portrayal in Batman: Arkham City, has been announced by DC Collectibles. There is no word on pricing or release date as of yet. Clayface is 13 inches tall, making him the biggest figure in the line that pulls from the cast of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. That line includes a 7-inch Batman and other notable characters like The Penguin, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze and Solomon Grundy. Head past the break for a side-by-side look at the Clayface figure next to the Batman. The latest game in the Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Origins, launched in late October. Origins, which serves as a prequel to the first two games developed by Rocksteady, was created by WB Games Montreal.
Portal 2's Atlas and P-Body get fresh, filthy coats of paint from ThreeA
Portal 2's multiplayer pawns, Atlas and P-Body, have seen some tough times and even tougher test chambers, as highlighted by ThreeA Toys' latest figurines. ThreeA revealed the prototypes for Atlus and P-Body last year, as smooth, gray statuettes. Now, the figures have a dinged-up coat of paint and classy lens details, along with a pair of Portal guns, and they're looking fly.ThreeA showed off the new prototypes during an event in Taiwan, as spotted and photographed by Tomopop. It's still unclear if Atlas and P-Body will include any LEDs or flashier add-ons, or when they'll be available for collectible consumption.In other video game toy news, ThreeA announced a partnership with Capcom to make mecha figures straight out of Lost Planet. Check out Tomopop's gallery of the ThreeA show here.
Sandboxr lets us easily make custom-posed, 3D-printed figurines (video)
Where was Sandboxr when we were kids? Instead of dragging our parents around on a hunt for the perfect figurine, we could have used the company's new web app to easily manipulate a virtual model and get a 3D printed statuette in the exact pose we wanted. There's compensation for the lost opportunities of our childhood, however. The creation tool allows for customized accessories, scenes and sizing, and it's expected to have reasonable prices of about $12 for a 2.5-inch character and over $20 for a 3.5-inch version. The best news may simply be the likelihood of a figurine existing in the first place -- Sandboxr sees itself as a platform for everyone from 3D animators through to game developers and dedicated toy companies, many of which can use existing 3D models to start a collectible line. The printing service is currently invitation-only and plans a Kickstarter fundraising drive to scale larger, but it's easy to see an end to the days of limited edition figurines -- much to the delight of our inner child.
Gaze into the eyes, ear horns of these BioShock Infinite figures
We may not be able to judge how BioShock Infinite plays as a game yet, but we can certainly tell that it's a pretty experience with some intriguing characters, at least superficially. Now you can own two of those characters, Elizabeth and one of the Boys of Silence, both made by the video game toy gurus at NECA.The Elizabeth and Boys of Silence figures are available in the Irrational Games store for $20 each or $35 as a set. Irrational also added lithographs of the Handyman, Elizabeth and Songbird, and Charles, each for $25 or $65 for the trio. A limited edition trio includes signatures from Irrational creative director Ken Levine and artist Robb Waters, running $150.NECA's Sky-Hook replica will also hit the Irrational Games store "soon," in a limited quantity. It's not safe for too much awesomeness to exist in one online retailer, after all.
Team Fortress 2 Demo and Pyro action figures now available
If your childhood was/is anything like our own, a good majority of it was probably spent blowing up and/or incinerating action figures that totally had it coming, on account of being found guilty of being the bad guy or belonging to one of our siblings. Valve and NECA's shiny new Team Fortress 2 figures follow a somewhat similar theme, though they typically prefer to be on the giving end, rather than the receiving. Available at Toys 'R' Us, Amazon or directly from Valve's own store, both Demo and Pyro figures measure 7 inches tall, feature 25 points of articulation, include codes for in-game goodies, are individually numbered (1 to 10,000) and cost about $22.%Gallery-177568%
Hello Kitty X Street Fighter plushies, figurines, coin purses for pre-order
The Hello Kitty versions of your favorite Street Fighter characters (or the Street Fighter versions of your favorite Japanese spokescat) are up for pre-order on at least one site, with more coming soon, Capcom says.Big Bad Toy Store has Hello Kitty Chun Li, Ryu and M. Bison as plushies, coin purses and figurines, though the figurines are sold as a pack that includes Cammy, Zangief and E. Honda for $40. The 10-inch Chun Li plushie from San Diego Comic Con 2012, which runs $63, is already sold out on Big Bad Toy Store.Capcom specifically called out Hot Topic, Toys 'R' Us and and Sanrio as places to buy Street Fighter X Hello Kitty products, so keep an eye out at your retailer of choice. If you don't see the Street Fighter character you want right now, don't fret – this is only Series 1 in a line of toys from Sanrio and Capcom.
HeroClix gets a TabApp, combining physical figures with digital gameplay
HeroClix is an official superhero collectible figure game that's been around for a while -- I remember the thing first starting to get popular when I was a kid. The company has just released a tie-in app for the iPad called the TabApp, and it sounds very interesting. You can supposedly use the app to unlock special maps and scenarios figures, plus there's a game to play that's tied in to the collectible game. HeroClix fans should give it a download. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, it sounds like the app is disappointing. While there is a little interaction with the figures (you need to place one on the screen at a certain point), it's not like this is a full version of the collectible game, and the app won't do things like animate your own figures. There's one review on the app right now, and it's pretty devastating: Apparently the game has nothing to do with the figures you own, and the feature where you place your HeroClix figure on the iPad is nothing but a button. That's a shame. I'm intrigued by the possibilities of the interaction between established physical games and iOS releases, and an app that really took advantage of the large HeroClix universe would be really cool. It could be that Wizards of the Coast doesn't want to cannibalize the existing figures game, but the Magic app was finally released and that seems to have done well, so maybe the company will reconsider in the future.
Roto-a-Matic retro vending machine injection molds toys while you wait (video)
The advent of 3D printing is most certainly upon us, and its helped injection molding make the crucial transition from dated tech to a retro novelty. The Roto-a-Matic has recently gone live in toy maker Rotofugi's store in Chicago, and will create a polyethylene plastic figurine for you in under a minute, provided you feed it a token. Rotofugi and product design company Squibbles INK have given the vintage Mold-a-Rama vending machine a new lease of life, and now they are looking for artists to contribute designs for future molds. Currently a one-eyed dragon designed by sculptor Tim Biskup is on offer for Chicago-based hipsters, but for the wind-averse, a token-to-toy video demo resides beyond the fold.
Gordon Freeman action figure has no push-button catch phrases
NECA's latest Valve figurine features a surprisingly smooth-skinned Gordon Freeman in a hazard suit, and comes with two sets of interchangeable hands, even though limb detachment is a feature we don't quite remember from Half-Life 2 (at least, not voluntary limb detachment).Freeman stands 7 inches and has 20 points of articulation, and also comes with four separate accessories: crowbar, bugbomb, gravity gun and headcrab.The Freeman figurine runs $18 and will launch in September, Lambda Generation notes. Just in time to get grandma that headcrab she's always asked for during the holidays.
Qumarion 3D modeling mannequin coming soon for $750, still won't play with your kid (video)
Trying to get convincing, natural poses out of 3D models can be tricky, so it's a relief that two Japanese universities' joint ventures, the University of Electro-Communications' ViVienne and the University of Tsukuba's SoftEther, are close to wrapping up work on their posable mannequin. Now called Qumarion, the model formerly known as QUMA uses 32 sensors across 16 body joints to translate the humanoid statue's pose to the computer screen simply by bending limbs, much like you would the legion of action figures you had when you were eight. Neither you nor your kids will be using Qumarion to storm Fort Barbie anytime soon, but the 120 frames per second sample rate over USB does mean that poses are mirrored in your modeling tools almost instantly. You also won't have much longer to wait to buy one for your fledgling anime production: the mannequin and custom modeling software from Celsys should be bundled together sometime within the summer for a comparatively frugal $750.
Borderlands action figures from NECA are looking nice-a
Borderlands is getting the Barbie treatment with its own line of action figures from NECA, starting with Claptrap and the Psycho Bandit. The Borderlands Series 1 figurines are painted in an homage to the game's cel-shaded cartoon style, and while we wonder how the Psycho Bandit's pants can possibly stay on his hips even with that belt, the simple, chunky designs have grown on us.Claptrap stands 4.5 inches and looks especially canon, featuring an extendable antenna (making him 6 inches), a wheel with shocks, hinged shoulder and eye flaps, ball-jointed shoulders and hinged, swiveling elbows, along with a display stand. The Psycho Bandit stands 7 inches and includes a buzz axe accessory, ball-jointed head, shoulders, elbows, thighs, feet and wrists, a hinged torso, swivel waist and hinged knees.Check out a few photos here and look out for Series 1 figurines to be available in May, with Series 2 to debut in August with Zero the Assassin and Salvador the Gunzerker.
Halo 4's Master Chief steps boldly into the physical realm
We first got a look at Halo 4's Master Chief with this epic picture of him being born from an exploding robot womb, and the physical version made by McFarlane Toys stays true to that rendition, right down to the placement of the chink in his armor. If Microsoft approves this prototype, Halo 4 will mark a departure from previous armor designs, which have generally offered more coverage around Master Chief's vital organs, and more mobility around the neck and shoulders. Because that's what armor should do.For example, the Halo 4 version offers a squishy black bullseye over Master Chief's heart, while in Halo 3 that area was covered in sturdy green armor. The bicep patches in the above design look large enough to carry your emblem of choice (unicorn), but not to stop advanced-technology bullets from piercing your skin as previous armor versions do. Also, he's fighting a galactic war, not practicing advanced yoga -- there is no reason for that much uncovered space on his hips.Microsoft will decide if this prototype is close enough to in-game reality before it launches in the fall as part of McFarlane's Halo 4 lineup, which will include brand new weapons, characters and vehicles. This year McFarlane also plans to drop two new product lines based in the Halo universe: Micro Ops, which offers classic figures at 1:100 standard size, and Halo Avatars, 2.5-inch physical renditions of Xbox Live avatars.
