Mattel and Matty just sent us the latest news and images from what’s happening with upcoming stuff:
Below are images of Wave 9 DCUC figures.
Please note that the Guardian figure will indeed be the Classic Guardian and not the modern Guardian as shown at NYCC and in Toy Fare.
(this was due to the fact that we did not have tooling available to do both and vintage version was farther along in the process).
Also note that we will have a second variant of Wildcat but have not confirmed what that is yet.
Finally, we are working very hard on getting the MattyCollector Facebook page back up and running. There were a few one-time-only problems but we are working these out with Facebook right now and hope to either restore the original page or get a new permanent page up by the end of the week.
We did want to announce that the DCUC Ultraman and Alex Luthor 2 pack will go on sale April 15th and the JLU LOSH pack will go on sale May 15th.
Faker will be on sale this MONDAY March 16th and will be limited to 4 per person due to his availability at NYCC.
The Transformer’s Team at Hasbro has once again come through for AFI readers answering your lateest and greatest post-Toy Fair Transformers questions. These questionswere submittedby AFI readers via our Forums.
Q1) Can we expect to see Universe Classics Jazz, Soundwave and especially Wheeljack? TFUC seems like the perfect line to debut a true Wheeljack figure since he hasn’t really been given the proper treatment since G1. It also seems like a tease getting Ravage with Hound without a Soundwave out there!
A1) These are three of the names that keep poping up on our radar. Soundwave is difficult because we can’t make his alt mode a cassette player – kids today just wouldn’t even know what that is. I can tell you that he is being discussed for future release but nothing is definite at this time. Jazz is a favorite as well but nothing has been discussed as of now. Wheeljack on the other hand, has been discussed more in-depth and we’re excited about prospects for his appearance in the near future.
Q2) In your Toy Fair presentation, you mention doing super-sized Robot Heroes this year. I’m assuming that means a Devestator with the Revenge of the Fallen line.
A2) As we examine opportunities to do "super-sized" Robot Heroes, we look closely at characters that we feel will fit best with this larger expression. Therefore it is safe to say that those "larger" characters have a pretty good chance at being the "super-sized" figures. Stay tuned for exact character selection as this product line rolls out in 2009!
Q3) Will there be super-sized Robot Heroes for the G1 Transformers too? A cartoon Devestator or Omega Supreme? Other combiners?
A3) Currently, we do not have any plans to do any additional G1Transformers in the Robot Heroes line outside what has been announced for 2009, including supersized bots! Unfortunately too, it is still a bit too early to release any information about our plans for 2010 and what this expression will mean at that point in time.
If you have a question you would like to ask the Transformers team, you can submit them via this thread. New questions are due by: Friday May 1st.
Peter over at AFHub has done an awesome feature write up of Hot Toys’ Iron Man Mark III from the Iron Man feature film. If this doesn’t make you break out your wallet or start saving your pennies I don’t know what will. Read the feature and see all the pictures here.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Mar 10, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT) today announced it has been named to CRO Magazine’s 10th Annual "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2009. The world’s largest toy company earned the #7 ranking.
"As the global leader in the toy industry, our Corporate Responsibility mission is to ‘play responsibly’ in all we do," said Geoff Massingberd, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Mattel. "We are continuously learning and growing as an organization, in areas ranging from product safety and working conditions in our plants to corporate governance and philanthropy, our commitment to playing responsibly aligns with our company’s core values and resonates in our actions each and every day."
Underscoring its long-term commitment to socially responsible practices, Mattel is set to release its third Global Citizenship Report later this year.
CRO’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is the only such list based on 100 percent publicly-available information and ranks Russell 1000 companies on their performance in seven key areas: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Financial and Governance. It is compiled for CRO Magazine by Portland, Maine-based IW Financial, a leading provider of SRI rankings to institutional investors. Over the past 9 years, companies on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List have out-paced the remainder of Russell 1000 companies by an average of 26 percent in 3-year total return.
This week our friends over at G4 send us news of this week’s Fresh Ink features interviews with Common in regards to his possible role in a Green Lantern film, and Bryce Dallas Howard who tells Blair Butler she’d love to star in a movie based on The Sword comic book.
Birthday Celebrations Around the World Honor Barbie(R) Doll’s 50 Years of Fashion, Cultural Relevance and Aspiration
MALIBU, Calif., Mar 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Today, 50 years after her debut at New York Toy Fair, Barbie(R) doll celebrates five decades as the world’s most popular fashion doll by unveiling a new face and throwing a pink-carpet birthday bash at her real Malibu Dream House(R). Unveiled today at the Malibu Dream House(R), the new Bathing Suit Barbie(R) doll is a modernized version of the original 1959 doll and pays homage to Barbie(R) doll’s original 1959 price by offering the new doll for $3 during Barbie(R) doll’s birthday week (March 9-14 at participating retailers nationwide). The doll debuts a new face with a more natural look, including a thinner jaw line, more almond-shaped eyes, fuller lips and a softer makeup palette using shimmery pink lip shades and neutral eye colors. Always a reflection of fashion, pop culture and aspiration, the new 2009 Bathing Suit Barbie doll sports a two-piece black-and-white bikini trimmed with Barbie(R)’s signature color pink, pink hoop earrings, a flirty high ponytail, and one of today’s must-have accessories – a cell phone.
"Barbie’s birthday is a celebration of 50 legendary years as a fashion icon, pop culture princess and inspiration to so many girls around the world," said Richard Dickson, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Barbie. "Barbie’s birthday is also the time for generations of girls to celebrate their Barbie memories and create new ones. We’re so excited about all the celebrations taking place around the world – through special events, at retail, online, in homes – and we hope everyone finds a way to have a Barbie moment today."
Stamford, CT March 9, 2009 – A month after the February 10th enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), across the country, members of the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) continue their vehement efforts to make common sense changes to this broad reaching legislation that has done little to improve safety in children’s products. Through a variety of grass roots efforts, HTA members have made significant advances in educating the public, industry groups and Congress on the need for a technical amendment to the CPSIA.
CPSIA-Central (www.cpsia-central.ning.com) was first created in November of 2008 “in order to be a forum for people from all affected industries to share ideas and information, while coordinating efforts for change,” its creator and HTA member, Rob Wilson shared. A social network developed to gain information on action needed and to better understand implications of the law, CPSIA-Central has become a nationally recognized place for concrete information on the CPSIA.
The newest Span of Sunset, Inc. X Disney collaboration has been unveiled with the immediate release of their vinyl figure Cheshire Cat in its latest color way – GOTH. The Cheshire Cat vinyl figure is based upon Lewis Carroll’s character from Alice in Wonderland, here reborn into a 3D form by Span of Sunset, Inc. This Cheshire Cat picks up inspiration from goth music and lifestyle, representing it in a stylish all black color with vivid purple stripes. This figure is sure to be a hit amongst both the collectors and Cheshire Cat vinyl toy series aficionados alike!
Produced in a limited quantity, the Goth Cheshire Cat measures 8", features a GID mouth, and comes in its own custom themed box.
Goth Cheshire Cat is available now from Span of Sunset, Inc., both in store and online.
On Monday night I was invited to a special IMAX test screening of Warner Brothers Watchmen movie that will be released this coming Friday to a theater near you.Why did I call it a “test screening?”Because it’s one of the longest IMAX movies ever attempted and it barely fits on the projection platters.They literally have to wind the film extra tight and work on the humidity in the projection booths to make sure this all works right.Warner Brothers has requested that the new Harry Potter trailer be attached to the IMAX prints and even just that minute and a half of extra film on the platter is causing concerns for the IMAX theaters.It’s such an issue that there are different, shorter credits on the IMAX version of the movie than the regular prints.It turns out there was an issue in the screening I saw where the film had to be stopped for about five minutes.
Mattel and Matty just sent us the latest news and images from what’s happening with upcoming stuff: 
The Transformer’s Team at Hasbro has once again come through for AFI readers answering your lateest and greatest post-Toy Fair Transformers questions. These questionswere submittedby AFI readers via our Forums. 
A1) These are three of the names that keep poping up on our radar. Soundwave is difficult because we can’t make his alt mode a cassette player – kids today just wouldn’t even know what that is. I can tell you that he is being discussed for future release but nothing is definite at this time. Jazz is a favorite as well but nothing has been discussed as of now. Wheeljack on the other hand, has been discussed more in-depth and we’re excited about prospects for his appearance in the near future.
