I’ve seen the prizes in person now and the gold figures are really cool!

You have until Midnight PST on Sunday to enter!  Get to dressing up YOUR action figures!

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

Gentle Giant strives to create some of the coolest and highly detailed collectibles out today. Sometimes on occasion we think we’ve finished a piece and then an light blub comes on and we go back to the drawing board. The Darth Vader on Star Destroyer Kustomz is one of those such pieces. After careful thought, we decided to go back to the drawing board and make this piece look more hot rod-ish and stylistic to the "rat fink style" these pieces were inspired by.

Please check out the Product Page for the Darth Vader on Star Destroyer Kustomz for the new images.  For those that have already pre-ordered this item, if you wish to cancel you may do so at this time. And for those that have been hesitant on pre-ordering due to the design of the piece, now with this new version, get your pre-order in today!

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

Sunrise, FL, November 15, 2007 – Jazwares, Inc. today announced the nationwide launch of America’s Army action figures featuring Real Heroes at Toys "R" Us stores nationwide. The action figure series is part of the America’s Army Real Heroesprogram through which the U.S. Army offers a glimpse into theaccomplishments of Soldiers who have distinguished themselves in combatand earned citations for bravery and valor. The action figure linelaunches with four exemplary Soldiers. Jazwares, Inc. manufactures anddistributes the America’s Army action figures and worked closely with the U.S. Army to ensure authenticity. Each Soldier’s action figure includes a Real Heroestrading card highlighting the Soldier’s heroic accomplishments andWarrior Ethos, authentic uniforms, weapons, unit insignias, and awards.

The Soldiers featured in the first series of action figures are:

• Sergeant Tommy Riemen, 51^st Long Range Surveillance Infantry (Airborne), Silver Star for Gallantry in Action in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Sergeant First Class Gerald Wolford, 82^nd Airborne, Silver Star for Gallantry in Action in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Staff Sergeant Matthew Zedwick, 2-162 Infantry, Silver Star for Gallantry in Action in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Major Jason Amerine, 5^th Special Forces Group, Bronze Star with V Device for Bravery in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The America’s Army Real Heroesprogram provides an inside perspective into the lives of Soldiers,allowing civilians to learn about a Soldier’s personal character andaccomplishments, while giving them greater insight into the wide rangeof individuals who make up the Armys elite fighting force. The America’s Army Real Heroesprogram highlights heroic Soldiers and their stories in this line ofaction figures. Additionally, the Soldiers’ likenesses and biographiesare also featured in the Army’s exceptionally popular computer game, America’s Army and on the America’s Army website. Millions of America’s Army game players have already read about the heroes and viewed videos detailing these Soldier’s heroic actions at www.americasarmy.com/realheroes/.

The America’s Army Real Heroesaction figure line features only a few of the Soldiers who haveexhibited courage under fire and earned awards for distinguishedservice and valor in the Global War on Terrorism. America’s Army Real Heroes haveearned some of the nation’s highest awards for valor including theDistinguished Service Cross and Silver Star. They are emblematic of thethousands of Army heroes who have earned such awards for action in theGlobal War on Terrorism. These Soldiers embody the Warrior Ethos – aSoldier will always place the mission first, never accept defeat, neverquit, and never leave a fallen comrade.

(more…)

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., November 16, 2007 – Mattel, Inc. [NYSE:MAT] announced today that the Mattel Board of Directors has approved an increase in the company’s common stock annual dividend for 2007 to seventy-five cents per share. The previous annual dividend rate was sixty-five cents per share. The dividend is payable on December 14, 2007 to shareholders of record on November 30, 2007.

“The Mattel Board of Directors continues to demonstrate its commitment to returning excess funds to shareholders," said Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer of Mattel. “In addition to the dividend being increased for the fifth consecutive year, this commitment was also evident in the $645 million of share repurchases completed in the first three quarters of 2007.”

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

November 14, 2007 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc. announces that the Star Wars™: Ground Assault PocketModel™ TCG is available in stores today!

Ground Assault combines your favorite space units with all-new ground units.  From the notorious AT-AT to Spider and Tank droids, Ground Assaultgives you new firepower to destroy your opponent’s objectives.  Buildyour fleet with all ground units, all space units, or a mix of the twotypes.  Each Game Pack (MSRP $4.99) contains up to eight PocketModelsand six game cards.

WizKids® is offering a mail-in promotion with the release of Ground Assault.  Players can receive a free Ground Assault play poster, which features a Battle of Hoth scene that they can use to act out their Star Wars PocketModel battles.

In order to redeem for a free Ground Assault play poster, visit www.starwarspocketmodeltcg.com/promo.  Players can use the ZIP code locator to find a local hobby or game store and receive a mail-in coupon for the Ground Assault play poster.  Web banners linking to the promotion will be found at www.StarWars.com and www.SWPocketModels.com.

(more…)

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

November 14, 2007 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc. announced today that the Halo® ActionClix® Scarab VehiclePack is available at local hobby and game stores now!  The ScarabVehicle Pack blows the lid off tabletop gaming with the largest Clixpiece ever produced!  With the Scarab, a fully playable game piece,players are able to replicate the exciting action from Halo 3. 

The Scarab Vehicle Pack (MSRP $249.99) includes the highly detailed Scarab vehicle with character cards, a full-color map and Halo ActionClix rules.  The Halo ActionClix Scarab Vehicle Pack is available only at local hobby and game stores.  To find a store near you, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.

(more…)

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

It’s important today that we stop and remember the men and women that have served and are currently serving and the sacrifices that have made.   If there’s a veteran in your family call’em today and tell them thank you.

That’s my Grandfather on the far right.  He was a tailgunner in WWII.

Thanks grandpa! 

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

OK, so as most readers know by now, AFI was hacked into a week ago by dastardly hackers causing mischief. We had problems restoring our backups so we were dark a bit longer than hoped for, but now thanks to the herculean efforts of our very own Vader (also of afhub.com) we are now pretty much back to normal.

Unfortuantely, we did lose some data concerning our forum users. Thankfully we didn’t lose any of the content of the forum- users can just follow the link below to restore their accounts. We thank everyone for their contiued patience and understanding while we get things back in order.

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/cgi-bin/reset.cgi

The good news is that we were able to use this "opportunity" to upgrade our entire infrastructure, making another attck harder to accomplish and also making sure that we have pristine backups of all data in case it does happen again.

Now go start posting!

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Posted by Jason Geyer • No Comments

While we continue to hammer out the forum issues let’s take a look at the newest batch of answers to your questions from our good friends at Mattel.   Keep sending in your questions for Mattel to: julius@actionfigureinsider.com.   The next round of questions are due by midnight Nov. 14th. 

 Let’s get to the answers!

Q1. With the 6” DCU, this line is shaping up to be the one to beat among comic superhero action figure lines. However, with the 3 announced waves of DCUC, only 1 female made the cut. Without getting into specific characters, will we be getting more females in the remaining 2 waves for ’08?

A: Yes. At least two, maybe more.
 

Q2. Is it still a goal in the JLU line(and now the DCU 6”) to make as many characters who were made in the Kenner Super Powers line as possible?

A: Unofficially yes.  Toy Guru keeps  a picture of all the Super Powers figures posted by his desk next to the poster of Mattel JLU figures (given away at Comic Con) so doing those figures is always on his mind.

 
Q3. How are the plans for creating"branded isles" for DC product coming along? The reason I ask is that I was at the Coventry, RI Wal-mart on Sunday and they had 0, zero, DC product. No The Baman, no DC Super Heroes, no Super Friends, no JLU. You literally could not buy a Batman toy there if you wanted to. And there is no shelf space and no empty pegs for it.

A: With the addition of a major DC movie next year (Batman the Dark Knight) you should see spill over of many more of our lines at retail. Whenever there is a major DC movie out retailers are usually more keen to order more “other” DC product such as our 6 inch line. As always, if you are not seeing your favorite Mattel toy line at retail let your favorite retailer know this!

 
Q4. Has a decision been made yet as to if there will be a DCUC exclusive at SDCC/WWC next year? If so, is there any chance that we might get something that the current B.A.F . program couldn’t handle, like a bigger character or something odd like Starro? Also, would it be possible to set up some sort of system to let fans who can’t make the shows order/pre-order the exclusives on-line?

A: We have not yet confirmed our Convention Exclusives but we can let you know that many fan requests were reviewed and it looks like many wishes will be answered. Comic Con and other conventions offer Mattel a great opportunity to offer collector product that may not otherwise fit into a mainstream retail toy line. I can tell you many of our exclusives will not only be fan favorites, but unexpected figures as well!

 
Q5. I have a question in regards to the DC Super Friends Line, will there a GL Hal Jordan figure added?

A: Nothing to announce as of yet, but the future is wide open and this line is doing very well at retail.

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Posted by Daniel Pickett • No Comments

November 7, 2007 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc. announces that Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel Game is available in stores today!

Pirates fans will recognize their favorite constructible strategy game with a new look and name. The Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game brings to life players’ favorite ships and characters from all three Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Experience the adventure by building the Black Pearl and setting sail with Captain Jack Sparrow! The Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game is completely compatible with all previous WizKids Pirates releases.

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game packs (MSRP $3.99) contain two Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels, one island/whirlpool card, one crew or treasure card, complete game rules and one die. To find a local hobby or gaming store near you, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the Topps Company (TOPP), WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its HeroClix and Pirates brands are among the most successful games on the market today, with over 100 million miniature game figures sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.

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Posted by Jason Geyer • No Comments