SDCC 2011 Exclusive CoolRain x MINDstyle NBA Playoffs Mini Figure Box Set

The Blot hasn’t covered these new blind boxed NBA mini figures by CoolRain because I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them. Produced by MINDstyle, these NBA figures look like Michael Lau rip-offs without the creativity. What’s worse is most of them don’t even resemble the real life players they are based on and at least one of them has already changed teams! Although I can’t lie, picking up one of the Kobe Bryant figures has definitely crossed my mind a few times. But that’s got more to do with my blind Lakers devotion than my fondness for the toy.

To me, this San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive NBA Playoffs Box Set is a total cash grab. It is being marketed as a way to commemorate the dramatic 2011 NBA playoffs with a set that includes 5 of today's hottest superstars (Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudemire). Except if they really wanted to commemorate the 2011 NBA Playoffs you’d think they would have included Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who was also in Series 1.

But what really annoys me about this set is that four of the five figures are just commons from MINDstyle’s NBA Mini Figure Series 1. The only new/rare figure is the “EXCLUSIVE” NBA MVP Derrick Rose in his home white Bulls jersey. That’s it…so for $100 you’re paying for the white jersey Derrick Rose and the Comic-Con exclusive box set packaging. As you all know The Blot’s all about SDCC exclusives, but at least make it worth collectors’ money and time. Or just say the White Bulls Jersey Derrick Rose is limited to 300 pieces and retails for $100. That’s really what collectors are paying for right?

For those of you heading to San Diego in a few weeks, you can pick up this NBA Playoffs box set from Action Figure Xpress at their SDCC booth #3345.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Heroes & Villains Android Set by Andrew Bell

Making their debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, this limited special edition set of Android mini figures designed by Andrew Bell is sure to please the summer movie and comic book loving crowd! This awesome SDCC 2011 Exclusive Heroes and Villains Android Set includes four figures in all, 2 heroes (The Hidden Task and El Poderoso) and 2 villains (Greentooth and Cycle-On). Bell will release one design each day of Comic-Con starting on Preview Night (Wednesday, July 20th) at DKE Toys’ SDCC booth #4728.

Fear not Android collectors! For those of us unable to attend San Diego Comic-Con, Andrew will be making a limited number of Heroes and Villains Android Sets available online shortly after the convention at the Dead Zebra online store and via several of DYZPlastic’s partner shops in Asia.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive The Avengers Mini Mighty Muggs Boxed Set

The Blot received some very exciting news today, Hasbro’s Mighty Muggs are back! With no new news in almost a year, I had officially written off the toy line for good. Then yesterday Marvel announced their first San Diego Comic-Con exclusive: The Avengers Special Edition Mini Mighty Muggs Collector's Pack. Just when you think you’re out, Hasbro brings you back in! These figures look amazing, and the only question I have now is who’s picking me up a set in San Diego?

The San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive The Avengers Mini Mighty Muggs Collector’s Pack includes five figures in all: 4 Mini Mighty Muggs (Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America) and a full size Giant Man Mighty Mugg. I really have to hand it to Hasbro on this one, I love everything about this set! From the packaging with Giant Man’s head sticking out of a Mini Mighty Muggs box to the decision to make Giant Man a full size Mighty Mugg, Hasbro did a really great job with this release. Here’s hoping they sell enough of these bad boys to garner future Mini Mighty Muggs releases.

The Avengers Mini Mighty Muggs 5 figure set will retail for $34.99 and can be purchased from HasbroToyShop.com’s SDCC booth #3329. According to Marvel, if you can't get your hands on this first set of Marvel Mini Mighty Muggs while at SDCC, there may be a limited amount available through HasbroToyShop.com after the convention. I don’t know what’s more exciting, that Hasbro will releasing some of these figures through its online store or that this is considered the “first set” of Marvel Mini Mighty Muggs (meaning future sets are already in the works!).

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Screen Print by Jesse Philips

click on the image above for a more detailed look

Last night at an early screening of Transformers 3 at the Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles, Mondo released an all new Transformers: Dark of the Moon poster by Jesse Philips. 3,000 copies of the green offset version of the TF3 poster were handed out exclusively to attendees of the special screening. For the rest of us, a special gold variant edition screen print will be sold by Mondo later today. This print is incredibly detailed, and I love the fact that it features Sentinel Prime instead of the more obvious choices (ala Optimus Prime or Bumblebee).

Click on the image above for a more detailed look

Transformers: Dark of the Moon by Jesse Philips is an 18”x36” screen print with gold metallic inks, has a limited edition run size of 240 pieces and will retail for $45 each. It will go on sale at the Mondo online store at a random time today, Wednesday, June 29th.

Street Fighter Mini Figure Series by Kidrobot Official Release Info

One of Kidrobot’s worst kept secrets was made official this week, the Kidrobot x Street Fighter Mini Figure Series is coming to a store near you soon! Capcom’s Street Fighter, now in its umpteenth iteration with over 29 million copies sold worldwide, teams up with Kidrobot to take you back to the arcade with the ones who kick-started it all: Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, and the wild man Blanka.

I know I said it before, but The Blot is so not excited about this release. It could have been really awesome, but these figures just look like every other 3” licensed blind box series KR has released the past 2 years. I may be a little too harsh on this release, but to be honest I’ve come to expect more from Kidrobot and these just didn’t deliver. I guess we’ll never know the reason these figures were produced, but they will make great fodder for customizers!

All 12 of the original World Warriors, including the Psycho-Powered chase, are blind boxed and stylized in 3” vinyl. Gaming’s best known fighters, each with their own unique fighting style, feature articulated arms just itching to deliver that final sonic boom. The Kidrobot x Street Fighter Mini Figure Series will go on sale beginning Thursday, July 7th, and will retail for $9.95 per blind box.

Unpainted Lavender Jeffrey Vinyl Figure by Jon Knox

Fans of Hello, Brute’s (aka Jon Knox) resin work will instantly recognize his signature character Jeffrey in the picture below, however they may be shocked to learn it’s been produced in soft Japanese vinyl (aka Sofubi). While Knox has been teasing this release for a few days, Lulubell just announced they will be releasing Jon’s very first vinyl figure tomorrow, Wednesday, June 29th, at noon PDT. Congrats to Jon on his first vinyl figure!!! The Blot knows there are a ton of Hello, Brute fans salivating at this unpainted vinyl Jeffrey.

There’s been no word on how tall this Unpainted Lavender Jeffrey vinyl figure is, but we do know it will retail for $28 in the Lulubell online store. Good luck to all those hoping to score one of these great new figures tomorrow.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Vinyl Cape Jawa Jumbo Vintage Star Wars Action Figure

A few weeks back when Gentle Giant released their standard Jawa 7.5” Jumbo Vintage Star Wars action figure, they also hinted at an ultra rare vinyl cape variant. Well now we know this “variant” is actually one of Gentle Giant’s upcoming SDCC exclusives! The San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive 7.5” Vinyl Cape Jawa Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure includes a blaster and has a limited edition run size of 1,000 pieces. No word on how much they will retail for, but it will most likely be somewhere around $65-85 each.

Digitally scanned from mint Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 7.5" tall, this SDCC 2011 Exclusive Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars Vinyl Cape Jawa action figure by Gentle Giant is an exact replica of the classic ‘70s toy. Best of all, this classic Kenner creation comes packaged on a 1978 style Star Wars inspired blister card with a plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display this action figure.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Thor “Stormbreaker” Marvel Minimates Box Set

And the SDCC Exclusive Minimate box sets just keep on coming! Diamond Select Toys and Action Figure Xpress have teamed up again this year for an exciting San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Minimates exclusive. This “Stormbreaker” set includes Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Loki and Sif, and commemorates the classic storyline in which alien Beta Ray Bill crossed paths with the God of Thunder, hefted the enchanted hammer Mjolnir and was granted the power of Thor himself. With everyone in the Marvel Universe picking up hammers nowadays, Action Figure Xpress thought it would be the perfect time to revisit this important story.

Collectors can pick up San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive Thor “Stormbreaker” Minimates Box Set at the Action Figure Xpress SDCC booth #3345 for around $20.

DC Direct x Graphitti Designs SDCC 2011 Exclusive Professor Zoom Flashpoint Action Figure

Graphitti Designs is teaming up with DC Direct once again for a killer SDCC exclusive! Spinning out of DC Comics’ companywide summer crossover Flashpoint comes the San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive Professor Zoom action figure. What’s amazing is this is the first DC Direct x Graphitti Designs convention exclusive in the past 2 years not based on the Blackest Night storyline. While The Blot loves Green Lantern, it is nice to see another section of the DC Universe get a little attention.

The San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive Flashpoint: Professor Zoom action figure has a limited edition run size of 4,000 pieces and can be purchased at the Graphitti Designs SDCC booth for around $20.

Bomb Pop Goober & Booger Resin Figures by Motorbot

The 4th of July is almost upon us and what better way to celebrate the United States' independence from Britain than by purchasing some awesome red, white and blue resin figures! Inspired by the classic Bomb Pop popsicle, Motorbot has hand crafted these clear tint 2” resin figures in honor of the USA’s birthday. Each Bomb Pop Goober and Booger resin figure retails for $15 and comes bagged with a header. Purchase one now from the Deadbear online store.

C-3PO 12” Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars Action Figure by Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant is about to release another wave of its 12 inch vintage Star Wars action figure reproductions, and it includes 2 characters that should really excite collectors, C-3PO and R2-D2! Digitally scanned from mint Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 12" tall, this 12” Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars C-3PO action figure by Gentle Giant is an exact replica of the classic ‘70s toy.

Injection molded and made of durable plastics, this jumbo figure is fully articulated and faithfully reproduced just like the original. Best of all, this classic Kenner creation comes packaged on a 1977 style Star Wars inspired blister card with a plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display this awesome action figure.

The Star Wars 12 inch Jumbo Vintage Kenner C-3PO action figure by Gentle Giant retails for $79.99 each and can be pre-ordered from EntertainmentEarth.com here.

Johnny Cupcakes Rubik’s Cube Inspired T-Shirt “Ruben’s Box”

I must have owned 6 or 7 Rubik’s Cubes as a little kid growing up in the 80s. Back then it seemed like everyone had one! The best were the “specialty” cubes where the squares lined up to form a picture or a message, kind of like the version seen here in the new Rubik’s Cube inspired t-shirt from Johnny Cupcakes entitled “Ruben’s Box.” As you can probably tell, here one side of “Ruben’s Box” forms JC’s classic Cupcake & Crossbones logo in blue and white. The only thing better than this t-shirt would be if Johnny Cupcakes released an official Rubik’s Cube!

The Johnny Cupcakes Rubik’s Cube Inspired t-shirt “Ruben’s Box” is currently on sale at the JC online store for $35.99. The shirt is available in both men’s and women’s styles, sizes S-XL.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Metallic Buzz Lightyear 9” Pop! Disney Vinyl Figure

Click on the picture above for a more detailed look

At San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Funko will be debuting two never before seen 9 inch super sized Pop! vinyl figures, the first of their kind! The first one is the Metallic Buzz Lightyear 9” Pop! Disney vinyl figure seen above. As you can tell from the picture, these new super sized Metallic Buzz Lightyear Pop! figures are over twice the size of the standard version and have a limited edition run size of just 360 pieces. Rumor has it the second SDCC 2011 Exclusive 9” Super Sized Pop! Disney vinyl figure will be a Metallic Maleficient, but stay tuned to The Blot Says… for more details!

From what The Blot’s heard this is going to be a huge Comic-Con for Funko, who will also be releasing 4 very cool SDCC 2011 Exclusive regular Pop! Disney/Pixar vinyl figures AND 18 other San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Pop! vinyl figures from DC Comics, Marvel, Star Wars and General Mills. That’s 24 SDCC Exclusive Pop! figures in all!!! Funko is definitely pulling out all the stops, and the only way you can guarantee adding all of them to your collection is by visiting Funko’s SDCC booth #4829 next month.

The 2011 Designer Toy Awards - The Polls Are Now Open, Vote Today!

If you haven’t heard, Clutter Magazine has organized the first annual International Designer Toy Awards, which his scheduled to be presented this summer during San Diego Comic-Con 2011. And guess what, TheBlotSays.com was nominated for Best Blog! Just to be nominated is quite the honor, especially when you consider the category is a venerable who’s who of the designer toy blogging community, but winning would be nice too! ;) So head over to www.DesignerToyAwards.com, register and vote today! Every registered user is allowed to vote in each “public category” once per day, so vote early and vote often! And thanks for your support!!! Without you there would be no TheBlotSays.com.

The Designer Toy Awards celebrates the creativity, innovation and artistic excellence in the Art Toy market, which after more than a decade has not only become a prominent and legitimate form of artistic and commercial expression, it is one of the leaders in global trendsetting. This award ceremony will celebrate the best of the industry’s artists, designers, customizers and manufacturers, as well as honoring those involved in championing Art Toys throughout the world. To find out more click here!

The Designer Toy Awards will take place at the Munky King San Diego Comic-Con Party at Bar Basic (410 Tenth Ave., San Diego, CA 92101) on Thursday, July 21st, from 9pm–2am. Be there or be square!

Kidrobot Dunny Series 2011 Official Checklist with Ratios

click on the picture above for a more detailed look

All across the globe designer toy collectors will be gathering in stores tonight for the official release of Kidrobot’s Dunny Series 2011! Fans are already proclaiming Dunny Series 2011 Kidrobot’s best series in years, and The Blot tends to agree with them. I love the mixture of established artists and up and coming talent in this series, and the ratios aren’t too terrible (although good luck getting your hands on Huck Gee’s Zombie Hunter with a ratio of 1/200). Kidrobot is also trying something new with DS2011, instead of a Golden Ticket there’s a CnC (Collect and Connect) Dunny. This means there’s one piece of a Dunny included in each blind box. From what I’ve heard it’s a Skeleton Dunny designed by Kronk, and it’s not complete until you’ve found the figure’s heart.

The Blot’s heading to Domy Books here in Houston tonight for its Dunny Series 2011 Release Party, and I hope to see you there! If you’re not in southeast Texas, click here to see if there’s a Release Party near you. And don’t forget to print out Kidrobot’s official Dunny Series 2011 Checklist, which lists each Dunny design’s artist and ratio. Happy hunting everyone!

[photo via HelloVinyl]

Eddie Vedder in NYC Concert Posters by Jermaine Rogers & Frank Kozik

It’s releases like this that remind me why I love art so much!!! The Blot has seriously been waiting years for a Jermaine Rogers Pearl Jam concert poster, and while there were rumblings a while back that one was in the works it never actually materialized…until this week! Finally, Jermaine was commissioned to do the limited edition screen prints for both nights of Eddie Vedder's recent solo appearances in New York City at the Beacon Theater. What’s even cooler is Jermaine arranged to do a collaboration piece with fellow artist Frank Kozik for the first night! Seriously, what’s better than two of my favorite artists represented in two amazing concert posters!?!

With these prints Jermaine “wanted to do something a bit different from what has been done recently for Ed, and he was very open to this. So, we decided to give everyone a glimpse of a distant time in the future when the lovely animals of earth have inherited everything that human beings have pissed away...or had taken from them. Two of our friendly future beasts explore the ancient ruins of what surely must've been a grand ol' place...at least, once upon a time. Doing that evolution....” For the second night, Jermaine created a companion piece to go along with the first night's offering. According to Jermaine Eddie really like this one because of how it reminded him of the great John Lennon.

Both Eddie Vedder 6 color concert posters measure 17”x24”, come signed and numbered by the artist(s) and have a limited edition run size of 100 pieces. And before you ask, yes the June 21, 2011 screen print comes signed by both Jermaine Rogers and Frank Kozik! Both versions will retail for $65 and go on sale at JermaineRogers.com this Friday, June 24th, at 3:00 PM Eastern.

Captain America: The First Avenger Movie Poster by Paolo Rivera

Check out this awesome retro cast and crew exclusive one sheet movie poster for Captain America: The First Avenger! As Marvel.com explained, “the lucky cast and crew members who worked on Captain America: The First Avenger got a special treat for their work on the film, namely an exclusive poster created by Paolo Rivera, artist of Mythos: Captain America and and the upcoming Daredevil! Done in a retro 1940s style, Rivera captures Captain America in action in this dynamic composition.” Pretty cool huh!?! The Blot’s a little bummed this limited edition one sheet is not available to the public, but at least Marvel shared it with the world.

Captain America: The First Avenger is scheduled to invade theaters on Friday, July 22, 2011.

Threadless Doctor Who T-Shirt TARDamask

TARDamask by Rosemary Travale

It has been a long time since The Blot voted on a Threadless design, but when I saw this Doctor Who inspired t-shirt I knew it had to be made! Entitled “TARDamask,” the design is inspired by the classic damask repeating pattern but with a Doctor Who TARDIS influenced twist. While I love the shirt, I do wish Threadless had printed the TARDIS images in a darker blue matching its look in the hit television show. Here’s hoping Threadless eventually reprints this design as a badass hoodie!

The Threadless Doctor Who t-shirt “TARDamask” comes printed on a light blue t-shirt and is currently available at Threadless.com for $24. The shirt comes in both guys and girls styles, sizes S-2XL.

R2-D2 7.5” Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars Action Figure by Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant is about to release another wave of its 12 inch vintage Star Wars action figure reproductions, and it includes 2 characters that should really excite collectors, C-3PO and R2-D2! Digitally scanned from mint Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 7.5" tall, this 7.5” Jumbo Vintage Kenner Star Wars R2-D2 action figure by Gentle Giant is an exact replica of the classic ‘70s toy.

Injection molded and made of durable plastics, this jumbo figure is fully articulated with “clicking” head rotation faithfully reproduced just like the original. Best of all, this classic Kenner creation comes packaged on a 1977 style Star Wars inspired blister card with a plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display this awesome action figure.

The Star Wars 7.5 inch Jumbo Vintage Kenner R2-D2 action figure by Gentle Giant retails for $79.99 each and can be pre-ordered from EntertainmentEarth.com here.

The Avengers Cosbaby Mini Figure Series

To celebrate the launch of The Avengers movie from Marvel Studio in 2012, Hot Toys is releasing the Marvel Avengers Assemble Cosbaby Series! Featuring characters from Iron Man 2, Thor and the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger, the Avengers Assemble Cosbaby Series includes Iron Man [Mark V], Tony Stark, Thor, Loki, Captain America and the Red Skull. The Blot’s been wondering when we’d get another super hero movie series from Hot Toys, and this Avengers line up definitely doesn’t disappoint! But do we really need more Iron Man Cosbaby figures after 2 full Iron Man series?

To be honest, I half expected to see a Green Lantern movie series, but these will do just nicely instead! No word yet on when these 3” CosBaby figures will be hitting store shelves, but I would imagine it’ll happen sometime before the end of the summer. Each figure comes packed on a 4-color blister card and will retail for around $10.

Johnny Cupcakes x Newbury Comics “Toothface Crossbones” T-Shirt

This Saturday, June 25th, Johnny Cupcakes will be teaming up with Newbury Comics, New England’s premier independently owned music store, to release the limited edition “Toothface Crossbones” t-shirt! The Johnny Cupcakes x Newbury Comics t-shirt incorporates JC’s trademark Cupcake & Crossbones logo with Newbury Comics’ Toothface logo into one seamless design. The Blot loves collaborations, especially when they involve the merger of two iconic logos, so you know this tee is right up my alley.

The Johnny Cupcakes x Newbury Comics Toothface Crossbones T-Shirt has a limited edition run size of 100 shirts and goes on sale at 3pm this Saturday at the South Shore Plaza Newbury Comics location. Get one if you can!

Brian Flynn’s 40th Birthday Maroon Mummy Boy & Little Prick Vinyl Figures

Yesterday was Super7 founder Brian Flynn’s 40th Birthday, and in honor of such an important birthday Super7 released 2 unannounced figures! First up is the limited edition Maroon Mummy Boy with Mummy Gator head. Yes, you read that right…each Maroon Mummy Boy includes a matching and interchangeable Mymmy Gator head. That’s 2 figures for the price of 1!

What’s even crazier than that is Super7 broke with tradition and announced only 40 of these Maroon Mummy Boys had been created (in honor of Flynn’s 40th b-day). Super7 never releases run sizes, so you know this is a big deal! But that’s not all, they also broke the edition into four colorways of 10 pieces each to celebrate S7's own 10th Anniversary! Mind blown yet? That means there are only 10 Maroon Mummy Boys with either baby blue, mint green, pink or orange eyes and a mouth.

But it doesn’t stop there! These Maroon Mummy Boys also brought a new friend along for the ride…Brian Flynn's newest figure: Little Prick! The 4” Little Prick is the cactus who always leaves the house in clean underwear…pretty awesome, right? Again, only 40 Maroon Little Prick vinyl figures with orange, white and gray sprays were created, but unlike his Mummy Boy counterpart he’s still available at the Super7 online store for $35 each (but will probably sell out quickly). The Maroon Mummy Boy retailed for $60 but sold out within an hour of its release.

Bits n Bytes Resin Figures "Goldfish Bowl" Palette by Cris Rose

The first official release of Cris Rose’s new Bits n Bytes mini resin figures arrives this week in the first of many colorful Palettes. This week’s release has been dubbed the "Goldfish Bowl" palette, which comes from the oranges of Goldfish, the turquoise blues of water, and the lush greens of the Goldfish's waterplant surroundings. This Bits n Bytes release includes 6 Sprogs (these are the Bits) and 2 versions of Rotund (the Bytes). Each 1/24th scale robot comes in a solid colored resin, with 6 colors in total. Don’t they all look pretty freaking sweet!?!

The Bits n Bytes Goldfish Bowl Palette is scheduled to go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, June 21st, at 18:00 London time at Cris Rose’s online store. If you buy a pack containing a "Full Set" you are guaranteed one of each sculpt with no doubles. There are also 2 options of 3 packs: the Light Pack consists of the lighter hues, while the Dark Pack consists of the darker Hues. There are 3 Bits per pack and the sculpts are random, but you're guaranteed the 3 different colors.

FF Minimates Box Set - A SDCC 2011/Disney Store Exclusive?!?

This might be the biggest stretch of a “Comic-Con Exclusive” The Blot has ever seen! Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum are releasing a quasi-San Diego Comic Con 2011 Exclusive, which is really just a Disney Store Exclusive, Fantastic Four Minimates 4 figure set based on the new FF series by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting. After the death of Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four #587, the Fantastic Four disbanded, founded the Future Foundation and added Spider-Man to its ranks (is there any Marvel book team without Spider-Man and/or Wolverine as a member these days?).

Seen here in their new Future Foundation uniforms, the FF Minimates box set will debut “during” San Diego Comic-Con at the local Disney Store location. What a crock! How did Disney & Marvel even manage to get the SDCC logo on the packaging? The only really cool thing about this set of 2” Marvel Minimates is that they are the first Future Foundation figures ever released! According to MTV Geek, this Disney Store Exclusive featuring Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, Thing and the Invisible Woman will make its debut the week of San Diego Comic-Con at the chain's Fashion Valley Mall location, and will ship to Disney Stores nationwide after that.

Help Fund OMFG! Mini Figure Series 1 by October Toys on Kickstarter

Remember the fun of collectible mini figures like M.U.S.C.L.E. and Monster In My Pocket? If so, you’re really going to love the inaugural series of OMFG! (Outlandish Mini Figure Guys) from October Toys and the crazy talented members of the October Toys/Toy Break forum! Over the course of several months, dozens of character ideas were submitted from all around the world and the forum voted for their favorite designs to be put in to production. The result is the amazing figures you see here!

The Blot first heard about this Kickstarter project from fellow toy blogger Spanky Stokes, and I was lucky enough to get involved in the process in time to actually vote on the designs for OMFG! Series 1. The minute I heard about this project I knew it was something special, and I’m not the only one. In less than a week the Kickstarter project has already reached its goal of $11,000!  How awesome is that? What’s amazing about this project is that it has brought together toy collectors from all genres (not just the designer toy world) together to help make these awesome M.U.S.C.L.E. style figures a reality.

OMFG! Series 1 consists of five figures including: Multiskull designed and sculpted by Charles Marsh (aka Monsterforge), Crawdad Kid designed and sculpted by Daniel Yu (aka Dory), Phantom Outhouse designed by Kyle Thye and sculpted by Ralph Niese, King Castor designed and sculpted by Dominic Campisi (aka The Evil Earwig), and Stroll designed by John "Spanky" Stokes and sculpted by George Gaspar.

The OMFG! Mini Figure Series has truly been a community effort and now is your chance to help out! While the total amount needed to produce this series may seem high, the actual awards are unbelievably cheap! In fact, there are some really cool rewards for as little as $1, but for just $10 you can get the entire five figure OMFG! set in flesh colored vinyl. For $15 you can the Kickstarter Exclusive all black five figure OMFG! vinyl figure set for just $15, or get both sets, flesh and black, for $25. There are 54 days left to donate to the production of OMFG! Mini Figure Series 1, but why wait? Head to Kickstarter now and pledge! Any donation overages will be put towards the creation of OMFG! Series 2, which is already in the works.

Rampage Toys x Tenacious Toys Mini Kaiju Cupcake Blind Box Custom Series

Benny (of Tenacious Toys) and Jon Malmstedt (of Rampage Toys) have teamed up on another of Tenacious Toys’ killer custom blind box series! The Mini Kaiju Cupcake Blind Box Custom Series includes 25 of Jon’s hand cast 2” resin cupcake monsters painted by 5 incredibly talented artists: Jon Malmstedt (of Rampage Toys), Justin Hillgrove (of Imps and Monsters), NREAZON, Nasty Neil (A Wasted Talent), and OsirisOrion. Tenacious Toys’ blind box custom series are always top notch, and this release is no exception. Just look at these crazy Kaiju Cupcakes!!!

The Mini Kaiju Cupcake Blind Box Custom Series goes on sale this Wednesday, June 22nd, at 7pm EDT at the Tenacious Toys online store. Each blind box will retail for $35, and one lucky collector’s blind box will even include a Golden Ticket that can be redeemed for a 5”x7" original painting by Jon Malmstedt! How cool is that!?!

Green Lantern Movie Masters Action Figures by Mattel

DC Comics’ Green Lantern movie debuts in theaters today and The Blot has absolutely nothing to say about it. Why? I’m more than a little bummed by all the negative reviews. I’ve expected the worst for a while now, but was secretly hoping the film would surpass my expectations. That probably won’t happen, but maybe you can create your own Green Lantern movie (and make a more exciting version to boot) with these Green Lantern Movie Masters action figures by Mattel.

Mattel is flooding the market with Green Lantern toys, but the best ones by far are these 6” Movie Masters action figures (basically a spin-off of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics toy line). Green Lantern Movie Masters Wave 1 includes Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, Tomar-Re, Isamot Kol, Naut Ke Loi. Green Lantern Movie Masters Wave 2 includes Sinestro, Rot Lop Fan, a maskless Hal Jordan and Guardian Krona. There’s also the Green Lantern Classics G’Hu, MattyCollector.com Exclusive Green Man, a Toys R Us Exclusive 2-Pack featuring Hal Jordan and Abin Sur, and San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive Kilowog.

The Green Lantern Movie Masters action figures and the G’Hu Green Lantern Classics action figure can be purchased for $16.99, while the oversized MattyCollector.com Exclusive Green Man and the SDCC 2011 Exclusive Kilowog can be purchased for $25 each. Get one now to celebrate the premiere of Warner Bros' Green Lantern, or wait a few weeks when all of these figures (except the 2 exclusives) will be on sale for deep, deep discounts.

Glow in the Dark Real Fighting Greasebat Vinyl Figure by Jeff Lamm

It’s announcements like this one that really make The Blot regret my current toy buying hiatus! Monster Worship has revealed its fourth painted Real Fighting Greasebat, and it is a beautiful GID colorway. Jeff Lamm’s RFGB has been one of my favorite new toys of the past year, and this is hands down the best painted version released yet! While the gold spray on the Greasebat’s horns and toes are nice, what really completes this version is the subtle pink mouth and simple eyes. To me, these colors really accentuate the Greasebat’s amazing sculpt.

The GID Real Fighting Greasebat vinyl figure by Jeff Lamm features a hot pink mouth, metallic Gold horns and toes, and is finished with subtle green accent sprays on his front and back. Each figure retails for $75 each and can be purchased from the Monster Worship online store on Wednesday, June 22nd, at 6pm EDT.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Blue O-No Sashimi Vinyl Figure by Andrew Bell

Based on his popular “Never Look Back II” print, Andrew Bell’s O-No Sashimi is scheduled to make its delicious vinyl debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 with not 1 but 2 different colorways: the Standard Edition Green O-No Sashimi and the limited edition SDCC 2011 Exclusive Blue O-No Sashimi. Both versions include delicious fish bits, two sets of eyes and a bowl all packaged in a supermarket fresh display tray.

The OG Green colorway is not a SDCC exclusive, retails for $35 each and will be hitting toy and specialty shops worldwide shortly after the convention. On the other hand, the SDCC 2011 Exclusive Blue O-No Sashimi has a limited edition run size of 250 pieces and will retail for $40 each. There is some hope for those of us unable to attend SDCC this year. Since it has become impossible to get into Comic-Con these days, Bell will be holding a number of Blue Sashimis back for online sales through his Dead Zebra webstore.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Swamp Thing DC Universe Classics Action Figure

As you may or may not know, DC Comics’ Brightest Day ended with the return of Swamp Thing AND John Constantine to the proper DC Universe after decades spent in DC’s Vertigo imprint. Since Swamp Thing and Constantine were marked “for mature readers only,” Mattel had been strictly prohibited from making toys of these popular characters. But now that they’re back in the mainstream (and all ages) DC Universe, Mattel is wasting no time in including Alec Holland’s alter ego into its DC Universe Classics 6” toy line with this exciting San Diego Comic-Con 2011 exclusive!

This fan-demanded character is available for the first time from Mattel, and is the first ever DC Universe character to feature endoskeletal articulation. While many fans have scoffed at their first at Swampy’s endoskeletal articulation (early pictures left much to be desired), The Blot has to commend Mattel on thinking outside the box. After years of playing it safe, they’ve finally tried to do something different. And that is something I can get behind.

The San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Exclusive Swamp Thing action figure will retail for $30 and comes in a paper pulp mold of Swamp Thing’s head. No ordinary packaging can contain Swamp Thing, so he’ll then be packed in a shipper box with the Swamp Thing paper pulp mold head peering out. The Swamp Thing DC Universe Classics action figure will first be available at SDCC, and then later at MattyCollector.com. If purchased at SDCC, he’ll arrive with Comic-Con exclusive mini-figures of Un-Men Ophidian and Cranius. The version of Swamp Thing sold at MattyCollector.com will not include these Un-Men mini-figures.

Previews Exclusive The Walking Dead Black & White Comic Book Edition Zombie Action Figure 2 Pack

If you’re familiar with Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead then you know the comic book series is actually produced in black and white. To recreate their look in the comics, McFarlane Toys has produced black and white variants of its Comic Book Edition Series 1 Zombie action figures. This two figure set is a Previews exclusive and includes a B&W Zombie Lurker and a B&W Zombie Roamer. It’s just too bad we didn’t also get black and white variants of Rick Grimes and Michonne!

The Previews Exclusive The Walking Dead Black & White Comic Book Edition Zombie 6” Action Figure Set is not scheduled to hit stores until October 2011, but you can pre-order these ghoulish figures from Entertainment Earth here for $34.99.

SDCC 2011 Exclusive Batman 20” Mega Mez-Itz Vinyl Figure by Mezco Toyz

Yesterday, MTV Geek! broke the news that Mezco Toyz would be releasing its very first 20 inch Mega Mez-Itz vinyl figure at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, and it’s of none other than the caped crusader himself, Batman! The Blot definitely did not see a 20” Mez-Itz in the works, and I’m really interested in seeing if there’s a market for such a large and expensive Batman toy. Mezco will be releasing two different colorways of its DC Universe Mez-Itz Mega Scale Batman, the standard black and gray Batman and a limited edition variant blue and gray Batman.

The Blot’s a huge Batman fan, and will a real cloth cape the blue and gray version is almost a must buy for me. If only it didn’t carry a price tag of $200! Then again, at 20” tall from the tip of his ears to the soles of his batboots, the DC Universe Mez-Itz Mega Scale Batman is the same price as a Mega Munny and a fraction of the cost of the last few 20” Dunnys. Regardless of the price, I’m pretty excited to see pictures of this bad boy from San Diego in just a few short weeks.

Just like the standard Mez-Itz vinyl figures, the SDCC 2011 Exclusive Batman Mega Scale Mez-Itz features 5 points of articulation and is currently available for pre-order at the Mezco Toyz online store.