New Toybiz 12" Line pic (not sideshow-style)

This seems to be just a mock-up to show retailers what they'd be getting. Presumably production figures will be on display at Toy Fair.

Basically this line will be an alternative to Toybiz's current rotocast line. These are solid plastic, with 30+ points of articulation, they are basically 1/6 scale Marvel Legends figures. First wave is Cap, Iron Man, and Wolverine, followed by wave 2 which is Hulk, Spider-Man, and Venom. Phoenix has also been mentioned.

MSRP is anywhere from $14.99-19.99.

Thanks for reminding us why we collect Sideshow.

It's a shame Toybiz owns Marvel Comics. Damn shame.

What's with those stupid pouches on Cap's belt? Please, MARVEL, let someone else do 1/6 scale figures!

warlock664 said:

What's with those stupid pouches on Cap's belt? Please, MARVEL, let someone else do 1/6 scale figures!

Click to expand...

Pouches are part of Cap's new look. They are supposed to be brown though.

In there he keeps his skittles and M&Ms.

Toybiz and Marvel will no longer affiliated!! Sadly Hasbro will be Marvel's new toy company. Distribution should improve greatly! Sculpts will probably take a nosedive. Every figure will come with a free frogurt! The frogurt is also cursed!

It looks like toybiz will push as much crap out in 2006 as possible, before they forfeit the licenses, so I would expect recycled versions of all of your favorites!

Seaward said:

Toybiz and Marvel will no longer affiliated!! Sadly Hasbro will be Marvel's new toy company. Distribution should improve greatly! Sculpts will probably take a nosedive. Every figure will come with a free frogurt! The frogurt is also cursed!

It looks like toybiz will push as much crap out in 2006 as possible, before they forfeit the licenses, so I would expect recycled versions of all of your favorites!

Click to expand...

That's not an accurate representation of what happened to the slightest degree. There are two Toybiz's, Toybiz whose founder OWNS Marvel, and Toybiz Worldwide, which is a separate corporation created entirely to manufacture the toys in China. The license that was lost was held by this unaffiliated Toybiz Worldwide. The Toybiz creative staff that designed the toys still work for Toybiz/Marvel, and most had their contracts renewed just recently. Hasbro will NOT be designing Marvel Legends or anything the current Toybiz design staff currently is in charge of, but rather using Marvel properties in most of their other product categories such as board games, etc, in addition to taking on the sole responsibilities of Toybiz Worldwide, ie manufacturing and distribution.

And seriously, if you guys think this figure is crappy, at this pricepoint, you're nuts. I can't imagine what you thought of the rotos, which this line is replacing. These aren't meant to be Toybiz's answer to Sideshow.

SolidLiquidFox said:

Thanks for reminding us why we collect Sideshow.

Click to expand...

Ditto.

Rotocast sucks.

They are 12" figures though and most likely preclude any other company making mixed media figures in the same scale. That's the only reason I don't like that TB is doing this.

I agree with ya Dave. I was really hoping that SS was going to announce a 12" MARVEL line at Toy*Fair.

Sorry, I was being glib about the Toybiz/Hasbro/Marvel merger...I didn't mean to come across as gospel truth. I know that Toybiz designers and employees are still employed, but I don't know that Hasbro as a business model will really take advantage of the talents at Toybiz. A picture like this makes me sad in that this is simply the Marvel Legends figure made large, and the detail that works on a smaller scale sometimes blows out when enlarged. I like the idea of the twelve inch Marvel figures, I am just sad that the Marvel Studios line never really took off. They showed prototypes a while back that would have been amazing!

Darklord Dave said:

They are 12" figures though and most likely preclude any other company making mixed media figures in the same scale. That's the only reason I don't like that TB is doing this.

Click to expand...

No, it's a separate license. Marvel Studios is a separate line from this, just like the 12" rotocast line is a separate line. Marvel Studios continuing to exist is the only thing preventing a Sideshow line(and at that, just the movie versions, a comic 12" mixed media figure license is still available). Toybiz pares it's licenses down razor thin.

Bonehead15 said:

Rotocast sucks.

Click to expand...

Once again, the figure in the first post is not rotocast.

Bluesparrow,
So do you think it might be possible that Marvel/Toybiz could produce this as a twelve inch line that is parent and kid friendly (and retailer friendly, given the price point), and Sideshow could manufacture higher end 12 inch figures for the collector market? I love getting the rotocast stuff for my nephew, and he loves playing with gigantic versions of Spidey and The Thing (I got him the new Green Goblin for his birthday next week!) I like the idea of solid plastic toys at this scale, but would hope that they would make sculpts for this size, I just remember when toybiz simply upped the size for their 10 inch line, and what looked okay smaller looked awful blown up, and I think that some of the Marvel Legends sculpts may have the same problem!

I found out about this line a month or two ago. It's scheduled to include:
Spider-Man
Venom
Hulk
Wolverine
Iron Man
Captain America
I'm looking forward to that Iron Man, it may be the only way we will get a 1/6 scale of that character.
But just because they're coming this year from Toy Biz doesn't mean this type of product will be carried by Hasbro. Maybe they worked out a way for Sideshow to make collectors 1/6 figures and Toy Biz rotocast toy 1/6 figures? Hopefully Sideshow eventually has the line when Toy Biz goes the way of the Dinosaurs.

I don't know that picture of Cap LOOKS good, but I imagine the figure won't be that good. If they do look something like that picture, then I'll be in for an Ironman also. Maybe a Wolverine.

Don't know that we need yet another 12" spidey.

Polystoner,
my worry is that the figure in the pic is simply the Marvel Legends figure photoshopped larger, or blown up in scale. A lot of detail that looks awesome at 6-inches looks awful at 12-inches. if it is that nice at the price, I won't complain, but I will still hope for them to make the 1940's era ultimate cap for the Marvel Studios Line!

Seaward said:

Polystoner,
my worry is that the figure in the pic is simply the Marvel Legends figure photoshopped larger, or blown up in scale. A lot of detail that looks awesome at 6-inches looks awful at 12-inches.

Click to expand...

Yeah, you're probably right. For a guy that has spent 15 years in graphic design, I have amazingly poor skills when it comes to imagining things scaled up in 3-D. Well, at least I'll always have my Ironman Comiquette (starting 3rd qtr of 2006).

I always get honked off when a toy company promises a new figure at a new scale, and simply shrinks a mold, or uses a panograph machine, or just uses the two-up prototype, and ships out a "brand new figure"

I do not believe it will be the 6" Ultimate Captain America figure just blown up, there's sculpted detail already apparant even in that mockup photo not on the 6" version(mainly more scales around the armpits). It's based on the same buck I imagine, though. Also the headsculpt is new. Reusing bucks(ie the general body shape with the articulation already in place that the sculptor sculpts over) is not new with Toybiz, it's technically a new sculpt that requires a new mold, it seems to be done mainly for aesthetic reasons. For example, Black Panther is based on the same buck as Ultimate Cap, but the details are different. Same body shape and articulation. Similarly the Smart Hulk from Hulk Classics, and the Maestro Hulk from ML12, are based on the same buck but different molds. They're not saving much money doing it this way, the majority of the expensive involved is in cutting new steel tools for the figure.

Thus while the buck may be the same as the two up of Ultimate Captain America, they would not save enough money just upsizing the 6" mold to a 12" figure mold. I would not expect the details to be washed out like you fear. Of course, Toy Fair will tell the tale. I expect we'll see production samples of the first wave.

Here's the 6" Ultimate Captain America figure:



And the pic from the front of the thread:



Also regarding your earlier question, I do believe that Sideshow could do their own 12" line while Toybiz does stuff like this. The only thing stopping them is either one or both aren't interested, or haven't thought about it. Toybiz isn't exactly making a fortune from Marvel Studios either, and the Hasbro deal doesn't cover everything, for example DST will continue to make their 7" scale figures separately.

Thanks for the pics!!! It looks like a new "Marvel" universe sculpt of Cap, based on the "Ultimate" Cap as a basis for the body. I actually really prefer the Ultimate Cap sculpt for detail and articulation, and this will be a cool new figure! Haven't read any new Captain America or Avengers in a while though, so I don't know if this sculpt is accurate to reflect a new costume design.