The STARSTORE Blog...

FRIDAY THE 13TH: JASON VOORHEES ‘CINEMA OF FEAR’ STYLIZED FIGURE REVIEW

Mezco’s CINEMA OF FEAR range continues to make the hairs stand up on the backs of fans’ necks with this latest figure of the FRIDAY THE 13TH antihero Jason Voorhees. Presented in a stylized edition that is going to be a hit with long-time horror fans, this new large-scale Jason Voorhees action figure stands approximately 9 inches tall and comes with: Axe, machete, spear, severed head, removable mask and real clothing. Supplied in a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie themed window-fronted display box, he looks imposing enough in the packaging!

One he’s out and unleashed, you can really see the extent of the work that Mezco have put into the creation of the figure. This Jason Voorhees action figure depicts the hockey-masked psychopath sometime in the latter part of the series (the outfit he wears is reminiscent of the one worn in FREDDY VS JASON actually), and shows some bloodstains and rips and tears from his various killings and battles. I think the fact that Mezco have stylized the figure to look a bit more comic-bookish than previous Jason Voorhees figures works brilliantly- the look of the item separates it quite clearly from older, more regular figures, and the thing looks great. Jason is still as ugly as ever though…

BATMAN: ARTFX VINYL DARK KNIGHT FIGURE COMING!

DC Direct and Kotobukiya have teamed up once more to brings fans something incredible. Based on the brand new Batman DARK KNIGHT movie, starring Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, this high quality vinyl figure is set to become one of the finest batman themed pieces of memorabilia to be released in years. Everyone here has let out some form of unprintable exclamation upon seeing the images of this awesome piece of work. Click on the picture for a larger version!

Depicting the Dark Knight in a dramatic pose stood atop the Bat signal, this high quality vinyl figure is set to stand approximately 12 inches tall. The costume has been modelled closely on the version that appears in the new feature film, and captures the character at his most iconic. He will come supplied in a Dark Knight movie themed window-display box, which, judging by Kotobukiya’s track record, is going to be sturdy and look great.

Unfortunately the piece is going to be strictly limited to 1,000 units, so keep an eye out for their arrival! I love the fact that there’s going to be some fantastic high-end merchandise available around the new Batman movie. I’d worried for a while that the range would be largely limited to kiddie-friendly action figures, as with Batman Begins, which, aside from a few nice items was limited to figures that didn’t have much, if anything,  to do with the movie. There are still going to be a slew of scarily unrelated figures available, but it’s great to see the serious stuff is going to be available too. The Dark Knight has never looked better. How about a Joker one too please?

THE 2008 MCFARLANE TOYS RANGE...

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the motherlode. McFarlane have unveiled their range for 2008, and there are definitely some treats in store. Let’s cast an eye over some of the stuff to get excited about…

NEW SPAWN FIGURES

Todd’s perennial creator-owned antihero is back once again with a slew of new figure ranges, including SPAWN 33- THE AGE OF PHAROAHS, SPAWN 34- SPAWN CLASSICS (hell yes, these are always cool) and SPAWN 35- ROBOTS. Huh? Robots? Didn’t McF already do these with the Cyber Units and their various repaints? I want to see these things pretty damn soon, as the Spawn figures, even when only tentatively linked to the comic that spawned them (sorry, it just slipped out) are damn good action figures. I doubt Todd will let us down. The ‘Classics’ range is going to offer some old favourites again, including a WINGS OF REDEMPTION figure, which was fantastic in both editions we had in, and I’m looking forward to getting the feathery critter back in.

MCFARLANES MILITARY

There’s new ranges of military goodies on the way, both in 3 inch and 6 inch figure formats. I’m not too sure of the 3 inch figures, as smaller scale items tend not to have the same level of work put into their sculpts, or indeed their planning in the first place. The seventh set of the full size figures is going to be great though. The attention to detail in every previous set has been admirable, and no doubt this new one will replicate the success of the previous ones.

An interesting development for the range is the forthcoming WORLD WAR II figures. That’s more like it. WWII themed merchandise is going to have a much wider audience than the usual US themed military stuff. Sure, the McF WW2 range will probably concentrate on US soldiers, but it will still garner more interest from enthusiasts.

HALO 3

Yeah, you read that right. Listed on their 2008 range is a selection of officially licensed HALO 3 figures, and its about damn time too, as I’m rather sick of not knowing when or where they’ll turn up. The first series are due to hit in MARCH, and will consist of Master Chief (red paint variant), Cortana, Brute Chieftain, Jackal Sniper, Grunt, and Spartan Soldier. There’s a bunch of other HALO goodies on the way too, which I shall cover next time, along with some of the other goodies Mcfarlane Toys have on the way, such as the WARRIORS OF THE ZODIAC, DRAGONS SERIES 8 and more.

It’s certainly going to be a great year of new products from McFarlane, who, aside from the odd dud figure, are consistently fantastic. More on their new stuff very soon.