One Sculpting Studio revealed for new FUNimation/Irwin toyco!
From Figures.com:New Dragonball Z toys by IF to receive a “grittier” look by Toxic Mom!
In a move much like Mattel’s upcoming, new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line, it has been revealed that ONE of the sculpting studios behind these new toys will be Toxic Mom’s Studio.
Ralph Cordero from Toxic Mom explains that “The characters we did for IF toys are Dragonball Z related- Lord Slug (a Deluxe figure) and a new Bulma in battle attire for a new wave of toys that Funimation is designing and having sculpted by U.S. talent. The Protos are then sent to Irwin for fabrication. The new Dragonball (Z) figures are going to be a lot more grittier and Mcfarlanesque (a phrase we are hearing alot more these days,) companies are really into the anime line he (Todd McFarlane) put out and it seems to be a mainstay of art direction for the stateside toy producers.”
Not familiar with Toxic Mom’s Studio? The company is known for alot of work for Resaurus, such as Speed Racer Series 2 (Inspector Detector), and unrealesed Gex figures (Pirate Skeleton, Sarge and Mooshoo Pork to name some- accessories, TV and such, were done by the model makers at Resaurus). The company is also currently behind High Dream’s upcoming Tekken Tag Vinyl Figures.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 31, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Irwin 9" Collector's Edition Figs at Target
Toyquester Brian Mitchell has sent in scanned images of the new 9” Collector’s Edition figures, which he got at Target in Southern Florida. Between these, the new vehicles, the Secret Saiyans and the Striking Z Fighters, it seems that Irwin is trying to blitzkrieg the market with DBZ.
If only they could finally make it to KY, all would be right with the world (short of those war, hunger, and disease dilemmas).
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 30, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Irwin Toys Has Special DBZ CCG Cards!
Irwin Toys will be releasing a special line of Dragon Ball Z action figures in late August.
Inside of each of these action figures is an awesome DBZ CCG exclusive promo card. These promo cards are specially printed for Irwin Toys and can only be found with their action figures. Each card is labeled with a special card number and only two are being released. IR1 is Super Saiyan Goku, which can be found with the Goku action figure and IR2 is Super Saiyan Gohan which can be found with the Gohan action figure. Don’t wait to get your very own Irwin Toy exclusive DBZ CCG promo card!
Source: Beckett Dragonball Z Collector
Comments (1) | Bookmark this entry | July 30, 2001 | Jess Horsley
New FUNimation/Irwin Toyco - Update
We previously linked to an article in Kidscreen magazine about a new joint toyco between Irwin and FUNimation. Here’s an interesting tidbit about this—it seems that in the joint venture, Irwin is bringing, among other things, both its connections to Asain production companies and its pre-existant distribution network, while FUNimation will be the primary creative (conception, sculpting, etc.) and decision-making force behind it. Furthermore, it seems that this new company will be geared a little more towards collectors (i.e. more detailed sculpts, etc.), while still keeping the toys fun for kids. Look for more details in the next few weeks, especially after Wizard World.
Also, one more thing—if you can get your hands on the actual Kidscreen magazine that the Irwin article originally ran in, it contains a full page preview ad for the new company, along with a picture of a new Goku prototype sculpt. Go, hunters—first one to send in a well-scanned copy of this ad gets a prize (well, maybe just a hearty thanks and your name on the site).
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 27, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Attn: Link Submitters
Another exciting chapter for those of you following the soap opera that is my computer:
Having recently formatted and restored everything, I reloaded Norton AV the other day, and found out that in the few days I had had my system up, my e-mail program had caught the plague. The good Dr. Norton attempted to fix it, but to no avail. The virus is gone, but it left a swath of corrupt files in its wake, which have destroyed my ability to send e-mail (for the most part), and have deleted most of my stored mail.
Needless to say, a good chunk of what has been deleted were this past weekend’s link submissions. I’m going to reinstall Eudora (not tonight, it’s late here), but in the meantime, please re-send your links to Despotes@dragonballtoys.com.
Sigh…
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 24, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Striking Z Figures are indeed out!
News from Kappa (who is in Toronto,) that the Striking Z figures are out. They can be found at most Wal-Marts and Toy’s R Us’ across Canada. They should also be able to be spotted at any anime import or comic book shop, however the prices might be a bit inflated.
For pictures of these figures, Check out the Message Board. Thanks to Super Saiyan Triple h}{h for the images.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 23, 2001 |
Link Submissions Closed...
We are accepting no more link submissions at this time. We’ll do another window sometime soon, and I will have the new links up sometime tonight.
Thanks to everyone who sent something in!
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 22, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Link Submissions
Hey folks! It’s time for another link submission window!
If you have a site that you’d like to appear on our Links page, then read the following guidelines, and then send it to the address below.
Please, please, please only send in sites with some original content. I know it’s tough to find a new angle, but honestly, no one cares about the same old info. Also, no fansub sites, or sites that steal images or layout from others. That pretty much covers it.
Please put “Link Submission” as your e-mail subject, otherwise your submission will be ignored.
Send your link submissions to despotes@dragonballtoys.com. The window will close sometime Sunday night, so if you’ve been waiting patiently for your chance, here it is.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 21, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Secret Saiyans and Striking Z Fighters
New release information:
The Secret Saiyan Warriors are now available for $13.90 each at the Dragonball Z Specialty Store. Do those images look familiar—nah, surely not. :) Thanks to Cory Scanlon for sending that in.
Also, I’ve been getting reports from different sources that say that the Striking Z Fighters have been found at Wal-Mart. The e-mails don’t say if this is Canada or the US, nor has anyone sent images yet, so I am reluctant to declare them “out”. However, keep an eye out for them.
And finally, no, I don’t have a concrete release date for Series 5. I’m guessing people will start finding them any day now, but that’s in no way definite. Unfortunately, I left my oracle at Delphi! Hah! Heh, heh… not a lot of Greeks in the crowd today, are there?
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 19, 2001 | Jess Horsley
HUGE Irwin news, interesting article
Some interesting news from Kidscreen Magazine. It would seem that Irwin will be spinning off the Dragonball Z line into an independent toy company that will also make figures for Yu-Yu Hakasho and Blue Gender.
Irwin has also entered into a joint-venture with FUNimation to launch a new toyco that will specialize in developing toys based on FUNimation’s properties, which include the Dragon Ball Z movie brand and anime properties Yu-Yu Hakasho and Blue Gender. The as-yet-unnamed toyco, of which Irwin owns 50%, is expected to launch later this year.
The article also serves as an interesting look into Irwin’s history all the way from the beginning. A good read for all who are interested.
It should be interesting to see how Irwin spins off Dragonball Z from their main line into a new line with FUNimation. Thanks to Jeff Cope for the heads up.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 18, 2001 |
Play Cards? Win a Bust!
That’s right. If your into the Dragonball Z CCG and plan on attending the San Diego Comic Con International(July 17-21), The World Dragonball Z Championship Tournament(August 2-5) or the WizardWorld Championship Tournament(August 17-19) you could be walking out with some early released mini busts.
The two busts that will be available for prizes are the exclusive Future Trunks and Imperfect Cell from Georgia Music. These two busts would make a great prize, so for anyone attending, Good Luck!
Check out Palisades web site for more. If you need locations for these places, E-Mail Me and I will give them to you.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 13, 2001 |
I'm on vacation, dammit!
Folks—I’m on vacation! Please quit sending e-mail until next Monday! Any e-mail I receive before next Monday will be promptly deleted without being read. If something is super-earth-shatteriingly important, then tell either Kappa or Loki, and they will take care of you.
BTW—Loki, Kappa, you’re welcome. ;-)
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 11, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Irwin Toy Massive Update!
Well It would seem that Irwin Toys has finally updated their website, hosting released prototypes of the 9’ Goku, some new releases of the Die Cast Figures (witch don’t seem as wretched as the first set) and The 5” Prototypes for Series 5.
Also Irwin has finally decided to release pictures of the prototypes for the “Time Capsule” and Trunks, “The Skybike” and the “Jet Momonga”.
I suggest you swing by to see the new layout and take a gander at the new releases from Irwin.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 10, 2001 |
Secret Saiyan Warrior Figures!
Good news—the new Irwin Secret Saiyan Warriors are out!
I’m guessing they won’t be available everywhere for weeks, but begin your searches. Mike Lemay, the coolest guy in the world right now, has sent images of them in their packaging. Check out Trunks, Vegeta, Gohan, and Goku!
Also—I’m heading out for my honeymoon in the morning. I’ll be checking in on the site, but not answering e-mail (big change, I know). Be good while I’m gone, or Kappa will hunt you down.
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 08, 2001 | Jess Horsley
Chapel Bells!
Hey folks—your favorite webmaster (no, not that guy! Me!) is getting married today at 6:00 pm. Everything is going relatively smoothly, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to make it through intact. :-)
Needless to say, I won’t be updating for the next week—we’re headed out to the West Coast, and I won’t be back until Sunday. I’ll probably check in from time to time, but I won’t be doing any content updates until I get back.
Later!
Comments (0) | Bookmark this entry | July 06, 2001 | Jess Horsley
New Forums!
We’ve added three new forums to the discussion boards, due to popular demand! There is now a separate forum for other anime, in answer to a topic that is now 17(!) pages long. There are also new forums for figure reviews and site questions.
If you haven’t yet checked out our discussion board, then head on over!