Raving Toy Maniac

March 2012 - The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) runs from April 13-15 this year, and once again Diamond Select Toys (DST) will be in attendance! And since it's also the 10th anniversary of Minimates, they've got some great events planned!

First off, Saturday afternoon will bring a special 10th anniversary Minimates panel, focusing on the coming year. From Marvel's Avengers to the Walking Dead to Battle Beasts, Diamond Select Toys representatives will share info about DST's upcoming lines, debut the next stop-motion animated Pirate Raiders movie and give away cool prizes! (1:30 -2:30 PM; Room N427bc)

March 2012 - You saw a sneak peek of them at last month's New York Toy Fair, but now the barn doors have been opened wide! Diamond Comics Distributors has opened up pre-orders for Diamond Select Toys' first wave of Minimates based on the comic book The Walking Dead. Standing 2 inches tall, each 2-inch mini-figure sports 14 points of articulation and comes with interchangeable parts and accessories, including weapons for the human characters and body parts for the zombies. The first assortment of two-packs, due at comic shops and specialty stores in September, includes:

- Rick with Roamer Zombie
- Herd Zombie Two-Pack
- Dale with Roamer Zombie
- Winter Coat Dale with Roamer Zombie (Rare variant)

Pre-order the specialty wave at your local comic shop, specialty store or your favorite online retailer. And keep a sharp lookout for pictures of the Toys "R" Us-exclusive assortment, which should hit stores around the same time!

DST Announces Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Photo Contest! Minimates... Fight!

March 2012 - The second wave of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates minifigures is in stores now, and they're spoiling for a fight! Spider-Man, Chris Redfield, Wolverine, Viewtiful Joe, Crimson Viper, Super Skrull, Jill Valentine and Storm have joined Series 1 on the pegs, which means there are now 24 Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates in all! Even though they're only 2 inches tall, Minimates pack enough articulation, accessories and interchangeable parts to create some crazy fight scenes, so Diamond Select Toys is issuing a challenge -- stage a fight scene between two or more Marvel vs. Capcom Minimates and send us a picture of it! The winner will get a set of Minimates from every Minimates line we make, plus some rare MvC3 prizes!

Rules:

Universal Monsters Minimates Series 3 Scares Up Some New Monsters!

March 2012 - As Diamond Select enters its third year of making officially licensed Universal Monsters toys, they're expanding their Minimates mini-figure line to include a new monster, as well as resurrecting a monster from the vault!

The first specialty-exclusive 4-pack due out this fall is based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Universal's first film adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, released in 1925. It starred Lon Chaney as the abused bellringer Quasimodo, a mute, half-deaf hunchback who lives in the famed Paris cathedral. In the film, Quasimodo is coerced into kidnapping the beggar Esmeralda, which runs him afoul of the smitten Captain Phoebus. That set's characters include Quasimodo, Phoebus and the set-exclusive Esmeralda and "King of Fools" Quasimodo.

March 2012 - The new wave of Minimates mini-figures based on the hit video game Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is in stores now, and they look amazing! Diamond Select Toys wanted to take their product for a test-run, so they threw the entire specialty wave's line-up into the ring one two-pack at a time and took pictures of the fighters facing off. (They even threw in a couple from Wave 1 for good measure.) Each 2-inch mini-figure comes with a display base, and most come with a bunch of additional accessories, so check out the gallery here!

http://www.artasylum.com/gallery/marvel-vs-capcom-series-2/

MvC3 Minimates Series 2 is available in comic shops and specialty stores now -- to find your nearest comic shop, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com! And be on the lookout for more exclusive MvC3 figures coming soon to Toys "R" Us!

March 2012 - The year 2012 may be humanity's last, so why not stop by your local comic shop and pick up your own harbinger of doom? The light-up Ghostbusters Terror Dog Statue hits comic shops today, along with Marvel Minimates Wave 43, focusing on the landmark Spider-Man storyline "The Death of Jean DeWolff," and the Marvel Select Punisher figure! They're only available in comic shops and specialty stores, so read more below, then find your nearest comic shop at comicshoplocator.com!

Ghostbusters: Terror Dog Light-Up Mini-Statue

Amazing Spider-Man Minimates Swing Into Action this Summer!

March 2012 - While one high-profile superhero movie is hogging all the attention right now, another one is waiting in the wings, ready to swoop into the spotlight once it has the summer all to itself. That movie is The Amazing Spider-Man, and it looks like it's going to take the Spider-Man film franchise to a whole new level of action and excitement! Plus, the movie is going to be getting some of Diamond Select's best Minimates mini-figures yet!

Currently celebrating their 10th anniversary, Minimates are 2-inch mini-figures that feature 14 points of articulation as well as a variety of interchangeable parts and accessories. Hitting in June, the Amazing Spider-Man assortment will be shared between Toys "R" Us and specialty stores (the 46th Marvel wave to be sold at specialty!), with each outlet getting its own exclusive Minimates!

Toys "R" Us will get:

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates Wave 2 On Sale!

February 2012 - You've faced Round 1 and lived, now get ready for Round 2! The new batch of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates hits comic shops, online retailers and specialty stores on Wednesday, February 29, and the line-up includes some of the most popular characters from Marvel Comics and the world of Capcom gaming.

- Spider-Man vs. Chris Redfield
- Wolverine vs. Viewtiful Joe
- Super Skrull vs. Crimson Viper (specialty exclusives)
- Storm vs. Jill Valentine (specialty exclusives)

Plus, in the very near future, Toys "R" Us will get their own version of Wave 2, with their own exclusive two-packs:

- Taskmaster vs. Spencer (TRU exclusives)
- Sentinel vs. First Appearance Ryu (TRU exclusives)

Check out the packaging pics here, and look for this wave next week. And if you haven't already, pick up Series 1 now!

February 27, 2012 - It's the 10th anniversary of Minimates, and one of the brand's longest-running lines is about to celebrate its 43rd assortment! Trickling out to retailers now, Wave 43 of Marvel Minimates is entirely based on the "Jean DeWolff Saga" from the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110, written by the now-legendary Peter David.

Diamond Select Toys New York Toy Fair 2012 Round-Up: Mobile Action Xtreme

February 23, 2012 - We've got another batch of pictures from the Diamond Select Toys booth at New York Toy Fair 2012 -- and this time it's Mobile Action Xtreme! The rescue-themed Minimates line is back for a third go-round, and this time it's not Toys "R" Us exclusive -- that's right, MAX is going nationwide! In addition to showing off the third wave (with new Arctic and Night Ops sets, and new Soldier and Smokejumper paint schemes) DST showed off the updated Armored Personnel Carrier (now with battle station conversion) and debuted the second animated episode of Mobile Action Xtreme! Check out the episode and the new toys here! And for more on both, visit Minimates.com!

New episode hosted here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfOK_xqDOaE

First episode is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XZ9ctgRCS8