Tuesday, July 14, 2015

SDCC 2015: Mondo's Collectibles Own Your Retro Heart

At San Diego Comic-Con last year, Mondo stepped up with an Iron Giant collectible figure that made the top of people's heads blow clean off. Brains....everywhere. This year, Mondo premiered their 1:6th scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a mega-artistic Godzilla statue, MADBALLS and more! This company is quickly becoming the one to watch among toy collectors and grown up geeks with a soft spot for 80's properties, so we sent Ben Delloiacono and Emilie Noetzel to spend some time with Creative Director for Toys/CollectibleBrock Otterbacher at Comic-Con 2015 to get all the details on their latest projects. Take it Ben!


On display were awesome 1/6 scale 11” (because they are shorter!) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collectible figures. All four turtles premiered at the Mondo booth, with 25+ points of articulation, and one of the coolest features included;  removable heads for each turtle! They come with one head that has the Mirage faithful red masks as well a head that has the different colored masks for those more familiar with the cartoon—it’s ok... I needed a reminder too as to why they were all wearing red masks. I totally lost nerd cred but still got a hug from Brock all the same because he is both generous and kind. The one exception here is Raphael who comes with his standard cartoon-friendly AND Mirage faithful red mask as well as a head with an unmasked face. The accessories are pretty boss too; unique to each figure will be accessories, their matching weapons of course, throwing stars, grappling hooks, as well as items taken from each turtle’s specific story lines. For example, there will be an orphan Alien with Michelangelo and a severed Shredder arm with Leonardo. Again, pretty cool.















The suggested retail price will be $150 with a subscription plan in the works where consumers will be able to utilize a deposit system to make buying all four turtles easier, because let’s face it, you’re going to buy all four of them. And because Mondo loves you, if you opt-in for the subscription plan you will get an exclusive Mondo print included! Like I said, you’re going to buy all four of them.

TMNT pre-orders are going to roll out starting with Leonardo in August and then they will stagger about every month afterward in the following order: Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
(As stated HERE, if the turtles sell well enough, Casey Jones, Shredder and a Foot Clan Ninja will follow)

Also on display for Turtles fans was a replica Casey Jones mask and 1/6 scale Mousers. So far these items are not for pre-order, nor could we get a possible release date, but this is what we know. Both items were there pretty much to gauge fan’s excitement to see if they should move forward with production. Now, while this is what we’d like to call a “no-brainer” it’s still the process, and you must respect the process. Must. Accept. The. Process. So, yeah, the totally BOSS Casey Jones mask is apparently “not recommended” to be worn and I was told it will be “recommended for display only” but between you and me, you could totally wear it! Like ‘round the house whilst doing laundry, mopping the kitchen, or planning a high society jewel heist. There will probably be minimal changes to the leather pieces on the replica mask but other than that, what you see is what will be available. As per the Mousers, well, I can’t say for sure, but I have it on good authority that the models on display would be something akin to a “test” with the possibility for larger models coming later.





LIFE SIZE MOUSERS WOULD RULE!!!- the editor

A surprise to most fans at the show were amazingly sculpted Madballs! If you’re not familiar with the Madballs,  they were a line of foam ball-head characters released at the height of the “gross-out” humor craze of the mid-80s. The original series of Madballs! consisted of eight ball-head characters (I just like saying “ball-head”) and Mondo showed us the first three; Skull Face, Horn Head, and Slobulus. These are most emphatically not the foam balls of the 80s. Mondo will use a higher quality soft-vinyl resin and show off far more detail in their sculpts. Most noteworthy for me was the paint and color. These things really pop and express the original aesthetic and nostalgia of the pieces with an exceptionally detailed paint job. They’re somewhat grosser looking now! And as per Madballs! ...gross = cool.



The target will be for a mass-market release format (you’ll be able to pre-order them this Fall) with a suggested retail price between $10 to $15. There are hopes of doing the rest of the series in the future (Dear Mondo, do Aargh! next, please). The coolest hint and news associated with this preview... if the Madballs! line goes over well, there is the possibility of creating a new “Mondo Balls” line! That’s right, all the licenses and characters that Mondo has to work with, their signature artistry, all in ball form—all the things you love and crave about Mondo in a form that can be the centerpiece of any collection and also be thrown at little brothers. This is gonna be super cool!

Mondo’s reputation for combining fan-art, pop-art, and high-art is now bringing this signature aesthetic to sculpture and statues and I am all for it! Hey, remember, that Phatom City/Mondo Godzilla print from 2013? Well, now it’s three-dimensional. The recreation of the artwork, where Godzilla is morphing from the rubble of Tokyo, is stunning with it’s blacks and greys and a hint of red reflecting off the base. This is a mind-blowing recreation. We are told this was a prototype and the final product might change, but I have it on good authority that what was on display is what you’ll be able to pre-order in the Fall. They’re still working out the suggested price, but I’m glad nothing on the actual piece will change... this thing is beautiful.



SCOTT PILGRIM!! Awesome movie, killer comic but sadly, very little collectibles to love and hug and cuddle on those cold nights. Now Mondo cranks out this 9 inch Ramona Flowers figure in her comic book design, celebrating all that is bad ass in the woman that makes Scott stutter. Ramona has limited articulation and comes packed with her bat and hammer. The bag with Scott peeking out is part of the Mondo exclusive. The regular version will have her regular bag. This is planned as a stand alone piece...unless fans throw money like crazy...and then sky's the limit, as always.




Last up we visit our big red hero, Hellboy! Mondo had their 1st Hellboy statue on display at Comic-Con, but beside it was a curious lil guy with a powerful hunger for pamcakes! The Baby Hellboy figure is meant to be in a 1:6th scale...which is to say he would be in scale with a full sized 1:6th scale comic styled Hellboy...if someone were to make such a thing. The Mondo exclusive edition will come with a little crown for this tiny king of hell. Adorable.




A quick note on Hitchcock: Mondo says the project is still ON and we'll know more about it in the Fall. That is all!

Click HERE for news on Mond's Masters of the Universe 1:6th scale action figures, premiering at MondoCon!

Entertainment Earth

No comments :

Post a Comment