Hot Toys "Predators" 1/6th scale Noland Collectible Figure PREVIEW

Hot Toys is proud to present their latest Movie Masterpiece Series figure – MMS163 1/6th scale Noland Collectible Figure from the "Predators" movie. The movie-accurate Noland collectible is specially crafted based on his image in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt, highly detailed helmet, specially sculpted body armor and weapons.

Hot Toys MMS163 Predators: 1/6th scale Noland Collectible Figure Specification. The 1/6th scale Noland Collectible Figure specially features: Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Laurence Fishburne as Noland in the Predators movie; Approximately 30 cm tall; Over 30 points of articulations; Newly developed head sculpt and body armor; Six (6) pieces of interchangeable palms including: One (1) pair of fists, One (1) pair of relaxed palm, One (1) right palm for holding axe, One (1) right palm for holding spear or laser gun

Costume: One (1) grey shirt, One (1) khaki tee, One (1) pair of camouflage patterned pants, One (1) pair of brown boots

Weapons: One (1) laser gun, One (1) ax, One (1) extendable spear

Accessories: Newly-developed detachable helmet with leather-like materials, Leather-like skirt with waist band, One (1) pair of forearm armor with extendable blades on right hand side, Specially sculpted armor on shoulder, chest, waist, thighs and legs. Figure stand with Noland nameplate and the movie logo

1/6 scale Laurence Fishburne as Noland head sculpt

Release date: Q1 2012
Artists: Head Sculpted by Noh Sung Woon, Head Painted by JC.Hong, Head Art Directed by Yulli
Accessories Sculpted by Joseph Tsang, Kouhei Okui & Cha Tae Jin
Accessories Painted by Lalla
**Prototype shown, final product may be slightly different

Milk Magazine 10th Anniversary Hot Toys Iron Man 2 1/6 War Machine Special Version Preview

Here are some pictures of the very limited Hot Toys and Milk Magazine collaboration for Milk magazine's 10th Anniversary: a special edition Hot Toys Iron Man 2 1/6 scale War Machine collectible figure. This is the classic color scheme as seen in the Marvel comics. Celebrating Milk Magazine’s 10th Anniversary, Milk X Hot Toys proudly presents the upcoming Iron Man 2 War Machine 1:6 scale action figure.

Now you can officially say that Hot Toys is really MILKing it :D haha. Hot Toys has done so many different variants of Iron Man that I've lost count altogether and now they have even gone and made variants of War Machine when all they did is repaints on the same molds and then sell them for a handsome profit. And there are people who will go out and pay the exorbitant price for this limited edition Iron Man 2: War Machine figure because they want one of everything that Hot Toys has to offer, thus proving once again to Hot Toys that as long as they dare to price it, there will be people who will be foolish enough to buy it!

So Hot Toys will keep churning out all these Iron Man repaints as variant figures and forget about their other unfinished licenses which they have acquired because this Iron Man series of figures alone is enough to make them laugh their way to the bank at collectors' expense.

I am most happy with my regular movie-accurate version of the Hot Toys Iron Man 2 War Machine, so this is an easy pass for me. If we keep feeding the cash cow, it'll only keep growing bigger and more bloated and all we're gonna get is bullshit and cow dung :( There have been a lot of quality issues with Hot Toys products lately as seen in the forums and facebook (Indiana Jones that look nothing like Harrison Ford, Superman with crooked 'S' and cracks plus other issues with Captain America) and who do we blame for all these? Scalpers who see the opportunity to make a quick buck from buying and reselling at a much higher price to desperate collectors who just want a piece of everything as long as there's a Hot Toys EXCLUSIVE sticker pasted onto the box AND Hot Toys for not caring about genuine collectors but only want to rush out as many products as possible so that they can quickly fill up their big fat bank accounts. They are just encouraging the crazy grabbing and snatching because it only jacks up the price and perceived value of their products. Who loses? We genuine collectors who only collect out of passion, not caring about investment value. Those who buy at X amount and hope to sell at Y amount are NOT collectors, they are investors. They buy low and sell high. Some of them don't even look at what is inside the box. They prefer MISB (Mint In Sealed Box) and they hog the product till the price is high, then they sell.

My maxim is: Collect what you LIKE and ENJOY what you have :) Just be HAPPY with what you've got NOW. Don't live life with regrets (Questions like: "Why didn't I buy that version?" "Why did I buy that older version and now a newer version / re-release is out?" "Why can't I ever be satisfied?") As long as we are always chasing after something, we'll never be satisfied because there'll always be something else to chase after. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Life's like that! So stop chasing and start enjoying.

This limited edition Hot Toys x Milk Magazine 1:6 scale War Machine figure is certainly nice to have if the price is right but since it's not going to be the case, I'm not going to be miserable or empty my bank and wallet just so I can have this figure, it's just not worth it. Life is full of many other things worth having and the most important ones are intangible :)

Enjoy the pictures all the same. Maybe we'll see a Gundam version Iron Man or War Machine very soon. Or perhaps a Joker Iron Man / War Machine. I've seen it done on facebook and the result is pretty amazing so you never know. This is certainly an interesting treatment to War Machine in keeping true and accurate to the Marvel Comics version.

Something nice to look at and not altogether movie-accurate. First reaction when seen by people who don't know Hot Toys or the exclusivity of this product will be: "What's that supposed to be? That isn't the War Machine we all saw in Iron Man 2. That's totally wrong. WHAT?! How much did you say you paid for it? Did you add another zero to the price by mistake because all I see is a WRONG-looking War Machine and I think you paid way too much for a cheap knock-off of War Machine. Doesn't even look like the one I saw in the movie."

You can explain all you want that this is a very limited edition and one-of-a-kind but most people wouldn't understand why you fork out so much moolah for something that doesn't resemble what it is supposed to be i.e. Iron Man 2 War Machine! Aren't we so caught up with all the exclusives that we forgot why we first bought a Hot Toys figure? It was because it was a MOVIE MASTERPIECE and the best looking movie-accurate figure there was!

Hot Toys 1/6 Iron Monger Limited Edition Collectible Figure

Hot Toys is proud to present the 1/6th scale Iron Monger Limited Edition Collectible Figurine from the Iron Man movie. The movie-accurate Iron Monger collectible is highly detailed, specially crafted based on the image in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt of Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, well equipped armor, light-up functions and weapons.

Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series MMS164 Iron Man: 1/6th scale Iron Monger Limited Edition Collectible Figurine Specifications: Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Iron Monger, featuring the likeness of Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane in the Iron Man movie, Approximately 17.5 inches / 44 cm tall with Over 60 points of articulations, Specially painted armor with steel feeling, One (1) pair of palms with improved articulations, movable fingers and light-up repulsors (white light, battery operated), LED-lighted eyes and micro ARC reactor (white light, battery operated), Chest can be opened for revealing the Obadiah Stane’s head sculpt

Weapons: One (1) rotating machine gun on right arm with LED-light, One (1) mini-rocket launchers on left arm with LED-light, One (1) cannon launcher on left shoulder

Accessories: Two (2) pairs of boot jets attachable to the back of armor on left and right legs for Flying Mode

Artists: Head Sculpted by Kojun, Head Painted by JC. Hong, Head Art Directed by JC. Hong
**Prototype shown, final product may be slightly different
**Battery included for collectible figure, button cells (a total of 9 pieces) are required
**The figure body cannot be taken out from the armor
Release date: Q2, 2012

Hot Toys: 1/6th scale Hall of Armor collectible

Just like Sidehshow Collectibles, Hot Toys is also moving into the movie props business and their latest offering is the 1/6th scale Tony Stark's Hall of Armor collectible, most suitable for their extended Iron Man line of 12-inch collectible figures. These are the display cases we see in the Iron Man movies where Tony Stark parks his armor figures when they are not in use. Obviously he has more than one and that just means that you have to buy one for every Iron Man figure you collect if you want to use this to display your Iron Man figures.

If these look vaguely familiar to you or the images gave you a sense of déjà vu, it's because another company had already put out similar images on the internet. Oribi Custom had released pictures of their Action Figure Display Stage just about a week earlier before Hot Toys released their pictures for preview. 

No pricing has been released yet and everyone is waiting with bated breath to see how much these are going to cost and how much they'll be set back by buying display cases for their Hot Toys 1/6 scale Iron Man figures. So what do we do? Spend money to buy display cases or buy more 1/6 figures instead? If money is not an issue, then we'll buy both and two of everything BUT most of us do have limited budgets and all these just adds to the decision-making process. In the end, just be happy with what you have :) You really can't have everything and if you find yourself chasing after everything (the things you don't have) instead of enjoying the things you do have, you will never be satisfied and never happy. Where's the FUN in that? 

Something is wrong with the picture above right? Tony Stark never did recover the Mark I from the desert and I don't recall seeing the Mark I armor being displayed in his premises. I suppose Hot Toys just wanted to show us that you can display the Mark I inside the Hall of Armor if you so choose as most of us will feel that the Mark I is in fact wider than all the versions that came after it. Even then, it looks to be a rather tight fit and the next question is: What do we do about War Machine? Hot Toys Hall of Armor display cases don't seem to be tall enough.

Ford Evos Concept

As most of you will probably remember, Ford held the world premiere of its new Evos concept model at the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September.

Now, interested parties in the U.S. will finally get their chance to see the four-door study at the car’s North American debut, which will take place during the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show from November 18 through 27.

While Ford has no intention to produce the Evos, what makes this concept special is that it previews the Detroit-based company’s new global design language that will find its way on series production models starting from next year.

The study also provides a glimpse at Ford's future technological solutions highlighted by the use of cloud computing that interacts with the driver and his needs.

“The car gets to know you and can act as a personal assistant to handle some of the usual routines of a daily commute,” explains Paul Mascarenas, Ford chief technical officer and leader of the company’s global Research and Innovation team.

“The Evos Concept changes the paradigm of how you interact with your car. Our vision is that the car should seamlessly adapt to the driver taking the driving experience to a whole new level of personalization and convenience,” he adds.

The 4.5m (177-in.) long prototype is powered by a lithium-ion plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrain that includes a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle gasoline engine.

Ralph Fiennes Gets Bloody on UK Poster for Shakespeare 'Coriolanus'

We've already seen a stylish poster and a fantastic trailer from across the pond for the modern-day set adaptation of William Shakespeare's 17th century play Coriolanus, but now director and star Ralph Fiennes looks even more intimidating than his turn as Lord Voldemort in a new quad poster from the United Kingdom. With dried blood all over his face, it's clear that Coriolanus (Fiennes) has seen some brutal military action. This looks like it could be the most successful contemporary Shakespeare adaptation since Baz Luhrmann's take on Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. See the poster below!

Here's the UK quad poster for Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus courtesy of Empire:

A banished hero of Rome, Coriolanus (Fiennes), allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.

Coriolanus is directed by British Oscar nominated actor Ralph Fiennes, who's making his directorial debut. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, from the early 17th century, with a screenplay by John Logan (Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, Sweeney Todd, Rango, Hugo). The was filmed in Serbia and Montenegro, with The Weinstein Company distributing in the US. Coriolanus is currently scheduled for a limited theatrical release starting on December 2nd later this year. Look good?