Tag: mezco

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Toys & Collectibles

Peek-O-De Gallo: Mezco’s Gus Fring Limited Collectible

mezco toyz. breaking bad, bobbleheads, amc series, better call saul, gustavo fring, giancarlo esposito
Mezco Toyz’ Gustavo Fring collectors figure cinches up his tie for the last time
Buzzed…
OK, I admit to being one of the few who actually enjoyed “The Fly” episode of AMC’s Breaking Bad series. The Poe-like plot of obsession fondly reminded me of a Steve Ditko strip from an early Creepy magazine, with the character being equally hounded by a mosca-terrible.

All Guss-ied Up…
That said, I think anyone would agree that the best visual in the entire series is drug lord and fast food chicken king Gustavo Fring’s emergence from an explosive meeting with Don Hector Salamanca. That series defining moment, as the fastidious Fring straightens his tie one last time, is captured in plastic for posterity by Mezco Toyz’ 3 inch collector figure. Gustavo, as portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito, is available now in two flavors, standard and slightly scorched and comes with a mini-bucket of his Pollos Hermanos batter fried chicken.

mezco toyz. breaking bad, bobbleheads, amc series, better call saul, gustavo fring, toy fair 2015
“Test Shot” Gus is Mezco’s Toy Fair 15 Limited Edition specialty item.

Fring Fling…
Mezco Toyz has cooked up a batch of limited edition Gus’s to commemorate the Toy Association’s 2015 New York International Toy Fair and the company kindly gave us a peek at them as part of a special preview event. These one time preproduction mold quality checks or “test shots” have the character’s head and hands produced in white plastic and it’s blister pack mounted on unprinted card. Although Toy Fair is an industry only event and the limited edition earmarked for select attendees, Mezco is making a few of these extremely rare items available to collectors through the webstore. Your chance to preorder is a click away.
mezco toyz. breaking bad, bobbleheads, amc series, better call saul
Mezco Toyz’ “Breaking Bad” Bobbleheads

SkeletonPete Says…
With AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, poised to keep the franchise afloat, Mezco is at the ready with an array of licensed action figures, bobble heads, and ephemera available and in the works.

More to Come…
Mezco’s Toy Fair preview event offered us look at their entire line of new and announced collectibles and included a hands-on session with the first One:12 Collective Dark Knight Batman figures. Keep posted here in the next few days for more information and photos of these neat treats.

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Toys & Collectibles

Dredd Locked & Loaded: Mezco Reveals One:12 Street Judge

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Mezco Toyz Offers Judgement in One Twelve Scale. (Image Courtesy of Mezco Toyz)
Here Comes The Judge…
Hot on the heels of their One:12 Collective Dark Knight Returns Batman action figure Mezco Toyz keeps the gears grinding with the announcement of an equally stupendous Judge Dredd on the horizon.

mezco toyz, judge dread, one:12 collective, action figures
A Riot of Gear is Included with the One:12 Scale Judge (Photo Courtesty of Mezco Toyz)

mezco toyz, judge dredd, one:12 collective, action figuresThese Boots are made for Stomping…
Like the Frank Miller based Batman, the digitally sculpted character closely adheres to comic book portrayal and features a real fabric uniform with working zipper. Mezco lists a treasure trove of accessories and interchangeable parts to keep things interesting in play and on display.
Here’s their breakdown:
The One:12 Collective Judge Dredd features:
– Iconic helmet with translucent visor
– Real leather-like fabric uniform
– Equipment belt with working compartments for grenades and ammo magazine
– Boots with holster and knife sheath
– Boot knife
– Handcuffs
– Lawgiver pistol
– Lawgiver ammo magazine
– Daystick
– Two grenades
– One set of fists
– One gun/holding hand
– One open hand
– One pointing hand
– One choking hand
– Display base and posing post

The deluxe easy removal collector’s box gives you the best of both worlds for display and archival purposes.Pre-orders can be placed here.

judge dredd, rebellion, maga collection
Spruce Up Your Bookshelf with this Dredd Mega Collection from Rebellion.

Street Fighting Man…
For print fans, the UK’s Rebellion/2000 AD is keeping collectors knee deep in Dredd, with their upcoming Mega-Collection. Here’s how they describe it.

“With stories that have never before been reprinted, The Mega Collection will give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the development of classic characters, scenes and storylines with specially commissioned feature content exploring Dredd’s world, interviews with the creators and previously unseen sketches and designs.

This is the definitive collection of Judge Dredd and his world, packaged in beautifully produced hardback editions whose spines, once assembled, form a special brand new image that will bring the law to any fan’s bookshelves.”

Gotham, on order…
We reported on the awesome Batman One:12 a while back, but here’s a few extra images from Mezco’s New York Comic Con booth to enjoy.

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The One:12 Dark Knight is Fully Equipped to Tackle Crime in Gotham City.

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Toys & Collectibles

New World Ardor… Living Dead Dolls Celebrate A Record Breaking Sweet Sixteen

Mezco Toyz, Living Dead Dolls Series 27. (L to R) Mephistopheles, The Banshee, Milu, Spring-Heeled Jack and The Hopping Vampire
Mezco Toyz, Living Dead Dolls Series 27. (L to R) Mephistopheles, The Banshee, Milu, Spring-Heeled Jack and The Hopping Vampire

Sweet Sixteen and Never Been Kissed, Any Wonder?…
2014 marks the sixteenth anniversary of Mezco Toyz’ Living Dead Dolls line. This milestone makes these creepy creations the longest continually produced series of horror themed dolls on the planet. Mezco’s Mike Drake informed me that the company will be honored for this world record at the Toy Industry Association’s 111th Annual American International Toy Fair which begins in New York City in just a couple of days.

The outre, coffin encased, dollies are the brainchild of Ed Long, Damien Glonek, and “Mez” Markowitz, whose artistic imagination must be commended on this long run of sardonic but fun characters. Damien notes, “I couldn’t be happier with the support and dedication our fans have given us throughout the years. The dolls have taken on a life of their own…” As for their inception, “There was never a thought out plan when we first started. Living Dead Dolls was built upon a do what we like attitude and it grew into something beyond our wildest expectations.”

Living Dead Dolls Series 27…
A world record calls for a world vision and so for Series 27 the creators have set their nets wide and come up with a cosmopolitan collection of characters of myth and legend. 

Spring Heeled Jack – The Victorian urban legend of penny dreadful fame that terrorized London. A creeper and a leaper.

The Banshee – The Irish fairy who heralds death with her mournful wail. If she sits with you for a pint of Guinness be sure your life insurance policy is paid up.

Milu – The Polynesian goddess and guardian of the land of the dead. Mess with this Tiki temptress and you won’t be drinking piña coladas at Trader Vic’s for long. She’ll fill you full of flys and feed you to her pet lizards.

The Hopping Vampire – The life force absorbing Jiangshi of pan-asian folklore and popular film series.

Mephistopheles – The devilish trickster and adversary of Goethe’s Faust. Sign on the dotted line at your own risk.

In addition, Colonial America will get it’s due with a Headless Horseman LDD, complete with malevolent looking pumpkin noggin, and Series 1 character Posey, comes back from the undead in a ghostly white special edition.

Mezco's LDD Creature is still in the working stages, but promises to be a real collector's treat.
Mezco’s LDD Creature is still in the working stages, but promises to be a real collector’s treat.

SkeletonPete Says…
Also announced, though not on display at Mezco’s early reveal, is an LDD version of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It will join the already available Frankenstein, Bride of, and Dracula dolls. It’s going to be a must own for creach fans like myself. The still to be approved prototype is pictured in Mezco’s 2014 Toy Fair catalog and it is already too cool to pass up.

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Toys & Collectibles

Mama Weer All Crazee Now: Mezco Completes Pyscho Trio

Mezco Toyz' Adds Norman's Mother to Their Psycho Selection
Mezco Toyz’ Adds Norman’s Mother to Their Psycho Selection

Get Your Motor Running…
The good folks at Mezco Toyz revved up their engines for this month’s American International Toy Fair with a special press peek at their upcoming offerings. The company is not only celebrating the sweet sixteenth birthday of their Living Dead Doll Series but has announced a Sons of Anarchy figure and collectible line for release in summer of 2014. The advance viewing was a perfect opportunity to get some unfettered photos of this newest Mezco merch especially an unexpected Psycho treat.

Norman’s Mom Has Got It Goin’ On…

"Mad Moma" Norman Bates Gets the Mezco LLD Spin
“Mad Moma” Norman Bates Gets the Mezco LLD Spin

After focusing on the Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad characters, I peered across the room in Mezco’s sanctum sanctorum for an unexpected surprise. Perched on a display shelf, comfy in her rocking chair and shawl, sat Mother, the desiccated grande dame of the Bates family. The wonderfully creepy creation is rendered as a “roto-plush,” with molded cast hands, feet and head and a plush body, like dolls of old. She perfectly compliments the Norman and Victim dolls released last year. She’ll be ready for release this coming summer. Keep your Raggedy Ann away from the shower stall.

Mommy To Mummy…
Karloff's 1932 Mummy is the Next Universal Monster Emerging from Mezco in June 2014.
Karloff’s 1932 Mummy is the Next Universal Monster Emerging from Mezco in June 2014.

Not far from Mother stood her Universal Pictures kin, the equally shriveled Karloffian Mummy. The Mummy is the third in Mezco’s effective angular stylization of the classics. Frankenstein’s Monster and The Creature from the Black Lagoon are currently available with The Mummy slated for June of this year. Still in the works and pending design approval is Mezco’s Creature from the Black Lagoon Living Dead Doll.

SkeletonPete Says…
I expect to post a full gallery of images from Mezco’s Toy Fair preview on Thursday, including Living Dead Dolls Series 27 featuring “Myths and Legends from Around the World,” Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Axe Cop, 1966 Batman villains Mez-itz, and more.

I’ve also been meaning to share some fun “beauty shots” of the all white “test shot” Creature from the Black Lagoon I scored at the Mezco sale last summer.

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Toys & Collectibles

Vault of Horror: Mezco Turns the Key for Collectors

Jason in a Colorfully Out of Character "Test Shot."
Jason in a Colorfully Out of Character “Test Shot.”

Hot off the Mez-itz 1966 Batmobile bash at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Odditorium, Mezco Toyz held their first “vault sale.” The two day event was split between an August 15th by-invitation only media and sales gathering, while day two was an open to the public event. Archive items, including many pre-production tests lined the walls of the Mezco’s Long Island City facility. The vault clearing unearthed an array of unique and out of production items. These behind-the-scenes curios represented franchises like Hellboy, Friday The Thirteenth, A Nightmare on Elmstree, Halloween, Thundercats, and Universal Monsters.
Bits and Pieces: Various Cinema of Fear Test Shots
Bits and Pieces: Various Cinema of Fear Test Shots

Parts Is Parts…
Perusing the room on arrival was a sensory overload of all manner of production oddities. Mold “test shots” tend to be created with whatever plastics are currently in the machines, so the outcomes can range from unusual to outright psychedelic, like a headless paisley Leatherface. Cardboard boxes harbored bloody Benecio wolfman samples, bits of Michael Myers, and a headless 18” Abe Sapien with several variations on his noggin sitting at his feet. There were multi-colored collections of limbs, torsos, heads, and weapons from Mezco’s Cinema of Fear series, Heroes, Kick Ass, and of course Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls peered up malevolently from their coffins.

Several “paint masters” were also available. These are used as color and finish control guides during production. The trio of “Scream Grab” paint masters were really exceptional, and I came very close to adding them to my collection. I did however treat myself to a birthday present and scored a beautiful all white Creature from the Black Lagoon test shot. He’s waiting for his close-up and I’ll present him in a future post.

In addition to the more esoteric test shots, another part of the room was stacked with boxes of long out of production collectibles like Scarface, The Notorious B.I.G., and some Hot Topic exclusives.

Fan Favorite Tiffany, aka Mrs. Chucky, gets the Living Dead Doll Treatment
Fan Favorite Tiffany, aka Mrs. Chucky, gets the Living Dead Doll Treatment

Spiked, Not Impaled…
During an onsite SPIKE TV interview Mezco’s Director of Special Projects Mike Drake noted that licensing choices where less than an exact science, but staff favorites, such as the line of Breaking Bad products, has often paid off. The exclusive hazmat suited, fly swatter toting, Walter White figurine drew long lines of customers at the recent San Diego Comic Con. Alternately, fan requests can be the catalyst like the just announced Living Dead Doll version of Tiffany, The Bride of Chucky.

In informal conversation I asked Drake if it was hard to watch so many one-of-a-kind artifacts leave the archive. He told me that the Mezco decided it was better to have these rarities in the hands of collectors who truly cherish their uniqueness rather than boxed away and so the vault sale was formulated.

Several Flavors of Hellboy's Abe Sapien
Several Flavors of Hellboy’s Abe Sapien

SkeletonPete Says…
Mezco’s press release noted that, “Test Shots usually end up on public display at such institutions as The Museum Of The Moving Image, Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, or others. This is the only time the vault has ever been opened and multiple test shots made available to the public.” Despite their museum display level of rarity items were priced to sell and lucky collectors scooped up box loads in minutes.

I was really glad PiercingMetal Editor Ken Pierce – a longtime toy collector himself – and I arrived early as it afforded me the opportunity to document these uncommon goodies before they were whisked away.

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