Check out more of this line here, at www.underworldfigures.com; they’re taking pre-orders on October 12th.

The Bridge Direct is a new company into the 3.75″ and 6″ action figure market and they are making a big splash with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Having their first releases linked with a major motion picture is a big first step for the company. I’ve been eagerly awaiting these as I’ve wanted a fantasy based line of 3.75″ figures for a long time, and having it be part of a movie I’m looking forward to is an added bonus. Being a fan of the books, it’s nice to see the characters come to life, even if most of the line is new (created/used for the movie) compared to the books.

Pictures have been coming out since San Diego Comic Con and they looked impressive. But now is where the rubber meets the road. The figures are in-hand. How does The Bridge Direct do?

The packaging is nice and simple, eye catching but not overpowering. The figure is front and center. The back has a nice little bio on the character. Legolas’ shows the figure as well as a picture of Orlando Bloom as Legolas, helping connect it to the movie. Grinnah just shows the figure, which makes me think they are keeping the movie versions of the orcs and goblins under wraps.

Legolas is pictured with a loose arrow, but he doesn’t come with one. That’s a minor complaint as without a string on the bow, it’s hard to hold the arrow in place. Bows are hard to do in the 3.75″ line. I really have yet to see a company do it well, not even Hasbro who has plenty of practice.

There is a lot of detail to the figure, the sculpt is really well done. The bow has some nice detail and it really looks like a carved wooden bow. He comes with the twin daggers that he sported in Lord of the Rings and the quiver has a sheath for them. The daggers fit nicely into the sheath and the quiver fits onto his back tightly. It’s hard to see, but there are golden runes painted onto the daggers.

A complaint is that there is no where to store the bow when he has the daggers out. Another complain, which is a minor one in the grand scheme of things, is that his outfit limits his movement and you can’t take full advantage of the articulation.

And there is a nice amount of it.

He’s got a ball joint head like a G.I. Joe, and really has similar articulation. There is no ankle but there is knee, which can bend and turn. The shoulders, elbow and wrist all move, bending and swiveling.

Like I mentioned, the outfit really gets in the way of the leg movement. I’m not sure what level of articulation, if any, he has at the waist.

This is a very nice looking figure. It feels solid, no bendy plastic feeling. It’s very similar to a G.I. Joe figure. It would have been nice if the outfit had had more cloth goods to allow for more movement. This is Legolas after all, he needs to be able to move. Another minor complaint is that the bow is thicker then the daggers. Putting the bow in hand widens his grip so the dagger won’t bit, but the grip is easily pushed tight again. Overall this is a solid figure.

4 out of 5

Grinnah the Goblin is UGLY! And that’s a compliment. The sculpt on this figure is great. Long and skinny arms, bony fingers, mis-shapened body, lots of misc. bumps and growths. The paint job/sculpt on the skin is excellent. He looks like a monster.

He looks scary.

Grinnah has similar articulation to Legolas. With Grinnah you can see the waist articulation. The legs bend up at the waist and the whole body can swivel around. There’s a lot of articulation to this figure.

He comes with a “spiked whip”, which is what the back of the package calls it. He wears a loincloth, that looks suitably worn and ripped. He also has a couple of ropes wrapped around him, one with a knife sheath.

But just look at this figure again. It’s ugly. The sculpt is amazing on Grinnah.

5 out of 5

These are the only two figures I have in-hand right now, but I definately can’t wait to get more. If the rest of the line is like these, I’ll be buying a lot. I’m already hoping that once The Hobbit movies are done, The Bridge Direct can and will move onto the Lord of the Rings movies (or maybe as a filler line between Hobbits?).

This upcoming western film, written and directed by the legendary Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and more), takes place in the deep south, where a slave-turned-bounty hunter (Jamie Foxx) sets forth to rescue his wife from a brutal but charming plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio).

“We’re very excited to bring the stellar cast of Django to life”, says Joel Weinshanker, President of NECA, “and honored to be working with another Tarantino masterpiece”.

Similar to the retro toy lines that helped define the licensed action figure market in the 1970s this collection will include poseable 8” action figures with tailored western clothing, authentic weapons and accessories, as well as a full apparel and accessories line. Characters included are:

• Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio)
• Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson)
• Django (Jaime Foxx)
• Broomhilda (Kerry Washington)
• Butch (James Remar)
• And Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz)

Initial product launch will begin this November 2012.

Read more: http://necaonline.com/36235/blog/press-releases/announcing-the-django-unchained-product-line-by-neca/#ixzz26Dk1AAu3

By the Power of Grayskull! He-Fans rejoice as Icon Heroes proudly presents this incredible statue of Castle Grayskull! Designed and painted by the biggest Masters of the Universe fans, Nate Baertsch and the Four Horsemen, no detail was overlooked and fans can now show off Castle Grayskull in its entirety with rarely seen parts of the castle. The Castle Grayskull statues measures approximately 9.75″ H x 9″ W x 11″ D

Updated with more pictures. This time we added he individual battles. The battles will come fast and furious when they reach stores later this month! But we’ve got pictures of them in action right now!

We took SFxT Minimates Series 1 and staged a series of battles in different locales, based on the following two-pack combinations:

Ken vs. Steve
Sagat vs. King
Cammy vs. Nina (comic shop and specialty store exclusive)
Poison vs. Lili (comic shop and specialty store exclusive)
Zangief vs. Balrog (Toys “R” Us exclusive)
Guile vs. Raven (Toys “R” Us exclusive)

Learn more about the film on it’s website and check out the first episode on YouTube or below: