First Look At Bandai's Thundercat Toys Leak Out Of UK Toy Fair

by Jay Cochran
January 25, 2011
Despite having big "No Pictures" signs all over the place, someone over at Thundercats Lair has snuck out some images of the new Thundercat toys from Bandai. We won't re-post them here for obvious reasons, but if you want to check them out then you can by clicking here.

From the look of the images there appears to be 3.75"-4" figures featuring Tigra, Lion-O, Cheetara and Panthro along with a new Thundertank toy and a Thunder Lynx. There is also a role-play Sword Of Omens toy on display as well.

There also appears to be a Thunder Bike, a new Cats Lair playset in the works, along with mention of a new Classics line of figures which are said to be 20 cm in height (roughly 7") and 6-7" deluxe variations of the modern standard figures.

Keep in mind this information is coming from second hand sources and blurry images. More details and better images should be made available next month at the U.S. Toy Fair in New York city.

So let us know, do you like what you see so far?



Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )
Mullog21 - 2011-01-30 @ 11:14 pm

My biggest concern with this line, especially the classics line is that will all the various companies launching their versions of the line we will pretty much get like 20 different Lion-o's and most if not all the lines will be done before they get a chance to get into some of the lesser characters. I mean I would love for the Bandai line of classics, to run for a long time, and see characters like the Berserkers, or even the Lunitacs, but I just don't know. I at least hope I get a Ben-gali out of one of the lines other than the statue.

spystreak - 2011-01-30 @ 12:39 am

kinda want the sword of omens

CaptainTriumph - 2011-01-29 @ 2:28 pm

And how are will they release a Classic Lion-O? Retail or online only?

Dark Horse - 2011-01-29 @ 8:49 am

How dumb is this? Snarf is the pack in with the Thundertank. I can't remeber exactly what the guy said, but I think Wily Kit/ Kat are being nixed as Lion-O is much younger this time round. He kinda looks similar to WilyKit now. Maybe they will introduce them in later series after Lion-O has aged a bit. If it gets that far haha.

The 8" original Lion-O is being released as a stand alone figure, and the 4" anime Tigra and Lion-O are the ones that are being released first. I saw an electronic Mumm Ra (wasn't an action figure - it was a room alarm or something), and he looks the same as the original, so that might be cool from a figure design stand point.

My bet is after a few disinterested kids by the anime crap and lose interest, the ML style originals flourish.

Frac I wonder what the price of the Thundertank will be? It reminds me of the Wonder Twins set a couple of years ago and the pain people had to go through to get Gleek.As for Wily Kit and Kat since CN loves to show toons for only three seasons if there not introduced before then of the third we can forget about seeing them

Retail on the TTank will be $30-$40. Will be in the same price bracket as the Ben 10 vehicles.

Dark Horse - 2011-01-29 @ 8:47 am

WilyKat and WilyKit are in the new series, one of producers as already stated as much. About the Thunder-Lynx magnets. How would they impede play value? This is just an added feature that furthers the play value for kids.

Like I mentioned, WilyKit and Kat will probably feature later on in the series.

As for impeding play value, having features activate when you don't want them to limits play. For example, the Thundertank's missiles are designed to fire when you place a figure inside. I'm sure if given the option, most kids and adults would prefer a button to fire missiles/ activate sounds/ features, rather than it automatically going off during regular play when you don't want it to.

Dark Horse - 2011-01-29 @ 8:41 am

Thanks for the info Dark Horse, though I just wanted to clarify some things.. I think maybe there was a misunderstanding or mis-communication on the part about only releasing 2 figures to start off with the 4" line. I think all the figures you saw there are all being released in the first wave. It would be very odd for a toy company to release a wave of figures, especially one already backed up with vehicles and playsets to only have two figures in it. I also think that its the 8" classic line Bandai is doing specifically for the collectors, not the new cartoon based stuff. The other lines are being done as a major tie-in to the Warner Bros. cartoon series which will air on Cartoon Network. Keep in mind that in that regard, it's great if collectors get into these things, but I think WB and Bandai are looking to bring in a new generation of kids to the world of Thundercats with these things, not just adult collectors, and it's how well kids embrace these things that will determine if the line is a success and continues as well as the cartoon.

The guy was very clear about the release schedule. For the 4" line, just Lion-O and Tigra first to judge interest. Granted, he may have been talking about U.K. releases, so you may be right regarding American distribution. The guys there really stressed what a financial gamble this was for the company, and how they are doing it all for the fans due to demand. I'm sure we are all aware that all of the most vocal fans that demand certain toys often don't follow through when it comes time to lay down money.

All the figures on display were still prototypes. All the packaging was mock-ups. The Thundertank is the only vehicle with a hard copy. There was also a new mutant vehicle on the year planner with Slithe, a new design that looked like a skeletal foot with massive dual overhead missile launchers. Kind of dumb, to be honest.

The 8" classic line is definitely geared towards adult collectors. IIRC, the 8" original Lion-O is labelled as "Collector edition Lion-O".

Bandai's street cred with me shot through the roof after I talked with them. They genuinly cared about the property.

spystreak - 2011-01-29 @ 3:53 am

as long as the animation is good I'll watch it if not well then I'll complain and whine like I did Gijoe renegades

egoing75 - 2011-01-28 @ 11:21 pm

WilyKat and WilyKit are in the new series, one of producers as already stated as much. About the Thunder-Lynx magnets. How would they impede play value? This is just an added feature that furthers the play value for kids.

RockthePlank - 2011-01-28 @ 6:19 pm

Dark Horse you are the man! Thanks for the additional info as well as the clarification. This is such a sweet board, even though the man said he didn't care for it, he's still reporting and our best lead over here at TNI! Big ups player!

As for the Wiley Kit-Kat situation, I can really go either way. They really never added much for me, I mean I guess they were originally there for the same reason a lot of shows put kids on like that, so the ones watching at home have someone to relate to, but if Lion-O is already setup as a young man, then there really isn't much there for them to do. You would probably have to make the characters drastically different to fit them in.

As for Wily Kit and Kat since CN loves to show toons for only three seasons if there not introduced before then of the third we can forget about seeing them

You are all too right about the curse of three over at cartoon network. I would love to see this cartoon take off like the original, hopefully we can get a full and complete story, unlike MOTU which left me feeling like there was still so much more to tell.

Interesting that Snarf is a pack-in with the Thundertank. I can't wait till we can see it more clearly. 2011 will be the year of the Thundercat!

Dilios - 2011-01-28 @ 5:05 pm

You sure about WilyKit and Kat being axed? I remember reading a post where some guy saw a pic of them sitting on Panthro's shoulders...

The 8" original Lion-O is being released as a stand alone figure

So...the classics line is more like the 'classic' line...

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