First4Figures Statues: good news and bad news.

I'm aware I forgot to post the full set of new Metal Sonic statue photos here but if you haven't seen them yet you can check them out at First4Figures website. meanwhile, there's been some news about it. Some good, some bad. See after the jump.

May as well get the bad news out of the way first. I was e-mailed by First4Figures recently with news that there may be issues with metal Sonic statues being ordered from anywhere outside of the USA and Canada. To quote what they said:

"Thank you for your order for the Metal Sonic collectible statue. Unfortunately our license for Sonic the Hedgehog has expired in Europe and the rest of the world apart from USA and Canada. We wish to extend our resin license with SEGA so that we can fulfill your Metal Sonic order and we should get a reply from SEGA in early January. Please kindly bear with us until we have further information, we will keep you posted.

In the meantime, we have your order on file and will keep your product number/statue secure until we have an update from SEGA. If we can extend our license, your order will be fulfilled. If not, we will have to cancel your order. Please note, we have not charged your card and that your order is under pending status for now."

Well poop. The exclusive light-up Metal Sonic statue is only limited to 350 so the chances of me getting one of those now might be slim, but maybe I'll be lucky and they'll hold on to my order with an iron grip. I guess at the worst I could order the cheaper non-light-up one if they let me or if a shop like Forbidden Planet ends up stocking it (where I got the first Sonic one).

The good news this will not affect orders for the Super Sonic statues as they have finished production and will start shipping between the end of January or sometime in February. Of course we know the Super Sonic's have been produced because they posted lots of photos of them over at their facebook account. If you haven't seen these pics yet go have a look: it's a whole army of Super Sonics!

Oh christ, another Sonic staute from First4Figures..

First4Figures have just revealed on facebook that they have another large Sonic statue in the works which will be ready for pre-order on the 28th of December, and it's none other than Metal Sonic, with glowing eyes! We haven't seen what level the stand will be based on, Now hold on guys, what about the Super Sonic? They still haven't even charged me for it yet let alone sent it out. The wait is becoming unbearable. With that in mind expect this new statue to be shipped out by 2015. Maybe.

These things cost so much, but really: if I was only allowed to own a few pieces of Sonic merchandise, a set of these statues would be them. Plus Metal Sonic is personally my all time favorite character from the series so resisting this will be very difficult. My poor wallet!

10" Sonic and the Sonic PVC 6-pack!

 As 2010 comes to an end, so too does a great year for Sonic toys! This year we saw toymaker Jazwares make a huge step up in quality and number of new figures. Meanwhile, First 4 Figures covered the collectible side of things with an awesome Super Sonic statue and a great collection of PVC figures. Today I thought I'd highlight two recent acquisitions: Jazware's 10" Sonic and First 4 Figures PVC 6-pack!

The 10" Sonic the Hedgehog figure is relatively new, having hit online stores within the past month. The coolest thing about this figure, aside from the impressive likeness, is that it is of the same line as last year's 10" Metal Sonic.

The figure shares the same dimensions as 10" Metal and resembles the most recent Sonic design, as seen in Unleashed and Colors. Personally, I really love this iteration! Not as lankly as what we saw in Sonic '06, and not as freaky as what we saw in the Sonic Adventure artwork.

As you can see, the figure is very articulated. The box touts over 12 points, with everything from joints to even wrists and ankles receiving joints. The one weak point is the figure's hands. While I really like the thumbs up and fist pairing, others may not like how this limits Sonic to giving a thumbs up, thumbs down and a punch. Still, for under $15 this is a great figure!

Sonic and Metal decide to relive old memories and pose in front of the Sonic CD box art

Classic and modern

My only complains about the figure is that they oddly chose to have the circle on Sonic's chest cut off just below the pivot point of his waist. Also, my figure had a small space between where Sonic's left eye met his muzzle. But those are two minor complains, overall this figure is a must have. Especially if one already owns the 10" Metal.

Next up is First 4 Figures PVC 6-pack! The pack collects series 1 and 2 of the individually released Sonic figurines, featuring the classic Genesis era designs. From my knowledge, this is the only way for Americans to acquire the set, as I don't think the individual figures were sold here in stores. Gagaman already covered Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Metal, so I'll show off Super Sonic and Amy Rose.

I never thought I'd say this, but Amy Rose is my favorite of the set! Why? Because it's the classic Amy as seen in Sonic CD! I always thought it was a shame that classic Amy never carried over to the Dreamcast games, as the tennis shoes and tutu combo are the bomb. I secretly dream of a world where big black sunglasses, tutus and big bulky tennis shoes make a return.

 Super Sonic is pretty cool, though I prefer the levitating screaming Super Saiyan powering up pose to this. It's almost like Sonic is shaking his fist at those kids who won't stay off his lawn. Or maybe he is vowing revenge on Metal Sonic after catching him in the act with Amy Rose. Must have been Stockholm syndrome:

DRAMA!

The Sonic PVC 6-pack can be found on First 4 Figures website for the reasonable price of $30. When you figure that each figure sells for $5 each and that the Super Sonic and Metal Sonic are quite hard to find individually, it's a good price. These definitely get the "Buy it!" recommendation from me.

Stay tuned to SEGA Memories, I have a very cool item on the way from Japan that I can't wait to write about!

Bonus photos:

Eggman Takes Revenge

My ugly plaid couch makes the perfect backdrop

Just when I thought Jazwares gave me all the figures I could need, they reeled me back in with the awesome 2-pack titled "Dr. Eggman's Revenge". Included in the pack are Eggman (obviously) and some sort of robotic Sonic made of metal. How do these figures stack up? More after the jump! Or "more after the homing attack", depends on your preference.

A part of the ever expanding 3" Jazwares line, Eggman and Metal are exclusive to this 2-pack. Previously, Metal was available in an Amy Rose comic book pack but the figures were pulled from shelves after it was found that Metal had flimsy limbs that were prone to breaking. From what I've read, this Metal is much improved and sports a slightly different blue finish which matches the 10" figure.

The package itself is very cool, sporting a cardboard constructed scene of Metal floating in a tank that looks a lot like his cameo in Sonic Adventure. Unfortunately for me, my Metal slipped forward a bit in shipping so the scene was hindered by what appeared to be Metal making a little bow. Or maybe he had fallen asleep.

Look familiar?

After a few quick cuts of my packaging knife, Eggman and Metal were free. I think I yanked the figures out a bit too hard, as Eggman's nose and mustache popped off! I'd post a photo of what he looked like, but it was honestly too disturbing. After putting a piece of Ticky Tack into Eggman's face hole, I was able to get him back to normal.

Family photo

The packaging touts "over 12 points of articulation", and thay weren't kidding! Every little piece of Metal moves, even his wrists! However, seeing as they are smaller than the tip of a pencil, I think I'll take it easy on posing him too much. Don't want what happened to my Werehog to happen to Metal (full arm dismemberment). Overall, these are some awesome figures! The character combo is genious, the articulation is well done and the packaging is very creative. If you can find these for their retail price of $12.99, pick them up!

Bonus photos:

Metal and Child

"Run away!"

"Scratch, Grounder, Coconuts, Wes Weasley!"