Toy Fair 2013: Kotobukiya Report

Kotobukiya had some amazing new pieces– and some exciting new announcements– on display at Toy Fair. Get the full report on their 2013 plans.

Kotobukiya’s high end collectibles are always a joy to see in person, and their showing at Toy Fair this year was no exception. The Japanese company will release new ART FX deluxe statues based on Iron Man 3 as well as Man of Steel.  Man of Steel will feature Superman, and while he was not on display at the show, the company’s Iron-Man Mark 42 looked stunning.  Tony’s new armor will be followed by War machine and Iron Patriot, as well as a re-release of last year’s Avengers series Mark VII armor.  The comic-style Marvel Fine Art series will continue with the amazing Daredevil on display ay last year’s Comic Con, as well as Venom, who has received a wonderful new head sculpt that looked amazing.

ART FX+ will continue as well, with new additions in the Star Wars collection including a striking General Grievous (who will feature swappable arms for a two or four-limbed look as well as a cape), plus the Jango Fett companion piece to Boba Fett.  And the highly cool R2D2 and Han in Carbonite business card holders– previously Japanese exclusives– will also be available domestically later this year!

The Mass Effect Shepard ART FX+ statue is still planned, however he is being completely reworked from the previous version on display.  Justice League will continue past the seven core members, with other DC heroes and villains in the same scale, all based on their New 52 looks.  While Kotobukiya wouldn’t confirm who, they did say they are planning a variant of one of the seven core characters also.  Since Wonder Woman’s current look is the most dramatically different from the current statue, I think it’s a safe bet to guess she will get the long-requested “no pants” variant in the near future.

Also on the ART FX+ front, one of Koto’;s biggest announcements was an Avengers series!  Based on the current Marvel Now! comic styles, using key art by comic artist Adi Granov, this series will share a scale with the Justice League, and will include Captain America, Hulk, Iron man, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Junnosuke Abe’s stunning Killing Joke statue is still on schedule, offering the greatest statue of the Joker I have ever seen, and a Superman: For Tomorrow statue is planned as well, a companion to the Batman black statue released previously.

Isaac Clarke from Dead Space 3 will get a fantastic new statue, complete with a light-up face mask, glowing energy gauge on his backpack and a rotating cutter blade.  The ART FX J series will see the release of Vash the Stampede and Wolfwood from Trigun– with a variant black Vash later this year– as well as new releases from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu Yu Hakusho.

Finally, there were several updates on Koto’s fantastic Bishoujo Collection.  Tekken Tag Tournament 2 revealed Ling Xiaoyu as the next release, following the current Jaylee in March and Lili in May.  Street Fighter’s Chun Li is still coming, however final art has not yet been approved.  The initial plan was to alternate Bishoujo releases from the fighting games, like we see with the Marvel/ DC Bishoujo, but the Tekken characters were easier to finalize so they are being released first.

On the Marvel front, Kitty Pryde will be available this Summer, complete with her pet dragon Lockheed.  The new DC Bishoujo revealed with an excellent Black Canary in her classic jacket and real fishnet stockings!  Kotobukiya is planning a variant of Canary as well, I’d assume it would be a blue-legged version while the standard will sport bare legs under her fishnets.  Also coming soon are the Mass Effect Commander Shepard Bishoujo, in two variants. The standard will feature red hair, while a BioWare exclusive includes black hair, and alternate arm weapon and a different display base.  Both final product versions were on display, and looked great, a perfect new piece for any Mass Effect collector.

The attention to detail, stunning sculpts and gorgeous design we’ve come to expect from Kotobukiya came through loud and clear in their Toy fair presentation. The new reveals looked amazing, and the announcement of tHe Avengers ART FX+ line has me dying to see what beautiful pieces Kotobukiya comes up with.

Get all the latest from Toy Fair 2013– Click Here for our coverage archives!