C2E2 Battle Beasts Minimates

In case you missed the memo-- we did-- there was a black repaint of the aligator figure at C2E2 earlier this year.

It's essentially the same figure with a different (likely repurposed) firearm rather than a melee weapon. Neat! Now who can help us get one?

Minimates Gator To Actually Get Retail Release

The fourth (New York Toy Fair, C2E2, and SDCC) release of this mold will actually be available to buy! The first three Battle Beasts Aligator Minimates figures were exclusive to various shows, but this one according to the Art Asylum blog will see release through the upcoming Minimates carry case. Rejoice!

New Sculpted Battle Beasts Action Figures

Surprisingly, Diamond Select had a series of conceptual, fully-articulated, and supposedly 3 3/4-inch scale Battle Beasts action figures on display at their booth in San Diego this weekend for Comic-Con International 2010. Each figure is a brand new sculpt, lacking in the fire/water/wood game but fully carrying over much of the whimsy of the original line. We were quite pleased with the Iguana, Alligator, and Rhinoceros. The Octopus was a little goofy, and we hated the Ape.

Click here for all the figures via our Flickr feed.

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Battle Beasts Figure

Here's a quick shot of the figure that was given as a gift-with-purchase at Comic-Con at the Diamond Select Toys booth. It's basically a redeco of the existing Gator, but with an axe rather than a sword. We'll have more on it shortly.

It is also worth noting that from my conversation with Diamond, this may well be the final entry in the line. So we got two figures. There were other Battle Beasts products shown, however.

The Latest: June 2010

The sad news is that very little has happened with Diamond Select's Battle Beasts Minimates line. The playset with the exclusive figure has seemingly been delayed forever, but word on the street has it that there will be a San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive freebie-- a gold redeco of the Alligator figure we featured from New York Toy Fair. Hey, it's something!

More as we have it.

Battle Beasts Review: Toy Fair 2010 Alligator Minimates Figure

Inspired by the original Battle Beasts toy line, this Alligator is essentially a Minimates figure with special hands, feet, armor, and a hat. Given away by Diamond Select Toys at New York Toy Fair, 2010. The sample courtesy DST and our awesome pal Bianca.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW at 16bit.com ]

Toy Fair 2010: The Gator Returns

If you were one of the many lucky people to walk through Diamond Select Toys' quarters in New York in February 2010, you got handed a little plastic bagged figure which appears very similar to the "Gator Guard" shown at Comic-Con 2009. This time, his armor is silver rather than gold and unlike that first figure, you can actually have this one. (Well, not this one-- we borrowed the bagged image from our pals at Altered States Magazine.)

Reading "Battle Beasts: The Roar Rages On" on the bag, there's no sign of any "Takara" or "Hasbro" copyrights, which, we assume, means Diamond now owns the property. From all the reports out of New York, it seems there's no actual plan to release these at retail, but bagged sample figures like this one are making it out on eBay and elsewhere for quite a premium, with the first two reaching $100. The prices have since come down a little, but wait for our full review before shelling our your cash on this one.

It's worth noting the figure has no name and no Fire, Wood, Water, or Suburst Warrior rub sign stickers like the originals.

Battle Beasts Return: A Look at the Comic-Con 2009 Debut

During the summer of 2009, Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum confirmed, more or less, that they are planning to do Minimates based on the original Hasbro Battle Beasts toy range, also known as Takara's Beastformers.

Anyway, at Comic-Con 2009, the very first (and so far only) sculpted figure that the public has ever seen was revealed and a picture got out to the web. This gold-armored, green-skinned gator was built off a basic Minimates figure, as underneath the gator head is a standard Minimates cylinder noggin and under the sculpted armor, tail, hands, and feet is a basic body. If nothing else, it shows just how versatile that body truly is.

Reports got out that this figure will be bundled in the long-delayed Minimates Laboratory Playset which now seems to be pushed back to-- sadly-- January 2011. According to some sources, the figure will be named "Gator Guard" and the second figure in this set will be a Minimates M.A.X. Tactical Ops figure, which looks a bit like one of the troopers from Terminator Salvation.