Battle Beasts Minimates Desmodius - NYCC Exclusive

I don't know how I'm going to get mine yet since I can't make it to NYCC, but Diamond Select Toys announced Battle Beasts Desmodius - a black bat, based on the former Toys R Us exclusive mold.  It's a mere $6 if you get yours at New York Comic Con in October, and you probably should get one for me too.  (Or somebody.)  
It's nice to see something new for this line!  The last new release was a 2-pack in 2016.
Read more about Desmodius here.

Review: Diamond Select Battle Beasts Minimates Stealth Vorin

Speaking of beasts, I overpaid for the Stealth Vorin on eBay a few years ago - shortly thereafter, I was at an industry party filled with dishes of them for free, like after-dinner mints. Oops. The line was a few years in the making with a decent amount of fanfare - there was even a comic series which you had to order a bunch of to get this figure as a premium. (Selling a lot of #1 matters.) It was cheaper to buy the toy on eBay than to pony up for the comics, so it wasn't a total loss. This figure is a redeco of the normal Vorin (there are two sculpts of the ram) complete with shield and sword.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Diamond Select Independent Comic Book Minimates Battle Beasts Ruminant and Spyrnus

How the heck did I miss these? Battle Beasts Ruminant and Spyrnus snuck out a few years after the last/first Battle Beasts Minimates, a short-lived line that I assume only got another release to keep the trademark in Diamond's hands and out of Hasbro's. I was genuinely shocked to see these at Toys R Us, so I bought them on sight - as luck would have it, they were also on clearance. Upon further investigation we've sold them at where I work for quite some time but I had no idea. I assume that's not a good sign when someone who desperately wants to buy anything with "Battle Beasts" on the box has no idea that they exist, and since they were never on the front of the pegs at Toys R Us until May of 2017 I had no idea they were a thing I could buy. They're good - a whole second series was shown At Comic-Con in 2013 but didn't make it out. That's part of what made this even more surprising, but good on Diamond Select Toys for having the thought of getting something out of its design investment and releasing them anyway. Even if it was ultimately to what was clearly a dud of a reception from fans and would-have-liked-to-have-supported-it fans.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Toys R Us Battle Beasts Discount - $3 Per 2-Pack

New figures are on the way, but existing Toys R Us Exclusive Battle Beasts 2-Packs are $3.00 at select (if not all) stores. At my local store the shelf tags were still full price with the regular price tags - the discount was only visible when you scanned them.

The exclusive set with the moose and bat were gone, but the others - with the bugs, ram, snake, and walrus - were all present. Considering you may never see $3 Battle Beasts again, I suggest picking some up now and/or finishing up your sets while they're cheap.

Toy Fair 2014: New Battle Beasts Minimates

Some previously-unseen Beasts (last seen at SDCC 2013) have been revealed in the 16bit.com Battle Beasts Toy Fair coverage!  Diamond Select Toys revealed the latest batch:  Giraffe and Hammerhead Shark, Cow and Bear, Cobra and Bat, plus Anubis and Thrush.

 
Click here for the full gallery and my coverage at 16bit.com.

Review: Diamond Select Battle Beasts Minimates Shadow Merk

If you were one of the first people to the Diamond Select Toys booth each day at Comic-Con this year, Shadow Merk could be yours for free. (Also, if you went to the right parties, maybe you got one there too with a side of chicken wings.) Last year we were treated to about a dozen flavors of Vorin, and this year we're getting polybagged Merks. Interestingly, the figure seems to hold together better than the painted counterpart and looks really good - I think it even made me like the previous versions more. It's a rising tide raising all the other ships.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

SDCC 2013: Battle Beasts Minimates

One of my first stops at Comic-Con 2013 was to see the Diamond Select Toys team and, specifically, Battle Beasts.  My pictures didn't turn out great but you can see them all here, including a Maori Shark, a cow, and the two promotional figures given away at the show.

Click here for the full story and a gallery!

Battle Beasts at SDCC: Off-Site Event, Hot Wings Merk Promo

If you liked Shadow Merk, you're going to love Hot Wings Merk!  This is Diamond's second San Diego Comic-Con 2013 exclusive Battle Beasts Minimates figure, and it looks pretty fantastic.

Taste and Thirst on Fourth (715 4th Avenue) will be converted to Minimates Headquarters starting Thursday, July 18 at 10:00 PM and the exhibit will be open until 2:00 AM.  It will also be open Friday at 11:00 AM and Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 AM.

In addition to the promotional Hot Wings Merk figure, 10 years of Minimates figures will be on display spanning numerous licenses and a very large number of releases from comics, movies, music, and television.

Coupons for food at the venue will be distributed at the Diamond booth, #2607.  Click here for additional information.

Battle Beasts Minimates at San Diego for Comic-Con International 2013

The battle isn't over!  Today we received an email from Diamond Select Toys about the return of Battle Beasts Minimates.  They say:

"Now, with Series 2 in development and a new comic in the works, Diamond Select will be giving away a new promotional Battle Beast at this year's show!

"Shadow Merk is a new figure of Merk, the deadly falcon who forms one-third of the band of Beast heroes at the forefront of IDW's comic book mini-series. Cast in translucent purple plastic, the figure will be given out each morning at the Diamond Select Toys booth, #2607, in a sealed plastic bag. A limited number will be available each day (but not on Preview Night), so make the DST booth your first stop!

"Also, be sure to pick up Series 1 in the store at the DST booth, check out a few Series 2 prototypes in the DST display cases, and come learn more about what's next at the Minimates panel on Saturday at 1:30 in Room 8!"

Thanks for the heads-up, Diamond!  Naturally, we'll be there with a camera and many annoying questions.

Toys R Us Battle Beasts 2-Packs In Stores Now

As part of a mid-February reset, Toys R Us stores near you most likely have their Diamond Select Toys Battle Beasts Minimates in stores now, marking the first time in roughly 25 years that those two words appeared on figure 2-packs in the USA.  Each set is $7.49, and they are decorated differently than those sold to the comic book shops.  Toys R Us also has an exclusive pair of beasts, pictured here.

We've all waited a long time for this day, so good hunting this weekend Beast fans!

Toy Fair 2013 Beast Round-Up

As we've said in the past, there's an update: and that's that there is no update.

As far as I could tell, Beast Saga was not on display in any form at New York Toy Fair.  Hasbro didn't show it and nobody else seems to be importing it.

Diamond Select Toys' Battle Beasts line was nowhere to be seen inside Diamond's booth.  I was told the line was not dead... just that there was nothing to show right now.

Naturally there was no Armorvor presence, and I didn't see any sign of Rise of the Beasts or other similar toys

There was an awful lot of Legends of Chima in standard LEGO minifigure scale plus larger, Bionicle-sized "constraction" kits.  We'll be posting a gallery of a few dozen images over the next day or two.  I just got home from New York as I type this and need to finish things up and go to bed after being up for almost a solid day.

Battle Beasts Minimates Video - New!

This is a new stop-motion from Diamond for their new Minimates Battle Beasts line.  It’s rather well done!  I like it.  Now all I have to do is find the figures.

You can (and should) order/pre-order wave 1 at Entertainment Earth right now.

Battle Beasts Minimates - Packaged Photos, Anyone?

Over on Diamond's Facebook page, find a bunch of packaged shots of the Battle Beasts Minimates.  These are the comic shop versions, which have different deco (and 2 unique characters) compared to the Toys R Us release.

Also, the Facebook feed made mention of a January release - so you haven't missed them, they're coming real soon now!

Battle Beasts Minimates - Toys R Us Exclusive Wave Revealed, Names Too

If you're anything like me, this is the moment you've been waiting for!  This is as close as the Battle Beasts Minimates will be to the mass market this year, and not only do they look great, but for the first time that I've seen - they have names!  Check out this awesome group shot.

Individual 2-pack pics, information, and names are after the cut.  (It's a lot of stuff.)  I hope you're excited... because MOOSE.

Custom Battle Beasts Minimates: Vorin as Bighorn Sheep

Nifty!  On eBay right now, you can see a swell Vorin Battle Beasts Minimates Custom Figure which has been painted up to look like the vintage Battle Beasts figure "Bighorn Sheep."  Note the blue fur!  Fantastic.  I was wondering how one of these would look!

It's up for sale right now, so be sure to click over to buy and/or check it out.

Gallery: NYCC Diamond Select Toys Minimates Gallery

Friend of this (and other) site(s) Nik was kind enough to go to New York Comic Con, phone in hand, to snap about 66 great pictures of the Diamond Select Toys Minimates 10th Anniversary Display, which you can see on 16bit.com.

Big thanks to Nik for his time, to Diamond for letting us trudge through your space as always, and uh... to you for reading.  Thank you.  ("You're welcome, Adam!")

NYCC Battle Beasts Minimates: New Deco, Weapons

Friend of the blog (and all blogs, really) Nik fired off some shots of the Diamond Select Toys booth in New York from Comic Con!  While no new characters (other than the moose) seem to be on display, you'll note the Scorpion, Tarantula, and Gruntos seem to have alternate deco and weapons!  Vorin appears to be done up in his metallic paint, too, which probably means we're seeing the Toys R Us versions.  (I'm just working from pictures, facts I don't have handy.)  We really haven't seen a lot of the figures' gear yet, so this is a most pleasant surprise.

Battle Beasts Invade New York Comic Con, Minimates Festivities Galore

Diamond Select Toys sent us an email informing us of some exciting festivities in New York next week!  We won't be able to make it to New York Comic Con this year (as we are on another coast due to business), but here's a rundown of what you may find when you hit them up at booth #2156!

• Signing: Ulises Farinas, the artist behind the wraparound cover (and the SDCC exclusive cover) for Battle Beasts #1 from IDW Publishing
• Battle Beasts Minimates panel Sunday, October 14 at 10:45 AM in room 1A06. All child attendees (must be wearing a child badge) will get a free Battle Beast promo Minimates figure.  

But wait, there's more!  Action Figure Xpress will have exclusive ThunderCats and Alpha Flight Minimates, and given that this is the 10th Anniversary of Minimates one might expect other fun surprises.  (For example, we've seen pictures of a 10th Anniversary Promo Minimate floating around.)  And if that weren't enough, Diamond says...

"Located in room 1B02 of the Jacob Javits Center, the [Minimates 10th Anniversary Exhibit] will showcase Minimates, artwork and animation from throughout the line’s 10-year run, from their rock-and-roll beginnings at the NYC-based Art Asylum in 2002 to their multi-brand empire with Diamond Select Toys today. It will be open during Comic-Con show hours all four days, and attendees will receive one free promo Minimate from the company archives, while supplies last. (One per person for the weekend.)"

More as we have it!

Diamond Select Toys Reveals New Battle Beasts on Facebook

  While it's a well-known fact that Diamond Select Toys will be cranking out some Toys R Us exclusive Battle Beasts Minimates in a few months, we haven't seen too many of them until Diamond posted a couple of them to Facebook.

To the left, the (as-of-yet) unnamed Bat, which will come packaged with a companion Moose figure.  Sadly depriving the world of a moose-and-squirrel set, these Beasts will both be exclusive to Toys R Us and from the look of things, ain't half bad.  I mean, its got a sword!  That's a plus.  I dig the fangly dude.

Also without a name as of yet for the character, this brown Scorpion will also be exclusive to Toys R Us, with the other version going to comic and specialty shops.  It looks pretty fantastic in the up-close shot, and I'm happy to see critter mini-figures at the toy stores that aren't Littlest Pet Shop for once.

...having said that, LPS had an exclusive giraffe for the toy giant.  Here's hoping synergy strikes again and Diamond sees fit to make a Battle Beasts Minimates Giraffe for the chain!  Great stuff, here, be sure to follow Diamond on Facebook for more stuff more often.

PSA + Ad: Battle Beasts Seires 1 Preorders Available Now

 

It's time to order Battle Beasts Minimates Series 1 at Entertainment Earth!   The specialty ones are going to feature two shortpacked sets, so you may wish to order tis set to make sure you get all the characters.  Tate and Bliss are exclusive to specialty, and are paired with Gruntos and the Snake, respectively.

Pricing is currently set at $33.99 for all 8 figures (4x 2-packs) with an estimated January release date.  Click here to support this site and order yours now!