Jazwares: End of the Road for The Sonic Line?

Jazwares logo

After what seems to have been a long time coming, TSS has learned of another strong reason to suggest that Jazwares has ceased producing items for the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

In a recent Email between merch-seller Ogilvie on the SSMB, his distributor of Jazwares merchandise has said that the company will no longer be carrying Sonic the Hedgehog Merchandise.

Following the news that the Sonic the Hedgehog section of Jazwares’ website seemed to have vanished not long ago, it’s yet another strong reason to believe that the once very active line of toys has come to an end.

Jazwares has been producing Sonic merchandise (primarily articulated action figures) from as early as 2009 when they produced their 10 inch now-sought-after Metal Sonic figure, so after a near 5 year run, it finally looks to be over.

Were you a fan of the Jazwares Sonic the Hedgehog figures? Got any favourites? Let us know!

Props to Ogilvie on SSMB for this information.

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TSS Review: Jazwares Metal Sonic Plush

If you used to watch a show called ‘The X-Files’ you know that poster Mulder has in his office? The one with the UFO and the words “I want to believe” below it? That’s how I’ve felt regarding Jazwares toys lately. Especially their Metal Sonic plush. Would you believe that this was first shown in a complete form way back in January 2012? Since then it’s been used on the Jazwares website, made a random appearance a year later at another toyfair event and been cancelled. With no new toys at this years fair and more cancellations of products… it didn’t look good.. Continue reading TSS Review: Jazwares Metal Sonic Plush

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Has Jazwares cancelled its entire 2014 Sonic Toyline?

So this is an update/article that I’ve wanted to make for a few weeks now, however I kept telling myself ‘wait until New York Toy Fair, just wait and see.’ Well… In the run up to Toy Fair,  few other bits of information came to light which didn’t fill me with much confidence… following images of their booth at Toy Fair, I think the party is over.

There is a lot of mounting evidence to say that Jazwares have cancelled or lost the rights to make new Sonic toys.

Back in September, we brought you news that Jazwares had cancelled it’s highly anticipated Metal Sonic & Classic Amy plush. Since then however, there’s been a development. Classic Amy has in fact been released in a so far very limited form from online retailers, SSMB member PatMac posted images of it a few days ago.

However… despite this surprise release, Metal Sonic is nowhere in sight, and another worrying sign is that Jazwares have changed their product page for their Sonic toys. Here is what it originally looked like after Jazwares redesigned their website in late 2013.

jazwaresnewproductgone

 

However, a few months ago, Jazwares since removed the ‘New Fall 2013 product’ from their site, there have been no additional products added to their Sonic page of any kind. See for yourself.

More significant a hint that the Sonic line is no more comes from the Jazwares Facebook page, in the run up to the New York Toy Fair, Jazwares has out rightly stated that multiple products in the Sonic line have been cancelled.

Rouge the Bat, Classic Knuckles and The Sonic & Shadow Reversible Plushies have all been stated to have been cancelled.jazfacebook

There has needless to say been quite a backlash on Jazwares’ Facebook Page to this news, this is quite understandable considering Classic Knuckles and Rouge have been teased and hinted at as far back as early 2012.

In fact, on the 28th of March 2012. Jazwares posted this on their Facebook page.

jazclassicknuckles2

 

So ladies and gentlemen, unless this was an outright lie. A classic Knuckles figure was not only in development and ready, he was just waiting for a release line to fit into. Since then there has been no mention of this particular character. So were we all lied to on this? Or was Knuckles ready to go?

As for Rouge? Well…

You might remember how we reported on this particular product page? The one which clearly shows a comic book pack of Shadow and Rouge with the word ‘new’ next to it, suggesting it was indeed on the way. Unlike Classic Knuckles which had nothing released to support it other than the Facebook outlet, Rouge had a product number and even this promotional material to back it up.

Which begs the question… why was this cancelled?

Following the huge backlash on the cancellation, Jazwares have been sporting this reason.

 it’s up to the retail stores for what products get made.

Placing the blame firmly on the retailers, if they don’t order them, then they don’t get made.

There’s just one thing with this reasoning that I question. That being there’s evidence to suggest that this isn’t the case. In the Sonic Black Knight line, the following figures were spotted and in some cases are still up for order.

  • -Sonic – Excalibur
  • -Knuckles – Sir Gawain
  • -Silver – Sir Galahad
  • -Shadow – Sir Lancelot
  • -Jet – Sir Lamorak

This information and listings dates back to June 2012 and can be found across several toy news and retailer sites.

This is also the case for some of the ASRT toys which were announced and even shown at last years Nuremberg Toy Fair. Many of those toys over 2013 appeared as pre-orders at the United States branch of Toys R Us… that’s one if not the biggest toy retailer in the world isn’t it? There was even a product photo of it, this is taken from the old listing on TRU.Com’s website.

trushadow

Anyone own that? Anyone ever seen that for sale outside of the internet listing? So why was it cancelled?

The same applies to Metal Sonic. Announced, then cancelled. Only this one is even more strange, not only has the Metal Sonic plush appeared on Jazwares’ website (and at the time of posting is still there). But it has also appeared as a product on the website for ‘Smyths’ who are one of the largest toy retailers in the UK.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere was even an official product photo of it on a UK site… this was very rare since normally there’s a 1 year gap between US and UK releases.

It’s around now you might be thinking… wait… they were announced in prior to 2014, what about this years toys?

There aren’t any.

So far we have The Black Knight Silver figure (just released) and a Silver Super Poser. And that’s it. Everything else, all those toys from Nuremberg last year, all those toys which popped up on retailers, not happening.

At least that’s based on what Jazwares itself are suggesting from their own booth at the 2014 NYTF. The following image are the press releases for Jazwares at NYTF.

jazpressreleases

Sonic has no 2014 product list.

In conjunction with this, we now thanks to figures.com, have photos of Jazwares’ booth at New York Toy Far. They show no new Sonic products aside from Black Knight & Super Poser Silver.

jazbooth

There’s even an image of the plush box which has appeared predominantly at 2013’s toy fair, only this time both Metal and Super Sonic are missing from it.

This is the biggest toy fair of the year for America, and Jazwares have no new Sonic products at it for 2014. If there were new products, it’s absolute madness that they’re not here, even if it were just a prototype or concept image. But there’s nothing. You can view more images of Jazwares NYTF booth at Figures.com, but there is nothing new, everything is already out or about to be released.

Even at Nuremberg, there were no new toys aside from Black Knight Silver and ‘that sign.’

So, what is going on? We went from being told ‘those figures are coming’ for over 2 years, we had so much new toys promised an shown in 2013, yet now the whole product line seems to have stopped.

You might be thinking ‘maybe Tomy is the reason?’ Possibly… but Tomy has a license for Sonic Boom toys, Jazwares has the modern and classic games.

It does sound like the Jazwares run of Sonic toys is at or nearing it’s end, no press releases, no new products on show and cancellation notices. It seems that the party is over on this one. Which is a shame because despite what you may say about the quality of the products, Jazwares did give us figures that fans have been crying out for since 1991.

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[UPDATE!] New Sonic Game Coming 2015 For PS4, Xbox One & Wii U,

sonicboom film[UPDATE: SEGA have since released the following statement in the wake of the Nuremberg Toy fair:

SEGA is yet to announce details of upcoming console video games for Sonic the Hedgehog or further details regarding the new Sonic CG TV series.  The recent information coming out of Nuremburg Toy Fair was incorrect.  For official and up to date news regarding Sonic the Hedgehog please go to www.sonicthehedgehog.com or follow Sonic on Twitter (@sonic_hedgehog).

We will, as always, keep you dudes and dudettes up-to-date on any and all announcements! – T]

At the Nuremberg toy fair held last week, toy maker Jazwares had a booth showcasing it’s Sonic toys along with this very interesting sign.

If this is correct, it would suggest that Sega have already started work on a new Sonic game which is heading to the PS4, Xbox One and the Wii U.

We all know that Sega intends to release a 3rd exclusive Sonic game on a Nintendo platform at some point, however this photograph would suggest that Sega are already working on the other next gen systems and a Sonic game is in development or at the early planning stages.

If you’ve not been keeping track, this is how the Sonic games are currently lined up.

  • Sonic Lost World (2013)
  • Mario & Sonic at Sochi (2013)
  • Unannounced 3rd Nintendo exclusive (expected 2014).
  • Unannounced Next Gen Sonic title (2015).

What is however significant about this image is that there are no logos for any current gen consoles, suggesting that all future Sonic games will be on next gen systems.

Keep checking TSS for more information as and when we get it.

Source: Spindash.de

 

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Jazwares Cancels Its Amy & Metal Sonic Plush

jazwaresbooth2013

I would like to give you some perspective on this as to why this is a bit of a big deal. Metal Sonic is a very popular character, Metal Sonic merchandise is also very popular. To date there have only been 2 Metal Sonic plushies, both of which are extremely rare and can often go into the several hundreds when they come up for sale.

There is a huge demand for Metal Sonic merchandise.

About 2 years ago, a Metal Sonic plush was spotted at a Toy Fair, despite not looking amazing, many people including myself were quite excited at the prospect of owning a Metal Sonic plush which wouldn’t require the use of Nathan Drake to find and Scrooge McDuck to fund. Since that toy fair, the plush was never seen again.

Then at the start of the year, the plush turned up at several toy fairs along with an Amy Rose plush. Both have appeared in officially released press photos and have even been up for pre-order. The UK’s ‘Smyths toys’ have it listed as being eventually available and it’s even on the Jazwares official website.

It looked like Sonic merch collectors and Metal Sonic fans would finally get their wish and a Metal Sonic plush would finally be released.

Well… Jazwares have decided to cancel the plush.

Several people who have pre-ordered the plush have been in touch to say that they’re now reciving emails saying that Jazwares have cancelled the plush, no explanation as to why it’s been cancelled where given.

Please accept our sincerest apologies, Jazwares contacted us this morning & told us they no longer plan to Manufacture the Metal Sonic Plush which you ordered.

As a result, there will be no way for us to source this product.

We feel absolutely terrible about this & would like to remedy this issue as painlessly as possible for you. Here are a few options we would like to offer you

1. We could replace the Metal Sonic Plush with another Sonic Plush of your choice,including our new Silver Sonic!(we will refund any price difference.)

2. We could provide you a full refund including an extra $5 as our small compensation for this situation.”

Several online retailers who have had pre-orders up for both these characters have also either pulled them or changed their listing to cancelled. Big bad Toy Story & Entertainment Earth have both change their listings for these items. It does indeed appear like these highly anticiptated toys will never see a release.

Speaking as someone who was really looking forward to this, I cannot believe how bad a decision this was. Two years of showing this at toy conventions, even going as far as taking publicity shots of it and only to cancel it? Seriously what was the reason behind that one? This would have sold, so many people were looking forward to it.

It should be also pointed out that at a toy fair earlier this year, Jazwares also showed a Super Sonic plush, however there has been no word yet as to the fate of this one.

For fans of merchandise, the wait for a reasonably price Metal Sonic plush continues.

P.S. In the email quote you can see the words ‘Silver Sonic plush’ this is actually Silver the Hedgehog and not a plush based on the Sonic 2 boss. Let me leave you with this thought, Metal Sonic and Amy have been cancelled… The Silver plush however is still being released…. … … Yeah I’ll let you lot debate how good that decision is in the comments.

Source: Entertainment Earth: Metal Sonic Listing, Amy Listing.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2013 Product Catalogue

productguidecover

About 2 months ago, there was a Sonic product event over at Mercedes Benz world, at this event, a single photograph showed what appeared to be a Sonic product guide. Naturally fans of sonic merchandise were curious as to what it contained. But the guide didn’t ever resurface. Last week, another photograph of the guide was spotted, this time at a second event, the interesting thing about this picture was that you could just make out some products which haddn’t yet been announced. By now, Sonic merchandise fans really wanted to get ahold of it.

Well… We’ve got one. Thanks to our friends over at toybuzz.co.uk we now have a copy of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2013 product catalogue. Would you like to read it?

Keep in mind, it only shows products that will be released in the UK this year. So you won’t find the huge range of Jazwares toys that the United Stages gets, nor will you see any Japanese products. Furthermore, due to items which you can buy/pre-order here in the UK, this guide is not the full range of products. The guide does however contain some new items and awesome looking items.

Here are a few highlights.

Note: Click the images to see them at full size.

product catalogue 1

I can hear you saying ‘Oh no! Not the clothes!’ But if you recieve that jumper/sweater on the bottom right, you might be jumping for joy. That looks fantastic, I love the random patches on the back as well as the Sonic logo on the sleve. I just hope it comes in adult sizes. Due to be stocked at Next, no price/release date was given.

product catalogue 3

Nothing really new here, everything is known, however I’d like to draw your attention to the 2014 annual that we reported on a few weeks ago. You can see a sample page from it showing “Doctor Eggmans Maze.” Unfortunately it looks like it’s going to be full of random stock art which is a shame, for some reason the ‘Sonic Generations’ logo is also randomly placed on that sample page… why? But that said though, I’m really looking forward to that and will be picking it up/reviewing it on TSS later this year.

product catalogue 7

This is the one we want! Action figures! Well… it’s slightly disapointing. Whilst it’s good that the UK is finally getting the Chaotix and Blaze pack (Blaze is out now in UK Toys R Us stores by the way) a year after the US has had them, the inclusion of the 10 inch Sonic is disapointing since it’s been out for well over a year already. The plushies have been around for even longer. However the confirmation of the figures with accessories is a big welcome. Though personally I’d be much happier to see the Metal Sonic plush or some of the ASRT Jazwares toys make their way over to the UK shores.

But, the biggest suprise is from Sambro. The pinball game has been seen in a few photos for a while now, but the giant floor jigsaw is a new thing. The image is fantastic, Sonic & Tails look really good in that environment. For you older fans. Consider getting the jigsaw and putting it in a picture fram, you now have one awesome looking picture.

product catalogue 6

Everything you see on here has been out for well over a year. But the bigest suprise would be the inclusion of London Cakes. It seems that Sega has partnered with London Cakes who will make you a cake with an official Sonic image on it. Checking their website, there doesn’t appear to be any Sonic cakes up for order just yet, so this might be a service which will be added later in the year.

product catalogue 7If I’m honest… The Sonic the Hedgehog Official Merchandise store has been very disapointing. Just take a look at it right now and you’ll see a small example of what I mean. Nothing new has been added to the store for months, what ‘collectables’ that are there can be bought very easilly at other stores for much less. With the exception of one or two imported items, most of the products can be found elsewhere for much better prices. Remember that Sonic Monopoly? I was able to import that from Canada and it ended up being cheaper than had I bought it from the Sonic Merchandise UK store!

That said, this image would indicate that things might be changing. It seems that they’re going to be selling giant posters of archie comic covers. This is actually… quite a good idea, archie comics covers are usually a lot better than what you find in the pages of the comic and some of the covers are really nice looking. Giant sized on glossy paper? Thats a great idea!

In addition to this, we seem to have unique branded merchandise. It appears to be limited to coffee cups at this point and whilst they have been advertised on the Sonic Merchandise facebook page, there’s not been any sign of the items on the store. With any luck the site will be getting a relaunch or a huge boom in products. It’s a great idea but is crying out for a huge stock update.

product catalogue 2And finally, Mike Pollock if you’re out there. Eggman under pants are just under £4 from Primark.

To see the full catalogue in full, check out our gallery, these images are large scans so don’t open them at once if you have a slow connection.

Special thanks to toybuzz.co.uk for sending us the catalogue.

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Jazwares Announces Even More New Sonic Toys

jazwares 5

Now you might remember not very long ago we brought you evidence that Jazwares were planning a major increase in it’s Sonic merchandise line this year? With life-sized rings, ASRT figures and even cosplay masks?

Well according to several ‘fact sheets’ dug up by Russian fansite ‘Sonic Characters’ Jazwares looks set to increase it’s Sonic line with several unannounced figures and some new transforming plushies.

Hit that read more link to see all the new toys.

Continue reading Jazwares Announces Even More New Sonic Toys

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Sonic at Toy Fair 2013 Round Up

jazzwarestoyfair2013

As mentioned a few days ago, the annual New York Toy Fair (NYTF) was held this week. Why is this a big deal? Well, for toy makers who have a license to make Sonic toys, this is the one of the best chances for them to promote their upcoming toys to retailers, buyers and the press. To compare it to videogames, this Toy Fair is the toy version of an event like E3.

In the last two years, NYTF booths have had a big Sonic presence at them and this years was no exception. However, unlike previous years in which Jazwares’ booth accidentally (though it wasn’t clear at the time) spoilt the announcement of Sonic Generations, security on unannounced products has been quite tight, very few photographs have been taken of the new merchandise… but that doesn’t mean we didn’t discover a few new things you might find of interest.

Continue reading Sonic at Toy Fair 2013 Round Up

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Sega Confirms New Sonic Games for 2013!

You could have guessed this. But it’s one thing to speculate, it’s another thing to get some form of confirmation. Sega have confirmed several new Sonic game for 2013.

In the November 2012 edition of Toys ‘N’ Playthings there is an interview with Sissel Henno who happens to be the Head of Brand Licensing at Sega (Europe). The interview is mainly focused on Sonic merchandise, in it we get some insight into not only Sonic’s future as a brand, but also confirmation for several new games to be released in 2013.

Continue reading Sega Confirms New Sonic Games for 2013!

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Merch Collector Claims “My Statue melted on a warm day”

In January of this year, Jazwares released a rather awesome looking Sonic Generations statue. It was so awesome in fact that many collectors living outside of America decided to import it. The statue is a nice collectible… however, if one collector is right, it has a bit of a problem and depending how your statue is currently displayed you might want to take action.

Continue reading Merch Collector Claims “My Statue melted on a warm day”

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Jazwares Sonic 20th Anniversary Figures Coming to the UK Later This Week

UK collectible specialist retailer Forbidden Planet is now taking pre-orders for Jazwares’ set of Sonic 20th Anniversary action figures. The figures will be released this coming Thursday October 6th and are priced between £7.99 and £22.99, depending on the size of the figure.

To view the collection and/or get your pre-order(s) in, head over to Forbidden Planet’s website.

Thanks to SSMB member BinaryRaptor for the heads up!

Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.

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Jazwares Confirms Classic Knuckles Figure In The Works

Sonic action figure maker Jazwares has revealed in reply to a fan query on their Facebook page that work is underway on a Classic Knuckles action figure.

Well folks he is in the works. And he looks AWESOME!

No pictures or details about the figures have been released, but we would assume it will be part of the 20th Anniversary line and be out before Christmas.

We’ll keep an eye out for more details.

Source: Jazwares Facebook page

Thanks to Rooftrees Spindash at the SSMB for the heads up!

Got a news tip? Send it in to thesonicstadium@googlemail.com, shadzter@sonicstadium.org or via Twitter at @Shadzter and we’ll credit you for the find.

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New Jazwares Sonic Figures Out Now, Nendoroid Sonic Figure Coming This Winter

Reports are coming in from the SSMB that the special 20th Anniversary Jazwares Sonic figures we told you about back in February are now appearing in stores across the US. The figures are currently nowhere to be found online on GameStop’s, Toys R Us’ or Target’s websites, but have been spotted in store at Target and GameStop.

SSMB member dirupti reports that Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, Modern Tails and Shadow figures can be found at various GameStop stores. These figures appear to be a ‘series 1’ set, with other characters following at a later date.

All right! I can confirm that about every gamestop in Colorado has a box of these.
Each box that the stores got in stock contains:
2 Modern Sonic
2 Classic Sonic
1 Modern Tails
1 Shadow
So, Classic Tails, Silver, Knux, and Eggman apparently are some sort of series 2.
I picked up one of each and the cashier gave me the box (made to hold 6 figures) they came in for buying the rest of that stores stock.

TheDanimator, also from the SSMB, found the Classic Sonic figure in stock at his local Target store and has recorded and shared the below video showing the figure out of its packaging.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRMLJjdFDWc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

You can find pics of some of the currently available figures, as well as upcoming ones in the below eBay listings:
Sonic & Spinner
Shadow & Mono Beetle
Tails & Sandworm
Classic Sonic
Dr.Eggman With Egg Fighters
Classic Tails & Grabber
Silver & Iblis Biter
Knuckles & Egg Pawn

We’ve also heard from mikeblastdude at the SSMB that buying these figures from GameStop will get you an Avatar Award item for your Xbox 360 Avatar.

In other news, a company known as Good Smile Company has revealed a Sonic the Hedgehog Nendoroid figure. Like all Nendoroid figures, Sonic is around 4″ tall, poseable and appears to come with a checkpoint gate accessory. This figure will be available to purchase this Winter.

Check out some pics below:

Sources: SSMB, Video from SSMB member TheDanimator, eBay and Sonic Collectibles.com

Thanks to TheDanimator for the Classic Sonic figure video and to STrainer for the Classic Sonic & Motobug figures pic!

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More Details of Jazwares 20th Anniversary Toy Range

[UPDATE: Check out friends in Germany @ Spindash.de and their photos – credit goes to those guys for these photos and many more!]

Earlier this week we saw footage and images taken from the Nuremburg Toy Fair of the new Jazwares line available later on this year. Well, our friends over at SEGA Memories have managed to obtain snaps of many of the figures and toys to be released to coincide with the 20th anniversary. Some of these have been seen before, but some photos include some others that haven’t been seen before such as the Classic Tails with Badnik figure (see picture – it’s that annoying thing that grabs you in the Chemcial Plant!).

The images also include some “Battle Game” figurines, as well as images for the cover of Archie comics Issue 226, within the classic Sonic & Amy Rose figure set.

Protagonist & Badnik Set

Classic Sonic & Amy Comic Book Set

Jazwares Display at Nuremburg Toyfair (inc. “Battle Figures”)

Needless to say, I don’t think anyone is going to be short of new merchandise this year!

Cheers to Hogfather and SEGA Memories for the tip and the photos!

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Jazwares Reveal Sonic 20th Anniversary Figures & Plushes At London Toy Fair

Jazwares has revealed their plans to launch a series of special Sonic 20th Anniversary figures and plushes at a recent London Toy Fair. A range of prototypes and concepts were on show at Jazwares’ booth, including a figures series called “Sonic Through Time”, which as the name suggests are figures based on Sonic’s design at a various year in his life. Also on show was a Shadow figure & comic pack, classic Dr.Eggman with Egg Robo’s figure pack, modern Dr.Eggman with Egg Pawns figure pack and modern Tails with a modern sandworm Badnik figure pack. New plushes shown were a large Shadow and a large classic Sonic, both 20th Anniversary labelled.

Since this line up was shown at a London toy fair, there’s hope that Tomy (distributor of Jazwares figures in the UK) will release these in the UK. No other information is available at present, but we’ll keep an eye out and report back. For now, check the two photos out and share your opinion of these new figures in the comments.

Thanks to SonikkuForever at the SSMB for the heads up and to Barry the Nomad at the SSMB for finding the last three pics.

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Merchandise Update: Free Riders Figures, Silver Plush & More



Many new pieces of Sonic merchandise are now available at retail, so if you have a friend or family member who is a big Sonic fan, you’ll find plenty of items to choose from to buy for them this Christmas, or to just plain treat yourself with. First up are Sonic the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk figures based on SEGA’s first Kinect title Sonic Free Riders, which was released last month. Each figure comes with the respective character’s eye wear and their hoverboard Extreme Gear. Both figures are available in-store at Toys R Us.

Next up is another Jazwares Sonic the Hedgehog figure based off of another of his recent games Sonic Colours for Wii & DS. The figure is pretty much the same as previous Jazwares Sonic figures, except this one comes with a White Wisp and a Red Wisp. You can grab it now online and in-store at Toys R Us. It’s also available to order at ToyGlobe.com.


For Sonic fans who like something softer, there are two new plush toys available in the forms of Silver the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower. Both are made by Jazwares and are available exclusively in-store and online at Toys R Us.
Silver the Hedgehog
Miles “Tails” Prower


Finally, two new Sonic themed accessory gift sets have been released by Bioworld Merchandising. One set contains a belt buckle and wrist band, while the other contains a wallet with a different wrist band. Both are available in-store and online at Toys R Us.
Belt buckle and wrist band
Wallet and wrist band

Thanks to Woun, chaoscontrol14, Barry the Nomad and Jix Hedgehog at the SSMB for the heads-up!

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ToyGlobe.com Listing Sonic Free Riders Action Figures

As well as a Sonic Colours action figure, U.S. toy retailer ToyGlobe.com now have 3 listings for Sonic Free Riders action figures. The figures can be bought as a two-piece set of Sonic and Jet for $18.95, or you can buy them individually. Alone, Sonic costs $9.95 and Jet will set you back another dollar at $10.95, so buying them together will save you $1.95. The figures are currently listed for a November release, which of course matches the month of the games release. No pictures or sizes are available at present, but we’ll keep an eye open for any released in the future and pass them along.

Source: ToyGlobe.com

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ToyGlobe.com Listing Sonic Colours Action Figure

ToyGlobe is now listing a Sonic Colours action figure. No picture of the figure is available, but the description says it is Sonic and measures in at 5 inches. The figure comes with a Wisp, but there’s no clarification on what kind of Wisp it is. According to the retailer, the figure will be released in November this year, which is the same month the Sonic Colours game is released on Wii and DS. The figure is available to pre-order for $14.95 on ToyGlobe’s website. Could this be the same figure being packaged with the “Special Edition” available for pre-order in some parts of the world?

Thanks to Seraphinprincess at the SSMB for the heads-up!

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A Look At The Jazwares Super Pack

You may remember that we reported a couple of weeks ago about Jazwares latest releases, but we didn’t have any pictures of the Super Pack, which contains action figures of Super Sonic, Super Shadow and Super Silver. Thanks to Jix Hedgehog and TheEGGOne, we now have pictures of this set for those of you who haven’t seen it or bought it yet. Those who have picked it up, let us and the other readers know what you think of it in the comments.

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New Jazwares Figures Now Available

Jazwares, the company behind a lot of Sonic merchandise in recent years, has released more goodies for you to spend your hard-earned cash on. An update at their Facebook page states that Metal Sonic and Eggman figures should now be in stores, along with The Super Pack and the large Racers Pack(seen in the photo above). Big and Froggy figures are said to be coming later this year and Vector and Espio will be packaged together in the latest Comic Book Pack.

‎***SONIC UPDATE***
Hey guys, so I know you all have been asking what the deal is with Sonic and I wanted to give you a clear layout of what to expect for the coming months!

Metal Sonic and Eggman should be hitting the stores
now.
…So should the The Super pack and the large Racers Pack.

Big
and Froggy are later this year, no images yet.
Vector and Espio will
be together in the latest Comic Book pack.

Some fans will be interested to know that Jazwares are hearing your calls for Mighty the Armadillo, Rouge the Bat and Omega figures. In a second Sonic update to their Facebook page, they say they have passed these requests on to the design team and will keep everyone posted. If we hear more, we’ll let you know.

As soon as we have images I will post them! Also, I
know a lot of you have requested Mighty the Armadillo, Rouge the Bat,
and Omega. I have put all your requests in with the design team, and
will keep you posted! Thanks!!

Thanks to fellow TSS Staff member Jason the Jackass for the pic of the large Racers Pack and to Jix Hedgehog for the pic of the Dr.Eggman & Metal Sonic pack. Vector and Espio pic courtesy of eBay seller tbhouse(thanks to SSMB member Aquaslash for the link). We’ll keep an eye out for a pic of the Super Pack figures and update when we get it. If you have the figures and could take a picture of them, please send them in to shadzter@sonicstadium.org and we’ll credit you in this post.

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[UPDATE: Some Stickers Contain New Art]Sonic Sticker Collection Hits WH Smith Stores

UPDATE 5: Thanks to members at the SSMB(here and here) we’re now discovering that some of the stickers contain all new artwork of the various characters. /UPDATE 5 END

UPDATE 4: We’re getting more reports from the SSMB topic that the poster for shiny stickers that the sticker book mentions is missing and it now appears the sticker collection has no shiny stickers anyway. It looks like the shiny stickers and poster to hold them may be scrapped ideas which Factory Entertainment forgot to remove mention of in the book. /UPDATE 4 END

UPDATE 3:
We can now reveal thanks to Stasis that the book has sticker pages with profiles for the following characters (joint pages in bold) –
Sonic the Hedgehog (2 pages including Super Sonic and Sonic the Werehog), Miles “Tails” Prower, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Big the Cat, Cream & Cheese, Dr.Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Silver the Hedgehog & Blaze the Cat, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon & Charmy Bee, Jet the Hawk, Storm the Albatross & Wave the Swallow, Sonic Universe(2 pages including Gemerl, Emerl, Chaos, Tikal, Chao’s, E-123 Omega, E-102 Gamma, Metal Sonic, Eggman Nega, Marine and Captain Whisker & Johnny), Sonic & Tails, Sonic & Amy, Sonic & Knuckles, Dr.Eggman, Shadow & Rouge, Fulfilment. /UPDATE 3 END

UPDATE 2: The company behind the sticker collection is Factory Entertainment, they have a website here, if your book is missing the poster and you want to enquire about it you can find contact details at their site here. /UPDATE 2 END

UPDATE: Thanks to Nemain at the SSMB we have a link to an eBay auction selling the stickers, the seller states there are 140 stickers to collect. Stasis in the comments has informed us that he has picked up a copy of the book for £1.99 and confirms the 140 stickers total while also informing us of an advertisement in the book for the UK release of the Jazwares Sonic merchandise revealing a June release date for them. Thanks Nemain and Stasis.

Super Lombax at the SSMB informs that the book comes with a pull-out poster but unfortunately none of the books at her store had the pull-out poster for some reason. Stasis has also informed us that all 3 books at 3 seperate retailers in his area are also missing the poster which is used to hold the shiney stickers in the collecton. Look’s like this may be a problem at all retailers stocking the book./UPDATE END

The Sonic City Blognik has just been tipped off via their @SEGA Twitter account by user Adwil24 that a new Sonic Sticker Collection has been released in WH Smith stores which suggests it’s available in the UK and Ireland. This is the first official sticker collection in the UK since the Mega Drive days. No other info was given apart from the above photo, we’ll try to get our hands on one along with some stickers and report back.

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TSS Competition: Sales Pitch Winners!

Last week we posed to you the challenge of inventing something cool and original in the way of a new Sonic toy. Well, you all managed to decimate the comments box which ended up including over 150 ideas…and it has as always been a real pain choosing winners! There are far too many amazing to mention here, so before we announce the winners, here are a few:

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

SKrown:
Okay, what the Sonic merchandise series never get to have are collectors quality figures. With the sales of the first 4 figures by F4F, it is clearly shown that Sonic figure set with details that matches anime figures will sell well. The debut idea here is a “Sonic Adventure: DX Figure” set, recreating the Vs. Final Chaos scenery with a darker tone (ignoring the fact that Super Sonic did it all alone):
Link to Image
The figures will be PVC-made with the effects sculpted with clear materials and is around 210 mm, perfect for shelf stands! We must take on any price at all as this will be collector’s item. However, it is assured that even if one is only going to get one out of the set, each is as good as another as a stand-alone. This will be another feature of the series. [Wow! They look like The Force Unleashed Figures! Cool! – T]

Cerium:
Link to Image

So here are my Sonic The Hedgehog Friends & Foes statue line!
Each figure is made from high quality resin material (same as the great 15th anniversary Sonic statue)  and placed on a sturdy wooden base and a little plaque showing where Sonic first met that friend/foe.  As you can see, some figures are held up using small, transparent plastic poles to make it seem like they are in mid-air. This is just the first line of statues. The 2nd line could include more recent characters like Big, Cream & Silver for the friends and Chaos, Shadow & Mephiles The Dark for the foes. [A must for all the high-end collectors! – T]

Sonicmark:
Knuckles with a smashable master emerald? :B [I hope each bit has a built in homing device so you can find them again! – T]

Brocky_Christ:
Four Words.
BIG.THE.CAT.DISPENSER. Its a toy big that cat that can fire out lollies like pez and smarties and whatnot XD [Froggy Pez! – T]

Sonictoast:
For the 3.75 inch line there should be a bonus figure that you get with every set of five. Similar to the Sonic x Mega bot series or the Marvel Legends and Futurama figures. Each toy comes with a limb of a large character, then when you have collected all five, you can piece together the body of an additional character. Take a look, i made visuals: [Loving the SU set…but I need more swatbots! – T]
Shadow the Hedgehog Set
SatBK Set
Sonic Underground Set

RUNNERS UP:

(and the receipients of a Jazwares SatBK Sonic Action Figure!):

Warrior-STH:
A Tornado-2 from Sonic Adventure. Basically it’ll have the ability to transform from normal bi-plane to the super jet plane! (Kinda like a Transformer, hope its not ripping it in anyway…). Plus it can include a miniuature Tails figure for the cockpit and a Sonic figure to stand on the wings! It should be small in size and easy to transform, good for kids ages 6 and up. [I want one now! – T]

DWalrus:
This had better not have been said already…
*ahem* -steps up to front- BEHOLD!!!
The build-your-own Egg-machine!! Start with the basic Eggmobile (featuring of course, the fully articulated doctor with alternate heads of increasing degrees of rage) and use the peices provided to constuct your favourate bosses or your own attempt at hedge-cide! buy booster packs as well as new mobiles with different versions of his moustatchedness for endless possibilities(to kill sonic)!! made to scale with our current lines, naturally! (c) yours truly. How DO YOU like it?!  [A lot! I know where my pocket money would go!  – T]

COMPETITION WINNER:

(And the winner of the Sonic, Tails & SatBK Figure set!)

Stasis!


First, we were very impressed by the filly illustrated technical design for the Sonic Adventure 2 playset  – we could probably build one from these schematics!

Artistic Impression of Set
Schematics and working sounds and lights
Super Sonic figure design

Secondly, we then laughed our arses off at the second idea:

A Dr RRRRRRRRobotnik room guard. Stops people from rooting through your belongings. Set it up before you leave the room, and when someone enters they are caught “snooPING AS usual, I seeeee!”. Thanks to the used phrase, it also insults them.

Enough to scare off any burglar or badnik I think! Congratulations to all the winners, please as usual send your postal info to tbird [at] sonicstadium [dot] org as per usual!

If you didn’t win anything this time around, do not fear!!! We have YET ANOTHER COMPETITION beginning in May…all I can say is you’re going to be at an advantage if you’re good at putting names to faces!

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TSS Competition: Sales Pitch…for Jazware Figures! [UPDATE: Moar Prizes!]

[UPDATE: Holy Mackrel! 100 posts – well then, it’s time to up the stakes!!! The best entry will also receive (in addition to the Black Knight figure) a 3″ Sonic and Tails Jazwares figure too!! Feel free to make multiple entries – remember you have until Wednesday night to get your entries in!]

More goodies up for grabs again peeps, this time we’ve got 3 Jazwares Sonic Black Knight Action Figures to give away to 3 lucky winners. But of course you know me; I like you to work for your goodies, and so here’s the deal:

Imagine you are a Sonic the Hedgehog toy designer working for a company like Jazwares.
You have come to a meeting with you’re fellow designers, and the boss wants ideas for new Sonic toys for the company to sell!

Your task is to come up with an idea for a Sonic the Hedgehog themed toy!

I don’t mind what you want to pitch: it can be a soft toy, an action figure with a super cool action, a figurine, a statue etc… all it has to be is something that could be realistically made, and would get your fellow collectors queuing for days outside of the shops to get them!

To enter, simply post your idea in the comment box! Try to keep your entries to a few sentences (the boss wants brief, punchy pitches, not to be bored to death!)  and most of all, be original in whatever way you want!

The competition is open until Wednesday, 21st of April 2010. Competition winners will be notified on the front page so keep an eye out! The competition is open worldwide, so anyone can enter. With the exception of people living on Bishop Rock.

Props to Marie and Richard for donation of prizes!

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New Jazwares Figures At Forbidden Planet

Emerald Coast owner, SSR DJ and all around cool guy Vger reports that UK collectibles retailer Forbidden Planet are now stocking three characters namely Sonic, Tails and S&TBK Sonic from a range of new figures priced at just £4.99. The back of the packaging informs that more are on the way but no information as to who or what they are. We’ll keep an eye out for them and report back here.

Meanwhile if you’d like a closer look at the three figures currently available head over to Emerald Coast.

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Joe Amaro Explains How Jazwares Make Sonic Toys

Have you ever wondered how Jazwares make all of their finely crafted Sonic merchandise? Well wonder no more as SEGA of America’s Kellie has obtained all of the answers along with concept art and photos from Joe Amaro who works in Jazwares Product Development department.

Topics discussed are concepts, prototypes, approval, where the toys are made, fan input and even Joe’s favorite character. You can check out the Q&A and pictures at SEGA of America’s blog but you may want to get yourself some refreshments as it’s a very long interview.

Thanks to D00dlebug for the heads up.

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ASR & Other Sonic Figures At Toy Fair 2010, Pictures Inside

If any of you have been waiting feverishly for new information on the figures based on Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing then today is your lucky day. Thanks to Toy Fair 2010 in New York we have a slew of new pictures for you and details of what else to expect from Jazwares in the coming months.

Firstly, we have the ASR figures; 5 Inch vehicles with figure and 3″ Mini Racing Figures, inside and outside the box. Next in the gallery blow you should be able to spot the new 6 Inch Knuckles Super Poser. Finally, last but not least is a second Sonic Comic 3″ Double pack, this time featuring Archie’s Sonic issue 207 and three inch figures of Sonic and Metal Sonic! Thats right, the metal one is getting another figure. You wait years for one then three come at once. According to ToyNewsi Jazwares aren’t planning on releasing good ‘ol Metal by himself just yet but it may be in the pipeline later on.

But thats not all the Sonic figure news we have, oh no. Expect to see wave two of the mini ASR figures expand to include Knuckles, Eggman and Tails with wave three being the first to contain none Sonic characters in the guise of Ai Ai, Amigo and Beat. If you’re not into Sonic and cars then you have a Tails 6″ Super Poser to look forward to as well as the Knuckles one and Jazwares also has a mass of plush characters waiting in the wings. Sonic, Shadow and The Werehog are already features on Jazwares webpage but new to the series will be Tails, Knuckles and Silver. Finally it appears Amy will finally get her claws on Sonic as they will be released together in a future comic double pack.

For more pictures see ToyNewsi.

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SEGA & Tomy Deal Brings Sonic Figures To UK & Europe

Earlier this month TSS exclusively revealed the first scraps of information about Jazwares teaming up with Tomy to release their Sonic figures in the UK. Today TSS has the full details of the deal including the first wave of figures and prices.

The first thing to take note of is that Tomy have agreements with both Jazwares and SEGA to not only release existing Sonic figures but develop their own Sonic based merchandise. The deal comes in two parts; Tomy will have access to “a massive back catalogue of characters and stories from two decades of Sonic games, to create a range of new and innovative Sonic-branded toys and collectibles for fans and collectors, young and old.” from Spring 2011. Secondly,  from February 1st 2010 to December 31st 2010 Tomy will distribute Jazwares’ Sonic figures across the whole of Europe.

In the press release announcing the deals Robert Mann, CEO of Tomy Europe had this to say:

“These are two hugely exciting agreements for Tomy. Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic characters in the history of videogaming and has brand recognition reaching far beyond. Sonic players have been fanatical about collectibles and merchandise, and today’s generation are no exception. We’re looking forward to working with both Jazwares and SEGA to bring some really innovative and exciting products to market.”

While the business news is exciting Tomy have also released details about the first wave of Jazwares figures to look out for and their recommended retail price.

  • 6” Super Posers, highly detailed posable action figures with over 25 points of articulation (£9.99 RRP)
  • 7” Soft Figures, plush characters, ready to go wherever your adventure takes you (£6.99 RRP)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog Comic Book Pack, a collector’s edition 200th issue comic book featuring Sonic and rival Knuckles, complete with two exclusive 3¾” posable action figures (£16.99 RRP).

This only appears to be the start, so for once Sonic fans in Europe have a reason to be excited when new Sonic figures are revealed. Now if only we knew more about the ASR figures…

Should any of you more eagle eyed readers spot these figures in the wild why not drop us a line at thesonicstadium@gmail.com and tell us about it?

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Jazwares Sonic Figures Coming To The UK “Very Soon”

It’s been a depressing fact of life for UK Sonic fans when it comes to Jazwares range of fantastic figures. Being ‘exclusive’ to Toys R Us stores but so far only in the US has made them very difficult and costly to get hold of. All of that is about to change. Following the announcement of the new ASR figures TSS got in touch with Jazwares to ask if their favourite blue hedgehog and friends would be available to purchase in the UK anytime soon. Jazwares replied and its good news, figures will be heading here “very soon.”

Jazwares has teamed up with Tomy who will be distributing the line of figures and it’s expected like in the US the range will be available to purchase from Toys R Us stores. Further e-mails have been sent to try and ascertain more details such as exactly which figures to look out for and when but until we get the answers this is all we know.

Obviously TSS will be sure to keep you updated on this developing story.

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New Big The Cat Figure On The Horizon

Nobody could argue that Jazwares have been slacking off because off the back of several new Sonic figure reveals comes another. While the figure in question might only be Big The Cat the big news is the quality of the figure and the many points of articulation which unlike the Sonic Super Posers doesn’t leave Big looking like a knobbly kneed and elbowed freak. There’s no news of a price or even a release date as of yet thanks to the figures status of pending a license. The figure is also missing from the newly updatesd Jazwares website while the ASR figures have a ‘coming soon’ section ready even if there’s no actual content on them yet.

You can check out pictures of the prototype figure below provided by Toy News International and be sure to keep a lookout for further updates regarding any and all Sonic based figures right here at the Sonic Stadium.

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Hi-Ho Silver Away! Next Wave of Jazwares Figures Hit Toys R’ Us

Jazwares just keep them coming don’t they! Wave two of the 3″ figures are reportedly hitting the shelves of Toys R’ Us state-side, with the line-up including Silver the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Werehog. If you want to see some pictures of them out of the packet head over to the Sonic Stadium Message board, where SSMB’er Aquaslash has been kind enough to post up some pictures.

Finally, we can now get our hands on a Silver the hedgehog we can play with, rather than having to make our own.  Personally I think they’re a little on the chunky side, but there again if you’re going to make figures that size, you’re going to loose detail for posability.

Thanks to Foxwhisker for the heads up!

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Catch It If You Can: SDCC JUVI Metal Sonic Figure Now on Sale!

MetalYup, it’s finally that time of the year again for the San Diego Comic Con, and for the handful of lucky, lucky American Sonic fans there’s a nice little treat in store. All attendees have their chance at picking up one of the Jazwares JUVI Metal Sonic figurines, which are exclusive to the event and will only be sold over the 4 days the event in held.

HOWEVER, if you’re quick enough, Toys R’ Us US are stocking a limited amount of the figure at $15.99 a pop, so even if you’re unable to attend the event you can still pick up one of these nice little additions. Unfortunately it looks like this is only open to the US, and only available to purchase for 4 days, so be quick about it if you’re wanting to snag one! Everyone else will have to open up their wallets and fork out for one (plus postage) on ebay!

You can buy the figure here at the Toys R’ Us Website.

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