Star Convoy (or "Star Optimus Prime" as the box officially states, but that doesn't roll off the tongue nearly as nicely) gets an honourable mention as it's the one figure on this list I haven't actually preordered yet. While I absolutely love the look of it, I can't say I'm in love with the Titan Class price tag and am currently in two minds about whether to wait and see if it gets discounted. Previous Titan Class history would suggest yes, but this is an Optimus Prime we're talking about. Nevertheless I'm far more in love with the idea of smaller (and slightly cheaper) Titan Class figures, with this more like a premium Commander Class figure ala the HasLab releases rather than a two foot tall monstrosity. Age of the Primes Star Convoy looks like a lovely update to the original toy, right down to the inclusion of an adorable Micromaster Hot Rod. It's just a shame he's a lot bigger than the Generations Selects Super Megatron from a few years ago, so it's a bit of an unfair fight...
5. Marvel Legends Spider-Man Unlimited
Marvel Legends isn't a line I dabble in all that often, and whenever I do it's almost certainly Spider-Man (or on the odd occasion, Fantastic Four) related. Spider-Man Unlimited is a suit collectors have been demanding for some time, and judging by Hasbro's promotional pictures he's been well worth the wait. Despite not enjoying the show all that much as a child I revisited it not so long ago and found it a lot more palatable. More significantly though I have fond memories of using this suit and its invisibility powers on the Spider-Man video game for the original Playstation, which as far as I'm concerned is still the best Spider-Man video game ever made. Either way, this is a healthy dose of nostalgia I'm looking forward to kicking 2025 off.
4. S.H. Figuarts Mecha Gigantron
The Ultraman S.H. Figuarts kaiju have been running rings around the S.H. MonsterArts line for some time, but next year Tamashii Nations are trying something a little different as it tackles its first kaiju from Ultraman: Rising. Mecha Gigantron looks to be every bit as impressive as some of the most recent Ultraman kaiju offerings when it comes to size and articulation, with a sculpt that captures the CGI model just as well (if not better) than Ultraman & Emi did. Granted at 22,000 yen it's a little on the expensive side, but fingers crossed it'll have the quality to back up that price tag. If it turns out well, I'd happily pay the same price again for a standard version of Gigantron too.
3. THE GATTAI DX Bravern
Brave Bang Bravern! was easily one of the best shows I watched in 2024 - a beautiful love letter to the super robot genre with great characters and some surprising twists. Having to wait a whole year for toys has been less good, but at least it'll be kicking off the year in style. In the last few months TakaraTomy have also announced their own high-end Bravern in their new Toyrise line, but Good Smile's THE GATTAI version looks to be a little more my speed. While Good Smile are selling Bravern and Bang Dragon separately (making the Toyrise version a little cheaper if you plan to get both), I really like the expressiveness that THE GATTAI version has to offer. Confession - I'm not the biggest fan of the Bang Bravern combination anyway (more because of the colours than the design), so I'm skipping Bang Dragon anyway. To me, Bravern looks perfect just as he is.
2. S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Wingman
The S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou line always delivers some of the best figures out there, but there's only so many times figures from the same four franchises (Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Ultraman and GARO) can be that exciting. 2025 looks to be an interesting year for the line though as it's stepping out of its comfort zone with not just one, but TWO figures from other tokusatsu properties. First up we have Gridman in January, which will almost certainly be a fantastic figure but is far from the first for the Hyper Agent. Wingman getting a Figuarts release though, and a Shinkocchou Seihou at that, later on in the year is definitely something to get excited about. The new tokusatsu remake of Masakazu Katsura's manga has been an absolute blast so far, and definitely a show anyone with a love for tokusatsu should check out. This new action figure (based on the suit from said show) looks to be of the same high quality Bandai have set for the line, with an accessory count to go with the best of them. Judging by the fact that initial preorders sold out almost immediately and a second run was announced, a lot of collectors seem to agree.
1. HIYA Exquisite Series Kong (BEAST Glove)
Not at all the toy I was expecting to top my list, but I feel like Bandai have forced my hand a bit here. Much to my surprise I absolutely loved Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It wasn't a particularly clever film, but it was the kind of big dumb fun I needed to make me excited for the MonsterVerse again. Bandai had me covered nicely with their S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla [2024] Evolved Ver. release, but then they had to go and be greedy when it came to getting a film-accurate final battle Kong. Rather than just release it as a whole new figure, Bandai instead decided to release the BEAST Glove and alternate head (with false tooth) parts with their Skar King and Shimo releases. Not so bad if you were planning on buying the whole set, but if like me you were going to only get Godzilla and Kong then all of a sudden you're looking at paying out a fortune to get it. Thankfully HIYA stepped in with their own articulated Kong as part of their Exquisite Series line, which I've heard great things about. At roughly the same size (HIYA scale a little bigger), comparable articulation and a CONSIDERABLY lower price tag HIYA have set themselves up as a real competitor to MonsterArts, so it's about time I found out what all the fuss is about. The one problem is I hear HIYA aren't too great at sticking to their scheduled release dates, and with Kong already slated for the end of the year I'm just hoping this isn't a figure that ends up slipping into 2026.
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What toys are you looking forward to in 2025? As always let me know in the comment section below!
2 comments:
I’m looking forward to Marvel Legends ROM!
That looks like a great figure!
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