I’m very pleased to let you all know that I’ve reached an agreement with Hard Hero to purchase all of the statue prototypes and other production materials that they use to create the TCat series. It certainly won’t be a cheap undertaking as I’ll be paying a small fortune for each prototype but I think it will be a big boon for my collection and the site.
We’ll now have the exclusive ability to post images of the original prototype statues on the site, and I will also be registering a not for profit company here in Canada that will act as a museum for ThunderCats collectibles. I have dreams of creating a travelling museum for ThunderCats fans that could be set up at toy shows and comic book conventions around North America. One of the commitments I needed to make in securing the full set of prototypes was that I keep the entire set together, which got me started thinking about what a great display that would make.
Of course the site will be our online museum for the statues, more of my animation art collection and the original promotional posters. But I’m hoping that the statue line will push us a step forward in content and put us ahead of the curve when reporting on the line.
Two days ago I received the Lion-O and Cheetara prototypes in the mail and I’ve shot some HD video footage of them for the site. I’ve been asked to only publish the videos and other photos once the production versions hit stores and mailboxes but we’ll be able to put detailed statue reviews together in advance of the release of the statues and this gives us the edge over any other news outlet following the line.
Hey guys, I’ve just received word that Hard Hero’s next statue announcement will be that they’re putting the finishing touches on a Bengali statue. This may be classed as an exclusive, not sure how it will be distributed or marketed yet.
I’m hoping we’ll get to post pics before they put it up on their own site but they usually post it up very quickly after WB gives them the final okay.
We’ll have access to the production drawings and other tid bits like we did for the Lion-O statue.
More news to come from Hard Hero soon. For now please keep this under your hat as it’s not official yet, please don’t discuss it in the public forums.
Hey Mark, thanks for all your hard work with this - nice to see Rob posting over here, and to see the Bengali statue!
I didn’t want to say so on the forums because I thought it would look like I was ****ing on Rob’s big reveal, but between you & me - I hate the look of the Bengali statue! The pose is great but the facial features are hideous, IMO he’s the worst statue they’ve done so far!
Could I ask either of you guys to put the Bengali news and photos up on the main page for me please? I’d do it myself but I tend to mess up the html formating every time.
Manny, I made a commitment to Rob Potts that I’d put this up on our front page and I said that two days ago. Could you or Chris put it up ASAP please? I don’t mind if its slipped underneath the other two, but let’s get it up there so it doesn’t look like we’re playing favourites.
Please DO NOT post this on the front page or on the forums until I give the okay, or until you see that Hard Hero has already put it up on their site
Guys, this is a complete secret until the Tygra shots are officially put up on the Hard Hero page, but here is our exclusive - team members only view of Tygra the finished statue.
I was blown away at how they managed to build the bolo whip like that. Although its shorter than the version in the cartoon, its clear that this is still an impressive feat to accomplish in resin.
I like this Tygra but I’m not sure I love it. Something about it lacks his maturity, ferocity and confidence. It feels a bit vacant somehow in the eyes and the expression. I’m hoping he looks better from different angles.
Please DO NOT post this on the front page or on the forums until I give the okay, or until you see that Hard Hero has already put it up on their site
EDIT
Thought I’d also mention why this had to be a team member only share at this point. I’ve asked Rob Potts a few times if we could get a sneak photo or if we could leak photos of upcoming statues before they go on the Hard Hero site.
He answered by saying that they need to have an effective marketing plan, and that includes making sure that when the excitement about a new statue builds that fans have a way of buying the statue immediately, effectively they need to be able to have fans do a spontaneous impulse purchase the first time they see the statue. It makes sense and so I’ll stop pushing for being able to leak photos but I do think we could continue to get pics of partially completed statues… like they did for us with the Mumm-Ra statue and the Ma-Mutt statue.
Whilst there’s no way I could justify the price tag of this, I think the sculptor has captured Tygra’s look very well - I haven’t liked any of the other ThunderCat character statues I’ve seen (but love Mumm-Ra), this is the first one where my instant reaction was a thumbs-up!
The pose is great but the facial features are hideous, IMO he’s the worst statue they’ve done so far! 
