Thanks, Dan...

This new Kirbyesque Xmen boxset looks far better than the last attempt. Not crazy about those "ear-lumps"...

Too bad the Horsemen can't be hired to sculpt "Marvel Universe Classics," though. These new X-sculpts still seem a bit awkward in comparison, somehow. Can't put my finger on it exactly...

I can only hope that these don't get all "washed up" in the final version.

And personally I would have left off the yellow paint atop the thighs...and Bobby needs some booties.

...yet more candidates for my customizing queue...

I just got a notice from Toys R Us that my preorder is preparing to ship. So these could start showing up in stores quite soon.

Interesting...I just got an "unexpected delay" message and can no longer find the boxset at TRU...

Now reports boxset as "backordered."

My guess would be that if they are filling pre-orders in the order that they were placed, they have not gotten enough sets into the warehouse to fill all of those orders yet. Hopefully they will get a second shipment (or the other half of the initial shipment) before the mid-March expected shipping date.

Thanks...that was my initial impression, too...but why would they pull the boxset from their website completely, and not simply list it as being backordered? Sounds like they have no plans to get more in...?

Its hard to say. But they do it a lot. They've done the same with the Marvel legends Infinite Series too. So just because it isn't on their site at the moment, doesn't mean it won't be back.

So...I drop a line to TRUs Customer Service yesterday afternoon. They were nice enough to take the time to email me what I already knew (that the item was now on backorder), and I thanked them for making the effort, at least. They had no answers and could not advise me, otherwise.

However, this morning I now get the "preparing to ship" boilerplate in my inbox. Hope springs eternal...

I don't recall that TRU has offered online preorders that often in the past, even for "exclusives." My impression was that their website commerce focused on unloading older toys that wouldn't sell in the stores. I've pretty much given up burning the gas it takes for the usually fruitless round trip to my brick&mortar TRU. I could never have found these new figures on the shelves locally.

Curious what you think of this boxset when you have it in hand.

From the tracking, it looks like I'll have to wait until Monday to see.

I think Toys R Us treats their online store as a separate entity. They seem to get the same items including exclusives, but they tend to get listed after they have already shown up in stores.

A couple of years ago, they offered a pre-order for Masterpiece Optimus Prime. It wasn't handled very well, though. It went up in the middle of the night, and apparently only had a limited stock allocation, since it was "Sold Out" by daybreak. Then, over the next few weeks, they would randomly put it back up as their allocation was increased, only to sell out again quickly. Then they added a "1 per customer" limit and started cancelling double orders. Many people gave up after finding it in stores, but my understanding is that those who stuck it out eventually got what they ordered.

Of course, it was shipped loose in a box with no padding, but that's another issue.

Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems to me that for a store exclusive like this, they could offer a pre-order for a few months in advance, then order enough quantity to fill all those orders. Why they do this partial allocation jazz I don't understand.

The idea of exclusives like this is suppose to be to drive traffic to the store so hopefully they can buy more stuff. Or at least that was traditionally the idea. So filling demand online in advance means that those people never have to go to a Toys R Us store.

Will wonders never cease? This TRU exclusive boxset arrived in the mail today. Initial impression favorable...

Will try to post mini-review after I've had time to digest...

Not sure if anyone here recalls the Original X-men box set from ToyBiz long ago.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-X-MEN-FIGURE-BOX-SET-TOY-BIZ-MARVEL-COL...

IMO, despite the nice Kirby packaging, the figure sculpts themselves, I eventually determined, were too funky even for custom fodder. Marvel Girl had rooted hair. The Angel was pre-posed in some sort of twisted posture. etc... This new Marvel Legends X-men boxset is completely new, thank goodness.

The Box & Packaging
Very sharp graphix. Too bad the actual sculpts don't look quite as nice as the illustration, but at least the back of the box features pix of the actual figures. (I think a better picture might have been possible.) Zero twist ties here and no need to destroy anything to remove the figures. Collector friendly.

All the figures seem in scale with each other(!). The paint is good overall. The dark blue chosen seems about right and the finish is not too shiny. There is a slight orange wash on the uniforms yellow bits, but not on the trunks, for some reason. The ear lumps do distract me, but the odd ridge running down the center of the facemasks is more distracting. YMMV.

For some reason Marvel Girl's & The Beast's X-belts do not match the others in the set, which would have been nice. No foot stands, and zero accessories (no icy constructs) even for Bobby...who also lacks the rocker ankles (and no separate X-belt) that all the other X-men figures in this set sport. (Not even a "flying stand" for Angel...) Overall very nice sculpts...better than most of the recent ML 6" figures, IMO...not quite up to Horseman standards, however. All the guys look far too buff, as though they're not wearing skin, much less a uniform.

Cyclops
All the expected ball & cut joints, although even with his double-jointed elbows, Scott still cannot quite reach his visor. Must be why he seems to be scowling?

Beast
Maybe my (surprise) favorite from this set. Great articulation (except for the odd lack of wrists). A bit more toe-spread might have been nice, and I've never been a big fan of gratuitous, ubiquitous closed fists on action figures. The Beast even has hair sculpted on his arms and feet (like a Hobbit?). Beast also has some small holes in his back one could hang him from, I suppose...?

Iceman
My least favorite of the set. Small (at least slightly larger than Jean), pearly white plastic figure. For more visual appeal I might have preferred a flat white "snowy" Bobby with old-school x-belt & yellow booties.

Marvel Girl
My second least favorite here. Not an ugly mug, but not anywhere near pretty. Her hair, which could have been sculpted better...out of softer vinyl(?)...limits her neck movement...and why does Jean need a fist? Two open hand poses might have been a better choice. Also, her torso joint is old-style "floating" design, which does not work well with her yellow tabard. P.S. MG is a throwback to those wonky old-school ML hips that can only bend one way without tediously reorienting the hip joints...Iceman sports the same retro hips!)

Angel
Warren has a slight smile, but his oval eyeholes add to his rather goofy expression, IMO. He comes with two "holding" hands. At least he doesn't have twin fists, but of course he comes with nothing to hold. At least one "saluting" hand might have been warranted, as Warren could be suspended in a decent in-flight attitude. He can point his toes, put his feet close together, and his head can look up far enough. The bad news is that, although his wings are sculpted well enough, they are a one piece item, attached by a single plug. I may have to check around to see what alternate articulated wings I might have left over from other figures...?

Professor X?
Glaring omission from this set, but even though my opnions can be petty & picky...all things considered, I'm both please & surprised that this set turned out as nice as it did! Besides, I happen to have an in-scale Kirby Prof X with a lap blanket and in a vintage 1/12 scale wheelchair (not some sort of levitating silliness) I got back in the halcyon days of ebay.

Now when/if Marvel Legends can/will release a silver age KIRBYISH Fantastic Four set...? After all, I never thought I'd ever see another attempt at the original X-men, much less a better one...

I would agree with most of what you said. I even had the same idea about including Professor X figure. But as I was getting ready to write up my review I realized that this set isn't suppose to be based on the original appearance. It is suppose to represent the classic team as they appeared in the recent All New X-men comic.

But in the mean time, if anyone wants to see some photos, check out my site

Oh, I knew it wasn't supposed to represent the Silver Age team from the blurb on the box..."heroes from the past..."

Also, rather than assimilating yet another task into my customizing queue, I've decided NOT to swap Angels head/wings with a DCU Hawkman...too close to point of diminishing returns...

...oh, and the new Iceman is growing on me, No belt or yellow booties for Bobby.

I just picked this up in store on Monday. Great set. I got 15% off since I finally got the TRU credit card. Also picked up the '66 Batmobile.

I must be going blind or need better lighting!

I just recently noticed that Cyclops, Marvel Girl & Angel seem have bare/flesh-colored hands in this incarnation. If anyone cares or wants to paint these hands yellow (my least favorite acrylic to apply) to match their glove cuffs, a few thin coats of Testor's Turn Signal Amber did the trick for me. Then a puff of dullcote knocked down the resulting shine.

Wait, your figures had flesh colored hands in stead of yellow? That is very strange. Mine were all the correct color plastic to start with. I wonder if that was a one off factory error or if they just had a run done with the wrong color plastic?