Wave 4 Thumpback and Eye-Brawl
It’s been a while since Skylanders Giants first arrived. Since then we’ve seen Wave 2 and Wave 3 figures hit stores and sell like the proverbial hot cakes. As with the original game, my kid’s thoughts have now turn to the remaining characters as websites and players clamor for news of the remaining giants: Eye-Brawl, Thumpback and Ninjini.
Often the best way to track the arrival of these new figures is retailers. My kids spend their after school computing time, once homework is done, checking through a series of bookmarks for the figures they think will be released next. At first I thought they were wasting their time but it has actually paid dividends.
On more than one occasion they’ve been quick enough off the mark to snag themselves a rare or limited edition Skylander. The three remaining Skylander Giants are now firmly in their sights, particularly Thumpback and Eye-Brawl. When I asked them about Ninjini I was told firmly that she shouldn’t be coming out yet because there are any packaging pictures available yet. It seems my kids have become retail experts.
Looking around it does seem that Thumpback and Eye-Brawl will be hitting stores soon. On Amazon Thumpback’s listing includes details about compatibility and a box shot. Eye-Brawl is also there in his packaging with an additional image of an un-boxed version. Compare this to Ninjini, and she is clearly not going to be released until the final wave of figures in Easter or possibly the Summer.
With a likely announcement of Skylanders 3 at the New York Toy Fair in the spring it will be interesting to see how this effects the roll-out of figures. Also with other franchises getting in on the toy-meets-video-game genre, Disney Infinity seeming the most likely, it may mean that figures are released sooner than the first game to keep the collecting momentum going.
I also wouldn’t rule out some further surprises in terms of special figures. The popularity of limited edition Skylanders (from golden to translucent to flock and legendary) may mean that others will be produced as we approach the final release of Skylanders Giants figures.
The kids have also been pawing over the character trailers for Thumpback and Eye-Brawl as they try and decide which of these figures they prefer. My daughter seems to be attracted to the idea of a floating eye-ball; I blame too much Harry Potter. While my sons are still taken with Thumpback’s “Hail to the whale” catch phrase and skid around the house shouting it.
Scorpion Striker Skylanders Pack
Other favorites for Wave 4 inclusion seem to be Hot Dog, who is currently listed for sale (although without packaging) on Amazon. My kids have already made up all sorts of scenarios involving him and the Hot Head giant (favorite of which is something they call the “dog walking game”). Because of this they have got their eye on the Scorpion Striker Pack that includes not only Hot Dog, but also a Catapult weapon and Series 2 Zap.
Here’s the full list of remaining Skylanders that my kids use to check up on them.I suspect that we will see a bunch of these appear in Wave 4 quite soon then the remaining batch split between an Easter and Summer release of figures…
Remaining Giants:
Remaining (Lightcore) Skylanders:
Remaining New (non-Lightcore) Skylanders:
Remaining Series 2 (non-Lightcore) Skylanders:
