I’m starting to feel like I’m the bringer of all bad news and gloom these last couple days, but it looks like I’ve got a few more unfortunate tidings to convey. After gaining some momentum and a lot of interest by their appearances at major conventions throughout the summer, Play Imaginative announced yesterday that their entire Iron Man Super Alloy figures line in both 1/4 and 1/12 scales will now be delayed until 2014…

One of the booths that I thought was the most compelling at New York Comic Con 2013 was the Play Imaginative booth, where they had on display a truly incredible number of prototypes for the Super Alloy Iron Man 1/12 and 1/4 scale figures. For a company that had yet to release even a single figure in their Iron Man brand to display such an insane number of figures for sale was shocking, and immediately got my attention (as well as the attention of thousands of Marvel collectors worldwide).

Though none of the first five figures put up for sale (1/4 Starboost Iron Man, 1/4 War Machine Mark 2, 1/12 Iron Man Mark 42, 1/12 Iron Patriot and 1/12 War Machine Mark 2) were in the top-tier of my favorite armors, I was prepared to drop a couple hundred dollars this holiday season to check out some of the earliest figures in this line and see what it’s all about.

Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen now. At least, not anytime soon.

Yesterday, Yes Anime (the official U.S. distributor of the Play Imaginative Iron Man Super Alloy figures line) posted the following notice on their Facebook page:

“Please take note that the release date for the following products has been changed.
This is to ensure that the quality is up to expectation.

· 1/4 Scale Starboost: August 2014
· 1/4 Scale War Machine Mark 2: July 2014
· 1/12 Scale Mark 42: February / March 2014
· 1/12 Scale Iron Patriot: February / March 2014
· 1/12 Scale War Machine Mark 2: January / February 2014″

It also seems that these might be low ball estimates, as the actual Yes Anime website cites a February 25, 2014 release date for the Super Alloy War Machine Mark II 1/12 figure. So we’re still a minimum of three-plus months out from getting the first 1/12 Super Alloy Iron Man figure in hand, and eight months away from seeing the first quarter-scale figure. In fact, at this rate, Play Imaginative will likely be displaying at SDCC 2014 without ever having released any of their quarter-scale figures!

This is only a delay for now, which is far preferable to a straight-up cancellation of the line, but it definitely makes me fear for the future health and releases of the Play Imaginative Iron Man Super Alloy figures line. When you think about the thousands and thousands of dollars Play Imaginative spent this year promoting a line that zero figures will be available for in 2013, it’s really quite shocking and a bit scary.

By the time Play Imaginative actually manages to release any of the dozens and dozens of background armors from Iron Man 3 that they’ve created prototypes of, will anyone care enough anymore to buy them? I just don’t know. Pre-orders are still available for all of the first wave of the Iron Man Super Alloy figures, though you’ll obviously be waiting a little while if you want them.

What do you think about this latest delay by Play Imaginative, Marvel collectors? Do you think this is an ill portent for the future of the Super Alloy Iron Man Play Imaginative line, or just a standard delay that doesn’t concern you?