I’m
handling Needless Things’ Toy Fair coverage a little differently
this year. Rather than doing the podcast and an exhaustive post
recapping what I was able to glean from other websites’ coverage, I
am combining the two.
That’s
why I’m so glad that I have a pool of great toy experts to rely on.
This past Sunday I got online with Mr. Beau Brown
(SciFiJanitors.com),
Ryan Schweck (Evil), Jay Hornsby (The Belligerent Monkey),
Josh Wilson (The Oncoming Storm),
and Reverend Dan Wilson (Poddy Humor)
and we all talked toys. Check it out:
There
were a few things that I wanted to be sure to mention here, so I went
ahead and threw some stuff together as a sort of half-assed post; but
the podcast is definitely the Main Event today.
Please
be sure and check out Needless Things’ panelists’ other ventures,
as well:
“Procrastibate”
by LeSexoflex.com
Bif!Bang!Pow!
BBP continues to work with some very cool licenses, though their release schedule continues to be questionable. I admire this company for continuing to come up with different, kitschy ways to represent its various properties.
Well, except for this one:
Big
Bang Theory:
Ugh. BBP is cashing in (wisely) on the retro action figure craze with
a line of old school 3.75” scale figures from this show.
The
Venture Bros.:
There are 3.75” figure and 8” retro cloth lines for the best show
on television, but I'm not collecting either because the releases are
too far apart and the future of the lines too uncertain for me to
invest.
The
Ambiguously Gay Duo:
Retro cloth figures and some sort of smaller scale piece of the duo
in flight are scheduled for this year. I am tempted.
DC
Collectibles
DCC had a lot of exciting stuff to show, but I’m going to begin with the most exciting things, possibility-wise – their action figures of Batman and Catwoman based on the Timm/Dini DC animated universe.
If
you don’t know, Batman:
The Animated Series,
Superman:
The Animated Series,
and the Justice
League Unlimited
cartoons all inhabit the same universe; one created by Paul Dini and
Bruce Timm and perpetuated by Dwayne McDuffie. It produced what I
consider to be definitive interpretations of a massive number of the
characters in the DC Universe. As a matter of fact, my decisions to
buy a large number of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics figures were
influenced mainly by their characters’ depiction in those cartoons.
DC
Collectibles showed two figures from what is presumably a new ongoing
line drawing from that animated universe – Batman and Catwoman.
What is interesting is that the figures are being designed based on
Timm and Dini’s original concept sketches and the two men are
themselves overseeing the line and choosing which versions of what
characters are used. On display were Batman as he appeared in The
New Batman & Robin Adventures
and Catwoman as she appeared on Batman:
The Animated Series.
It was explained that Timm understands that some of the redesigns
done for the latter show weren’t the best and that he will be using
the preferred designs. Hence the grey Catwoman over the black-suited
one with the green face (which I never understood).
What’s
so exciting is the potential for this line. If it does well (which
these first two releases almost certainly will), we could see DCC
producing quality figures of a huge number of the DC animated
universe characters. This could render my DC Universe Classics line
obsolete, as the animated style is what I always preferred. I just
didn’t like the way Mattel did their Justice League Unlimited
figures.
Funko
A company that I have never even bothered covering before has ended up making the biggest splash at this year’s Toy Fair. Funko has long been known for their bobbleheads and cutesy Pop! vinyl figures. I loathe bobbleheads and generally avoid things that can be described as cutesy, so I’ve never mentioned Funko’s stuff before. But this year, as far as I am concerned, the company has totally owned Toy Fair.
With
the vast number of licenses in their new 3.75” ReAction range and
the much-demanded properties in their 6” Legacy collection, Funko
blew minds just before the annual toy exposition. Not just because of
the massive reveals, but because of how soon the product was going to
be ready to go. The first post-Alien ReAction figures will be hitting
in April and the Game of Thrones Legacy figures are available at
Barnes & Noble right
now.
ReAction:
I covered this about as thoroughly as I need to last week. You can
check that out here.
I am going to do my best to show restraint with these since I
technically do not like this style of figure, but I already
preordered a few from BigBad.
Legacy:
The Game of Thrones figures are already out and the Firefly figures
were for-real officially announced. I already posted my review of the
mostly great Daenerys figure and couldn’t be more excited about
this new range. Well, if they were cheaper I would be more excited.
But better these than another DC sub from Matty!
Hasbro
It pains me to say this, but Hasbro has pretty much lost me over the past year. As excellent as the 6” Star Wars Black line is, I just don’t find it as appealing as the 3.75” line. A Star Wars line without vehicles just does not appeal to me. And the smaller Black line didn’t do much for me, either. I bought Biggs from the first wave, but there wasn’t one other figure that I wanted. And even him I just bought because I needed one to go in his Toys R Us Exclusive X-Wing.
GI
Joe has been floundering for years now. There have been occasional
exciting releases, but overall the line has had spotty distribution
and issues with the consistency of quality and design.
But
then there are the Marvel Legends. My interest in that line has been
wholly reinvigorated by the freshness and renewed effort of the new
Infinity movie tie-in series. There are still a fair number of shared
parts, but it seems like more thought is put into the designs. I’ve
been extremely happy with the Captain America and Spider-Man figures
I’ve picked up (reviews coming soon). I hope that Hasbro can
sustain this new paradigm and I’m excited to see what this year’s
Toy Fair has in store.
Star
Wars:
The 6” Black line is still a big deal, though all of those Monkey
Leias and admittedly nice Greedos warming pegs are making some folks
nervous. Not Hasbro, though! They showed 6” scale versions of Jabba
the Hutt and an Imperial Speeder Bike with a Scout Trooper. These are
a pretty great deal at $40 apiece, but you’re going to end up with
a Jabba that just sits on your shelf – not throne or hookah or
Salacious Crumb or anything. Of course, they might make the full
playset a SDCC Exclusive, but we all know how that goes.
The
Rebels line is interesting and that Boba Fett looks spectacular. I
mean, I’m gonna buy a Boba Fett no matter what, but this one really
looks great. I honestly haven’t been following production on this
show too closely, but I am excited for another entry into the Star
Wars televised universe.
GI
Joe:
Much to my surprise, Hasbro is actually observing the 50th
anniversary of the franchise with a Toys R Us Exclusive line this
fall. It’s mostly new-ish versions of characters we already have,
but there are a few like Leatherneck that I’m excited about. Some
retooled vehicles are also scheduled.
Marvel
Legends:
The first big thing I saw was the set of Guardians of the Galaxy
Legends. The Dave Bautista likeness on Drax is amazing. It occurs to
me that Hasbro didn’t do one of these Legends lines for Thor:
The Dark World
and I think that’s a shame. It would have been great to have Odin,
Sif, Malekith, or really anybody else from the movie. Or their comic
book counterparts.
Mattel
So… somehow Mattel managed to blow it with the Batman TV Masters. I have no idea what happened. This line should have been a huge success.
MattyCollector.com
Masters
of the Universe:
This year’s secondary sub is a Princess of Power subscription,
which I am totally stoked about because I can skip it and use that
money to buy toys from NECA and Funko. Between this and not having to
pay for a crappy DC sub that’s a lot of xenomorphs, Kaiju, and
Browncoats.
The
figures shown were Double Trouble (called Double Mischief due to one
of those trademark issues), Entrapta, and an admittedly awesome
looking Light Hope. They also had what I understand is Sweet Bee’s
helmet, which I do not care about.
As
for the regular sub, the only new figure shown was Rio Blast. He
looks great and I can’t wait to have him.
The
Mini Masters are here! The first set of Battle Armor He-Man and
Mer-Man were offered this month and the rest were shown at Toy Fair.
They look outstanding. I’m ordering a set for me and a set for Lil’
Troublemaker.
DC
Universe Club Infinite Earths:
Well, I guess I’ll be spending some money after all. I can’t miss
out on Damian or Ice. I am not a fan of Doomsday, so even if they
were doing a regular one instead of the sucky version nobody wants
I’d skip that one. 90s Aquaman looks great, but is not a figure I
need. Especially not for $25.
Speaking
of ridiculous rip-off pricing, Mattel announced a Matty-only DC
Universe Classics Super Powers line. The figures are all repaints
except for Mr. Mytzlptlyk and the Kalibak build-a-figure and are $30
each. Fucking absurd. The packaging looks fantastic though, and I’m
sure some hardcore collectors will be won over.
Other
Stuff:
Every few months Matty will be offering a super deluxe Total Heroes
figure. Firestorm with accessories and multiple heads, a Green
Lantern Corps figure with the same,and a couple others that I don't think have been nailed down yet.
Retail
Lines
Not as much to report as last year.
Kid
Stuff:
There’s a line of totally crappy looking 4” figures out now. No,
not the Multiverse line – I mean different
crappy looking figures than the line with the movie figures. These
would barely qualify as good Happy Meal toys.
The
Total Heroes line is actually pretty great so far. There are a lot of
shared parts, but we like the figures we have gotten so far. I’m
curious to see who else gets released and whether or not they will do
a Wonder Woman in this line that is unquestionably oriented towards
kids. They did in Imaginext, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t
here.
NECA
Like last year, some of NECA's coolest offerings were in their large-scale figure range – an Alien Queen and the Power Loader from Aliens. The ingenious thing here is that they are taking advantage of the 18” format to make large figures in scale with the 7” line. Obviously these both look awesome and I will be buying them.
The
company also displayed new quarter scale figures of Batman from
Arkham
Origins
and Joker from The
Dark Knight.
The
biggest announcement was that NECA has secured the rights to produce
figures of Ellen Ripley with Sigourney Weaver's likeness. None were
ready to be shown, but at least three different versions will be
released – presumably one will be made to go in the Power Loader. I
tend to doubt we'll see a rendition of her look from the end of
Alien.
Another
HUGE deal is NECA's acquisition of the Godzilla license – for both
the new movie and the classics. This is awesome for multiple reasons.
First because we know that NECA will make kick-ass toys, but also
because it means affordable versions of the kaiju from the old movies
will finally be available. I recently canceled preorders for the
Godzilla 2000 and King Ghidorah from the SH MonsterArts line because
I just could not justify spending the money on them. Now I might be
able (if the line lasts) to own both of those and several more for
the cost of those two. Also, I know there are scale issues, but this
means we will have Godzilla and Pacific Rim lines from the same
company.
Speaking
of Pacific
Rim, a
new 18” Knifehead was on display and plans for a large-scale Cherno
Alpha were announced. I've been having a lot of trouble finding this
line at retail; I hope it can continue for a long time. Shipping
costs are keeping me from ordering the current series.
The
Predator line – NECA's longest-running single license – will
continue with more Kenner throwbacks and some new comic book
versions. But the big news – fucking crazy news, actually – was
the announcement that NECA will be releasing the Blade Fighter
vehicle. This is... just nuts. Nobody makes vehicles for collector
lines without lamenting how difficult it is.
Also
in the realm of craziness is the fact that NECA is releasing a
RoboCop from the third movie. The
terrible
third movie. But then you realize it's RoboCop with a jetpack and a
giant cannon and it seems like an awesome idea.
New
entries to NECA's Mego-inspired line were also shown, but I have been
steadfastly avoiding such things despite how awesome they are. I can
only work so many hours, people. And this gig sure doesn't pay.
Random
Thoughts
Overall it seems like the companies I care about are saving their big stuff for San Diego Comic Con now.
I
don’t want to give up on Doctor Who toys, but it looks like
Character/Underground is seriously losing interest in the Classic/5”
scale. With the announced inclusion of classic Who characters in
future 3.75” lines I think I might be done collecting toys from my
favorite franchise.
Is
there any way possible that Warner Bros. is happy with Mattel’s
handling of their DC Comics license?
Best
In Show – Toy Fair 2014
- Best Single Figure – NECA’s Alien Dallas in spacesuit
- Best Vehicle – NECA’s Predators Blade Fighter
- Best Role Play Item – Hasbro’s Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon mask
- Best Line Overall – DC Collectibles’ Batman Animated line
- Biggest Surprise – Funko’s range of ReAction figures
- Best New Line – Funko's ReAction
- Best Company Overall – DC Collectibles
- The One Single Thing I’m Most Excited About -NECA's Godzilla line
The
sites with the best coverage were CoolToyReview.com, ToyNewsI.com,
TheFwoosh.com, and ActionFgiurePics.com. I’m sure there are more,
but those are my standbys.
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