It’s that time of year once again when the toy companies gather in New York to show off their upcoming 2008 lines to retailers and press. I’m not attending this year due to family plans that conflict, and family always comes first of course. But I thought I’d do the readers a favor and compile some of the ‘best’ news out of the show. Of course, it depends on how you define ‘best’.
If you’d like even more toy and collectible info and coverage, check out my regular review site at Michael’s Review of the Week. So let’s talk a look at what some of my favorite companies are planning for 2008…
Sideshow Collectibles
Sideshow is not attending Toy Fair this year either. That’s not too much of a surprise, since they don’t depend too much on retailers selling their product, opting to sell it themselves. With that kind of business plan, and with their fans attending shows like SDCC to see their product, the cost of something like Toy Fair is hard to justify.
But they are doing their own version of Toy Fair at their site. They’ve announced several new products, including a second John Wayne Premium Format figure and a Zombie Babysitter in their Dead line, but the first big news was the 12″ Gandalf. Of course, there’s an Sideshow Exclusive Edition, as well as the non-exclusive version. This is big news for sixth scale LOTR collectors, since this gets them one figure closer to having the complete Fellowship (c’mon, Gimli, Merry and Pippen!), but the $90 price tag has some folks reeling.
What I’ve been waiting for is their Indiana Jones announcements. They started out with a shot of their 12″ Indy (on this month’s Tomart’s cover), and today the exclusive and regular versions of the first figure went up for pre-order. Wow! Okay, so we’ll see if the head sculpt turns out in the final production version, but you have to admit that the costume, new body (they’re calling it the “Prometheus”) and TON of accessories are fantastic. There’s a bunch of swappable hands, both gloved and bare, two versions of the whip (one for the belt, one to pose in action), two guns, TWO HEADS (one wearing a sculpted on hat, one without), a separate hat for him to hold, the idol, the bag of sand…and the list goes on. This is going to be Sideshow’s flagship line for ’08.
In the Star Wars sixth scale world, they also made a big announcement – their first armored figure! It will be Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Trooper armor, and the Priority Pre-Order starts at 10am PST on February 22nd. The pre-production figure looks terrific, and the armor looks very similar to Medicom’s earlier work. But the headsculpt is fantastic, and looks to continue their current 2008 level of quality.
They announced several new lines, including 12″ figures based on G.I. Joe Real American Hero, statues and dioramas around Jurassic Park, and one more that will be announced tomorrow.
Hasbro
Speaking of Indiana Jones, the other company that will be raping my wallet this year is Hasbro. My son (who is seven) has fallen in love with Indiana Jones, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ll be splurging on all the toys for him and me, spending mad green on Hasbro’s toy offerings. And they are going all out with the license, with everything from 3 3/4″ and 12″ figures, to Mighty Muggs, Mr. Potato Head, Titanium series vehicles….they’re pulling out all the stops on this one.
Hasbro has put up their own website for Indy toys, but Cool Toy Review has done a bang up job covering them at Toy Fair. There are 3 3/4″ figures of course, including some nifty deluxe sets and vehicles, and an interesting 12″ series as well. My son is going to love the Adventure Heroes too, done in the same style as Star Wars Galactic Heroes.
The buzz is also going around a mail in promotion that Hasbro will have as well. Send in 4 POPs and get the special mail away item, and there are mail away items in each of the three main lines. So you can get a scaled Ark for the 12″ line, a ‘mystery figure’ from the 3 3/4″ line, and an Indy with white horse from the Adventure Heroes.
Hasbro added some more Marvel Legends news as well, but I gotta tell you…I’m losing the love. However, if you’d like to see more info on the ML stuff, I suggest checking out the coverage at Action Figure Insider.
And how can I not mention Star Wars? For some terrific coverage and photos, head over to RebelScum. For me, the animated Clone Wars figures might just suck me back into the 3 3/4″ world after years of avoiding it.
NECA
NECA has been hitting me up with their Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter and Cult Classics lines. It looks like they’ll be getting plenty more of my money in ’08. Figures.com has some great coverage of their stuff, and I’ll be linking to them for photos.
The first line that interests me is the Harry Potter series, of course. They’re adding figures of characters like Lucious Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, the Weasley twins, and Mad Eye Moody to their 7″ line, and all of them look terrific. There also doing what they are refering to as 7″ dioramas, adding a small backdrop to several key characters in the 7″ scale.
The are continuing the Cult Classics line with some very strong additions, including Beetlejuice, Megan from the Exorcist, and several others.
Most folks will be very excited about their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, based on the original comic book appearance, but I’m more interested in what they do with the Princess Bride. So far only Wesley has been shown, but other figures have been discussed as well. They also surprised folks with the license to do Arnie Conan figures.
Mezco
Mezco has been getting a ton of press in recent weeks for their announcement of the 7″ series of Heroes action figures. We might have to wait til next fall for new shows, but at least we’ll get some nifty figures to go with them. The Fwoosh has some nice coverage up, including figures from waves 2 and 3. Characters like Nathan, Elle, Linderman, Niki and others will be getting their plastic representation.
This also looks to be the year for 3 3/4″ figures, with not just the aforementioned Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but a ton of other licenses going this scale. Heroes is one of those, as is another Mezco line, Hellboy 2. While they will also be doing the figures for the second film in scale with the original film, they are adding a 3 3/4″ line to the mix. Again, check the Fwoosh for some great photos.
The big new license for them is The Spirit, a film based on the old comic book hero. There wasn’t much for them to show yet, but expectations are high.
Mattel
One of the oddest things this year is that the big two – Mattel and Hasbro – who make mass market toys are the ones that will be getting most of my money this year, rather than the smalle companies making the more expensive specialty market stuff. Let’s check out Toy News International’s coverage of Mattel.
The most interesting announcement for me was the new 3 3/4″ DC line called DC Universe Infinite Heroes. Toy News International has some nice shots of what was on display, but they will have added articulation since these are early prorotype sculpts. I know I’ll be picking up this whole series, along with the DCUC figures. They had Wonder Woman and Cyborg on display from that series, and they are looking great.
Mattel is doing figures for The Dark Knight as well, and you can see some photos of their display here. I have higher hopes for this movie line, but I’m remaining cautious.
The DC Super Friends line continues, and includes a nifty Joker, and Mattel is expanding the ‘kids’ DC theme with their Imaginext series, including a cool Batcave!
In other movie lines, they’re doing Speed Racer as well, but I’m more interested in their Kung Fu Panda line. I like the promos for this movie so far (and the funny movie intro bit they’re doing to tell you to turn off your cell phones, etc.), and the toys look terrific.
Mattel will have more coverage today, as that’s when they will do their big Internet press coverage, or ‘Nerd Herd’. Check the various sites I have listed at the end for even more interesting news, especially around The Batman.
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant is hitting the Lucas Film licenses hard, of course, including Indiana Jones and Star Wars. For some great coverage on the Star Wars statues, busts, etc. hit RebelScum. And the biggest news is that Rebelscum will have their own exclusive mini-bust this year – Lt. Rinz! He’ll even talk, saying “You rebel scum!”. How cool is that?
GG had the already announced HP busts on display, but it didn’t look like anything we haven’t already seen, from what I can tell. We’ve seen most of the LOTR stuff already too, and I don’t have too high of hopes for either of these lines seeing the end of ’08.
The Indy bust and statues have already been announced, and nothing new was added that I’ve seen. But the ‘desk accessories’ look like sixth scale goodies that you could use with your figures…except the rumor is that these will be exclusives, blind boxed, and a royal pain in the ass. Worst news of Toy Fair.
And if you’d like to see more pretty pictures of GG’s stuff, hit Millionaire Playboy, where they have some great coverage as well.
DC Direct
Let’s head back over to Action Figure Insider to check out some of the DCD releases.
Of course, they had a ton of stuff to show in all formats, but some things really stood out for me. Last year they announced a 1:1 Batman bust, and they’re following that up with a very interesting 1:1 Joker. Definitely creepy.
In their quarter scale line, they’ve added Wonder Woman, and in the prop replicas there’s a very cool Superman cape. I’m a big fan of their Batman Black and White statues, and the Frank Miller version looks terrific, and they’re reissuing the 13″ Green Lantern with some upgrades. I was a little disappointed there were no other 13″ announcements for the year, but I’m sure we’ll see more this summer. Series like Justice, Teen Titans, Secret Files (which look terrific!), Green Lantern, and Smallville keep cranking along, with new series like Showcase, All Star Batman and New Gods hitting.
Like I said, Action Figure Insider has some terrific photos of these and all the DC Direct offerings.
Diamond Select Toys
Now we’ll stop by several spots to check out the DST offerings. Cool Toy Review has a good coverage of their Star Trek offerings, but I have to say that none of it blew me away. Perhaps that’s because I’d hoped for some Playmates Toys news on the movie line, which is pushed back to 09 now.
Perhaps the most unique news from DST was their die cast 1/12 (6″) scale Power Loader from Aliens! It’s actually a Medicom product, but DST is distributing in the US. It ain’t cheap at a $125 SRP, but it looks pretty sweet. Action Figure Insider has some photos.
They are really doing up the mini-mates this year, with licenses like Desperately Seeking Susan, Silence of the Lambs, Platoon, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (modern and classic), 24, For a Few Dollars More, and others. And of course, they’ll be doing up the BSG and Stargate action figure lines with a several more waves each. Unfortunately though, they don’t have plans to solicit past wave 8 for the DC mini-mates, so you best start the petitions!
But the biggest news is that DST is moving into the 18″ scale, with mixed media figures that are ARTICULATED! Supposedly 21 points, and they are supposedly keeping the price at $75. They’re releasing big figures for Star Trek, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Will they be giving Sideshow a run for their money?
Mcfarlane Toys
Mcfarlane hasn’t been to a Toy Fair in awhile, but they went back to attending this year. Most of their stuff, like Halo, Spawn 33 and 34, Legend of the Bladehunters, and Warriors of the Zodiac have already been shown at their site, but some of the sites I have listed at the end have additional photos of the figures for your enjoyment.
Lego
My son is a huge Lego fan, and I have to admit that their Star Wars, Batman and Indiana Jones stuff has been terrific so far. They have plenty more planned for this year, and Millionaire Playboy has up some great coverage of their booth.
The Other Guys
There are several smaller companies that had some interesting product and announcements. One of those is Amok Time Toys, who used to be a retailer, but is getting into the manufacturing gig for 2008. They’ve taking over some of the old Majestic Toy lines, like the 12″ Lost In Space (Yes!), as well as doing some new 12″ and 7″ monster figures, like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Night of the Living Dead. But the coolest is their “Monsters HD” series that has all kinds of cool old B movie beasties. Check out this page at Figures.com for some photos of what’s to come!
Another smaller company with some cool looking goodies is Unimax. These guys are behind the Forces of Valor military sets and 3 3/4″ figures at your local Target, and now they are branching into ancient warriors. The line is called Ages in Action, and has some real potential!
My Key Take Aways
There are several interesting trends this year. First, it’s clear that everyone is hitting the 3 3/4″ format. With Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Prince Caspian, Hellboy 2, Heroes, both Marvel and DC, it looks like this format is going to be booming. Of course, the introduction of this scale came in the late 70’s, as the price of oil drove toy manufacturers to use less product, so it’s not a surprsie to see it again. It also means we should see more vehicles and playsets than usual this year.
Oil prices don’t seem to be slowing down the larger scales though. Sixth scale will be booming this year, with Sideshow, Hasbro, DC Direct, Amok Time, and of course Hot Toys and Medicom cranking out the stuff. Even Gentle Giant and Diamond Select will be doing more 12″ in ’08.
And the quarter scale seems to be making a comeback. Sideshow never left of course, making their Premium Format 18″ figures the ones to beat, but now DST is coming in with Star Trek and others, going the articulated route, while DC Direct, Mezco and NECA will add be doing figures in that scale.
While there’s clearly less specialty market product than in past years, what is being shown is extremely high quality. Even the mass market boys have upped the ante in terms of quality, and this should be an excellent year for the collector…and the kid.
Where to Go Now
I’d suggest that you do some serious perusing of the Toy Fair Coverage at the following sites. They all have lots of photos and plenty of additional information:
Action Figure Insider
Cool Toy Review
Figures.com
Fwoosh.com
Millionaire Playboy
RebelScum
Toy News International
You can also pre-order many of the goodies that were shown at these retailers:
Alter Ego Comics
Amazing Toyz
Andrew’s Toyz
Circle Red
Clark Toys
CornerStoreComics
Dark Shadow Collectibles
Fireside Collectibles
Time and Space Toys
Urban-Collector
Comments: None
Leave a Reply |