Toy Fair 2016 Special : Action Figure SatTOYday News, February 2016

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Contents Toy Fair 2016 is over, and what a show it has been!

NECA Hasbro Star Wars Hasbro Marvel

3-4

After spending 4-days posting, blogging and tweeting about the show - I have pulled the key news and images together into this Sat-TOY-Day Toy Fair Special.

I haven’t covered everything, focusing on some of the key toy companies that fall in line with my focus of mid-range Action Figures from TV and Movie franchises. And boy that was enough… from loads of new Marvel product from Civil War, to 1980’s classics like Rocky, Terminator and Ghostbusters. From even more Star Wars to some pretty hot looking brand new collectors lines from McFarlane and DC Collectibles.

5

It is unfair of me to take any credit for what you will read here. I covered the show from a PC here in the UK, and it is the fantastic sites out there that we pulled together our commentary - whether it from Facebook, Twitter or their own blogs.

6

I hope that I credited every source I could over the 4-days of posts, and I would like to say a big thank you to the following sites in particular for their exceptional coverage

Funko

7

Diamond Select

8

Mattel

9

Mezco

9

McFarlane

ToyNewsi.com ToyChestNews.com Yodasnews.com Yakface.com Flyguy.net JediNews.co.uk ActionFigureInsider.com ToyArk.com ShadowJoes.com I tackled this year's Toy Fair in a slightly different way, with summarised posts on our website covering the key manufacturers and within each of these was a gallery of images. This was supported by our Facebook site. It would be great to get your feedback of how this worked.

10

I have also summed up my Toy Fair experience by selecting the five figures I felt were the Hot Figures announced at the show, and the ones that were first on my shopping list for 2016. This is a very subjective view and I would love to hear your Top 5 - so join the debate on our Facebook page.

We are back to normal with Issue 14 of #SatTOYday news & reviews due on the 27th February.

DC Collectibles

11

NYTF 2016 Top 5

12

We’re supporting Take Your Action Figure to Work Day 2016….

Put the 4th March 2016 in your diary And look out for how you can take part on our Facebook page or via the main website www.mephitsu.co.uk

www.facebook.com/mephitsu

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

NECA will launch a brand new range of 7” figures in 2016 based on the Ash vs The Evil Dead TV show.

The first three figures will include two versions of Ash - Hero Ash & Value Stop Ash - with each coming with an alternative head. The first wave is completed by Eligos, a particularly gruesome looking opponent for Ash. This first wave will ship to stores in July 2016

Not quite “action figures”, but NECA will be bringing fans a 1: 1 scale Slimer and a 40” Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in 2016.

We’ve known for a while now that Series 8 will focus on Alien 3, but we got our first look at the full wave at Toy Fair - and a first look at that Alien 3 Ripley figure.

These will be foam statue’s with release date and RRP still to be confirmed.

The Rocky in black trunks is a brand new sculpt, and is based on promotional posters for the movie and comes complete with Championship belt.

NECA will be adding a number of new figures to their Quarter Scale line in 2016.

Also arriving in Q-scale will be Arkham Harley Quinn and the first of four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Weyland Yutani Commando comes with removable goggles, custom pulse rifle, and knife that fits in a boot sheath.

Donatello will stand 15 inches high and if all goes to plan the other Turtles will be released one a quarter through into 2017.

The Dog Alien comes in brown (essentially a rerelease of Series 3) and gray variants, with over 30 points of articulation and bendable tail.

NECA later confirmed these will form part of an Aliens “creature pack” with more details due soon...

Starting in June, the first series will be focused on the Rocky III movie and contain two versions of Rocky and two of Clubber Lang (Mr T).

The Aliens Xenomorph, taken from the 1986 Aliens movie, will stand 22 inches high and will hit stores in June 2016.

Series 8 includes Weyland Yutani Commando, Dog Alien, and the first Ellen Ripley figure from this movie to feature the likeness of Sigourney Weaver. Ripley in Prisoner Uniform comes with removable jacket, 2 sets of arms, and flashlight & torch accessories.

Dotted around the Alien diorama at Toyfair were a number of Alien creatures. We could clearly see a Facehugger in Stasis Tube, Royal Facehugger, Evolved Queen Chestburster and a standard Chestburster (not shown).

In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary, NECA are relaunching their Rocky 7” figure range in 2016.

Having been discussed as “an option” for sometime, NECA announced that their next Terminator Ultimate figure will be that of the T1 Tech Noir Terminator - a bit of a surprise considering teaser images earlier this month showed what looked like the Tanker Pursuit Version.

The Tech Noir Terminator will come with three head options, a swap-out arm with wrist damage and a variety of weaponry.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Although not on display at New York, NECA did announce / tease a few more items over the 4days of Toy Fair.

The first was this image (top) of an early prototype for a 2001 Godzilla.

Also confirmed was this (bottom) 2nd Jason Ultimate figure, this time taken from Friday the 13th Part 3.

Following two series of releases dedicated to Alien vs Predator, Series 16 will see NECA return to the Kenner figures of the 1990’s for inspiration.

Series 16 will be made up of three Kenner inspired Predators in the usual clamshell packaging, one of which will have a Glow in the Dark feature.

Finally revealed at Toy Fair, the Quarter Scale Hulk is a mammoth 24 inches tall.

Based on his appearance in Avengers : Age of Ultron, Hulk will be the 4th of the Avengers to be made in QScale and will hit stores in June 2016, price TBC.

It comes with two masks, two interchangeable head sculpts, pitchfork, wrench, knife, fire poker, harpoon gun, machete, and axe. The packaging is deluxe too, with a lenticular front window flap in honor of the film’s 3D release! Ships to retailers June 2016!

There will then be a Deluxe version of the iconic Kenner Clan leader predator (bottom) who will feature a removable mask.

Also arriving in 2016 will be the Scarface Predator from the Concrete Jungle Video Game (right)

NECA will be adding a Bill & Ted 2-pack of 8” retro clothed figures this year.

Arriving in June 2016, Bill and Ted come with their electric guitars and in themed Phone-box packaged which can be punched out and built into a Phone-box to display with your Bill & Ted figures Excellent!

The exciting Cinemachines range was on display at the NECA booth, although nothing new was revealed.

The range will launch shortly with a 4 vehicle Alien based wave with another 4 Alien vehicles due later in the year alongside two Hunter Killers from Terminator.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Although there was no mention of 3.75” super articulated figures, there was some new product in the basic 5 POA line.

Toy Fair attendees got to see the recently announced Maz Kanata figure in the flesh and it was revealed that the Takodana set will contain the Light Saber chest from Maz’s basement as a packed in accessory.

Hasbro’s presentation for the Black Series range was potentially a little disappointing for many collectors, not least because of a complete absence of the 3.75” Black Series figures (don’t worry, Hasbro have confirmed the range is continuing for now as a Walmart exclusive).

What was revealed on the day boiled down to just two figures we didn’t already know about - The Snowtrooper and the AT-AT driver from Empire Strikes Back, both of which look superb.

In the single figure range we will be getting a season 2 Sabine from Rebels, this time she gets a removable helmet. Kanan is also coming back, this time in Stormtrooper armour. Sadly for Rebels fans, no mention of a re-release in the TFA packaging for Hera who was so hard to find first time round.

Less impressive was the reveal of the A New Hope Princess Leia, who like the upcoming Farm Boy Luke, has a heavy Soft Goods application - and doesn’t look too great.

Hasbro also showed us the finished Fan’s Choice figures of Darth Revan and Sabine Wren from Rebels.

To battle our Rebels we got a look at the painted 7th Sister, and a brand new Darth Maul who is based on his upcoming appearance in season 2.

Both of these look really good, but Sabine stands out with a very intricate paint job.

C-3PO with his TFA red arm was in attendance, along with some of the already released TFA figures.

The other bit of news was that Hasbro will be having a figure exclusive at Celebration Europe, this will be a shared exclusive and also on sale at SDCC. SDCC will then get a 2nd exclusive and one of these - it’s not clear which - will be a Rogue One figure.

Talking of Rogue One, mark September the 30th 2016 in your calendar. This is the Force Friday date for the Rogue One product hitting store shelves.

The Star Wars Galactic Heroes range will be expanded in 2016 with two new ships from Rebels - The Ghost and The Phantom.

New figures will include Ezra, Chopper, Hera, Inquisitor, Zeb and Kanan.

Outside of Rebels there is original trilogy product too including a Galactic Hero Admiral Ackbar and Force Awakens figures like Phasma and Kylo Ren.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

The 6 inch Marvel Legends line will continue its onward march in 2016 with multiple waves planned.

As with 2015, the strategy will be waves including both Movie and Comic based figures and a Build-aFigure pack in to encourage purchasing of the full wave.

One of the highlights for Marvel Cinematic Movie collector’s will be the figures tied directly into Civil War. Yes, we will be getting another Cap and IronMan - but also included in the Civil War wave will be a stunning Scarlet Witch and an awesome Black Panther.

In a similar strategy to that applied to the Star Wars Black Series, Hasbro are going to expand the Marvel Legends line in 2016.

The first expansion is the addition of 12” figures. These aren’t the shampoo bottle type of figure we have seen previously - but rather collector grade 1/6 scale figures with a good level of articulation and swap out parts.

The movie releases don’t stop there - although these next ones may take some digging considering at present they are tied in as exclusive releases to US retailers.

Walmart will be getting two exclusives - one a Winter Soldier from Civil War, the other a movie Falcon (first time in 6” scale). And over at Kmart there will be a new two pack containing Warmachine and a flashback to Iron-man 3 with the Mk27 Disco armour.

The first of these will include comic book versions of Captain America, IronMan and Spider-Man and will retail around the $70 in the US, so a similar £ value here of £60-£70.

It will be interesting to see if this larger scale is applied to the Star Wars licence at some point.

Also mirroring the Black Series plan, fans will be getting 1:1 scale role-play items under the Marvel Legends banner. Yes, we have had role play items before but these have been cheap and undersized and aimed firmly for kids.

These new Legends role play items are full sized for adults and can be either worn or displayed.

The first two will be Iron-Man’s helmet, and a very impressive Captain America full sized shield.

Captain America (Civil War) Wave : Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Nuke, Nick Fury (original) and Red Guardian.

Civil War 2nd wave : to include the movie Scarlet Witch, Secret Wars Captain America.

Spider-man Wave : will include a new Ultimate Peter (new body), Classic Hobgoblin, Ultimate Miles Morales and Silk.

X-Men Wave. Deadpool, Rogue, Cable (from Extinction), Phoenix, Havok, Kitty Pryde and Iceman.

Dr Strange Wave. Movie Dr Strange, Iron Fist, Nico and will include Dormammu as the build-a-figure 6" Legends - 2016 exclusives. ● Walmart will get Movie Winter Soldier and movie Falcon figures. ● Target will get War Machine and Iron Man Mark 27 (Disco) 2-pack ● Walgreens get Namor and a Jim Lee Punisher. ● Toys R Us get a 3-pack of Vision, Kate Bishop Hawkeye and Sam Wilson Captain America.

These are due out in September 2016 and are already up for preorder on Amazon US for the RRP of $100.

Don’t worry kids, Hasbro haven’t forgotten you - you will be getting some Marvel/Nerf crossover lines to support your role play, and a Black Panther claw pack exclusive to Toys R Us.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

In an innovative move, Funko have teamed up with the Toy Industry stalwart Playmobil to launch a brand new, and quirky, line of collectible figures.

"Funko is proud to announce a historic partnership with PLAYMOBIL, one of the most cherished names in collectibles history. Funko – the largest stylized vinyl collectibles company in the world and PLAYMOBIL are collaborating to pair the classic articulated, 6-inch ABS figures with exciting pop culture and entertainment licenses for a collector-focused line. As PLAYMOBIL’s first official licensee, Funko will have the opportunity to bring new and beloved characters to PLAYMOBIL’s nostalgic frame"

Using the recogniseable Playmobil body, Funko will supersize these to 6 inch and then apply them to a number of key franchises.

The line will launch with figures from Doctor Who, Sherlock, Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Willy Wonka.

And if their POP! line is anything to go by, it won’t stop there with Funko having the experience to work with multiple licences including the larger Marvel and Star Wars brands - imagine a Playmobil Darth Vader!

In a move that appears to have sealed the fate of the 6” Game of Thrones Legacy line - Funko announced a 3.75” limited POA line at Toy Fair.

The figures in the first range are very much themed around The Wall, and there is even a Wall playset to use or display your figures on.

The first wave include Jon Snow, Ghost, Samwell Tarly, Ygritte, Lord of Bones, Tormund Giantbane, Magnar of Thenn, Tyrion Lannister, White Walker and the Night King

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Gotham Select will be back for at least a 3rd wave in 2016.

Thanks to a product listing at a US toy company, we have known for a while that the three Select figures for 2016 based on Civil War will be Captain America, IronMan and The Winter Soldier.

Toy Fair gave us our first look at these figures, and boy do they look very very good - a real step up from last years Ultron releases.

Wave three will be another 3 figure wave, and bring the total number of Gotham figures to 7.

For the first time, outside of promo images, the Ghostbusters rooftop diorama was on display at Toy Fair.

Up first is Barbara Kean, who comes in her Arkham Asylum prisoner outfit and complete with the Asylum gates diorama.

11 of the first 12 figures were on display with the diorama, and DST confirmed the 12th is a “slimed” Peter Venkman.

The identify of the last 3 figures, who were late additions to what was originally a run of 12 figures, was not revealed.

Winter Soldier will not come with alternative head or face mask, which is a shame. But other than that the figures, and the Avengers facility backdrop, look brilliant.

Joining Barbara is the young Bruce Wayne in suite and tie. Bruce comes with a bookcase diorama which will tie in nicely to the Fireplace that comes with Alfred in Wave 2.

Finishing off wave 3 is Victor Zsasz who arrives with another of those grimy street scenes that we saw with Jim Gordon in wave 1.

Although wave 2 is due in stores by end of February, it seems we will have to wait until Autumn for wave 3.

Star Trek has been a big part of Diamonds offering for a number of years now, particularly their electronic FX starships.

There has been Select figures in the past - with Kirk, Spock, Worf and Picard all immortalized in the 7” scale. And this year they will be joined by Khan, as seen in Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan.

This is in fact the 2nd Khan Select figure as he was originally packed in with the Kirk release from his first appearance in the 1960’s original series.

This 2016 version will be in his updated Wrath of Khan outfit and will come with the command chair of the ill fated USS Reliant.

Diamonds Select range of figures also expands into the X-Files this year.

The new licence will start with Mulder and Scully from the 2016 season (season 10) and include casual Mulder with alternative sunglasses head.

Both he and Scully will come with alternative hand options as well as various accessories such as FBI badge, handguns and a torch.

The DST licence for X-Files will also allow them to delve back into the previous 9 series to release figures and I for one am really looking forward to what and who will be next.

The Truth is Out There...

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Thank’s to their pre-show event, we had already seen a great deal of Mezco’s offerings for 2016.

Their One:12 collective range is ramping up its output. Kirk and Sulu are joining Spock in the Star Trek line.

Mattel will be bringing Suicide Squad figures to their Multiverse 6” range later in 2016.

On display at Toy Fair were the first 6 figures including Boomerang, Croc, Katana, Batman, Deadshot and The Joker.

Mattel will be carrying their Ghostbuster range through into the 2016 movie, with figures from the new film on show at Toy Fair.

The DC figures will include the likes of Shazam, Green Arrow and Flash - with movie figures from Batman vs Superman also announced.

As well as 6 inch versions of the four new ghostbusters, there were also figures of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a new “demon” from the movie (not shown to avoid spoilers).

And to give your One:12 Bat’s a hand getting round, Mezco are giving us a One:12 scale Batmobile from Dawn of Justice.

There was also a figure of the “I Ain’t Fraid” Ghost from the GB logo. At this point I have no idea how that fits into the movie - but it will be fun to find out.

Mattel will also be producing 12” figures from Suicide Squad, with Deadshot and The Joker on display in this larger scale.

Outside of Suicide Squad, we will also be getting 6” Multiverse figure of Supergirl and more Arrow.

Mattel are also expanding their WWE licence further with WWE Zombies in 2016.

Potentially latching onto the success of shows like The Walking Dead, or just adding imaginative play options for the kids First figures include Dean Ambrose, Paige, Roman Reigns, Triple H, The Rock, John Cena and the Undertaker (isn't he dead already?)

The addition of Marvel will be a big coup for Mezco this year with comic book figures of Daredevil, Punisher and Captain America leading the way.

Should Mezco choose to go into the Marvel cinematic Universe then they may well be in a position to challenge the likes of SH Figuarts for super articulated 1/12 collector's figures.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

DC Collectibles are, as we saw in Issue 13, going to be launching their own super articulated range of figures based entirely off the DC Movie/TV universe.

At Toy Fair we got a look at a number of these new figures and a breakdown of their anatomy and the expansive articulation that each figure will boast.

The line will launch around September 2016 with figures from the Superman Returns movie - bringing us Zod, Faora and Jor-El. It will then move on to Dawn of Justice, from which will get an Armoured Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. These will be in stores November 2016 The series will then move on to Suicide Squad (in 2017) with El Diablo and a fantastic looking Harley Quinn.

RRP on these is $45-$50 so will translate to £40 or so here in the UK.

McFarlane’s new 7" scale line is badged color top, with the color changing to represent new waves.

It is a return to their roots, having moved away from 7” collectors scale a few years ago in favour of smaller 5” and 6” figures.

The new collectors figures will be around 15 points of articulation - so not super articulated, but comparable to say Diamonds Select figures.

So far confirmed for inclusion are the following licences, most of which are from Video Game franchises.

Titanfall, Gears of War, Assassin’s Creed (apparently from the new movie), Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul and Naruto Shippuden McFarlane’s own Spawn is also going to get the Color Top treatment.

It has since transpired that McFarlane have all but confirmed the launch of this 7” range will mean the end of other smaller scale ranges such as it’s Walking Dead figures, and most likely the Assassin’s Creed range.

DCC will also continue their standard range of 6.75” figures.

There will be a number of comic based releases in 2016, including a huge 2-figure Batwing vehicle.

The Greg Capullo Designer range will expand with new figures of The Joker and Wonder Woman amongst others.

Arkham will be expanded with figures such as Professor Pyg, Man Bat, Azrael and Arkham Knight.

And for DC TV fans - a new Arrow and Flash 2-pack (right).

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

Diamonds Select Captain America, taken from the upcoming Civil War movie, gets into my Top 5 on two counts.

It would be a pretty poor Top 5 that didn’t have a NECA figure in it, particularly after the sheer volume of figures they announced in New York.

First off, this is arguably one of the best looking likenesses Diamond have released in the Select range - rivalling the 2013 Wolverine which has held the title to date.

After much deliberation I have gone with a fairly obvious choice of the Alien 3 Ripley.

But this is also the Cap many of us have been after. After doing the WW2 Captain from his movie debut, Diamond has skipped both Avengers outfits and the only modern outfit released to date has been that Stealth suit from Winter Soldier

For many fans, Hasbro’s Star Wars offerings at Toy Fair were not really all that expansive or exciting. And of the ones that were announced and shown, much focus has been taken up with the debate over the use of soft goods on Leia.

Look beyond the Leia debate, and there were a couple of stunning figures from Empire Strikes Back - the AT-AT Driver, and my 3rd choice the Snowtrooper.

The figure looks beautiful, and you can’t go far wrong with an Imperial Troop with armybuilding potential.

I hope that Hasbro will maximise this figure by packing him sensibly in his wave, and possibly also looking at re-issuing a Snowtrooper commander - and potentially a deluxe pack with E-Web cannon.

I am well aware that my number one choice may be controversial, but I think Diamond’s Select range is really stepping up a gear at the moment.

Having already appeared once in this Top 5 with their Civil War Captain America, I am going to award my top spot to the Winter Soldier figure from the same range.

For Marvel Cinematic Universe fans, the Marvel Select route is often really tough going as they are very limited in terms of how many figures they release to go with any particularly movie - and are also prevented from going back to revisit older movies.

Winter Soldier is therefore one of those figures we MCU fans have had to wait almost 2-years to make it onto our shelves having originally been overlooked for the Winter Soldier releases in 2014.

But is is much more than that that has got Bucky to number 1. Just look at that sculpt! Assuming the production figure can get close to this, then this has to be on par with the best the Select range has had to offer so far in terms of head sculpt - the 2013 Wolverine figure.

Either way, for a shade over £22 this is going to be a centre piece and one I will be getting, and reviewing, as soon as he hits shelves.

Yes, this may be the 4th Ripley figure to hit shelves in less than a year, but it is a great looking figure with at least two clear options for display (Jacket on or off. More than that, it represents the ambition and direction of NECA’s Alien licence to move outside the usual first two movies and the titular Alien to give us great looking figures for our Alien displays. Long may this line continue...

As anyone who follows the site will know, I am not a Marvel Legends collector - instead throwing my arm in with Diamond’s larger 7” Select figures from the Marvel Movies.

Up to now I have been happy with this choice, but I knew one day the Legends would come along with a figure from the MCU that would test my faith… this is that figure.

Scarlet Witch, so far, has been massively under-represented as an Action Figure despite her relatively large role in Age of Ultron. This figure, taken from Civil War, is absolutely stunning with a really good likeness to Elizabeth Olsen whilst also looking pretty mean and imposing in that pose.

A worthy number two and just a shame this is Legends and not Select.

TOY FAIR SPECIAL, February, 2016

www.mephitsu.co.uk