The Toy Industry Association’s Toy Fair descended onto the Jacob K. Javits convention center from February 10-13, 2013, and Toonzone was there to get a look at new and upcoming toys licensed from your favorite animation properties (and a bunch of other cool, shiny stuff that just attracted my attention).
Thanks to all the PR reps who indulged the new guy and gave me quick run-throughs of their toylines. Apologies in advance to the toy companies (especially Jazwares) who had to be on the steep side of the learning curve of me figuring out how to photograph toys on the show floor. Click any thumbnail for larger photos (and you should — some of these things are crazy detailed).
LOYAL SUBJECTS
This Los Angeles-based company will be rolling out a line of licensed vinyl collectible figures for the 1980’s G.I. Joe and Transformers TV shows. Figures will have 7 points of articulation each and come with interchangeable weapons; any figure can hold any other figure’s accessory. The figures will be blind-box packages packed 16 to a case, with 3 chase figures in each line. The Joes and Cobras are due out in March, with the Transformers following in May.
YES ANIME
YesAnime is the largest Japanese anime toys distributor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their booth was showcasing Super Alloy’s 1/6 scale die-cast Batman figure, as well as their line of Trexi figures (even if their SpongeBob SquarePants is no longer square) and mini-figures.
JAZWARES
Jazwares rolled out lots of new toys from their multiple licenses, although many were under embargo pending final licensor approval. We managed to snag photos of several items from their Yo Gabba Gabba!, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Sonic the Hedgehog, Hanna-Barbera, and Nicktoons lines, some of which are available now and some of which will be arriving in Spring 2013.
Personal favorite is probably the Regular Show thumbwrestlers, just because it seems like the kind of toy that Mordecai and Rigby would be messing around with when they should be working.
Yo Gabba Gabba!
Not shown are the variety of consumer electronics and playsets, including a boombox playset to store your Yo Gabba Gabba! figures in, joining the previously released outfit sets to assist you in unleashing your inner DJ Lance Rock. All this cool stuff is coming in the Spring.
Adventure Time
Adventure Time has been Jazware’s most successful line yet, and they’re rolling out even more stuff starting this Spring. Much of the new stuff is still under embargo, but some of the items I saw included a Jake shield and Marcelline’s guitar, Finn and Fionna hats, iPhone cases, and talking pens. There will also be comic packs coming this spring, bundling an Adventure Time comic book with a plush figure.
My favorite toys are still probably the 2″ mini-figures, but I adore the packaging for the Adventure Time-branded headphones.
Regular Show
There are those Regular Show thumbwrestlers. A lot of my photos of the non-embargoed toys didn’t come out due to flash glare on the packaging, unfortunately, so the number of products shown below does not accurately reflect the big push Regular Show seems to be getting from Jazwares. Expect most of this stuff in the Spring.
Sonic the Hedgehog
This is another property getting a lot of new toys coming out; the figures shown below were maybe a third of what Jazwares had out for display, but the rest was embargoed. In addition to the larger figures shown below, there will be new “all-star” racing figures, pushback cars, and consumer electronics coming soon as well.
Hanna-Barbera and Nicktoons
The Hanna-Barbera line is coming out in two scales, and both Hanna-Barbera and Nicktoons are getting new figures in the upcoming waves. Again, a lot of the stuff in this line was embargoed pending licensor approval, but I’m crossing my fingers for a full line from one sample Hanna-Barbera figure shown. Hint: I thought he was one of the best dads in animation.
MEZCO
Mezco had some really nifty niche toys available (not shown below are the Breaking Bad plushies), and seem poised to capitalize on the potential success of the Axe Cop animated series. My personal favorites were probably the 14-inch classic ThunderCats figures.
BIF BANG POW
Bif Bang Pow has a bunch of high-profile nerd-friendly toys, but their only animated property is Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. The rep at the booth said that the big request they kept getting was “more stuff for girls,” which is why they made the new Dr. Girlfriend tumbler and water bottle. The Brock Samson glass and mug are also color changing, with the blood appearing if you put hot or cold liquids in them.
The 3.75″ figures are due out this Spring, along with the newer 8-inch figures like Shore Leave and the Alchemist. There may be a Dr. Henry Killinger action figure in my future, since he’s one of my wife’s favorites, and I love the transparent plastics used to make the Phantom Limb work.
FACTORY ENTERTAINMENT
This high-end collectibles maker had two animated licenses: the recently re-released Yellow Submarine and FX’s Archer. There was Archer merchandise on display in the booth, but it was all embargoed pending licensor approval, so no photos for you. What I saw looked great, though, especially Pam’s Dolphin puppet plush. Yes, really. In the absence of super-spy goodness, you’ll just have to make do with the Fab Four and Blue Meanies.
MERIT INTERNATIONAL
Merit International is a distributor of 1/6 scale action figures and high-end military scale models. They had no animation-related properties, but I’m into 1/6 scale stuff so you get photos from their booth anyway. The Phicen seamless body with the upcoming Planet of the Apes figure made me chuckle, and the Caesar figure is pending licensor approval.
COLLECT BRUCE LEE.COM
Caught these guys across from the Bif Bang Pow booth. Even if there’s no animation connection at all, there’s no way I’m letting a display case filled with Bruce Lee collectibles go unnoticed, especially when they have a Bruce Lee-inspired take on Hulk Hands. I’m only human. They also had outfits (mostly from Enter the Dragon, it seemed) on their bottom shelf, which I left unphotographed.
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