Revoltech Edition for "Starscream" presented at the Toy Fair 2008.
© Robert Trate

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Toy Fair Finale

Throughout the week I have been focusing on several different toy lines showcased at Toy Fair. The event at the Jacob Javitz Center was enormous. I could probably write one article a day for the next three weeks. Instead, I thought would give you a last taste of some other items I saw on display. The reason why I am focusing on them instead of the big ones is because the big ones are more accessible. Whether it be in the stores, the net or on TV you will eventually be inundated with Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer and Star Wars Clone Wars toys. 

I’m not trying to take anything away from these great all-encompassing Hasbro lines. After a while you start getting tired of seeing what movie tie-in Hasbro is going to attach their Nerf hand guns to. Sure there will be a few gems in those lines. The 12 inch Indiana Jones will be joining its eighties counterpart for sure. The Iron Man Mark I figure will inevitably end up on my desk, despite how I feel about Tony Stark and what he did during Marvel’s Civil War. The Mach 5 and Mach 6 from Speed Racer were both really cool, but I can’t show pictures because photographs were not permitted. So here is the rest of what I thought you Maniacs would like to see.

Mezco has partnered with Lionsgate to create Will Eisner’s legendary comic hero, The Spirit. The Spirit will be released to coincide with Frank Miller’s film adaptation. 

Editor's Note: Click on the snapshots below to check out the full sized galleries.

Dark Horse Comics will release their own The Spirit statue in July. 

Diamond Select Toys and Collectibles had an impressive booth. Everything was well lit and behind glass. They had a few “no photographs” rules on some Indiana Jones and Star Wars items. Big surprise. As I looked at their D.C. Direct Line, one figure stood out above the rest. With incredible detail that surpassed all those that stood around him, Jonah Hex will join the Showcase Presents line. This line highlights classic stories and characters in the guise in which they originally appeared. There is a classic Hawkman, a Kryptonite Mutated Superman and a seventies version of Batgirl.

While walking the isles I came across a toy line that really surprised me. Doctor Who apparently has a line that rivals the Star Trek Playmates line of the nineties. In size only, the Doctor Who figures bury those ugly relics from long ago. While watching a toy commercial for Doctor Who, that only plays in the United Kingdom, I finally realized the scope and scale of the new Doctor Who. Sure you can get a few here and there at specialty stores but this was more than anything I could have believed if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Sure they had a few things like a Cyberman voice changing helmet which I have seen at Toys r’ Us. The Dalek-Hybrid mask however, oozed with other world creepiness as its single eye stared at me. I think I’m going to have to get into the Doctor’s adventures. I think I might be missing out. Check out all the Doctor Who toys by visiting the Underground-Toys web site.

A Hotrodimus, in probably the best pose I have seen a Transformer in, took me into the Revoltech booth. Here with their patented joints Transformers actually do live and breathe. If you are bored with the clunky Michael Bay/ Hasbro line check out these and pick one up at Kaiyodo. Some of their other toy lines have appeared in Wizard’s “Toy Fare” so look for them at specialty stores. I included a picture of one in a box so you’ll know what to look for.

Right around the corner from Revoltech was the Funko booth. Noticing all their little heads bobbing up and down I saw the standard Star Wars characters, Marvel characters and the Simpsons. Then I saw the next office holiday party gift. Now, it had been coming since their involvement with a Lucas franchise so Blue Harvest Family Bobble Heads shouldn’t be any surprise. They were “freakin’ sweet” to say the least. In the line are Chewbrian, Darth Stewie (unmasked) and Quag 3-PO. 

If you are a fan of Land of the Lost and have been wondering: where is my bobble head? Well the wait is over. A Sleestak Bobble is coming as well as a Sleestak bank. 

To wrap it all up I have to go back to NECA. No, they didn’t give me any swag or let me pick my favorite figure and take it home. They just had incredible sculpts. Not mentioning them again would be a crime. 

They had their new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line on display. It had been in Wizard “Toy Fare” already a month ago. Behind the TMNT stood a nine inch unpainted turtle that was to represent their look directly from the black and white comic book pages. Numerous people picked it up and were asking all types of questions about what and when we would be seeing this figure. The NECA rep said at the time he was only a prototype and still in the developmental state and was uncertain that this turtle would be joining the line.

NECA’s Gears of War line was brutally hard. Their figure of a Locust with an alternate exploding head might be the must have toy of the entire toy fair. What other toy, if any, has captured such carnage? I included a picture of the Marcus Fenix prototype and the actual scale figure as well.

The Alien vs. Predator franchize continues to not live up to expecations. Twentyth Century Fox should put the artists of these toys in charge of the franchize. If only the filmamkers would go to the length and details that these sculpters do. Only then would the AVP franchize would be worth it. Now the Classic Alien will come in an 18 inch figure. It is very reminiscent of its 1979 Kenner figure which, the NECA rep said was the artists inspiration.

If there would have been anything I could have walked out of there with and not gotten caught for taking it would have been the 18 inch prototypes of the Predator and the Alien-Predator Hybrid. Hopefully these two will get the 18 inch treatment. A 7 inch version is slated for release but their true detail might be lost on a smaller scale. There was a lot of time and effort put into crafting these giants of sci-fi horror.

Toy Fair 2008 was definitely a different kind of experience. There was nothing to buy and that was probably the weirdest feeling of it all. I left wanting so much. What made it worse was now I was going to wait and find it.