John Ary here with a quick look at some of the highlights from this weekend's Toy Fair.
I unfortunately couldn't go, but I have combed through all of the magnificent pics and coverage posted by my fellow action figure journalists and some friendly toy PR folks to bring you my favorite reveals and my absolute most hated toy line from the big trade show.
1/4 Scale Super Heroes from NECA
Who would win in a dance off between Adam West's Batman, Iron Man from The Avengers and Micheal Keaton's Dark Knight? Obviously Tony Stark, but that's just my humble opinion. Now you can run as many simulations as needed with these three new 18-inch action figures. Each hero sports more than 20 points of articulation and will come with accessories. I would have thrown the new Captain America 1/4 scale figure into the mix (available later this month), but we all no Steve Rogers dances with that awful white guy overbite.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation from Hasbro
What's cooler than a new 3.75-inch action figure of The Rock? How about a 3.75-inch action figure of Bruce Willis? What's even cooler than that? A G.I. Joe action figure of RZA as the Blind Master. Outside of the cancelled Rocky Balboa G.I. Joe from the 80's, we may never see a more badass 3.75-inch figure again.
Pacific Rim from NECA
I dearly hope the epic scope and art design of Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim has not been oversold to us. It's easily my most anticipated film of the year. These two images of Gypsy Danger and Crimson Typhoon are only getting me more excited for the film. They will stand between 6 and 8-inches tall. All of the designs for these toys have been taken directly from ILM's digital files, so these really are our best look at the new Jaegers until the movie studio releases a new trailer or TV spot. July 12 can't get here soon enough.
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Hazmat Suit Walter White from Mezco Toyz
We showed you last week the Heisenberg version of Walter White from Mezco's Breaking Bad line of toys. This weekend Mezco revealed on the trade show floor a new 7-inch scale Walter, this time wearing his yellow Hazmat suit and surrounded by a beaker and an oil drum. Special thanks to Sean Long of BKBN.net for snapping this little pic.
Castle Grayskull from Mattel
And finally the big daddy to rule over them all... Castle Grayskull! MattyCollector.com showed off the prototype to the most beloved castle in all Eternia. Toy reporter and He-Man enthusiast Pixel Dan got a tour of the new play set from Mattel's Scott Neitlich. This one will cost you around $275. Preorder HERE!!
On a low note, it seems poor articulation and low-cost design will soon begin to show up in some beloved toy lines. Take for instance the 3.75-inch Wolverine All-Star series from Hasbro. Although they sport a lower price tag than their Marvel Universe counterparts ($5.99 versus $9.99), they only have 5 points of articulation. Expect to see these lower-cost toy designs make their way into other Hasbro properties like Star Wars. On a somewhat unrelated note, I was a bit disappointed that none of the new Wolverine products seemed to be directly related to the new film.
If you want more toy pics and info from this weekend's big trade show, you can follow my toy blog ArticulationTimes.com on Twitter and Facebook. Also, expect to see more Toy Fair goodness on Friday in our weekly AICN Toys column.
