ROUND UP: New York Toy Fair 2015

I love the smell of plastic in the morning… after another major Toy Fair in the heart of New York City, we have a list of some of our favourite merchandise which was unveiled over the course of the weekend.  

NECA

NECA are one of my favourite figure producers, and they were out in force at NYTF this year. Kicking things off was their Christopher Reeve Superman – which stands at 18 inchestall! It features a fabric cape and interchangeable hands.

Next up is a toy from their Alien line and something fans have been wanting to see for a very long time – the Power Loader from Aliens! It fits most 8 inch NECA figures and offers 30 points of articulation.

NECA’s Pacific Rim figures are continuing to impress – Wave 6 includes the Acid Spitting Otachi and the armless battle damaged Gypsy Danger!

But what really knocks it out of the park is this – NECA’s life sized foam replica of Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy, no doubt to be a major success when it’s finally released!

DIAMOND SELECT

If there’s one figure producer I love, Its NECA. If there’s another, it’s Diamond Select. Their work on the Marvel Select range continues to impress me even today. Which is why I am so pleased to hear that they now have the license to manufacture DC products. That’s right; high end quality figures from the Batman, Superman and Justice League animated series are on their way. I think I just burst a lung.

And on top of this news they have announced a figure line from the highly successful Gotham TV series, so expect figures of Oswald Cobblepot, James Gordon, Catwoman et al very soon in both the regular high end Diamond Select form and minimates as well!

Here’s the real kicker – Diamond Select are also releasing new Ghostbusters figures! So far only Winston and Ray have been unveiled as well as a Slimer pizza cutter, but you can’t deny that they look awesome – Ray actually looks like Dan Aykroyd – that’s new (sorry Matty)!

DC COLLECTIBLES

DC Collectibles have announced a great little line-up from their TV shows this year – Arrow will see John Diggle, Felicity Smoak and Roy Harper/Arsenal get the figure form treatment.

 

Meanwhile, The Flash will see the release of a Captain Cold figure as well as a life sized replica of Reverse Flash’s yellow ring!

 

DC are also releasing a new Icon figure line, based on artwork by Ivan Reis. The first wave of Icons will consist of Batman, Deadman, Green Arrow and Mister Miracle. Wave 2 includes Black Adam, Blue Beetle, the Flash, a Deluxe Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Lex Luthor. Wave three will feature Aquaman, Atomica, Harley Quinn and Superman.

But the real ace in DC’s hole comes from their Batman: The Animated Series line. Yes it’s DC’s first ever 6” scale batmobile, capable of fitting two action figures inside via the sliding cockpit door! I want one. Now.

MARVEL

Marvel Studios’ line-up mostly consisted of Avengers: Age of Ultron merchandise. We saw the usual character face masks but also on display was the new improved Hulk hands – no longer molded into permanent fists, they now allow kids to pick things up.

The Iron Man hands seem to be a similar idea and look really cool, but only one repulsor lights up. What’s the deal with that?!

We also had a look at a major set up of the new playsets which are in scale with those horrible 2.5” figures – those aren’t toys, they’re choking hazards!

Although we do get another good look at the Vision.

Ant Man merchandise was also here, providing us with an up close look at the suit from the new movie. I like how they’re releasing a figure which comes with a micro version of the same figure as well, allowing kids to pretend the character has become smaller during play.

HASBRO

Hasbro have unveiled their line of Jurassic World figures, majorly capitalising on young children’s love of collecting ALL THE DINOSAURS with a wide range of theme park genetically created monsters on display.

They look to be cheap yet cheerful for the most part and a real throwback to the classic Kenner toys from the first movie, what with the Dino Damage wounds cut into their sides and the accompanying oversized weapons so the human figures at least stand a chance when battling the creatures on the living room rug.

The images also give us a good look at the Indominus Rex, the monster specifically created for the movie. And I don’t care what anyone says – Gyrospheres are cool and I want one!

News on Star Wars toys was pretty thin – mainly because a look at any The Force Awakens toys before December would constitute as major spoilers. So instead we have a look at the bladebuilders line (Customisable Lightsabers, an idea which is hardly new) which allows kids to make the crossguard lightsaber look easier to use than a pillow.

But this frightens us – someone has put Furby and Chewie into the transporter pods from The Fly and created the Furbacca. And yes it’s every bit as nightmarish as you’d imagine.

The Black Series also made an appearance with a look at upcoming figures such as the awesomely detailed Emperor Palpatine, plus the Han and Luke in Stormtrooper gear look beautiful.

McFARLANE TOYS

As AMC’s The Walking Dead continues to relentlessly shuffle it’s way along – much like a mindless walker – McFarlane toys have released various new action figures and sets, which should be available in time for the Season 6 premier.

A prototype for a 10 inch Michonne figure was present, as well as a Morgan and Walker Spike trap deluxe figure set image.

Plus some six inch figures were also on display such as Rick, Hershal, Carol, the Governor and Abraham.

The boiler room set was also revealed here. Not on sale until next year, it contains a fantastic amount of detail including Rick and the bloated walker figures.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also received some new toy announcements. First up is the new T-Machines range – die cast metal vehicles and playsets which includes a Shell Launcher which propels the vehicles forward at high speed! A new sewer/garage set has also been announced. The Half Shell Heroes set is expanding with Baxter Fly, Slash and Tiger Claw, but in 2.5 inch scale. Seriously, stop making toys so small!! Finallyt he mutations set allows kids to transform the characters into regular turtles and back again. Or mix and match to create their own bizarre mutants.

FUNKO

Funko’s Pop Vinyl figures are well on their way to global domination, especially now with Doctor Who in their vast arsenal. Yes, now you can own all of the Doctors and a select few of their enemies in sickeningly adorable Pop Vinyl form – and yes, there is a TARDIS to go along with them.

Funko will also be producing Firefly figures and oh my, we want these.

MEGA BLOCKS

Mega Blocks’ Terminator Genesys line gives us an awesome close up look at Skynet’s Time Machine. It’s good if a little basic but hey – this is Mega Blocks so super-fine detail shouldn’t be expected.

What’s more is that the company have also released a truck with a few resistance fighter and Terminator minifigures from what were assuming will be the end fight sequence.

Finally a four legged Hunter Killer, a sort of ED-209 upgrade, rounds out the collection.

 

Transformers!

Oh, and before we sign off… don’t even get us started on the new Transformers: Combiners from Hasbro… that Devastator is coming in at over 18 inches!

Well, those are some of the items that have us exited for the upcoming year.  Are you looking forward to picking any of these up?  Will you be avoiding any of them?  And even if we’ve missed anything leave us a comment at the bottom of the page to let us know your thoughts!

Source: Bloodydisgusting, Ghostbustersmania, i09, techtimes, sciencefiction, vulture, gamenguide & popvinyls