by Chris Troy.
I really hate typing out cliche stuff like “a dollar doesn’t buy you much these days, especially in NYC”, but considering how much it costs to ride the subway these days, it’s kind of true. HOWEVER, for a mere $1, you can pick one of the new Marvel Heroes Buildable Figurines from the line’s 2nd wave at FPNYC! Cyclops, Daredevil, Wolverine, Dr. Doom, the Thing, and Venom make up the set, and it’s one of the FEW toy lines you can buy the entire line for less than $10, if not the only one. Oh sure they have zero points of articulation, but they look cool as hell on your desk or bookcase in my anything-but-humble-opinion. And if you’re not a Marvel person (BOOOO!), we also have blind-bag My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic figurines in stock as of the time of writing. Those go for about $3 a pop, and offer a ton more variety in terms of Ponies (articulation, not so much). I’ve laughed at the Brony movement last year, but we keep selling out of the toys, so there was a slight chance I had no idea what I was getting into at the time. That and I’ve actually watched the show since and it’s cute. It also helps that Fluttershy is adorable, and yes, it pains me to type that out. Denial is magical.
So Toy Fair happened this month and I never bothered applying for a badge because I was busy as hell being dissappointed by Soul Calibur 5. However, my good friend and internet medicine man Dr_Teng of What’s Your Obsession did go, and is cool enough to share some photos with us. Loran has already covered the Transformers and GI Joe stuff, and I’m sure I’ve talked enough about Marvel/DC stuff to drive most people insane, so I’ll save those releases for when they’re actually on our shelves. So that leaves me to discuss video game figures, which I assure you is not a problem.
Square Enix is obviously after my wallet this year and I’m okay with this. They’re releasing toys on 2 franchises I’m super in love with, they being Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid. Oh sure, Mass Effect 3 is not out yet, but I’ve played the demo enough times to know it’s going to be rad. The first (of hopefully MANY) wave consists of Commander Shepard (the default male one, not our beloved Femshep), Space-Batman himself Garrus, and Ashley Williams, who’s received a much needed overhaul in the design department. On the Metal Gear side of things, the iconic Solid Snake FINALLY gets the Play Arts treatment, as does Ninja/Gray Fox, and Meryl, which looks amazing. I’m excited for all of these figures, and already plotting where to put them in my apartment.
Valve is probably one of my favorite video game companies out there these days, and it’s great to see them finally getting some toys made based on their beloved franchises. Team Fortress 2 is getting a line of plushies based on the various playable classes (I need the Red Scout ASAP!), as well as 2 figures in the 1st wave of Valve figures (The Heavy and Demoman, who’s head was stolen from the NECA booth during Toy Fair if the internet is to believed.) Left 4 Dead is also getting the plastic treatment, both the Smoker and Boomer zombies are getting figures in the same wave, as well as the heavily-demanded hero from Half-Life Gordon Freeman, to round out series 1. There were also Portal 2 props on display in the form of the turrets and Gun, as well as figures based on the Borderland games. Everything in this paragraph has given me a case of the warm fuzzies.
Obviously there were a ton of more announcements at Toy Fair, but I only have so much room and time. And several video games to get back to. I suggest you head over to What’s Your Obsession (thanks again Dr_Teng) and check out what else the show had to offer, as well as some awesome pictures/articles on some upcoming statues/import toys that will be coming out this year. And obviously, you’ll be able to find most of them at Forbidden Planet once they’re released!!
