To be entirely honest, Toy Fair 2015 had so many amazing looking toys that it’s tough narrow down any kind of list. I could literally talk about all the products shown for days and not get tired (just ask my fiance who’s been enduring it so far), but for this article I really wanted to limit myself. It was tough, and there may be some cheating here and there, but on the whole, if you’re a geeky fan, these are things you should be saving your money for.
Jurassic World Legos
Apparently I’m going to kick things off with a cheat, as this isn’t ONE item, but many that you have to look forward to. In general, I think Hasbro blew the roof off with their Jurassic World toys (especially the incredible looking Indominus Rex), but LEGO is where I feel more people will be throwing their cash. LEGOs have always been great for collector’s of all ages, and as the company has acquired more and more amazing licensed properties, fans continue to flock to them and are eager to see what they come out with next.
Seriously, these all look pretty amazing, giving us mini-figs for some of our most beloved dinosaurs, and even Chris Pratt’s motorcycle that we’ve seen in action on the trailer. The sets in general look like a lot of fun to put together and play with (or even keep on display if that’s your preference). Perhaps most exciting, however, is the chance for the other films to get LEGO sets as well. Since the upcoming video game will pull from ALL the films, hopefully we’ll get original Jurassic Park sets too. At the very least, who doesn’t want a LEGO Chris Pratt in their life?
Movie Realization Star Wars Samurai
Of course, being a Star Wars collector, there’s no way I can leave something from the galaxy far, far away off of this list. Sadly, however, the Star Wars offerings this year were kind of slim. Hasbro in general had a very disappointing showing from the Star Wars brand this year. We know The Force Awakens products are coming, but no one was allowed to show anything from it. That’s understandable, but for some reason Hasbro didn’t use the event to show off ANY new items for Star Wars Rebels or it’s Black Series line…it was weird. Regardless, we got to see some cool upcoming LEGO items and THESE amazing looking toys from Tamashii Nations.
If this movie realization Darth Vader Samurai looks familiar, that’s because it released earlier, but only in Japan. Now it’s finally coming to the US along with some buddies. Toy Fair showcased samurai style Stormtroopers to go along with the Dark Lord of the Sith, and they look equally stunning. I’ve been collecting Star Wars for a couple decades now, but among my favorite items are toys that aren’t from the films. Characters from the books/comics/games are neat to me, and these unique takes on the classic characters are great.
What really intrigues me here, is that the artwork in the background shows a samurai style Royal Guard (the red guys). While this is by no means a confirmation, hopefully this is a hint that the Royal Guards are in the pipeline for this amazing looking figure series.
NECA 8-Bit Style Godzilla
This is kind of another cheat, mostly because all of the new “8-Bit” line that NECA showed off this year at Toy Fair are screaming to be purchased. Sure, they’re repaints of previously existing figures, but that doesn’t prevent them from being neat and something worth looking into for collectors.
This new line takes some of their fan-favorite figures (NECA has really great products anyway) and re-colors them to match their old-school video game counterparts. Obviously they aren’t “8-bit” and use a broader palette than that, but otherwise, they look shockingly impressive. As though there were taken directly out of a game. What’s really neat, for collector’s like me, is that the packaging is designed as gaming covers.
Yes, they’re just standard figures with a new coat of paint, but they’re still neat, and most importantly, are based on already solid figure designs. That Godzilla is begging to be brought home along with the 8-Bit Predator…
Batman: TAS Batmobile
DC Collectibles is coming out with a drool inducing line of toys from Batman: The Animated Series. Seriously all of them look great and fans of the Bat should be plenty happy to get these on their hands. For me, however, the star of the show in DC’s line-up is the Batmobile. This sexy beast is HUGE, being able to accommodate two figures from their new six-inch line of TAS toys and authentic sounds and lights from the show.
Fans of the original animated show will no doubt be hit with all manner of nostalgia at seeing this thing in action, but it’s also awesome enough that younger Batman lovers (who didn’t grow up with the show) will have plenty of reason to be happy. It’s a massive toy that kids would love to play with, and for collectors it will look amazing with the rest of your figures. Despite limiting myself to Star Wars collecting, I feel a distinctive tug on my wallet for this Batmobile.
Hasbro’s Devastator
I’m not huge into Transformers in general (which I know is breaking Jason’s heart right now), but my son is big into them and as such, I’ve been paying far more attention to their toys. I like the idea behind the Transformers and have thoroughly enjoyed several of the animated shows, but the toys never really drew me in. That being said, Hasbro’s new line of Combiner Wars figures has me intrigued…especially this Devastator.
Sure, we’ve had a Devastator before that used a handful of smaller Transformers (just like in the show) to form. While it was neat, the figures themselves were small, and thus that Devastator didn’t give you the sense of just how monstrous this thing was supposed to be. Hasbro’s fixing that by using regular sized Transformers for the base figures that, when combined, will make a two foot tall Devastator. I may not be a huge fan of these toys, but I can imagine just how impressive this thing will look in person. Not to mention how epic the imaginary battles my son has at the house can be with this thing!
As I said ealier, Toy Fair 2015 was packed to the brim with amazing looking new products from a variety of licenses and companies. Not to mention the fact that none of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys were shown off, and those are sure to excite a great many people (myself included). As always, Toy Fair didn’t fail to impress and has left my wallet feeling completely inadequate. These were my favorites from this year’s show, but what were yours? Tell us what has you the most excited for from Toy Fair?
-Jordan
