Earlier today Hasbro had invited select members of the press to enjoy their annual Toy Fair off-site showroom! There is A LOT of stuff to get through so we’ll do this one brand at a time!
First up is NERF. Their presentation was strong with a full on range that attendees could test out the products as well as show off their skills. The new zombie themed products are very cool.
The Marvel Mashers are kicking into the next level with their character releases, digging more into the books than the movies with Ghost Rider, Ice Man, and Thunderbolts Deadpool and Red Hulk. They had a station with a bucket FILLED with pieces that we could create random figures.
Guardians of the Galaxy were in full effect, with some of these items being the first of the character we have seen at all, such as Ronan and Korath the Pursuer. The highlight IMO was the talking Rocket Raccoon figure that shook to make it look like he was firing the massive gun in his arms.
There were also costume elements such as Rocket and Star-Lord masks and Star-Lord’s blaster with two firing modes.
The Legends wave of this line has the whole team in the first set and also comic versions of the God Killer Iron Man and also Annihilation Nova. There is a new two and a half-inch figure scale made for this line to capitalize on the vehicles such as Star-Lord’s ship.
Transformers Kre-O figures from the new movie had a cool look with dinobots that could transform.
Speaking of Transformers, there were three different classes of figures shown. One was designed for pre-school aged kids, another for children a little older who have a very cool and very fast transformation method, and the more classic fan class that contains both the complex and awesome look that we’ve come to expect from previous waves.
Figures were shown from both the new movie as well as the more classic style. This is the first time that Hasbro has focused on releasing both styles. The elite Optimus and Grimlock figures were truly a sight to behold !
Taking a slight departure from the more masculine toys, we stopped by the Littlest Pet Shop area and got to see what was new in the world of miniature domesticated animal companions!
Some of the new figures came with a code in which you could use in a very cool custom world-building app that will be coming out soon. Also there are now a number of customizable accessories that clip onto the pets via pegs that add a little more personalization to your favorite pets.
Back to the action figures! The Captain America: Winter Soldier and Amazing Spider-Man 2 six-inch figures are currently out on the shelves but we still saw the selection that has hit or will arrive soon. During the presentation they mentioned that mixing the Legends line with both movie and comic inspired figures allows them to ultimately release more figures than two separate series would allow.
Also getting some love was the 3.75 inch Marvel line with some spectacular new releases such as Deathshead. Marvel NOW Hulk, and even Photon Wonder Man!
But that’s not all! Marvel Figures also came in the larger twelve-inch Titan Hero line. Figures from this scale were shown in both the Avengers section as well as the Spider-Man side for a wide assortment of styles grabbed straight from the comic books!
And finally, coming straight from a Galaxy far, far away we give you…
THE STAR WARS STUFF!!!!
First up we have what i thought was one of the coolest things and that is the new Star Wars Command series. This is a Star Wars take on the little green army men with a complete assortment of fan favorite ships and characters, as well as a very cool vehicle in the form of a larger scale remote control Star Destroyer.
Next, figures from the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon series were shown. While not a whole lot of plot detail was released jut by looking at them, we were able to get a peek at vehicles and characters at the 3.75 inch scale as well as The Inquisitor’s lightsaber which has three different attack settings for optimum play.
Also, for Clone Wars fans, during the presentation we were told that two unnamed clones from the newly announced Sixth Season (coming next month to Netflix) will find their way into the Black Series.
And while I am on the topic of Black Series… not only are the figures getting newly designed packages but they are also getting deluxe figures in the form of a six-inch Jabba and a Scout Trooper complete with Speeder! Other six-inch black series shown were Jedi Luke, Episode Three Anakin, Chewbacca, Sandtrooper, Phase One Clone, and a Return of the Jedi Darth Vader with removable helmet.
The 3.75 inch Black Series also got some love with a newly designed imperial themed packaging and these awesome figures! To complement this scale was also a very budget friendly 30 inch X-Wing! While the X-Wing isn’t quite to scale with 3.75 figures and the cockpit doesn’t open it is an excellently made vehicle and is perfect for collecting/displaying and playing.
While not much from GI Joe was discussed or shown, during the presentation we were told that they have big plans for two and three figure packs as well as a very cool looking Kre-O style Terror Drome play set.
On the Comic-Con side of things the reps were pretty mum on the topics of exclusives only giving some vague hints here and there but they were very adamant on letting us know that what we saw in the showroom today is just the tip of what they have planned and MUCH more will be revealed at Comic-Con!
CONTEST TIME!!!
We have one of these very cool, very exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy line-up action figure posters to give away. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling us what figure/line you are looking forward to the most. The contest ends 2/21 at 5PM EST.
