02/27/2012

“The Insane Clown Posse was right; magnets ARE something truly special!”: Toy Fair 2012 Part 1

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

I am a firm believer in better late than never. Not just when it comes my way overdue fourth installment of the FORT90ZINE (which, as noted, is coming out in time for TCAF, I swear to God), but my not nearly as overdue Toy Fair 2012 report!

So how was the show? Well, each year it becomes slightly less and less exciting, mostly because you basically see the same stuff year after year, more or less. But unlike last time, I was also able to take my time, and therefore do a bit more digging.

The end result was a slightly more enjoyable Toy Fair, though I made sure to hit all the usual suspects right upfront. Like the Bandai booth, which had an assortment of Persona 3 and Mega Man X figures?

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good shot of Izanagi, but at least Thanatos was nice and viewable?

I’m pretty certain I’ve highlighted the D-Arts X and Zero, but not Vile?

For those of you who have every single Halo figure out there, how about Xbox Live avatars dressed as characters Halo? And once again, that’s why Todd McFarlane makes the big bucks!

The Square Enix booth had tons of stuff that weren’t just Final Fantasy released, like Street Fighter figures?

Though one could final some FF XIII-2 goods could be found as well?

To contrast the animu, you also had a God of War figure?

And Nathan Drake?

I’ve seen images of the Cyber Ninja via Kojima’s Twitter, the unpainted version at least, so it was nice to finally behold the final product?

Unfortunately, Meryl doesn’t look nearly as eye-pleasing in comparison?

Nearby was a Tetris booth featuring what appeared to be an iPad running a Tetris-themed clock, and housed in a Tetris-themed arcade cabinet made out of cardboard (which some time recall from last time)…

?. Too bad I couldn’t get a closer look; the folks running the booth gave me the stink eye for whatever reason. So moving on, here we have a portable NES and SNES player by Retro Bit. You’ve undoubtedly seen plenty of similar examples?

But here’s something I’ve never seen before, let alone heard of either; it’s an adapter for the SNES that plays Genesis games!

Unfortunately, the folks running the booth was pretty tight lipped as to how it works. My best guess is that it’s just a Genny on a chip that draws power from the SNES, and also uses it to output video. But still!

Back to figures: next stop was the Kotobukiya booth, who had two different Batmans. BTW, he, was far and away the popular character at the show?

I didn’t bother to share the one found at SE booth since it was so damn ugly. And that’s only because it him from Arkham City (the heinous character designs is one of the main reasons why I can’t give that game a chance).

Anyhow, the second one is an unpainted prototype, based upon the upcoming Christopher Nolan flick. The outfit is pretty much the only good about his take on the caped crusader, sorry (there’s one and only Batman, and his name is Michael Keaton)?

As in the past, Tekken was well represented?

Their latest line of Star Wars figures look quite nice?

I dig this Darth Vader one, even though I don’t remember him being so quite dynamic in the flicks?

Though I’m guessing it’s most to match up with Darth Maul, aka pretty much the only good thing about the Star Wars prequels?

I hear the Spider-Man comics are great these days, but I refuse to read them, after the way they retconned him revealing his identity to the world during Civil War (yes, I’m still pissed about that)?

Also, I don’t have high hopes for the new Avengers movie for a number of reasons, like how all the costumes look like ass. Iron Man’s mark 7 suit is a real step back?

Some more Marvel dudes?

And, of course, some Marvel ladies?

The Adventure Time booth had all sorts of awesome things, like a Beemo mp3 player! Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures of the new stuff, just items already available in stores. But since the following was new to me?

For fans of The Walking Dead and trading cards?

Next are the Obos, a brand new line of figures in which everything is made out of recycled cardboard. The box itself is actually the body, with all the appendages and other extras contained within?

All the extra bits are interchangeable, which allows for customized characters. But the best part is the engineering behind it all; despite being made out of paper, every component is super durable, so one can insert and removes parts over and over again, with zero wear and tear?

Oh, and the fact that it’s the creation of of NYC fellows is a nice little bonus. There’s a Kickstarter of course, which totally deserves your donation!

From paper, to plastic?

With each passing year, there are more examples of 2D artwork making the leap to a 3D form, and with stunning results. As is the case with this Camilla d’Errico bust from Dark Horse?

Things, and Hulks, and Iron Men, and Skywalkers, oh my!

I believe this X-23 statue is from Kotobukiya as well?

For those who already own a replica of the gun from Gears of War, how about one from Mass Effect?

And just one example of the wacky signage that was Toy Fair 2012?

? K, that’s it for now. Be sure to come back tomorrow with part 2!

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