For those of you who have never been (which is probably most of you, since it isn’t open to the public), the New York Toy Fair is a magical world of toys. There are also fairs in Germany and the UK (and presumably in Asia, although we don’t hear much about those stateside), but the New York Toy Fair is the “big dance” of toy fairs. Held in the sprawling Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, the show is attended by toy manufacturers and distributors around the world, from juggernauts like Mattel and Hasbro to the smallest mom-and-pop game manufacturer.
But for our purposes, our main interest in attending was the wide variety of pop-culture-licensed action figures on display, most hidden behind closed doors. Not every company was willing to let us in, of course, but we managed to glad-hand our way into a variety of showrooms whose products spoke to us, and took some pictures! Scroll down to see what we found, and read about what’s coming up. And if you want even more coverage and photos, check out our thread on Bluesky.
MATTEL
The big news at Mattel’s penthouse showroom (seriously, they got the entire floor) was the Masters of the Universe movie.
He-Man, Skeleton and their wacky pals will come in two different scales, 6 inches for collectors, and 5.5 inches for younger kids, with slightly more detail and articulation for the collectors. Although, the kids’ line didn’t look too shabby, and included one of Skeletor’s Skele-Knights which was not visible in the collector line.
Hopefully the collector line is such a runaway success (the movie looks amazing) that they get to a Skele-Knight and trailer-tease Fisto in Series 2.
Also at Mattel was the entry-level DC Comics line, with a new feature-filled Batmobile and connecting Robin-cycle, plus a variety of top-tier heroes and villains.
WWE was also present, with new posable and retro-style rubber figures, and K-Pop Demon Hunters is getting dolls, action figures and a variety of blind boxes. And don’t forget Barbie, which continues its line of real women dolls (Steve Nicks FTW), and Monster High, which is reinterpreting famous fictional characters like Elvira, Corpse Bride and Alien — not the Alien Queen, exactly, but a drone xenomorph which brings hope of a Monster High (or Barbie) Ellen Ripley doll.
SUPER7
With Super7, you get a variety of formats for each of a dozen or more licenses. G.I. Joe continues its ReAction+ line, with retro-style O-ring figures of classic characters, many inspired by specific episodes and the highly underrated movie, including a red-white-and-blue series exclusively for Walmart.
And they’ve even expanded their O-ring offerings to licenses like Back to the Future and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
More traditional 5-points-of-articulation ReAction figures include Godzilla and Peanuts, and deluxe Ultimates figures of characters like Shin Godzilla were also on display.
We should also mention their Fun! Fun! vinyl figure line, which will get a giant Oscar the Grouch this year.
PLAYMATES TOYS
Playmates is probably best known for their TMNT toys, and that wacky line of Star Trek figures from the 1990s. Well, in 2027, Mattel takes over the TMNT line, so Playmates is going out with a bang! Not only are they re-issuing their vintage military-themed Turtles, they’re teaming the Turtles up with G.I. Joe (and Shredder’s team with Cobra) for a new assortment of crossover figures, including a turtle-fied AWE Striker and Dragonfly helicopter. You will lose it when you see Krang as Destro.
The TMNT are also continuing their team-up with Godzilla, with three new figures of Donatello, Splinter and Shredder as cartoony Kaiju, and the rest of the line will be branded World of TMNT, incorporating various iterations of the Turtles’ mythos.
Playmates also had a collector-friendly Godzilla Monsterverse line on display, as well as a kid-friendly Power Rangers line, and as if that weren’t enough they’re pairing the two up for an assortment of monstrous sentai action figures based on the Godzilla x Power Rangers comic.
And in one of the most unexpected toy launches of the year, the best-selling adult novel series Dungeon Crawler Carl will get action figures, with a variety of interchangeable parts, blind-boxed super-powered cats, and a teens-and-up warning label.
NACELLE COMPANY
Founded by “The Toys That Made Us” maven Brian Volk-Weiss, the Nacelle Company was known for reboots of 1980s and ‘90s toy lines like Robo Force, Biker Mice From Mars, and the Cowboys of Moo Mesa when they landed the Star Trek license. Their line seems to pick up where Diamond Select Toys’ 7-inch line left off, with costumes and characters that their predecessor never even touched, including their Holodeck naval uniforms, Quark, Sarek, Kirk’s horse, and a variety of much-needed female crew members.
Nacelle also had The Expanse figures on display, as well as a reboot of Power Lords, featuring some very cool, very detailed figures that accurately reinterpret the original designs by Wayne Barlowe.
BLOKEES
The Blokees line of buildable model kits has taken the world by storm, and can now be found in stores like Walmart for as low as $5 a pop for a detailed, posable 4- to 5-inch figure. Their bread and butter is Transformers, and they are continuing a variety of scales for the line, including the heroic Galaxy line, cutesy Defender line, the all-vehicles line and some larger-scale collector figures.
But they are more than TF, and have lines based on Jurassic World, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Saint Seiya, Marvel, Naruto, and coming soon, Mega Man!
MAJOR
On its face a wrestling toy company, Major will make Joe fans happy with their “face” and “heel” versions of Sgt. Slaughter in their 9-inch Big Rubber Guys line, inspired by vintage LJN figures, including the G.I. Joe Sgt Slaughter mail-away figure. Other classic wrestlers, like Andre the Giant and Ric Flair are also coming, along with modern wrestlers like the stars of AEW.
But for the non-wrestling fans, movies like Rambo, Kickboxer and the films of Kevin Smith also get the Big Rubber treatment, and figures based on The Princess Bride, The Phantom and Flash Gordon are on the way!
And did we mention sport mascots like the Philly Fanatic and Mr. Met?
TRICK OR TREAT STUDIOS
Primarily a horror-loving company, with plenty of rubber masks of mainstream and esoteric monsters, Trick or Treat Studios has a thriving figure line, with 7-inch figures of Hellraiser, The Crow (movie and comic), Terrifier, Maniac Cop, Leprechaun on the way, as well as 4-inch figures of Robocop, Army of Darkness, Creepshow and even Goosebumps on the way.
HANDMADE BY ROBOTS
Not an action figure line, but a 600-figure-strong line of designer vinyl figures, the Handmade by Robots line has established a rabid fan base with its horror-inspired figures, and now they’re hoping to take over for Funko with their lines based on Star Wars and Marvel.
Those are the big two they announced, but they had more new licenses than you can shake a stick at, including Muppets, Bob’s Burgers, Alien, Planet of the Apes, TMNT and more.
Plus, since they are owned by record distributor Alliance Entertainment, they are doing two exclusive figures for Record Store Day (April 18), of Hello Kitty and Ozzy Osbourne! Find a store near you at recordstoreday.com!
And that is just the tip of the iceberg! Hopefully, you have enjoyed this peek behind the plastic curtain. If you like this coverage, comment below who you’d like us to visit next year!
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