2006 Toy Fair: STRANGEco Part 1

STRANGEco’s double booth was a fairly happening place as usual. They had a number of new products on display – both on their production and distribution ends.

Mars-1 Invisible Plan was released in a special Comic Con version last July. Well, the “real” version is out now in a red and a green colorway. Plus, they have added 6 additional characters to up the line to 12 figures.

Scarygirl creator Nathan Jurevicius has a brand-spanking newline of super detailed vinyl figures. The characters include Seoop, Arkski, Bennzi, Heenie and Naal and each figure includes accessories that allow for 2 versions of the same character. Look for these to release about 2-3 months apart from each other.

One of the most talked about figures at the show was Jim Woodring’s Mr. Bumper. The top segment of the figure is removable, and it brings back memories of figures of yesteryear.

Last year Jeremy Fish gave us Bunnyvan – think a pink rabbit and a caravan mated. The next figure from Mr. Fish is his Turtle Camper. It’s the same premise and has movable legs, head and tail.

Dean Bradley has been well known for his Mainframe character and now it is finally coming to vinyl form. It’s a super-poseable figure, toting a keyboard for one hand and an axe in the other. Look for camo versions coming out in the near future.

2006 Toy Fair: STRANGEco Part 2

Superfun Company is following up their Toxic Teddies Ramones set with a set of the Misfits. They also have a brand new Toxic Teddies line based on classic horror films. It looks like The Shining, Jaws, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Planet of the Apes to me.

Ron English’s Cathy Cowgirl might have been one of the more shocking figures at Toy Fair (well maybe not as shocking as devil baby dolls). The figure is statuesque and made of resin. Some might call it udder-ly ridiculous (bad, bad joke).

Will Sweeney's comic, Tales from Greenfuzz, has introduced us to a number of wild characters. Next up is The Kebab Henchmen (Kleptikos and Periwinkle). They are the skewered sidekicks of Helmut the Hot Dog Man…remember the hot dog with a tommy gun?

Rocket World's updated version of their Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo Rocket Ship was on display. The rocket will be able house the mini line of figures and their accessories. The full sized Henson the Polar Bear and Septimius the Black Bear were also on display.

James Jarvis’ Vortigern’s Machine graphic novel has given us Mr. Vortigern, Harvey and Jubs. Amos now introduces us to Rusty & Dworkin, Wiggs, Mr. Waverley and The Witch Doctor. They will also be releasing the Mr. Vortigern and the Great Sage of Wisdom comic book.

Superdeux’s new Shikito figure was on display. It looks like a multi-colored, smiley-faced Hershey Kiss (…or maybe a turd). Wootini and Jermaine Rogers’ second figure – Squire – was also being shown off. This figure might be the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen!

The Circus Punks guys are doing their second series of mini punks. (Designs by: Tara McPherson, Jermaine Rogers, Reuben Rude, Jeremyville, tokidoki, Craola, Joe Ledbetter and Peter Bagge). Playbeast was showing off their Monsterism Island line as well as the Cardboy Sneakers figures. And the guys from Friends With You had a bunch of new plushies on display including their Malfis. [...]

2006 Toy Fair: Sideshow Toys

Sideshow Toys might not produce urban vinyl or designer toys, but their products appeal to most of us collectors. They recently acquired the US distribution rights to a number of Medicom products – and had these on display at Toy Fair.

The Medicom VSD (Vinyl Super Deformed) figures are super high quality toys that were previously only available in Japan. The Stormtrooper and Darth Vader figures are both 10 inches in height and estimated to ship in the 3rd quarter of 2006.

Sideshow also introduced a number of new Star Wars, Friday the 13th, Terminator 2 and Lord of the Rings figures. They have also been adding to their premium format line, however, I am still a big fan of the 12-inch format. Check out the Sideshow website if you are interested, as they are continuously adding more pre-orders.

2006 Toy Fair: Little Wonder Studio

Little Wonder Studio debuted their Foofnicks line of vinyl toys at TF2006. The line contains 3 main characters – Jacked Rabbit, Jim Jam and Waffle. Each figure stands at about 6 inches in height and there are plans for 3 colorways of each character. Robert Curet, the creator and artist responsible for the Foofnicks, said each will be limited to about 1,000 pieces.

Uglydolls Win Specialty Toy of the Year

The day before Toy Fair is when the Toy Industry of America announces their Toy of the Year Award winners. Uglydolls came home with the Specialty Toy of the Year. The Specialty Toy of the Year is described as "the best toy primarily distributed through specialty retailers". Congrats to the whole Uglydoll crew.

2006 Toy Fair: Toy Tokyo

Toy Tokyo had a number of new offerings on display at Toy Fair. The first figure from the Instant Sapien line – Big Puff Maki – was being shown off. (These will be carried by FreeBento.com)The newest figure from Go Hero – Yira – was also displayed. Also, check out David and Sun-Min’s Little Yoya and Minty vinyl figures from Toy2R.

2006 Toy Fair: Loconauts

Evergrow has introduced a new line of figures on the heels of their Emotes vinyl. Loconauts and Emotes were on display at Toy Fair 2006 – sharing a booth. The Loconauts line will include both plush and small resin toys.

All of the characters are based on wacky personality disorders. With names like Baxter Burnout, Anna Anorexia and Barry Bi-Polar…you can see the theme. Each figure also has a tagline about his or her specific ailment. Shirts and hats will be available as well as key chains and travel mugs.

My personal favorite is Barry Bi-Polar. He resembles a light bulb and his vinyl head actually lights up when activated.

2006 Toy Fair: Ningyoushi, Super7 and Flying Cat

Ningyoushi was in attendance at Toy Fair 2006. They were showing off Super 7’s Kittyfire figure (due out in March). If you remember, Super 7 had these at SDCC this past summer. The booth was also showing off some of the TADO Flying Cat products. I really enjoy these. They are fun and colorful. TADO are definitely one of my favorite up and coming artist duos. The husband and wife team have their Ryoko and the Sissyfists set out as a full set (retailing around $55). They also have several colorful plushies, both large (Albert) and small (Fortune Pork).

Ningyoushi had a few new products on display as well. Their Get Small Series – San Francisco has 4 characters that were created by 4 different artists. These include Coro (Ortho), Sam Flores (Billy Bronze), David Choe (Siamese Twin) and Jeremy Fish (Bunny Skull). All of these figures will come in “mini buses”. Never being to San Francisco, I had to be told that these are the transit buses that everyone takes while in the city.

The other product on display was Sam Flores’ Fatima. This should be due out in April with 4 different versions available (two exclusive colorways). The two versions that were on display were Fatima in a green dress (with a tiger print) and the pink dress version (with a dragon print).

2006 Toy Fair: Blackwater Toys

Blackwater Toys were on hand to premier their first toy line – Kuggs. This series of toys will be built upon a strong back-story. Briefly, it details the plight of an everyday guy who wakes up one day and realizes that there is something else in life (other than the daily drudge of work, etc.) So all of the symbols on the actual figure have some significance in the story.

The first 2 figures will be named Sheep and Black Sheep. Each large figure will contain a mini subway train and several inch tall mini figures. One nice detail in this line is that each hand of the large figure contains magnets. These then work with the subway train (which has 2 magnets) and the mini figure (1 magnet).

The packaging is also worth mentioning. It is shaped like half of a subway train and they can be placed next to each other to form a full train. Look for this line to be launched before the San Diego Comic Con.

2006 Toy Fair: Neth Creatures

Neth Creatures was in attendance at Toy Fair 2006. J of Neth Creatures was showing off his first series of 9 figures. Look for some new, very different things coming from Neth Creatures. They had some really cool prints on display…but the new project might be a little “softer”. I’m really looking forward to seeing the amazing artwork that J creates next.