Toy Fair 2017: McFarlane Toys Gets Things Moving

McFarlane Toys shined the spotlight on lots of new video game, anime, and movie properties at Toy Fair 2017.

2016 saw McFarlane Toys try something totally new in the toy world.  Their Color Tops collection moved back to the 7″ scale, dynamically posed, non-articulated statue aesthetic that made them famous a decade ago.  In the modern age of super articulation, the approach didn’t make a huge impact in the toy aisle… despite the ambitious range of properties McFarlane included, and the incredibly detailed sculpting they employed.  But this year will see them course-correct, adding more contemporary articulation to the same highly detailed, 7″ style.

We will see the articulation slowly increase as McFarlane’s 7″ figures roll out throughout 2017.  Some of the hold overs from last year will still feature limited poseability and dynamic, sculpted poses (such as Tokyo Ghoul and The Walking Dead).  But even pre-existing lines like Gears of War will up the poseability with new figures moving froward.

What’s on deck for McFarlane’s action figures in the next twelve months?  Aside from Walking Dead (which Khalil will spotlight later this week… stay tuned), we’re seeing a big focus on video games and anime.  Gears of War will continue, along with Handsome Jack and Tiny Tina, the first two figures in McFarlane’s new Borderlands license.  They now retain the rights to the entire back catalog of Borderlands characters, and the figures we see from them will likely look to both the future and the past, in all their cell shaded glory.  The other big video game gets are Destiny and Mass Effect… and McFarlane’s first figures in these collections looked incredible.

On the anime front, last year’s Tokyo Ghoul and Naruto figures will finally see retail shelves, along with a pair of great Attack on Titan figures complete with 3D maneuvering gear and blade accessories.  They will also release two figures based on One Punch Man, complete with alternate hands and headsculpts with unique expressions.

Another new license for 2017 is rooted in Jim Henson Studios, and the first figure on deck is Gareth from Labyrinth.  David Bowie’s Goblin King is stunning, with a spot-on likeness of Bowie and an astonishing level of intricacy in the sculpting of his costuming.  Gareth will be the first Henson figure in what McFarlane intends to be an entire sub-set of figures based on labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and more sources.

2016 also saw the return of Spawn to the toy aisle, with two Spawn: Rebirth figures released under the Color Top banner.  This year will add a second Spawn figure to the fold, a dynamic all new interpretation of Commando Spawn, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight.  McFarlane is committed to returning more characters from the Spawn universe to the toy world, and names such as Clown, Sam and Twitch, and Violator were overheard in this year’s showroom.

A few other random bits of info from McFarlane Toys in 2017:

• The Walking Dead comic series is over at mass retail… but they will continue releasing new figures as convention and Skybound exclusives.
• Last year saw the first McFarlane Toys products incorporated into subscription boxes such as Loot Crate and Skybound’s MegaBox!  This will continue in 2017… especially in terms of the MegaBox! which will feature a brand new McFarlane action figure with every release.
• McFarlane Toys’ new building sets look awesome! The South Park sets might very well be the most definitive toy versions of this long-running animated universe, and Five Nights At Freddy’s was a big enough success at Wal-Mart in 2016 that it’s clearly earned a second year at mass retail.  You can read more about the Rick and Morty building sets here, and check back soon for our spotlight on the Steven Universe building sets coming to Wal-Mart later this year.