NECA Toys Steals the Show at 2015 Toy Fair

If you have been following our coverage of Toy Fair on our Twitter feed then you know that NECA Toys brought it this year. Literally, every single item that they had on display was a home run, and there isn't any other company that I can say that about (although there were some other spectacular things that we will post about soon). 

We had a 2:00 pm appointment with Randy at the NECA booth on Saturday, but of course Steve and I couldn't wait that long to see what they had in store for us. We made our way to the NECA booth and were amazed by what we saw. Upon entering their booth I was immediately hit with a bad case of A.D.D. Haha I just couldn't keep my eyes focused with so many awesome things all in one place. 

Where do we even start? Let's start with an item I have been dying to talk about, the NES Godzilla. Steve and I got to see it in person at the NECA studios back in September. We had to keep this awesome secret to ourselves for all this time. : ) I love this figure and I wouldn't change one single thing about him. The paint scheme and added pixels look exactly the same as it does in the video game. It's nice to see NECA keeping things fresh and giving each new NES figure a different take.

The next item is something we have all been waiting for for a LOOOOOOONG time, John Matrix of COMMANDO! Oh yes!!! The wait is over. Steve and I often talk about figures we would like to see made and John Matrix has always been at the top of that list. He looks amazing. The sculpt and likeness is dead-on accurate and he comes with tons of great weapons and accessories. I can't wait to get him!

Predators are one of my favorites lines that NECA makes and the AVP line did not disappoint. They made them just right. They didn't go with that super fake looking, hefty 'roided out look. They made them in the more classic look we are accustomed to, and I am very thankful for that. The armor, weapons, and details are excellent. And, of course, the Dark Horse and retro video game Predators are fantastic. I will be spending a lot of money on Predator figures this year.

The NES Gremlin is kick ass. I don't own any NECA Gremlin figures yet, but this guy will be my first one. I don't have the time to go into deep detail on every single figure in just one post, but wow there are a lot of goodies coming our way! We're talking T2, GENISYS, ALIENS, HOME ALONE, POTA, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, SUPERMAN.

If you are not excited about T2, or the Power Loader, or the Alien six pack then I am worried that you might not have a pulse.

Once we went for our scheduled appointment Randy took us around and answered every single question that we had..and we had A LOT!!! Randy is truly a class act and treated us extremely well. We had a half hour appointment and Randy spent an entire hour with Steve and I. He truly is the best in the business. He was even kind enough to take us into the back and show us some goodies that aren't ready to be shown to the public yet. :) Sorry, we can't tell you what those are but just know that they're going to be awesome as always and minds will be blown.

The craziest part of it all is that NECA had so many outstanding items on display and it was all only for the first half of the year!!! Wow, I can't wait to see what's in store for us for the rest of the year! 

Enough with the talking...check out our pictures below.

 

 

  

  

 

  

  

    

  

  

Review: 10" Marvel Deadpool by Fire Toy

Deadpool 

This is a review of the somewhat new 10" Marvel Fire Toy Deadpool.  He is very similar in size and build  the Play Arts Kai figures.   

Deadpool is a favorite among many fans whether its comics, movies, or action figures. He is a highly sought after character.  This Deadpool in particular is the best Deadpool I have ever seen made into figure form! 

Fire Toy really did an excellent job capturing the look and feel of Deadpool with this figure.  He is highly detailed, sturdy ,and comes with the deadly weapons.  The Marvel Select version, for instance, comes with 1 sword, a pistol, and a gun. All of those weapons are much nicer on the Fire Toy version.  He comes with double swords and sheaths, and he also comes with 5 hands to hold all of his weapons which are very made well.  The only down side is he doesn't come with a gun. That was an easy fix since I have so many extra weapons around. I quickly gave him a gun  to make him look more accurate...and badass.  

Compared to the Play Arts Kai figures he is lighter and sturdier.  He stands on his own and can even take some wobbling without worrying about him falling over.  He has tight joints and poses well with no looseness anywhere on his body.  For some reason, he really reminds me of a huge 3 ¾ GI JOE figure when I hold him in my hand. 

This figure is a little tougher to get as you will most likely have to buy through eBay or directly through a Chinese retailer. He is going to cost you right around $100.  I was lucky enough to search and get mine for $73 including shipping through Ali Express.  If you are a Deadpool fan I would recommend finding one if you can.  He looks great, is fun to pose and move around, and is just a really fun figure own! 

I know that Sideshow will be releasing their version towards the end of the year, and I will be getting it because it looks insane!  

Please feel free to let us know what you think about this review and figure here or on Twitter @cobrashadowjoes

Super Hero Dream Team

The other day Steve wrote about his ultimate Vietnam era dream team. Today I want to share my ultimate comics dream team. There are endless possibilities one could come up with here, but my list is as follows: Wolverine, Snake Eyes, Raphael, and Batman.

Whether it's strength, tactics and strategy, stealth, hand to hand combat, or weaponry skills this group has every base covered. This is one crew of guys who you could drop in anywhere and inflict major damage and escape before any one even realized it. Wolverine and Raphael are the hot heads of the group while Snake Eyes and Batman are the cooler heads who are tacticians and think through every scenario.

WHO IS YOUR ULTIMATE TEAM?

Who Wants a NECA Toys MacReady or Burton?

Everyone, right? Well, if those are figures you would like to see made in the future then fans need to be prepared to put their money where their mouth is and support NECA when they take risks by trying new things. This post is about NECA in particular, but it can be applied to just about about any product or company (not just toys).

If you take a glance at NECA's Twitter account you will see endless questions and suggestions about figures that fans would like to see them produce. Right off the bat people need to realize that securing licenses and dealing with likeness rights, etc can be a lengthy and difficult process which takes time.

Semi-related, many times fans will ask Randy to do figures that other large companies already have strangleholds on. So there is no need to ask him if we will see NECA figures for Jurassic Park, TMNT, etc. Hasbro, Playmates, and Mattel have their mitts firmly planted on many of the lines that people constantly ask them about.

That aside, we all have our wishlist of figures we would want NECA to make. Some of mine include Lieutenant Harrigan (Predator 2), Dillon, Mac, Blain, Billy, etc. (Predator), John Matrix (Commando), Ben Richards (The Running Man), Matt Hunter (Invasion USA), Col. Braddock (Missing in Action), Maj. McCoy (The Delta Force), Lieutenant Cobretti (Cobra), MacReady (The Thing), and Jack Burton (Big Trouble In Little China).

So let's take MacReady and Jack Burton for example. These are two characters that I see get brought up on Twitter all of the time. If we want to see figures like these ever be made then we need to reward NECA when they take risks and come out with new and different figures. Yes, Randy is a huge toy fan like the rest of us, but when it is all said and done they are running a business. Money doesn't grow on trees and they have budgets that they have to stick to. And since money doesn't grow on trees and they need to make money to stay in business then they need to focus on figures that are profitable.

It is my feeling that NECA will some times take a risk and try something totally new and different as a trial balloon. For example, I believe the new Retro-style EFNY Snake Plissken is one of those trial balloons. Personally, I think this figure is fantastic. I would love to buy multiples of it and give them out to friends, in fact. I realize not everyone has the same attachment to the character that I do and not everyone is a fan of the retro line. (Side note: I used to feel the same way about the retro figures, but now that I have Snake I love them and am a strong supporter of the line now!)

When people ask Randy about the chances of a MacReady or Burton figure he usually will say something along the lines of "we'll have to wait and see how sales of other figures do first." Which to me means if Snake doesn't sell well then we will not get those other figures. Again, they run a business and a business NEEDS to make a profit if they want to continue to be one. Randy can't just make any figure that he wants to.

So, if we ever want to to see a MacReady or a Burton we need to give NECA our full support...especially when they take a  big risk on a new figure like Snake. I'm not telling you to go out and buy a figure that you do not like, but if you have the slightest interest in EFNY, Kurt Russell, or the possibility of other figures based off him being made then you should consider buying a Snake Plissken figure. Money talks. If sales for Snake Plissken are high then the smart business decision would be to continue doing more. The reverse of that is also true. As we've seen with other lines, such as Planet of the Apes, a kick ass figure doesn't do them much good if people aren't buying it.

Bottom line: go buy a NECA Snake Plissken right now because 1.) it is a freaking awesome figure and 2.) you are helping increase the chances MacReady and Jack Burton figures being released in the future!

Who's your Ultimate Team?

       Jon and I constantly debate who some of the top action icon characters are and who would you want on your team.  For instance, an all Vietnam era team would be James Braddock (Chuck Norris), Dutch Shaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) and a tie between Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna) and Hannibal Smith (George Peppard).  Who wouldn't want that to be your team?

Now who would they face off against?  Terminators, Aliens, and Predators are the top 3 I always think of. We aren't saying what if this movie was made or had these people in it, we're talking where does your imagination take you?  What other baddies could these insane soldiers take on?  What about an all cop team, or even an all soldier team?  I am writing this cause I wanna get every one's opinion and their wild thoughts on this insane universe.  Who are you taking on your team?  Who are they battling against, and of course who wins?