Matt Martin, our own StarWarsShop correspondent, just sent us his first day report from New York’s Toy Fair. We’re looking forward to more reports from Matt in the coming days as he squeezes in time between meetings with various Star Wars and Indiana Jones licensees to send us the latest. Here’s his report from Day 1, Monday:
New York City. Home of giant skyscrapers, lots of taxis, the Ghostbusters and this week, American International Toy Fair! For those who are out of the loop, Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show on the western half of the globe and showcases all of the hot new products in the children’s entertainment marketplace. It’s used as a central hub for manufacturers, retailers, importers, licensors and reps from around the world. As a buyer for StarWarsShop.com good old Uncle George sent me here to scope out new products, meet all the fun people I work with on a daily basis, make new contacts in the industry and, in general, educate myself in order to make StarWarsShop a better store… and of course StarWars.com suckered me into playing reporter while I’m here.
Toy Fair actually started on Sunday but I didn’t arrive until late last night so today was my first day at the show. Well, technically. I actually won’t be heading into the main exhibition hall until tomorrow. I spent my day today in and around one of the many showrooms planted throughout the city. This building contained several Star Wars and Indiana Jones licensees so I had several appointments arranged throughout the day, starting with one of my personal favorite licensees, Gentle Giant.
Gentle Giant displayed a miniature of the familiar crate seen in the new Indy publicity material. Here, it’s filled with various relics from the movies – this may have been an exclusive give-awayAs usual, Gentle Giant had some amazing pieces to show this year. Much of the products on display are already out on the interweb but seeing them on a computer really doesn’t do them justice at all. My personal favorite is the Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku statue. I’m a big fan of those two characters and this statue really captures their essence. Not yet available for sale are two new characters in Gentle Giant’s “animated” line of maquettes (isn’t “animated maquette” sort of an oxymoron?), Darth Maul and Obi-Wan (Episode IV). In the endless sea of Star Wars collectables, this line is probably my favorite and I’m very happy to see it continuing on so strongly. Gentle Giant also had some great new Indiana Jones offerings… unfortunately they had a lot of “do not photograph” signs in that area so I don’t know if I’m really allowed to give details about much of it [actually, we’ve revealed a bunch already – see previous posts – ed]. Let’s just say their Indy stuff is cool and at least one piece will be decorating my desk as soon as it’s out.
Gentle Giant’s new animated statues of Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode IV)Next on my agenda, Rubies Costumes. Rubies had an entire floor of the building as their showroom and it was packed full of costumes, everything from the usual Freddy and Jason to sexy nurses to Edward Scissorhands (I think I may have found my costume for this year… that’s right, sexy nurse). Rubies is continuing their current Star Wars line and expanding upon it greatly with a few new pieces from the classic films and a whole line of brand new items from the upcoming animated movie and TV show, The Clone Wars. A few of the items I’m especially excited about are the animated Plo Koon and Asajj, the officially licensed slave Leia “golden bikini” (it’s about time) and, best of all, the supreme edition Stormtrooper armor, which is the closest you’ll get to the real thing without vacu-forming your own plastic.
My final official meeting of the day was with Kotobukiya, an excellent licensee out of Japan who is most well known for their line of snap-fit vinyl model kits. In addition to that line, Koto is branching off in some great new directions. Currently offered on our site is the “cross sections” X-wing, an item that is a brilliant idea but could have been poorly executed in the wrong hands. Fortunately, Koto prides themselves on their craftsmanship and they’ve really gone above and beyond on this one. The idea behind this line is a vehicle than can be taken apart, piece by piece, to display the inner workings of the ship as shown in the well loved Star Wars: Incredible Cross Sections book series. Koto is also developing a line called “ArtFX Cinema” which is a fully-sculpted scene from a movie, the first being the famous boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. They only had an unpainted sample at the show but I’m still very excited for this line. This is my favorite so far of the Indy products coming out this year. In addition to that piece and two snap-fit figures, they’re also working on several other Indy products, some taking a very unique and fun approach to the license.
On my way out I noticed WizKids, a fairly new Star Wars licensee who make Star Wars Pocket Models, which take the best elements of RPGs and CCGs and combine them with miniature model kits. This is the first time I’ve had the chance to see the Pocket Models in person and now I can’t wait to get some booster packs to build myself. In addition to that they’re doing a few large scale models based on their miniatures.
And so ends day one. I did manage to spend some time wandering aimlessly though NYC as well as taking a little time to sit and relax while I watched the Spiderwick Chronicles (good work ILM!). Tomorrow I’ll be at the Javits Center, the main hall of the show but for now… bed.
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Toys, Matt. Bring back lots of toys…
[...] Report from Toy Fair: Day 1 jpd wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWe’re looking forward to more [...]
Would love to see more pics of the Rubies Supreme Stormtrooper. Does it live up to 501st standards or is it just another “Halloween” costume?
[...] Field Report from Toy Fair: Day 1 [...]
tuskentrooper,
I wasn’t able to get pics of the Rubies Stormie costume but it’s pretty nice, not your typical Halloween costume. The one I was seeting was the prototype anyway so the quality may even go up. That sad, I don’t think it’s quite up to 501st standards but it’s fairly close. It’s one step down from 501st, as opposed to 100 steps down like most costumes. Oh, and it doesn’t come with shoes (since people need different sizes).
[...] Field Report Day 1 (Blog) [...]
I just received the supreme edition stormtrooper as a birthday gift from my lovely wife. She works as the main halloween buyer of a local party store so she has a direct contact to Rubie’s. Her thought, love and the gesture cannot be denied, however, the reality cannot be denied either. The jury is out…here is the summary. The armor is made from durable plastic but lacks in crips lines and sharp details. If you don’t want straps to show when the costume is being worn, you will have to make modifications. It does not come with the rear cannister or boots. Some one might be able to overlook some of the shortcomings if the crowning jewel shone through……the helmet. Bad news here also ,folks. It is a one-piece cast with no seperate additions(mic tips “ear pieces” rubber strips on brow and base) The mouth frown is way too steep and the face is severely indented on both sides of the nose ridge. The bubble eyes are rediculously oversized and protrude too far. The picture on the costume box and in ads is simply misleading. Compare this helmet to F/X or Master replicas or 501 st and it is an apple to a coconut. All this info topped off by a $900 price tag screams “stay away!” Spend your $900 on real, fan made armor. Even if you have to assemble it yourself, you will be happy for eternity. I am just shocked that licensed product that had pass before George Lucas or a rep from L F L, would allow this to be released. Did LFL just trust Rubie’s? Did Rubie’s look at the prtotype and that is looks perfect? The ball was dropped! Enough of this. Some will say it looks cool! But for that kind of money, I want a Ferrari with a Ferrari engine, not a toyota.