McFarlane Toys Line Up

Okay, everyone, it’s time to start planning strategies for acquiring McFarlane Toys for 2001. Map out your local Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us, collectible shops, or other favorite retailer and make contacts with the people that handle inventory control, (taking out a mortgage on your home is a good idea too), because McFarlane is delivering some good looking toys this year. And there’s something for everyone, from sports fans to Spawn fans to fans of graphic torture. Heck, McFarlane is even branching into plush and beanie toys. What follows is a series by series analysis of what we can expect this year. And as you read this, you should be able to find some of these for sale.

A concept older than the ‘80’s, the Interlink series consist of six figures that can be combined into one mammoth figure. It’s got a very techno-organic/anime look and the assembling of the giant robot reminds me of the Constructocons from the Transformers. To aid in the assembly each of the robot’s names indicate where it’s supposed to go on the big robot (TS 2 is the torso, RA 5 becomes the right arm.) The big robot is huge and finding a place to display it might be a problem. The real question is, how well will it stay together?

Moves from Dark Ages Europe to Dark Ages Japan. The elaborate sculpts and paint jobs, along the lines of Mandarin Spawn (Series 14), are gorgeous to look at. Some of the figures look to be very articulated, especially Jyaaku The Nightmare. A couple of them look to be more like display pieces but still a cool series.

Samurai Spawn: no matter how Spawn looks, he’s always the most popular.

Scorpion Assassin: vicious dude with a two-handed sword.

Lotus the Angel Warrior: showing more "cheek" than most figures.

Jyaaku The Nightmare: big creature with three heads.

Dojo: overweight figure with a great looking helmet.

Jackal Assassin: battle stance is emphasized over articulation.

Likely to be a popular line from McFarlane this year. Some very good sculpts even though articulation might be scaled back. The star of this series has to be Overtkill III. He’s freakin’ huge and detailed and the parking meter is a good touch. Medieval Spawn III will probably be the hardest to find

Violator III: great looking classic.

Overtkill III: big and detailed.

Medieval Spawn III: cool, cool, cool.

Domina: who doesn’t love women warriors?

Clown IV: this is the reason people develop a fear of clowns

Following on the heels of McFarlane’s successful 3D Animation from Japan series from last year comes another line of anime stars. Three of the figures are taken from Akira so that should keep fans more than happy. Also included is the much-demanded Major Motoko Kusanagi known for her revealing role in Ghost in the Shelll.

Akira: with weird looking throne

Naomi Armitage: from Armitage III

Joker (clown Gang Leader): who doesn’t love psychotically deranged fat clowns?

Tenchi Masaki: can’t go wrong with more Tenchi Muyo figures.

Soul Taker: demonic robot anyone?

Major Motoko Kusanagi: looks to be a good display piece.

Kaneda w/ Bike: boxed figure – cool

If the game is as big as everyone is hyping it to be, these figures will fly off the shelves. There’s actually 7 figures in this series. The 7^th is Metal Gear Ray which is made up of six separate pieces that comes packed with the other 6 figures – further emphasizing that you need to buy all the figures. (Good marketing move by McFarlane.) The series also has two unannounced figures – and no, I’m not going to guess who they might be.

Solid Snake: looks even better (and more "human") than the original.

Olga: meets the demand for action figures named Olga.

Revolver Ocelot: who says six-shooters aren’t effective.

Top Secret Operative One: who’s behind door Number One?

Top Secret Operative Two: who’s behind door Number Two?

Top Secret Operative Three: I’ll talk what’s in the box!

Metal Gear Ray: assembled from six pieces.

The worldwide following that Ultima Online has practically ensures that these figures will be quick to sell. The melding of myth and technology are highlighted. The really bad guys look like cyborgs. Possibly popular among PC game editors for desk display. But the game was cancelled, so who knows?

Adromath: cool elven looking, but undead, sorcerer.

Blackthorne: probably the hot seller for the series.

Captain Dasha: the lone female figure of the series that’s obviously good with blades.

Dragon: good-looking dragon.

Juggernaut: this wheeled menace is a good example of the mix between fantasy and technology.

Warlord Kabur: Japanese influenced character. Looks to have low articulation.

The biggest license by far this year for McFarlane Toys is Shrek. Movie licenses are always dicey. The animation in Shrek should appeal to younger audiences but there looks to be a lot of adult humor. If the movie is popular with both, the Shrek line will sell like hotcakes.

Donkey: the wise-cracking sidekick.

Lord Farquaad: the evil one.

Fiona: the love interest.

Dragon Battlin’ Shrek: with helmet and sword.

Both will likely have some kind of voice chip.

A definite departure by McFarlane Toys for the younger crowd and those that collect Beanie Babies.

Aimed at kids and another first for McFarlane Toys.

Assortment of 3" figures will come out in three waves. These toys have the most potential for the younger audience and will probably be priced lower than the 6" line.

Assortment C

Shrek Swamp House: Yoda and Shrek must be neighbors.

Shrek Swamp Bath: does the slime really pour out of the bucket?

Shrek Outhouse: finally a playset that acknowledges everyone need to go to the bathroom. A good tool for potty training.

Duloc Dungen: depicts the Gingerbread Man torture scene. Should be the hot one of the series.

Deluxe Dragon: a playset or just a big dragon?

For fans only. Same for Kid Rock (July), Jim Morrison (August), Angus Young from AC/DC (October) and Jerry Garcia (July). The detail and poses are good but they are just more of a niche item.

Looks to top all previous MM series with such licenses as T2 and Jaws. There’s even another Army of Darkness figure! This line also presents the most potential for variants, which is evidenced by the two versions of T-800 and T-1000. And some good Jaws figures were way overdue.

T-800: Arnold has never looked so good in plastic.

T-1000: introduced the masses to morphing technology. Comes with a big hole in his head.

Jaws (boxed): perfect depiction of one of the most terrifying moments in the film. (October)

Evil Ash: from Army of Darkness. The two swords look great.

Jason X: everyone’s favorite hatchet man.

Candy Man: never saw the movie. No comment.

Blair Witch: from concept sketches by Todd himself. A real nasty piece of work. Yet to be announced if it will come with pieces of Josh.

While I think this is a great example of Giger’s work and is very well sculpted, I’d rather see an Alien. The dioramas are good though – there will be five of them.

This series reaches into the dark, dark subconscious of Todd MacFarlane and Clive Barker. Just the fact Clive Barker’s name is attached to the series is enough to tell you that these figures are gory as hell. I find them over the top and begging the question as to why gore is fine and nudity is not. Tortured Souls turns my stomach. I know Barker is capable of such style – he should branch out, write a few children’s stories. I’m wondering if the major retailers will carry this line. One can appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into creating the figures but they are too disturbing for me.

Sports fanatics will like them for their detail. Another niche series but popular ones nonetheless.

The elite members of professional football.

So far only one figure announced.

Jason Wynn: looking sleazy and evil.

It should be stated that this overview was written using only the pictures and information available on www.spawn.com . McFarlane Toys is known for tweaking various aspects of a figure, so those pictures shouldn’t be considered "final". Final judgements will be given when we actually review the finished product.

By Omni