Day two
Sunday
February 17th

Today started out with a trip to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, to make a few quick stops and see what I could find before heading downtime for my meetings with Gentle Giant and Kotobukiya. Unfortunately, there aren't too many other companies that have the Star Wars license, so there wasn't much Star Wars product to see. We walked around for a bit, and took some pictures of random stuff, but nothing particularly exciting. Until we got to the JUN Planning booth, and they had the most amazing - and huge - Halloweentown/Nightmare Before Christmas display I'd ever seen!! And they had some really cool Gremlins figures as well. I took a few pictures of both.

Then, we stopped off at the small Diamond Select booth. And all I can say is WOW!! They recently announced (like two days ago) that they have acquired the license to create a handful of Star Wars items, and on display here they had a small selection of 18" talking figures. And they look amazing. The likeness of Han, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul that was sculpted was absolutely fantastic. They also had an Indiana Jones that was out of this world as well. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. But, a little more information on Diamond Select later on in my report.

Next up was Kotobukiya.. and their products for the new Indiana Jones line. For this line they have developed a new series, entitled ArtFX Theatre, which is a small diorama type statue piece. But it's not really a diorama, as the one prototype that was on display was the Raiders of the Lost Ark piece. The main thing that makes these dioramas different from all the rest is that instead of focusing on a single scene from a film, they basically look at the film as a whole. In other words, this RotLA piece shows the Golden Idol on the dais at the very top of the piece, and then right below it is Indiana running from the boulder with the Idol in his hand, flanked on the side by the corpse with spikes sticking out of it. While it was the only piece on display for this line, it looks like a great start to the line, as the detail that Kotobukiya is famous for is all there. I can't wait to see what they can come up with for the other 3 Indiana Jones films.

Also for Indiana Jones they will be creating two of the 12" ArtFX statues - Indiana Jones, and Henry Jones. Indiana comes with a removable hat and changeable hands, one open, one holding the Idol, one with his six shooter and of course, one holding a flexible whip. Henry Jones comes with his umbrella - or, actually two umbrellas - one open, and one closed, as well as his briefcase.

Diamond Select was my next stop, as they are also going to be offering several Indiana Jones items this year. An 18" talking figure with real cloth, Indiana Jones looked incredible!! In addition, there was a 1:1 scale replica of the Golden Idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark, only this time it's a plastic bank!! Again, no photographs were allowed, but everything looked amazing.

Some new exciting Indiana Jones items were also on display in the Gentle Giant display room, but mostly off limits for photography. Mini busts, statues, bust-ups... all looked great. The only Indiana Jones item that I was allowed to photograph will be this years summer exclusive item - available at BOTH NYCC and SDCC later on this year. Basically, it's a paperweight of the crate from the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull teaser poster. Just a wooden crate that says "Property of Dr. Jones" on the side, with his trademark fedora and whip hanging on the corner. What's inside the crate, however, is where the good stuff is. Apparently there will be 3 different versions (blind packed, of course) that will each contain different "artifacts" from all of the films. Each crate will contain some rubber snakes, and then you will either get a) the Golden Idol and an Egyptian tablet, b) the Sankara Stones and the Holy Grail, or c) the Crystal Skull (which I was not allowed to photograph). It really was a neat little item. There will also be a line of Indiana Jones desk accessories, including the Ark of the Covenant business card holder, the Golden Idol pencil holder, and the Holy Grail paperclip holder. All 3 of these will be found on my desk at work later this year.

That wraps up my coverage of Toy Fair for 2008. It was fun, as it always is. This is the 5th year I've covered Toy Fair for one of the great fan sites out there in cyberspace, and it never ceases to be a fun and rewarding experience for me. It's just ended (for me, at least) and I'm already looking forward to next year!!

Click here to read the full report from day two, and make sure to click here to check out some more of my photos. Until next year!!

Day one
Saturday
February 16th

Today was the first day of Toy Fair 2008 in New York City. With everyone assembled in the conference room, we were ready to begin. The lights dimmed, and the new trailer for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was shown on the big screen. Then Derryl DePriest broke down the Indiana Jones line. There will be 3 segments to the line: 3 3/4" figures, Adventure Heroes, and 12" figures, plus a few select role play items. And, each of the segments will have their own mail-in redemption offer via the "Ticket to Adventure" promotion. The basic Indiana Jones line will consist of around 30 basic figures and 10 deluxe figures, being released in waves. The first 2 waves will release on 5/1 and be Raiders of the Lost Ark and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, followed later on by wave 3 (The Last Crusade) and wave 4 (Temple of Doom). The deluxe figures include Indiana with his horse, a German soldier with motorcycle, and Indiana Jones with several small environment areas like the idol base and a chasm to swing across. Mr. Depriest also showed me that the inner packaging for the German cargo truck also seves an alternate purpose. If you take it and flip it inside out, it becomes a backdrop for your figures! It also features several cardboard crates that can be punched out from the top of the box and assembled to be used as accessories.

The Adventure Heroes line continues what the Galactic Heroes for Star Wars and Super Hero Squad for Marvel started, and looks just as good as those do. The 12" figure line will consist of 9 different 12" figures. Some of the 12" figures will have action features, and be geared towards kids, but some will not. As far as the "Ticket to Adventure" promotion goes, it's the same as the Star Wars/Captain Rex promotion: collect 4 UPC codes and mail them in with a S/H cost (which is different for each promotion, but was not discussed). For the Adventure Heroes, you can get Indiana and his horse. For the 3 3/4" line you will get the Crystal Skull figure on the throne, which was not shown - only a silhouette was shown. And for the 12" line, you will get a 12" scale Ark of the Covenant, which looks incredible. Derryl DePriest also went on to say that the Indiana Jones is not a "one and done line for us, we see it continuing for a while". He didn't say how long Hasbro had the licensing for, but he made it sound like it could be a few years.

There is also a role play whip and sword being released from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There will also be some Indiana Jones Might Muggs made available, as well as a nice SDCC exclusive Mugg of the Golden Idol.

Click here to view some shots I took on the floor at Hasbro's showroom.