February 18, 2004

Christmas has come early to New York City with the opening of the 2004 International Toy Fair. This year the NYC Toy Fair celebrated it's 101st year at NYC's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The show ran from February 15th through the 18th, there was also a special buyer preview period that ran from 12th through the 14th.  Toy manufactures from all over the world were represented (mostly from Asia Pacific) in an effort to capture shelf space and ultimately clean out your wallet.

There was just about every toy imaginable some new and some very familiar. It should not be a shock to anyone visiting this site nostalgia toys are big, from windup tin toys to classic board games the toys of yester year are big money and it does not look like that is going to change any time soon.

In the Action Figure arena there was a pretty good showing Dragon Models, bbi, 21st Century and Sideshow collectables were present. however I did not see any booths for Ignite or Hasbro in the convention center. I am assuming that I just missed them; after all this show is huge and I only attended one day.

First Stop Dragon Models:

Dragon Models was displaying their latest figures including the new SOLDAT 002, in person this figure is outstanding I can't wait until our test figure arrives. There was one figure that stood out and yelled BUY ME NOW and that was the Buz Aldrin figure, we will definitely be getting this one in for a review.

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After visiting Dragon Models I headed over to 21st Century Toys were I got a first hand look at their 1/6th scale M5 Stuart Tank. This tank is fantastic, it is an fully functional RC tank for your 1/6th scale action figures. Currently if you are lucky you can find them in Wal-Mart for about $160.00 and on eBay from $200 to $300. I was informed by the 21st Century rep that they would be expanding their distribution for the tank beyond Wal-Mart this Christmas. Until Christmas I recommend you check out the 21st Century Toy's web page for more information and a really cool movie featuring the M5 Stuart.

The next stop was Old Time Toys they make 1/12 scale trucks from the late 1920s and 1930s. One truck in particular grabbed my attention that was the WWII Deuce-and-a-half.  They also make a train for your back yard that you can ride-on called the  BROOKIE RIDE-ON TRAIN. Old Toys has some really cool stuff and its worth checking out their site old time toys website. Now all I have to do is convince the wife we need a ride-on train in our back yard.

I visited Vital toys next. They are the home of the Snoop Dogg action figure. There were two basic versions of the figure decked out in assorted gear, Snoopafly and Little Junior. I have to admit when my friend Kevin mentioned he wanted to see the figure and even order it for his store I was a little more than surprised. But after seeing the Vital product line I have changed my opinion and you will see a review on Snoop Dogg  this year.

Every now and then you hit gold and that's what happed while wondering up and down the aisles.  I stumbled across a new face in the action figure market called Toyrrific. Toyrrific lives up to their name; they make some totally awesome military figures. Their collection is called Covert OPS and can be seen at www.toyrrific.com.

After a visit to the food court I paid a visit to bbi I was a little disappointed in their booth I expected a little more from player of their caliber.

It was like pulling teeth to get sales representative or a catalog, however once I started looking around all was forgotten and I did eventually get a catalog.

Now I definitely saved the best for last SideShow Collectables.

Their products are topnotch and you can tell there staff love their jobs. These people have enthusiasm galore and definite pride in their products. SideShow was displaying both their current and prototype products this year. One proto type figure that I really like was the James Bond Thuderball skin diver. They also had a Prototype of a 1/4 scale (18inch) Van Helsing and Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. I did get to see the New Vlad the Impaler and all I have to say is WOW the detail will blow you away. Unfortunately my camera and I had a disagreement and Vlad's photo is a little blurry

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By what I have seen at the 2004 NYC Toy Fair Sideshow is the clear winner in the Action Figure category, for innovative products and attention to detail. They are heavy in the Movie and TV tie ins but also have some excellent period pieces. Dragon comes is a strong second with their 1/6th scale and 1/32 military figures and vehicles. I believe the real Gem of the show was Toyrrific they have a great product. I would not be surprised to see them  become a major player in the future.

This was my first time at the NYC Toy Fair and I had just one day to cover the show, I have to say I was both impressed and awe struck. This show was huge and there was no way I was going to see everything in one day. Next year I may need to cash in some vacation time and stay in the city. I would like to thank the folks at Jen-Lore Inc. for letting me tag along with them and next year I'll take their advice and stay for the entire show.