Confessions of a Toy Hunter: Toy Fair 2011 Is Cool

An exciting day was upon me. From the warm sun cracking through the clouds to my effortless trip into Manhattan, everything seemed magical. As I came upon the doors to the Javits Center, I was awaiting the rolling of the red carpet and could have sworn to have heard the sound of trumpets blaring. I soon realized it was all in my head.

I zipped around in the main corridor looking for an information booth and slowly looked up to see a massive billboard sized print welcoming everyone to Toy Fair 2011. I have been to many shows at the Javits Center, but I have never seen any take up the entire convention center including Javits North. Every inch was packed with toys and merchandise and it was absolutely toygasmic. It was a new experience to enter press registration to get my pass into a world I have loved since a kid. Now I was experiencing it from a different angle. Instead of the would-be buyer and jaded collector, I am now an agent of free speech and opinion and was given a rare glimpse into the underbelly of the toy market.

I received my badge and delivered my usual devilish smirk as I gave it the once over to confirm my “arrival”. I wanted to message everyone I knew to tell them I was “in”.

I stood around for a second to compose my thoughts, set up my camera and figure out if this was all real. If you can’t tell by now, I’m a total mark for toys. Writing isn’t my day job but an extension of my passions. This whole experience was very exciting. There was tons of positive energy flowing around the halls. After all, it is toys. I’m not going to say that people weren’t talking business and making deals, because they were. Overall, everyone was having a great time.

My main mission objective is my hunt for Hasbro. I am a fan of everything G.I. Joe and eagerly anticipated seeing their awesome displays of Joe related merchandise as well as Star Wars and Marvel. I made a quick run through some of the showrooms to map out where I wanted to spend my time.

I took a break and got some air only to be greeted by a group of female anti-war protestors singing right inside the front door whilst being corralled by security. Gotta love New York. I decided it was time for the action figures. I staved off the craving for bloody plastic goodness long enough. I checked my floor plan and located what I wanted to see. As I sped past a brightly colored display I made a quick left and found myself in the world of Doctor Who. Cue theme music and enter Underground Toys.

Underground Toys has some well known and cult licenses. From Avatar to Monty Python to South Park and Doctor Who. Who doesn’t like Doctor Who? I was hooked on the show in the 80’s and through the years collected some things here and there. I’m not a major Doctor Who fan, but I love the Daleks. One of my prized possessions is a remote control Dalek with lights and sounds. I guess you can imagine the look on my face as I turn the corner and not only see a plethora of Doctor Who toys but numerous Daleks of all colors. I finally got to see the 11 Doctor action figure set boxed in a TARDIS.

The TARDIS play set was very cool, harkening to interior of the current series’ signature police box.

Amidst the the figures is the Taxi of the future. No wait, it’s a Dalek!!

Underground Toys also has the license to Ghostbusters and you can see in the picture, that besides mugs, they have some neat plush Stay Puft Marshmallow men.

I got you all revved up and I’m taking a break for now. I know, I’m a bad man. Check back tomorrow as I dive headfirst into some video game properties and continue my hunt for Hasbro.

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Hunt the hunter on Twitter and get mysterious toy updates by following @UnWinToyHunter.