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The Ever-Growing World of Toy Collecting: Trends, Design, and Must-Have Collectibles

Credit: Adventures in Collecting

Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just starting your journey, the world of toys and action figures is more exciting than ever. With cutting-edge toy design, innovative collectibles, and ever-changing toy trends, there’s always something new to discover.

The Rise of Nostalgia in Toy Collecting 

One of the biggest driving forces in modern toy collecting is nostalgia. Companies like Hasbro, Mattel, and NECA are capitalizing on fan-favorite franchises from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and early 2000s. Action figures inspired by classic cartoons, video games, and movies continue to dominate the market, offering both vintage-style designs and modern upgrades with enhanced articulation and detailing.

The Role of Toy Design in Today’s Market 

Credit: Adventures in Collecting

Toy design has never been more sophisticated. Advances in 3D printing, digital sculpting, and articulation engineering have allowed designers to create highly detailed and posable figures. Collectibles from brands like McFarlane Toys and Mezco showcase intricate craftsmanship that brings characters to life like never before. Additionally, companies are embracing sustainability, using eco-friendly materials in production to meet growing consumer demand for greener products.

Toy Trends to Watch 

The toy industry is constantly evolving, and staying ahead of the trends can help collectors find the next big thing before it skyrockets in value and slips through your fingers. Here are some of the latest toy trends shaping the market:

  1. Retro Remakes – Brands are re-releasing classic toy lines with updated molds and packaging to appeal to both new and longtime fans.
  2. Premium Collectibles – High-end action figures with premium soft goods, LED features, and alternate heads/hands are becoming more common.
  3. Blind Box and Mystery Figures – The excitement of the unknown keeps collectors coming back for more, making blind-boxed figures a hit.
  4. Crowdfunded Collectibles – More toy companies are using crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter to produce highly detailed, niche collectibles that might not get traditional retail releases. Check out our recent interview with successful crowd fund, The Cursed Dead.
  5. Crossover Collaborations – From Transformers x G.I. Joe to MonsterVerse x DC Multiverse, brand collaborations are fantasy-booking collector interest.

The Future of Collecting 

With technology playing a bigger role in toy design, we’re seeing more interactive figures, augmented reality integration, and digital collectibles entering the space. While traditional physical toys will always have a place, and in our humble opinion are irreplaceable, the blending of digital and tangible collectibles is a trend worth watching in the years to come.

Final Thoughts 

Credit: Adventures in Collecting

Toy collecting is more than a hobby—it’s a passion that connects people of all ages. Whether you’re into action figures, limited edition collectibles, or vintage finds, there’s never been a better time to dive into the world of toys. Stay tuned to Adventures in Collecting for more insights, interviews, and the latest in the toy industry!

What’s your favorite current toy trend? Let us know in the comments!

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The 2021 Toy Association Toy of the Year Awards

By Erik Weinbrecht

2020 may be in the rearview mirror, but the global pandemic certainly is not. With this year’s cancellation of the New York Toy Fair, that left the Toy Association no choice but proceed with the first-ever all virtual TOTY awards. And while it didn’t have the same feeling as years’ past and left us jonesing for the annual plastic spectacle at the Javits Center, we were still happy to be able to experience it at all.

Before we get into the one piece of controversy from the award show, I wanted to shout out this year’s inductees into the Toy Hall of Fame – something that is always a part of the TOTY proceedings.

It was really great to see legendary heavy-hitters from the industry like Steiff, Rowland, and Killgallon who have contributed to lasting toy legacies like Steiff plushes, American Girl Dolls, and the Etch-a-Sketch [respectively] get recognition.

Onto the “controversy.” So McFarlane’s highly-anticipated, record-breaking, Kickstarter Spawn made the list, even though few have actually laid hands on it. Yes, at the time of writing this we are told that they have passed customs in the US and will beginning shipping out any day and YES – Dave and I are both beyond excited to get our hands on it. That being said, we’re both on board with it not winning the Action Figure of the Year award that went the one of two ways it should have; that being with Spin Master’s Batman figures, or with the #thankyouheroes line from Fisher-Price (which is where it landed).

Spawn did take home the People’s Choice Award to which we say, “fair.” No doubt an exorbitant amount of people voted for it, pushed by a campaign run by McFarlane Toys and due simply to the buzz the figure has been generating since May.

Below you can find the full list of winners from the show as well as a link to watch the presentation in its entirety.

Watch the 2021 TOTY Awards Here

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September 2020 – The Hasbro Pulse Con Recap

By Erik Weinbrecht

Well wasn’t that something? The first of the virtual cons that ACTUALLY felt like a proper con – there were panels with interesting guests, product reveals, musical guests, and no technical mishaps to speak of. Since we’ve all been in the clutches of a global pandemic, many have tried to recreate the energy of a Con with varied degrees of success – Hasbro on the other hand has been doing with great success since they introduced Fan First Fridays a few months ago, culminating with the success of this past weekend’s event. Here are 5 highlights (in no particular order) of Pulse Con 2020.

The Guests

Often times getting to hear the inner workings of things from industry luminaries is part of what makes cons so special – Pulse Con was no exception. Whether it was hearing Frank Welker and Peter Cullen tell stories from inside the Transformers recording sessions (and of course, doing the voices live), Ernie Hudson talking about doing the Ghostbusters films, or a special musical performance (social distancing style) from Tenacious D, Pulse Con had a wide array of special moments to enthrall watchers in between the wallet-crushing product announcements. Speaking of…

Product Announcements and Preorders

Whether it was the Ecto-1, a look well into 2021’s Marvel Legends and Star Wars figures, the shock drop of Drizzt and Guenhyvwer, GI Joes, Power Rangers, or Transformers, there was no shortage of new products announced – and then made available for preorder same day. Most were available via hasbropulse.com and were easily obtainable – of course the store exclusives on Target and Walmart sold out almost instantly (sorry Joe fans).

  • The GI Joe Team
  • The Marvel Legends Team

Hasbro giving us a look into the future of products is always fun, especially when it’s the product designers themselves doing the talking. Big thanks to all of their hard work in making these awesome products.

Connecting with Fans

The #toycommunity is a massive online community that’s growing every day and Hasbro did not ignore that. Throughout the course of the two-day event, they took questions virtually, did live polls, and showed off toy photography (like you see above) and even crafted an entire “Mean Tweets” style segment cherry-picking some of the more, “flavorful” comments around the Marvel Legends product. This kind of engagement from a brand as massive as Hasbro is a great move – it makes the heavy-hitter seem more approachable, reachable, and shows that they’re listening. The virtual world is the ideal environment to tackle this too – given the disconnect our current world is forcing upon us.

Honoring Legacy

Two words: Mark Boudreaux. The legendary toy luminary retired from Hasbro earlier this year after giving us decades of incredible products – and even making something so iconic it eventually became canon. Twice during Pulse Con, Mark was given special segments detailing his Star Wars vehicle work and then his work on the Real Ghostbusters. It’s incredible to hear from someone as important as Mark, and I love that Hasbro took the time to really honor his legacy.

Crowd Funding

What do the Razorcrest and Heroquest have in common you ask? Three things actually. They are the next two Haslab projects over at Hasbro; they were both announced at Pulse Con, and they were both full funded in less than 24 hours. Yes you can safely back the 30″ x 20″ x 10″ Vintage Collection 1/18th Scale Razorcrest from the Mandalorian for $350 and join countless others enjoying the relaunch of HeroQuest for $100 knowing that you’ll get your product. With the exception of the 1:1 scale Cookie Monster (that can no longer even be found on the site) HasLab has been a great success for Hasbro bringing fans gargantuan products like Jabba’s Sail Barge, Unicron, and the Sentinel before.

Grab your Hasbro products on hasbropulse.com or start re-living Pulse Con 2020 below on YouTube!

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