McFarlane Toys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. | |
 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary of Image Comics |
|---|---|
| Founded | Tempe, AZ, USA (1992) |
| Founder | Todd McFarlane |
| Headquarters | Tempe, AZ, USA |
| Key people | Todd McFarlane, CEO |
| Industry | Comics and Toys |
| Products | Spawn, Hellspawn, Sam & Twitch |
| Revenue |  $8.9 million USD (2005) |
| Employees | 100 (2005) |
| Website | spawn.com |
McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is a company started by Todd McFarlane that makes detailed models of characters from movies, comics, musicians, video games, and sport figures. Founded in 1994, the company was originally dubbed "Todd Toys," but the name was changed in 1995 following pressure from Mattel (who feared the new company's name would be confused with that of Barbie's younger brother).
Exquisite attention to detail is the most defining feature in a McFarlane Toy. However, it is almost always at the expense of articulation, making them more akin to semi-posable statues than action figures. Still, the line proves popular especially among young adults, and is arguably the most commercially successful toy line at the moment. It has also influenced many other toy lines to try and imitate McFarlane Toys' style.
The line, which originally began with action figures based upon Todd McFarlane's Spawn comic series, has since grown to feature a large number of licenced property lines including The Simpsons and "Movie Maniacs" (which features numerous famous horror icons such as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, The Terminator, Leatherface, and The Thing), as well as other characters and lines like Basketball and Baseball legends, video game characters (from Soul Calibur, Onimusha and Metal Gear Solid), and Where the Wild Things Are characters. The toy line has also made original works of their own, giving a grotesque twist to fairy tale stories, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and historical figures. They have also collaborated with people like Clive Barker and H.R. Giger to produce other original figures.
[edit] Spawn figures
The first line of Spawn toys ever produced was released in 1994 and consisted of six figures, the hero Spawn and his medieval counterpart (aptly named Medieval Spawn) and the villains Violator, Overtkill, Clown, and Tremor, as well as a Spawn Alley Playset and Violator Monster Rig. They were notably different from the toys common on shelves at the time because of their level of detail in both sculpting and painting. Other toys utilized only a few colors painted in general areas (a singe flesh tone for the face, etc) and were tacked to cardboard backs. McFarlane’s figures had individual items such as spikes, teeth, claws, and buttons painted individually and packaged encased by hard plastic that surrounded both the figure and blister card, making them more suitable collectors items. Each toy came with a regular-sized comic (although with fewer pages than the standard 22), which were individualized to the character.
[edit] Horror figures
Company owner/founder, Todd McFarlane, had been a long-time fan of the horror genre and decided to produce his own perspective on the classic monsters with the “Todd McFarlane’s Monsters Playsets” line in 1997. Each figure was released as a playset in a clamshell package that featured the character, a background diorama, and (in 3 out of 4) an additional figure, such as the werewolf’s victim.[1] A second series came out 2 years later with approximately the same quality of sculpting and articulation in the figures as well as fully-detailed bases that had two different levels. [2] In 2002, the horror toy line re-invented itself, doing away with the playset idea (and reducing the name to simply “McFarlane’s Monsters”) in favor of creating individual figures with vastly more detail and much more frightening appearances. Among its various sculpts, it featured a decaying mummy with individual muscle sinews and textured wrappings carved in, a half-man/half-bat version of Dracula with wrinkled flesh and covered in chains, and a scantily-clad voodoo queen covered in grass and bones. The figures had the high-quality sculpting that McFarlane had been incorporating into its Spawn figures, which had made them so commercially and artistically successful, and would mark the last time it created versions of the prototypic monsters (mummies, vampires, etc)
Instead, McFarlane decided to continue the idea of generating new versions of classic stories and characters, releasing a shocking line subtitled “Twisted Land of Oz” in 2003, which featured vicious or sadistic versions of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz characters created by L. Frank Baum. Dorothy was half-naked, bound, and blindfolded by mutant munchkins; the Tin Woodman was more akin to a cyborg zombie; and the Scarecrow was a straw-filled corpse being devoured by crows. All toys came with a warning that they were not for individuals under age 17, and an alternative version of Dorothy was released in large quantities (such that it was the more common variant) with a black piece of cloth covering her upper chest to prevent people from viewing the leather belt crossing her bosom. Major distributors such as Toys R Us and Kay Bee Toys, which had carried the previous line refused to stock any of the Oz figures.[3] However, their appeal to collectors was good, and the more-revealing version of Dorothy without the black cloak became the most sought-after of the group.[4][5]
In 2004 the third series, subtitled 6 Faces of Madness, used historical killers and madmen as its theme, generating vividly-detailed figurines of the 5th century conqueror Attila the Hun, American “wild west” gunslinger Billy the Kid, the “mad monk” Rasputin, the British serial killer Jack the Ripper, the Hungarian “Blood Queen” Elizabeth Bathory, and the real-life inspiration for Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. It similarly carried the “over 17” warning for its viciously gory depictions of all persons, including Jack the Ripper carrying a bag oozing red and Bathory literally bathing in blood near a candelabra with the heads of three women impaled on it. They were more akin to semi-posable statues than action figures, since they lacked all except a few points of articulation and were painted to be displayed precisely as shown on the toy’s package. Again, the line enjoyed commercial success despite some retailers not carrying the figures or not distributing particular ones (notably Bathory) in all markets. It challenged the boundaries for horror figures by the company’s previous standards and mixed in elements and themes reminiscent of the Clive Barker lines (released beginning in 2001), while generating a uniquely imaginative vision of each character.
The fourth and most-recent addition was Series 4: Twisted Fairy Tales. The figures were of classic children’s stories, including Peter Pumpkin-Eater, Hansel & Gretel, Little Miss Muffet, Humpty Dumpty, & Red Riding Hood, and incorporated many of the gory elements that consumers had come to expect from McFarlane, but with a sense of ironic humor. Red was in a leather bikini, hooded cloak, and thigh-high spiked boots while holding up an eviscerated wolf (whose stomach contents included most of Grandma); Peter had a pumpkin full of human remains, but wore boxer shorts with a jack-o-lanterns print; and Gretel looked like a gothic model with fishnet stockings and tattoos of candy canes and lollipops running up her legs. Due to the sadomasochistic appearance of the female figures and the macabre mutilated bodies in almost every member of the line, it met with some retailers shelving only select figures or selling strictly via their websites rather than displaying all of them in-store.
[edit] Movie Maniacs
In 1998 McFarlne introduced the Movie Maniacs line of figures. Series one started out as a line of horror figures that had been liceansed from major motion pictures such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. However, as the line went on more and more characters from movies outside of horror were made. The series had characters from Cult, Action, Sci-Fi and Horror movies by the end of the run.
[edit] 6" Series
Series 1:
- Eve (Species II)
- Patrick (Species II)
- Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th)
- Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
- Leatherface (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)
Series 2:
- Chucky (Child's Play 2)
- Eric Draven (The Crow)
- Ghostface (Scream)
- Michael Myers (Halloween)
- Norman Bates (Psycho)
- Pumpkinhead (Pumpkinhead)
Series 3:
- Ash (Army of Darkness)
- The Thing: Blair Monster (The Thing)
- The Thing: Norris Creature & Spider (The Thing)
- Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands)
- Brundlefly (The Fly)
- John Shaft (Shaft)
- Snake Plissken (Escape from L.A.)
Series 4:
- Blair Witch (The Blair Witch Project)
- Candyman (Candyman 3: Day of the Dead)
- Evil Ash (Army of Darkness)
- Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
- T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
- T-800 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Series 5:
- Lord of Darkness (Legend)
- Djinn (Wishmaster)
- Jason X (Jason X)
- Sarah Conner (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
- T-800 Endoskeleton (Terminator)
- Tooth Fairy (Darkness Falls)
Series 6:
- Dog Alien (Alien 3)
- Predator the Hunter (Predator 2)
- Predator (Predator)
- Warrior Alien (Alien: Resurrection)
Series 7:
- Robocop (RoboCop)
- Colonial Marine Corporal Hicks (Aliens)
- Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
- Old Monty (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
- Sheriff Hoyt (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
- Erin (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
[edit] 12-18" Series
Series 2:
- 12" Chucky
Series 3:
- 18" Freddy Krueger
- 18" Michael Myers
Series 4:
- 18" Ash
- 18" Leatherface
Series 5:
- 18" Edward Scissorhands
Series 7:
- 12" Battle-Damaged RoboCop
- 12" Leatherface
[edit] Deluxe Figures
Series 1:
- Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees (in display case)
Series 2:
- The Crow (in display case)
Series 5:
- Lord of Darkness (in display case)
- Stealth Predator (Collector's Club exclusive)
Series 7:
- Colonial Marine Hicks (Collector's Club exclusive)
[edit] Boxed Sets
Series 2:
- Bride of Chucky feat. Chucky and Tiffany
Series 3:
- King Kong Deluxe Boxed Set
- Ash & Pit Witch 2-Pack
Series 4:
- Jaws Deluxe Boxed Set
- Ash & Evil Ash 2-Pack
Series 5:
- Alien & Predator Deluxe Boxed Set
Series 6:
- Alien Queen
[edit] Music figures
McFarlane Toys did not solely limit itself to creating figures based on Todd McFarlane’s creations. Rather it branched out into other forms of media, capitalizing on the popularity of famous rock musicians with the release of figures based on the rock legends KISS in 1997. The number of music figures produced by the company continued to grow in number, diversity, and quality in the following years as they acquired the action figure rights to famous properties such as the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Slash and Jimi Hendrix.
[edit] KISS
In 1997, action figures were part of an overall marketing deal between McFarlane Toys and the rock band KISS, with both toys and comic books based on their album Psycho Circus. Release of new KISS products from McFarlane continues to the present day.
[edit] The Beatles
The second musical property that McFarlane released was based on the immensely popular pop-culture icons, The Beatles, featuring figures of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr as they appeared in their 1968 animated movie "Yellow Submarine." The figures were produced in 1999 to coincide with the film’s 30th anniversary as well as the advertising campaign marketing its re-release. Each musician comes with a character or object from the film, making each item essentially a two-pack: George with the Yellow Submarine, John with Jeremy the Nowhere Man, Paul with the Glove and Love Base, and Ringo with the Blue Meanie. Additionally, a version of Paul with Old Fred was marketed exclusively through Musicland stores. Since they were based on the simple, basic-shape animation style of the movie, the figures were vastly less detailed than the normal McFarlane fare and had only seven points of articulation. The series ended up to be a best-seller for the company[citation needed] and a second series was produced the following year featuring the animated band members dressed in their “Sergeant Pepper” costumes. These figures followed the same basic idea as their predecessors, one figure of each band member packed with a supporting character from the movie: George with the Snapping Turk, John with the Bulldog, Paul with the Sucking Monster, and Ringo with the Apple Bonker. In 2004, the company re-released all the figures from series one in individual clamshell packages and a Musicland exclusive boxed set with all four figures plus the submarine.
Three months later, in December 2004, a line of figures based on the 1965-67 Beatles TV cartoon show was released, with each band member sold along with his instrument and a small base piece that connected with the other three. Again, the toys were true to the look and feel of their cartoon character origins, with little fine detail and few points of articulation, but having smooth, stylistic sculpting. A boxed set of all four figures, plus a cartoon alligator, was released in October 2005. They mark the most recent line of Beatles figures the company has produced, and, to date, the company has not announced intentions to generate any further series. It is interesting to note that, despite three figure series based on cartoon versions of the band, no figures of the real-life band members have been created by McFarlane Toys.
[edit] The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 1, September 1999)
- George w/Yellow Submarine
- John w/ Jeremy the Nowhere Man
- Paul w/ Glove and Love Base
- Ringo w/ Blue Meanie
- Paul with Old Fred (Musicland Exclusive)
[edit] The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 2, October 2000)
- George w/ Snapping Turk
- John w/ Bulldog
- Paul w/ Sucking Monster
- Ringo w/ Apple Bonker
[edit] The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 1 Re-Release, September 2004)
- George w/Yellow Submarine
- John w/ Jeremy the Nowhere Man
- Paul w/ Glove and Love Base
- Ringo w/ Blue Meanie
- Yellow Submarine Boxed Set (Musicland Exclusive - Four band members plus Yellow Submarine)
[edit] The Beatles: Saturday Morning Cartoon (December 2004)
- George
- John
- Paul
- Ringo
[edit] The Beatles: Saturday Morning Cartoon Boxed Set (October 2005)
- Boxed Set: All four band members and instruments plus alligator
[edit] The Simpsons
In 2005, McFarlane acquired the rights (previously held by rival manufacturer Playmates Toys) to produce figures based on the popular Fox TV series The Simpsons. The first toy, produced in 2006, was a motorized statuette entitled "Ironic Punishment" based on the "Treehouse of Horror IV" episode where Homer sells his soul to the Devil (Ned Flanders) in exchange for a donut. Homer is sent to Hell and force-fed donuts as ironic punishment for his gluttony, although he ends up enjoying his fate immensely. The figure features a rotund Homer swallowing stacks of donuts from a large machine run by a blue demon; plastic donuts fall from the machine into Homer’s open mouth. The second figure was the "Family Couch Gag", based on the opening sequence of each episode where the family rushes into the living room and performs a 3-second sight gag. The McFarlane release features the entire Simpsons family plus their pets, which are stackable into a human pyramid via connectors on their heads and feet. A third boxed set is based on the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode where Homer steals a giant metal donut from the Lard Lad (a parody of Big Boy), and includes figures of Homer, Lard Lad, and a diorama background. Released concurrently with the Lard Lad is another Treehouse of Horror set based on the thirteenth such episode, called "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" (a parody of H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr Moreau). It features the family and Comic Book Guy as animalistic creations of Dr. Hibbert.
On June 23, 2006, McFarlane announced the first line of actual Simpsons action figures, rather than statuettes or boxed sets, which will be released in 2007. All figures will depict specific episodes or events in the show, as opposed to Playmates' figures which merely depicted general characters and environments. According to a company press release, The Simpsons Series 1 will include a boxed Itchy and Scratchy “Spay Anything” set as well as six figures: Homer and Bart Simpson as Pie Man and Cupcake Kid; Krusty the Clown and Homer from an episode when Homer attempted Clown College; Treehouse of Horrors: The Raven (based on the poem of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe); the classic scene of Homer strangling Bart; Kamp Krusty; Treehouse of Horror: Belly of the Boss.
[edit] Simpsons boxed sets (2006)
- Ironic Punishment (April 2006)
- Family Couch Gag (July 2006)
- Lard Lad (November 2006)
- The Island of Dr. Hibbert (November 2006)
[edit] Simpsons (Series 1, 2007)
- Simple Simpson - Pie Man (Homer) and Cupcake Kid (Bart)
- Homie the Clown - Homer and Krusty
- Treehouse of Horrors: The Raven
- Why You - Homer and Bart
- Kamp Krusty
- Treehouse of Horrors XV: Belly of the Boss
- Cape Feare: Spay Anything - Itchy and Scratchy (Boxed Set)
[edit] McFarlane’s Military
The company gave a modern-day revival to the classic ‘toy soldier’ with the release of McFarlane’s Military in 2005, which capitalized on the fervor and media coverage surrounding the American military and support for its soldiers serving abroad. The figures did not depict actual people so much as it did their professions, named simply by their job descriptions, such as “Army Ranger” or “Navy Seal.” All were of stern-looking males in full military gear, with highly-detailed weapons and accessories modeled after the exact materials each soldier would be carrying in real life. Later the same year, the figures were re-released in a wave called McFarlane’s Military Redeployed, although all the figures were visually different with new sculpting, painting, and packaging. The names of the figures, however, stayed the same, as did their basic articulation, accessories, and posture. A second series was released in November 2005 under the title “2nd Tour of Duty” with six new figures depicting additional professions such as “Army Paratrooper” and “Marine Radioman.” These were followed in April 2006 by a third series with “Army Ranger Sniper” and “Navy Seal Boarding Unit,” among others. Series 2 was also “Redeployed” in July 2006, with resculpts, repaints, etc, but also with changes to the names and nature of the characters themselves, such as the new “Marine Saw Gunner” and a never-before released 2-pack of a grenade-launcher gunner and loader.
Series 3 was released in April 2006 along side the Series 2 “redeployment.” Series three notably made its mark by producing 2 different versions of each profession, one depicting a Caucasian soldier and the other depicting an African-American soldier, except for the Army M60 Machine Gunner, who could be Hispanic or Caucasian. The same concept of having 2 variants of soldiers of different cultures was carried forward again in Series 4, which was released in October of 2006.
[edit] Sports figures
McFarlane Toys reflects Todd McFarlane's love of sports in its creations of popular figures from all five major North American sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey and stock car racing). The company has official licensing rights to the major professional leagues of all of these sports, and began this line - officially known as McFarlane Sports Picks - in 2001.
[edit] Rare figure variants
This is an incomplete list of rare or hard-to-find figure variants from many different McFarlane toy lines and series. While McFarlane is known for producing many variations on their figures, particularly when re-releasing them, the rare variants are initially shipped along with the more common variant and are considered more valuable by collectors because of their relatively low quantity in relation to the common variant as well as the other figures in the series. Collectors should always check a legitimate industry trade magazine (such as Toyfare) for prices and actual notes on the style and identification of rare variants before making a purchase.
[edit] Spawn, Conan, McFarlane monsters
- Belit (Conan: Series 1) She wears a Viking-style outfit with a twisted metal belt, which either has a black line painted in-between the links or simply shows her skin. In contrast to the Tiffany figure from the Spawn 26 line and the Dorothy figure from The Twisted Land of Oz, the rare variant of this figure is the one that shows less skin (i.e. the one with the black painted-in belt).
- Dorothy (Twisted Land of Oz): Rare variant has her full body visible, showing her breasts bound with a leather strap. Common variant comes with a black piece of cloth over her upper torso, effectively censoring the toy for mass distribution.
- Elizabeth Bathory (McFarlane Monsters Series 3): The “blood queen” figure is bathing naked in a pool of blood and has a rare variant where her right breast is partially exposed above the blood, showing a nipple, whereas the common variant has both breasts covered.
- The Ogre (Spawn 11): Variant has a giant mace in the right hand while common has no weapon
- Tiffany (Spawn 26): The versions of the angel Tiffany from this series differ by the style of underwear that the character is wearing, which is visible by looking at the toy’s backside. The more common variant is wearing bikini-style underwear that shows less skin, while the rare variant bears a thong that is more revealing.
- Lotus Angel II (Spawn 28): Variant has no covering over the upper portion of her chest. Common variant has a red and green covering with a small skull on it around her neck that obscures her bust.
- Zombie Spawn II (Spawn 28): Variant has three skulls chained together and attached to right arm, while common has no chain of skulls.
- Grave Digger (Spawn Regenerated): The figure’s base has two arms coming out of the grave, whereas the common variant base is just a pile of dirt
[edit] Lost
Series 1: All the Lost action figures in series 1 come with limited articulation, a detailed base, a sound chip playing memorable quotes from that character, and a prop central to that character's story. Series 1 includes Jack, Hurley, Kate, Locke, Charlie, and Shannon.
Additional to the figures, McFarlane will release a box set with each wave. Wave 1 includes the Hatch box set with a special light-up feature and mini-figures of Locke, Jack, Kate, and Hurley. In Spring of 2007, McFarlane will release series 2, which will include Sawyer, Sayid, Desmond, Sun, Jin, Claire, Henry Gale (Benjamin Linus) and Mr. Eko as well as the box set including mini-figures of Sawyer, Sayid, Jin, and Sun.
[edit] 24
In January 2007, McFarlane Toys announced plans for a line of 24 action figures. Two figures of Jack Bauer are currently in production. Both are packaged as boxed sets and re-create scenes taken directly from the series. The first figure is expected to hit store shelves in August 2007, with the second scheduled for holiday season 2007 release. [6]
[edit] External links
- McFarlane Toys Website
- Stashmatic.com Movie Maniacs collection tracker (with images)
- Four Horsemen Toy Designs' website - former McFarlane Toys employees"
