Matleo's Toy Fair Adventure: Part 1 and 2

[matleo]

Matleo's Toy Fair adventure: part 1

Posted this at Palisades and TP but I figured I'd post here too.....

as you may know, for the last few years I've done freelance puppet work for Folkmanis toys demonstrating their products at toy fair and for the last several years, I've come back with a few product reports on some new stuff. this year was like Christmas for me as I got to not only meet the infamous Travis Allen of Palisades and see their new stuff but also got to sneak a peek at the booths for F4A, Sababa, and USA-opoly, soooooo...


First off, let me extend a public and very greatful acknowlegdment to Travis for being nice enough to take the time to show me around and talk about stuff. it was great finally being able ot meet one of the Palisades folks and I hope that on my next trip to Maryland I can stop in and visit him and meet some of the others.

Now the stuff that he showed. NONE OF IT IS DONE ANY JUSTICE BY THE PICTURES FOUND IN INNER CIRCLE OR ON THE SITE!! IT"S WAY COOLER!!!!

Sweetums: Is unbelievable!! I know there's been a lot of debate about the height and people being worried he may seem to small compared ot the others, but actually what I saw looked like it was almost too big. At least it was bigger than how I pictured. I don't think anyone will have any problems with the size of this guy. if anything I think people will be more likely to complain about him being to big. And yes, Travis said the one I saw is about the actual scale. if he comes down, he may come down a bit but not much.

S7: All looks fantastic!! Beau and Johnny especially. no doubt these two will be the stars of this series. Jamie dida fantastic job on the album covers only saw 2 but I really liked them.

MEGA GONZO and Gold tux Gonzo: Also great. Palisades has finally nailed...absolutly nailed the color of the nose. Same for the S9 Gonzo that they had.

S8: Looks really good so far. Saw the resin sculpts. Sam still has the old head as does Scooter but they both look great! Phil and Marvin looked good too. For some reason, I didn't get as much of a good look at them as I did the others. I was too busy gawping at....

Backstage: Said it before, will say it again: BEST MUPPET TOY EVER (although Sweetums comes close) this thing is going to be great. it's a little shorter than the Muppet theater should be for packaging reasons, but that doesn't detract from it. it is still amazing!!

S9: Pops looks great!! One of the best figures for next year so far. uncanny likeness. actually has little lenses in his glasses which only adds to him. going to be one of the best. MTI Gonzo and Rizzo are also fun. They actually make me a little sorry I don't collect the MTI figs becasue they looked really great.

S10: all they had was the board for this and Sal with the Java Muppets. Sal looks really good. I know Ken has said he's been unhappy with it and travis said he needed some tweaking still, but I really liked the one I saw today. I can see how they might tweak him a bit here and there but I think he's another one I think is going to turn out really well. I liked him a lot more than I like the Pepe figure. pepe's cool and all but I felt Sal is a much closer likeness. The java guys also looked really great. They're, you know, they're there. Pretty simple likenesses so I don't think there was much to screw up. People are really going to like them.

Adventure Kermit: one of the best Kermit figures yet. can't wait to get him.

Jim Henson: also really great. Pictures havent done him justice at all.

MEGA Camilla; odd to see but going to be fun for those who collect the Megas.

Minis: Saw the painted Scooter, Bunsen, Beaker, Kermit, Chef and Doglion as well as the boardfor the EM ones later one. All look really neat!! Didn't think I'd care much for the Scooter, Bunsen or Beaker ones but I really love them. Janice was absent for the EM board but Travis said she's the best by far. based on what I saw of the EM minis that says a lot!


Saw some of the other Palisades stuff too. Ren&Stimpy, Pink Panther, Invader Zim, Factory X Stuff. I probably won't collect too much Factory X stuff but what I saw I really liked. it looked cool.

ok, other Muppet stuff I saw.....

F4A: As I said in the other thread I saw the SS figs. They were the prototypes (the old ones) in mock up packaging. The packaging is really Slick. if naything is going to sell these it'll be that!! No offense to Palisades, but this is actually the one place where F4A has beaten them (sorry greg) I like the Palisades packaging. Like it a lot, but the F4A stuff is really really slick. It's purple, black and green and has the 35th anniversary logo on it. It looks almost like SS at night. Clamshell. People are going to really dig it. The letters also look great. I actually like those more than the figs. Oh and expect SS animator puppets. I saw mock up packaging for those. The only one I remember seing is Big Bird.


Sideshow; saw the busts. Yep, theyr'e still there. Saw Dr. teeth for the first time and actually he is one I want. Really liked him.

USAopoly;
if you liked Muppet Monopoly and you like Sesame street, you're in for a real treat this year. only saw the packaging for it, but yep, they're going to the next logical step.

Sababa:
Some geat stuff here.....Boober and Wembley plush which are just as good as if not better than Gobo and Red. I really like these. Yeah, you know what, I think they are better. Now here's my thing with Sababa. When they are on...they're on!! when they miss...they miss. Doozer plush...they miss. it's a lot like the old Doozer plush that were released years ago. Can't help but wonder if like the Kermit puppet, they just bought the design for them. not too impressed with those. they're the same size as the Fraggles.

Giant Rizzo and Giant Bunsen plush: wild.

PIS mini-beans, we know about those: expect the same quality as the other mini bean sets.

Sesame Street chess. Didn't get too close a look at this one either just close enough to be able to say, "They're making SS chess."

ok, now hold onto your socks!! Biggest news I saved for last......















.....keep scrolling........













....suspense must be killing you..........






















two words: Janice plush!!!! She looks good too. MUCH better than the mini bean. I think she may spark a little controversy though. the likeness is good but they've updated her hat and gone with a more modern look for her, so she's a bit more 'hoochie-girl' than you'd expect. Still she looks great. Finally someone for Byron to snuggle with on those cold cold nights.


So that's it. that's what I have. I'm back at toy fair on Tuesday so if anyone wants me to look at specific stuff let me know and I'll try to get a second look (except Palisades since they're in another building. There's some other stuff I want to try and find on Tuesday. All in all it looks like it'll be a cool year for Muppet collectors. didn't find the DC busts, but I'll look again on Tuesday. if anyone knows the booth # to look for that would be helpful. I looked for Plan B on the directory but didn't see it. Hope you enjoyed this.


--Matt

 

[BlueFrackle]

Wow Matt! That sounds great!

Did you notice who the Fourth Muppet was in the Mini Pigs In Space set?

As for the Sesame Animators, Maybe you saw Guy Smiley and The Count ?

I cant wait to see Boober and Wembley from Sababa! But did you notice how many Plush Doozers were being made? And which characters?
I suspect Flange, Wingnut and Cotterpin, Like the Hasbro ones?


Thanks! And have a great time on Tuesday!

 

[matleo]

hey Warrick,

Don't remember seeing a fourth on the PIS plush. may not be one. but i'll look again tommorow. I'll also see if I can get a closer look at the SS animators too. Doozer plush: I remember Cotterpin. She's deifinitly there and then I can't remember if it was one or two morw. i think it was the same as the PVCs where you had the Architect in a red hat and then another in a yellow hat. yeah, I'm almost sure there was one in a red and one in a yellow. I'll look again tommrow.

--Matt

 

[BlueFrackle]

I hope they make remakes of the Hasbro Doozers. Id rather Cotterpin and her Parents, Wingnut and Flange. Than a Worker and fake Architect.

Id like more Doozer PVC's too.

 

[muppet maniac]

That sounds interesting.Thanks for posting.

Sesame Street Animator Puppets,huh?Those sound very interesting.Did you see Oscar or Cookie Monster animator puppets as well?

The Sesame Monopoly/Chess Game sound very interesting too.

 

[Erine81981]

SS animator puppets

What are these?

 

[matleo]

Part 2: the adventure continues.

sorry this is late. My wife was messing with the computer last night and then I had to sort through the 5000 posts and messages about the Muppets buyout this morning which left me with no time ot write before goign to work. but you don't want excuses do you? you want spy reports. Well, I have some good news this time because not only did I get a little braver about loking at some stuff but I also took a notepad with me so I don't have to rely on memory so much. So let's break this down bit by bit......

Sababa Muppets

Someone asked about the 4th doll on the PIS set. it's a generic pig in a PIS uniform. if you look at the PIS publicity shot that's floatign aorudn out there, and I think may even be ob the back of the package, it's that bald pig who's always there. The packagaing was just the EM packaging. Sort of liek when Ken shows mock-up blister for a series of figures and they're still on the previous blister, it was like that.

Also saw a Chef plush that I forgot to report on the other day. 17" really ice. has a white apron that says Swedish Chef on it. really nice.

Also noticed minibeans of Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy, Gonzo, Animal, Chef, bunsen and Beaker

and huge plush of kermit, Piggy, Rizzo, bunsen, Statler, Waldorf, Chef, and Animal

they had 3 puppets: Kermit w/ legs. kermit w/o legs and Animal. tried the Animal one on . he's comfortable but he's not much on likeness. The kermit one is simialr to the ne thatwas made a few years ago. Can't remember who put it out though.

Also they had Jack in the boxes of Animal and Kermit.


Sababa Fraggles

Upon closer inspection, I didn't like the Wembley doll as much as I like the other 3. the hair seems wrong. it's got all these weird colors and the shirt is white with palm trees on it. Boober is awesome thogh. he always seems ot be the best in plush form.

Like I said there were three doozers. One with a red hat with a kind of ropey thing on his belt, one with a pink hat with a hamemr on the eblt and a mustached one in a yellow hat with a pencil on his belt. the mustcahe was brown.


Sababa Sesame

Some really cool stuff here. First off, one thign I hadn't noticed the other day was Wooly Willy things of Bert, Ernie and Guy Smiley. For those who don't know, Wooly Willy is a kind of niche thing that featured a this bald guy with magnetic hair and you could use the little magno-pencil he comes with to give him different hair styles. They have those for these three as well as for some of their other lines too. Can't rememeber who though. Simpsons I think might have been there, Shrek and some other stuff. Didn;t take notes on those.


OK, who wants to know the pieces for SS chess? I do, I do!! oh wait, I DO know the pieces for SS chess. they are.....
Big Bird (king)
Cookie Monster(queen)
bert and Ernie (bishops)
Grover and Prarie Dawn (knights)
Count and Oscar (Rooks)
and the piece that absolutly sold me on it.....

SS lamppost featuring Little Bird (pawn)

it's the same for both sides and then the bases are repainted. Should be a fun game. Didn't see the board although I thought they had it out on Sunday. My memory is it's got green and yellow squares.

usaopoly

Someone asked about the packaging. the characters on the front were Bird, Bert Ernie, Elmo, Count, Grover, Cookie, Oscar, and Prarie Dawn all in front of the SS set and the Monopoly logo on the top of course.


Gund

has some new SS plush coming out. little hand puppets, plush blocks, dolls, etc. The characters featured were Bird, Oscar, Bert Ernie, Zoe , Elmo, Cookie, and grover. All pretty much the similar to a lot of the stuff put put by Applause in the past.

Fun 4 All

Someone asked me about ALF stuff. no Alf stuff this year.

Got better packaging descripts this time. Looked to see if the they had a back but they didn't either these were mock-ups or the F4A figs won't have anythign on the back. Dunno. The front however featured the green strip down the left hand side that I described witha bunch of numbers on it. the main patt of the background was purplish/black with the SS logo and little bird in theupper right hand corner of the packaging. get used to little Bird it looks liek he's oing ot be a big part of SS 35th packaging. I saw him a lot! The name tag on the front was black with the '35th' logo on thel ef habd side and then an illustration of the character on the right.

get used to the illustration style too. that's also going to permeate a lot of the SS merchandise. Personally, I like it and I'm actually planning on picking up a few of the other items I saw with it. But I'll get to those later. Want to talk a little about the figures.

First off I have some thoughts about the scale that I want going to mention , but keep in mind these were the prototypes so they may not be the final scale. if they are, then I really don't know how they'll look next to the Muppets. Actually I don't know how they'll look next to each other. Cookie was about the size of Fozzie, which looked right but then OScar and Grover looked HUGE and bert and Ernie looked way too small. I think Oscar and Grover might have been 105% If so, fine, but Bert and Ernie both still need to be a little bigger. they both appeared to me to be smaller than Gonzo.

The letters that come with each are as follows: Oscar comes with a light green "O", Grover comes with a fur matching dark blue "G", Cookie with a fur-matching
light blue "C", Ernie witha skin-matching orange "E" and Bert witha pants matching dark green "W". all have muppet eyes on them.

The animator/push puppets were of Guy Smiley, Big Bird and Grover. Didn;t get too good a look at those or the packaging so I can't say muc beyond they were of Guy Smiley, Big Bird, and Grover.

and finally.....


Rix Tins

LOTSA SS stuff. Really nice. all featuring that illustrated look I was talking about. 5x7 Picture frames featuring OScar and Mumford,Grover Mini-lunchbos, Big Bird and Snuffy tv tray, Count Mini-pail, some type of mini-pail/lunchbox featuring OScar, a Cookie Monster lunchbox, and a trash can featuring several characters.

For muppets we have 5x7 picture frames featuring Bunsen/Beaker and another featuring the EM band (look at the EM space on Monopoly, it's that around a picture frame.) Also saw the TMS trash can. Really nice. Switch plates featuring KErmit and another featuring Bunsen/Beaker and then all theo ther stuff we've seen before; dart board, lunchbox, coasters, etc.

So that's it. the full report on day 2. I don;t know about anyone else but I expect to be pretty broke by the end of the year. Hope you enjoyed this.

--Matt

 

[Phillip]

Matleo,

Thanks for sharing. Some great info there! We'll all be broke too.

 

[Drtooth]

OK, who wants to know the pieces for SS chess? I do, I do!! oh wait, I DO know the pieces for SS chess. they are.....
Big Bird (king)
Cookie Monster(queen)
bert and Ernie (bishops)
Grover and Prarie Dawn (knights)
Count and Oscar (Rooks)
and the piece that absolutly sold me on it.....

SS lamppost featuring Little Bird (pawn)

Thanks for the help. i asked that somewhere (either here or Palisades) and these just sound great. I didn't get the Muppet chess (Lack of space and money) but I may get this sesame Chess....

For a second I thought Bert was the King and Ernie was the queen, and I was afraid someone was going to take it literally!
j/k

 

[muppet maniac]

The Sesame Street Monopoly Game,chess game,action figures,animator puppets,and other stuff sound very interesting.Can't wait till they come out.