Toy Fair 2008 recap

Toy Fair 2008 and it was quite an event. I had never been so when I contacted Mike Dobbs to see if we could travel together, he was more than happy to share the ride. Let me just say that I've been to the Javitts center in NY before, but I've never been to a show that takes up the entire building. Both exhibition spaces were full of vendors all try to tempt you with the latest and greatest. Now I wasn't just there to have fun, I did have obligations to the JOB because they were after all picking up my train fare and expenditures. Packaging was first and foremost and also a chance to get a peek at what the hot trends are for the upcoming year. I saw a few pieces of packaging that were interesting, but nothing that was awe inspiring. As for hot trends, Disney is still highly represented, but the other big boys like Hasbro and LEGO were well represented. Hasbro even went to the point where you had to have a special invite to visit their showroom outside of the Convention Hall. Of course the big thing for me from them is the Cloverfield collectible vinyl figure. Now not being a member of the press I did not get an invite, but Mike did and he said it is a truly odd, grotesque piece of sculpture. Look here.
As for other interests, HellBoy had some great pieces at Gentle Giant, and Wall-E was there, just as not as much as I would have expected, but we are also 4 months away from the premiere.

My wife and I are fans of Dr. Who and the Daleks were making their presence known.
We also had a chance to stop by and visit with Richard Gordon, a wonderfully warm, talented man who is still sharp, even into his 80's. We also managed to make it over the the Virgin MegaStore and spend some cash. All in all it was a great trip, very tiring, but I got to see very amazing toys.

Cheers!