Toy Fair 2018: Aliens vs. Predator, Ghostbusters, Planet of the Apes, and Universal Monsters




The Annual North American International Toy Fair was held in New York City last weekend and as with most high-profile nerd events, I was not able to attend. Nevertheless, I looked through the ample coverage provided on Toyark and thought that I would highlight a few notable released that are scheduled for later this year.

In addition to the tons of DC, Marvel and Star Wars toys that were on display, here are a few items from Toy Fair ‘18 that should interest those who love collectible toys that are based on vintage horror and sci-fi franchises. All photos are provided courtesy of Toyark.

Aliens vs. Predator: As with previous Toy Fairs, NECA showed off Alien and Predator figures that are based on Dark Horse comic books, video games, and Kenner's toy lines from the '90s. This year will mark the release of Dutch Schaefer and Linn Kurosawa, NECA's last two figures that are based on Capcom's coin-op arcade Aliens vs. Predator game from 1994. Dutch and Linn are the game's two main human characters; previous NECA figures that were based on this game were Alien and Predator characters. Presumably, the Dutch character in this game is a descendant of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Predator.








While Capcom's game isn't the best of the AvP games, it's a fun beat 'em up romp through the shared Alien and Predator franchises. You can still play this game through the MAME emulator, which you can download here.




Ghostbusters: Diamond Select has been using the Ghostbusters license to release a series of highly detailed 7-inch figures that are based on the original 1984 movie and its 1989 sequel. This year, Diamond Select will be releasing figures that are based on The Real Ghostbusters, the cartoon semi-sequel to the original movie that ran on both ABC's Saturday morning lineup and weekday syndication.










These figures look to be of the same quality as Diamond Select's other Ghostbusters figures, although it's somewhat odd to see such meticulous sculpting work applied to animated characters that were designed to be simple. Regardless, I soon expect to see pictures floating around the internet of customized figures where fans put the heads from the live action Ghostbusters on the bodies of the animated Ghostbusters and vice versa.




Planet of the Apes: When Super 7 started its ReAction line of 3.75 inch action figures a few years ago, it seemed like it was just releasing figures based on whatever movie or TV licenses it could get. Four figures from the original Planet of the Apes movie were part of Super 7's ReAction releases from last year; this year, ReAction will be significant expanding its Ape figures collection. The upcoming figures are based on more characters from the original movie and on those from its first two sequels, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Escape from the Planet of the Apes.












Universal Monsters: Super 7's ReAction line also looks to expand its selection of classic Universal Monsters, with the addition of the Metaluna Mutant from This Island Earth and one of the titular monsters from The Mole People. Based on the photos Toyark provided, the ReAction Universal Monster figures will be getting new cardback art and new sculpts to make them more screen accurate (or at least as screen accurate as 3.75 inch figures can be).








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