I’ve been buying toys from overseas for years. Until recently those purchases have consisted entirely of Japanese toys. I went through a Gundam kick around 2000 after seeing Bandai’s Gundam range on display at Toy Fair 2000. Of course, I’ve grown up with Godzilla and have picked up numerous Godzilla toys from importers over the years. Then there was Tomy’s Disney’s Magical Collection, Microman, Kubricks, etc. Japan was and is just a hotbed for cool toys.

But, lookout world! Here comes….Great Britain?

Yup. It seems the United Kingdom is stepping up and right now some of my favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) action figure lines are originating from across the pond.

Character Options is doing a bang-up job with their Doctor Who line based on the new Doctor Who series which is about to enter its third season (series) in England (and airing in the US on the Sci Fi channel). CO just unveiled a bunch of new figures at the recent British Toy Fair, but since many of the characters shown are from the third season yet to air they are hush-hush for now. But word from those who’ve seen them is that they’ll have Doctor Who fans drooling!

Another company, Cards Inc., looks to be hitting it right out of the park with two big upcoming lines. The first is their 3-3/4" Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix line based upon the fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise hitting theaters this July. Cards has released images of Harry, Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody thus far and they are amazing. The sculpting on these is stunning. For more on this line check out Adrian Faulkner’s report here. Cards holds the license to films 1 through 6 of the Harry Potter series. If the line performs well at retail it looks to be quite expansive. The only downside? It’s exclusive to Europe due to NECA holding the North American Master Toy License for Harry Potter.

Towards the end of the year Cards will be releasing another 3-3/4" line. This one is based upon the film The Golden Compass (based upon the Phillip Pullman novel of the same name – though it’s titled Northern Lights in the UK). This line is also being kept under wraps for now, but word is they are just as well done as the Harry Potter figures. I had a couple of people tell me that the head-sculpt on the Lord Asriel (played by recent Casino Royale’s Daniel Craig) is uncanny. As Cards Inc. holds the Worldwide Master Toy License for The Golden Compass look for this line to be available in the US around the time of the film’s release (December 2007).

Of course there’s Famosa’s Disney Heroes line, but seeing as Famosa is from Spain and not the UK they are a topic for another time.

So, cheers to these enterprising UK toymakers! I’ve got a feeling that these lines are just the tip of the iceberg.

Discuss these lines and more in AFI’s All About the Toys forum! 

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It’s been a little while.

In my meager writing career, I’ve published a few short stories and a 26-part serial which was written under contract for a publication that never really got off the ground.  Long story.

 None of them is my dream.

 I’ve begun work on a novel.

 Its publication is my dream.

 Time to go for it.

Thought you’d want to know where my head’s been.

 -JJJ

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In honor of the totally sweet and awesome Chicago Bears making it to the Big Game, I thought it would be fun to hold a contest of sorts.  For all the smack-talkers out there, all you fans who hate Da Bears or think they suck or otherwise shouldn’t be in the Super Bowl, I will award a small prize for the one who can lay the best smack down on the Bears in a comment below or in the my blog thread on the forum.

Keep it fairly clean, use good judgement. No racial, truly offensive or otherwise inappropriate comments will be allowed.  I want clever, funny, brutal smack aimed squarely in the direction of the Chicago Bears.  I will choose a winner before the game and post his or her name here.

I don’t know what the prize will be yet, but hey it’s free.  So smack away!!

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I love playing with little plastic people.

That should come as no surprise given that I’m a lifelong toy collector and have spent the better part of a decade actually writing about toys. And while I do love collecting action figures I don’t really play with them anymore. But, I do play with little plastic people on a pretty regular basis.

Yup, I’m a gamer.

I started gaming back in High School. I was part of my High School Dungeons and Dragons club back in the early ’80s. Even back then my favorite aspect of the game was the miniatures. I loved those little lead (back then, pewter now) representations of characters, beasts and monsters. I even enjoyed painting them even though I was never very good at it.

Eventually, for a variety of reasons I found myself not gaming any more. It wasn’t really a conscious decision. I just sort of fell out of it.

A couple years back I decided I missed it and got back into it. I’m not really an RPG guy anymore. They’re too time consuming. But I enjoyed the miniatures-based skirmish games. I especially enjoyed Wizkids‘ Heroclix.

One thing that’s held me back in most games is having the time (or not having the time) to paint the miniatures. So, I’d get all interested in a game, read the rules, buy some miniatures and….never play the game.

But there were games like Heroclix or D&D Miniatures and Star Wars Miniatures (the latter two from Wizards of the Coast) that already came pre-painted. They’re a lot of fun, don’t take a lot of time and I enjoy playing them. The downside (for me) of each of those gaming systems is that they are collectible. They minis are sold blind-boxed, with some pieces being more rare than others. That part I really don’t like. I don’t have the cash to burn on that. So, I usually buy a booster when a set is released and then pick up what else I want on the aftermarket.

However, I still wanted more from my gaming experiencing. I wanted the complexity of games such as Privateer Press’ Warmachine, Games Workshop’s Warhammer or Battlefront’s excellent Flames of War. But, I still didn’t, and don’t, have time to pait. I get precious little gaming time these days and I’d much rather spend said time gaming instead of prepping to game!

Enter Rackham. Rackham is a French gaming company that’s gained quite a following with their very cool and very stylish Confrontation miniatures game (and related systems). In December Rackham released AT-43, a new sci-fi miniatures game. This is a full-fledged tabletop miniatures wargame…but the miniatures come pre-painted! No prepping, no painting…just playing! The two pictures on this page show two of the factions in AT-43: the human White Stars and the alien Therians. The first product released was a boxed set called Operation: Damoclese with comes with the basic rules, miniatures from each of those two factions, some terrain pieces (a nice touch, that), dice and a tape measure (for measuring distances for movement and combat), plus a double-sided battlemap. Everything you need to get started and playing right out of the box. The rulebook contains a series of missions that teach you the rules as you work your way through them. It’s great stuff, and Rackham’s got a slew of releases coming throughout the year, including a beautiful hardcover Advanced Rulebook coming in March.

So, if you’re interested in playing with some plastic, but don’t have the time nor inclination for the painting side of the gaming hobby…do yourself a favor and check out AT-43. Just contact your local gaming store and see if they’ve got any demonstrations scheduled in your area. Game on!

Here’s some links for more AT-43 Information.

Official AT-43 Website

Official AT-43 Forums

Review of AT-43 from Tabletop Gaming News

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