McFarlane Toys
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Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.
Type Subsidiary of Image Comics
Industry Comics and Toys
Founded Tempe, Arizona, USA (1994)
Founder(s) Todd McFarlane
Headquarters Tempe, AZ, USA
Key people Todd McFarlane, CEO
Products Spawn, Hellspawn, Sam & Twitch
Revenue increase $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 highly 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).

Overview

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 Soulcalibur, 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.

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) with Tremor and the villains Violator, Overtkill, and Clown, as well as a Spawn Alley Playset, the Spawnmobile and the 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.

Spawn Series

SERIES 20: SPAWN CLASSIC SERIES 2
Release Date: October 2001

SERIES 21: ALTERNATE REALITIES
Release Date: February 2002

SERIES 22: DARK AGES SPAWN: THE VIKING AGE
Release Date: July 2002
This 22nd line of Spawn action figures features the Hellspawn mythos translated into the Viking time frame.

SERIES 23: Mutations
Release Date: May 2003

Series 24: The Classic Comic Covers
Release Date: October 2003

Series 25: The Classic Comic Covers 2
Release Date: February 2004

Series 26: The Art Of Spawn
Release Date: October 2004

Series 27: The Art Of Spawn
Release Date: March 2005

Series 28: Regenerated
Release Date: October 2005

Series 29: Evolutions
Release Date: June 2006
Action Figures From The Armageddon Saga Of The Spawn Comics.

Series 30: The Adventures of Spawn
Release Date: December 2006
Spawn in the tradition of the great Saturday morning cartoons

Series 31: Other Worlds
Release Date: April 2007
This series focuses on a number of different Hellspawn-ed characters from various Spawn-related comic book titles both old and new.

Series 32: The Adventures of Spawn 2
Release Date: October 2007
The adventure continues! Unlike any other Spawn action figures, The Adventures of Spawn has streamlined Spawn, his allies and adversaries. Featuring clean lines and eye-popping color reminiscent of anime or Saturday morning cartoons; it's a whole new look.

Series 33: Age of Pharaohs
Release Date: April 2008

Series 34: Spawn Classics

McFarlane's Dragons

McFarlane's Dragons are a line of action figures that was launched in 2005 under the "Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi Action Figures section of McFarlane Toys. These figures were released biannually.

The set features several highly detailed six inch dragon action figures and a slightly larger and more expansive "boxed set" figure. For the first five series, the figures were broken into these clans: Eternal Dragon Clan, Fire Dragon Clan, Komodo Dragon Clan, Sorcerer's Dragon Clan, Water Dragon Clan, and Berserker Clan. Series Six includes new clans: Fossil Dragon Clan, Hunter Dragon Clan, Ice Dragon Clan, Scavenger Dragon Clan, and Warrior Dragon Clan. In addition to these highly detailed dragons, McFarlane released a part of the dragon's history with each dragon set; some had a piece of the story with each dragon, and some had whole chunks of the story in one boxed set. The first series was a general overview of the dragon's history, from their rise in power to their fall due to inner strife. The story expanded from there into describing the quest for the lost king of the dragons, and then back in time for several series to describe the exact rise and fall of the dragons . The most recent set features the hydra, a monstrous dragon set loose during the ultimate war among the dragons. The next set to be released will describe the rise of mankind to take the place of the dragons.

"The Tales of the Dragon Scroll"

The Tales of the Dragon Scroll is the name of the story of the events of the Rise and Fall of the Dragon Kingdom.

Series 1: Quest For The Lost King (February 2005)

Series 2: Quest For The Lost King (December 2005)

Series 3: Quest For The Lost King (February 2006)

Series 4: The Fall Of The Dragon Kingdom (September 2006)

Series 5: The Fall Of The Dragon Kingdom (February 2007)

Series 6: The Fall Of The Dragon Kingdom (July 2007)

Series 7: The Fall Of The Dragon Kingdom (October 2007)

Series 8: The Rise Of Man (January 2008)

Much to puzzlement of the McFalane staff it was decided to end the dragon line despite the fact that it did so well and no licensing had to be paid on it.

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 KB 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 candelabrum with the heads of three women impaled on it. They were more akin to semi-poseable 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. Alongside the Six Faces of Madness series was released the Clive Barker's Infernal Parade series, similarly semi-posable statues featuring figures in a hellish carnival. The series was accompanied by a comic book setting forth the backstory of the characters depicted, with a chapter of the comic included with each figure. The stories explained how each character committed sins that resulted in their sentence of eternal torture as part of the circus. Each figure came with a stand attached to a wheeled cart; the carts could be linked together to form a moving procession of horrific circus freaks. The characters were (1) Bleb the Sabbaticus Beast Tamer; (2) Bethany Bled, the Prisoner in the Iron Maiden; (3) Dr. Fetter's Family of Freaks; (4) Tom Requiem, King of Showmen, with Clovio; (5) Mary Slaughter the Spike Swallower; and (6) the Golem Elijah.

The fourth series featured 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.

Series 5 featured McFarlane's Twisted Christmas. Like the previous series, the figures all are twisted variations of Christmas, including a hunchback and obese Santa Claus who hides a lifeless skull under a gasmask-like headpiece and wears contraptions on his hands similar to the glove of Freddy Krueger; a near-naked Mrs. Claus who is dressed in nothing more than a red bikini, black platform boots and a Christmas hat; mutant blade-wielding elves; an axe-wielding "Rudy" reindeer who is restrained by fairy lights and belts; a monstrous melting snowman with six arms made from tree branches; and a massively deformed Jack Frost who is made from ice, snow and a tree.

Movie Maniacs

In 1998 McFarlane introduced the Movie Maniacs line of figures. Series one began as a line of horror and science fiction based figures that had been licensed from influential and financially successful horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th, as well as the upcoming (at that time) Species II. The second series of figures expanded the character base for the line into the realms of cult and action cinema with a figure based on the title character to The Crow. Series three would further push the boundaries of character selection into fantasy, with Edward Scissorhands, straight action with Shaft, and back into cult/sci-fi with Escape from L.A.. These conventions would continue, with character selections in future series frequently containing a mix of many, or even all of these various film genres, much to the chagrin of a small section of fans and collectors who, incorrectly, saw the line as being meant to be horror specific.

The line began as an annual release, with each of the first few series being released at, or around, October, however as years went on this tradition began to slip, initially as a factor of slipping release dates, and then, the tradition already broken, just as a matter of course.

Although never officially confirmed by McFarlane Toys, the line is now considered defunct, and no new releases carrying the Movie Maniacs brand name have been created for quite some time.

6" Series

Series 1:

Series 2:

Series 3:

Series 4:

Series 5:

Series 6:

Series 7:

12-18" Series

Series 2:

Series 3:

Series 4:

Series 5:

Series 7:

Deluxe Figures

Series 1:

Series 2:

Series 5:

Series 7:

Boxed Sets

Series 2:

Series 3:

Series 4:

Series 5:

Series 6:

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, Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury and Elvis Presley.

KISS

Main article: KISS action figures

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.

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.

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 1, September 1999)

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 2, October 2000)

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (Series 1 Re-Release, September 2004)

The Beatles: Saturday Morning Cartoon (December 2004)

The Beatles: Saturday Morning Cartoon Boxed Set (October 2005)

All four band members and instruments plus alligator, speakers, and radio

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 would 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 Allan Poe); the classic scene of Homer strangling Bart; Kamp Krusty; Treehouse of Horror: Belly of the Boss.

Simpsons boxed sets (2006)

Simpsons (Series 1, 2007)

Simpsons Movie (July 2007)

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 series 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 alongside 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 2006.

Sports figures

Main article: McFarlane Sports Picks

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.

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.

Spawn, Conan, McFarlane monsters

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 released a box set with each wave. Series 1 included the Hatch box set with a special light-up feature and mini-figures of Locke, Jack, Kate, and Hurley. In the Summer of 2007, McFarlane released series 2, which included Sawyer, Sun, Jin, and Mr. Eko. No box set with this wave.

McFarlane planned to release series 3 in January 2008, which would have included Sayid, Desmond, Claire, and Henry Gale (Benjamin Linus) as well as the box set, Oceanic Flight 815 Crash Site. However, due to lower than expected sales, the line was officially cancelled. Several members of the Spawn messageboard created an Online Petition to help save the Lost action figure line, which was unsuccessful.

24

In January 2007, McFarlane Toys announced plans for a line of 24 action figures. Two figures of Jack Bauer were produced. Both are packaged as boxed sets and re-create scenes taken directly from the series. The first figure was expected to hit store shelves in August 2007, with the second scheduled for holiday season 2007 release. [6]

Halo(series)

Halo 3

Series 1

Series 1 Vehicles

Halo 4

McFarlane is designing a new line of action figures for 343 Industries' upcoming title Halo 4. The first series is set for August, with new figures being release from launch to 2013. Some of the figures aren't yet announced, but subject to change.[1]

Series 1

Boxed Figure

November 2012

Carded Figures

Boxed Figure

See also

References

  1. ^ "McFarlane Toys to Create Halo 4 Action Figures". 343 Industries. http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/01/19/McFarlane-Toys-to-Create-Halo-4-Action-Figures.aspx. Retrieved 1-19-12. 

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