The Green Dragon: Where Folklore, Legend and Fantasy Become a World of Collectible Reality!

2005 UK and US Toyfair
-- Special Thanks to Rebelscum.com, LordoftheRingsGuide.com,
Action-Figure.com, AFTimes.com, TNI, Toymania, The Outer Reaches, TORN, etc. --

-- A SUPER Special Thanks goes out to the Dragonspies
contributing to our 2005 Toyfair coverage -- Prelude: The 2005 season sees The Green Dragon spreading its wings a bit and endeavoring to cover even more toy lines and more classic toys this year and beyond. Now, while we are still mainly focvused on the Lord of the Rings, we are planning on covering more this year than in past years to include: Spawn (not at Toyfair), Pirates of the Carribean, The Chronicles of Narnia, various Sideshow lines, and anything and everything fantasy and medieval related. The coverage accomplished by the plethora of online sites will be the central focus of our linkages. We are trying to put together a one stop location for folks to get ALL the coverage they need for their favorite line of toys and collectibles. In the past, we have done similar linkages and it has been a very positive part of our Toyfair Coverage. This year we expect a vast array of announcements from NECA, Toybiz, Sideshow/WETA, Play Along Toys, Master Replicas, Art Asylum, Hasbro, and loads more. So , put on your hard hat, prepare for the worst, expect the best, and lock and load...cause here we go! If you see something we have missed, please don't hesitate to drop us a line with a link.

Convention Highlights: The highlight(s) of the show(s) will be located here in the fron of the write-up. Likely the highlight will come from the likes of NECA or Toybiz depending on what is presented at the shows, but nonetheless, we hope for some great stuff and this will be the section to find it. Lets hope for a couple surprises in this section...perhaps some cool imagery of the SECOND wave of POTC figures from NECA!!

Convention Disappointment: There are always a few things seen at the shows that are disappointing. From the 2005 UK Toyfair, we already have a couple items to report:

Toybiz (UK Toyfair, Jan 2005): Deluxe Fell Beast that has been rumored for Fall 2005 is, in fact, the previously released Deluxe Fell Beast. We expect that because of the NEW release date for this figure, that it will be in ALL NEW Epic Trilogy Problems

Hasbro (UK Toyfair, Jan 2005): The Chronicles of Narnia toys, and more importantly, are being reported as dynamically PRE-POSED...this is a HUGE disappointment...sounds like Star Wars figures...which some collectors like, but if you are a Toybiz LOTR fan...this will likely be a huge disappointment...lacking articulation and supposedly in a 5" Scale.

Sideshow/WETA (LOTR): We expect a huge showing once again at this years New York Toyfair from Sideshow/WETA. Also, there is likely going to be a massive Lord of the Rings announcement...or at least we have been led to believe so based on their predicted announcement of 13 NEW LOTR items.. Stay tuned right here for the latest and greatest news and detailed imagery!!!

Sideshow/WETA 2005 Offerings and Toyfair Coverage (21 Feb 2005): The folks at Sideshow/WETA are announcing their 2005 Lord of the Rings products with dire enthusiasm. They are trickling the information out slowly with PRE-ORDERS following shortly after their PREVIEW announcements. They have finally announced ALL 13 new LOTR products and ALL will be available for PRE_ORDER before Toyfair 2005 is over. Below we have constructed a tabel showing each product and a direct link to the PRE-ORDER or PREVIEW page for each announced item...better order fast...they are sure to sell out quickly:

The Green Dragon EXCLUSIVE Coverage of Toyfair 2005
Photographed by Dave Myatt. Courtesy of Rebelscum.com

Master Replicas (LOTR): Again we expect a decent showing from Master Replicas. While they tend to focus on Star Wars, they have both a Lord of the Rings line and a Pirates of the Caribbean line. Hopefully, they will announce release dates for the Light of Earendil and the Staff of Gandalf the White. Expectations are high for these guys since there great Sting FX Sword and the follow-up One Ring of Sauron.

Other Site Coverage:

Rebelscum.com - A few images of LOTR Product...NOTHING NEW LOTR-wise from MR!

Toybiz (LOTR): The coverage of all things LOTR and Toybiz follows...some great news and some great imagery...be sure to check out all the coverage:

Green Dragon EXCLUSIVES (1 Mar 2005): While many of you may have seen these shots over at Rebelscum.com, they were in fact taken for us! Photographed by Rebelscum's Dave Myatt, we have perhaps the BEST darn coverage of Toybiz figures for the coming year! Check all of them out in all their Unwatermarked GLORY:

Epic Trilogy and More (25 Feb 2005): The folks at LOTRG.com have a huge load of new imagery from the Toyfair for the Toybiz figures. The Epic Trilogy figures look great and they also had many of the past figures on display meaning that many of these will be once again hitting store shelves as part of their EPIC line push! Check out the imagery at their site HERE:

Wave 5 Figures (23 Feb 2005): The folks at Maranwe have a huge load of new imagery from the Toyfair for Toybiz. The Epic Trilogy figures look simply amazing. Looks like we are getting a great new Uruk-hai, cool SP Legolas figure...and one HELLUVA cool Gondorian Soldier with SWORD and SHIELD!! Check out the imagery at their site HERE:

Wave 5 Figures (22 Feb 2005): The Green Dragon sister-site, (Photographed by Dave Myatt. Courtesy of Rebelscum.com), helped us out a bit and took some great shots of the Toybiz booth for us. These are some HIGHLY detailed images and it will take some time to load them...so be patient. The images of the Gothmog figure are AWESOME. The Frodo and Sam figures look great and the Legolas figure has a great HEAD SCULPT!!

Wave 5 Figures (21 Feb 2005): The folks at Figures.com, AFTimes.com, and Fwooshnet.com have some of the first images from Toybiz for the 2005 American International Toyfair. These images are of the ROTK Trilogy Wave 5, and some of the upcoming GIFTSETS (foreign exlcusives??). The ROTK Wave 5 was shown previously at the UK Toyfair back in January 2005 and the giftsets were shown in early February 2005 at the German Toyfair. The figures look quite amazing and the Elves of Middle-earth set looks great...not sure if THAT particular Haldir is the one included or if it will be the figure from the recently released Lothlorien set...tim will tell. The ROTK Wave 5 Gothmog is an obvious standout.

Wave 5 Figures (4 Feb 2005): Looks like someone was able to capture some very grainy shots from the Vivid booth. Suffice it to say, the Gothmog figure looks amazing and is HUGE. The figures of Frodo and Sam in Mordor look great and both have dirty paint schemes, shirts untucked, and have SOUND bases. The Eye of Sauron "figure" is nothing more than the TOP of the Barad-Dur spire with the eye. Looks like it has sound and light effects as well as a moveable EYE. Stands about 7" tall and about 3" WIDE. The BASE for the Frodo in Mordor figure appears to have LAVA flowing around it...Both the Sam and Frodo figures look to have MASSIVE articulation...They also had a LEGOLAS figure on display...probably the Dagger Throwing version...but hard to tell!!

Epic Trilogy Line (31 Jan 2005): 4 Assortments due this year. The Mordor Orc in Series 1 is Gothmog's Leiutenant with the Skull on his head

Giftsets (31 Jan 2005): The Pelennor Set looks awesome according to the reports. We have the write-ups from the box backs to share with you:

Pelennor Fields: "The name given to the green and fertile lands around the White City of Minis Tirith is the Pelennor Fields. In the War of the Ring, these pastures are trampled beneath the countless ironclad feet of the Orcs of Sauron's army when they invade Gondor. Where once food was grown for the people of Gondor, now a desperate and terrible battle is fought. Upon that ground, great machines of war lay siege to the city. Where once Men tilled the soil, now Fell Beasts of Mordor spill blood."

Lothlorien: "Feared by all save the Elves, the enchanted wood of Lothlorien was the home of Galadriel, the Lady of Light. Against Gimli's advice, Aragorn lead the Fellowship into Lothlorien in search of shelter and rest after their loss in Moria. And it was there that they found friendship and respite for a time."

Deluxe Figures: The Fell Beast sceduled for a Fall 2005 Release IS NOT a new mold.

NECA (LOTR): Loads of information...especially about the UPCOMING and CONFIRMED Balrog figure...check out all the latest info below:

NECA 2005 Line-Up (25 Feb 2005): Okay...here is the scoop from InsideImpulse.com:

Some of the hottest news about Lord of the Rings actually came from NECA. Toybiz told us that they weren't going to be able to pull off their hopes of releasing a much-anticipated Balrog figure, but tipped us off on NECA's production of that very item. A trip to NECA's showroom proved very interesting - they didn't have a Balrog to show us, but they were able to give us the specs on it. Before I start, let me warn you - they said the retail price will be either 90 or 100$, but remember, this is a high quality statue, not an action figure. The Balrog is going to be limited to about 5000 pieces, so it won't be easy to get a hold of, and the things' going to be HUGE. It boasts a 42" wingspan, which (they claim) will make it to scale with all of your 6-inch figures. Keep an eye out for this item . . . it's going to be HOT. NECA also had a Gandalf statue that was amazing . . . all in all, I was VERY impressed by what they had to offer, and not only the LOTR stuff. The pictures belows are from the 2004 San Diego Comic Convention and Tomarts...

The Epic Gandalf figure was on display but no photography was allowed. This is the best figure so far in Jeff's opinion. The Balrog, as was reported from UK Toy Fair, will happen. He will be pretty much be the same figures we've seen pictures of, part Rotocast and part plastic. He'll have a sword and whip and possibly light up features. Mr. Shadow and Flame will retail for about $80. After that NECA may do a Ringwraith but those plans are still up in the air.

NECA 2005 Line-Ups (13 Feb 2005): We now have even MORE confirmation that the Deluxe Balrog is indeed coming. This report ceoms from the German Toyfair and our very own Dragonspy Tom: "The NECA BALROG will definitely be out in December 2005. The Neca-Reps refused to give out any information on it's actual size."

NECA 2005 Line-Ups (2 Feb 2005): With the impending Toyfair just around the corner, the folks at NECA have given us a little taste of what to expect for this year. Absolutely NO MENTION whatsoever of Lord of the Rings...although it is hinted at in the 18" Figure Assortments:

"Since Toy Fair is coming later this month, we figured we should give you a preview of what to expect from NECA/ Reel Toys Action Figures in 2005."

The EPIC Balrog (30 Jan 2005): Perhaps the BIGGEST news of the show is that NECA confirmed the release of the Epic Scale Gandalf and Epic Scale BALROG for THIS YEAR!! No details on the ACTUAL release date for the Balrog, but the Gandalf figure is expected in the Apr/May 2005 timeframe. No details on what features the Balrog will have either. At least a bit of good news though with all of the recent negative speculation about the Balrog...finally something to cheer about!

Art Asylum (LOTR): The folks at Art Asylum recently announced the next wave of minimates to coincide with their show at the US Toyfair. You can read the entire article and see the image of the next wave of Lord of the Rings Minimates at Toy News International. We have not seen any details from any sites about the 2005 US Toyfair offerings...stay tuned!

NECA (POTC): This section is dedicated to news and images from NECA concerning their Pirates of the Carribean license. Stay tuned right here for all the updates and IMAGES:

NECA Information (25 Feb 2005): The folks at Action-Figure.com have posted a quick blurb about the second wave of figures...check it out HERE! Details about Wave 2 and the BOXED set with Sparrow and Barbossa!

IMAGERY (22 Feb 2005): We have some GREAT detailed imagery (Photographed by Dave Myatt. Courtesy of Rebelscum.com) showing the first wave of the Pirates of the Carribean figures...expect to see more tomorrow:

NECA POTC Wave 2 - 7" Figures (21 Feb 2005): Wave 2 IMAGES are now trickling in. The first images are from Figures.com...the pictures are of the CURSED version of the Barbossa figure....AMAZING!!

NECA POTC Wave 1 and2 7" Figures (15 Feb 2005): Wave 1 of the POTC 7" Figures has hit many online retailers and some brick-and-mortar stores across the US. Mnay folks have raved over the new offerings and have high expectations for the SECOND wave to be shown at his years toyfair. Here is what we know about the WAVE 2 figures:

(courtesy of Spawn Message Boards) Series 2 is slated to include Elizabeth Swann, Pintel and Ragetti, and cursed versions of Jack and Barbosa in a DELUXE Boxed SET. The Barbossa and Jack figures are partial skeletons as seen in their duel. The Jack the Monkey is also skeletal and goes on Barbossa's skeletal shoulder.

NECA 2005 Line-Ups (2 Feb 2005): With the impending Toyfair just around the corner, the folks at NECA have given us a little taste of what to expect for this year:

"Since Toy Fair is coming later this month, we figured we should give you a preview of what to expect from NECA/ Reel Toys Action Figures in 2005."

Master Replicas (POTC): The folks at Master Replicas have recently released the Cursed Aztec Coin and the Cursed Aztec Coin Necklace from the Pirates of the Carribean line and we expect to see more of the same at the US Toyfair in February:

NEW POTC Statue for 2005 (25 Feb 2005): Looks like the folks at Master Replicas will be continuing their POTC line with a NEW Jack Sparrow statue depicting the Pirate as he disembaks from his sinking ship:

Hasbro (Chronicles of Narnia): This section is dedicated to the Toys that will be hitting the shelves of every retailer from here to eternity in November for the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia line. The first movie installment is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and this years Toyfair will have the preliminary offerings. HERE you will find news, press releases, images, and links to all the latest news from Toyfair:

More Toys for Narnia (4 Mar 2005): The folks at Figures.com have just announced that the team at NECA will be making 1/6th scale figures for the Chronicles of Narnia movies. With this announcement, this is everything we know so far with respect to Narnia Licenses:

NECA: 1/6 Scale Figures and STATUES (probably Pewter like for LOTR)

Hasbro: Action figures (5" scale and Deluxe), Plush, Deluxe Plush, and More

WETA Collectibles: High End lithos and Statues (wonder what happened to Sideshow in this deal?).

Master Replicas: Replicas and Electronic FX Items

Toys for Narnia (21 Feb 2005): The folks at Action-Figure.com have started the reporting for the Chronicels of Narnia Toys from Hasbro. They have a preliminary article detailing what is coming with this line of toys and action figures. They even have some cool images! Current images are of the deluxe line containing figures like the Minotaur and Cyclops. Read the full story HERE:

Hasbro’s line of toys is slated to reach retail outlets nationwide in November and includes:

Basic Action Figures (MSRP: $6.99)
Deluxe Action Figures (MSRP: $14.99)
Basic Battle Scale figures (MSRP: $6.99)
Deluxe Battle Scale figures (MSRP: $14.99)
Plush (MSRP: $5.99)
Basic Plush (MSRP: $9.99)
Deluxe Plush (MSRP: $19.99)

Press Release (26 Jan 2005): "Narnia is the film children and parents will be queing to watch this Autumn. But Narnia adventures won't have to stop in the cinema. Hasbro are launching a series of fantastic and revolutionary toys - that are set to be as popular as the movie - including the great Aslan and the White Witch so youngsters can play ou their own Narnia battles and adventures. Based on the second - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - in series seven of the books, The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis has enchanted generations of children and adults alike. The new movie is likely to recruit a whole new generation of fans and make the adventure accessible to youngsters who have never read the stories. The story is based on the mystical adventures from the world of Narnia and features four young children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who enter the magical land through a wardrobe, while staying at a house in the English countryside. They join forces with Narnia's founder, Aslan, the great lion, to battle against the White Witch who has cast her spell over the land making it always winter. Hasbro have developed an exciting toy line to compliment the film which features key charecters. Using new technology and re-creating scenes direct from the movie, the range of Hasbro toys will be just as popular as the film when they hit the shops in Autumn. The range of plush toys will feature favourite charecters and are perfect for new fans of the film,while the deluxe and basic action figures will allow children to re-create exciting scens from the film. Collecters willl also love the range of battle figure assortments allowing them to re-create the ultimate Narnia battle. Also look out for an adorable range of plush charecters and a very special interactive Aslan."

The team at Action-Figure.com have also had some discussions with the folks at Hasbro and have this to report as to what toys are slated to come with the release of the movies:

Toys for Narnia (25 Jan 2005): The action figure line comes in regular and deluxe, the deluxe containing figures like the Minotaur and Cyclops. Style-wise they reminded me a lot of the first Episode 2 figures... dynamically pre-posed with limited articulation. My biggest issue with the line is that I feel it needs to be slightly bigger to capture a lot of Lord of the Rings collectors. The Action Figure line seems to be more to a 5" scale than 6" and I think that could be a dealbreaker for some people. The PVC Miniature line reminded me instantly of Armies of Middle Earth, and Hasbro had a number of figures on display from the final battle.

Stay tuned right here for some great imagery of the upcoming Narnia line of toys from Hasbro.

Other Site Coverage:

Figures.com - Great shots of the Deluxe Line of Figures!!

Action-Figure.com - A load of imagery from the US Toyfair! Regardless, read the artciles and start the rumor mill churning!!

McFarlane DRAGONS: The folks at Spawn and McFarlane presented their upcoming Dragons line of figures at this years UK Toyfair:

Dragons (2 Feb 2005): We almost forgot to include this little write-up as well. The folks at Action-Figure.com have added some great shots of the PACKAGED Dragons sets. These look amazing...especially the Deluxe Boxed Set of the Dragon attacking the human!

Dragons (1 Feb 2005): Pictures were allowed and captured by the folks at Action-Figure.com have a wonderful write-up and a great number of images for you to enjoy. Stay Tuned here for the latest! Meanwhile, enjoy the press images below: