Here in the workshop, we like to poke and prod at the inner workings of the fans minds and the toy industry at the same time.  We've done it in the past with the Maniacs series, and much of what you saw came to fruition, so we thought, what next?  Well, there are many lines that McFarlane has had plenty of time to pursue but never acted on.  So we figured with so many new and worthy players in the game, we should toss em out there again in the hopes that some of them may get made.

The Staff of MovieManiacs.net brings you their thoughts on this, based upon their own minds, and the requests of fans everywhere in part 1 of this interesting new workshop.

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Citizen Toxie: NECA and TROMA, Action figures of the Future!!! Troma films. Some love them, some hate them. Those that love Troma Films feel an undying thirst for all things Troma, those that hate them want to see Lloyd Kaufman and every one involved with Troma studio's broiled alive. Very few companies pull such a polar opposite response from the Fans. The truth though, is that Troma is a variable treasure trove of Action Figure possibilities. Lets take their latest, and perhaps greatest film Citizen Toxie. One of the beauties of this film action figure wise is that half of it takes place in an "evil alternate" universe. This allows us to take each figure and create "Evil" alternate versions of them. This virtually doubles the well spring of figures we can make from this film. Let's start with the obvious. The Toxic Avenger. Toxie could would come with his signature green handled mop. The Flip side of Toxie is of coarse Noxie, the Noxious Offender. Noxie would come with his signature double headed Red handled mop. Next we take Lardass, the Toxic Avengers Ward and Faithful side kick. Even though he doesn't exist as in the Evil world, we still can't miss the opportunity to have a figure of the Venerable Mister Joe Fleishaker. He'd be wearing his diaper of coarse. Next up, and my personal favorite of this line, would Be Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD. Kabukiman is a must have. Good Kabukiman would come with a parasol and be dressed in his signature Kabuki outfit. Evil Kabuki man would be dressed in his Black Suit. Need more figures??? Well, I haven't even mentioned Dolphin Boy, Mad Cowboy, or Master Bater. I've really just touched upon the surface of figures
available in this movie. And this is just one Troma Flick!!!! Troma is a well spring of Sick and Twisted figure Ideas. I met Lloyd Kaufman once and brought up the idea of figures. He seemed very interested in the idea… Very interested indeed. Maybe someday…

Phantasm: This movie screams out for action figures…. It really does. Just put your ear next to the box some time and listen. The first and obvious choice is Angus Scrimm himself. The Tall Man needs to be cast in plastic. The guy standing there, arm's crossed behind his back starring at me from off my shelf would be truly amazing. Plus, he's not the only one in the movie who could be made. Lets look at the second movie. A Jodie and Reggie would be an excellent Choice. Reggie would have his Four barreled Shot gun. Plus, if you look to the other movies, there are a plethora zombies that could be leeched from this series. Come on, the Tall Man needs Minions!!!! And Dwarf's!!! Can't forget the Dwarf's either can we. Now, the appeal for this line goes beyond just the normal 7 inch figures. Let's talk 18 inch. The only real candidate in this film for the 18 inch scale is the tall man himself. The dark specter of death himself wouldn't look half as terrifying as the tall man in 18 inch scale. Now, lets move the merchandising out of figures and into the realm of Diecast. I know I for one would buy a Matchbox sized Hemicuda and Ice Cream Truck, and Hearse from this movie. One last thought before we move out of the graveyard and into brighter subjects. Prop Replica's. Again, I know I for one would be all over a replica Silver Ball. In my Humble opinion "the balls" are one of the single most creative movie props ever created. I'd drop a couple hundred easy on a replica of one with blades extended to sit on my desk. Now, I know there are more idea's here. Lots more. With four movies out, and a possible fifth one coming, there has to be more then just what we've mentioned so far.
 

Bishop

Tremors: The TV series hasn't taken off, but the movies are still among Universal's most consistent top sellers on VHS and DVD. A fan petition has already been started for a Burt Gummer figure. And to be sure, the accessories you could give Burt are off the charts. Pistols? Removable hat? His L.A.R. Grizzley (the anti-tank rifle he uses in Tremors 2 and carries in one scene of Tremors 3) would be a must.

But there's a more important piece of the franchise than the humans. The monsters. Imagine a nice big graboid set with the triple-tentacles extending from its mouth, the spikes along the length of its body, everything. How cool would it be to own a shrieker with a heat sensor that opens and closes? It could even come along with a shrieker husk that one of its brethren has already said. And of course the same "heat sensor" feature would be great to see on an ass-blaster, which could come packaged with a graboid egg. Hey, how about a nice big "split open" graboid that's large enough to hold three shriekers inside of its open wounds, just like the one in Tremors 2? And an "El Blanco" albino graboid would be one variant that actually makes sense.

All of this, plus the fact that Universal has been quite receptive to figure deals in the past, places Tremors as a cool concept for a toy line, and one that NECA could surely do right.
 

Lunatic

Ghostbusters: One of the most beloved comedies of all time, it spawned 3 different cartoon series(The Real Ghostbusters, Slimer and the Ghostbusters, and Extreme Ghostbusters), with various figures of all designs and colors, some with scare features...so, with such a strong following for this series, why not make some figures based on the actual movies? There are almost an unlimted amount of figure ideas for all four of the guys: Peter Venkman could be slimed in his suit, and Ray could be made with his spectre-goggles and cig in his mouth, with Egon carrying his PKE Meter. Winston, similar in dress to the others, would perhaps work better as a boxset with his line drooped down into the River of Silme from GB2. Then, there could also be figures of Vigo, Slimer...and of course, no ghostbuster line would be complete without an 18" figure of the Marshmallow Man.

Let's not forget about other items that could be a made. A full model of the Ecto-1 and Ecto-1A, and there could be tons of props made...ghost traps, PKE Meters, the goggles, all sorts of goodies.
 

Severen

Conan: Barbarian, Destroyer, Cimmerian, Theif, Warrior, King. Action Figure? Let's hope so...

Conan, What is best in life?

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and have action figures and cool merchandise made to tell of you exploits...

That is good.

I swear to Crom if there's one as yet untapped film franchise that screams pure action figure potential it's the Conan series of films. From the classic Conan The Barbrian to the less critically successful, but nevertheless still quite popular Conan The Destroyer, and the oft promised third film that now seems to be finally on the verge of getting made (King Conan), the filmic adventures of Robert E Howard's most famous creation is emminently figure worthy. This seems particularly true when you take into account just how well these films have endured, not to mention the recent resurgance in popularity of not just fantasy films in general, but also toylines such as Masters Of The Universe, which would lead one to think that now more than ever a line of quality action figures based on the filmic Conan legacy would be a slam dunk as far as the fans are concerned.

Plus with the holders of the Conan rights actively trying to bring the awareness and popularity of the franchise back into full swing the time couldn't be better to chase this license down and give the fans what many have wanted for so long...


Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

So just how popular is Conan? Well lets put it this way, regardless of whether you've seen the movies or not Conan is one of those characters that everyone knows of, and outside of his role as The Terminator it's still to this day one of the roles that Arnold Schwarzenegger is most readily identified with. Add to that the massive fan outcry recently when rumours leaked online that the producers of the proposed third film were getting cold feet and were sick of waiting on John Milius (director and co-writer of the first film) and Arnold's busy schedule, and were contemplating getting a new actor to play Conan with the idea being to make a "more audience friendly" Conan film, or Conan-lite as the protesting fans dubbed it. The resulting huge petition and massive outcry from the long silent, yet massively loyal Conan fan base was so overwhelming that almost immediately the producers backpedalled and stated their desire to indeed work with Millius and Arnold to bring Conan back to the screen one final time, regardless of how long it may take. And those plans are, as of now, still fully underway.


The riddle of steel...

Conan, as played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is just one of those classic cinematic characters that simply demands to become an action figure, and is truly well suited to the task. From the combined two films he has had a few different and distinct looks, any and all of which have what it takes to make for a great looking action figure, or perhaps even more than one, and add Schwarzenegger's still huge popularity and you have a combination that should sell like medieval hotcakes. And as far as accessories go, apart from his traditional sword, he used a ton of different weapons, particularly in Conan The Barbarian, from axes and shields, to his many different pitfighting weapons, there's plenty of choice to be had.

But of course Conan isn't the only action figure worthy character from the two films (so far), with Valeria being an absolute must at the very least, while characters such as Thulsa Doom, Akiro The Wizard, Subotai The Mongol, Zula The Amazon, Malak, Queen Taramis, Toth Amon as both his Man-Ape and Sorceror form, Bombaata, and of course the legendary horned demon God that is Dagoth all possessing truly cool action figure potential, which could be easily spread out into two or even three series worth of figures if the demand proved to be there.

Also while usually I'm very much anti-variant, but with Conan there comes the opportunity to create 3 variants of true worth and utter coolness, with the same basic sculpts, but completely different paint apps, and that would of course be Conan, Valeria and Subotai in their famous cammoflauge battle paint look, which was one of the most memorable scenes from the original Conan The Barbarian. They could be made as a boxed set, traditional or exclusive market variants or whatever, but however they were to be done the result would be three stunningly visual and damn cool looking action figures.

Other possible Conan merchandise could include the traditional lunch boxes, a snowglobe with the mighty Conan holding his sword thrust up to the heavens, Conan related headknockers and so on. It's a damn cool license any way you cut it, and so with the proper care the possibilities are near endless.


Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad, why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me action figure immortality! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!
 

If ever there was a horror film that just on pure visuals alone begged to become a line of action figures then it would have to be Clive Barker's Nightbreed, for if any one film has ever had such a magnificent cast of onscreen creatures all gathered in the one place, all different, but all very much distinct and original in their own right with their own unique characteristics, then this is the film. And thats just on face value before you even get to the fact that Clive Barker's Nightbreed is just a damn fine film in it's on right, based on a damn fine book, and that it's built up a hell of a cult following over the years, not just amongst the rabid Clive Barker faithful, but also amongst both horror and just general cult movie fans as well. And it's achieved this due to a keen combintion of it's memorable monsters, both human and 'breed, along with the old standard of a great story thats damn well told.

But admittedly as good as the film is, when you say the word Nightbreed to someone familiar with the movie they immediately think of the 'breed themselves, about the various creatures and monsters and beasts, every one of which was individually designed and given it's own history and backstory by writer/director Barker, even if it's onscreen time amounted to mere glimpses. And it's that amount and attention to detail that made Midian, "where the monsters go", such a rich visual feast, that really had an impact on it's audience.

Action figures, not to mention other merchandise, based on Nightbreed could literally run and run, just for the sheer amount of choice of characters that are up for offer with the film. From the 'Buttonface' serial killer himself, through to the lead Nightbreed members, such as Cabal, Narcisse, Kinski, Shuna Sassi, Lylesburg, Lude, Leroy Gomm, Saul, Mexico and fan favourite Peloquin, to the transformed Ashberry, The Beserkers, or the dark lord Baphomet, to name but a few, there's plenty of supremely cool looking and recognisable lead characters alone which would allow for something like three whole series worth of figures before you even got anywhere near the second string characters. And even then, providing that the sales and demand was there, and as popular as both Clive Barker and movie monsters are I'm thinking it would be, then many of those would also make for some damn cool looking and emminently figure worthy sculpting choices.

Fact is any company that manages to nab the merchandising rights to Nightbreed is going to more than get their moneys worth just out of the sheer number of memorable and figure worthy characters & creature designs that it gives them, and thats just on a purely visual basis before you even add the name recognition of the film (which itself has in the past given birth and spun off into a very popular run of comics, as well as video games, book tie ins and other things) and perhaps even more so, of Clive Barker himself and the instant fan interest that his name and anything based upon his works also brings to the equation. So much so that frankly it's one of those licenses that it's kind of surprising that no one has picked up already.

So come on, bring the denizens of Midian to action figure form already, because my shelves, thats where the monsters go.

That wraps up part 1 of our workshop, keep watching for part 2, which should be done, oh, in about 8 months or so ;)

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