Thursday , March 28 2024

Is Jazwares The Toy Company Action Figure Collectors Have Been Waiting For?

We had a lot of new stuff thrown at us during the New York Toy Fair this past weekend, but I think the company that impressed me the most was Jazwares.

Now Jazwares is not new to the action figure ball game with lines like Mortal Kombat in the past, but I think they have really stepped up their game in the last several years. It started with their new line of Fortnite figures which they launched in 3.75 and 6.5” scale. That they did both scales is something becoming less and less common in today’s action figure world, but more impressive than the dual scales is that they executed both very well. They managed to give us detailed and articulated figures with a fair amount of accessories, all at an affordable price. In the larger 6.5” scale, that is not terribly uncommon. But in the smaller 3.75” scale, more and more we are told that just isn’t possible.

On top of all that, the Jazwares Fortnite stuff is something I have found to be easily obtainable at various major retailers. Imagine that, being able to go into a store with a reasonable expectation of finding what you are looking for.

Now in all honesty, Fortnite is a property that I personally have little interest in, something I think might be true with many adult action figure collectors. After all, the line is based on a video game property that is hugely popular with young kids more than adults. Even though the line itself seems to have been well done in multiple scales and released in large numbers at affordable prices, it may not have really entered the radar of those who collect action figures. This year, that might change.

Jazwares is expanding their action figure portfolio with several new properties, all of which should register more with adults. The first line includes figures from the new AEW wrestling league (which airs on TNT), the new competitor to WWE. Now for me personally, I don’t watch much wrestling anymore and have yet to watch a single episode of AEW. So I have no personal attachment to this line, however I was blown away with the detail when I saw their new figures in person. The likenesses were uncanny, and the designs and articulation looked really good. Wrestling figures can sometimes be difficult to make look good, because the characters don’t generally wear a lot of clothing to hide things like joints. I think Jazwares knocked these out of the ball park, so much so that I am actually tempted to go start watching AEW wrestling for the first time. They are also doing an incredibly huge wrestling ring for these guys to fight in, bigger than any ring of this type I have seen done before. If you are a wrestling fan, this is a line I think you will want to pay close attention to.

Next up is UFC. Similar to the AEW stuff, these figures, while still in early prototype phase, looked pretty good as well. I can’t wait until everyone gets to see those.

Finally comes Halo, another video game based line. Unlike Fortnite, this is a game series more appealing to adults. Like with Fortnite, Jazwares will be doing figures in both 3.75” and 6.5” scales.

Also like with the Fortnite, the figures in both scales seem to be well made with a fair amount of articulation and will include decent accessories. We are even getting vehicles right out the gate with the 3.75” stuff, a cool looking Halo buggy that is decently sized and only costs $30. Makes you wonder why other companies are releasing similar sized stuff at twice that cost??? Besides vehicles, the 3.75” figures are said to be in actual scale with one another so that they aren’t all the same size and they will come with connecting figure diorama type stands to help re-create scenes from the game.

Now since none of these newer figures have yet to be released, I can’t speak on availability. But my guess is they will be as widely available as the Fortnite stuff.

All-in-all I think it’s safe to say Jazwares is really firing on all cylinders right now. While they still might not be working with many of the super popular properties that are out there, I think everyone should take notice of what they are doing and how they seem to be accomplishing things that other companies say just isn’t possible anymore in today’s turbulent retail environment.

Check out more images for upcoming Jazwares products that were shown off during Toy Fair last weekend in the GALLERY below.


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