Favourite Toys of 2024

Finally we reach the end of 2024, and as such its time to look back on the year with a post that's not only become something of a tradition for me but also one of my favourite pieces to write for this site - my top ten favourite toys of the year. As usual the rules are simple - anything I've reviewed for the site which was released in 2024 is eligible, which sadly does discount a lot of reviews from earlier in the year when I was still sifting through my rather extensive (but now depleted) backlog. Honourable mention needs to go to the following toys below, all of which I bought this year but either haven't received or reviewed yet. Whether they would have made the list or not is another question entirely, but it's one we don't know the answer to.

- NECA Ultimate Chucky (TV Series) (Holiday Edition)

- S.H. Figuarts Monkey D. Luffy -Gear 5-

- S.H. Figuarts Bun Red

- S.H. Figuarts Darth Vader (A New Hope) Classic Ver.

- S.H. Figuarts C-3PO (A New Hope) Classic Ver.

- S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider 1 (The NEXT)

- Shokugan Modeling Project Victory Mars

- Shokugan Modeling Project Bull Taurus

- Transformers Studio Series 86 Springer

So without further ado, onto my top ten favourite toys of 2024!

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Endoskeleton (Terminator 2 Ver.)

Release Date: January 2024

RRP: 14080 yen

While the quality of the Terminator franchise certainly declined in later years, no one can deny the strength and impact those first two films had. The general consensus may lean toward Terminator 2: Judgment Day being the better of the pair (I personally prefer the first one), but both are very close to what should be considered 'perfect' films. Along with the strength of the cast, story and dialogue of the films, one aspect that's really stood the test of time is the robot designs and visual effects - with the T-800 Endoskeleton definitely earning a place among science-fiction's greatest. And now to go along with their various Arnie T-800 figures Medicom have released a fully skinless version in the form of the MAFEX Endoskeleton (Terminator 2 Ver.).

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX The Mandalorian Ver. 2.0

Release Date: February 2024

RRP: 10780 yen

The six-inch Star Wars action figure market has become rather competitive in recent years, particularly when it comes to the most popular characters. While Hasbro will always rule to roost in terms of range with the Black Series, both Bandai's S.H. Figuarts and Medicom's MAFEX lines have become quite the rivals in regards to higher-end alternatives. Multiple seasons also mean multiple renditions of characters, and now Medicom are back with their MAFEX The Mandalorian Ver 2.0 figure. After their initial Mandalorian release back in 2021, this new version of Din Djarin takes inspiration from the second season of The Mandalorian with modifications, improvements and a tonne of new accessories.

Favourite Toys of 2023

It's that time again! Before we all start to ring in 2024 let's look back on another great year of toy releases and ten of my personal favourites. As usual the rules are simple - I've only selected figures that were first released in 2023, rather than anything I happen to have picked up this year. I won't spoil the contents, but as per usual it's been a pretty big year for Bandai Tamashii Nations, who take up over half the spots. Given the focus of my collection that probably isn't all that surprising to hear, but hopefully there are a few surprise entries on here that you might not have expected.

So without further ado, onto the list!

Top 5: Toys I'm Looking Forward to in 2024

It feels a bit strange to be writing a top five post about what toys I'm looking forward to in 2024 when I feel like I've hit a bit of a crossroads with toy collecting. While I can't see me giving up the hobby entirely any time soon, I'm definitely looking at curbing it a bit going forwards - Hasbro lines largely don't seem to hit the same for me any more, and overall I'm just beginning to get a bit overwhelmed by the quantity I've picked up in decade or so I've been into the hobby proper. But nevertheless there will always be new toy releases that excite me, and even though my preorder list feels much smaller than it did this time last year there's some really great stuff lined up for 2024!

Some honourable mentions:

- Haslab Deathsaurus - I know people across the world have already started to receive him so he's technically a 2023 release, but the UK's have been held back until February so I've got a little while longer to wait before I get my hands on him.

- S.H. Figuarts Luffy and Nami (Dawn of Adventure) - 2023 was the year I finally got hit by the One Piece bug, and while I did pick up the new Raid on Onigashima Luffy to tide me over in the meantime (a fun little figure!) I've got a long way to go before I'm up to date with the series (currently sitting on episode 240 at the time of writing). These however? I'll take them all please and thank you. The only reason they didn't make the actual list is because they don't have a release date yet, but with One Piece celebrating its 25th anniversary next year I'm fairly confident they aren't too far away.

So without further ado, onto the list!

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Scarlet Spider (Comic Ver.)

Release Date: June 2023

RRP: 9680 yen

One has to admire Medicom's dedication to releasing as many different Spider-Man variants in the MAFEX line as possible. While on the one hand it is just them getting their money's worth out of the moulding/tooling, on the other it's delivered some fantastic versions of the wall-crawler so far. As such a MAFEX Scarlet Spider must have been on many fans' wish lists for some time and after the release of the Ben Reilly Spider-Man figure seemed inevitable, yet it still took another year and a half to become a reality. The 1990s are back once again with the star of the infamous Clone Saga, as the clone Peter Parker (renaming himself Ben Reilly) takes on this mantle after donning this makeshift costume.

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Huntress (Batman: Hush Ver.)

Release Date: March 2023

RRP: 9680 yen

When it comes to high-end comic inspired action figures, Medicom are truly leading the way at the moment with the MAFEX line. Not only have they produced an expansive range of both Marvel and DC Comics figures over the past few years, but they're also taking some surprisingly deep dives into specific stories as well. Among these has been 2002's Batman: Hush, which has now found its cast further expanded with the release of MAFEX Huntress (Batman: Hush Ver.). The story marks the debut of this version of Huntress' costume, and while it would continue to evolve over the years this is the one that future variants have repeatedly drawn inspiration from.

Favourite Toys of 2022

As the world gradually begins to ring out the end of 2022, it's time again to count down some of my favourite toy releases of the year. Sadly the rather extensive back catalogue I started the year with hasn't gotten any smaller, but thankfully I've still made time for this bunch of fantastic figures which are all worthy of joining your collection. As usual I try to make these lists specifically for figures that were released in 2022, but given the sheer chaos that is Hasbro's release schedule these days there a couple from the beginning of the year that are perhaps a little debatable. Not that it really matters - I got all these figures in 2022 and that's all that counts. So without further ado read on to find out which figure made the top spot, and be sure to let me know what your favourites were in the comments!

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Knightfall Batman

Release Date: July 2022

RRP: 8800 yen

The 1990s were a strange time for comics, particularly as it seemed like everyone's favourite superheroes were suddenly getting replaced with new versions. Over in Gotham City the Knightfall storyline saw Bruce Wayne crippled at the hands of Bane, with the antihero Azrael (real identity Jean-Paul Valley) taking the mantle in his absence. As Batman, Valley decided that Bruce's tactics were obsolete – donning enhanced battle armour and dealing with criminals in a far more merciless manner. As his Azrael conditioning continued to make him more and more erratic, Bruce is forced to engage him in battle to reclaim the mantle of the Bat. Now Medicom pay tribute to this pivotal Batman story with the release of MAFEX Knightfall Batman, showing off Valley's armour in all its 90s glory.

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Spider-Man (Ben Reilly)

Release Date: November 2021

RRP: 7800 yen

The various Spider-Verse titles there have been in the past few years may have shown that there's much more to Spider-Man than just Peter Parker, but back in the 1990s when comic readers were introduced to a brand-new Spidey he wasn't that far detached from our original hero. Popularised during the infamous Clone Saga that ran between 1994 and 1995, Ben Reilly (combining Uncle Ben's forename and Aunt May's maiden name) is a clone of Peter Parker that originally fought as the Scarlet Spider before truly taking the mantle of Spider-Man in Peter's absence. His time as Spider-Man saw him bond with the Carnage symbiote as well as take part in the multiversal Marvel vs DC crossover, though Peter would eventually return when Ben took a fatal wound from the Green Goblin. Despite the Clone Saga's notoriety, the character's popularity makes him an obvious choice for Medicom's "miracle action figure" line. MAFEX Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) is the next in a long line of Spider-Man figures from the company, and it looks like they have no plans on stopping any time soon.

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacy)

Release Date: September 2021

RRP: 9800 yen

These days numerous companies have gotten in on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse action but when Medicom first announced they'd be tackling the Academy Award-winning film in their MAFEX line, things were pretty damn exciting. Fast-forward nearly two years and several delays later and both their Miles Morales and Peter B. Parker figures proved to be worth the wait, so it's only natural that they should be joined by a third. MAFEX Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacy) is the first time MAFEX have tackled this alternate universe Spider-Man where Gwen was bitten rather than Peter, even though they've been also been tackling comic versions of Spidey for some time now. However since her appearance in Spider-Verse Spider-Gwen (or Ghost Spider if you prefer)'s popularity has only continued to skyrocket, so if any version deserves to join the ranks of the MAFEX line it's this one.

Favourite Toys of 2021

Another year has flown by, which means once again I'm picking out my ten favourite (plus one honourable mention) toy releases from the past 365 days. I started 2021 with an embarrassingly long back catalogue of reviews to do and I'm ending it with one too, but for the most part I think I've successfully managed to cover anything that had a good chance of getting into the top 10. As usual the list is limited to figures that were newly released in 2021, with only one repaint/remould slipping in this year. So read on to find out the full rundown, and be sure to let me know what your favourites were in the comments!

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Spider-Man (Peter B. Parker)

Release Date: January 2021

RRP: 8800 yen

Medicom continue their mission to produce as many Spider-Man figures as possible within their MAFEX Miracle Action Figure line as they continue to dive into 2018's award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Hot on the heels of Miles Morales' release comes MAFEX Spider-Man (Peter B. Parker), the Spider-Man of another universe who becomes a mentor to Miles after falling on hard times in his own world. Though originally scheduled for a July 2020 release, repeated delays meant this figure not actually make it out until six months later in January 2021 - making it the perfect way to kick off a whole new year of figures. MAFEX have released plenty of Peter Parker Spider-Man figures over the years, but they've never done one quite like this before.

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

Release Date: December 2020

RRP: 8580 yen

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released all the way back at the end of 2018 and was instantly a smash hit, so it’s crazy to think that only now all of the collector-orientated toy companies are getting in on the action. Hasbro released their Marvel Legends at the end of 2020, while Sentinel have announced the first of their own figures to be released later in the year. However it was actually Medicom who were first off the mark with the announcement of multiple figures from the film for their MAFEX Miracle Action Figure line, but of course in typical MAFEX fashion it didn’t quite go according to plan. MAFEX Spider-Man (Miles Morales) was originally scheduled for release in June 2020, but that date just continued to slip back until he finally hit stores six months later. Though the first of MAFEX’s Into the Spider-Verse figures this is actually the second Miles produced for the line - following on from an adult form of his comic counterpart released back in 2019.

Toybox REVIEW: MAFEX Batman (Batman: Hush)

Release Date: July 2020

RRP: 7800 yen

If there’s one toy line that feels unrivalled when it comes to high-end comic-style superhero figures right now, it’s Medicom’s MAFEX line. Sure they don’t come cheap and long delays are often common, but when it comes to those perfect comic sculpts there’s no one quite like them. But as nice as they are, my previous experience with the MAFEX line has been mixed to say the least. Poor QC is something often on the tip of everyone’s tongues, and after having one figure have both wrist joints completely disintegrate 30 seconds out of the box (followed by months of exchanging emails with Medicom customer service in order to get replacement parts) certainly soured me on them somewhat. However so many of these figures just look so good it’s hard to say no, and MAFEX Batman (Batman: Hush) was just one I couldn’t pass up. Based on the caped crusader in the acclaimed 2002 story by Jeph Loeb (which was turned into an animated film in 2019), this is the first in the line’s range of Hush figures which has now gone on to include Superman, the Joker, Catwoman and of course Hush himself.

Toybox Review: MAFEX Iron Spider

Release Date: July 2019, August 2019 (Reissue)
RRP: 7800 yen

After beating off the likes of Revoltech and Figma, Bandai's S.H. Figuarts line ruled the roost for a good while when it came to collector-grade Japanese figures in 6" scale. However in the last few years they've begun to face some stiff competition from Medicom and their "miracle action figure" MAFEX line - directly challenging them with their own versions of characters from Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and more. Discussions of inconsistent quality prevented me from buying into the line for some time, but as it begins to extend further into both comic and movie-based properties I've found myself more and more interested. While other lines are now turning their attention to Avengers: Endgame, Medicom are still trailing behind covering Infinity War – and among their releases this year was the MAFEX Iron Spider figure. But despite coming nearly a year after the S.H. Figuarts version, Medicom's edition of Spider-Man's hi-tech suit still got plenty of attention – not just selling out on release but also getting a reissue only a month later.