Techno Spawn Ad from January, 2000
McFarlane’s Techno Spawn action figure series (Amazon.com search*) hasn’t been on the shelves for over a decade now. Yep. Way, way back in the dark ages of toy collecting this line was new, and back then there were these crazy things known as “magazines” where collectors could learn all about new toys.
And, even crazier still, is the fact that “magazines” were also used by toymakers to advertise their new toys. As an example I present this McFarlane Toys ad from the January, 2000 issue of ToyFare magazine. I know, it’s a lost art or something. We really need a modern magazine for toy collectors.
Related articles
- 1996 McFarlane Toys’ Concept to Completion (battlegrip.com)
- McFarlane Toys in 1998 (battlegrip.com)
- “And now . . . Spawn” (battlegrip.com)
I tried. Zero commercial interest from toy companies = no ads. The budgets just aren’t there anymore… and I was (very) cheap! Any new effort would have to be subscriber supported and I just don’t know that the numbers are out there to support a toy mag, print or otherwise… which is a shame.
@Blake Wright – Makes me so very sad. What would happen if some of us got together and created a big annual book packed with interviews, reviews, and features? Nothing on news. Just articles that will have a longer shelf life. Would a project like that attract attention and support on Kickstarter, or would it die?
The Action Figure Annual? Hmmm… There’d be an audience. Just not sure how big of one. The book idea is intriguing. I’m actually working on one now. I do worry that the current world of instant information and the 140-character thought has soured most folks on long-form writings. I had thought about collecting the features from the year’s worth of LPM, adding a few more and then printing the results… but how many could I sell? 100? 200? Not sure that’s worth the effort.
@Blake Wright – Books are a hard sell these days. My own books sell 200 to 250 copies each through Kickstarter and are definitely not something to get into if you’re looking for a business.
The biggest problem with an effort that collects material from several sites would be coordination; herding bloggers would have to be as complicated and difficult as herding cats.