FX Show January 10 & 11, 2004

by Phillip Bailey

I had a dream last night about the new Lord of The Rings mini-mates that I saw at the FX show in Orlando last month. I dreamt that I was having trouble deciding between buying the kubrick-style mini-mate and the more detailed mini figures. When I woke I realized that not only had I just had the most pathetic dream imaginable, but this was also a sign to get cracking on my event review.

This was the second year I went to the FX Toy and Collectible Show (www.fxshow.com) held at the Orange County Convention Center. Last year, the show revolved around Living Dead Dolls. There was an LDD exclusive mini, that well, wasn’t there. Even the creators Ed Long and Damien Glonick were there, ready to sign their little monstrosities, or at least the Death Certificates we got since the exclusives weren’t ready. Last year, my goal was to buy an electronic talking Sauron, which they didn’t have. This year, my goal was to buy Kubricks, Naruto minis, and possibly a Pullip, which is a really neat fashion doll from Japan. Unfortunately, this year the show felt smaller, had less variety, and more Mothra and Godzilla than even the most die-hard fan would would want to see in one place.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I had tons of fun, it’s just that the glitter of the previous year had worn off. Also, by the time we figured out the abhorrent parking, the show had been open for a few hours already and the hopes of finding really neat stuff you can’t find in stores was basically dashed. But then again, I am impossibly weird and picky.

There were a few things that I can say were VERY cool. There was a group of Japanese boys selling gashapon capsule figures. And they had the new Naruto minis which are just so incredibly beautiful. Yeah, I bought a pack, and Kakashi has been coming to work with me every day since then.

The best AND worst part of the show was Play Along’s Lord of the Rings preview table. It was amazing! They had all of the new minis that were going to be coming out in the next few months. Ergh, which actually means they might be out now. I’ll have to check. The best ones were the mini Sauron, and the mini Faramir on horseback. YeyYeyYey! And even better than those I felt, were the LOTR min-mates. Just look at the picture and see for yourself. Can’t you just picture that little blocky Sauron sittin’ in your pocket, ready to whip out at any moment and destroy anything that’s annoying you? C’mon! The only bad part about the mini-mates is that they won’t be ready until sometime this summer. Grrrrr.

I guess the best way I can describe the 2004 FX Show is that it lacked focus. There was no “hot item” of the moment, and the dealers seemed to be lacking in imagination, at least, my kind of imagination, which means cool toys from Japan. I just hope Mega-Con in March will make up for the lackluster merchandise I saw at FX.