[Joe Moore]

Here's the second in my series of articles on media that needs new figures/collectibles. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to share who you'd like to see handle the license, and the type of collectibles you'd like to see.

Toyark’s “Figures Wanted” Spotlight – John Carpenter's The Thing

[Comedian]

Honestly, neca is my number 1 choice. Large scaled monsters and ultimates and retro would be great. Sadly I doubt many humans would make the cut for neca. I remember randy saying a while back they(neca) could never make the cult classics now they did back in the day.

Super 7 or even lanyard would be fun in 3.75 scale. Making beasts and even play sets a possibility.

I am still bummed about pop culture shock. I thought they had an american werewolf in London shown too. But that’s all gone.

Sota toys’ now playing going under was a big blow. That forth series looked awesome. Tremors, leprechaun. Man this thread is depressing. Lol.

My fear is that as time goes by interest in this will wane. I don’t know if enough fans are here to pay the prices that would be needed.

These creatures are some of the best to ever grace the screen. The movie was eerie, action packed, suspenseful and I could go on. The acting was very well done. This is one of my top movies. One that sadly newer generations are missing out on. Perhaps a renaissance will happen in pop culture and cult classics. But our only hope for this may be in...... funko pops.

[Tokyomeltdown]

Great article, the Thing can't seem to catch a break. After the excellent work Super7 did on the 'They Live' ReAction figures (hope we get Keith & Piper), it would be awesome seeing the Thing get the ReAction treatment.

Not really the biggest collector of ReAction, but there's no denying a cult movie like the Thing is best suited to cheap retro action figures.

[Plasticcrack]

I’d love, LOVE to see Neca/randy get the license. They’d justice to both the monsters and the humans in detail and likeness. While they’re not licensed, Pickman’s Vinyls has been releasing some pretty cool resin Minifigures and model kits based on The Thing over this past year.

[Black Arbor]

Hell, if we could just get the monsters without human figures I'd be okay with it (though obviously I'd love to have at least Mac and Childs!) I think it's silly that we can't get a straightforward answer as to why there's no new toys, if you watch the NECA Twitter they'll tell you if something's available for licensing or not (IE Halloween, NOES, Friday the 13th...), so what's the problem here?

[Ricno924]

I didn't know I needed a 1/12 MacReady until now. Would look great alongside NECA Ash Williams and... Gordon Freeman, lol.

[Dolemite]

The Thing is my favorite movie ever, of any genre. It's brilliant in every respect. I even named on of my cats "R.J." after MacReady.

As far as figures go, I have the McFarlane and Sota stuff, but while they've aged decently, I'd love to see a good, modern line based on it. NECA would indeed be the best bet, by far, but I'd otherwise take just about anything. Anything!

BTW, I made a MacReady custom back in the day: R.J. MacReady (The Thing) by Dolemite - HissTank.com

[Krydion]

That's a great custom RJ picture, Dolemite.

[Krunomo]

NECA combined with Trevors Groves awesome head sculpts would result in some good characters. That said, NECA would drop one or two things maybe a thing accessory pack and a Ultimate MacReady. They would say something about the line not selling well and kill it from there.

Mcfarlane would give us a bunch of nobody characters with limited articulation.

DST would potentially give us a bunch of characters but they wouldn't look as good as what NECA would give us plus the packaging would be obscenely large. On the bright side build a things would be awesome. Waves of three with each having a part forming an larger thing.

Thing would be cool but something I'd love to see would be an ultimate Mick Taylor from Wolf Creek.

[1morpheo1]

Fantastic article about The Thing and all related to the collect items. Im lucky to have the Sota diorama and the mcfarlane ones. And yes is a great property for to have all kind of figures and statues.

Obviously my love for the Neca's work make think on that to have ultimate editions from The Thing could be glorious. In second term, Diamond Select is doing an awesome work with their DC and Marvel gallery line, and it would be great to have nice and cheap statues from The Thing.

Offtopic, I was talking today with a friend about Neca doing The Conjuring universe, Anabelle,The crooked man, the nun, etc. We were wondering if it could be possible with Insidious universe and their entities like lipstick face demon, the women in black, keyface, the man that cannot breath, etc. Do you guys think that could be possible?? May be is another idea to include in this section Joe

Cheers!!

[Joe Moore]

Thanks for reading everyone. After posting this, I got a message from a friend in the collectible industry (asked not to be named). They said it's definitely not being licensed, and it likely won't be for the foreseeable future. I can't go into specifics.

Licensing, especially for an older property, can be an absolute mess. You never know what property is going to have issues beyond likeness rights. As properties get older, new issues will crop up as rights change hands (studio sales), or revert back to the creators (like Elm Street and Friday the 13th).

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1morpheo1

Fantastic article about The Thing and all related to the collect items. Im lucky to have the Sota diorama and the mcfarlane ones. And yes is a great property for to have all kind of figures and statues.

Obviously my love for the Neca's work make think on that to have ultimate editions from The Thing could be glorious. In second term, Diamond Select is doing an awesome work with their DC and Marvel gallery line, and it would be great to have nice and cheap statues from The Thing.

Offtopic, I was talking today with a friend about Neca doing The Conjuring universe, Anabelle,The crooked man, the nun, etc. We were wondering if it could be possible with Insidious universe and their entities like lipstick face demon, the women in black, keyface, the man that cannot breath, etc. Do you guys think that could be possible?? May be is another idea to include in this section Joe

Cheers!!

If the Conjuring stuff sells well, I imagine NECA could look at other modern horror properties to mine. Insidious is something that has potential as a collectible series for sure. The movies made serious bank at the box office.

[Black Arbor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

Thanks for reading everyone. After posting this, I got a message from a friend in the collectible industry (asked not to be named). They said it's definitely not being licensed, and it likely won't be for the foreseeable future. I can't go into specifics.

Licensing, especially for an older property, can be an absolute mess. You never know what property is going to have issues beyond likeness rights. As properties get older, new issues will crop up as rights change hands (studio sales), or revert back to the creators (like Elm Street and Friday the 13th).

Laaaame! I was just thinking too about that Big Trouble In Little China/ Escape from NY comic, and was wondering why Macready didn't make an appearance, now I know!

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Laaaame! I was just thinking too about that Big Trouble In Little China/ Escape from NY comic, and was wondering why Macready didn't make an appearance, now I know!

I don't think there's any relation to that, as the comic was 3 years ago. There has been The Thing merchandise as recently as 2018, such as the board game and recent blu-ray releases.

[dukefett]

Great second choice! I'd love something from this movie, never picked up any of the older items.

[Black Arbor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

I don't think there's any relation to that, as the comic was 3 years ago. There has been The Thing merchandise as recently as 2018, such as the board game and recent blu-ray releases.

Didn't the PCS Macready get shown off in 2015-2016 though? I assumed there was some weird pie-chart licensing shenanigans in place where DVD's, T Shirts and board games were fine, but stuff like toys and new material involving the characters was a no-go Maybe someday they'll get it figured out...

[Dolemite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krydion

That's a great custom RJ picture, Dolemite.

Thanks!

[Tracer]

Great movie but a hard figure sale.
Kurt Russel and Keith David obviously but the monsters are all over the place. The Spider would be an obvious choice tho

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Didn't the PCS Macready get shown off in 2015-2016 though? I assumed there was some weird pie-chart licensing shenanigans in place where DVD's, T Shirts and board games were fine, but stuff like toys and new material involving the characters was a no-go Maybe someday they'll get it figured out...

PCS killed their The Thing and American Werewolf 7" figures at the same time, right around the time they switched CEO's and shifted focus back to high end items only.

[Tracer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

PCS killed their The Thing and American Werewolf 7" figures at the same time, right around the time they switched CEO's and shifted focus back to high end items only.

Wasn't that when Jerry left SOTA or were PCS also planning figures?

Still want someone to do a new MacCready (didn't care for the one with the Dog Thing) and Kessler Wolf

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracer

Wasn't that when Jerry left SOTA or were PCS also planning figures?

Still want someone to do a new MacCready (didn't care for the one with the Dog Thing) and Kessler Wolf

No, Jerry left SOTA long before that. This is around the time he stepped down as CEO of PCS.

[Black Arbor]

Supposedly there's a new reboot of The Thing in the works at Blumhouse, hope this means we can get Thing figures of some sort from NECA!

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Arbor

Supposedly there's a new reboot of The Thing in the works at Blumhouse, hope this means we can get Thing figures of some sort from NECA!

Oh gawds. No more movie reboots. Just give us Kurt russell macready and keith david childs.

[Black Arbor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

Oh gawds. No more movie reboots. Just give us Kurt russell macready and keith david childs.

I'll suffer a reboot if it means somehow we get some '82 Thing figures! Not saying how to avoid spoilers but there's a strong chance we get a '78 Michael Myers in the next year or two from NECA, if that shakes out I think there's some workarounds for a Macready!

[Joe Moore]

The reboot is based on Frozen Hell, a long lost extended version of the "Who Goes There" novella that was discovered and released last year. I picked it up and it's fantastic, and very different than previous releases. A lot of similar names and scenarios, that were eventually changed when the final novella came out, and then when the movies were made. The opening is way more expanded and would be very different when adapted.

The John Carpenter Thing rights apparently reverted back to the writer's estate as copyright law allowed. The studio can still license the movie for re-releases (as seen with Scream Factory and Arrow video). But no all-new merchandise can be created without getting a license from Universal Studios, Bill Lancaster's Estate, and any actors you want to make figures of. Not impossible, of course. But I bet that it's pricey.