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Film & Television Series Toys & Collectibles

Heaps of Creeps: New Diamond Select “Nightmare Before Christmas” Figures Emerge from their Halloween Hiding Places

A Return of “Spooky SundayInstallment…

nightmare before christmas, diamond select toys, nix, Tim Burton
Halloween Town Denizens. DST Select NBX Series 10 and Previews Exclusive
action figures.
(All photos courtesy of Diamond Select Toys)

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (NBX) is the gift that keeps on giving for enthusiasts and collectors of all things All Hallows Eve. It’s spooky spin on holiday television staples like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and How The Grinch Stole Christmas seemed pretty quirky upon its release on October 29, 1993, but ultimately it has gained classic status among the classics it set out to spoof.

Though it never generated an on-going sequel franchise, the film continues to ooze oodles of cool collectibles based on the 230 puppets built to fill every corner of its miniature stop motion animation sets.

I could feign astonishment but it’s not too surprising when those characters were fired in the creative cauldron of Tim Burton’s brain. Though he did not direct the film (that was Henry Selick) his eerie but playful visual imprint is unmistakably present from spindly spooks to corpulent corpses. 

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DST Select NBX Series 10: Mr. Hyde and Corpse Dad.

DST Select NBX Action Figures Series 10…
Keeping in step with the abundance of possibilities Diamond Select Toys (DST) has just released a new batch of Nightmare Before Christmas Select Action figures featuring inhabitants of both Halloween and Christmas lands.

nightmare before christmas, diamond select toys, nix, Tim Burton
DST NBX Series 10 Corpse Mom is ready to roll
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Series 10 NBX Diamond Select Mrs. Claus, with choir elf and lounging penguin

This tenth series treats collectors to Mr. Hyde with Corpse Dad, Corpse Mom with Duck Gift, and Mrs. Claus with a Choir Elf and hilarious penguin pie. The figures sport multiple points of articulation and were designed by Eamon O’Donoghue with sculpts by Cortes Studios. They are boxed, along with their fun accessories, in Select action figure packaging featuring side panel artwork to facilitate shelf storage. SRP is $29.99 each. 

nightmare before christmas, diamond select toys, nix, Tim Burton
The Creature Under the Stairs and Cyclops action figures debut as a
Previews Exclusive package from Diamond Select Toys.

Dynamic Duo…
An even deeper dive into the film’s recesses brings forth the Cyclops and Creature From Under the Stairs in Select Previews Exclusive (PX) format. I think this 2 pack will be a real crowd pleaser. It finally makes these two sort after Halloween Town denizens available to die-hard fans of the film. They’re also designed by O’Donoghue with Cortes Studio sculpts. $29.99 will get you these blokes to adorn your display shelves.

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Sally and Jack 3 inch PVC figures from DST’s D-Formz Mystery Box format

D-Formz Blind Box Figures…
DST has also announced an assortment of Nightmare Before Christmas D-Formz. These are 3 inch PVC figures, which will come as blind boxed collectibles. Characters Jack Skellington, Sally and Oogie Boogie are presented in standard and glow-in-the dark versions. Dr. Finkelstein and Santa Claus figures are the rare chase figures, turning up only once per case.

These pieces come packaged 12 to a counter display. They were designed by Barry Bradfield and sculpted by Rocco Tartamella. You can grab ‘em for $7.99 each.

nightmare before christmas, diamond select toys, nix, Tim Burton
Dr. Finkelstein, Santa Claus, and glow-in-the-dark Oogie Boogie are chase figures in the Diamond Select Toys D-Formz blind box series.
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Toys & Collectibles

Under The Bridge: New Trolls Emerge from Dark Horse

Dark Horse/Dam Things Trolls Get 21st Century Bling Jobs

Those Dam Things…
On July 25, 2012, Dark Horse Comics under license agreement with Dam Things will begin offering a new line of designer vinyl Good Luck Trolls. All collectibles fans have no doubt encountered the lovable smiles of the classic Good Luck Trolls in some shape or form over the last half century. Their original countenance was created by Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam in 1959. Dam chose to eschew the evil Troll demeanor of the Three Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale characters for an affable grin and “hug me” pose and they quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.

Copyright legalities during the 1960’s saw the product go into the public domain in the United States with a number of companies issuing their own versions. I still have a couple of vintage Uneeda Doll Company “Wish-Niks” in my collection. Russ company outfitted them to represent different holidays and vocations, miniature bristle haired versions came out of gumball machines, they were ubiquitous. Reinstatement of the copyright came after Dam’s passing in 1989 and worldwide licensing is now administered by the Denmark based Dam Things.

Mystery Box Display with Series 1 Combinations (Photo Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics)
Collect ’em, Trade ’em…
The first wave of 2.5” figures will feature an assortment of 15 body and hair color variations, including metallic, glitter, and flocked versions. Glow In The Dark and Black Light bodies are also in the mix. The “mystery box,” with characters both cardboard boxed and foil wrap sealed, offers a random purchase experience and an opportunity to trade with like minded collectors. There are “chase” characters with lower find probabilities and those ratios are printed on each vending display.

ComicCon Exclusive…
Lucky 2012 San Diego Comic Con attendees (July 12-15) will have a crack at purchasing a black light sensitive green Troll with white hair which is limited to 1,500 and exclusive to the Convention.

ComicCon 2012 Exclusive Black Light Troll (Photo Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics)
Feature Film in the (Dream) Works…
With Dreamworks Animation announcing the Good Luck Trolls as their next feature subject (Chloe Moretz and Jason Schwartzman are on tap for voice work) the franchise should see a renaissance and a new fan base for the 21st Century.

Important Photo Note…
I captured these images at the February 2012 Toy Fair in NYC when this product was in pre-license approval prototype. Please check vending display boxes for actual color and surface combinations available in Series 1. Happy Collecting.

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