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McFarlane Toys strikes distribution deal with Bandai UK

By John Freeman on November 28, 2019

Bandai UK has secured the distribution of the McFarlane Toys product range for the UK and Republic of Ireland markets, widened the reach of a huge range of collector action figures beyond specialist stores.

With an offering that includes Fortnite, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, My Hero Academia, Spawn and more, McFarlane Toys is the fifth largest action figure manufacturer in the United States and has become an industry leader, recognised by many for redefining the standards within the action figure market, with a broad portfolio of the best of today’s pop culture.

My Hero Academia

Harry Potter

Game of Thrones

Born from a love of pop culture, McFarlane Toys is the brainchild of the Grammy and Emmy-winning producer and director, Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn and Marvel supervillain Venom.

Bandai UK Ltd is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in children’s toys and interactive entertainment today and has been responsible for changing the face of play globally, with brands such as Tamagotchi, Gundam and Pac Man. In addition to its own IP, the company has a long tradition of representing many very successful third party brands.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with McFarlane Toys, as we have long admired their product range,” said Nic Aldridge, managing director at Bandai UK Ltd.

“They are experts in finding and securing exactly the right properties for the High Target Collector Market while also providing a high quality, playable toy with more mass market price points.”

Customers will begin seeing the line at upcoming previews and can book appointments to see the range on the Bandai stand at the 2020 London Toy Fair.

• Bandai UK – www.bandai.co.uk

• McFarlane Toys is online at mcfarlane.com

• Buy McFarlane Toys on AmazonUK

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.