Randy here - back from his continuing battle to get pictures off his camera's memory card - and still losing. Normally I would wait til I had some images to go with this interview but I thought it better to get the word out there. Randy Falk of NECA was good enough to answer some questions during Comic Con as well as follow-ups afterwards. Here is the combined information with a some great news mixed with some extra detail about what's coming up in late 2007/early 2008. I don't think you've heard all of this before!

And away we go!

RANDY of ASK RANDY: So the new licenses that have been acquired by NECA are CONAN movie, PAN’S LABYRINTH, GEARS OF WAR and ALIENS VS. PREDATOR 2-am I missing any?
RANDY FALK: Yes, TMNT and Princess Bride and well that might be one or 2 more we’re keeping quiet on for now.

RoAR: I had heard about PRINCESS BRIDE earlier in the year (and I’m looking forward to a Dread Pirate Roberts figure!) but not TMNT! Will this be oriented toward the animated series or the original Eastman/Laird comics or a different source?
RF: Starting with the Eastman/Laird comics and we’ll go from there.
Expect more detail and texture and loads of articulation on these.

RoAR: Will PRINCESS BRIDE be strictly 7" scale or will we see 12" or 18" figures?
RF: Not sure yet, too early to tell, maybe some 12”

RoAR: Will action figures/products for ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 2 be available for the film’s Christmas release?
RF: Yes our Alien assortment will be out for the film.
Our Predator assortment will follow in early 2008.

RoAR: Will we be seeing Aliens and Predators from previous movies?
RF: Not sure yet about the 7” scale.
You will see a classic 18” scale Alien from the original Alien film!!! (SWEEET! RoAR)

RoAR: Will you be producing figures of only the creatures only or perhaps a human or two, as well?
RF: Most likely it will be creatures only. (Well, I can still dream. RoAR)

RoAR: Will GEARS OF WAR be its own line or part of the Player Select line?
RF: It’s own line, possibly part of the Player Select imprint

RoAR: Besides figures, what other product do you see coming from the GEARS OF WAR license?
RF: Too early to say for sure but we’re looking at many different items for this fantastic game!

RoAR: Are there plans for figures based on the the sequels to Castlevania for 2008?
RF: Nothing as of yet

RoAR: What's the future for the Poseidon Rage Kratos figure?
-Still to be determined, the future is in Sony’s hands for this figure

RoAR: What other music figures are you coming out for in late 2007/early 2008?
RF: Working on something with the Ramones – anything else is too early to discuss

RoAR: The NECA booth featured a Xerxes 2-up from 300; are we going to see more figures beyond him? Perhaps a series 2?
RF: No plans for a Series 2. We’re hoping to produce Xerxes as a deluxe item with part of his base. Costs are high so it’s a challenge to say the least.

RoAR: What other 300 based products are being produced?
RF: More prop replicas like a Spartan cape and Leonidas’s helmet
Also a lot of gift and accessory items. I am not too involved in those categories as the action figures keep me pretty busy.

RoAR: The Harry Potter figures have been a big hit and several other items are coming out as well. What are some other items that NECA is expanding into releasing?
RF: We’re very happy with the response to Potter from collectors and casual fans alike. We’re looking at more multi-pack and gift box-set type of items for the figures since the response to those has been good. We’re working on a cool little multi-pack for Borders for the Holiday season in the 7” scale

RoAR: NECA showcased two 1:1 scale busts of Eric Draven from THE CROW and Captain Jack Sparrow. Any future busts we can look forward to?
RF: Possibly, still in the early planning stages on this line.

RoAR: After the latest Cult Classics from THE LOST BOYS and ARMY OF DARKNESS, what’s next for the Cult Classics line?
RF: Planning another HOF series now for early part of ‘08
We have a few new CC-type figures in development like a Jareth and Hoggle 2 pack and Machete from the trailer in Grindhouse. We may follow the blueprint from this past year and release some CC Presents figures in the first half of the year and then a full Series 7 in the Fall.

RoAR: Speaking of Grindhouse, any update on Stuntman Mike in 7" and 12"?
RF: No updates as of yet – still in the works.

RoAR: Will there be another Hall of Fame release for the Cult Classics line? Any chance of a single carded Dr. Loomis from the original HALLOWEEN?
RF: Yes, a third HOF collection is under way right now. 2 of the 4 slots are definitely filled. The remaining 2 are TBD. Loomis is on the short list for one of those slots. (I keep hoping for a single-packed Pleasance Loomis figure, so I had to ask. RoAR)

RoAR: Will the Conan figures be part of Cult Classics or its own series? Will these be in the 7 inch scale as your other lines? Any plans for 12” or 18” figures as of yet?
RF: Conan will be its own series. They will be 7” scale and most likely there will be an 18” Conan and possibly something in the 12” format as well.
We are all really excited about this line and what it means to be producing the Conan everyone has always wanted in figure form, Conan: The Barbarian with Arnold

RoAR: If I may-a few suggestions from my past:

*Conan-Thief Outfit
*Subotai-Thief Outfit
*Valeria-Thief Outfit

*Conan-Camo Outfit
*Subotai-Camo Outfit
*Valeria-Camo Outfit

*Conan-Final Battle Outfit
*Subotai-Final Battle Outfit
*Valeria-Valkyrie Outfit

*Conan Pit Fighter(Multipack-at least 3-5 outfits!)

*Raiding Party Thulsa Doom

*When will these newer licenses start showing up at retail?
RF: Gears of War Series 1- early Spring 2008
Conan – late Spring/early Summer 2008

RoAR: Lastly, any plans of seeing more figures in 2008 from...
SAW?
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS?
SHAUN OF THE DEAD?
ARMY OF DARKNESS?
DAWN OF THE DEAD?
RF:
SAW? - maybe
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? - maybe
SHAUN OF THE DEAD? - probably not, I think we covered it
ARMY OF DARKNESS? - hopefully
DAWN OF THE DEAD? - depends on Sales/Interest in Krishna Zombie

As always, many thanks to Randy Falk for taking time to answer these questions!

RANDY

2) How did this new arraingment with SOTA Toys come about?
Guang Yang: When Jerry decided to step down from the captain’s chair, SOTA needed a strong leader with good business sense and a passion for toys to fill the spot, and John turned to me.

3) What will you and Jackson be bringing to SOTA Toys that it didn't have before?
Guang Yang: In short, if you trace the life span of a toy, Jackson and I represent the opposite ends of this line while SOTA sits in the middle. I bring in the insights in R&D and manufacturing while Jackson brings in the knowledge of the industrial trend along with the criticism from a grass-root level.

4) What changes will you be making with SOTA Toys, both in personnel and in the lineups?
Guang Yang: SOTA Toys is a business company above all else, therefore all changes will only serve one purpose, and that is for the health growth of this company. Everyone involved in SOTA is part of this organism and when SOTA prospers, we all do. Just like everything else in this world, SOTA is not perfect; it has its problems. And like every living organism, we have to constantly evaluating ourselves, find problems and make improvements to grow strong. That means make changes the way we operate, changes in product line-ups, and even personnel. If it is not good for the company, no matter what it is, or who it is, we’ll get rid of it. Myself and Jackson are no exceptions to this. Fortunately, at this point, the surgeon general Guang pronounces SOTA in generally good health, therefore not much changes in the personnel department and only some shifting around with our product line-ups. I’m sure what you wanted is the details, but since we are still working them out, I can’t give you details. However, watch out for our press releases, they are coming.

5) Will you still be releasing previously announced lines such as Now Playing Series 4, Nightmares of Lovecraft, 18" Toxie and Darkstalkers (to name a few)?
Guang Yang: Most of the previously announced lines are still on the slate, but some were cut. Although some might be fantastic to do, but we just don’t have good enough market forecasts to justify the costs. Unfortunately, we are not at a position with a lot of money to throw away; and frankly, throwing money away is a sin.

6) SOTA Toys has previously had problems with lines being delayed from release dates. How do you plan to alleviate this problem?
Guang Yang: The toy making process is very complicated. There are over 100 steps involved from conceptualization to delivery, and every step requires timely response and absolute clear communication. And when you multiply that half way across the world and several language barriers, every good toy made would seem like a miracle came true. Fortunately, good communications, vertical integration, and a lot of foresight in planning would eliminate most of potential causes for delay. Throughout my experience in manufacturing, I’ve discovered a lot of “pit-hole” in the process that causes delays, figuratively speaking. All toy developers had run into them, are running into them, and will run into them in the future. It was just very unfortunate that SOTA had run into a lot more than others in the past. But now that I open my note book(s) to SOTA and point all those “pit-holes”, SOTA will have a much better chance avoiding them.

7) Are there any plans for new lines and license from SOTA Toys that you can discuss?
Guang Yang: SOTA already have in its possession over 20 some odd licenses and they are all good! I never thought reading contracts can be this much fun. But at the same time, it makes juggling what to make first an extremely difficult thing to do. But for obvious reasons, we simply cannot make all of them at the same time, so rather to announce them now and our fans wait several years, or worse, cancel them after we announce, I prefer to hold my silence for now and commit 100% to the ones we do announce.

8) What do want to say to those fans worried about the direction that SOTA Toys will going to?

9) Will the company be devoted to toys, (action figures) or will there be continued support of chess sets, etc?
Guang Yang: Our passion is in toys and collectables, but I’m not going to rule out the possibility of doing mass market products. After all, every company needs a few cash-cow projects and SOTA has yet to find its own.

10) Will the company be mainly picking up licenses for movies and television properties or will they be developing stand alone products (kind of like what Sideshow did with "The Dead" line)?
Guang Yang: We will probably do both since we have some incredible talents here at SOTA and the creative juice here is measured in gallons.

11) What would be the soonest we would get a look at new product?
Guang Yang: The Street Fighter Previews are not enough already? Man you guys are hungry… Although our sculptors and designers are border-line superheros, but they are still human and can only do so much… We’ll have some new stuff for the public in a few weeks.

12) What would be the first line or product released?
Guang Yang: Technically this is no first line since the production never stopped… but if you really want to be technical the first line would be the SF Previews; that’s a project that Jerry started and then we took over. The Previews will be available in Q1 2007, and we are currently soliciting it. The quantity is limited, so better get pre-orders in before they are gone!

13) Will the main thrust of your marketing be aimed at more mass market or the smaller collector market?
Guang Yang: We don’t discriminate when it comes to sales, and to whom do we sell to do not change the fact we are making high-quality collectable toys. Our solicitations go out to everyone in our customer database.

14) How will the street Fighter re-launch affect the prototypes/upcoming listed releases?
Guang Yang: We will be making an announcement for that next week
15) Any chance of getting the Darkstalkers line made?
Guang Yang: We will be making an announcement for that next week

16) Will there be a change in production quality?
Guang Yang: Yes, they will get better.

17) Any chance of past figures getting re-released?
Guang Yang: That’s on the long list of things for me make a decision on, and I haven’t got there yet.

18) Will the Lovecraft line still come out this year as planned?
Guang Yang: They will land next week, so they should hit the shelves in 2~4 weeks.

19) what's the stats of the 18" Pnmpkinhead & the Micronauts line?
The pumpkin head is landing with the lovecrafts and Guang Yang: Micronauts are on the pending decision list for reasons I cannot disclose right now.

AFT thanks Mr. Guang Yang for taking time out of his extremely busy day to answer these questions for our loyal readers.

INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WILSON OF WILSON FIGURES AND CASTINGS.
Paul Wilson and his two sons have been avid model makers and diorama creators for many years. They were plagued by figures that had been discontinued and sometimes so rare that the cost to obtain them was prohibitive. As many creative folk have found it necessary to do, they decided to create the figures he and his sons wanted, and make some for their fellow hobbyists.