We find ourselves at the end of another year and it's time to thank all those souls that put this page together.

Don, our Webmaster who is constanly looking for ways to better the site, to help everyone get their voice heard and for the spawning of different pages such as Qee Vault and Collector's Corner. We depend on Don to keep the AFTimes.com boat afloat.

Toygodd: A guy that doesn't update often... It's more like constantly! TG is responsible for most of the product samples and prizes we have here at AFTimes.com. He is a true zealot here at the site. His love of the readers and the hobby know no bounds! If you are cranking out a figure made of plastic, stone or vinyl he will ferret you our, and post hundreds of pictures of your product, a great many landing on the front page of AFT. He pulls no punches and is committed to maknig AFtimes.com one of the best sites on the web, and he's a good dude too.

Captain Collector is the backbone of our Superhero coverage, and takes some great photos, and gives the kind of in depth reviews that collector's crave. He is a super guy to work with.

Robert from Colector's Corner: who knew that Mego was still so popular? People, including myself are still crazy about the products that Mego put our over thirty years ago. Every month Robert gives us smoe delightful views of figures and playsets we have not seen since we were children. Thanks Robert.

Of ourse the Guru of Geekdom himself, Randy of Ask Randy. Randy is the kindest, savviest (is that a word?) and funniest guy I know. Knowlegeable and level headed are his hallmarks. His wealth of knowledge and criticisms are honest and well thought out. We salute you Randy.

And last, but not least, our readers. You guys (and a couple women) out there that suppoort our insanity, and devotion to this site that we love, have given collectors a voice. Manufacturers and reps are sonstantly reading the site. We are told all the time: "Action Figure Times, year we read you guys all the time!" Whenever you guys comment you can be sure that the industry "eyes" out there will see it.

I thank you guys for working with us to make AFTimes.com a gteat success. 2008 will be a banner year for us, with new sections, and some enhacemnets that we think you we really like.

For now, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and onward to a Happy New Year. Thank you all

I remain your loyal Editor,

Umpire

Oil is making our beloved toys more expensive. Hasbro has started shipping Marvel Legends, Spiderman 3 toys and has begun the 30th Star Wars anniversary. Lots of stuff to buy, but not everyone is happy.
There are still complaints about the Legends line, paint ops not up to snuff. No comic book and still a buck more to buy this plastic treasure. Spiderman has shrunk an inch, and while the kiddies will be happy with just about anything that comes bearing the Spiderman 3 logo, we collectors are left to start collecting this new scale...

Toy Fair was a bit of a bust with the companies showing more to folks at the New York Comic Con than at the show where our reporters, spending their own coin, were left out in the cold.

Sideshow has been fairly quiet, I can't wait to see the Celebration IV exclusive figures. So that's something to look forward to.

Also, the Marvel Toys Indie line should be coming soon. I know that many of you are chomping at the bit to see what Jesse and the gang put out. Building on their experience with Marvel Legends figures, there should be some very cool product coming.

Transformers stuff should hit shortly, alas, Hasbro won't fork over any review samples so we're in the dark until the release mid summer.

AFTimes.com is still awarding more prizes than any site we know. We love giving stuff away, and will continue to shower our readers with tons o' Swag!

This hobby is about fun. Finding figures to give to your buddies, taking steps to complete your collection, hunting down a hard to find toy,,,It's all about fun. So, have fun...

We hope that we can help you enjoy this wonderful pass time and add to your FUN!

Thanks for reading.

Umpire

2006 was not a great year, but it didn't suck too much either. There were some changes in our hobby, notably that of Hasbro taking over the Marvel license and Jerry Macaluso leaving SOTA. Change is good. It keeps us from getting bored, and stuck in a rut. In the next couple of months Toy Fair will strike again and our fearless columnists, Toygodd, Randy, of Ask Randy and Robert from Collector's Corner will be heading off into the snows of New York to gather as much tasty toy information as possible to serve up to all our starving readers.

Star Wars will be big not only at the Rose Parade, but also with the Celebration to be held right here in Los Angeles, we will also be there to face off with the Sith and maybe get a few pics of women dressed up like Princess Leia in slave gear!

Then there's summer and another shot at San Diego Comic Con with it's bazillion fans and even more exclusives!

Oh, yes this should be a great new year...

I hope that all that frequent the site will return and enjoy what we bring to you. Information, rumours, pictures, video, podcasts, contests and tons and tons of prizes. Remember, we're just a bunch of guys like you that love cool toys and statues. Who appreciate a well sculpted piece of plastic, resin or cold cast plaster. Stick with us. Participate. Join in on the buzzboards, and the marketplace.
I kind of think of this page as a family. A slightly disturbed family from time to time, but a family bonded by our love for our hobby.

Thanks to those of you that read. A special thanks to those that write. Including our columnists: Toygodd, Captain Collector, Randy, Robert from Collector's Corner, ???Man, Neil, The AFT Hammer, and especially Don for all his support and making this site possible.

Happy New Year from AFTimes.com

Umpire
12/31/06
11:57PM

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AFT is always on the cutting edge of new technology as it reports on news, reviews and opinions of the Toy Collecting Community. For the past 11 years AFT has been serving action figure, toy, statuary and game miniatures enthusiasts looking for up to the minute news, and opinions from it's highly experienced columnists.

We hope that the addition of video coverage to our huge amounts of still pictures will capture some of the magic that is the San Diego Comic Con!

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