Hauke Scheer’s TOP TEN TOYS of 2016

WHAT-IS: Was 2016 a good year for you collecting toys? HAUKE SCHEER (hauke-scheer.de) shares with us his TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016 today (And you can too), in a serial feature lasting the whole of January 2017, as we look back at a year of toys! Share Your Toy-Joy!

"Andy invited me to share my best toy acquisitions of 2016. Some of these are older toys but they were all bought or made by me last year. As with last year the main criteria was simply about what figures gave me the most joy to add to my collection." -shared Hauke Scheer.

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #10 - Terrence Tempus

HAUKE SCHEER: "Yes, I know it is vain to put your own toys on a list like this. But what is the point of making your own action figures if you can not be a little bit vain about it? :-) Anyway this space hero was a turning point for me.

Since I started making 3D printed action figures I always wanted to make a typical 80s type hero action figure and with this guy I feel like I have achieved that goal. Now that I got this out of my system I can go on to make more weird (and probably more interesting) stuff."

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #9 - Doedica

HAUKE SCHEER: "Speaking of weirder stuff Doedica is another 3D printed figure I made this year. With her and some other figures from the same line I am going back to making designs that are a little bit more unusual then the humanoid super articulated figures I have concentrated on the last couple of years."

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #8 - Darius from Masters of the Universe Classics

HAUKE SCHEER: "The Masters of the Universe Classics line has been my favorite line to collect these last couple of years. For me they had the perfect balance between detail, sturdiness, articulation and stylistic interpretation. The line gave me beautiful updates of some of my favorite childhood toys.

However while the line still continues I feel my hardcore collecting days for it are over. I simply have every figure from the line I ever could have wished for.

Darius was one of the few figures left I hoped I would still get out of the line and he did not disappoint. The sculpt is a beautiful update of the previously unreleased prototype and a very nice example for everything that made the line great. "

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #7 - Crita from Masters of the Universe Classics

HAUKE SCHEER: "Another Masters of the Universe Classics figure I got this year. She is on the list for the same reasons Darius is. I also like how 80s her design looks."

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #6 - Masterpiece Hot Rod

HAUKE SCHEER: "Hot Rod/ Rodimus Prime is one of my all time favorite character designs. So a figure based on him always has a high chance of ending up being one of my favorites list. What I really like about this figure is how much it feels like a toy.

There was a Masterpiece Rodimus Prime a couple of years ago but that one was incredibly fickle. This one is a very solid figure with tight joints. Its just fun to pose and transform him. For me it is very important for even a high end action figure to still feel like a toy. And this one does."

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #5 - Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

HAUKE SCHEER: "I am a fan of weird and unusual designs and this figure is both. The bright colors, the cartoon hair on the helmet, the fact that he can transform into a super deformed version of himself all make this figure great. Japanese figure makers also keep impressing me with how sturdy their action figures have become in recent years. Gone are the times when the first thing I thought when buying a Japanese figure was "I wonder how long it will take until it breaks?". These days even collector's figures from Japan feel like proper toys. And I love it."

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #4 - Hot Rod Titan Masters

HAUKE SCHEER: "As I said before a Hot Rod/ Rodimus Prime toy always has a good chance of ending up on a list like this. I actually prefer this Hot Rod figure over the Masterpiece one. Yes, the Masterpiece one is more cartoon accurate but I really like how Hasbro reinterpreted the design. However the real selling point for me is the face sculpt. Even with having the Titan Masters gimmick this is one of my favorite Hot Rod face sculpts. "

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #3 - Kira Nerys Playmates

HAUKE SCHEER: "I am not a fan of super realistic high end action figures. As I said before I prefer my action figures to look and feel like proper toys. This made me rediscover some older action figure lines in recent years. Among those are the old Star Trek figures from Playmates. For me they have just the right balance between recognizable sculpts and old style action figure looks. I recently put some of my old figures up on display again but Kira was a figure I actually bought last year after watching some Deep Space Nine episodes again. I really loved her character when revisiting that series. "

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #2 - Battle Damaged Robocop Hot Toys

HAUKE SCHEER: "I have mentioned now a couple of times that I like my action figure to be actual toys. For that reason I am not really into high end collectible figures like the ones Hot Toys puts out. I would rather own a 25 Euro toy I could actually play with if I wanted then some 200 plus Euro high end collectible that is more decoration then proper toy.

However Robocop is one of my all time favorite movies and I always loved his design. Especially how his head looked without the helmet at the end of the movie. This is the first time I think a figure really got that look right. So I bought a used one off Ebay.

I have to say I was surprised how sturdy the figure turned out. This feels like something you could actually play with - if not for the fear of breaking a super expensive high end collectible. :-)"

TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016: #1 - Savor from Power Lords

HAUKE SCHEER: "This was the last holy grail figure I was still missing from my collection. I always loved half-man half-tank characters like the Mandroid from the old Eliminators movie. I also love that he is basically a He-Man on tank tracks. Everything about him screams weird 80s toy which is something I always appreciate. My Savor is missing parts but considering how much the complete ones usually go for on Ebay I was happy to get a relatively cheap incomplete one."

WHO-IS: Hauke Scheer is a toy designer from Germany. He specializes in creating highly articulated action figures via 3D printing. He offers a full range of service: Design, 3D modeling, printing and painting. His work can be seen on his Facebook page or on his website.

Hauke has also produced his own collectible figures via his company Deep Fried Figures chief among them his Mechawhale figure.