Josh Coldiron's #TopTenToysof2021
WHAT-IS: What are YOUR #TopTenToysof2021? I’ve invited some collectors to share their favs and you can check if they share the same designer toys as you, in this serial feature on TOYSREVIL heralding in the new year of toys in 2022!
JOSH COLDIRON: Oh geez, another year of the pandemic has gone by. At least this year had a little more glimmer of hope than the previous. Of course, the supply chains were messed up and things were often pushed back but I was able to get some good stuff this year.
So much good stuff I had a very hard time working my list down to just 10. Even the ones I chose I had some trouble trying to place them and had to put some extra thought into why they go into what spot.
Sure, it can be a great toy on its own merit, but sometimes the hunt, or experiences that come with it play as a factor as well. Thinking of how angry and divided the world has been, some instances of people just doing good factored into my ranking some toys on this list.
#10 TopTenToysof2021: Earthrise Soundwave
JOSH COLDIRON: This’ll be a weird one. I enjoy and hate this figure at the same time. I hate that I predicted this figure. It is just a retool of their Siege figure. I knew it was going to happen. They took a good-looking Soundwave that turned into a spaceship and turned him into a “brick us ancients” know as a cassette player. If Hasbro had any sense they’d just make Soundwave a subscription service that we get a new one each year cause in reality we are going to buy it anyhow.
Outside of these annoyances it is a great figure. Very much like a masterpiece you can mess with. There are other transformers I got that I like more but what was important about this toy was community. In weakness I decided I needed this toy, but I could not find it. Someone who watches my channel knew I wanted it and they found it, then shipped it to me for cost and shipping which was awesome. Thanks “Dex Ter” for that.
#9 TopTenToysof2021: Digimon Adventure: Data 1 (Agumon)
JOSH COLDIRON: You ever get a toy that made you feel lucky? Megahouse makes some awesome looking plastic figures, and often if you miss them on first release the prices shoot to the moon on the second hand market. I always wanted something from their Pokémon or Digimon lines, but I was not willing the spend the prices on the 2nd hand market.
One day I ran across an unopened Digimon blind box on eBay and looked over my options for what I might get. I really wanted Agumon, but I figured it was unlikely to get that one and only a couple others suited me. I took the gamble and when it arrived, I prepared myself for disappointment when I opened it, but somehow inside I felt like I was going to get the one I wanted. To my pleasant surprise this rare chance to get a figure at MSRP NIB and I get the exact one I wanted. It is a solid little gacha figure but being lucky enough to get the one I wanted made it a special surprise in 2021.
#8 TopTenToysof2021: Hardcore Mecha: RoundHammer
JOSH COLDIRON: I wanted this for a while but I hesitated and it was gone. After the fact I got into its sister line by Earnestcore, called Robo Build. I still would look out for it but never saw it again at a fair price. I kept looking at pics and videos of it, and I could not help but wonder if it would work with the Robo Build line. It was the same concept. I had to know. I asked around on the forums for people to measure the pegs, but no luck. I saw one site had it listed for preorder again but was afraid it was wrong. I had not used Alibaba to shop before and didn’t want to risk it so, I contacted Showz store and asked if they could get them.
A couple weeks later they hit me up and said they were able to secure some to sell again. Even better they were less expensive than the first go around. I was hoping they would work with Robo Build, but they do not. Even so they didn’t work, I did find I could plug in parts from transformers into it, however not really the other way around. So, It ended up being a cool toy, that you can customize a bit and thankfully I had the right connection to get a shot at getting it again.
#7 TopTenToysof2021: Box Cat Transport Series Vegetable Truck
JOSH COLDIRON: I was up in Chicago and shopping at Rotofugi. My kids love it there because they are discovering the cuteness of the blind box toys and some vinyl art toys. They often come stare at my glass shelves of vinyl art toys so I may have gotten them hooked a little young. I had wanted the Watermelon Box Cat for a while but hadn’t seen the toys in person till we visited Rotofugi this summer. They had a cool policy where if you draw a blind box and prefer one on display, you can trade it out. So, before we leave, we sit down and open all our toys. When I first opened this toy, I thought I might want to trade it out for another because on the box art there were some others I was already wanting. That all changed once I got to handle the Vegetable Truck.
First, it is awesome because the truck has a “Leek” in it. Of course, it is also cute, but the reality was it felt awesome. It was the most amazing texture I ever felt on an art toy. On Instagram I was able to reach out to Rato Kim and got some feedback on what the toy might be coated with to give it that feel. It was great that the creator was open and friendly. To me it is a source of inspiration, because if I ever get around to making a toy, I think this texture is one I would like to emulate.
#6 TopTenToysof2021: Micro Machines Travel City Battle Block
JOSH COLDIRON: This was another lucky find. As a kid, I loved micro machines. I had the poster on my wall, and I had the whole first series. I had a cousin who would find them and rip the wheels off them, but I managed to save some of them into my teens. Through turmoil in my teenage years the rest got left behind as we had some major changes in our life. I had preordered a toy (later in this list) that was perfect for micro machines and I wanted to find one of the pocket playsets that may go well with it.
JOSH COLDIRON: As I hunted on eBay the prices were all over the place for some that were fairly wore out. I got super lucky though and found one that was NIB for the same price as the used ones that were missing parts. I was so excited I did a video on it. I got to place the stickers myself and everything. I don’t think the rest of YouTube shared my excitement, but to sort of grasp this element from my childhood that was frozen in time was a very big moment for me this year.
#5 TopTenToysof2021: LITTLE PARROT BEBE City Corner Air Conditioning
JOSH COLDIRON: Oh lord…. It was just sooooooo adorable as my son would say. I mean, that is about all I have to say about this figure. I loved the capsule packaging it came in, and I love the design. So much character. It fell in this place, because I started ranking things by things I would consider giving up, and frankly I love this one so much I could not give it up. It doesn’t have a story, it is just so dang great though.
#4 TopTenToysof2021: Real Grade Hi-Nu Gundam
JOSH COLDIRON: Best model kit of the year, “hands down”. I have gotten heavy into building gunpla over the pandemic. I have built some solid kits and had some I wanted to put on this list, however this one was perfection. It is hard to imagine the design of 1/144 scale Gundam surpassing those of the larger MG series, but they are doing it. They are getting better engineering and just brilliant to build. The putting the pieces together with no issue yet seeing clever engineering as you go just raises up the experience of model building so much for me. If Bandai keeps improving, model kits might become my primary toy hobby.
#3 TopTenToysof2021: Devil Toys Perfect Master “Revenge Edition”
JOSH COLDIRON: I don’t collect a lot of figures in this 12” scale. When I saw this design, I was super interested, however I was unfamiliar with the company. When the master toy design Klim suggested I would not be disappointed I took the plunge. What I did not expect is how long of a wait it would be. Preorder Started May of 2019. I expected to have it on last year’s list, but I did not get it till this year. Was it worth the wait?
JOSH COLDIRON: Yes. I was told they are a small operation and focus on detail. This thing is so covered in detail and realism it is just amazing. Sure, the design doesn’t make sense. A human skill on a cyborg body, but it sure does look cool. Just think a cyberpunk Skeletor maybe and use your imagination.
#2 TopTenToysof2021: Dr Wu Prime Commander
JOSH COLDIRON: Here is where things got super tricky for me. I really thought this was going to be my top choice. I mean I really could argue it up there, but after lots of consideration I dropped it to 2nd place. Why is this micro Prime so special? Well, if you remember from early, I really love Micro Machine as a kid. They were one of my favorite toys, and I always wanted Micro Machine Transformers. Hasbro made Micro Masters but they were still a little too big, and I had a big issue with mixing toys of different scales as a kid.
JOSH COLDIRON: Dr Wu comes along 35 years later and makes a very poseable Optimus Prime, that looks good and is the same size as the WST G1 Optimus Prime. How big is that? ~59mm or 2.3” tall in robot mode. He fit in perfectly with my Micro Machine Playset, as well as the new Hasbro Micro Master robot playsets. While he is still a smidge too small to really fit in with Micro Machines in vehicle mode, I do find a lot of joy in this minuscule Optimus.
#1 TopTenToysof2021: JoyToy Source 1/18 09th Legion Mecha, Fear Assault Type
JOSH COLDIRON: Well, here it is. My top toy of 2021. I had interest in JoyToy for a while. They had multiple series of mechs that seem like they fit in with Acid Rain and have some inspiration from one of my favorite series, Titan Fall. It also seems their mechs often come apart and can be mixed and matched. I always held off because they have a few different scales and if I want to take the plunge, I want to stay in the same scale so I can mix and match. This design was what made me finally dive right in.
First, he is tall. He fits in well with 12” figures, so even if you don’t treat it as a mech you can use it as a robot soldier. I also liked the Gi Joe sized figure that comes with him that allows you to treat it as a mech. The details are awesome, and the add on have that same level of complexity you expect with standard 12” figures. While it really isn’t modular like their other lines it was something super awesome that was fresh to my collection.
JOSH COLDIRON: The newness as well as the sheer awesomeness of the concept and design puts it as my favorite buy of 2021. So, we have come to the end, but it is only just the beginning of collecting for 2022. May you find the toy you always wanted and may your year be full of kindness and special moments in your toy collecting that shows there is still some humanity in this world.
WHERE TO FIND JOSH:
coldironworks.com
behance.net/coldiron
instagram.com/noritoy
twitter.com/noritoy
facebook.com/noritoy
NoriMovingPictures YouTube Channel
TOP TEN TOY LISTS ON TOYSREVIL:
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2020
#TOPTENTOYSOF2019
#TOPTENTOYSOF2018
#TOPTENTOYSOF2017
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016
#TOPTENTOYS2015
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2014
JOSH COLDIRON: Oh geez, another year of the pandemic has gone by. At least this year had a little more glimmer of hope than the previous. Of course, the supply chains were messed up and things were often pushed back but I was able to get some good stuff this year.
So much good stuff I had a very hard time working my list down to just 10. Even the ones I chose I had some trouble trying to place them and had to put some extra thought into why they go into what spot.
Sure, it can be a great toy on its own merit, but sometimes the hunt, or experiences that come with it play as a factor as well. Thinking of how angry and divided the world has been, some instances of people just doing good factored into my ranking some toys on this list.
#10 TopTenToysof2021: Earthrise Soundwave
JOSH COLDIRON: This’ll be a weird one. I enjoy and hate this figure at the same time. I hate that I predicted this figure. It is just a retool of their Siege figure. I knew it was going to happen. They took a good-looking Soundwave that turned into a spaceship and turned him into a “brick us ancients” know as a cassette player. If Hasbro had any sense they’d just make Soundwave a subscription service that we get a new one each year cause in reality we are going to buy it anyhow.
Outside of these annoyances it is a great figure. Very much like a masterpiece you can mess with. There are other transformers I got that I like more but what was important about this toy was community. In weakness I decided I needed this toy, but I could not find it. Someone who watches my channel knew I wanted it and they found it, then shipped it to me for cost and shipping which was awesome. Thanks “Dex Ter” for that.
#9 TopTenToysof2021: Digimon Adventure: Data 1 (Agumon)
JOSH COLDIRON: You ever get a toy that made you feel lucky? Megahouse makes some awesome looking plastic figures, and often if you miss them on first release the prices shoot to the moon on the second hand market. I always wanted something from their Pokémon or Digimon lines, but I was not willing the spend the prices on the 2nd hand market.
One day I ran across an unopened Digimon blind box on eBay and looked over my options for what I might get. I really wanted Agumon, but I figured it was unlikely to get that one and only a couple others suited me. I took the gamble and when it arrived, I prepared myself for disappointment when I opened it, but somehow inside I felt like I was going to get the one I wanted. To my pleasant surprise this rare chance to get a figure at MSRP NIB and I get the exact one I wanted. It is a solid little gacha figure but being lucky enough to get the one I wanted made it a special surprise in 2021.
#8 TopTenToysof2021: Hardcore Mecha: RoundHammer
JOSH COLDIRON: I wanted this for a while but I hesitated and it was gone. After the fact I got into its sister line by Earnestcore, called Robo Build. I still would look out for it but never saw it again at a fair price. I kept looking at pics and videos of it, and I could not help but wonder if it would work with the Robo Build line. It was the same concept. I had to know. I asked around on the forums for people to measure the pegs, but no luck. I saw one site had it listed for preorder again but was afraid it was wrong. I had not used Alibaba to shop before and didn’t want to risk it so, I contacted Showz store and asked if they could get them.
A couple weeks later they hit me up and said they were able to secure some to sell again. Even better they were less expensive than the first go around. I was hoping they would work with Robo Build, but they do not. Even so they didn’t work, I did find I could plug in parts from transformers into it, however not really the other way around. So, It ended up being a cool toy, that you can customize a bit and thankfully I had the right connection to get a shot at getting it again.
#7 TopTenToysof2021: Box Cat Transport Series Vegetable Truck
JOSH COLDIRON: I was up in Chicago and shopping at Rotofugi. My kids love it there because they are discovering the cuteness of the blind box toys and some vinyl art toys. They often come stare at my glass shelves of vinyl art toys so I may have gotten them hooked a little young. I had wanted the Watermelon Box Cat for a while but hadn’t seen the toys in person till we visited Rotofugi this summer. They had a cool policy where if you draw a blind box and prefer one on display, you can trade it out. So, before we leave, we sit down and open all our toys. When I first opened this toy, I thought I might want to trade it out for another because on the box art there were some others I was already wanting. That all changed once I got to handle the Vegetable Truck.
First, it is awesome because the truck has a “Leek” in it. Of course, it is also cute, but the reality was it felt awesome. It was the most amazing texture I ever felt on an art toy. On Instagram I was able to reach out to Rato Kim and got some feedback on what the toy might be coated with to give it that feel. It was great that the creator was open and friendly. To me it is a source of inspiration, because if I ever get around to making a toy, I think this texture is one I would like to emulate.
#6 TopTenToysof2021: Micro Machines Travel City Battle Block
JOSH COLDIRON: This was another lucky find. As a kid, I loved micro machines. I had the poster on my wall, and I had the whole first series. I had a cousin who would find them and rip the wheels off them, but I managed to save some of them into my teens. Through turmoil in my teenage years the rest got left behind as we had some major changes in our life. I had preordered a toy (later in this list) that was perfect for micro machines and I wanted to find one of the pocket playsets that may go well with it.
JOSH COLDIRON: As I hunted on eBay the prices were all over the place for some that were fairly wore out. I got super lucky though and found one that was NIB for the same price as the used ones that were missing parts. I was so excited I did a video on it. I got to place the stickers myself and everything. I don’t think the rest of YouTube shared my excitement, but to sort of grasp this element from my childhood that was frozen in time was a very big moment for me this year.
#5 TopTenToysof2021: LITTLE PARROT BEBE City Corner Air Conditioning
JOSH COLDIRON: Oh lord…. It was just sooooooo adorable as my son would say. I mean, that is about all I have to say about this figure. I loved the capsule packaging it came in, and I love the design. So much character. It fell in this place, because I started ranking things by things I would consider giving up, and frankly I love this one so much I could not give it up. It doesn’t have a story, it is just so dang great though.
#4 TopTenToysof2021: Real Grade Hi-Nu Gundam
JOSH COLDIRON: Best model kit of the year, “hands down”. I have gotten heavy into building gunpla over the pandemic. I have built some solid kits and had some I wanted to put on this list, however this one was perfection. It is hard to imagine the design of 1/144 scale Gundam surpassing those of the larger MG series, but they are doing it. They are getting better engineering and just brilliant to build. The putting the pieces together with no issue yet seeing clever engineering as you go just raises up the experience of model building so much for me. If Bandai keeps improving, model kits might become my primary toy hobby.
#3 TopTenToysof2021: Devil Toys Perfect Master “Revenge Edition”
JOSH COLDIRON: I don’t collect a lot of figures in this 12” scale. When I saw this design, I was super interested, however I was unfamiliar with the company. When the master toy design Klim suggested I would not be disappointed I took the plunge. What I did not expect is how long of a wait it would be. Preorder Started May of 2019. I expected to have it on last year’s list, but I did not get it till this year. Was it worth the wait?
JOSH COLDIRON: Yes. I was told they are a small operation and focus on detail. This thing is so covered in detail and realism it is just amazing. Sure, the design doesn’t make sense. A human skill on a cyborg body, but it sure does look cool. Just think a cyberpunk Skeletor maybe and use your imagination.
#2 TopTenToysof2021: Dr Wu Prime Commander
JOSH COLDIRON: Here is where things got super tricky for me. I really thought this was going to be my top choice. I mean I really could argue it up there, but after lots of consideration I dropped it to 2nd place. Why is this micro Prime so special? Well, if you remember from early, I really love Micro Machine as a kid. They were one of my favorite toys, and I always wanted Micro Machine Transformers. Hasbro made Micro Masters but they were still a little too big, and I had a big issue with mixing toys of different scales as a kid.
JOSH COLDIRON: Dr Wu comes along 35 years later and makes a very poseable Optimus Prime, that looks good and is the same size as the WST G1 Optimus Prime. How big is that? ~59mm or 2.3” tall in robot mode. He fit in perfectly with my Micro Machine Playset, as well as the new Hasbro Micro Master robot playsets. While he is still a smidge too small to really fit in with Micro Machines in vehicle mode, I do find a lot of joy in this minuscule Optimus.
#1 TopTenToysof2021: JoyToy Source 1/18 09th Legion Mecha, Fear Assault Type
JOSH COLDIRON: Well, here it is. My top toy of 2021. I had interest in JoyToy for a while. They had multiple series of mechs that seem like they fit in with Acid Rain and have some inspiration from one of my favorite series, Titan Fall. It also seems their mechs often come apart and can be mixed and matched. I always held off because they have a few different scales and if I want to take the plunge, I want to stay in the same scale so I can mix and match. This design was what made me finally dive right in.
First, he is tall. He fits in well with 12” figures, so even if you don’t treat it as a mech you can use it as a robot soldier. I also liked the Gi Joe sized figure that comes with him that allows you to treat it as a mech. The details are awesome, and the add on have that same level of complexity you expect with standard 12” figures. While it really isn’t modular like their other lines it was something super awesome that was fresh to my collection.
JOSH COLDIRON: The newness as well as the sheer awesomeness of the concept and design puts it as my favorite buy of 2021. So, we have come to the end, but it is only just the beginning of collecting for 2022. May you find the toy you always wanted and may your year be full of kindness and special moments in your toy collecting that shows there is still some humanity in this world.
coldironworks.com
behance.net/coldiron
instagram.com/noritoy
twitter.com/noritoy
facebook.com/noritoy
NoriMovingPictures YouTube Channel
TOP TEN TOY LISTS ON TOYSREVIL:
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2020
#TOPTENTOYSOF2019
#TOPTENTOYSOF2018
#TOPTENTOYSOF2017
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2016
#TOPTENTOYS2015
TOP TEN TOYS OF 2014
