Whlie at the New York Toy Fair, I spoke with Jack Westercamp, Director of Marketing and a Category Manager for Quantum Mechanix (QMx). He took me around the booth and showed me the products that QMx has to offer.
Mike – I know your company has a variety with what you offer collectors, what are some the types that QMx specializes in?
Jack – So we have our 1/6 line, which we call our Master Series. It started a couple of years ago with Malcolm Reynolds and within 2-3 years, we now have about 2 dozen different 1/6 scale figures in development. Next month, we will be releasing the Captain Jean Luc Picard. We are really excited about it and that commemorates the 30th anniversary of STAR TREK: The Next Generation (TNG). We also have STAR TREK: The Original Series (TOS), STAR TREK: BEYOND, and STAR TREK: WRATH OF KHAN.
On the other side of the booth, we have our Q-Fig line that has been really successful. That debuted about 4 years ago (originally) called Q-Pops that evolved into Q-Figs. We have them in DC, Marvel, Harry Potter, and we are releasing Iron Man next quarter. The Q-Figs are in Hot Topic, Barnes and Noble…we sell them to hobby stores, comic book shops, and through our website. We are super excited about those because unlike other vinyl figures, their poses are in dynamic action. They’re standing still but they look like kinetic energy. The Q-Line is fun and they’re doing really well for us.
Mike – As far as the STAR TREK line, is there a process that you go through to choose which ones you’ll make or are you just starting with the Captains and going from there?
Jack – We are starting with the Captains and we just released Bones McCoy. We started with Kirk & Spock and those exclusive editions launched last year and they’re already sold out, then we launched Bones. We now have Scotty and Sulu releasing later this year. Again, Jumping with TNG, we have Data and Picard and then we will be releasing WRATH OF KAHN and STAR TREK: BEYOND soon.
Mike – I see that there are some other 1/6 scale figures on display here as well
Jack – We’ve got JUSTIFIED and SUPERNATURAL. This year is also the 30th anniversary of THE PRINCESS BRIDE so we’re going to commemorate that as well. We’ll be launching SUPERNATURAL with Dean next quarter. Likewise, there will be a standard version and an exclusive version will have additional hands and accessories so we are very excited about that. Our SUPERNATURAL fan base is just phenomenal. We released some challenge coins that did very well for SUPERNATURAL. Also, we have a line of plush toys that are called Q-Pals. They are inspired by the look of our Q-Figs. Those have been just flying off the shelves and are going in a second run of production. We also have SUPERNATURAL Home Goods like the mats. Those are being released under our Geek Home brand.
Mike – I’m a big fan of the 1/6 scale stuff, and I’m noticing that the detail on your figures is amazing. With some of what you’re offering is there any exclusive version that might have different accessories or a different look?
Jack – With Bones McCoy, we have included a different tunic top. With Picard, he will be coming with a phaser rifle and couple of other accessories.
Mike – I see you also do scale collectible models?
Jack – So 2017 is going to focus on a scaled space vehicle and we recently acquired the STAR WARS license in a few different categories. Scale replicas being one of them so it just made sense to start with the most iconic spaceship in pop culture[the Millennium Falcon]. We literally just received this from our model shop in Florida by artists who actually have worked on movie miniatures and props. This will be released later this year but I don’t have a firm release date or price yet.
Jack – In regards to our 1/6 scale line, we like to believe that we are very competitive with pricing compared to the competitors while staying equal or better in quality.
Mike – When I saw the Malcolm Reynolds figure was announced, It made me highly interested in it
Jack – We are excited that the Jane Cobb figure comes out next quarter as well.
Mike – Are you going to be definitely expanding that for all of the Brown-coats out there?
Jack – We hope to, yes.
Mike – I’ve seen this Batarang from BATMAN V SUPERMAN on various sites and I love the design.
Jack – Its just shipping this week and the first run is already sold out so we are going into production again. It’s a cool, heavy, and substantial piece. The wing is held on the base by magnets. There is leather on the base as well. Also this Planet Express from Futurama is something we provided to Loot Crate last year in a smaller scale. It was so popular that we decided to create a larger scale for collectors and it features a light-up function.
I want to thank Jack and QMx for speaking with me about their products and showing me around the booth. They have a killer line-up and a variety of things releasing in the future for collectors.
Photos by Michael Madison
