The Loyal Subjects™ (TLS), a Creative House specializing in Collectibles, turns the Industry on its ear with their lollapalooza roadshow starring their distinctive Action Vinyls™, an army building experience and Action Figure disruptor modernizing the classic toy box. A perfect Valhalla for geeks, cool guys/gals, and pop culture enthusiasts wanting more bang for their buck, taking retail and hardcore fandom by storm.
It might look like an overnight success, with the Blue Box logo, trademarked Action Vinyls insignia, and the 3.2’’ unique collectibles skinned with just about every relevant license popping up at retailers from Walmart and Target, to Hot Topic, to 7-11, to GameStop, Walgreens, even Rite Aid. Collector groups and fandom are springing up like wells all over social media. Many fan groups are taking to retailers, and even appearing on retailer branded marketing initiatives; Periscope reveals, Facebook Live reveals, retailers’ Instagram posts…the inmates taking over the asylum! With over 3k listings on any given day on eBay, collectors are thumbing through miles of techno-consumer-pages to find TLS gold. It’s hard to ignore the impact TLS is having on fans, the market, and retailers.
The Loyal Subjects has a distinctive voice, singing a unique tune in an otherwise less than extraordinary crowded space of gimmickry, cheap licensed skins, selling plastic by the pound, super hero exhaustion, and “chase your tail” licensing strategies. By offering high quality, genuine, fun, imaginative, and story-driven collectibles, TLS has solidified itself as a collectors’ Brand of choice. TLS has one rule: “Don’t patronize your audience! They are smarter than you!”
Led by their steeped-in-creative Founder, TLS has implemented a foundation, which encourages imagination and innovation over gimmickry and meaningless transactions. Pulling inspiration not only from the fun and myth-pelted pages of Comics and the like, but a palette also incorporating Modern/Post Modern artists, poets, musicians, as well as literary giants like Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut. Somehow this unique bouillabaisse of fine art mixed with pop art interests and TLS’ methodology of creating in a virtual bubble in its Downtown LA offices has produced a unique Action Figure disruptor, with its bare bones emphasizing high quality paint operations, great sculpt details, and a ton of articulation (up to 15 pts for a 3.2” figure!). Also rolled in are interchangeable accessories, collector cards, and rare chase items (some selling in the aftermarket for $5k!).
With a large character pool of villains and heroes comprised from nostalgia, video games, anime, TV, movies, and classic animation, collectors can tear down the walls of each world in an all-encompassing “Universe Without Borders™” in which the collector can face off with Skeletor against the Red Ranger and it makes complete sense in the Action Vinyls Universe! In short, TLS has turned the mature Action Figure enthusiast back into that fun, whimsical kid who throws all their figures into the sand pit for a battle royale story telling, imagination driven experience, only to dust them off to place them back into their modern toy box, until the sun breaks for the next day. TLS is making it cool to play again! And unapologetically! Get your hands dirty, have fun, make silly voices and tell stories from an enormous pool of heroes and villains spanning from Game of Thrones to He-Man. This is why TLS is quickly becoming the collector’s choice; fun, collectability and authenticity! Where most brands offer display, TLS offers play, and play is what is happening, no matter your age, everyone is in the “sand pit” with TLS Action Vinyls.
Jonathan Cathey, Founder/CEO puts it this way: “I wanted to create a modern toy box, like the ones we had as kids, like the one our parents still have in their garages or attics. Every Holiday you go rummaging through, and the floods of emotions and memories come racing back. I wanted to recreate that for collectors. That is the purpose of Action Vinyls – fun, imagination, details, and collectability…and the keys to the “time machine”. We wanted a return to basics, a toy box that I would collect or if my 10 year old self saw this on shelf, my mouth would be watering, most likely in a Kay Bee Toy Store!”
After 10 years, TLS is an overnight success! Years of pounding the pavement quietly, and then all of a sudden! After putting in its 10,000 hours, it seems TLS has made their mark on the Industry. Now, with expanded space at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Hot Topic and newly onboarded retailers like Best Buy and Rite Aid, it seems TLS is poised to further spread their vision of authenticity, and artful execution. The cat, as they say, is out of the bag, and retailers, collectors and fans are piling on.
Bandai America is now towing the line for Sales, Distribution and Marketing support for The Loyal Subjects. Bandai America will be a considerable growth component for TLS, increasing outlets, availability, and supporting Action Vinyls releases at a more prolific pace. With already millions of figures sold worldwide, TLS is poised to double that amount in a single year!
At Toy Fair 2019, be sure to stop by Booth 5385 if you can. You’ll see a 6’ Tall Night King statue from Game of Thrones. Can’t miss it. A great prelude for the upcoming Game of Thrones release in Target, Hot Topic, and other fine retailers this Spring. “It’s fantastic to be a part of a pop culture event like Game of Thrones, even in just our part, so hopefully fans can recreate their favorite scenes in the playful, collectible, Action Vinyls way. Or create new storylines. I for one would love to see Jon Snow match up against Predator or The Night King take on Skeletor and his henchmen!” said Jonathan Cathey.
