The Best of the Rest: My Top 10 Favorite Individual Toys of 2024

 

   To supplement My Top 10 Toylines of 2024 I present to you The Best of the Rest, a listing of my top 10 favorite individual toys of 2024. I find that I typically am drawn to toylines where I can build a huge roster of A, B, and C list characters (with the odd Z-lister thrown in) that are part of a series with lots of releases throughout the year. I was born in the 1980s, so "Collect Them All" has always been my mantra. The Best of the Rest is my way of acknowledging single releases or  that odd figure that's cool enough for me to grab from a larger toyline I really don't even collect. Who's eligible? Most any toy or collectible released in 2024 could make this list. Who isn't eligible? Any toy from a line I picked in my 10 Favorite Toylines of 2024 list. Remember that these are just listed alphabetically, not in order of merit. Many of the figures I picked this year were from properties with limited characters released, import figures I ordered to supplement other lines, or my favorite figures from lines that just didn't make the cut in 2024. Ready to pick out some of my favorite one-offs of 2024? Then join me after the break...

Evil Jack-O-Lantern Bone Brawler from Icons: The Yokai Series by Fwoosh Toys

   How many of you saw this guy and said "An evil skeleton Yokai with a pumpkin? That looks like something my boy Barbecue17 would like!" Well, you'd be correct! This is the only item from Fwoosh Toys that I own but this one was pretty impressive. Great articulation and seven swappable heads? There's a lot you can do with this guy. I'd love to see more Yokai from this line. This guy can fit in anywhere, though. He's versatile as can be.

Kalian Shunn from Cosmic Legions by Four Horsemen Studios

   While Cosmic Legions didn't make my top ten toylines this year, there were still a few great figures that I picked up and Kalian Shunn was my favorite of the set. Not only is she a cool and mysterious space bodyguard but she's also sporting some great weaponry and excellent soft goods. Oh, swappable portraits, too. I just love her color scheme and her overall vibe. This one definitely checked plenty of boxes for me. 

Kirby from Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by NECA

   NECA makes some nice looking TMNT figures for sure but the one that got my attention wasn't even a turtle. Heck, he's not even a mutant or a ninja. It's Kirby, a character from the classic black and white series based on Jack "The King" Kirby. This figure was a great tribute to one of the greatest legends in comics and an all around swell guy. I love when cool figures like this get released to fill a hole in our collection we didn't even know we had.

No. 77 from Frontline Chaos by Joy Toy

   Some of you might be surprised that this figure from Frontline Chaos made my list as back in my original review I complained about the price quite a bit. Now that I'm long past having paid for her, I do really like No.77. She's such an odd figure. A creepy and sexy nurse with some anime tropes? Sure, why not. I've had her hanging out on a shelf of Batman villains alongside Harley Quinn, the Joker, and Punchline and I think she works perfectly there. If you shop around, you might be impressed with the blend of plastic and soft goods Joy Toy is offering up. 

Orko from Masters of the Universe by Mondo

   I'd love to collect more of Mondo's MOTU stuff these days but the prices are out of control. That being said, Orko was a great release. Considering all of the extras Mondo threw in (including MOTUC sized figures of Orko, Dree Elle, and Daimar), though, you're actually getting a figure that compliments multiple toylines. The 1/6th scale Orko is a great blend of some of Orko's best looks ever and even brings a new look at Orko never before seen by MOTU fans.

Pirate Captain Brutus (Port Borgo) from Star Wars: The Black Series by Hasbro

   Having not yet watched Skeleton Key, I'm not familiar with this character. That didn't stop me from picking this guy up and absolutely loving him. A Shistavanen wolf man with five blasters and glowing red eyes? Sold. He's a fun figure that reminds me of the Star Wars aliens, bounty hunters, and cantina denizens of old. In an era where a lot of Star Wars stuff hasn't quite landed with me, I'm pretty pleased that this guy got me so excited. 

Prince Adam & Cringer from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Cartoon Collection by Mattel

   The Cartoon Collection seems to be a spinoff, or perhaps even a subset of Masters of the Universe Origins, and I just didn't grab many figures from it this year. I did grab this set, though, and I absolutely love it. Prince Adam and Cringer in a cartoon accurate 2-pack is absolutely a winner here. I never reviewed this one but it doesn't mean that I don't love it. 

Raphael as The Wolfman from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Universal Monsters by NECA

   Raphael is my favorite turtle. The Wolf Man is my favorite monster. What do you get when you blend the two together? A figure with a furry shell and one of my favorites of the year. I liked both TMNT X Universal Monsters releases this year but Raph as the Wolf Man was my favorite. A combination of creepy, crazy, and clever, NECA has clearly had a ton of fun combining these two properties and I really hope we see a few more before this line ends. How about Mikey as the Metaluna Mutant, Donatello as Doctor Frankenstein, and the Shredder as Dracula?

Tower of Fear from Mezco's Monsters: 5 Points by Mezco

Don't get me wrong; I had some major complaints about the Tower of Fear playset itself as it didn't match the directions and didn't seem to function as intended. The figures, though? I love the set of five Mezco takes on these classic monsters. They remind me a lot of my beloved McFarlane's Monsters from younger teenage years. The set is iffy but the figures themselves are really fun, high quality, and worth the purchase. 

Vincent Price from Toony Terrors by NECA

   NECA hitting this list again! I don't collect all of the Toony Terrors figures but I grab the ones I like and NECA's animated take on the iconic Vincent Price was without a doubt one of my favorites. Not only did they do a nice job of giving him an animated appearance but they added lots of extras, too. Their 7 inch Vincent Price was one of my favorites figures of last year, too, but he was part of their Classic Monsters Collection which was on My Top 10 Toylines of 2024.

Well, that's my top 10 individual figures of 2024. Who were some of your standout figures that weren't part of your favorite toyline? Who did you cherry pick or pick up just based on their coolness. Any toys you knew nothing or weren't familiar with the character about but that you just bought because of how awesome they looked?