ToyLanta 2022: A Con Review!

On the action-packed weekend of March 18-20 of 2022 came the best action figure convention of the year, ToyLanta*!

Here is just a slice of what the show had to offer this year...

ToyLanta 2022 was held at the Hilton Marriott in Marietta, GA. It ran from March 18-20 on two floors. There was a top showroom, two large rooms underneath, and many smaller rooms loaded with toy madness! Here is an eclectic table of from toy customizers/makers, Mountain Town Toys!

There was a Barbie room where I got to meet some fellow hair rooters. This was actually quite an awesome room and had many useful supplements and knick-knacks for the 1/6 action figure customizer! Above are some custom rooted braided Kens by Patrice; I know how much effort goes into these so I had much respect for the work. You can find more of her work on Instagram #idolledit4u.

One of the rooms sold some nice diorama pieces for 1/12 Godzilla figures! I did not buy any of these, but I will certainly keep them in mind when I eventually focus more on my Ultraman/Kaiju figures.

Apparently this highly popular Facebook group for Mythic Legions decided to make a big presence at the show. For anyone who does not know, action figure studio Four Horsemen have a line called Mythic Legions. They are a 1/12 line of fully poseable, highly modular fantasy action figures. Sadly, they are top $$$ on the aftermarket.

The same dealer selling the Godzilla stuff had this nice diorama showcasing his light-up skills with Templars vs. demons! Mythic Legions are very similar in quality to Mattel's DC Universe Classics. They are durable and playable, and you do not have to worry about ripping the plastic with each new pose.

There was a room full of these glass cases presenting custom Mythic Legions. I highly doubt these were very playable (a huge turnoff for me) but these did look super sleek. The two headed cyclops and Cthulhu-esque creature in the back really caught my eye.

Here are some nods to various properties. The Grinch in the center was a fan favorite.

I was unaware if these were customs or not, but I could not find one decently priced figure from this brand! I think the only way for me to get into Mythic Legions would be for me to drop one of my existing toy lines... or possibly two!

Some of these custom heads were $50 and up. Although very nice, I would be very weary to drop that type of money on a toy I would be cautious to handle. The problem with many custom figures is that industrial factory paints/applications are not used. A custom figure may look like a million dollars, but chances are you can not really play with it anymore. Which begs the question... is it still a action figure?

Spero Studios brought the newest addition to their Animal Warriors of The Kingdom line. These were their 1/12 prototypes or "Primal" series.

I have handled the 1/18 Animal Warriors and they were fun, durable figures. The character designs were also extremely charming. Unfortunately, I feel like those who have already invested in the smaller scale line may get put in the backseat for these larger scale figures.

As far as dioramas this year, they were not as over the top as last year's, but there was still some spectacular work! Here is a platform full of the Mythic Legions nods to He-Man.

A battlefield chow-hall for old school G.I. Joes.

Here'a a custom 1/6 cowboy on a repainted Jurassic World Indominus Rex. Someone at the show has a fascination with the cowboys on dinosaurs!

A 1/6 customizer brought 3 iconic cars of the 60's. This is a custom Monkeemobile complete with all 4 of the Monkees. I think they are headed to Clarksville...

The Monkeemobile was accompanied by the Adam West Batmobile and the Munster Koach.

Instead of a giant Kraken, we got this cool chapel turned WWII battlefield! Diorama master, Caleb Brown, used real fertilized dirt when assembling this action packed diorama!

It appears the Germans are defending from within!

The Allied forces are ready to storm in!

As far as just custom figure entries this year, there were not many. Here were my two entries, the Man of India and the Rakshasa! Learn more about them here!

The panels this year were much more interesting, and thankfully better planned! Above is Buddy Finethy discussing the state of the action figure hobby!

I was highly flattered to have been invited to host a panel this year on customizing/restoring 1/6 scale figures. More on my contribution to the show here!

My highlight grabs of the show: MIB Valor vs Venom Spirit Iron Knife for $15, MIB White Crewcut Sailor for $75, the convention package exclusive Highland Adventurer, and an EJ White custom big game hunter for $25! Half of the fun of the show is the bargains you find! Fortunately, ToyLanta has had stellar deals for 22 years!

Because I was asked to showcase a maker's table, I was much busier this year at ToyLanta, but it did not stop me from having a blast at the rest of the show. ToyLanta/JoeLanta is very dear to my heart and is by far my favorite weekend of the year. If you have not been yet, stop by the greatest toy show in the world! (Yes, I swear on this!)

For coverage of the ToyLanta 2022 Maker's Space, click here!

For coverage of my ToyLanta 2022 custom figure entries, click here!

G.I. Joe forever!

*This article was formerly called JoeLanta 2022!: A Con Review! Because of the new 2022 sister show addition of JoeLanta in the Fall, I will call this convention by its proper show title, ToyLanta.

-Chuck