So apparently Bluefin Brands is now called Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America. I won’t go into too much detail just because I don’t want to bore you, and honestly I really don’t know the real details behind it, but honestly if looked into their history you would see that the name change was inevitable.

For those who aren’t familiar with the company formerly known as Bluefin Brands, they are the exclusive distributor for some pretty high-end toys and collectibles based on a variety of different properties from several different brands. Aside from having a pretty significant footprint at most of the conventions I attend, in recent years they’ve also increased their presence by opening a few pop-up shops, including one in Santa Monica which I was actually able to check out.

I’ve somewhat familiar with Bluefin Brands/Bandai Namco. Aside from the fact that their booths make up a huge chunk of my event coverage, I also have several of their products in my toy/collectibles collection-I’m pretty sure if it’s in my collection and it’s not a Transformer or Lego set, then it’s something from one of the brands that they work with.

Like I said earlier, Bandai Namco usually has a pretty noticeable presence at conventions and Wondercon 2022 was no different. I’m not going to lie, the spread they had at Wondercon wasn’t exactly the most visually impressive I’ve seen them bring out, however it was still quite a large display which is why I’m giving them their own post on some of the stuff they had on display that caught my eye. One thing I really liked about the spread that Bandai Namco had with their Wondercon booth was that they had everything group and organized by brand which made grouping and organizing this post way more easier as well as gave me a reason to use header tags.

Enjoy.

TAMASHII NATIONS

TAMASHII Nations is known for their high-quality and extremely detailed figures in a wide range of thematic brands. in fact, in the description in the About section on their site, they boast about how they put their soul or “tamashii” into their work.

The Bandai Namco booth had pretty prime real estate, being located towards the front of the exhibition floor just a few feet away from the main entrance. Walking onto the exhibition floor I’m sure many were immediately captivated by the life-sized versions of their Naruto Uzumaki and Super Saiyan Blue Goku figures.

Here are a couple Naruto figures from the SHFiguarts line.

Some Marvel figures also from the SHFiguarts line.

Here’s a figure that I actually have in my personal collection, it is The Ronin Mandalorian from the Meisho Movie Realization line. This figure is pretty unique when compared to some of the other items in the Meisho Movie Realization line due to the fact it is actually 2-in-1 because the Grogu with his little samurai-era wooden pushcart/stroller thing come with him.

The cast of One Piece representing the SHFiguarts Zero line. While most SHFiguarts products are articulated the SHFiguarts Zero line are not, making them statues.

VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie from the Soul of Chogokin line commemorating the 40th anniversary of Macross. I really wish I paid more attention to what this was when I saw it. Then I would have been on the lookout to see if they had it in the battroid or gerwalk modes.

Aside from the life-sized version of Goku and Naruto, Bandai Namco also had this RX-78 Gundam statue.

Here’s Freedom Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

An assortment of Gundams from the Robot Spirits and Metal Robot Spirits lines.

This collection of Gundams is from the Gundam Universe line.

Here are some Digimon from SHFiguarts.

Krillin and Gohan in the battle clothes they wore towards the end of the Namek Saga in Dragonball Z.

A few more SHFiguarts Dragonball Z figures along with Vegeta and Goku figures from Imagination Works.

Some Gundams from Gunpla.

Gundam Astray Red Frame.

A Batman figure from Bandai Spirits’ Figure-rise Standard Amplified line.

The Batmobile from the 1989 Tim Burton movie.

Here’s the Batmobile from the recent Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson.

The Tumbler from Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies.

Ichibansho Figure

These Dragonball Z are from Bandai Spirits Ichibansho line. Unfortunately, I can’t find much on Ichibansho other than a few product pages on some retail sites so there’s not much I can tell you about them.

Bandai Shokugan

The Shokugan line is made up of inexpensive yet high-quality limited-release collectible most of which are charms/keychains and minifigures. In Japan these can usually be found on the candy shelves of supermarkets so I’m assuming these are basically the equivalent of the impulse purchase items that you would normally find near the checkout lines or stuff that kids would beg their parents to buy for them.

Blitzway Toys

Compared to some of the other brands that Bandai Namco deals with Blitzway Toys seems relatively new-either that, or they just didn’t have as much representation at conventions than some of the other brands that Bandai Namco deals with. From what I’ve seen on their website, their products are based on a variety of properties both animated and live-action.

Here’s a diecast Voltron statue they had on display. At a glance it seems pretty similar to the Soul of Chogokin version, with the only difference appearing to be the stand.

Here’s Voltron broken up into the individual lions, and showcasing the hidden compartment in the stand to store all the weapons and accessories for the lions. What I really like about this piece is how the stand has those little rods that mimic the light trails the lions would leave when they’re flying.

A statue of the late, great Bruce Lee with a fu dog statue.

Flame Toys Furai

Flame Toys produces a variety of models with their Furai line focusing mostly on Transformers. While pretty articulated and screen-accurate looking, they do have the downside that they don’t actually transform.

Here’s Flame Toys’ take on Shattered Glass Optimus Prime. I don’t know about you but I really prefer this version than the square and boxy look that Optimus is usually depicted with.

A Victory Leo. This is actually designed to partner up with a previously released Star Saber figure to form Victory Saber.

The Fallen AKA Megatronus Prime. In Tranformers-lore the Fallen was the first Decepticon which is why I wonder why they gave him an Optimus-looking head with the faceshield instead of making his head look more like Megatron. However, I’m guessing the reason he looks a bit like Optimus Prime is because he is a Prime.

Storm Collectibles

Based in Hong Kong, Storm Collectibles makes toys mostly based on videogames, more specifically fighting or “combat games” as they call them, ranging from a variety of different eras.

Here are 2 of the only figures not based on videogame characters. Ken the Eagle from Gatchamen, and Baki Hanma from Baki. Although to be fair Ken the Eagle was a character in the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom games, and as of this writing there actually is a Baki game in the works.

Sub Zero and Scorpion, looking as they did in Mortal Kombat 2.

Some characters from Golden Axe. If you’re wondering who they are, starting from top left and going clockwise you have Death Adder, Death Bringer, Skeleton Soldiers, and Bad Brother.

Here’s a mix of characters. From left to right you have Ares from Injustice: Injustice Gods Among Us. Akira Yuki from Virtua Fighter 5, and Paul and Devil Jin from Tekken 7.

Blue Mary from King of Fighters ’98.

Sol Badguy from Guilty Gear.

Demetri Maximoff from Darkstalkers shooting his Chaos Flare. While not that clear at this angle, you can kind of see part of the demon face in his projectile.

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and based on the color I’m assuming a prototype Kano.

SEN-TI-NEL

Another Hong Kong-based company, SEN-TI-NEL’s primary gimmick is that most of their products are modernized takes on classic characters which explains why several products appear to be robotic versions of classic characters.

Like the Gundam and Tamashii Nations sides, SEN-TI-NEL had their own life-sized model in their area. In this case it’s a statue based on their take on Captain America from their Fighting Armor line.

From the Fighting Armor War Machine. From what I’ve seen online, the bulky gauntlets are supposed to unfold into these lobster-like claws.

Fighting Armor Deadpool. At first I thought this thing just fell over, it took an extra look to realize that they posed him lying down on purpose. Originally this figure was an exclusive at Big Bad Toy Store which I was a bit reluctant to order from. Luckily for me, Bandai Namco had a pop-up shop in Little Tokyo where they were selling some of these.

Fighting Armor Black Panther. He seems a bit lackluster since he has no accessories. From what I’ve seen on some promotional stuff online this is supposed to come with some accessories.

A prototype of the Fighting Armor Loki. I really wish the spear had more resemblance to the scepter that the MCU version of Loki carried.

Fighting Armor Thor with Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. Notice how Thor’s head is basically just a modified Iron Man head.

Kamen Rider

Kamen Rider is a Japanese superhero media franchise that centered around the titular Kamen Riders, motorcycle-riding superheroes with an insect-theme who fought against an evil organization bent on world-domination.

In the ’90s, Saban, attempting to recreate their success with Power Rangers, by adapting the Kamen Rider Black series for North American audiences under the name Masked Rider. Despite following the same formula as Power Rangers and even attempting to siphon some of Power Rangers‘ success by setting it up as a spinoff of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Masked Rider would end up being a flop.

A second attempt at bringing Kamen Rider to North American audiences would take place when the series, Kamen Rider Ryuki was brought over and adapted under the name Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. While Kamen Rider Dragon Knight seemed to be better received than its predecessor, a lack of advertising caused it to suffer from poor rating and it would end up being dropped before the last 2 episodes could air. The final episodes would eventually be made available on 4Kids TV website and were available until the series was removed in 2012.

To celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary, Bandai Namco had a huge part of their activation dedicated to Kamen Rider, showcasing their line of replica Henshin Belts. Analogous to the morphers from Power Rangers, the Henshin Belts are integral parts of the Kamen Rider franchise because they are what allowed the protagonists to transform into their Rider forms.

All this right here is the Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary Complete Selection Modification Typhoon Henshin Belt Set. The belt itself is a recreation of the Henshin Belt worn by the first Kamen Rider in 1971.

The Legend Henshin Typhoon, another belt used in the original series.

The Zeronos Belt CSM from Kamen Rider-Den-O.

The Legend Henshin Arcle, also known as the Sonic Wave Transformation Belt Arcle. This belt was used in Kamen Rider Kuuga, the first Kamen Rider series produced by Heisei.

The Legend Henshin Faiz. AKA the Tranformatin Belt SB-555B Faiz Driver. Worn by Kamen Rider Faiz in Kamen Rider 555, the centerpiece of the belt is actually a cellphone-like device which served as Kamen Rider Faiz’s main weapon/tool.

The Nadeshiko DX Driver, used by Kamen Rider Nadeshiko in Kamen Rider Fourze. What makes this particular belt so noteworthy is that it was the first transformation device used by a female rider. All previous female Riders shared their transformation devices with a male Rider.

The Legend Henshin Fourze, used by Kamen Rider Fourze in the series of the same name.

And that’s it for Bandai Namco’s presence at Wondercon. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check back for more.