Funko's Legacy Collection

I have (and love) several of Funko's Legacy Collection figures.  This line is fairly new (debuted at Toy Fair 2014) and is really impressing collectors, including myself.  They're doing a few really interesting things that I think other figure makers could do well to imitate.

The first thing that strikes me about the Legacy collection is: how diverse the line is.  Similar to its predecessors Funko Pop! and ReAction, the Legacy Collection has figures from video games (for example, Evolve), card games (Magic: the Gathering), movies (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and TV (Game of Thrones).  While Game of Thrones continues to be one of the most popular franchises around, Funko is also reaching back and doing Legacy figures of cult-classics like Firefly (from 2002!) or the Rocketeer (1991!!)  Such a broadly focused line, being in-scale and of similar style, makes each figure look great on the shelf, whether chillin' with his fellow show-mates, or breaking fourth walls down and battling a figure from another universe.  Legacy's 6-inch-scale (aka 1/12 scale) is also the most common scale of figures I collect, meaning any Legacy Collection figure will fit right in on my shelves with the others.

ReAction, Legacy Collection and Pop! Rocketeers

Value is another high point.  $19.99 for 6" of highly detailed, accurately painted and well-articulated plastic is a deal.  Being able to get all 5 colors of Magic: the Gathering planeswalkers (plus evil Garruk) for under 120 bucks is amazing.  This nexus of price, quality and scale is mimic'ed by Hasbro's Star Wars 6" Black Series figures, which I also love.  Both lines come in nicely decorated plastic and cardboard boxes, and do not require a katana and bloodshed to open, unlike NECA's go-to packaging: the dreaded plastic clamshell.  And like Funko Pop!s, the Legacy Collection maintains extremely similar box dimensions across its different franchises (even though the overall designs change) meaning they stack quite nicely for collectors who do not like to open their figures.

Looks great in or out of the box!

Unlike the Star Wars 6" Black Series, Funko has also done a great job making these figures readily available.  I've seen a sizable and diverse spread of Legacy figures on store shelves, even in bookstores such as Barnes & Noble.  This is not a case of the least desirable figure warming store shelves and preventing restocks of the short-packed favorite.  (I'm looking at you, Boba Fett!)  In fact, awhile back, Funko and Target teamed up to create the "Collector's World", which are aisle end-caps showcasing toys marketed specifically for adult collectors.  Legacy figures take a well-earned place on these end-caps.  Being taken seriously as an adult collector, by the manufacturer as well as the retail store, is a new feeling, and a welcome one.

I really enjoy the Legacy figures I already own, and I'm very excited to see what Funko has coming down the Legacy line in the future.