Toys to Retirement #51
Hello friends,
It’s been a few weeks since my last complimentary newsletter, and there’s a few updates from the toy world.
Let’s kick things off with some stuff I’ve been up to…
Recent Articles
My last three paid posts have been very well-received, which include my thoughts on the state of toy investing in 2026 (spoiler alert, I’m bullish), my first impressions of the 2026 LEGO retirement list (spoiler alert, it may be the best year ever) and a peek into some specific SKUs that I have in my 401(k) stash (spoiler alert, I’m heavy on bricks, cardboard, and action figures).
Click any of the links above to view the corresponding article. If you are not a paid subscriber, feel free to message me with your email and I can set you up with a free 7-day trial.
LEGO Pokemon
I’m sure most people have heard by now, but the two titans of the toy and collectible industry are having their first ever collaboration.
While the sets themselves are cool, that’s the least of our concern right now as toy investors. These sets will be widely available for years to come, and they really only should be of interest to us as their retirement dates near.
What is interesting to us however, is the recent gift with purchase and the upcoming Insider Rewards sets.
The GWP is entering into uncharted territory for LEGO - have we ever seen a complimentary gift sell for THIS much before it has even been released?
What does that mean for the upcoming mini-Pokemon Center reward that releases at the end of February?
Definitely keep an eye on these moreso than the mainline sets for now - could be some serious opportunity.
Masters of the Universe Live-Action Trailer
As someone who knows absolutely nothing about He-Man and MOTU, this looks… great?
On first watch, it has nailed what is the most important part of any “cartoon/toy to live-action movie” should - the visuals.
Fan sentiment seems relatively positive, even though it’s trendy to hate on Jared Leto (Skeletor), it seems most are reserving judgement.
If they can stick the landing with this and produce a sleeper hit, we may have another “nerd culture” franchise that is actually impactful in pop culture (like the recent video game movies that have been having success).
This mostly comes as a surprise because of the flop of the MOTU Netflix series, but something tells me this one is going to correct for that.
There is no confirmation on the budget for the film, right now rumors are swirling that it’s 170-200m which is a HUGE gamble from the studio. If the budget is truly in that range, I don’t think they realistically are expecting to have this movie hit the numbers it’d need to to be considered a box office success (425m+), which tells me they are going to lean heavy into merch to increase profitability. Which does make sense, considering MGM is owned by Amazon.
We’ll see though, all theories at this point, but always exciting when a toy-driven franchise takes a shot at mainstream pop culture.
Target 70% Clearance Coming to an End
What a week it was! I road tripped to over 20 Targets in the span of 2 days, cleaning up on some insane deals. There are still remnants remaining on the shelves, but this twice a year sale seems to be finally petering out.
If you typically drink Starbucks for your morning coffee, I encourage you to get your Starbucks from Target for the next few days and just walk the aisles and see if any 70% off clearance is remaining.
Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord Trailer
Star Wars merch has been written off by me due to the endless amounts of over-production (Black Series, Vintage Collection). Despite that, it’d be silly to not pay attention to the media being produced. This will undoubtedly be a hit on Disney+, with tons of merch to be made. Expect Maul overload, similar to Mando and Grogu once this releases in April.
I’ll be curious to see if any exclusive figures get released or if they’ll all be mainline.
Have a great weekend folks!
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Super solid update here. The LEGO Pokemon GWP hype is wild, Ive never seen a free promo item move like this before its even out. The point about MGM leaning into merch for MOTU profitability makes tons of sense since Amazon basically runs everythng now anyway. Curious if we see similar retailer exclusive bundles for the MOTU launch like they did with some recent video game movies.