Sonic the Hedgehog/TOMY

## Cancelled TOMY Sonic Products

The pre-order page for the first series of Sonic plush dolls on TOMY’s official website; featuring concept art of Classic Amy & Metal Sonic which never got made.

## Product Information

### Year(s)

2014-2018

For many years now, TOMY has been producing toylines based off the *Sonic the Hedgehog* games over the years with a few that never got through the concept stage.

## **Summary:**

TOMY’s first dance with *Sonic* was in the 1992 with toys based off the first two games for the SEGA Genesis. They released four figurines (one of them was a bendable version of Sonic labeled as a “flexi friend”), plush dolls, handheld games, and other types of products. With the 1994 release of *Sonic & Knuckles*, TOMY released a series of 20 figurines based off the third game while reusing molds from the first series. Sometime around 1996 or 1997 at SEGAWorld London, a set of four figurines were available in a specially designed box with three Sonics and a Metal Sonic; all of which were includes in the previous S&K series (another gift box was made for SEGAWorld Sydney, but no Metal Sonic was included).

After 13 years of being uninvolved with the franchise, it was announced in 2010 that the Jazwares Sonic figures would be distributed in Europe by TOMY. In promotion of the European version of *Sonic Colors* for the Wii and Nintendo DS, TOMY released a 5” Sonic action figure that came with three Wisps which were differently coloured for each console they came with. Around 2011, Gacha and TOMY teamed up to make buildable figures, pull-backs, Racers, and all other sorts of products that came packaged in round plastic containers that completely conceal what character you are buying while choosing. Once Jazwares parted ways with the license, TOMY was in full control of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* license and began their first full venture with a toyline based off the upcoming *Sonic Boom* video game & cartoon. To celebrate the series’ 25th Anniversary in 2016, TOMY released both figures and plushes of Classic styled *Sonic* characters; the latter of which were shiny/metallic and used a crushed velvet material. The 3” figures were available in three different options: single packs, comic 2-packs, and a special 3-pack. In 2017, TOMY released a new wave known as *Sonic the Hedgehog Collector Series* which consisted of toys from the Classic and Modern Sonic brands. A special 5-inch figure similar to the Sonic Nendoroid by Good Smile Company was released in 2018 and several of the comic 2-packs came with special stories by Archie Comics. In December that year, a four-pack using retools of Classic & Modern Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were released as a GameStop exclusive to promote *Sonic Forces*; which came with special edition lithographs. The latest offering from TOMY as of writing is Club Mocchi- Mocchi-: a line of plush toys designed to have a unique squishy texture and super soft to touch.

## **Cancelled Products:**

For the first set of cancelled TOMY *Sonic*, we’ll take a look at their *Sonic Boom* line; which wasn’t well received by most fans as they rejected Jazware’s style of 14 articulation points by switching back to 5 POA. Released for the wave were seven 8” plushes for the main characters as well as a small line known as Bighead plushes, which had large heads on the character’s bodies. The released sets were Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman, Amy, Shadow, and Orbot. Due to how unpopular the first wave was, TOMY quietly cancelled their second wave which was to include another variant of Sonic, Sticks, Metal Sonic, and Cubot. In 2017, TOMY created a new line of figures and plushes of Emoji-based characters. The line contains Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. However, shown at Toy Fair were two angry Emoji dolls of Shadow the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman. The two of them were never released, though their information pages can still be found on the official TOMY website.  Also unreleased from the *Sonic Boom* line were mascot hanger plushes of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow that were shown at several Toy Fair conventions.  For the Collector’s Series, there were several action figures they never got to release including Modern Super Sonic, Shadow, and Silver the Hedgehog. Modern versions of Sonic and Knuckles were never released as their own standalone figure, but they can be found in other packs. Originally, plush dolls of the Classic versions for both Amy and Metal Sonic would’ve been released along Sonic and Tails in Wave 1, though they were replaced with both modern versions of Sonic and Metal Sonic. Only concept art exists for the two as it is unlikely they ever made it into molding stage. The 2018 TOMY catalog previewed upcoming packs that would include two figures with a metallic collector plate featuring unique artwork. They were each the Classic and Modern versions of Amy and Dr. Eggman. However, since TOMY lost the *Sonic* license in 2019, the packs were never released.

## **Final Verdict:**

Sans for the figures that never made it past concept art stage, its possible that the prototypes for these cancelled figures/dolls are still located in a warehouse/factory. Though with TOMY losing the *Sonic* license, it is quite clear we’ll never get to see them released and will remain: **LOST.**

## **Gallery**

Unreleased Bighead plushes for the Sonic Boom lineCancelled Sonic Boom mascot hanger plushesUnreleased Emoji style dolls of Shadow and EggmanAn unreleased action figure of Modern Super SonicAn unreleased action figure of Shadow the HedgehogAn unreleased action figure of Silver the HedgehogAn action figure of Classic Amy that was to be released for a Collector’s Edition 2-packAn action figure of Modern Amy that was to be released for a Collector’s Edition 2-packAn action figure of Classic Eggman that was to be released for a Collector’s Edition 2-packAn action figure of Modern Eggman that was to be released for a Collector’s Edition 2-pack

## **References:**

1. ↑ https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Tomy
2. ↑ https://uk.tomy.com/toys?sorting=title%7CDESC&items\_per\_page=12&page=3
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/dapatmac/status/904144066929205249