Diamonds Made Out Plastic: Chatting with Zach Oat of Diamond Select Toys

A cornerstone of the Comic Book and independent collectible toy store industry is Diamond Select. Known for their artistic quality and attractive price point, Diamond Select is a great value for any collector.

(Not too) Recently Zach Oat, Marketing Supervisor for Diamond Select, had a virtual chat with Nick Bartley of Hunting Nostalgia and Dave Conca (me) from the Toy Store Guide. We chatted about what we liked about Diamond Select, what they might be planning for the future, and a bunch of other things we happen to find nostalgic.

Watch the Video Below!

Diamond Select does a great job of mixing many different licenses in their armory.

Their Select figures fill an essential need for high quality and articulated action figures, often coming packaged with detailed stands and props that add another layer to shelf display. You want an example? In 2016 they released a line of Ghostbusters figures that each came with a section for a Firehouse or Rooftop Temple diorama.

The other side from the detailed sculpts of the Selects figures are the MiniMates. The block-styled fun figures have been around for 20 years and have featured characters of every fandom from Marvel Superheroes to Pulp Fiction. In talking to Zach, he is excited for Diamond Select’s recent G.I. Joe and Transformers releases to the line.

Everything from the Muppets to Lord of the Rings…

In my eyes Diamond Select really shines when it comes to their Gallery Dioramas. Usually around 12 inches tall, the PVC dioramas feature detailed sculpting and paint. The plastic construction allows for super high quality at around $50. These statues are where Diamond Select fits into my collection. In the past they have offered different Shazam! (Captain Marvel) pieces that as a lifelong fan caught my eye and needed to have a place inside a Detolf display at the “Toy Store Guide Office”.

Want something “cute”? Check out Diamond Select’s Animated Statues. Or… if you want something even crazier, check out their Premier Collection Statues.

Two more Diamond Select offerings that merit mentions are the Legends in 3-Dimensions Busts and Mini Busts…

The Legends in 3-D busts are ½ scale and feature detailed sculpting and paint applications. For under $200 you can have an awesome head sculpt on your desk. And the Mini Busts… The Mini Busts are 6” tall and often feature cartoon-accurate paint schemes. The first one I picked up was from Batman the Animated Series and now Diamond Select is producing pieces from the X-Men and Spider-Man animated series of the 90’s. The cel-shading paint is a nostalgic game changer!

Many statues and busts are limited and numbered. But Diamond Select makes it super easy to order or pre-order from their site. But Toy Store Guide is not exactly about promoting websites, and neither is Diamond Select.

Unlike many other companies Diamond Select distributes directly to comic book and independent toy shops. This means you don’t have to walk the empty toy aisles at the big box stores but instead can visit your local shop.

This is a great help to “our” toy shops and proves that Diamond Select is a valuable part of keeping the toy community strong and alive. No one I know wants to live in a world where online orders and Target/Walmart are our only options.

Moving forward, Diamond Select is doubling down on retro… Zach Oat mentioned that two properties that we can look forward to are from the Disney Afternoon of the 90’s. Figures from both Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles will be out soon. For the Gargoyles they will release both a PVC Gallery Diorama and an action figure of Goliath. The Goliath action figure will be modeled in the animated style, which I think will really bring back the nostalgia of the cartoon.

Zach was a bit hush on what other line Diamond Select is about to announce. We were able to squeeze him into admitting it was from a television property, which meant I was wrong with my guess of “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension”.

Keep an eye out for more from our partner’s at Hunting Nostalgia. Coming Soon: We talk to Zach about how his love for action figures led to him becoming the editor of ToyFair Magazine and possibly being “The Godfather” of Action Figure Photography (my words not his).

Written By: Dave at ToyStoreGuide (ToyDeLorean on Instagram)

Beyond Infinity Toys & Collectibles

Retro Rat

Diamonds Made Out Plastic: Chatting with Zach Oat of Diamond Select Toys

A cornerstone of the Comic Book and independent collectible toy store industry is Diamond Select. Known for their artistic quality and attractive price point, Diamond Select is a great value for any collector.

Watch the Video Below!

Everything from the Muppets to Lord of the Rings…

Want something “cute”? Check out Diamond Select’s Animated Statues. Or… if you want something even crazier, check out their Premier Collection Statues.

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