Nacelle Co: Bringing the Nostalgia to Comic Con

The Nacelle Company, the team that bought you
“The Toys That Made Us” and Toy Store Guide favorite
“A Toy Store Near You”,
update us on the next step in the NacelleVerse.

Whenever there are large conventions we at Toy Store Guide look forward to updates and announcements from those kindred spirits at the Nacelle Company. Well San Diego Comic Con was last weekend and Nacelle did not disappoint.

“Nostalgia Rebooted: How Nacelle Uses the Past to Power Their Future” was held in room 6A at the San Diego Convention Center to a packed room and was full of surprises and special events for fans of animation and toys. The team from Nacelle used the panel to discuss one of life’s great mysteries:
What is Nostalgia?

At the Nacelle Company they believe that nostalgia is like serotonin to the brain. That nostalgia is what makes us think our favorite childhood shows and toys were better than they might have been. Their goal seems to reboot beloved brands from the past and make them better this time.

Full Throttle into Animation!

Nacelle CEO Brian Volk-Weiss and his team laid the Marvel style road map of their animation plans. I say “Marvel style” since they showcased “Phase One” and plan on releasing each cartoon series one at a time starting with RoboForce.

The huge announcement that was supposed to be a big surprise (until Deadline leaked the info) at the panel was that Deadpool himself Ryan Reynolds is now attached to co-produce the Biker Mice From Mars series. Apparently his love of motorcycles will now stretch into animation. The announced animated series will be The Great Garloo, Sectaurs, and Power Lords. There is another season planned in between Sectaurs and Power Lords but the title of that show was redacted. During the panel Volk-Weiss commented that he had hoped the lawyers would have had the paperwork done in time to announce the intellectual property at the panel but sometimes things don’t work out. My takeaway was that there will be another nostalgic announcement soon. This means that we can look forward for even more toys from the Nacelle line of Very Important Toys.

NacelleVerse you ask? Oh yeah, did we mention that the six planned animated series in Phase One will be intertwined? Hopefully culminating in a giant Avengers moment.

Before the panel we got to spend some time with Brian Volk-Weiss and talk about the companies upcoming toys and toons. He gave us exclusive information that a Biker Mouse will show up in an episode of RoboForce. During the panel we learned more about how the shows will interact including The Great Garloo on giant screens at a futuristic airport in the show. Nacelle’s goal with rebooting these once and would be cartoon series and connecting them together is that now, over 30 year later, for the viewer to believe this was always the plan. They are aiming to make great stories with heart.

“All we want is to getting to the heart of these characters and the heart of the world that these characters are in, and getting people to smile, laugh and maybe tear up.”

– Brian Volk-Weiss

I asked Volk-Weiss if we could look forward to hearing known voice actors from classic and retro cartoons in his shows. He said they were still in the early writing stages and not casting as of yet. When asked a similar question about considering brining back some of the original cast during the Q&A he stated, “Considering, underlined, highlighted, and bolded, yes… Definitely doing it? I don’t know, but it stands to reason.” Then he joked about avoiding the answer.

Speaking about voices…

I assume many toy collectors are not unlike myself, grew up sitting on the floor playing with action figures while watching cartoons. I always saw cartoons as an extension of the toys and the toys as an extension of the toons. As kid I thought the coolest job would be to make cartoons.

Now at conventions and events fans are able to meet the voices behind our favorite characters. Well Nacelle is took things to another level. They gave everyone attending the panel a chance to have their voice in an animated series. During the panel Nacelle’s Head of Public Relations Bryan Adams directed the audience to cheer as if they were watching robots righting to the death. The audio will be used during a robot wrestling match in the third episode of… RoboForce!

So everyone in the room who ever dreamed of being a part of a cartoon can check it off of the bucket list.

To add to the excitement the panelists choose one lucky fan who won a voice over role in an upcoming series. Congratulations to Sabrina who said during her question that she had always wanted a career doing voice overs as a cartoon character, even going as far doing her interpretation of Woody from Toy Story’s “There is a snake in my boot” line.

And those Toys…

Along with cartoons comes toys
and Nacelle had a lot to show at SDCC.

The three figures from “Biker Mice from Mars” were on display for all to see. Throughout the weekend people walking the convention floor could get a peek at Vinnie, Modo, and Throttle… along with their cycles. The display was made up of the prototypes for the figures and vehicles. The figures on display did not have the ab crunch articulation that fans and toy collectors demanded but Volk-Weiss promised everyone who orders and ordered will not only get the ab crunch but also a hot dog accessory. He went so far to say, “Every single Biker Mice from mars figure will always come with a hotdog!”

The figures are available for pre-order now at NacelleStore.com and will be found in independent Toy Stores! The motorcycles look amazing, will have working headlights and a diorama stand that looks like the cloud of dust the bike would make when speeding away.

Other toy lines that Nacelle showed off at Comic Con included the now available The Great Garloo, the second series of RoboForce including Hun-Dred, S.O.T.A. 89, and Sentinel, Comedy Legends, Sectaurs, and the Expanse.

Many questions during the panel’s Q & A centered around the toys and what we could expect from Nacelle Consumer Products in the future. Here is the skinny. Sabrina (the voice over winner) asked if toys would ever include voice boxes. Volk-Weiss said he doesn’t personally care for that feature but if the customer demanded it (like with the ab crunch) then they would do it. Another audience member asked if bugs were coming for the Sectaurs. For anyone not familiar with the line, Coleco had a great play feature where Sectaur figures would ride on bugs, and said bugs were actually gloves that kids would wear. The answer to this question was simple… If they think there is a market for it and will be profitable they will do it. Lastly, Brian Volk-Weiss was asked if Nacelle would consider making playsets. Unlike the talking feature, playsets are something Volk-Weiss has a nostalgia for so we can look forward to them. If they follow the trajectory of some of the new playlets being released we would be in for a world of joy.

Take a Quick Look at San Diego Comic Con with Nick Bartley of Hunting Nostalgia

While talking to Volk-Weiss at booth 2401 before the panel I asked when we could expect the next season of “A Toy Store Near You”. Answer: YES, Later this year. Also, they have changed the way they make the show. We can expect Nacelle to release two seasons a year for the next full years. He has stated to us at Toy Store Guide in the past that he hopes to feature 50 stores during the run of the show. When asked about the popular Netflix show “The Toys That Made Us” by an audience member at the panel Volk-Weiss had the same answer he gave at last years New York Comic Con. “I would tell you if it were dead.” Hinting that we can hold out hope but not to hold our breath.

We at Toy Store Guide always look forward to the State of the Union style announcements we get a few times a year from Nacelle. The state of Nacelle and the NacelleVerse continues to be strong with an even brighter future when it comes to Toys, Programming about Toys, Programming about Toy Stores, and now Cartoons based on Toys.

Keep a lookout for RoboForce, Biker Mice From Mars, and the rest of the NacelleVerse Animated Series on Fubo. Keep an eye on Nacelle’s socials for information about release dates for the next season of “A Toy Store Near You” and keep checking local Toy Stores for some rebooted toy lines.

Written By: Dave at ToyStoreGuide (ToyDeLorean on Instagram)

L’angolo Dei Ricordi

Uncle Bob’s Vintage Toys