Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Diamond Select Toys sends us this press release concerning their partnership with Moore on the future of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer line... Diamond Select Toys has signed an agreement with Moore Action Collectibles (MAC) to assist in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer action figures that Moore produces. This agreement benefits both companies by allowing MAC access to DST’s marketing and distribution channels, while DST gets to work with MAC and Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox L&M) on a figure line that already has a huge fan base.

The show ended last season with an incredibly successful seven-year run, much to the dismay of thousands of fans, as well as to MAC. Not wanting to risk lost sales, MAC decided to transform the existing, yet unreleased, figure sculpts into limited edition dioramas. Announcing the decision to discontinue Buffy action figures was difficult for MAC, but in the end everything worked out. Fan frenzy for the license actually increased, and Clayburn Moore, founder of Moore Action Collectibles, seized this new swell of slayer appreciation by forging a bond with Diamond Select Toys.

DST will assist in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of figures from Buffy Series V that MAC already had sculpted. The first four figures to be released are Willow, Good Witch Willow, Dark Witch Willow, and Vampire Willow from the fan-favorite episode "The Wish". According to Moore, "Willow is the anchor of the line. The character’s popularity, her importance to the story, and her crossover presence between BTVS and Angel has led to the strongest demand for this character in the action figure line."

The deal between Moore Action Collectibles and Diamond Select Toys doesn’t end with the four versions of Willow. Figures of Tara, Anya, D’Hoffryn, as well as the characters announced for Angel Series II, like an all-new version of Spike, are all possible future releases from DST. "MAC already has many sculpts for other figures done, as well as concept art for even more sculpts", states Andy Livingston, Marketing and Sales Coordinator for DST, "as long as the fans continue to support this incredible line there’s always a chance for more figures." There will be exclusive figures available to members of the MAC fan club, and both ToyFare and Cinequest.com have signed on for their own exclusives.