Junk Shop Dog — real name Adam McFarlane — who was previously interviewed for Slam’s “Behind the Gimmick Table” column in December 2020, used to be most known for his collection of rare Japanese Charapro and POPY wrestling action figures, but he has since spun his passion for collecting Japanese wrestling figures into a legitimate business of creating and selling his own line of “sofubi” (soft vinyl) wrestling figures.
McFarlane was recently in Las Vegas for the 2024 Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, promoting and selling his latest series of figures, and SlamWrestling.net caught up with him at his table.
He explained that in the “sofubi” (soft vinyl) wrestling figure market, “There has been a lot of growth in Japan through a couple of companies who have started to put out a lot more licensed figures, much like we have, over the same period of time,” but he doesn’t necessarily see those other companies as competition, because “we make something very, very different to them.”
There’s a lot of crossover, he added, “in terms of the licenses we use and the wrestlers we cover,” but there’s clear differences between the figures each company makes. For example, some figures will have a larger head. Others will be about 12 inches tall. He said Junk Shop Dog is just trying to make something that might appeal to wrestling figure collectors in Japan, but might also bring that Japanese style over to the west.
One assumed complication might be international shipping, since Junk Shop Dog is based out of Australia, but he said it was not an issue. “Thankfully, Australia Post will pretty much send anywhere at a decent rate, so we’re really lucky in that regard. I know a lot of American customers aren’t necessarily happy with how much it costs to get something over [to the United States], but in terms of the flip side, getting something from America to Australia, it’s really reasonable.”
In reference to other independent, niche wrestling figure companies, McFarlane emphasized that he’s not trying to be “too competitive,” but that he’s “trying to make sure that whatever we do, we’re offering a point of difference to other figure lines, and we’re taking advantage of the positives of our line, trying to bring as many bright colors and metallic paints and those kinds of things to make our figures stand out,” like their bright pink packaging, for example.
McFarlane said they have “great relationships” with all the other figure companies, as far as he knows, to the point where he just had lunch with an employee from Mattel. Junk Shop Dog has such good relationships with other companies that they even released an officially licensed WWE figure of Hulk Hogan.
McFarlane said that other Japanese companies had previously put out some WWE licensed products, but they were only sold in Japan, so through a company that deals with international licenses, they were able to go through the licensing process, and create and sell an official WWE action figure.
In the WWE Hogan figure, they were able to “create something that both fits the brand, but is also something that’s not directly competing with what Mattel’s trying to do.” In other words, Junk Shop Dog figures don’t have the same articulation as Mattel figures, and they’re not made out of the same materials, so WWE were “kind enough” to grant them that license. Based upon that, Junk Shop Dog was able to make their Hulk Hogan figure in two different styles, and they were able to put him in the attire that he wrestled in Japan in.
As for if there’ll be any other WWE licensed figures created by Junk Shop Dog, McFarlane cloyingly said, “Uh, watch this space.”
In addition to the Junk Shop Dog line of wrestling figures, another brand they sell in their online shop are the Wrestle-Something Wrestlers (WSW), which are an independent, retro line of figures based in the United States. McFarlane said somebody from WSW approached them about carrying their line of figures in the Junk Shop Dog store, and in exchange they would carry Junk Shop Dog figures in the US, and that’s how they agreed to an exchange of goods.
As McFarlane previously said, “We’re friendly with almost all of the other figure lines,” and he hopes this exchange gives WSW an opportunity to take what they’re doing and showcase it in Australia, and WSW has done the same for Junk Shop Dog in America.
Junk Shop Dog was at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion premiering their brand new figure of “The Destroyer” Dick Beyer. It was a part of a multi-week trip around the U.S., hitting a few other fan fests as well with his wife and son.
As for what’s next, McFarlane said their next figure will likely be Jonah (WWE’s Bronson Reed), who’s from Adelaide, Australia. McFarlane said they’ll carry Jonah “in a number of different attires and capture him with the gear that he wore in Japan, when he beat Okada in the G1, and when he made his New Japan debut in California.”
Junk Shop Dog announced their Great Sasuke figure quite some time ago and they hope to have him out by the end of the year, as well as a Matt Cardona figure, in three different attires.
When asked if they’ve talked to Madusa Miceli about doing a figure in her Japanese gear, McFarlane said that’s definitely something they’d like to do because they’re really happy with the fan reaction to their Bull Nakano figure, and they’d really like to capture more women that were successful in Japan.
McFarlane hinted that they do have “one other very popular female Japanese wrestler in the works,” but “we can’t say yet.”
To stay on top of current and future Junk Shop Dog news and releases, follow them on Instagram and check out what they have in their store at Junkshopdog.com. “The Destroyer” Dick Beyer will be available to order on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
— with files from Greg Oliver
TOP PHOTO: Junk Shop Dog (Adam McFarlane) and son at the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Monday, August 19, 2024. Photo by Brad McFarlin
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