Darna, Trese, and other Filipino toys at ToyCon Philippines

The Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectible Convention or ToyCon PH has been going on for 19 years now. It’s also Asia’s biggest and longest-running toy convention, reeling in around 30,000 people every year. It was my first ToyCon and my first big event since the pandemic, so it was a bit overwhelming. In the end it was worth it, seeing all the classic 80s toys I grew up with, but also newer toys made by Filipino artists.

“Sari-sari” toys, stickers, and Darna

It was nice to see Filipino-themed toys in such a pop-culture event dominated by US and Japanese toy culture. And seeing smaller local toy companies and individual artists was inspiring. One booth had a tiny sari-sari store with miniature food items inside. Turns out these adorable little Filipino food miniatures are made by Scher Paddilla at @Chibicravings.

Under the tindahan or store were samples of her tiny works. There were small bottles of Red Horse, San Mig Light, and even boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts. 

She even had small frying pans filled with different kinds of food, like fried eggs and even one with 3 tiny longganisa.

There were also artists featuring their own stickers. There was one of a character named “Man From Manila” by LAB520 and JeAA. And another of Darna by Lino Reyes of @vectorizta.

Speaking of Darna, there is a new television series by ABS-CBN featuring the super hero coming out soon. The stars of the show actually showed up later in the day, but thankfully I missed it as I was avoiding the growing crowds. Luckily I got to see all of the Darna paraphernalia instead.

Filipino vinyl figures

As expected at a ToyCon, there were lots of vinyl figures, and of course Funko pop toy figures. I couldn’t find any Filipino Funko pop toys, like Darna or that Mickey Mouse with a barong, but there were a few non-Funko vinyls that featured the Philippine flag colors.

Quiccs is a popular visual artist and toy designer based in Manila. His toy character V63 was featured on all of the ToyCon materials. I liked how hip hop and Voltes V was incorporated in this toy, with the Adidas shoes, large hoodie, and Voltes V helmet. It turns out that Quiccs works in several mediums incorporating street art and graffiti.

Another hip-hop and Voltes V-inspired toy was VOLTES V: Mecha Streetwear Series figure, designed by Cebu-based Ken Hensly of Kensuke Creations and produced by RLUX Customs.

Manananggal action figure

What really caught my eye was a detailed action figure of a Manananggal or a spirit that separates from its bottom half and flies around. The name comes from the Tagalog word tanggal, which means to remove or separate. Beside her were creepy Tiyanaks or basically zombie babies that trick or attack people. The name Tiyanak is derived from the Tagalog words patay anak or “dead baby”.

Trese action figures

Last but not least, there were awesome figures and statues of the Filipino komik character Trese. The Trese series had just come out about a year ago, and brought the Filipino comic to more people. The comic itself premiered in 2005, and features detective Alexandra Trese who taps the powers of the unseen and unknown to solve mysteries. Particularly powers & spirits of Filipino lore.

Spotted these older action figures based from the original Trese komiks, which were drawn in black and white.

There were also newer action figures featuring two versions of Alexandra Trese, her normal form, and one of her Sinag or “flash of light” form. It actually glows in the dark! The newer toys are by the company LooseCollector. You can buy them online at Shopee here.

Along with Alexandra my next favorite characters in the Trese komiks and series are the twins or Kambal, Crispin and Basilio. They’re Alexandra’s masked backup and bodyguards, and essentially demigod twin brothers with a big sense of humor.

More toys

Are Filipino toys international ones too?

As long as kids play, there will always be objects they play with. However I didn’t see any renditions of toys played by Filipino kids across the country. No jolens marbles with cool designs, no mechanical fighting spiders, no DIY slingshot toys or tirador, no drone-saranggola hybrids, no free-standing ligid-ligid or kariling wheels that don’t fall even while stationary, and no sungka. 

Kids these days especially during the pandemic, are often seen playing apps and videos on their parent’s phones, linking them with others around the world. Even if they aren’t playing with phones, they watch cartoons whose primary purpose is to sell plastic versions of themselves all over the world. One day, when they get older, they’ll see these toys at a ToyCon and feel the same nostalgia I felt walking around last week. I just hope that by that time, every child, Filipino or not, can actually afford to buy them. Even better, all the DIY toys kids play regardless of means, can get the spotlight too.