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McFarlanes have been manufacturing action figures since the mid-nineties and have gained a worldwide reputation for their excellent sculpting, paintwork and detail.

Until 2001 they solely dealt with movie and fantasy related figures as well as some comic book figures.

The company's founder, Todd McFarlane, is also the creator of the Spawn comic book character and so much of the companies initial products were based on the comic book characters and licenses they held as well as acquire licenses for other movie and comic book characters such as Freddy Krueger, Austin Powers and Chucky.

Despite this, or as well as this, it was really only a matter of time before the company would venture into the sports collectibles market as Todd McFarlane was already an established and well known collector of sports memorabilia.

And so after many months of painstaking negotiations McFarlane's finally announced that their inaugural set of Sports Picks figures would be released in 2001.

This inaugural set of figures was for 6 NHL figures. Many fans, and collectors, were skeptical as to whether McFarlane's could produce figures of the standard that fans would expect and demand at a reasonable price and in the standard 6 inch size.

But once fans and collectors saw the excellent quality of the sculpting and paintwork as well as care and attention to detail, including all the relevant logos and emblems on their kits, as well as other minute details they quickly became prized possessions for both fans and collectors.

The choice of hockey for their first series of Sports Picks figures was highly influenced by Todd McFarlane who is not only a huge hockey fan but also part owner of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team.

After the huge success of these, McFarlane's managed to negotiate contracts for the remaining North American sports with its pinnacle being the announcement in Feb 2002 at the American International Toy Fair in New York that they would be producing Major League Baseball figures.

This announcement heralded a great personal triumph for Todd McFarlane as it gave him his fourth license in a top North American sport, after clinching contracts with the NFL, NBA and NHL.

Since their initial release back in 2001 McFarlane's Sports Picks figures have gained a huge following with both collectors and fans due to their excellent detail and sculpting and as a result they have become the benchmark by which others are measured.

McFarlane's have lovingly and carefully recreated some of America's greatest sports personalities, including the likes of David Ortiz and Barry Bonds in the MLB, Wayne Gretzky and

Each of the individual lines also includes several different series general consisting of:

* A regular series- these are the regularly released figures, i.e. Series 1-19

* Legends- generally veteran players who have either retired or have been voted into the Hall of Fame

* Collectors Edition- Specially released and limited edition figures generally only sold through the Online Collectors Club

* Exclusives- These figure are generally event, stadium or exhibition exclusives only available at these specific places for a limited period or exclusive to a distributor or retailer such as Diamond Comics or Wal-Mart.

As a one time player and lifelong collector of sport memorabilia this has given Todd McFarlane the opportunity to use his company's vast talents to produce figures that would be truly representative of the players and that fans, collectors and the player would be proud of.

Each 6 inch figure comes in its own classic McFarlane's Sports Picks clamshell packaging, accessories and apparel and a custom base for its display.

Lines currently available in the McFarlanes Sports Picks series are:

* NBA Basketball
* NHL & NHPLA Hockey
* MLB Baseball
* NFL American Football

So, if you're into sports and look for something other than cards to collect then these is probably just what you're looking for.