The Toy Book catches up with Brian Volk-Weiss, Founder and CEO of The Nacelle Company to discuss the company’s rapid growth across toys, publishing, and animation.
The Toy Book: What were your biggest wins in the toy space last year?
BVW: I think our biggest win was getting the Star Trek license, but then again, I am just a tiny bit biased. On top of that, we produced our first vehicles — the Biker Mice from Mars bikes — which come with functioning lights and can really roll. Last but not least, getting the NacelleVerse into Walmart was definitely a win, especially for a company that’s been making toys for less than three years.
TB: You once mentioned to me that the toy industry is one of the more challenging businesses you’ve dealt with — perhaps even more than the entertainment industry. What changes have you seen now that you’re a few years in and have products on the shelves?
BVW: What I’ve noticed over the last few years is that, for the first time ever, adults seem to be more interested in toys than kids, and the eyeballs we want to reach have shifted from social media to YouTube. Both of these things are very good for us; we just had to pivot to take advantage of it all.
TB: With the forthcoming premiere of RoboForce, the NacelleVerse has animated content to support its toys and publishing efforts. How will this grow Nacelle’s presence in toy departments?
BVW: We just announced that RoboForce, which we partnered with [Dwayne] “The Rock” [Johnson] on, will premiere April 12 on Tubi, and as cool as that is, we also have Biker Mice from Mars in production with Ryan Reynolds.
What is not well known but is being worked on as we speak is that we are preparing similar plans for Sectaurs and Power Lords, as well as acquiring a few more amazing properties from the ’80s and ’90s to join the NacelleVerse! As we now are sort of starting to know what we’re doing — key words being “sort of” — you’ll see that all of the various plot lines for all of our properties will start in RoboForce and then be pushed forward with each new season.
TB: Being in the action figure business, how is your company dealing with potential tariffs or external pressure to diversify the supply chain?
BVW: We have been aggressively looking into other countries to produce our toys, but with quality as the key variable we care about, we are not rushing into anything that won’t guarantee that our workmanship won’t be diminished if we change factories.
TB: Back to Star Trek, knowing that your fandom is on display right there in your company’s name, the license acquisition is a huge feather in the Nacelle cap. How is the line shaping up, and will its designs complement the existing figures that fans may already own?
BVW: We have the first three waves in various stages of development, and it’s very important to me that the figures we make will fit nicely on the shelf standing next to some of the other characters many of the great toy companies before ours have made. We use modern technology to make these figures, but they must look great in everybody’s existing Star Trek collection. I frequently take the prototypes home to ensure they look good next to what I already have!
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A version of this feature was originally published in the 2025 edition of The BIG Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options
