The Toy Book catches up with Brian Volk-Weiss, Founder and CEO of The Nacelle Co., for an update on the company’s performance, new products, and the challenges and opportunities for a growing brand, as part of our annual State of the Industry Q&A series.
What were some of the biggest wins for Nacelle last year?
The biggest win by far was our first booth at SDCC, which really seemed to make the toy community understand what we’re trying to build with the NacelleVerse. From the Biker Mice from Mars exclusive selling out in less than two days, to the reaction we got to our Power Lords sculptures, we saw a noticeable uptick in visits (and sales) to our website.
How is Nacelle leveraging storytelling, nostalgia, and original IP heading this year?
We are trying to do what’s always worked; put out cartoons that support our toy sales and put out toys that support our cartoons. In 2026, we have Biker Mice From Mars in production as well as C.O.W.boys of Moo Mesa in development, and based on what we saw the RoboForce series do for our RoboForce toy sales — and we think the show was helped by the toys being for sale for well over two years — we feel extremely excited about this, and next year in particular. Plus, we’ll be putting out weekly shorts for all our brands starting later this year.
What impact has fan culture and the collector market had on your product and licensing strategy?
Pretty much none, because we just make what we’re excited about and hope everybody else is too. As it relates to licenses, we just go after brands we are excited to talk about every day, and we’ve turned down many, many high-profile brands we just didn’t think we could add value and passion to. We targeted only one license last year, but unfortunately, we didn’t get it. Nobody did.
How are entertainment and publishing partnerships shaping the future of Nacelle’s brands?
Our various partnerships, from Tubi to Oni Press, are a key part of our plan to introduce the NacelleVerse to as many potential fans as possible by producing quality, entertaining shows and comics. Based on the reaction on social media and in sales, we plan to double down on trusted partnerships in 2026.
What was the biggest challenge or learning from the past year?
That’s an easy one; when we got the first shipment of our Star Trek line, there were clearly QC problems that we needed to respond to very quickly, both with the factory and communicating to the fans what had happened and how we were working to fix it.
Where do you see the biggest growth opportunities at the intersection of media and toys?
We see the biggest growth opportunity in finding more properties to work within the NacelleVerse for our wholly owned lines, and with the license deals, we are always speaking to the studios about properties we’re excited about and seeing if we can make toys for them.
Nacelle recently exhibited at Toy Fair New York, showing new products from Biker Mice from Mars, Sectaurs, Power Lords, Star Trek, and more. The company is working on a full, 1:10-scale original Constitution-class USS Enterprise bridge play set and revealed plans to produce action figures of Gene Roddenberry and Lucille Ball in honor of Star Trek’s 60th anniversary.
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A version of this feature first appeared in the 2026 edition of The BIG Toy Book. Read the full issue here!
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