NYCC: The Noble Collection, Julian Montoya, Minecraft, And More!

Welcome to the table,

While at NYCC I had the opportunity to tour The Noble Collection booth and sit down with their Senior VO Julian Montoya to talk about toys, collectors, and the power of holding something in your hand that looks like you pulled it right off the silver screen.

I’ve sat with people from all paths of life and I can say with confidence that Julian Montoya was one of the most down-to-earth, humble people I have had the pleasure of speaking with within the pop culture space. He treated me to a brief history of The Noble Collection taking me back to when they were making armor and prop sword replicas from well-known films like Braveheart to their evolution into creating the most stunning screen-accurate proper replicas from beloved franchises like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and their newest venture into Minecraft replicas.

What really came through as Mr. Montoya and I spoke was his passion for the culture and drive of The Noble Collection’s core goals. He relayed a story to me of how, aside from the photos from the films and the descriptions in the books, there were no real screen-accurate versions of the wands from The Wizarding World.

It had never occurred to me but as he explained it the amount of care and craftsmanship that The Noble Collection put into the products they produced was apparently in everything from the packaging to accommodate longer wands, to the boxes to have the feel of something special and grandiose that gave the collector a sense that they were holding something more than a prop, something that really connected them to their fandom.

At NYCC, The Noble Collection unveiled a beautiful limited edition Chess Knight figure from the Harry Potter collection and this piece is nothing short of a work of art. Speaking with Julian, the feeling I got unboxing this, of seeing such a spectacularly sculpted item, this was the magic he was so proud of… and with good reason. Everything about these collectibles is considered from conception to production and that speaks volumes to the international team behind these beautiful collectibles.

The Noble Collection’s newest offerings from Minecraft boggled my mind as they were replicas of something from a totally digital space and not the traditional replicas of things we had seen on screen.

The Noble Collection has done some things in the past based on the Warner Brothers IPs like Batman, but this is the first time they have really crafted something from the digital space. Julian showed me beautiful replicas of the Lapis Lazuli Ore and the Redstone Ore from Minecraft. Their in-house team builds these brilliant offerings from the ground up in their home studio based on what they have seen in the property they are working off of, the sculpting happens in-house as well and is checked off by the creative team before it leaves for its production runs.

There is also a beautiful potion bottle from the Minecraft collection that really wowed me as it changes multiple colors and has striking shelf appeal.

The more I talked to Julian the more it really came through that he and “Noble Team” were really passionate about what they were doing. The price point on some of the pieces is at times higher than what you would spend in a casual trip down the toy aisle in your local Target, but the quality and detailing are part of that price and for sure a Noble Collection collectible gives you the value for the cost.

The reverence for what the collector was spending and the care in making sure that they were getting that total value for that money spent was so heartwarming to hear and really endeared Julian and the whole organization to me even more. It’s one thing to objectively sit back and say “Yes, the Noble Collection is some of the highest quality screen accurate collectibles on the market.” but the ability to say that the people behind it are just as passionate as the collectors who purchase and tressure their collections is truly a breath of fresh air in what can sometimes feel like a very emotionless and cut-throat landscape.

I have been following Noble Collection on and off since they were in Skymall (that was a high-end magazine back when I was a kid you could only find in Airplanes) and to have a chance to learn more about them from a member of their leadership who clearly is as excited as all of the collectors are was really fun and cemented them as one of my favorite companies in the pop culture space.

Until next time, you can check out Noble Collection’s full catalog at this link and follow them @thenoblecollection on Instagram.

Here is a bonus picture from NYCC at The Noble Collection booth that cracks me up every time I look at it.