Raving Toy Maniac

LEGO® Education Collaborates with Award-Winning Author Mo Willems to Bring the Pigeon Series to Life

Willems' popular Pigeon series of books will be the source of inspiration using LEGO Education StoryStarter to encourage creativity among educators and students in reading and writing

News Highlights:

• LEGO® Education is collaborating with award-winning author and Emmy winner Mo Willems to bring his Pigeon series of books to life using LEGO Education products.
• In 2014, LEGO Education will host "The Pigeon Builds a Story," LEGO brick builds at education conferences as well as encourage educators and their students in the classroom to use LEGO Education StoryStarter, a language arts solution for second through fifth grade classes, or LEGO bricks to showcase students' creativity in the retelling of a Pigeon story.
• A fan vote via the LEGO Education community will determine the winner of a two-foot LEGO brick Pigeon for their classroom, along with other prizes.

February 2014 - Jesse has sent word of his new series on YouTube:

TOY PIZZA IS GO!
Channel Frederator presents a new toys & collectibles show

Check our brand new YouTube series celebrating all things collectible.
Join hosts Nicky, Jesse, and Cade as they showcase what's cool in plastic playthings.
Tune into the episode and if you like what you see, click subscribe!
And just like a real slice of pie, it's best when shared with friends -- so reblog to help spread the word!

Click here to check it out!

K'NEX® Introduces Over 25 New Products at New York Toy Fair!

2014 Product Line Includes Launch of 2 New Brands

Hatfield, Pa. (February, 2014) – K'NEX, the US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love®, will be introducing its 2014 product line to retailers and media during American International Toy Fair®, being held February 16th through the 19th in New York City at the Javits Center.

The 2014 K'NEX product line includes over 25 inspiring additions to popular product lines such as, K'NEX Building Sets, K'NEX Thrill Rides, K'NEX Education™, Super Mario®, Mario Kart®, Lincoln Logs®, Tinkertoy®, Angry Birds™, PAC-MAN® and the Ghostly Adventures, and Family Guy™. New York Toy Fair will also mark the public debut of two exciting new product lines; Titanfall™ and Plants vs. Zombies™ Building Sets.

Pretty Ugly LLC™ Grants License to Fetch...for Pets!™ Products

Green Brook, NJ, January 29, 2014 - Pretty Ugly™, LLC owner of the UGLYDOLL® brand, is pleased to announce their recent partnership with Fetch...for pets!, a leading manufacturer of pet products in North America.

Soon pet-loving fans can treat their favorite canine or feline to a unique selection of Uglydoll products. "We are thrilled to work with Fetch...for pets! on a wide range of pet toys and accessories. After years of our fan's pets chewing on our Uglydoll toys, it's time to give them their own coveted collection," said Alita Friedman, Chief Brand Officer.

"Fetch...for pets! is excited to team up with such a fun brand and bring Uglydoll products to the pet world," said Steven Shweky, Top Dog at Fetch... for Pets!.

Fetch...for Pets!

Warner Bros. Consumer Products Shakes Up Toy Fair Season With Humongous Licensing Programs, Including This Summer's Much-Anticipated Film Godzilla From Legendary Pictures

UNRIVALED PORTFOLIO OF NEW AND CLASSIC ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTIES TO BE SHOWCASED

The LEGO Group to Produce LEGO Replica of Ghostbusters ECTO-1

BILLUND, Denmark, Jan. 30, 2014 -- The LEGO Group today announced that its latest quarterly review of LEGO® CUUSOO consumer inspiration platform has designated that a LEGO Ghostbusters ECTO-1 will be produced for sale under a licensing agreement from Sony Pictures Consumer Products. The item is the sixth user-designed and submitted product to be manufactured from the LEGO CUUSOO platform after receiving the requisite 10,000 fan votes to be considered for production.

Made famous by the 1984 Ghostbusters film, the ECTO-1 was selected for production due to its broad worldwide appeal and the fact that the iconic model lends itself to challenging and creative building for both children and adult fans. The LEGO replica of ECTO-1 will include minifigures. The model is still in the final design stages and availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.

January 30, 2014 - Listed below are the toy (and child-related) recalls from this week; these links go to the official announcements on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.

- Strollers Recalled by Britax Due to Partial Fingertip Amputation Hazard

- Fred & Friends Recalls Infant Pacifiers Due to Choking Hazard

- West Marine Recalls Folding Bicycles; Frames Can Break Causing Riders to Fall

- IKEA Expands Recall of Junior Beds that Pose Laceration Hazard

TOYPOCALYPSE 4: FANEXTASY!!

January 2014 - Toypocalypse 4: FanEXtasy is coming! Hosted by TT Underground Gallery in New York City, the Four Horsemen's fourth annual gallery show is expected to be bigger than ever!

Some incredible moments you'll get to experience at the show are...

- Be amongst the first to see the next Infinity Edition Outer Space Men factory created paint samples in person!

- Be amongst the first to see the first factory created paint samples of the Power Lords characters Adam Power, Lord Power & Ggripptogg in person!

- Be amongst the lucky few to see pre-production tooling samples of the Four Horsemen's Gothitropolis Ravens figures in person!

- Get a look at an overview of some of the coolest Masters of the Universe figures created by the Four Horsemen for Mattel!

- See in person lots of other artwork and prototypes created by Four Horsemen Toy Design Studios!

- Special one of a kind items for sale!

Mezco Reveals 2014 Toy Fair Limited Edition Collectible: Breaking Bad Walter White Figure

January 2014 - New York - The New York International Toy Fair is the world's largest and most important industry-only toy show. "Toy Fair Only" collectible items are a proud tradition and Mezco Toyz continues this custom with the introduction of their Walter White Limited Edition Figure.

This unforgettable figure features Walter Walter with his khaki pants and green shirt as seen in several of the series' most memorable episodes. He comes complete with removable hat, removable glasses, a sack of cash, and a bag of blue crystals.

Mezco will be offering the figures to select guests of the Mezco Toyz booth (#4931). Since this event is not open to the public, a small amount of this limited-run figure will be available for purchase via the Mezco Toyz webstore: http://www.mezcotoyz.com/mezco-2014-toy-fair-catalog-figure

Mezco Reveals Toy Fair Sons Of Anarchy Limited Edition Coin

January 2014 - New York - The New York International Toy Fair is the world's largest and most important industry only toy show. Closed to the public, this is where the world's toy companies reveal their product lines for the upcoming year.

"Toy Fair Only" collectible items are a proud tradition and Mezco Toyz continues this custom with the introduction of their Toy Fair Sons Of Anarchy Limited Edition Coin.

This 1.5inch sized metal coin features the infamous Sons Of Anarchy reaper logo in a mirror finish with a midnight black background. Crafted by skilled coin artisans, this is the first time a Sons Of Anarchy collectible coin has ever been offered to Toy Fair attendees.

Mezco will be offering the coins to guests of the Mezco Toyz booth (#4931) as well as attendees of the special invitation only Sons Of Anarchy Product Reveal happening on February 5th.