Raving Toy Maniac

August 2012 - Hasbro has sent out an update about a batch of exclusive Transformers toys:

Transformers fans,

At Comic-Con, the Transformers team announced that the Transformers Prime First Edition action figure line would be made available at Toys R Us. We're excited to share with you that BigBadToyStore.com and Entertainment Earth will also carry the line. The Transformers Prime First Edition items that will be available at all three of these retailers include:

Deluxe Scale:

• STARSCREAM
• ARCEE
• TERRORCON CLIFFJUMPER
• VEHICON

Voyager Scale:

• BULKHEAD
• OPTIMUS PRIME

Additionally, BigBadToyStore.com will start pre-sell for their Dark Energon exclusive items that were announced at Comic-Con on September 1. The items in this line include:

Deluxe Scale:

• DARK ENERGON DEFENDER WHEELJACK
• DARK ENERGON KNOCKOUT
• DARK ENERGON STARSCREAM
• DARK ENERGON DEFENDER BUMBLEBEE

Voyager Scale:

• DARK ENERGON DEFENDER OPTIMUS PRIME
• DARK ENERGON MEGATRON

August 29, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

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NEW PREORDERS
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MOVIE MASTERPIECE 1/6 SCALE WOLVERINE COLLECTIBLE FIGURE
Hot Toys will be releasing a new version of Wolverine, this time based on his appearance in "X-Men: The Last Stand". It comes with alternate hands, a light-up display base and much more, and is listed at $214.99, saving you $20 off of the MSRP.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HOT10413&mode=re...

TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS - TAKARA - FALL OF CYBERTRON
Takara follows up Hasbro's Generations line with their own set of releases! Look for figures to come with slightly different paint applications as well as possible chrome parts. We do not have any images of Takara product yet, but will update the site when they become available.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=takara+fall

August 2012 - Playmates Toys has let us know that their latest television commercials for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys are now available online:

TMNT Shellraiser TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFn3VxTqKO0&feature=plcp

TMNT Power Sound FX Figures: "Punch Lines" TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfxIyF3El08&feature=plcp

TMNT Vehicles: "Alley Oop!" TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNdNNFCsSQY&feature=plcp

TMNT Action Figures: "Royal Flush" TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1198xBqtoY&feature=plcp

TMNT Ninja Combat Gear TV commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JP6HqImBOQ&feature=plcp

Prize #15 of the 20 Big Prizes From K'NEX®

Enter for your chance to win a $500 KNEX.com Shopping Spree!

Hatfield, PA – August 2012 – K'NEX Brands, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, is pleased to announce the launch of K'NEX'S "Win a $500 knex.com Shopping Spree" Sweepstakes. From August 28, 2012 at 9:00 am EST through September 11, 2012 at 3:59pm EST, K'NEX fans can enter for their chance to win a $500 KNEX.com Shopping Spree.

The winner will receive a coupon code to enter in at checkout for purchasing up to $500 of product, and shipping/handling costs, currently available on the "Shop" pages at KNEX.com. Prospective winners can enter once per day either through the K'NEX Facebook page (which links to the K'NEX 20th Anniversary Celebration page of the Knex.com website), or directly through KNEX.com. The winner will have until December 31, 2012 to use the entirety of their prize, after which time their coupon code will be void. Contestants must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see official rules for details. http://www.knex.com/20thanniversary/20BigPrizes/KNEX-Shoping-Spree.php

Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Contest is back

The second edition of the Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Fest calls on fans to raise the bar

MONTREAL, Aug. 28, 2012 - MEGA Brands Inc. - After a successful and exciting first year, Mega Bloks will soon launch their second edition of the Halo Toymation Fest, a community-driven competition in which Halo fans can create and submit their own Mega Bloks Halo toymations (stop motion animations featuring toys) for a chance to win incredible prizes.

The official 2012 Mega Bloks Halo Toymation website (http://halo.megabloks.com/en/toymation), launched on August 3rd, will once again be the home page to many hopeful contestants. At this time, fans can visit the site to learn more about the different genres of videos they will be allowed to submit, discover the panel of judges and the amazing prizes to be won, receive details about the voting criteria and tips on stop motion animation.

FRANCAVILLA'S THE BLACK BEETLE RETURNS TO DELIVER AWARDWORTHY PULP ACTION!

August 28, MILWAUKIE, OR - Dark Horse Comics is thrilled to announce a new creator-owned series from Francesco Francavilla, the 2012 Eisner Award winner for Best Cover Artist!

Francavilla's critically acclaimed The Black Beetle returns in December with The Black Beetle #0, which will collect the three-part story entitled Night Shift that originally appeared in the pages of the Eisner Award–winning Dark Horse Presents. The issue will feature a brand-new cover, twenty-four story pages, and bonus sketch material and art!

January brings The Black Beetle: No Way Out, a four-issue story that marks the first full series for Francavilla's Black Beetle, continuing from the self-published, limited-edition ashcan comic of the same name - the first appearance of this exciting new pulp hero!

On Sale This Week: Amazing Spider-Man Busts! Star Trek Retro! Steampunk Lexi!

August 29, 2012 - Going to a comic book shop on Wednesday -- a.k.a. "New Toy Day" -- is like celebrating the holidays every week, especially with all the new product shipping to stores from Diamond Select Toys. Check out what shipped to stores this week!

Star Trek: The Next Generation Retro Picard and Borg Figures

August 28, 2012 - Hasbro has sent along press images of their new Star Wars toys unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration VI convention - we've posted all 80 of them in a gallery for your enjoyment.

The new action figures shown were from Build-A-Droid Wave Two, Movie Heroes Wave One, Clone Wars Wave One, and Star Wars Fighter Pods, as well as new vehicles.

Here's the Mara Jade action figure from the second wave of Droid Factory action figures:

August 28, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - RTM would like to welcome our newest sponsor, online retailer Protoplanet Collectibles!

Protoplanet Collectibles specializes in statues, actions figures and collectibles. They carry Star Wars, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Star Trek, and many others.

K'NEX® FIRST LINE OF ANGRY BIRDS™ BUILDING SETS HIT STORE SHELVES

Officially-Licensed Building Toys by K'NEX Allow Kids to Build & Play in the Angry Birds World

Hatfield, PA, August, 2012 - K'NEX, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, is pleased to introduce its first line of officially licensed building sets inspired by Angry Birds™, the #1 paid app of all time. Young Angry Birds fans will soon be able to build and play with characters from their favorite app including Red Bird, Yellow Bird and King Pig.

The new products combine the award-winning K'NEX building system with beloved characters from Angry Birds, bringing them from the smartphone to the construction aisle for the first time!

Angry Birds Intro Assortment Building Sets