Raving Toy Maniac

Nickelodeon to Debut Saban's Power Rangers Super Megaforce in 2014

All-new season to feature special morphing powers and SUPER MEGA action

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 17, 2013) -- Saban Brands announced today that it will launch Saban's Power Rangers Super Megaforce, the newest season of Power Rangers, in 2014 on Nickelodeon. Power Rangers, one of the top rated and longest running boys live-action series in television history, offers SUPER MEGA action, excitement, humor and entertainment, while maintaining core themes of friendship, teamwork, fitness and helping others.

"As Saban Brands and Power Rangers celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the iconic franchise this year, it is more apparent than ever that the show has a strong connection to fans of all ages and backgrounds," said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. "We are happy to continue our partnership with Nickelodeon and we look forward to entertaining our fans with more action-packed, SUPER MEGA adventures in 2014 with Power Rangers Super Megaforce."

NECA/WIZKIDS ANNOUNCES MONTH-LONG PACIFIC RIM GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA

June 2013 - With the upcoming launch of the highly anticipated film "Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures PACIFIC RIM," and the release of the Pacific Rim Action Figure line and movie-themed HeroClix just around the corner, NECA/WizKids today announced a month-long giveaway extravaganza, featuring NECA Pacific Rim prizes and prize packs that will be awarded weekly.

One winner will be awarded weekly, and prizes include WizKids Games' upcoming Pacific Rim HeroClix Gravity Feeds and mini-games, as well as NECA's 7" scale Pacific Rim Action Figures. Prize packs will vary and a total of four prizes packs will be awarded during the giveaway.

The giveaway ends July 15. There is no purchase necessary, participants may enter once per day. Each weekly winner will be selected at random and notified via email.

DARK HORSE OFFICIALLY UNVEILS THE GAME OF THRONES® WHITE WALKER STATUE!

This highly anticipated collectible featured in Diamond Comics Distributors' September-dated PREVIEWS catalog!

MILWAUKIE, OR, JUNE 17, 2013 - Following its "sneak" debut to the industry at this year's Toy Fair International, Game of Thrones fans have been clamoring for an official release date, and images of HBO® and Dark Horse's White Walker statue.

Arriving at finer comic shops, bookstores, and specialty retailers on December 18, 2013, the White Walker is a hand-painted, numbered limited edition collectible. Each bust is packaged in full-color collector box, will include a numbered certificate of authenticity. Retail price is $124.99.

White Walkers, or the Others, are a fierce mythological race who are seldom seen as they lurk and prey in their land in the frozen north of Westeros. The Wall was constructed ages ago to keep them isolated. This evil creature speaks in cracked tones and brandishes a deadly icy weapon, as immortalized in this beautiful collectible piece.

The First Lost in Space Minimates are Exclusively at Comic-Con International!

June 2013 - Diamond Select Toys announced their new line of Minimates based on the classic TV show Lost in Space at this year's New York Toy Fair, and now they're announcing where the first set will be available: this year's San Diego Comic-Con!

The Comic-Con exclusive Lost in Space Minimates two-pack includes Dr. Zachary Smith and the robot B-9 in glorious black-and-white, just like the original TV show. Each Minimate mini-figure stands approximately 2 inches tall, with interchangeable parts and accessories, including a laser pistol and two additional Dr. Smith heads that capture his wide array of facial expressions. They will come packaged on a full-color blister card.

Diamond Select Announces View Askew Minimates Line and Comic-Con Exclusive!

June 2013 - When a new Minimates toy line is born, it's a special time for everybody. So Diamond Select Toys is going to give birth at the most special time of all! A new line of Minimates is debuting at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, and it's from the cinematic world of Kevin Smith!

The first exclusive two-pack includes Jay and Silent Bob in black-and-white, just as they appeared in Smith's groundbreaking debut film, Clerks. Future sets will be in black and white as well as full-color, and will be based on all of the View Askew universe films: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Clerks 2 and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back! Each Minimate mini-figure stands approximately 2 inches tall, with interchangeable parts and accessories.

George Lucas Wins First Emmy® for Star Wars: The Clone Wars at the 40th Anniversary Daytime Emmy® Awards Sponsored by Red Touch Media

LOS ANGELES, June 16, 2013 -- Red Touch Media announced George Lucas' first-ever Emmy® award win for Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the Outstanding Special Class-Animation category. The legendary creator of the Star Wars series was presented the award this evening by Carrie Fisher, star of his iconic films. Red Touch Media previously announced its unique partnership with The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) as the premiere digital content management provider for this year's Daytime Emmy® Awards and sponsor of the "Red Touch Red Carpet."

SUBWAY® Restaurants And Disney Collaborate For Release Of "Monsters University" And "The Lone Ranger"

(bleep)ORD, Conn., June 17, 2013 -- This June, SUBWAY® restaurants, the world's largest restaurant chain, and The Walt Disney Company will celebrate one year of working together with the announcement of two additional movie integrations: Disney-Pixar's "Monsters University" and Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films' "The Lone Ranger." In 2012, SUBWAY® restaurants and Disney collaborated on films including Disney-Pixar's "Brave," Disney's "Frankenweenie" and Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Wreck-It Ralph," recently winning the award for "Best Promotional Campaign" around these movies at the 2013 Cynopsis Kids Imagination Awards.

June 17, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

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NEW PRE-ORDERS
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WOLVERINE LEGENDS PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE CASE OF 8
This assortment includes Wolverine, Sabretooth, Cyclops and Emma Frost, along with the parts to assemble a Puck Build-A-Figure. We have the Case of 8 listed at $159.99, $24 off of the MSRP.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS22962&mode=re...

DARYL DIXON 10" DELUXE FIGURE

June 16, 2013 - In May, we took the boy to Wendy's for another Klutz Trip-tivities activity book. We also went to McDonald's for a Spy Gear toy, but by then they had changed over to Epic toys, so we ended up buying a Spy Gear set for him on eBay.

Let's see what's out there in restaurants this month!

A quick check of the web sites for the more popular fast food restaurants reveals the following:

- McDonald's has Hot Wheels and Twinkle Toes by Skecher's toys in their Happy Meals, with Despicable Me 2 shown as the next promotion. Apparently Epic came and went since last month's round-up.

- Burger King has Jungle Book toys in their Kids Meals, with Care Bears and Beyblade toys coming soon.

- The Chick-fil-A site lists Martha Speaks sticker books as the goodies in their Kid's Meals. The "kids under 3" item appears to be a board book.

2013 TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame Finalist Vote Now LIVE!

June 2013 - Hasbro has sent an update about their Transformers Hall of Fame voting:

Hello, TRANSFORMERS fans!

The time has come for the public at large to select two Fans' Choice robot inductees to make up the class of 2013 for the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame! Drawn from an open nomination process as voted upon by the readers of TRANSFORMERS fan sites, the five beloved TRANSFORMERS characters who garnered the most votes are now online at TRANSFORMERS.COM for an open vote. The two characters who receive the most votes by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 21st will be inducted into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame!

The five nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

• ARCEE
• MEGATRON (Beast Wars)
• PROWL
• RODIMUS/HOT ROD
• ULTRA MAGNUS