Raving Toy Maniac

ONLINE VIDEO CONTEST OFFERS LEGO® FANS WORLDWIDE A CHANCE TO PLACE THEIR OWN WORK IN THE UPCOMING 3D ANIMATED FEATURE, "THE LEGO MOVIE"

Entries are Eligible for a Score of Prizes, and One Grand Prize Winner's Creation Could Be Included in the 2014 Release

March 2013 - BURBANK, CA, - Beginning March 25, LEGO® fans registered worldwide on http://rebrick.com will have a one-of-a-kind, hands-on opportunity to take part in the growing excitement for "THE LEGO MOVIE" by creating a 15-30 second video clip based on its story, in the LEGO ReBrick Movie Competition. The winning video could be featured in the film, the first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO adventure, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, opening February 7, 2014.

Angry Birds™ Space Encounter Opens at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Comprehensive, Interactive Attraction is the First of its Kind in the United States

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 22, 2013 -- KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – The internationally popular Angry Birds™ have landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for a new mission in space.

Angry Birds Space Encounter, the first comprehensive, interactive Angry Birds attraction in the United States designed for people of all ages, opened today at the Visitor Complex. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex partnered with Rovio Entertainment, creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise, including Angry Birds Space, to bring the beloved characters to life.

March 2013 - Dark Horse has released these free printable paper doll and paper "in action figure" versions of Jai Nitz's Dream Thief.

Right-click on each image to save it to your computer to be able to print and play!

Pop culture expo set to debut Easter Weekend in Hershey

March 2013 - HERSHEY, Pa - Television stars, movie stars, antiques, collectibles and Elvis are just some of the attractions expected to be seen at the American Music & Pop Culture Expo.

The Expo is set to debut on Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30, at the Granada Avenue Gymnasium, 30 E. Granada Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The show will present the world of music, comics, movies, television, toys and more, with a showroom packed with over 100 exhibitor spaces.

Numerous vendors will be buying, selling and trading a variety of antique, vintage and popular culture collectibles, such as DVDs, posters, books, magazines, comics, trading cards, art, crafts, jewelry, apparel, toys, games, lunchboxes, advertising items, CDs, vinyl albums and singles, antique cash registers, jukeboxes, gumball machines, pinballs, and antique arcade games.

The event is being organized by USA Theatres, which operates a portable drive-in and outdoor movie theatre in Central Pennsylvania.

Alice Returns in Her Royal Suit from Madness Returns!

March 2013 - Madness is coming again! The response to the first series of figures from from the hit video game American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns was so overwhelmingly positive that Diamond Select Toys is coming out with yet another version of heroine Alice Liddell!

Joining the standard Alice and Hysteria Alice figures is Royal Suit Alice, featuring Ms. Liddell in yet another outfit that provides different benefits and abilities in different regions of Wonderland. Alice acquires the Royal Suit, which helps her access her invincible Hysteria mode, in the ruins of Queensland, where the Queen of Hearts is slowly regaining her power. Royal Suit Alice comes armed with her Vorpal Blade, Hobby Horse and Pepper Grinder weapons. Check out the packaging below, and look for Alice to hit comic shops and specialty stores in April!

March 2013 - Funko has announced a new batch of blind-boxed 2.5-inch Mystery Minis vinyl figures, this time based on DC Comics characters.

The counter display has 24 boxes, each containing a variety of Classic and Movie characters:

• 3 Superheroes (Batman, Dark Knight Batman, Bat Girl)
• 3 Valiant Poses
• 5 Super Villains (Joker, DK Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman)
• 1-3 Menacing Poses

Expect to see these in stores around April 24th.

March 21, 2013 - 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.

- Magura USA Recalls Bicycle Hydraulic Disc Brakes Due to Collision Hazard

- Yuba Bicycles Recalls Mundo Cargo Bikes Due to Injury Hazard

- 50 Years of Poison Prevention Efforts Result in Lives Saved; Emerging, Toxic Hazards Still Lurk in Many Homes

- CPSC and ACCC Warn of Poison Dangers with Liquid Laundry Packets

March 20, 2013 - For February, the boy ended up at Wendy's twice, with an annoying buzzer/bell as one of the prizes. It is part of an "I Spy" game, but we've yet to actually play the game. Just endless bell ringing. The other toy was a small set of Smart Links connecting pieces to build various shapes. He still has a set from last year around here somewhere, hopefully they'll turn up and then he can build something larger and less nebulous.

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 Hexbug and Barbie in the Pink Shoes toys in their Happy Meals, with The Croods shown as the next promotion. (Also, on the night of the 20th, their web site seemed to only want to work for me on an iPad, and not a regular computer. Your mileage may vary.)

The Mirror Universe Enterprise Invades the Star Trek Minimates Line!

March 2013 - Fans of Star Trek and Minimates alike have been anxiously awaiting the release of the USS Enterprise in Minimate Vehicle form, and the stylized starship is only a few short months away from being in stores. Now, Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum are happy to announce a new Minimates Starship that's exclusively at Entertainment Earth!

Heroes Return in Thundercats Classic Minimates Series 3 by Icon Heroes

Honolulu, HI, March 20, 2013 – It's time for Thundercat reinforcements! Icon Heroes, LLC just released the highly anticipated third series of Thundercats Classic Minimates. A whole new line of heroes come to Minimate life with Tygra, Cheetara, Wilykit and Wilykat. As a special bonus feature, this set includes a mini RoBear Bill figure.

Produced in conjunction with Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum, each Minimate stands 2 inches tall with 14 points of articulation and key character accessories. Tygra has his bolo whip, Cheetara and her staff, and the Thunderkittens with their smoke bombs, lassos, and hoverboards. This make a great addition to the Series 1 heroes set of Lion-O, Panthro, Jaga and Mumm-Ra and Series 2 villains set of Slythe, Jackalman, Vultureman, and Monkian.