Raving Toy Maniac

August 8, 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.

- Holgate Toys Recalls Playmat Sets Due to Choking Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Wegmans Food Stores

- Giant Bicycle Recalls XtC Bicycles and Seatposts Due to Fall Hazard

- Toysmith Recalls Toy Light-Up Frogs and Ducks Due to Choking Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Cost Plus World Market

- Sleepharmony Pink Youth Beds Recalled by Glideaway Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

August 7th 2013: Portal fans and collectors alike are in for a fantastic treat today as we at Gaming Heads have just revealed a fantastic, new instalment in our popular line of Portal 2 Turret statues. Valve's Portal series has sold millions of copies worldwide to dedicated fans, and as fans of the series ourselves we're incredibly happy to be able to provide unique, high-end statues in unmatched quality.

The World's Most Beloved Little Blue Creatures Will Embark on a New Spooky Adventure this Fall...

CULVER CITY, Calif., Aug. 6, 2013 -- The beloved Smurfs are back for some Halloween fun in THE SMURFS: THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW™, an all-new animated mini-movie from Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment makes its debut nationwide on DVD on September 10th. This 'Smurf-tacular' adventure features the original voice talent from THE SMURFS 2™, which grossed a smurftastic $80.3 million in theaters worldwide last week, including Alan Cumming (TV's "The Good Wife"), Fred Armisen (TV's "Saturday Night Live"), Anton Yelchin (TV's "Star Trek") as well as Hank Azaria as the voice of Gargamel (TV's "The Simpsons").

August 2013 - NECA has announced a new action figure of Freddy Krueger:

Just Announced: Nightmare on Elm St - 7" Classic Video Game Appearance Freddy Krueger!

Inspired by the Classic 1989 video game, Freddy is the companion piece to the Friday the 13th Classic Video Game Jason, one of the hottest SDCC Exclusives this Summer!

Click for more details and an extensive image gallery.

On Sale This Week: Lady Death and The Walking Dead!

August 2013 - This week, death comes to comic shops! But don't let that be a reason to avoid your local retailer - on the contrary! Make your way to the nearest comic-book-vending establishment (or specialty toy store) to check out the two new DST items hitting stores for New Toy Day! They're both pretty killer!

Walking Dead Pet Zombie B&W Vinyl Bust Bank
DST's popular line of The Walking Dead bust banks is adding another walker to its zombie horde! Based on one of Michonne's chained walkers, this zombie measure 8 inches tall atop the hit comic book's famous logo, and is crafted in durable vinyl with a slot in the back for your loose change. This new black-and-white edition captures the walker as he appears in the pages of The Walking Dead comic book with detailed sculpting by Eli Livingston. It's not just a cool bank, it's an amazing bust! (SRP: $22.99)

August 2013 - Monogram International is participating in the D23 Expo 2013!

http://www.monogramdirect.com/newsItem.asp?id=866

Please stop by our booth 531 and check out our wide range of products and exclusives.

The D23 Expo will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center from Friday, August 9th to Sunday August 11th.

Mezco Unlocks The Vault And Release Rare And One Of A Kind Items

New York - August 2013 - In a first of its kind event, Mezco Toyz is opening their vault and releasing items from their archives.

Mezco's Test Shots usually end up ion public display at such institutions as The Museum Of The Moving Image, Geppi's Entertainment Museum, or others.

This is the only time the vault has ever been opened and multiple test shots made available to the public.

At the same time, Mezco will be offering a select number of out of production items, including items from its popular Scarface and Hellboy lines.

"We get calls and emails about some of our discontinued items, like Notorious B.I.G., Heroes, Scarface, and others almost daily. This is an attempt to satisfy fans, pure and simple. We will be offering rare items, out of production items, and items like test shots that are one of a kind and unavailable anywhere else." says Mezco's Mike Drake.

Most test shots will be priced in the $100-$200 range so they will be affordable to even the most thrifty collectors.

Rare items will be offered at lower than expected prices as well.

August 2013 - Day Two of CustomCon 35 is now online at JoeAcevedo.com.

The Day Two galleries of customized action figures include:

• Superman The Animated Series 2014 by Hasbro
• Gotham's Most Wanted 2
• "X-Men: First Class" Movie – The Evolution of Magneto and Mystique
• HBO Series "Game of Thrones" – Group 5

August 6, 2013 - Yesterday, my email alerts lit up with fascinating teasers about LEGO introducing sets based on The Simpsons starting in 2014. I gleefully emailed the Public Relations folks at LEGO, and today's reply was that while Corporate Communications did indeed confirm this deal yesterday, the Public Relations department has nothing official to add at this time.

So... LEGO Simpsons sets are coming in 2014. Hopefully more details will be available before Toy Fair next February, and maybe we'll get lucky and see the sets in stores before then as well.

August 2013 - Funko has announced a new game - Batman vs. Joker Throwdown.

Funko describes the game as:

• Board and Pieces come in 12" Vinyl Figural Packaging
• Each Game comes with two 2.5" Collectible Vinyl Figure Game Pieces (Batman & Joker)
• Beat your opponent by using Combat Cards, Battle Cards, Boost Coins and Battle Dice
• Easy to Play
• Watch for booster packs to collect more Combat Cards and Collectible Game Piece Characters.

The game is due in stores around August 8th.