Raving Toy Maniac

January 8, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

More great new preorders listed today:

Arkham City Play Arts Kai Series 03 - Poison Ivy
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SEP10400&mode=re...

Arkham City Play Arts Kai Series 03 - Harley Quinn
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SEP10399&mode=re...

Medal of Honor Warfighter Play Arts Kai - Preacher
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SEP10401&mode=re...

S.H. MonsterArts - King Kong (2005)
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BAN14903&mode=re...

Saint Cloth Myth EX - Cancer Deathmask
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BAN14907&mode=re...

D-Arts Megaman X Action Figure Reissue
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=BAN14911&mode=re...

Dragon Ball Kai: S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Son Goku

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment Assemble To Create LEGO® MARVEL SUPER HEROES

Marvel Super Heroes Build Their Way into LEGO Games Autumn 2013 with an All-New, Action-Packed LEGO Videogame Adventure

London, UK – 8th January, 2013 – Marvel Super Heroes are assembling for an action-packed, brick-smashing good time! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment announced today that LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes will be available from autumn 2013 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii U™ system and Windows PC, as well as the Nintendo DS™ handheld system, Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is the first installment in the highly successful LEGO videogame franchise to feature famous Marvel characters.

Calling All Mini Model Builders!! LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Wants You!!

LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Westchester Launches Online Search For Imaginative And Enthusiastic Children To Serve As Attraction Ambassadors On Its Junior Construction Panel

YONKERS, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2013 -- With LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Westchester set to open on March 27, 2013 at Ridge Hill in Yonkers, the attraction is looking to build the final piece of its creative team — the Junior Construction Panel — and today launched an online search to find the tri-state area's most creative and brightest youngsters to join the panel.

LEGO® Robots Begin Worldwide March: New Smarter, Stronger LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Unveiled At CES

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2013 -- CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW -- Today The LEGO Group announced LEGO® MINDSTORMS EV3, a new platform for consumer robotics designed to introduce a younger generation to the excitement of building and programming robots while adding new flexibility for its devoted following of robotics enthusiasts. Unveiled for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 is the result of three years of product development by an international team of LEGO designers, MINDSTORMS user-enthusiasts and leading technology experts. LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, available in summer 2013, will be previewed to members of the global media at Digital Experience! on January 7 and will be demonstrated to CES attendees during the Kids@Play Summit, January 8-11, 2013, in the Venetian Hotel.

Two Generations of the U.S.S. Enterprise are Headed Home in New Packaging!

January 2013 - Diamond Select Toys is moving two more Star Trek ships out of drydock, and this time their packaging is getting the refit! The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B (from Star Trek: Generations) and NCC-1701-D (from Star Trek: The Next Generation) are headed to stores in the next month, with lights and sounds from their screen appearances, and DST has revealed their new packaging design. Check out both new ships in their boxes below, and pre-order them from your local comic shop or your favorite online retailer!

Visit comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest comic shop, and get regular DST updates on Facebook and Twitter!

January 7, 2012 - Hasbro has released a new update about some of their Star Wars action figures:

Star Wars fans,

The Droid Factory line which was slated for spring 2013 has been cancelled. We were very excited about this line at its inception and wanted to give fans an early sneak peek when we unveiled it at Star Wars Celebration this past summer. Unfortunately since then, through the course of development, we realized that the price would have to be increased and we felt that the value we were adding with the droid parts was no longer substantiated.

As a result, we have decided to rework our 3.75" figure program to create a line that is on-par with the quality and pricing of the Vintage Collection. Many of the figures intended for the Droid Factory will become available in this new line in the fall. We'll be able to share more news on this at Toy Fair.

HEROCLIX ONLINE ANNOUNCES NEW DC COMICS CONTENT

Batman™ Streets of Gotham Fast Forces

Hillside, N.J. & Cary, N.C. – January 3, 2012 – Developers of HeroClix Online today announced the latest DC Comics collection to hit the server - Batman™ Streets of Gotham Fast Forces. The latest pack adds six new figures to the online game, with free virtual redemption codes available in physical Batman™ Streets of Gotham Fast Forces packs.

Now available online, figures in the new pack include DC Comics' Oracle, Lady Blackhawk, Huntress, Black Canary, DC Comics' The Hawk and Dove.

Additionally, players who purchase the physical Batman™ Streets of Gotham Fast Forces will receive free codes for each figure's virtual counterpart in HeroClix Online.

For more information on HeroClix Online, visit http://hco.heroclix.com/.

For news updates and announcements, follow HeroClix Online on Facebook and Twitter.

About WIZKIDS/NECA, INC.

January 3, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Hi - more cool new preorders and arrivals today:

Real Masterpiece Kobe Bryant 1/6 Scale Figure
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=ENB10063&mode=re...

Funko DC Domo figures & mini figures
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=dc%20domo

Bioworld Video Game, Comic, Movie Gear
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=bioworld

New WWE Cases
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=wwe

Batman 16 GB Flash Drive / USB Bust
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=INFT10007&mode=r...

New Arrivals:

TFC Uranos - F-15 Eagle
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TFC10026&mode=re...

Street Fighter X Tekken Minimates Series 02 - Set of 8
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=DMC11840&mode=re...

LEGO Legends of Chima Races onto Shelves In 2013

ENFIELD, Conn., Jan. 2, 2013 -- LEGO Systems, Inc. today announced LEGO® Legends of Chima™, an original LEGO property set in a mythical land of magical animal tribes who compete for CHI, a valuable energy source which gives them extraordinary powers over one another. The story comes to life through a universe of products across the company's entire play system including classic building sets, collectible social competition kits, buildable figures and board games, and will be fueled by digital gaming.

"Building upon our success with developing rich and immersive original storylines, most notable the recent Ninjago phenomenon, we're excited to launch a whole new world in LEGO Legends of Chima to spark any child's imagination and invite them to the world of LEGO building," said Soren Torp Laursen, president of LEGO Systems, Inc. "Based on the reactions we saw through our research, there is no doubt that our immersive approach to original properties will once again inspire, engage and thrill children who love to build and play with great stories."

Story

January 2013 - Funko has announced a new blind box product - the Domo/DC Comics Mystery Minis. The Mystery Minis are 2.5-inch Domo vinyl figures in 14 different DC character disguises.

They are due out at the end of February 2013.

The blind boxes are sold to stores in display cases of 24, with six display cases in each "master case," allowing for some of the figures to have a higher rarity than you'd first expect when you hear that there are 24 figures to each display case. Happy searching!