Raving Toy Maniac

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett and Whoopi Goldberg Inspires Nationwide Stretchkins Fitness Toy Craze

NEW YORK, June 4, 2014 -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new film from Paramount and Michael Bay starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett and Whoopi Goldberg will open nationwide on August 8 and is set to be the family smash hit of the summer.

For kids who want to take home their very own ninja turtle look no further than Stretchkins. The fun fitness toys have started a craze on the East Coast, and are now available nationwide at Walmart and Toys "R" Us. The officially licensed Ninja Turtle Stretchkins will go into stores in all 50 states from July.

Priced from $19.95, kids can have fun and get fit with their very own Stretchkins, available as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello, in addition to the classic Playful Puppy, Pretty Unicorn, and Red Dragon models.

Pretty Ugly™ Grants License to Chasing Fireflies, LLC

Green Brook, NJ - June 12, 2014 - Pretty Ugly™, LLC owner of the UGLYDOLL™ brand, is pleased to announce their recent partnership with Chasing Fireflies, LLC, a leading manufacturer of children's costumes.

UGLYDOLLS are fun and quirky. Fans have spent timeless hours making costumes of their favorite UGLYDOLL characters. "We are so excited to now work with Chasing Fireflies in putting their magical touch to bring life-size character appeal to our favorite UGLYDOLL characters," says Teresa Fazio, Director of Licensing.

"Chasing Fireflies is thrilled to be working with Uglydoll to create an exclusive line of costumes for 2015. We have loved and admired the creativity and uniqueness of Uglydoll, for many years. Being able to bring them to life through our exclusive costume designs will allow both brands to continue their commitment to create products that are fun, whimsical, inventive, and that excel in design and quality," says David Niggli, President, Chasing Fireflies.

UGLYDOLL& Pretty Ugly, LLC

June 13, 2014 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Clearance Sale - Prices Just Reduced on 5000+ Items
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=16064

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2014 STAR WARS 6" BLACK SERIES 03 CASE, SINGLES
The latest Hasbro announcement is for the new wave of Star Wars Black 6" figures. It includes Episode IV Chewbacca, Episode V Darth Vader, Episode VI Jedi Luke Skywalker and a Sandtrooper. They are listed as a Case of 4 at $79.99, or singly at $19.99 - $26.99 each.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=3184&category=10138

2014 STAR WARS 6" BLACK DELUXE SERIES 01 CASE, SET, SINGLE

June 13, 2014 - 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.

- SCOTT Recalls Speedster Bicycles Due to Fall Hazard

- Lea Industries Recalls Bunk Beds with Bookcases Due to Risk of Entrapment

June 2014 - Hasbro has sent word of the next round of Fans' Choice voting for the Transformers Hall of Fame:

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 2014 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 http://on.fb.me/1hR80zo for an open vote. The two characters who receive the most votes by 12:00 pm on June 18th will become the 2014 class for the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame!

The five nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

• Arcee
• Blackarachnia
• Devastator
• Optimus Primal
• Rodimus

June 2014 - Get your wallets out again, there are more action figures and toys on Kickstarter!

- Warpo is raising funds to produce a retro 3.75-inch action figure series based on Legends of Cthulhu. This campaign closes on July 9th. Head over to the project page for more details.

- If you prefer something on the cuter side, JUMBiES has a campaign to produce plush toys which combine two animals into one. The JUMBiES campaign closes on June 27th.

- Mindzai has a campaign to produce an 8-inch vinyl figure called Lethal Taco in several colorways. The Lethal Taco campaign closes on July 18th.

June 2014 - The Toy Pizza series on YouTube has a new episode up!

Click here to check it out! This episode features toys from the movie Frozen as well as the IamElemental Kickstarter project.

June 2014 - The 5th Annual Quad Cities Planet Comic & Arts Convention is only one month away! Sunday July 13th, 2014 at the Holiday Inn in The District of Rock Island, IL is the new venue for this years premiere Comic Convention!

This is going to be our biggest and best event yet! Artists, Writers, and Vendors will be displaying their creations and merchandise for attendees, fans, collectors, and hobbyists to peruse, browse, acquire, and mingle with fellow enthusiasts. There are 20 guest Creators scheduled for this years Convention. Phil Hester, Jenny Frison, John Bivens are just to name a few. There will be over 40 tables of Dealers and Vendors presenting New & Old Comics, Original Art, Action Figures, Posters, and so much more!

New to the Convention this year will be 3 presentations offered for interested participants.

June 11, 2014 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Clearance Sale - Prices Just Reduced on 5000+ Items
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=16064

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NEW PRE-ORDERS
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TAKARA TRANSFORMERS LEGENDS - NEW LINE
The new Transformers Legends line starts out with a Takara redeco of the Generations Rattrap figure at $29.99, and a reissue (with possible upgrades) of the Beast Wars Reborn Ultra Optimus Primal at $64.99.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=3501&category=10132

MAKETOYS UTOPIA - THREE-MODE THEOPHANY INTERSPACE COLONIZATION SHIP
Utopia is a large-scale three-mode transforming toy that stands about 18.8" tall in robot mode, and is armed with two huge red laser guns and more. He can also change into a space ship mode and a city mode for the benefit of his passengers, and he is priced at $399.99.

UGLYDOLL™ Teams with STAR TREK™ to Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before

Green Brook, NJ - June 11, 2014 - Pretty Ugly, LLC™ has teamed with CBS Consumer Products for its newest collaboration with the iconic STAR TREK characters, set to launch in 2015.

Products will include Wage™ as Captain James T. Kirk, Ox™ as first officer Spock™, Ice-Bat™ as chief engineer Scotty, Babo™ as Doctor McCoy and Tray™ as communications officer Uhura.

"We are honored to explore the Final Frontier with STAR TREK. This renowned series is nothing short of legendary- it's the perfect extension for the UGLYDOLL brand," says Drew Matilsky, Pretty Ugly's Managing Partner.

"Ugly is the new Beautiful!" This has been Uglydoll's mantra since its inception 13 years ago. The notion of embracing one's individuality has led to its success in becoming an award-winning brand. The Uglydoll property includes a fully integrated licensing program.

UGLYDOLL& Pretty Ugly, LLC