Raving Toy Maniac

FashionPlaytes and Hasbro Team Up to Launch MY LITTLE PONY Fashion Design Studio

Girls can create, wear and share original designs featuring dynamic play brand

BEVERLY, Mass. -- April 3, 2012 -- FashionPlaytes, the leading online clothing design experience for girls ages 5 to 12, and Hasbro, Inc. today announced the launch of the MY LITTLE PONY Design Studio (www.fpgirl.com/mlp), an innovative e-commerce experience where girls can create their own fashions and have them produced to wear.

April 2012 - DC has sent out this gift guide for Father's Day and graduation gifts...

With Father's Day and graduation season just around the corner, we've compiled a list of books, toys and pop culture items that we think are ideal for gift-giving that are sure to please readers of comic books, graphic novels, and toy collectors.

BOOKS FOR DADS AND GRADS

JUSTICE LEAGUE Vol. 1: Origin

Why is this book great for dads and grads? While chronicling the first meetings of the World's Greatest Super Heroes, JUSTICE LEAGUE VOLUME ONE: ORIGIN also explores an explosively unique father-son relationship. Struggling to win the approval of his overachieving father, teenager Vic Stone becomes the victim of a lab accident that turns him into the hero CYBORG - which makes him the unwitting key to stopping a parademon invasion of Earth. From New York Times bestselling writer Geoff Johns and legendary artist Jim Lee, the newly re-imagined JUSTICE LEAGUE embraces the age-old quest for parental validation in an all-new way, setting it against the backdrop of some of the most iconic heroes in the DC Comics line-up.

April 6, 2012 - 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.

Public Bikes Recalls Bicycles Due to Fall Hazard

Todson Recalls Bicycle Child Carrier Seats Due to Laceration and Fingertip Amputation Hazards

Port Surveillance News: CPSC Investigators Find, Stop Nearly 650,000 Unsafe Products at the Start of Fiscal Year 2012

Toy Truck Gifts with Purchase Recalled by Happy Shirts Due to Fire Hazard - Sold Exclusively at Kohl's

April 4, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

CLEARANCE SALE - THIRD PARTY TRANSFORMING TOYS - SAVE 25%
Nearly every Third Party item currently in stock is now on sale at 25% off! Take a look through the product list and be sure to browse the full menus as well. There are some great deals here, including 25% off previous sale prices, so be sure to take a look.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/search.aspx?search=third+party

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NEW PREORDERS
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MOVIE MASTERPIECE 1/6 SCALE TERMINATOR T-800 DX FIGURE
A new version of the T-800 Movie Masterpiece figure has been announced. This version comes with multiple hands, a full cloth outfit including leather jacket, an LED-lit hexagonal stand, multiple weapons, a detachable scale with cyberdyne chip, the PERS eyeball system and more. This figure is listed at $214.99, saving you $15 off of the MSRP.

LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE®!
VIZ MEDIA DELIVERS ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURES FOR ALL AGES WITH NEW VOLTRON FORCE GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES

VOLTRON FORCE® Updates the Classic '80s Sci-fi Epic For A Whole New Generation of Fans

San Francisco, CA, April 3, 2012 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, debuts today the riveting outer space action of VOLTRON FORCE®, in a new graphic novel series that complements the animated series currently airing on Nicktoons. VOLTRON FORCE Volume 1: SHELTER FROM THE STORM, under the VIZ Kids imprint, is rated 'A' for All Ages and will carry an MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN.

Clayburn Moore Brings Dean Yeagle's Curvaceous Mandy to Life in Upcoming Limited-Edition Statue!

April 2012 - Award-winning animator and Playboy cartoonist Dean Yeagle has granted The CS Moore Studio Ltd the license to release a statue based on his vivacious pinup dream girl, Mandy. The Dean Yeagle Mandy & Skoots Statue will be sculpted by Clayburn Moore, widely regarded for his beautiful interpretations of the female form.

After Dean's curvaceous Mandy appeared online in 2002 (a neo-Mandy was featured in one of Dean's Playboy cartoons that year), she's appeared in art books and original pieces for collectors and a number of Paris art galleries. Over the years she has developed a devoted fan following, eagerly waiting to see what situations the winsome cutie and her dog Skoots will find themselves in next.

April 2012 - Jon-Paul Kaiser's PANDAIMYO 5 inch Mini Qee

Wind whispers through grass,
I stand in the moonlit trees,
Hills echo life's loss.

Toy2R proudly presents the next Jon-Paul Kaiser 5 Inch Mini Qee – PANDAIMYO. Expect this warrior to land this summer with an SRP of $28.00 each, and be on the lookout for other members of his warrior clan...

Wholesale orders now being accepted through Toy2R's global network of distributors.

Prize #6 of the 20 Big Prizes From K'NEX®
Enter for your chance to win 8 tickets to Cedar Point® Amusement Park!

Hatfield, PA - April 02, 2012 - K'NEX Brands, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, is pleased to announce the launch of K'NEX'S Win Eight Tickets to Cedar Point Amusement Park Sweepstakes. From April 3, 2012 at 9:00am EST through April 18, 2012 at 3:59pm EST, K'NEX fans can enter for their chance to win 8 tickets to Cedar Point Amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio for the 2012 operating season.

Entrants can enter once per day either through the K'NEX Facebook page (which links to the K'NEX 20th Anniversary Celebration page of the Knex.com website), or directly through KNEX.com. Contestants must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see official rules for details. http://www.knex.com/20thanniversary/20BigPrizes/Cedar-Point.php

"We are happy to give back to our K'NEX fans who have shown such great support for us over the past twenty years," said K'NEX President and CEO Michael Araten.

KMART'S 'HOT 8' TOYS IGNITE PLAY FOR SUMMER
Retailer Reveals the Season's Top Toys to Get Kids Active

Hoffman Estates, Ill. (April 3, 2012) - Coinciding with unseasonably warm weather throughout many parts of the country, Kmart has announced the summer's "Hot 8" toys. This year's Hot 8 list emphasizes fun, durable toys that kids will love and give parents the peace of mind their children will be active and happy all summer long.

Featuring trampolines and swing sets, Power Wheels and swimming pools, the Hot 8 toy list encourages adventurous, outdoor play for kids of all ages. Plus, new enhanced safety features include swing sets equipped with double-walled slides and trampolines with 12-foot protective nets and padded poles.