Raving Toy Maniac

Interview with the Sculptor: Marvel Select Venom's Jean St. Jean

September 2012 - The toy collecting community was thrown for a loop recently when Diamond Select Toys unveiled their upcoming Marvel Select figure of popular Spider-Man foe Venom. Instead of a decorative display base -- a common accessory to most standard-sized Select figures -- the early 2013 figure will come with a variety of interchangeable parts to re-create several of the anti-hero's more popular looks over the years. With 72 different display configurations, it's the most versatile Select action figure ever made, and each combination of parts is a masterpiece in its own right. The sculptor behind the figure is frequent DST collaborator Jean St. Jean, and he took some time out of his busy sculpting schedule to talk to us about the method behind the Madness.

Street Fighter X Tekken Minimates Series 1 is Almost Here!

September 2012 - The battle for Minimate supremacy continues! Hot on the heels of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 comes a brand new line of video-game inspired Minimates -- Street Fighter X Tekken! Each SFxT Minimate two-pack pits a Street Fighter superstar against a Tekken legend, and the battles will come fast and furious when they reach stores later this month! But Diamond Select Toys has pictures of them in action right now!

DST took SFxT Minimates Series 1 and staged a series of battles in different locales, based on the following two-pack combinations:

Ken vs. Steve
Sagat vs. King
Cammy vs. Nina (comic shop and specialty store exclusive)
Poison vs. Lili (comic shop and specialty store exclusive)
Zangief vs. Balrog (Toys "R" Us exclusive)
Guile vs. Raven (Toys "R" Us exclusive)

September 11, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Good News - we've secured a domestic supply of these items and they are now available for preorder at new lower prices!

Other M - Samus Aran Zero Suit Version 1/8 Scale PVC Figure - previously sold out - now available at $99.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MF10269&mode=ret...

Other M - Samus Aran Figma Action Figure - now available at $49.99 instead of $64.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MF10270&mode=ret...

Link Figma Figure - now available at $49.99 instead of $63.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=MF10293&mode=ret...

Also just listed - the very cool Castle Grayskull Statue at $114.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=ICH10010&mode=re...

Royal Caribbean International And Barbie® Set Sail Together To Offer First-Ever Barbie™ Experience At Sea

Girls Can Enjoy Exclusive Themed Staterooms, Tea Parties, Fashion Shows and More Aboard the Industry's Newest Fleet

MIAMI and EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 10, 2012 -- Royal Caribbean International, in partnership with Mattel, is bringing the signature pink style of Barbie, the world's most popular doll, to the world's most innovative cruise line. The pop culture icon will come to the high seas for the very first time to invite girls to see what happens when Barbie becomes a part of their cruise vacation. The all-new Barbie™ Premium Experience, available exclusively on Royal Caribbean ships, is making its stylish splash aboard the cruise line's entire global fleet of 22 ships starting in January 2013 on select ships and rolling out to the remainder of the fleet by March 2013.

And the Favorite Toy is G.I. Joe®!

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis Visitors and Fans Choose their Favorite Toy from the '100 Toys (& their Stories) that Define Our Childhood'

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 11, 2012 -- After eight weeks of voting, more than 24,000 votes, and 600 stories shared, the final results are in and The Children's Museum of Indianapolis online visitors and fans have determined their favorite toy from the past century. The top toy is G.I. Joe®!

On July 16, the public was asked to weigh in on the '100 Toys (& their Stories) that Define Our Childhood'. The goal was to determine favorites from a list of 100 toys iconic of childhood as chosen by curators of The Children's Museum's collection. After the initial five weeks of public voting, the list of 100 Toys was narrowed down to the top 20 from which the public was again asked to rank favorites. The results of this last vote determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.

The final order for the top 20 toys is:

Gold: G.I. Joe®
Silver: Transformers®
Bronze: LEGO® Toys
4. Barbie®
5. View-Master®
6. Bicycle

ELMO AND GORDON TO APPEAR DURING "NYCC KIDS" AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

Sesame Street Characters to Visit Pop Culture Event on Sunday, October 14

Norwalk, CT, September 10, 2012: New York Comic Con (NYCC) officials today announced that Sesame Street's Elmo, the 3 ½-year-old monster with the high pitched voice and contagious giggle, will appear at the show along with his good friend Gordon (Roscoe Orman). The hugely popular and widely recognized pair from Sesame Street will visit the annual pop culture event during NYCC Kids, a day focused on programming and activities for younger fans and their families on Sunday, October 14, 2012. Organizers note that further details about the appearance, including the precise time Elmo and Gordon will be present for kids and fans will be announced in the near future on the NYCC website.

New Distributor Twentieth Century Fox Unveils DreamWorks Animation's Release Slate Through 2016

GLENDALE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2012 -- New distributor Twentieth Century Fox today unveiled DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.'s feature film release slate for 2013 to 2016, which includes twelve CG animated films in four years – a major industry first.

The following DreamWorks Animation films will be distributed by Fox: The Croods for March 22, 2013, Turbo for July 19, 2013 and Mr. Peabody & Sherman for November 1, 2013; Me and My Shadow for March 14, 2014, How to Train Your Dragon 2 for June 20, 2014 and Happy Smekday! for November 26, 2014; The Penguins of Madagascar for March 27, 2015, Trolls (working title) for June 5, 2015, B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations for November 6, 2015 and Mumbai Musical (working title) for December 19, 2015; Kung Fu Panda 3 for March 18, 2016 and How to Train Your Dragon 3 for June 18, 2016.

September 10, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Hi - a few cool new listings to mention today:

Calibre's large scale Transformer statues are now up for preorder. Each piece is limited to only 500 - Prime is available at $1399.99 and Bumblebee is $1199.99
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=527&category=8935

Assassin's Creed III - Connor 8" Vinyl Figure - distributed exclusively by BBTS in the USA
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=SYC10028&mode=re...

Another big list of Japanese Exclusives
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/list.aspx?list=10527

BURGER KING® Restaurants Join as Global QSR Partner for "The Jungle Book" TV Series and upcoming Feature Film Promotion

HYDERABAD, India, September 10, 2012 -- DQ Entertainment International (DQE) the global entertainment production and distribution company, producer and global rights owner of "The Jungle Book" - new 3D CGI animated TV series along with SMC Entertainment Group, Inc. (SMC) - rights owner for North America is pleased to announce a deal with Burger King Worldwide (BKW) - for a promotional partnership. It is announced by DQE and SMC that the global Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) - promotion will begin in Summer 2013.

Participating BURGER KING® restaurants in select countries will launch an integrated marketing campaign highlighted by in-restaurant merchandising and promotional - themed toys featuring 'The Jungle Book' at more than 12,000 locations worldwide. The Jungle Book promotion is based on The Jungle Book TV series - seasons 1 and 2, and The Jungle Book Feature Film that is currently being produced by DQE.

September 2012 - Funko has announced a batch of new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer items!

The Rudolph, Misfit Elephant, and Bumbles plushies should be available now.

The Pop! Holiday vinyl figures should be available September 20, and include the Misfit Elephant, Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the Elf, Rudolph, Santa, and Bumbles.