This is my first Toy Fair as “press”, and it was fun walking around, searching for geekery items, brainstorming a little with the company reps, and just having fun!
I’m here for four days, and I’ll be posting photos and previews as time allows.
He wasn’t getting as much love as Ninjago or Lego Batman, but a few were taking pictures…We’ll begin With a spin Traveling in The world of my creation What we’ll see Will defy Explanation
Cuddle Toys
A Dutch company (although the owner lives in Indonesia! Halloween hasn’t crossed the English Channel to Europe yet, so the market is mostly make-believe and Carnival. Also, not much superhero influence yet, but like most kids, it can be appropriated as easily as an empty cardboard box!
Lego
Guarding the Lego showroom. I might be able to get a peek on Tuesday…Season Three of the YouTube cartoons will feature Lego playsets, which include evil Kryptonite sprites, and Krypto!
Madame Alexander
This is the first I’ve seen of this franchise. I saw a few other samples elsewhere. I took the picture because I liked the designs.Pricey! $110, wholesale? The Wonder Woman figure comes with two costumes. Harley Quinn is kinda cute as a toddler… Maybe DC can relaunch DC Juniors?Two outfits, for those who don’t like the movie version!“Fashion Force”, not part of an existing franchise, unique to Madame Alexander!(sorry about the blur)
Metal Earth
I got a sneak peek at some new designs… DC superheros, in a chibi style. I have a sales sheet, but I’ll try to get some photos before Wednesday!
Printed on flat sheets, then you build!Gundam! (I asked if it would be hard to scale up, and the owner said the problem would be in the size of the sheets. I guess you could scan them, and laser cut them on a bigger machine…)Yes, it looks even better on the spinning platform! Not sure WHICH iteration of the TARDIS this is… the chameleon circuit changes little things here and there…A very bad shot of the Star Wars models, including an R2-D2 model under construction.The regular model is about three inches tall. This… about a foot. Next to this was a three-foot Eiffel Tower!It just occurred to me…. there are different versions of the Bat Signal!…and, though it’s a little hush-hush, there will be a line of superhero kits, but more in a chibi cubist style.
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Breyer
Since I was on a geeky seek-and-find mission, I thought I’d check out Breyer, which specializes in horse figurines and playsets.
I was given a full tour, and I was amazed! There’s an annual horse festival in Kentucky in July, and they program for it like comics publishers plan for Comic-Con!
The horses… many are based on real horses, such as Triple Crown winners, the Queen’s pony, mustangs from PBS documentaries, and even a box set of Misty, complete with book! The figurines aren’t exact… they find a mold which matches the horse, then work with the breeders to get the color right. As you’ll see below, they are beautiful models!
They also have the Black & Decker license, and sell actual kid-sized tools which can be used to build project kits! There’s also a garden tool line!
And finally…. dinosaurs! As well as other animals. Some of the hand-sized figures of carnosaurs come with a victim caught in the jaws!
Oh! DreamWorks is relaunching Spirit! A Netflix series will premiere in June!
One of two larger models. Most of the figurines are hand-size.Rex’s playdate.Breyer makes amazing models, most based on living thoroughbreds! This is a fantasy design, of course. I wonder… are there human figurines that match the detail of musculature and shading?Dreamworks is relaunching the franchise with a Netflix series next June!
K’Nex
Quite surprised that K’nex has a full line of ballistics! Very lightweight!Plants vs. Zombies, K’nex. I just liked the design!
K’nex owns Tinker Toy and Lincoln Logs. MLP…. Tinker Toys for girls?
Club Earth
Hand puppets, latex, so they stretch! Dinoaurs and sharks!BRILLIANCE. Temperature sensitive duct tape (and stickers)!
Trends
This company specializes in stationery, like journals, sticker books, calendars, and… paper sculpture!
Ty Beanie Babies
I needed a cute cat photo to increase clicks. Kinda eerie how the eyes follow you around the room… (BTW… HUGE booth for Ty… I think they’re relaunching the brand. trying to reclaim the former glory.)
Ty sleepwear. Nightlight, or blacklight?
Schylling
Cute little metal wind-up dolls!Wind-ups…
They both smell the same…. soapish.
Education Imsight
Cardinal Games
No picture, but the centerpiece of the booth as a giant Jenga-style stack, with the Millennium Falcon printed on the side. (Yeah… more square than skinny tower. Might be a variation in game play.)
We Games
In the middle of a booth displaying very nice chess and backgammon sets was this…
Game Bar
The big gimmick? There’s an app… if you take a photo, and run it through the filter, it will tell you how to arrange the puzzle pieces in the box to replicate that photo, kinda like a photo mosaic!
Great Pretender
Another make-believe costumer, but with a lot more superhero designs. Lots of capes are reversible!
Available on Target and Amazon! And I know quite a few adults who would love those “scary” hair clips!
Tedco
An educational toy company. (That classic gyroscope? They make that.)
But, let’s be serious… kids from the Sixties will remember the “Visible Man” plastic model that showed all the interior organs.
Well… Tedco has taken that idea, and exploded it! Other animals, plus models for skin, eyes, cells…
Although, I wonder…. that cow… is there a version with cuts of meat? I know this is mostly about the sweet meats, but imagine a bigger model you could “butcher”!
Reference models, for when you need help building your chicken kit.There is an entire line of “invisible” animals, and humans! Also biology models, like cells, skin, eyeballs… Ain’t life grand?
Winning Moves
No stickers! And screwdriver included, in case you need help “solving” it!“Speed cube”, for those who not only can solve Rubik’s Cube, but do so in under a minute!For those who are too smart for normal Scrabble…
