Tag: toy fair 2012

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Toys & Collectibles

Surfing Safari LTD’s Replicas @ Toy Fair 2012

Special Edition Hydra Joins the Mythical Realms Series

I’ve been a fan and casual collector of molded dinosaur figures since the first Louis Marx blister pack I received on my 5th birthday; don’t ask how long ago. Since then I’ve always kept an interested eye on how the market evolved. From cereal box premiums to 99 Cent Store knock-offs, dinosaurs never go out of style. Safari Ltd. first caught my attention with their line of Carnegie Museum of Natural History licensed dinosaurs back in the late 1980’s. The quality of these paleontologist approved replicas has made them collectors’ favorites. Since then the line has expanded to encompass nearly every kind of creature real or imagined in sizes ranging from “Good Luck Mini’s” (I love the tiny pink flamingoes) through jumbo replicas.

Toy Fair 2012 offered me the opportunity to meet the fine folks of Safari Ltd. again and once again they were kind enough to allow me to roam “free range” around their spectacular booth space and photograph at will. I could have easily spent the whole day perusing the company’s replicas but managed to focus my attention and camera mostly on new additions to the product line.

The Special Edition Hydra (featured above) broadens the selection of Mythical Realms characters which already includes an awesome Cyclops, Gorgon Medusa, Griffin and Chimera. A Swamp Dragon and Dragon Hatchlings bursting from their egg, as well as a massive Carnegie Brachiosaur are all in the offing for 2012. I also love the Trilobite and “Toobs” line of fossil dinosaur and prehistoric mammal skulls.

You can also see my 2011 Toy Fair coverage for photos of other great Safari Ltd. products here.
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Toys & Collectibles

Tonner Doll Company Reveals Avatar and Tron Figures @ Toy Fair 2012

Captain Jack Sparrow Will Take You To That Special Island

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you might remember the Tonner Doll Company article written after the 2011 Toy Fair. It has been one of the most popular postings at SkeletonPete and continues to pull traffic daily. That’s really no surprise because the story and photos highlight the Tonner company’s gorgeous creations; dolls that are acclaimed and cherished all around the globe. They have produced many licensed collectibles of DC & Marvel Comics characters as well as fantasy and classic Hollywood film tie-in’s. So it was a treat when Ken Pierce and I got to meet Robert Tonner himself and have a chat about upcoming designs and figure licensing.

Avatar and Tron Sneak Peek
Mr. Tonner was kind enough to give the OK to photograph and share with readers the prototypes for both the Tron Legacy and Avatar doll series, which at the time were still pending the approval of the licensors. Emily, The Corpse Bride and Ms. Beetlejuice join the Tim Burton inspired line, which also includes his Alice In Wonderland visions. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is represented by a lovely Penelope Cruz as Angelica, and a simply jaw-dropping likeness of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

There are dolls and then there are DOLLS. Robert Tonner’s fashion design background and attention to detail always result in a capital product. He keeps the collector community abreast of new merchandise with a regular YouTube video-blog. A visit to Tonner’s exceptional website will fill you in on the entire product line, including the time honored classics of Effenbee, which celebrated its centennial in 2010 and has been owned by Tonner since 2002.

Flights of Fancy Convention
The 2012 “Flights of Fancy” Tonner Doll Convention, a weekend long gathering of doll collectors, takes place in Lombard, Illinois this coming May. Attendance is limited to 300 and there are special hotel rates available. Check this link for further details.

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Toys & Collectibles

Universally Hammered: Monsters Abound @ Toy Fair 2012

Mezco's Creepy Lagoon Creature

Monsters of all kinds were certainly in the mix at The Toy Association’s 109th Industry Conference, simply known as Toy Fair. Always of particular interest to collectors are upcoming licensed figures of their favorite horror characters like the Universal Monsters series from Diamond Select I reported on earlier.

This year toy manufacturer Mezco, who are well known for their “Living Dead Dolls”, are adding classic Universal Films Monsters to their line. As one would expect the company will offer the countenances of The Frankenstein Monster and Count Dracula, rendered in the dead dolls cherubic style. Those are slated for September 2013.

In addition Mezco has shown prototypes for a quirky, set of figures sculpted in an expressionist or Caligari-esque mode that we haven’t seen before. Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Creature From The Black Lagoon are presented in skewed proportions that bring out a menace previously unseen in action figures. I really like this concept and particularly love the gangly look of The Creature; think I might have to own this one even with the limited display space I have. Mezco also has a “Big Frankie” style monster, they’re calling the Mega Deluxe Frankenstein, set for November 2012. This 2 foot bruiser has a dead pan demeanor I really like. “Black and White” variants were on display for all the figures.

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Titan Merchandise Adds Hammer Icons to the Collection

Also at Toy Fair 2012 were Titan Merchandise’s newest 3/4 busts, of Hammer horror films characters. Represented are Christopher Lee in his most famous role as Count Dracula, Ingrid Pitt as the sanguinely rejuvenated Elizabeth Bathory (Countess Dracula, 1971) and Peter Cushing as the intrepid Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Dracula / aka Horror of Dracula, 1958.) These missed their originally listed Fall 2011 release dates, and are now scheduled to hit the shelves in mid April 2012, right around even scarier Income Tax time. They are limited to editions of 1000.

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Toys & Collectibles

Dotting Your Eyes: Nano Magnetics @ Toy Fair 2012

Original Nanodots Space Shuttle Pictured with New "Mega" Sized Marbles

What It Is…
It was great to meet up with the Nano Magnetics representatives at Toy Fair again this year. They’re a very personable gang of lab assistants indeed – and why not – they have a great product to demonstrate – Nanodots. These shiny metallic mini-beads are nirvana on Earth for the finger fidgeters and paper clip manglers of the world, like myself. Why? They’re magnetic; described by the company as “kick-ass, take-no-prisoners, juiced-up super magnets… milled from Neodymium, the world’s strongest permanent magnet.” In other words, Nanodots are light years away from those “kissing puppy dogs” you used to get in Crackerjacks boxes.

Even a small handful will have you fiddling for hours, making strings and rings, clicking them together and pulling them apart, flattening and folding. It’s very therapeutic, like scientific rosary beads, but assuming The Doors’ Jim Morrison was right and “you cannot petition the Lord with prayer” you’ll want to move on to craftier possibilities. Try your hand at cajoling the dots into any of a myriad of geometric forms and build from there. That’s where the fun really starts.

Magnetic Expanding Inevitable
You can see from the photo selection that the Nanodot community really gets their game on with simple to spectacular magnetic constructs. This year the company decided to display some user inspired designs at the toy show and even they had some brain twisting to do in order to figure out how a few of the geometrics were achieved. Don’t fret, the Nanodots website has plenty of basic tutorial videos to get you started. Many are by mathematician, and Nanodot guru, Janos Szaki. Even more grandiose constructs can be gleaned from the expanding online Dotpedia Community as you advance.

Nanodots come in an array of finishes from titanium to black, gold, and silver; it’s fun to highlight patterns and components of your constructs with a variety of colors. Basic starter packages include 216 dots and a cloth carrying pouch (don’t leave home without ‘em.) This year the larger “Mega Nanodots” joined the product line. They’re 27X larger than the originals by volume; bigger than a natural pearl but smaller than a Brooklyn grandma’s meatballs and are packed in a reusable storage cylinder.

Also pictured below is Nano Magnetics’ 2011 Guiness World Record winning Golden Globe Award replica. The 600 lb. construction is made up of 550,000 Nanodots.

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Toys & Collectibles

Dread Presidents Attack @ Toy Fair 2012

"I am not a creature!"

One Nation Under Gort…
I simply could not let President’s Day go by without giving you a look at Heroes In Action Toys and Toy Tokyo’s collaboration, “Presidential Monsters”. These cloth garbed dolls recast our commanders in chief as classic film creatures; a hysterically horrific spin on American history. Baracula, Monster from the Watergate Lagoon, The Ronmy, Zom-Bush are highlights of the product line. Clever details like The Watergate Creature’s web-fingered victory signs and LincolnStein’s bolt equipped Top Hat (ready to be juiced by the upcoming Doctor Benjamin FranklinStein) will make you laugh out loud. Interns won’t stand a chance against the JFK “Phantom of the White House” or saxophone toting “Wolf Bill”. Not that they did in reality either.

Better Than Voodoo Economics…
In addition to the 7 currently available action figures, there are plenty of others to come. Prototypes displayed at Toy Fair included Andrew Jackson as Nosferatu (my personal favorite) and Teddy Roosevelt as a white furred Yeti. Also coming is a ghostly George Washington as “The Spirit of ’76”. Apparently Sarah Palin is also in the wings with a Vlad the Impaler spoof.

Ken Pierce and I had a great time chatting with the folks at the Toy Tokyo booth during Toy Fair 2012 and it’s always a treat to visit their store in Manhattan’s East Village. Be sure to check them out for a mind-blowing array of collectible goodies.

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