Friday, January 24, 2020

Toy Fair 2020: Revell Introduce Top Gun, Iron Maiden and New Star Wars Model Kits & 3D Puzzles

Toy Fair 2020 UK Revell Model Kits Top Gun
Generally, when you look up toy fair news coverage, you don't see a lot of model kits. This is not necessarily the fault of the outlets, but it's assumed we are all looking for licensed products from mega popular comic books, movies and TV shows. ONLY HALF CORRECT!! Yes, we do all we can to provide coverage of the most popular stuff out there, but we also take care to keep our eyes open for new innovations and companies we've never heard of. Often....they don't include model kits. Honestly, if they are on the show floor somewhere, I've not seen them. In the UK, it's a different story! Revell are always welcoming and since their level of detail is amazing, shooting their products is a no-brainer. When they surprise us with licenses we never thought of before...like...say...an Iron Maiden "Aces High" Spitfire Fighter Plane with a tiny Eddie Pilot...then we are the happiest xtra large children in the world. Check out what's new from Revell this year...

Toy Fair 2020: Harry Potter, Gudetama, My Hero Academia & More at Monogram

The art of the Bust Bank has become polished and refined over the years. In the past, rotocast (ie; hollow plastic) meant a flimsy, cheap toy. Companies like Mezco proved rotocasting could be utilized to create amazing figures at a fraction of the cost of their heavy, solid brethren. Monogram is one company that has embraced rotocasting over many years, providing geeks with their favorite DC and Marvel Comics characters at a price nearly anyone can afford, and even allowing you to pop your pennies in their heads! For 2020, Monogram continues their march of the Bust Banks, including many popular licenses including the mopey egg Gudetama, the wizarding world of Harry Potter, metal screeching Aggretsuko, the always adorable Hello Kitty and so much more!

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Toy Fair 2020: Funko Star Wars Celebrates Empire, The Mandalorian & the Artist's Touch

Toy Fair 2020 UK Funko Star Wars Pop Vinyl Figures
Back into the UK Toy Fair coverage with FUNKO...masters of all pop culture... everywhere...forever. OK maybe not forever but you have to admit, they've done a damn good job of making a Pop Vinyl Figure from nearly every beloved child hood memory you could ever have. Star Wars has always been a big part of Funko's yearly toy plans, whether it be Pops, mystery minis, key chains, super sized figures, figures on rides and on and oooon. The UK Toy Fair showroom revealed this trend will continue with items on display from the latest film, the mega popular Mandalorian Disney + series, several art pieces, a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back and more! Dive in for the goods...

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Toy Fair 2020: McFarlane's Doom, My Hero Academia, Mortal Kombat & More! *UPDATED 1/29*

Toy Fair 2020 UK Bandai UK on McFarlane Toys
In what some would call the most exciting year for McFarlane Toys in some time, Bandai UK took the reigns on distribution across the pond. In 2019, McFarlane cranked out new lines for Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Doom, Game of Thrones and My Hero Academia, and rolled right into 2020 with a stellar lineup for their new DC Comics license. In short, MCFARLANE HAS COME TO PLAY!! With upcoming further releases in the Anime, Harry Potter and Fortnite lines, the return of Movie Maniac and more, US Toy Fair is sure to be an awesome showing. Soooo...what did we spot at UK Toy Fair?

Sadly, Bandai UK were less than inviting on the Toy Fair floor, but we were able to spot some new releases and will do our best to lay them out.

Toy Fair 2020: Hidden Side Haunted Fairground by LEGO wins UK Editor’s Choice Award

Toy Fair 2020 UK LEGO Hidden Side
Hidden Side Haunted Fairground by LEGO® has been crowned the overall winner of the Editor’s Choice Awards at Toy Fair 2020, with the Geomag Green Range– 100% Recycled Plastic in second place and Heroes of Goo Jit Zu Marvel Super Heroes by Character Options in third.

The prestigious annual awards, organised by the British Toy and Hobby Association, is voted on by media in attendance at Toy Fair this week at Olympia, London.

The event saw more than 260 exhibiting companies launch thousands of new toys, all aiming to make an impact in the sector during the year ahead.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Toy Fair 2020: Spin Master Celebrates DC License in UK

Toy Fair 2020 UK Spin Master DC Action Figures
It will forever be known as the GREAT LICENSE SHAKE UP OF 2019!! Well..not really...but Mattel ending their partnership with DC Comics is a big deal to anyone who collects action figures. We take nothing away from the amazing range of toys Mattel accomplished in their time, but it's always exciting to await something new from a different company...and a company like Spin Master was bound to do things very differently! While McFarlane seems to be dishing out gems for the adult action figure collectors, Spin Master is all on on kid-friendly toys exploring a Batman Heavy universe at the moment. Toys have already hit stores in the states (officially as of the 20th I think? Though they were on shelves before that in most places) but there may be a fewwww tricks left to reveal...

Toy Fair 2020: UK Toy Fair’s Hero Toys List Announced

The British Toy and Hobby Association today announced the Toy Fair’s Hero Toys for 2020, with Character Options, LEGO, and Spin Master amongst the winners. The Toy Fair’s Hero Toys list consists of 25 products launched at Toy Fair, which opened today at Olympia, London. They have been judged by an independent panel of retailers, and the BTHA itself, to be the most exciting and creative toys unveiled at the event.

All are due to be released over the next 12 months and between them they cover a wide variety of price points, age ranges and play patterns. From gooey superheroes to a flossing sloth, the list covers everything from major licenses to eco-friendly plush toys.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Toy Fair 2020: Super 7's Action Packed ReAction Lineup

Happy New Year!! Amid all your 2019 regrets and promises of a new you in 2020, you might want to get your bank account ready for the pre-order assault about to happen because it's TOY FAIR TIME!!! We kicked things off with a little sleuthing that leads us to believe Mighty Max may make his teenie tiny return in 2020 with Mattel, and now, Super 7 takes center stage to show off a giant pile of ReAction figures including pop culture properties that have been sorely underserved like Mars Attacks and Army of Darkness, and even sports heroes from the NBA and MLB! Let's get into it...