Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Marching Toward Marvel's Infinity War Merchandise **UPDATED 3/3

Marvel Avengers Infinity War Thanos Costume Mask
In slightly over 2 MONTHS, we'll be sitting in theaters across the globe, jaws agape at the spectacle of an endless stream of Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes battling it out against the mad titan Thanos and his children for the very fate of humankind. You see, Thanos is in love with Death...and I don't mean that figuratively. He's in love with the entity we call Death, and will go to great extremes to win her favor, so grinding a little blue planet under his boot heel would not take a second thought. With a full array of Infinity Gems affixed to a gauntlet, allowing him to wield all of their unmeasurable power at once, our planet and all of it's appointed heroes may not stand a chance. But this is the Marvel Universe...so there is always hope.

Today we will take a look at the incredible array of merchandise coming for Avengers: Infinity War (now available for order at Entertainment Earth!), which have been slipping out of those boxes street dated for March 3rd. LET'S JUMP RIGHT IN!!

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

HASBRO Named the Master Toy Licensee for Uglydolls Franchise

STX Entertainment, a global next-generation media company that develops, finances, produces, markets and distributes film, television, VR, digital video, music and live entertainment content, and Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), a global play and entertainment company, announced today that Hasbro has been named the master global toy licensee for the UglyDolls franchise. The agreement combines STX’s content creation, marketing and distribution expertise across all platforms with Hasbro’s commitment to creating engaging play experiences and entertainment.

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth Returns to Theaters

Movie lovers will journey into Jim Henson’s magical “Labyrinth” this spring when the 1986 fantasy-adventure returns to the big screen for three days only as a nationwide fan celebration from Fathom Events, The Jim Henson Company and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Audiences are encouraged to attend the screenings in costume to celebrate the nostalgia and legacy of this beloved film.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

IT'S NY INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR TIME!!

If UK Toy Fair is the play offs, then NY Toy Fair is the World Series. As we head into the biggest toy show on the planet, we wanted to remind you where you can see the newest toys as quickly as we can get them to you. While we still aim to deliver articles right here on Idle Hands, our social media arms will be the fastest route to toy bliss while we are collecting images, video and info on the show floor. Hop inside and we'll lay out where you should be watching...

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: McFarlane Toys on Call of Duty

Toy Fair 2018: McFarlane Toys Call of Duty Action Figures
Following up on our UK Toy Fair reveal a couple of weeks back, McFarlane officially announces Call of Duty joining their Borderlands, We Happy Few, Destiny 2 and more in their ever growing video game action figure lines.

McFarlane Toys will bring a line of collectible figures based on the blockbuster video game franchise played by millions worldwide, Call of Duty. The first wave of hyper-realistic Call of Duty collectible figures will include fully articulated, fan favorite characters, including the iconic John “Soap” MacTavish and Simon “Ghost” Riley from the famed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare titles, with more characters spanning the franchise to be revealed at a later date. Call of Duty collectible figures will be hitting major retailers in the fall retailing at 19.99 USD.

Playmates Voltron 84 Classic Lions

The name Playmates makes toy fans instantly think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but in the past couple of years, they've been killing it in a universe a bit further away than the New York sewers.  The coming of a Voltron reboot via Netflix created an instant opportunity in creating toys for everything we see in this new animated universe, but what of the old school fans who hate change and want people off their lawns? PLAYMATES HAS YOUR OLD, FRAGILE BACK!! Now on store shelves, you'll find an 84 Classic Voltron lion line, allowing nostalgic collectors to create their favorite, massive lion-bot at a very reasonable price point!

Toy Fair 2018: DC Collectibles Preview

Toy Fair 2018: DC Collectibles PreviewDC Collectibles, the award-winning line of collectibles from DC Entertainment, will celebrate 20 years of toy-making at this year’s American International Toy Fair in New York. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, DC Collectibles revealed huge plans for its 2018 lineup, including several high-profile collaborations such as a life-size bust of The Joker designed by one of Hollywood’s most celebrated special makeup effects artists, Rick Baker.

DC Collectibles also recruited My Chemical Romance frontman and DC’s Young Animal curator Gerard Way to put his own spin on DC’s iconic Batman and The Joker characters for the company’s longest-running statue line, Batman: Black and White. Other collectibles on tap for 2018 include new action figure sets based on Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s hit DOOMSDAY CLOCK comic book series and new variants for DC Artists Alley designer vinyls, plus several new additions to popular statue and action figure lines.

CELEBRATE BLACK PANTHER DAY!!

Marvel Legends Black Panther Wave from Entertainment Earth
Being who I am, I'm sure I can only scratch the surface of how important it is for a film like Black Panther to hit the big screen across the globe, in such a big way. I know it's massive and I love the character, but i'm positive I'm not feeling the full weight of what a monumental day this is. As such, I thought we'd celebrate with our friends at Entertainment Earth who graciously granted us access to a set of Black Panther Marvel Legends action figures....and to say we went overboard is an understatement. Two hours of shooting time and another 2 for editing and we've got a chunky gallery of images ready for your Black Panther day celebrations! Let's get into it...

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Diamond Select on Sonic the Hedgehog

Toy Fair 2018 Diamond Select Sonic the Hedgehog
In 1991, the SEGA game Sonic The Hedgehog introduced a new hero to the video game world. Fast, blue and full of attitude, Sonic became a superstar, and went on to star in dozens of games over his 27-year history. Now, Diamond Select Toys has teamed with SEGA to create a line of high-quality Sonic the Hedgehog collectibles for fans young and old!

Toy Fair 2018: LEGO Solo: A Star Wars Story – the Kessel Run Millennium Falcon

Toy Fair 2018 LEGO Solo A Star Wars Story The Kessel Run Millennium Falcon


YOU GUYS GETTIN BORED YET?? We are just days away from more juicy stuff! Today, LEGO jumps back into the warm oceans of plastic with the kabillion bricks that make up any Millennium Falcon build, this time, showing off their first reveal for their Solo: A Star Wars Story sets. Will there be any major differences in the ship's design or overall look past the obvious sparkling white hallways everyone in my social media feeds are freaking out over? LET'S FIND OUT!!

Toy Fair 2018: NSI International Introduces Laser X Micro Blasters

Toy Fair 2018 Laser X Micro Blasters
Laser XTM – the ultimate high-tech game of tag – just got a lot more portable!  New York City-based NSI International Inc. has added Micro Blasters to its Laser XTM family of products.  The new 5-inch blasters are super small, but deliver big fun.

Like other Laser X gear, Micro Blasters feature state-of-the-art lighting and sound effects that bring the excitement of a laser tag arena right to your own backyard.  Strap a receiver onto your upper arm, and blast opponents up to 100 feet away. Reloading is easier than ever; Just press and hold the trigger.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Kidrobot God of War Mini Blind Box Figures

Toy Fair 2018 kidrobot God of War Mini Blind Box Figures
Just in time for the next video game in the critically acclaimed God of War series, Kidrobot presents it's take on characters with the collectible God of War 3-inch Blind Box Mini Series.  From Santa Monica Studio comes a new beginning for one of gaming’s most recognizable icons. Living as a man outside the shadow of the gods, Kratos must adapt to unfamiliar lands, unexpected threats and a second chance at being a father. Together with his son Atreus, the pair will venture into the brutal Norse wilds and fight to fulfill a deeply personal quest.

Toy Fair 2018: Big Chief Studios 12" Figures - James Bond, Doctor Who & More

Toy Fair 2018 Big Chief Studios Laurel and Hardy figures
12 inch action figures have been around for longer than I've been alive. It's the one format all collectors can appreciate, if not buy into, for at least 3 or 4 figures. In recent years, Hot Toys have brought this scale back into the spotlight, showing the world toys can knock the breath right out of your chest with amazing likenesses, superior sculpting and cloth outfits that don't make the figure look like he/she's wearing their parent's best Sunday clothes. Big Chief can be counted among these companies striving for a higher level of production quality, and their 2018 lineup reflects that. Let's jump back into Spring Fair 2018 and take a look at what's coming in the next few months...

Monday, February 12, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Four Horsemen Mythic Legions Action Figures

Toy Fair 2018: Four Horsemen Mythic Legions Action Figures
Ready to storm all castles!! Ready to form armies and dominate your toy shelves!! Ready to lay claim on Middle Earth, Earth Prime, Earth 616 and that Earth slightly off to the left with a weird wobble that we don't talk about! The Four Horsemen have proven the traditional models for toy manufacturing and distribution are not the only way to do business, inspiring budding toy creators across the globe. Mythic Legions is a monumental accomplishment and we celebrate this action figure line every.chance.we.get. We caught up with the 4H at Zolocon this past weekend for a little pre-NY Toy Fair catch-up. Check out the armies...

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Funko on Marvel, DC and Image Comics

Toy Fair 2018 Funko Marvel Contest of Champions Howard the Duck Pop Figure



What's global Toy Fair coverage without a billion FUNKO PRODUCTS??!! This year, Funko went truly global, turning up at UK Toy Fair AND Spring Fair with the massive gallery you'd expect as a spoiled American journalist. Matt Hawkins dove into the sea of geeky thingies and delivered a ridiculous pile of images we are working our way through...slowly....but surely. Let's take a look at all the comic book characters we spotted on those display shelves...

Toy Fair 2018: tokidoki Forever

Some saw art toys as a fad. The idea of a toy as more art than plaything was something to mock. Still, the movement marched on, and evolved, and while creators came and went, it seems tokidoki has always been here, making the world a brighter place with cactus girls and happy bullets and puffy unicorns and all the dreams you had as a very little kid, now made real...and collectible! Simone Legno's creations continue to multiply into 2018 with their own in house inspiration and a line for Aurora. Let's dip into some sunshine from Spring Fair...

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Playmobil Tackles Dinosaurs, Secret Agents and.. umm.. Weddings

Back into the UK Toy Fair coverage with our awesome friends at Playmobil who have been shaking things up recently by adding licensed properties to their highly imaginative lineup of historical settings, fantasy realms and world wide adventures. Matthew Hawkins hit the showroom and, not knowing what might have been seen already and what is super brand new for die-hard collectors...he shot every thing from wall to wall..and some walls twice! Dive in for a sampling of the most fun bits we saw that day and then you can jump over to our Flickr gallery for the lot...

The Shape of Water Arrives on Digital 2/27 & 4K, Blu-ray and DVD 3/13

From master storyteller, Guillermo del Toro, comes THE SHAPE OF WATER, an otherworldly fairy tale set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1962. In the hidden, high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment. Rounding out the cast are Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg and Doug Jones.

Toy Fair 2018: Alpha Group on Nickelodeon's Massive Monster Mayhem

DHX Brands, the dedicated brand management and consumer products arm of DHX Media, has appointed Alpha Group as its global toy licensee, excluding Asia, for its action-packed sci-fi competition series Massive Monster Mayhem. Produced by DHX Media, Massive Monster Mayhem is co-created by Artur Spigel (founder of 7ate9 Entertainment) and Michael Chaves.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Funko Gets Animated: Rick and Morty, Sailor Moon, Disney & More

As we combed through the very hefty stack of Funko toy pictures yet to be edited, the question came up. What big license was yet to be consumed and transformed into Funko product? Since we were in UK Toy Fair mode, I suggested Aardman, creators of  Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and more. Coming up with a second one was tough. Funko have already revealed official art for upcoming waves of pops and mini figures, but we were lucky enough to spend some time in their loving embrace, awash in the glow of geeky goodness from all sides. It was warm and shiny. Let's kick off this look at Funko's 2018 product with the items based on animated licenses...

Toy Fair 2018: RockLove Jewelry's Black Panther Collection

In official collaboration with Marvel, RockLove Jewelry is featuring seven unique pieces of jewelry directly inspired by Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, ranging from necklaces, earrings, talons, and “Armor” rings. View the Full Collection available at RockLove.com.

As a special project with Marvel Studios, top secret photos of the original Kimoyo Bracelet props were shared with RockLove Jewelry so that designer Allison Cimino could sculpt a screen-accurate replica. There are two exclusive, screen-accurate Kimoyo Bracelets available with hand-painted silver Wakandan glyphs and blue glow-in-the-dark enamel on the Prime Bead.

Monday, February 5, 2018

Dark Horse To Publish Geof Darrow’s SHAOLIN COWBOY: START TREK

Having won the Inkpot Award, won (and lost) multiple Eisner Awards and created the iconic  and blood-soaked character the Shaolin Cowboy, cartoonist Geof Darrow is one of the most influential and revered cartoonists. As VULTURE says, "no one draws violence quite like Geof Darrow.”  This summer Dark Horse Books will boldly go where they have never gone before when they publish Geof Darrow’s SHAOLIN COWBOY: START TREK and bring a classic, hard-to-find masterpiece back into print. Originally published as a seven issue comic book series by Burlyman Entertainment, the story garnered Darrow the Eisner Award in 2006 for Best Writer/ Artist. The Dark Horse Books edition marks the story’s first ever hardcover publication and features a new cover by Darrow and award-winning colorist Dave Stewart and the complete seven-issue saga written and illustrated by Darrow and colored by Pete Doherty, Alex Wald, and Lovern Kindzierski, as well as classic Shaolin Cowboy illustrations by Moebius (Jean Giraud), Richard Delgado, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan and John Severin.

Westworld Returns for Second Season April 22

A new chapter begins.

The Emmy-winning drama series WESTWORLD returns for its ten-episode second season SUNDAY, APRIL 22 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Viewers can now see the WESTWORLD spot that premiered during Super Bowl LII, marking HBO’s first Super Bowl ad in 20 years. The WESTWORLD Season 2 Official Super Bowl ad was directed by series co-creator Jonathan Nolan.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Hasbro's Marvel Toy Lineup

Ready your bank account and hide your wallet...it's time to tabulate how broke you are going to be for the rest of the year!! Marvel Legends have been a blessing and a curse to Marvel Comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe fans alike. With an average 23 dollar price point for each figure and a Build-A-Figure in each wave, taunting you to buy the lot in one go, we may as well be signing our bank accounts over to Hasbro! Well friends, we have news for you. IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE!! With the Black Panther wave having just settled into retail stores across the globe, we've gotten word that the Spider-Man Lizard BAF wave is also hitting hard, with the Deadpool Sasquatch BAF wave close behind...and bringing up the rear across the waters in international territories, the Avengers Infinity Wars wave!!! Do the math on that. It means we are all eating ramen for a couple of months. Let's take a look at the run down for 2018, exploring the much sought after Legends and the "kid targeted" lines alike to get a clear view of the insanity coming up fast.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: Bandai Back Into Big Hero 6

Toy Fair 2018 Bandai Big Hero Six Animated Series Toy Line
BAYMAX RETURNS!! I don't know about you, but I was crazy excited to watch the return of Baymax and Big Hero 6 on Disney XD last year in an animated TV movie heralding the coming of the cartoon series this month. The art was excellent, the characters were on point and everything was just as it should be. I'm in for the next 25 episodes! Word is Disney has already ordered a Season 2 (with another 25 episodes), so we aren't going to be rid our fluffy robot friend anytime soon. Of course, with a new cartoon, we must have NEW TOYS!! We still don't know what the deal was with those Stealth BH6 figures last year, but we are excited to show you an entirely new line, given the attention the series deserves. Let's dig in...

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Toy Fair 2018: What's New With The Power Rangers?

Toy Fair 2018 Bandai Power Rangers Toys
AND WE ARE BACK into the UK Toy Fair coverage. Long time readers will note our coverage this year is a little fuller than in the past. That, my dear friends, would be because in past years, we'd cover the building from top to bottom and squeeze out MAYYYYYBE one new toy line, a handful of McFarlane reveals (Thanks, Todd!) and then some new items that, while fun, were not big news at all. This year, we'd heard the companies were cracking down and we were turned away from some stands, but the amount of coverage we were allowed across the floor was ASTOUNDING and the work reflects that...so good on you, UK Toy Fair for finally letting us show off some excellent bits before we hit New York! We love it when you make us work hard and..well...yea...i'm working pretty durn hard. Woooooo. ~thud~

First Look at Character Art from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


Nickelodeon Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cartoon SeriesNickelodeon today revealed a first-look of the characters in its brand-new animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which follows the band of brothers as they discover new powers and encounter a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City. The 2D-animated series debuts later this year on Nickelodeon.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reimagines the characters in a fresh new way, featuring jagged-shelled Raphael as a snapping turtle, wielding twin tonfas as his weapons; Leonardo as a red-eared slider, using an ĹŤdachi sword; Donatello as a soft-shell turtle, sporting a tech-bo staff; and Michelangelo as a box turtle, arming himself with a kusari-fundo. Along for the adventure is the Turtles’ most trusted ally, April O’Neil, a street savvy native New Yorker and Splinter, father figure and sensei to the Turtles.