Showing posts with label hot wheels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hot wheels. Show all posts

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Toy Fair 2025: Hot Wheels Reveals All-New Formula 1 Product Line

Mattel Hot Wheels Formula 1 Toy Line 005

Following the successful launch of the first limited edition Hot Wheels Formula 1® car in 2024 and the announcement of a multi-year licensing partnership with Formula 1®, Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) has today revealed additional products from the Hot Wheels Formula 1® collection due to hit shelves in 2025.

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Toy Fair 2025: Mattel Celebrates 80th Anniversary with Ruby Collection

Toy Fair 2025 Mattel Ruby Red Collection Barbie
Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world, is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the preview of the limited-edition Mattel 80th Ruby Anniversary Collection. This milestone pays homage to the company’s legacy of inspiring play and innovation, pairing its signature red with striking ruby accents across beloved products.

The range, which will be unveiled for the first time at Nuremberg Toy Fair, features a collection of products from iconic Mattel brands, including collectible Barbie dolls, Polly Pocket compact playsets, Hot Wheels vehicles, a ruby-red Magic 8 Ball, a special edition UNO deck, a Thomas & Friends die-cast engine, and a reimagined Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone. Each item reflects the legacy of innovation and joy that Mattel has brought to generations of children and fans worldwide. Founded 80 years ago in a Californian garage by Ruth and Elliot Handler and Harold Matson, Mattel has transformed how generations of children play, inspiring dreams and leaving an indelible mark on global culture. To commemorate this remarkable journey, Mattel will celebrate throughout 2025 with this product unveil being the first in a year long journey that reflects its vibrant history and commitment to delighting fans of all ages.

Thursday, July 22, 2021

SDCC 2021 Exclusives: Mattel Masters of the Universe, WWE, Jurassic Park & More

SDCC 2021 Mattel Masters of the Universe Masterverse Revelation Scare Glow Action Figure 15

San Diego Comic-Con remain virtual or "@ Home" this year so we all don't get our dirty germs all over each other, but that hasn't stopped companies from pumping out their own waves of SDCC Exclusives!! Today we dip into Mattel's lineup, just in time to get our pre-orders in at 12pm eastern, 9am pacific time at the Mattel Creations website (https://creations.mattel.com/). Let's dig in... 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Toy Spotting: Valentine's Day, Star Wars Hot Wheels, TMNT, LEGO & More

For those of you who visit regularly, the name "Toy Spotting" shouldn't be so unfamiliar. Glance at the top of the page and under all those pretty pictures, you'll see a slide show beckoning like a cosplaying siren dressed like gender bender Luke Skywalker. Whenever we are out in the world, we are constantly looking for the newest items you'll want to add to your collections...and so...Toy Spotting! Today we dumped about 80 new images in there including a sampling of Target and Walmart's Valentine's Day isles, New Lego sets for Star Wars, DC Comics and The Lego Movie, Hot Wheels $1 Star Wars car line and Imaginext Spongebob Movie figures! Let's hit the highlights...

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

SDCC 2014: Hot Wheels Scales Up Their SDCC Exclusive Darth Vader Corvette

Those attending San Diego Comic-Con 2014 will get to drink in the mind-numbing insanity that is a SDCC Exclusive Hot Wheels Car scaled up to life size, packing 526 Horsepower under the hood. A new license to make Star Wars Hot Wheels Cars was probably the only reason Mattel needed to go crazy and make geeks heads explode all over the convention floor. LOOK AT THIS IMPROBABLE THING!!!

Monday, June 23, 2014

SDCC 2014 Exclusives: Mattel's Lineup: Monster High, Batman, Star Wars, Masters of the Universe & More

Holy Damn. Amid the trickle of San Diego Comic-Con exclusives news, MATTEL THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET!! ...and pretty much says "top that, mofos." I think only Funko can go head to head with the likes of Hasbro and Mattel and outmatch them on sheer numbers alone. Until Funko unleashes their hoards, we've got the promise of an amazing new Batmobile, Hordak and his Imp and a new Monster High couple to keep us warm. Let's dive right in...

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Toy Fair 2014: Mattel's Toy Fair Sneak Peek with Barbie, Batman, Marvel Hot Wheels, Monster High & More

As our beloved toy companies jump on the internet and, one by one, painfully blow the excitement of Toy Fair by revealing their key items, Mattel took to the web and, very quietly, decided to show off a nice sampling of their 2014 lines, saving the ultra, mega, super awesome stuff for the big show. THERE'S A LESSON TO BE LEARNED HERE, REST OF THE TOY INDUSTRY!! Let's take a look at what Mattel's got on tap...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

SDCC 2010: The Many..Many..Many Toys of Mattel

We have a winner. I think that everyone can agree that Mattel showed the most new toys out of all the toy companies appearing at San Diego Comic Con this year. They had SO MUCH, they saved a ton of them for after their panel, causing us brave toy shooting soldiers to head back into the crowded trenches once more for a second round of shooting....and damn it was worth it! NEW Justice League Unlimited, new Retro-Action Figures, new DC Universe Classics and new Masters of the Universe toys that will make you a convert to the Matty plastics program. Here's what you'll find in the bottomless Idle Hands Flickr...

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE expands their universe by leaps and bounds with army builders, giant Shadow Beasts, Snake Men and more testosterone than a normal human company could fit into the average line of action figures, leading me to believe that Mattel is run by evil wizards. Just a theory. Still needs work.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE PART 2 (After the panel)

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED keeps on going, despite a fat hike in the price of single figures at Target. The solution? THREE PACKS!! Plenty of new heroes and villains we've been whining for coming to the pegs in the near future, so put aside some cash in a Mattel fund and prepare for the onslaught. (side note Mattel: I still want a do-over on the Thanagarian and Bwana Beast multi packs!!)

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED PART 2 (After the panel)

GHOSTBUSTERS breaks away from the standard boys in grey to include looks from the second movie, marshmallow covered slickness, stacked book fighting action, fat ghost fighting kung fu grip and..umm..Louis Tully, Minion of Gozer. Score.

GHOSTBUSTERS PART 2 (After the panel)

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS 6 inch action figures continues to WOW with no-brainer characters like Jonah Hex and Robin to surprises like The Creeper! Upcoming waves go heavy on the Green Lantern for obvious reasons with one branch covering the boys in green who fight the good fight and another with the yellow Sinestro Corps lying in wait, ready to cleanse the universe. We'll also be getting a little dose of Blackest Night!
DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS PART 2 (you get the idea)

DC RETRO-ACTION FIGURES bringing MEGO-esque dreams to life. The original MEGO line of action figures with cloth outfits was severely lacking in bad guys, so Mattel is looking to change all that right out of the gate. New additions like Captain Cold, Darkseid and Cheetah will make collectors scramble to pick up the pieces they missed, now that they are positive the universe will be growing leaps and bounds in the next year!

DC RETRO-ACTION PART 2

12 INCH MOVIE MASTERS began with a man called ZOD (which I still need if anyone out there wants to hook a brother up) and now continues with the original super boyscout from the movie no one will ever forget.

BATTLE FORCE 5 gives Hot Wheels a little more power in the front end and a little less junk in the trunk! Yea, I don't know what I'm saying either. They race..they fight..there's a cartoon. The kiddies think it's bitchin. They still say that word, don't they? I'm sure of it.

WWE dominates nearly one whole isle in Toys R Us, proving that men in tights may sell action figures FOREVER!! New schoolers hang alongside the legends from my youth, coaxing me to create imaginary battles between Hillbilly Jim and The Iron Shiek shouting "USA!! USA!!" at the top of my lungs. My Indian neighbors avoid me. Go fig. (note to Mattel: 1 Ultimate Warrior figure and 1 Roddy Piper figure every 3 months please. Thank you.)

WILD GRINDERS are wacky little skateboard dudes with their own cartoon...doing wacky things with a zany dog and..umm..adventures!! Yeaaa...I know next to nothing about this line but ...LOOK! SKATE BOARDS!!

BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD crank out characters we never thought we'd see in a kid's show with these odd octagonal holes in their arms and legs allowing you to peg in weapons creating SUPER MEGA JOKER and such!! They've also got the little mini stylized figures I'd own a billion of if they were just a leeeeeeettle cheaper.

MONSTER HIGH may look like Bratz dolls creeped up for the Hot Topic crowd, but the show is very tongue in cheek, reminiscent of Elvira and The Crypt Keeper in the 90's. These are truly the bastard children of the Universal Monsters who wear pinks and purples to make their parents shriek in terror. What scares the real monsters? MONSTER HIGH! Diabolical...and a bit genius.

GENERATOR REX is about a dude who can turn his body into weapons of destruction to battle monsters threatening to eat babies and Scarlet Johansson! OH NOEZ!! Yeaaa I don't know much about this one either (shocking there's a cartoon I haven't watched, yea?) but the monsters look like Mike Mignola creations, so I'm in.

DC UNIVERSE INFINITE HEROES is an odd duck amid all the DC Comics plastics coming at us by the truck load. They are Star Wars sized with fair sculpting and just the basic articulation, reminding me of the Pocket Heroes line from my youth. This was all fine and good until a price hike shut me out of the line. Honestly, I've got more than enough to buy already, so a line like this has to have the sweetest of price tags to urge me on. At any rate, the tiny DC Universe keeps building with singles and multi packs on the way.

BARBIE is something I must cover, because a good 50% of the nerds who demand my attention have breasts (the female kind), and when I tell them about Joan Jett and I Dream of Jeanie Barbies they can own and brush the hair of, they want to kiss me...and that is good. On the way are new additions from classic TV shows like Dallas and Bewitched, a tiny vampire movie called Twilight and a little retro-cable show called Mad Men. Barbielicious!

And now...top 10 jobs Barbie should take on next...

10. Hand Model
9. Transgender Construction Worker
8. Jersey Shore Barbie
7. Fake Skater girl who carries a skate board so she can talk to the cute skater boys
6. Jail Guard
5. Roller Derby Girl
4. Lady GaGa
3. Hard Drinking Police Detective who uses sex as a way to distance herself from her true feelings
2. Comic Con Geek Girl with giant tote bag, tight super hero t shirt, r2d2 watch and autographed picture of Nathan Fillion
1. Sarah Silverman

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Mattel at US Toy Fair 2010

This year’s International Toy Fair in New York heralds an exciting new lineup from Mattel, Inc. showcasing the leading toymaker’s hottest new products and licenses for 2010. The innovative, new product lines from Mattel and Fisher-Price, Inc. will invigorate imaginations, stimulate the senses and provide the play value parents expect.

“Mattel brings kids unparalleled play experiences through relevant and exciting toys because we know kids and understand what they want,” said Neil Friedman, president, Mattel Brands. “We also know that parents are choosing carefully the products they purchase and the entertainment they consume, so we have packed innovation into our product lines across a range of price points because we know that parents are willing to pay for innovation that delivers play value from brands they trust.”

CELEBRATORY EVENTS AT TOY FAIR

To kick off this year’s exciting portfolio, Barbie® will unveil her next career as chosen by consumers on Friday, February 12 at Mattel’s Javits Galleria Showroom, 4th Level. Choosing from Architect, Computer Engineer, Environmentalist, News Anchor or Surgeon, over half a million consumers have cast their vote and Friday they will find out the next career for Barbie®, beginning a year long global inspirational initiative for girls.

Mattel gets into the ring with WWE® Superstar Triple H® and WWE® COO Donna Goldsmith to talk about Mattel’s new WWE® toys – the most authentic WWE action figures and accessories to date. The private event will also be held on Friday, February 12 at Mattel’s Javits Galleria Showroom, 4th Level.

And on Monday, February 15, Fisher-Price brings two of the most beloved and legendary entertainers – Mickey Mouse and Donny Osmond – together to showcase the hottest dance moves around in a special sneak preview of Dance Star Mickey, the newest Fisher-Price feature plush, at 10 a.m. in Mattel’s Javits Galleria Showroom, 4th Level.

This year, Mattel re-invents classic brands with innovative twists, brings to life new hot entertainment properties and unveils 2.0 toys:

AN INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL

Through the years Barbie® has inspired girls to dream, discover and explore a world without limits. Celebrating her 125th career in 2010 Barbie® continues to take on new aspirational and culturally relevant careers including snowboarder, ballroom dancer, pizza chef, and race car driver with the Barbie® I Can Be™… line of dolls.

PLAYING SOON IN A LIVING ROOM NEAR YOU

As the leading toy maker, Mattel has relationships with some of the biggest names in entertainment and was awarded new licenses that are coming to life in 2010. World Wrestling Entertainment® (WWE®) and HIT Entertainment’s Thomas & Friends have just hit store shelves, and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 will be arriving to stores later this summer.

A few highlights from our entertainment portfolio include:

WWE® FlexForce™ Action Figures, part of the new realistic WWE® line, places kids into the center of non-stop action with today’s biggest WWE® Superstars, allowing them to safely recreate the biggest WWE Superstars’ signature moves. For the collector community, a Mattel first --Superstar Scale-- WWE® Legends Figure Assortment accurately captures a Superstar’s height, body tone and wardrobe on a smaller scale. The tech-forward Electrovision™ WWE® Championship Belt lets every kid be a champion with a sophisticated spinning LED bar that brings 450 exciting animated sequences to life. It also plays Superstars’ theme music, allowing kids to recreate their own entrance experience.

For the first time, Fisher-Price teams up with Thomas & Friends, the world’s most popular preschool property, for a new collection of toys. Straight out of the direct-to-home DVD release Misty Island Rescue, the Thomas & Friends Trackmaster™ Zip, Zoom & Logging Adventure™ Playset features a motorized Thomas engine and all-new action features including a thrilling, never-been-done-before zip line and motorized logging mill!

Mattel’s Toy Story 3 line offers kids the ability to collect favorite characters – old and new – and recreate scenes from the anticipated blockbuster or imagine new ones from the world of Toy Story 3. Boys will love the Toy Story 3 Buzz Lightyear Deluxe Action Wing Pack, the ultimate in role-play accessories. With the push of a button on the pack's chest plate the wings automatically pop out, wingtips light up and Buzz starts speaking his signature phrases. When tipped horizontally, the Wing Pack's sensors know kids are “flying” and makes corresponding flying sounds! This Wing Pack is sure to fly kids' imaginations to “infinity and beyond!”

Dora the Explorer has won the hearts of kids and parents everywhere. Celebrating Dora’s 10th anniversary with Nickelodeon’s Dora’s Birthday Adventure TV movie event, the all-new We Did It! Dora doll features a new take on Dora’s signature “We Did It!” song and dance. Kids can dance along as Dora pumps her arms and sways side to side to the beat.

Every year Fisher-Price finds new ways to bring kids’ favorite characters to life and this year the magic is Mickey. The new, innovative Dance Star Mickey walks, talks, and dances his way into kids’ hearts, topping off his skills with an “out of this world” grand finale to one of his signature dances. With one press of Mickey's foot, Dance Star Mickey comes to life for a fun interactive experience that encourages kids to get up, get active and dance. Grooving to five different songs with styles including soul, disco, Latin and techno, the dancing Mickey plush is packed with interactive games that will have children and parents laughing and dancing along.

INNOVATION FOR THE IMAGINATION

Now more than ever, electronics and technology are touching the daily activities of kids in fun and memorable ways. Adding a new twist to play experiences, innovative engineering is transforming small toys into sophisticated gadgets that bring a new dimension to how kids today play.

A great example are the new Hot Wheels® Stealth Ride™ vehicles, the first ever fully functioning radio controlled vehicles that fold flat to fit in a pocket. Boys will become immersed in play as these mini-marvels fit into their super-thin carrying case, which doubles as the radio control transmitter for the vehicle. These compact cars are the ultimate in high-impact, super-small gadgetry.

iXL, from Fisher-Price, is one of the coolest, hottest tech learning products for preschoolers. This dynamic, multi-app smart device puts learning fun into the ultimate handheld gadget. With six great applications: Story Book, Game Player, Note Book, Art Studio, Music Player and Photo Album, this is one cool device kids won’t want to put down.

Taking the timeless play pattern of memory games to a whole new level by adding light, music and motion comes LOOPZ™. This active interactive game is the ultimate test in rhythm and coordination consisting of four semi-circular rings with IR sensors that light up to create challenging patterns players must follow. Seven different game modes allow players to play solo, head-to-head, host up to 4 players or even turn LOOPZ™ into a hip musical instrument.

Sing-a-ma-jigs are the new free-spirited, off-beat plush characters that love nothing better than to sing together. With each squeeze of their tummies, they offer up a little bit of chatter and then individual notes to a song. But the real magic happens when kids put the characters all together and squeeze their tummies one more time and the Sing-a-ma-jigs erupt into a harmonic chorus like none heard before!

ROBOTICS

Following the smash success of Rocky The Robot Truck™, Matchbox unveils Matchbox® Stinky™ the garbage truck, part of the line of ‘hard working heroes.’ Stinky™ is the hottest in robo-vehicle innovation that features advanced robotics, sensor systems and touch points, as well as articulations and improvements that allow him to interact with boys like never before. This robot pal doesn’t stink—he thinks and talks, tells jokes, “eats,” does exercises and even sings!

Kids can capture their very own “legend” with Imaginext® BIGFOOT The Monster and make a new friend in the process. This incredibly interactive monster friend features a child-friendly remote control so kids can make BIGFOOT walk, talk, eat, throw a ball and even do a forward somersault and a backwards roll.

Coming off the roaring success of D-Rex®, Prehistoric Pets CRUNCHER™ is the latest realistic dinosaur pet kids will love. Continuing the interactive robotic dino DNA CRUNCHER™ takes a big bite out of fun with his cantankerous carnivorous ways as he dances, plays catch, begs for food, comes when called and purrs happily when he’s petted. If sent into attack mode though, he’ll rear up on his hind legs and charge forward with startling speed while snapping his massive jaws!

READY TO ROLL

Wheel play continues to drive into the hearts of children everywhere, providing hours of hands-on fun. Mattel and Fisher–Price have the customized options and playsets kids and parents want to “roll” with this year.

Continuing to embody speed, power and performance this year are Hot Wheels® Custom Motors™ vehicles. Their customized play gives kids the ultimate freedom to use their imaginations to design, build and race their very own custom masterpieces with a wide assortment of affordable cars and playsets.

Kids will be geared up for lots of fun with The Little People® Wheelies™ Stand N’ Play™ Rampway. Perfectly sized mini-vehicles race along dual, parallel, colorful winding ramps in a ramp-filled town with tons of performance-packed vehicle fun that enables kids to interact with beloved Little People characters like never before.

2.0 DOG TOY

Venturing into the pet market for the first time comes Puppy Tweets™, the new rage in social netwoofing. Pup owners will love giving their dog this tweet by simply attaching the Puppy Tweets™ tag with integrated motion and sound sensors to their dog’s collar which then connects to the included USB receiver. Download the easy-to-use software to create a Twitter™ account for Fido and the fun begins as Puppy Tweets™ captures the dog’s level of activity whether barking, sleeping or playing, translating it to humorous or poignant tweets that are sure to make dog owners follow, sit or stay.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Scalper's Tale: Big Arms Joe

My area if stuffed with people who, instead of working for a living, have chosen to spend every morning hopping from store to store buying up all the action figures and hot wheels cars collectors want for themselves. Why they would do all that work for the meager chump change they make on the markup, minus all the gas they burn is beyond me, but there they are every morning. Since I am made to wait patiently until these ass hats get their fill of the toys I'm after (sometimes not getting them at all when they stop shipping), I've decided I'm going to collect scalpers and I encourage all of you reading to join in my new hobby.

Today, we take a look at a man who is rumored to be the biggest scalper in central NJ, going by his self imposed moniker Big Arms Joe.

The Man: This piece of work was spotted waiting for Toys R Us Woodbridge to open while his partner waited for him in their green public works vehicle. You read that correctly. We are paying for this guy to store hop and supply all the comic shops with marked up action figures, not to mention line his own pockets with whatever he is ebaying (probably also on our dime.) After the store opened, I spotted him with an arm full of Hot Wheels cars. He made his way into the action figure isle where I was looking over the DC Universe Classics figures, taunting him by holding the only Parademon figure hanging there. I was sort of hoping he'd attempt to rip it from my hands, but I'm not a small guy, so he phones up someone and asks if the person on the other end needs anything that's hanging there. This is all I witnessed him doing personally, but it's far from the whole story.

The Myth: Store employees are well aware of this guy. A TRU employee who chose to go anonymous for obvious reasons says Joe is in the store all the time, right when they open. Another employee at the East Brunswick location says he seems very friendly with a manager at that store and even got a private tour of the new location before it opened. Joe doesn't need to get to that location right when they open, as the choice pickings are usually already set aside for him.

The Legend: Joe once attempted to pull a figure from the hands of a man shopping in the action figure isle of a TRU location one day. The man held on tight, turned around and punched Joe in the face. When store security came on the scene with local police, the man told them Joe forcibly attempted to grab his toy out of his hands and run down the isle. All eyes turned toward Joe who sheepishly proclaimed "When I retire I'm opening a collectibles store and I need this for the store." With question marks above all their heads, they let the man go and inexplicably, let Joe off with a warning. I guess bum rushing customers just gets you a slap on the wrist if you know the store managers and probably local police, being a public servant as well.

Provided are pictures of Joe and his public works vehicle on that day, parked outside of Toys R Us at 10am or so. If you see him, be sure to say hi and tell him how much you enjoy coming home empty handed when out looking for the newest action figures you would have liked to add to your collection. With more information by those reading this, I bet we can even find out which division of public works Joe works for and let his superiors know we'd no longer like to fund his expeditions.





*Note the license plate digits and tell NJ public works you aren't paying people to scalp toys.