Toy Fair 2025: Playmobil Shows Us The Future

Following last year's announcement of a ‘departure into the future’ at the International Toy Fair, Playmobil 2025 is following up on this promise. The new motto is: ‘The future is now’.

With a new and future-proof brand positioning and communication strategy, Playmobil is becoming an umbrella brand with a fresh brand image, creative campaigns, and renowned cooperation. This is supported by a new product portfolio and strong innovations. The aim is to strengthen brand relevance, tap into new target groups and drive forward the globalization of the Playmobil brand.

Black Sails: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital 10/16

Relive four seasons of the action and adventure on the high seas when Michael Bay’s Black Sails: The Complete Collection arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD October 16 from Lionsgate. The three-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning series (Outstanding Sound Editing, 2016; Outstanding Special and Visual Effects and Sound Editing, 2014) tells the classic story of feared pirate Captain Flint and his many foes — from Captain Charles Vane to the legendary Long John Silver, and many more — twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island. With over 2 hours of special features, Black Sails: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray and DVD includes all 4 seasons – 38 episodes — on a 12-disc set for the suggested retail price of $59.99 and $49.98, respectively.

Blackwake: Your New High Seas Video Game Addiction

If I told you a combat game involving British Soldiers and Pirates manning warring sea vessels where teams are involved with keeping the ship afloat, firing cannons and rifles at the enemy, steering the boat and..you know..staying alive..would you automatically think this game is too damn difficult to be fun? YOU'D BE WRONG!! I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Twitch Streamer Echoics as she jumped into an intense first time experience with BLACKWAKE. Apparently the game has been gathering funding on Kickstarter, with the inexplicable target of 7 grand (??!!) well met with nearly 48k and 17 more days to go. The Kickstarter gives this introduction:

Harlock: Space Pirate on Digital HD, On Demand & DVD 3/31

Director Shinji Aramaki (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Halo Legends, Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina) unleashes an interstellar thrill ride with Harlock: Space Pirate on Digital HD, On Demand and DVD from Ketchup Entertainment! Based on the classic comic book and TV series, this high action family adventure stars David Matranga (Appleseed, Journey to Agatha), Emily Neves (Starship Troopers: Invasion, Journey to Agatha), and Rob Mungle (Blue Seed, Lady Death).

Ray Stevenson Joins Black Sails as BLACKBEARD

Starz announced today the casting of Ray Stevenson (“Rome,” Divergent), as the iconic pirate ‘Blackbeard,’ also known as ‘Edward Teach,’ on the Emmy®-winning Original series “Black Sails.” One of the most notorious pirates to have ever lived, ‘Edward Teach’ (‘Blackbeard’) returns to settle some unfinished business, but a great deal has changed during his absence, and he will have to disrupt cemented alliances and challenge new ones to achieve the impossible.

Starz also released a new behind-the-scenes ‘first look’ at season three which is currently in production in South Africa.  The teaser will air on STARZ following the season two finale and includes a peek at the dreaded marauder ‘Blackbeard.’ The season two finale will air on Saturday, March 28th at 9 pm ET/PT exclusively on STARZ.

SDCC 2013: Black Sails Above Comic-Con

Zach McGowan (“Shameless”), Jessica Parker Kennedy (“The Secret Circle,” 50/50), Mark Ryan (Transformers, The Prestige), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (“24,” Hotel Rwanda) and “Black Sails” series creators Jonathan Steinberg (“Jericho,” “Human Target”) and Robert Levine (“Touch”) will lead the pirate uprising at Comic-Con 2013 with special appearances. The cast and creators will kick off the previously announced fan-only screening scheduled for Thursday night in San Diego. Additional surprise guest to be announced closer to Comic-Con.

Event Details:

Thursday, July 18th, line up early for an exclusive sneak peek screening of the highly anticipated high-seas STARZ Original drama from Executive Producer Michael Bay, “Black Sails.” Series stars Zach McGowan, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Mark Ryan, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and series creators Jonathan Steinberg and Robert Levine to introduce the first episode which will be screened for fans only. Additional special guest to be announced.

Black Sails On The Horizon

We've got Vikings and Spartans and medievally folks offing each other whilst waiting for Winter and now, Starz looks to put Pirates on your "must watch" TV list! Say it with me...Scurrrrrrvy...Scurvy is the new sexy.

STARZ today revealed the official key art and two teaser videos for the highly anticipated Michael Bay executive produced high-seas drama “Black Sails,” which will premiere in January 2014.

The pirate adventure centers on the tales of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his men and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver (Luke Arnold). Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

San Diego Comic-Con 2012 : Dark Horse Exclusives

The largest and most highly anticipated pop culture event of the year is right around the corner, and Dark Horse is bringing you the latest and greatest in exclusive products from Dark Horse Deluxe!



2" Pirate Domo Qee : Limited Edition of 1,500 - These popular 2" Qee figures have continually sold out, appearing in stores and galleries worldwide. Who wouldn’t want a Pirate Domo Qee? Get one while they last!

SDCC: Capture Diamond Select's FREE Pirate Minimates

We've been spending a lot of time telling you about all the mind blowing San Diego Comic Con Exclusives you can buy, instead of food and a hotel room (gotta have priorities), but we haven't touched on a very special aspect of SDCC. See, SDCC is a magic place. As you roam the floor, you will see your fellow nerdlings waving one hand in the air, in a frantic, sort of desperate manor, while standing in front of a booth. If you cue up and follow their lead, suddenly, you hand will not be empty!! MAGIC!! My free stuff scores have included Charlie Brown T Shirts, blow up weapons, Galactus hats, Starro face fish masks, Moss Man deodorant, Flynn's Arcade tokens and even a very special lenticular cover for my Iron Man DVD. Now Diamond Select continue this wizardly tradition with free Pirate Minimates. God bless America. Here's the skinny..













Hey, all you Minimates lovers out there. So, you know how I said there were gonna be free Minimates at San Diego Comic-Con? Well, there are. Four, to be exact. A specially packaged Pirate Raiders Minimate will be given out at the Diamond Select Toys booth every day at noon: Robert Deal on Thursday, Jonathan Barnet on Friday, Charles Vanes on Saturday and Calico Jack on Sunday. They'll all be distributed in bagged trays, so that, on Sunday, you can put them all in a special box to create your own four-pack! It's pretty cool, as you can see below, but they're gonna go fast, so don't be late! And hit up the Minimates panel on Saturday from 1-2 PM in Room 9, for more info and giveaways!

Saturday Nightmares Assaults Central NJ Jun 3-5th

HEY KIDS!! Do you LOVE your horror sumthin’ fierce? Are you lookin’ for a place to mingle amongst your fellow fiends and you bask in the warm, green glow of famous zombies and assorted masters of horror? WELL SATURDAY NIGHTMARES IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!! This June 3-5^th, The Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in East Rutherford, NJ goes to HELL.. and plays hosts horror’s elite including the great Martin Landau, Tippi Hedren, Sid Haig, Julian Sands and Doug Bradley alongside the casts of Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead and many, many more! For a full lineup hit https://saturdaynightmares.com !! The convention also includes a band of deviants that will send you screaming into the night if you lock eyes with them. It’s your buddies at Dread Central.com!! (and Idle Hands..since it's meee) Dread will be on hand Saturday the 4^th and Sunday the 5^th to load you up with free swag from only the finest of horror projects we mouth off about daily on your most favorite of web sites. If that’s not enough for you unrelenting meatbags, we’ll also be holding hourly contests to win even better gear! This year’s promotional partners include…

Shout Factory: The ONLY company able to make Gamera and the Mystery Science Theater crew play nice with each other. The fine fiends at the Factory have sent a nice stack of DVD's for prizes. Get your copy of Galaxy of Terror signed by Sid Haig and ask him about giant alien rapist slugs!

Magnolia: Providing only the most insane collection of movie titles for the masses. Magnolia is sending a stack of posters from current releases like Troll Hunter and Rubber (the story of a killer tire!) as well as some DVDs for prizes.

Quirk Books: Those warped geniuses behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! Quirk generously dumped 2 boxes of books in my lap for prizes as well as some awesome posters you'll be able to scoop up.

After Dark: Always sure to bring you 8 Films to DIE For. Their posters will be on the table for you to snatch while selections from their DVD collections will be tossed into our hourly contests.

SEGA: Who recently infused your Wii with Conduit 2 and will soon possess your Kinect! For all my geeks in the house, SEGA sent us the last of their exclusive WONDERCON Thor and Loki posters as well as limited edition Conduit 2 figures for the contests! These were only released in Australia, so if you are a furious gamer, be on the lookout!

Dark Horse: They’ll show you their Tim Burton goodies if you show them yours! (this is gonna get weird..I can tell). We'll be displaying 2 pieces from their large scale Tim Burton Tragic Toys for Boys & Girls series.

Warner Brothers: That movie company who service every sort of geek under the sun. I actually have no idea what the good ole WB is sending, but I hope it looks like rolls of awesome posters!

Activision: Who will make that Call of the Dead for you and won’t reverse the charges. Come grab a free contest ticket and hope your number is up..to win a limited edition Call of the Dead poster!!

HBO: With the triumphant return of your favorite southern fried Vamps. HBO want you to celebrate the new season of True Blood with us so look for some limited edition teaser posters on the tables.

IMAX: Who pose the question; What is better than Pirates of the Caribbean in 3D? Pirates of the Caribbean in IMAX 3D on a screen bigger than your house!!! The movie is in theaters now, but we'll keep the party going with some posters & other pirate booty.

Adrenaline PR: Rocking your brains out since the days of Gozer the Gozerian! Again...no clue what our friends in metal are sending over, but I'm sure it will ROCK.

Want some free stuff while rubbing elbows the with nightmare elite? Get your ass to Saturday Nightmares!! We’ll see you there!

*UPDATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Action Figures Revealed

An email just dropped into my box with an advertisement in a UK magazine showing the first action figures to be seen from the newest installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise titled "On Stranger Tides". You'll notice the company listed as Flair, but the product is the same scale as previously announced by JAKKS Pacific, so we'll assume these will be distributed in the UK by Flair. On tap for the JAKKS line are ...

4 inch Action Figures Jack Sparrow, Angelica, Barbosa, Blackbeard and Mr. Gibbs, all scaled to climb aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge Ship Play Set. Right now I've got no idea who the Brit on deck is. But that's just the beginning!















With no fear of a recession prematurely emptying your pockets, JAKKS have planned out five series of 4 inch figures, three series of battle packs, four series of 6 inch collector series figures, three series of 6 inch classic movie moments action figures AND two series of premium 12 inch figures. That's what I call a full lineup. Before long, you'll have a ship full of scurvy sea dogs and the zombie pirates to battle them. Yo ho.

1/15/2011- New Info! OK so the dandy in the official Brit officer's outfit is looking more and more like Barbosa, which jibes with the series 1 lineup so it sounds right. We've just yet to see Mr. Gibbs. Details on the Queen Anne's Revenge Ship Play Set reveal some of the play features including a battery casing on the lantern on the front of the boat (light up most likely), big section gaps on the side suggesting you can pull off the side panels for battle damage, a hook from the crows nest suggesting you can hoist a figure up and cannons that appear to fire projectiles. Also there's the obvious addition of a cloth sail, which is notable in itself. Pre-orders list the ship between 65 and 70 dollars. Prices on cases of the basic 4 inch figures suggest a retail of around $8.99 dollars per figure. STEEP! The 4 inch scaled battle packs should come in at around $15.99, with 3 pieces in each wave. 6 inch figures premiere in a 5 figures set with each figure at $15.99 a pop. This 6 inch collector line includes a build a figure piece with each figure. In fact, each of the 6 inch collector action figure series has a BAF theme!! Looks like there might be more monsters than just zombie pirates on deck. Big MIGHT, but one can hope. BAF could actually mean anything, but traditionally, you are building a big creature of some sort, so fingers crossed. Then theres the 6 inch Classic Movie Moments series which appear to be 2 packs of action figures. JAKKS will release 2 of these per series. Last in line are the 12 inch premium figures, released 2 per series for $19.99 each. Nice price!











More info to come!

LEGO Board Games: Don't Build Drunk

LEGO Systems, Inc., the North American division of the world's leading construction toy brand, announced today that it will take its play pattern and values into a new toy category with 10 premium constructible board games. Each of the 10 LEGO Games leverages classic board game play of guessing, strategy, memory, logic and chance to offer a new way to play with the construction toy brand. The first five LEGO Games are due to release online on March 1, and all 10 will be available August 1 in the board game aisle at retail.

LEGO Games cater to a wide range of purchase and play occasions, ages, play types and price points. Each game provides everything needed to start building and playing right out of the box, including a customizable LEGO dice and separate building and game play instructions. LEGO Games are designed to be a new game every time they are played, encouraging children of all ages to build the game differently or change the rules and dice to keep game play fresh and exciting.

"The strong momentum we have in our U.S. business allows us to expand beyond the construction category to bring a decidedly LEGO twist to board games," said Soren Torp Laursen, president, LEGO Systems. "When we look for ways to reinterpret the LEGO play experience, they must be obviously LEGO brand but never seen before, which LEGO Games delivers in a big way. We believe we will introduce our passionate fans to a new way to play with the brand while also recruiting new fans ? and families ? to LEGO play."

"The fusion of a trusted brand with compelling game play is a winning combination for a category that traditionally sees little innovation," says renowned strategy game developer Reiner Knizia, who consulted with the company on development of the games. "With a variety of game types, buildable game boards and changeable rules, no two LEGO Games experiences are ever the same."

Beginning in March, five LEGO Games will be available for sale in select toy, discount merchandise and specialty online stores, including:


* Monster 4 - The first player to get four of their monsters in a row wins. Every roll of the LEGO dice brings a chance to move a monster, displace another player's monsters or send the giant spider in to clear some space. SRP $14.99



* Lava Dragon - Players must prove they are the bravest knight by being the first to climb the volcano and summon the mighty dragon. Along the way, each roll of the LEGO dice helps players to climb, block opponents, avoid lava or knock opponents off the volcano! This exciting game of strategy and luck is never the same game twice. SRP $14.99



* Pirate Code - Players must be the first to guess their opponents' secret treasure codes before theirs is revealed to take the title of pirate captain. In this game of logic, luck, secrets and treasures, players can set their own code of jewels in their treasure chest so the game is different every time. SRP $19.99





* Minotaurus - Players must be the first to lead their three heroes to the temple, avoiding the Minotaur and cleverly placing walls to block their opponents. By changing the LEGO dice, players can jump hedges, and by re-building the maze, every game is a new adventure. This game of chance and strategy is great fun for the whole family. SRP $24.99

* Creationary - Players roll the LEGO dice to select one of four exciting building categories: vehicles, buildings, nature or things. Three levels of difficulty give players a chance to show off their creative building skills so that others can guess what is being created. A great game for family and friends to test their imagination, creativity, building and guessing skills. SRP $34.99


All LEGO Games will be widely available in the board game aisles of toy, discount merchandise and specialty stores nationwide. Joining the five launching in March are:

* Robo Champ - The first player to build a robot with all the correct color parts will win the trophy and be named Robo Champ! Each roll of the LEGO dice brings a chance to collect the parts needed or grab them from other players to finish the bot and take the trophy! SRP $9.99

* Magikus - With the help of the owl, players race to be the first to collect the four special ingredients to cast the magical spell. Each roll of the LEGO dice brings a new chance to collect new ingredients or grab the ones needed from opponents to win. SRP $9.99

* Race 3000 - Players must show that they have what it takes to cross the finish line first and take the trophy! Along the way, players must use shortcuts, overtake or turbo boost past their opponents and change lanes to avoid oil slicks. Players can build a new track and change the LEGO dice each time they play so no two races are ever the same! SRP $19.99

* Hogwarts? - Between the moving staircase & secret passages at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it can be tricky for players to find their way around Harry Potter's school. The first player to successfully navigate the magical castle to collect all of their homework from their classes and get back to the common area is the winning wizard. SRP $29.99

* Ramses Pyramid - Players must unlock the crystal coded layers to climb to the top of the pyramid and defeat the Mummy King Ramses before he takes over Egypt, taking his crown and the treasures buried deep within. In this family game of memory, skill and cunning, players can compete against each other or team up to dethrone King Ramses! Created in cooperation with renowned strategy game developer, Reiner Knizia. SRP $29.99


For more information, visit http://games.lego.com or follow LEGO Games on Facebook at facebook.com/legogames.