Toy Fair 2013: Someone Put A Stoppy to Clocky & Tocky!

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clocky tocky

If you try to stop my much-deserved sleep
you’ll soon hear a certain stylized “beep”
That’s just me, a-hammering on your hard head
half-awake, swinging ’til we both see red.

The talented jerks working at Nanda Home
Have cooked up two bad clocks that happen to roam.
As soon as the time you’ve set rolls on around
Those stupid smart tickers, they leap to the ground!

They roll away, wailing their horrific chimes
And chase them you must for committing their crimes
You’d better be fast at running half awaken
As smashing into walls can have bones a-breakin’

 

 

And as you’re there lying and writhing in pain
Both Clocky and Tocky roll past your bruised brain
still chirping and screeching ’til you’re off your ass
and after them once more, your foot on the gas

If you’d like to add torture to your morning routine
or give someone the gift of a busted spleen
Stock up on these demons from Nanda’s factory
But don’t you go pointing that tired finger at me!

 

 

Evil, I say. EVIL!. Clocky is $45, Tocky (and it’s even MORE evil feature that allows you to record voice or MP3 files so you can crash into walls while listening to yourself, someone else and/or your favorite music getting you out of bed in a frenzy)? That’s $58. Hey, it’s YOUR money, so I can’t tell you how to spend it. So if you want to buy one, three or a whole room full of these things and/or give a nasty gift to a friend, the kids, the significant other or anyone else (and be hated for a month or so), knock yourself out. Of course, if you get one for yourself, you probably will once or twice before you get used to it…

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (4): Double “Evil” Geniuses On Display

Action Figure Gru It’s Gru, he’s back again for you with kids and Minions in his crew.
He’s not as bad as he first seems – his new girls tamed his evil dreams.
But Minions vanishing from his place have him now in quite a race.
To put a stop to a new foe (and have you all cheer Go, Gru GO!)

 

 

 

Action Figure Dr NefarioAnd here’s Nefario, Gru’s right hand man, who’s always on with every plan.
But hearing loss is his big bane, his mistakes make Gru’s projects lame.
Dart Gun to Fart Gun is good for fun, but useless when more pain’s the one
Nevertheless, Gru keeps him ’round, as good friends for life go pound for pound
And perhaps if their plans would just work right, the world will be theirs day and night!

 

Pictured, two more Collectible Action Figures (Gru and Dr. Nefario) from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (3): Three Really Hard Working Minions

Action Figure Baker (Custom) Action Figure Fireman 1 (Custom) Action Figure Fireman 2 (Custom)

A baker and two firemen are this week’s D2 toys
Like the rest covered here, they’re for girls or for boys
They also make possibly the most perfect fit
(keep reading below for some well-placed wit)

That baker Minion might make a tasty treat
But his skills with the stove sure bring up the heat!
The smoke alarm’s wailing, here come the red trucks
But as they pull up, from the oven he plucks…
a perfect muffin or two (they taste really sweet)
But the entire house has burned to the street!

Pictured, three more Collectible Action Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

Toy Fair 2013: The Gate: Yes, You NEED A High (Quality) Fantasy Board Game.

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My otherwise dull video aside, as soon as you see Oofdah! Games’ The Gate – A Game of Myth and Magic in person, you know you’re getting a quality product, but a longer look reveals there’s a great deal going on besides good looks and lots of cool pieces you’ll want to show off at your next game night. The game is actually a sweet two in one deal with beginner and advanced play modes (there’s an intermediate mode as well, but don’t tell anyone you now know this!), some surprisingly deep gameplay and as you can see here, a ton of pretty (and pretty useful) stuff inside that big box. I need to grab one of these for myself at some point, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have played the game at a friends on a few occasions and can safely say it’s one of those great board games that’s instantly likable thanks to its design and even more enjoyable once you’ve spent time playing it. Continue reading

Toy Fair 2013: Insanimals Are Here! Get Your Money (and Your Crazy) Ready…

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INSANIMALSSometimes the best things in life come out of (and often come out) a little crazy idea taken from concept to creation, and I’d say Maryland-based brainchild and designer Chris Sciannella’s “crazy” idea is more likely than not going to make someone a millionaire at some point. Insanimals, the cool line of wild-eyed (but completely lovable) plush toys, made me laugh for a few reasons when I strolled up to the booth at this year’s Toy Fair, all of them good. For one, how can you not automatically get a grin going when seeing a chihuahua, cow, monkey or zebra (all with BIG hypnotic plastic eyeballs) staring back at you? I felt like picking them all up and shaking them gently to see if they’d snap out of it, but that bad idea of mine would just turn them back into “Normanimals” and you can get those anywhere from the local florist to the world’s biggest toy store. Insanimals are special because they’re completely bonkers and don’t try to hide it one bit…

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Despicable Me 2 Toy Profile of the Week (2): More Minions, More Problems!

Action Figure Golfer Action Figure Ninja Action Figure Rockstar

Three more minions here and a new poor rhyme,
despite my bad verse, they’re well worth your time.
A golfer, a ninja, and rocker that’s punk
(it’s best to look upwards than read my old junk!)

But if you’re not green yet, then keep reading on
(and be glad that I’m not writing your favorite song)
those Minions will pop up in stores really soon
about a month before the film lands in June!

Pictured, three more Collectible Action Figures from the upcoming Despicable Me 2 toy line (2”-3.5”), Age: 4+; Approximate Retail Price: $4.99 – Available starting in May at a retailer near you.

Toy Fair 2013: Chains to Champions: Brick Warriors Go Board Game (And You Certainly Won’t Be Bored At All)…

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Chains n Champions 1OK, I’ll admit it. I’d never heard of Brick Warriors until a few days before Toy Fair when a friend with a bigger ear to the playground who collects and tweaks his collection of miniatures asked me to check out the upcoming Chains to Champions board game the company was working on. It’s a good thing I decided to be a nice guy and drop on down to meet Ryan Hauge, Amanda Taylor and Rhonda Denny (the game’s lead playtester and most likely the company’s ringer if you ever end up playing against her for money), as the game is looking to be a ton of fun for minifigure fans across the globe. C to C is a gladiatorial combat game for two to six players (or one player with multiple personalities who wants to beat himself senseless at a board game) that’s easy to pick up, yet also highly challenging as you complete in card-based clashes for coin and customization upgrades.

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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic X MIMOBOTS: mimoco & Hasbro Bring You Useful Eye Candy

MLPFiMX

 

MLP_MIMOBOTWell, MY own eyes are burning like toasty coals in some marshmallow fluff factory because I’m not into the whole Brony thing and all, but I don’t begrudge anyone’s interests (provided they’re not harmful to others). Anyway, if this is your big plastic cup of sugar laced saccharine… well, lookit you bouncing around the room with your wallet or purse out! Yeah, I can hear the furious clicking away from here as you poke around the mimoco online store, your eyes as big as saucers as your brain furiously fights over which of the the characters to get. Available in up to 128GB as well as USB3.0 speeds, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash are all staring back at you with their own big eyes to the point where, gosh and golly, you HAVE to get all THREE!

MLP_RainbowDash_MIMOBOT MLP_Rarity_MIMOBOT MLP_TwilightSparkle_MIMOBOT

mimoco knows this as well and as you can see from the video above, each USB drive comes packed with super-cool bonuses that will show the world you love MLPFiMX to death and then some. So, you know what to do, right? Oh… you’ve already done it before you even finished reading this post? Well, good for you – my work here is done.

Toy Fair 2013: Peavey Gets DC Ready to Rock With Themed Guitars & More…

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Yeah, you know you want one (or all of these) even if you’re lousy at playing the guitar. Peavey Electronics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products are rolling out a cool line of DC Comics superhero-themed guitars and accessories starting this summer with a half-size Peavey acoustic guitar featuring a number of popular DC Comics Super Heroes, followed by a three-quarter size Peavey electric guitar and a full-size Peavey Rockmaster® electric guitar. Peavey will also release guitar picks and straps featuring DC Comics Super Heroes and villains such as Aquaman and The Joker (pictured below), as well as Watchmen and other fan favorites. Hmmm… even though it’s in “fat chance” territory, I think a Swamp Thing guitar would be a pretty wild addition to this lineup. Anyway, here’s a look at three cool electrics from the upcoming lineup – flip a coin like Two-Face or buy them all (like you knew you were going to as soon as you clicked on each image).

Peavey DC Comics Superman Rockmaster Peavey DC Comics Batman Rockmaster Peavey DC Comics Joker Rockmaster

Hmmmm.. given The Joker’s tendencies for oddball gags at inopportune moments, I have to wonder if that Rockmaster is loaded with a little something extra you’ll only discover by playing notes in a certain order? Well, there’s one way to find out – as in buy this for a friend and see what happens when he or she plays it… Just make sure you’re oh, about 30 feet away have have a good umbrella handy…

Toy Fair 2013: Griddly Games’ Show Me the Kwan: Word War Three Begins Soon…

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KwanAs usual, Griddly Games‘ Angela Welch is a total ringer. Here I was minding my business strolling around the show floor at Toy Fair when my path sent me past the GG both where their upcoming word game Show Me the Kwan (or Kwan) was on display and once I was lured into a match, well… like last year’s fun puzzle/strategy game Oversight, I went down faster than a Canadian Goose dipped in kerosene taking a detour through a flaming hoop. That actually means the game is really good and not much sleep before strolling the show floor means a discarded soda can could have beaten me…

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