Lego LOTR sets debut

This week at the UK Toy Fair we were given the first images and details of the Lord of the Rings Lego sets!
Let's get the frustrating news out first: You’ll need to buy all 7 sets if you want to get the complete Fellowship and that's quite a  big chunk of change (set prices start at $11.99 all the way up to 99.99). The good news is that each set is amazing and worth every penny!!

9469 Gandalf Arrives - Includes Frodo and Gandalf with cart and fireworks.  A great set and a way to get the two most obvious characters. (price approx. $11.99)

9470 Shelob Attacks - Includes Gollum and Shelob (big spider) and Frodo with ring (which is a gold chromed ring, sized perfectly to fit on a minifig hand) and Samwise Gamgee.  (price approx. $19.99)

9471 Uruk-Hai Army - Comes with Eomer, Rohan soldier and 4 Urak-Hai and a small section of wall, siege machine and one horses, which features articulated back legs. It’s designed to be joined to the Helm’s Deep playset. (price approx. $29.99)

9472 Attack on Weathertop - Includes Frodo, Merry, Aragorn and two Ringwaiths on horseback.   There’s a small section of Weathertop, which includes a spiral staircase and ruins at the top. (price approx. $49.99)

9473 The Mines of Moria - Comes with a great selection of minifigs, such as Pippin, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, a Cave Troll and two Moria Orcs. (price approx. $69.99)

9474 The Battle of Helm’s Deep - Includes 8 minifigs – Gimli, King Theoden, Haldir, Aragorn and 4 Urak-Hai warriors. Huge playset that has new "bricks" that resemble the walls of Helm's Deep. (price approx. $99.99)

9476 The Orc Forge - Includes 5 Orcs and various forge related stuff and has a light brick, which was a nice feature. (price approx. $39.99)

All sets will be released in August. Sets based on the new Hobbit movie will be released in the 4th quarter of 2012 (probably in time for Christmas!)

George Lucas retires...

George Lucas is retiring from "blockbuster" film-making. This information comes from a New York Times article that can be read here. Here's Lucas' actual quote:

"I'm retiring," Lucas said. "I'm moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff."

The new movie Red Tails will be George's last big project, (well, that is except for Indiana Jones 5... yes, he has also announced that he will be releasing a new Indy movie in the coming years.) He will also be returning to art house film-making, where he began his film career so many years ago.

I know many of us love Star Wars and continue to hope something new will emerge, but when asked directly, George replied with the following answer:

"Why would I make any more [Star Wars movies] when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"

Ouch! Well, my reply is: Stop messing with the old movies and make a new one! Or maybe allow another up-and-coming director and writer to take over the Star Wars reigns?!

Shawnimals Valentine's Day plush

Nothing says I love you like two sweet Buffalumps! (I have no-clue what a Buffalump is, but I want one!) Made exclusively for Valentine's Day 2012, this loving bundle features:

• Two handmade Buffalump mini plush (one is 3.5" wide, the other just under 3" wide) One for you, one for your valentine?
• A screen-printed card featuring loving Buffluamps, blank inside for your special message
• Limited to 50 pieces, numbered on the hang tag 
• On sale - Monday, January 23 at 1pm (central time)

Shawnimals are a personal favorite, so check out all of the creations, plush and art here: www.shawnimals.com

R5-D4 Jumbo Vintage Figure

Coming in the 3rd Quarter 2012:
Gentle Giant continues on with their new line of vintage Star Wars Action figure reproductions with the release of this classic R5-D4!!! (Just like they were when you were a kid, only BIGGER!)

Digitally scanned from mint 4 1/2” Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 7” tall. Nothing has been overlooked. Roto and injection molded and made of durable plastics, this jumbo figure is fully articulated with “clicking” head rotation faithfully reproduced just like the original.

That’s not all, this classic Kenner creation comes packaged on a 1977, Star Wars inspired blister card, featuring original front and “20 back” artwork, in a re-sealable plastic outer clam shell to help protect and display!

Here are a few pictures of other Jumbo Vintage figures...

Star Wars & Happy Meals

Coming Soon: Star Wars "things" in McDonald's Happy Meals. I'm not sure exactly what these are, but in celebration of Star Wars Episode 1 being released in 3D, we will once again see lots of marketing for Star Wars on the shelves of stores and in Happy Meals!

Glyos: The Block

I don't even know where to begin?! Onell Design is preparing for a major release this Friday which includes a new space-like, vehicle-like, building block called... The Block! The following pictures explain it best, and quite frankly, I feel like I want at least 10 of them to create a bunker. (scroll down past the pictures for additional info on this Friday's release.)

 

Details for the January 20th (Friday) release:

United Glyan Forces
-Glyan EMD Operator Cane (black with gray visors and tampo print)  $6 
-Glyan EMD Technician (orange with black visors/gray detail lines and tampo print) $8

Gendrone Revolution (pics later today)
-Argen MK VI (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $8
-Phaseon Gendrone Revolutionary (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $6
-Gobon (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $10

Axis Joint Sets
-EMD Tech Set (orange) $4
-Purple Metallic Set $4

Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Sets
-EMD Tech (orange) $2
-Purple Metallic $2

Travelers
-EMD Commander Rynevo (orange Pheyden) $8 


Core Block
-EMD Core Block (gray and orange with black visors/tampo print) $14

-Black Core Block (black vinyl/no paint) $10

Rig
-EMD Heavy Armored Rig with Wings (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $25

Rig Runner (Glyan WARP Bike)
-EMD Rig Runner (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $20

Conversion Set (consists of 1 long Rig Arm and 1 short Rig Arm for customizing vinyl figures) 
-EMD Phase Cannon (Rig long arm) and Phase Blocker (Rig short arm) (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $12

-Black Phase Cannon and Phase Blocker (black vinyl/no paint) $8

Buildstation
-Black Gendrone  RESTOCK $4

Super7 Shogun BOBA FETT

Japanese toys = interesting, sometimes strange, always cool...
Star Wars = imaginative, revolutionary, always entertaining...

Super7 and Star Wars team up for their 2nd release in their Super Shogun series... BOBA FETT! A few years ago, the Super Shogun Stormtrooper was released and sold out. It appears that he has a  missile-firing wrist rockets! Excited! (Pictured below is the Stormtrooper that sold out a year ago.)

NYCC passes on sale!

If you are planning to attend New York Comic Con 2012 better get tickets sooner rather than later... 4-DAY PASSES ON SALE NOW! Follow the link down the rabbit hole... NYCC 2012

Toy Hunters TV Show

Coming January 15th ... the premier of a new Travel Channel show similar to American Pickers only this time the focus is cool and rare action figures and toy collectibles. Check your local listings for Toy Hunters. I'm excited to see if this is worth my time ... let's hope so!