Buckaroo

Buckaroo is a children’s game where you take turns and use your skill to take turns in placing small items and hooking, securing, sitting them on a mule without the mule being knocked or vibrations which can make the mule kick/trigger the spring inside and the items will be thrown off and the player loses that round of the game.

Buckaroo was always a favourite game of mine, because it included chance, anticipation and small amount of skill in which items would you pick and see if you could balance them and outwit the other players. It was similar in respect of a trigger/spring system to the Pop-up Pirate toy which was also quite good and also very frustrating at the same time if you were on a losing streak. continue reading>>

Glo Worm

Glo Worm was a stuffed toy released in 1982 by Hasbro Playskool arm and was aimed at young children. The Glo Worm soft worm like body contained a small battery, when squeezed the toy would light up the vinyl toys head from with a soft glow.

The toy proved very popular and a number of books, night lights and merchandise followed and continued through till 1990.

In 2005 the range received bad press when the plastic head design was found to contain phthalates within the plastic to increase durability, these can be dangerous if swallowed by kids, at the time these were used in many plastic toys and are now phased out. continue reading>>

The Simpsons 25th Birthday results in cool new toys and LEGO sets

The iconic Simpsons series from Twentieth Century Fox celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. And it has been announced that NECA will release a limited edition range of figures, collectables, novelty items, and apparel merchandise, based on 25 of the greatest celebrity guest stars to appear on The Simpsons.

The first figures will be available in March 2014, with further groups of five released each quarter of this year in limited numbers.

Homer Simpson Mr Potato Head Toy

A deal has also been announced with Promotional Partners Worldwide which will see Homer Simpson immortalised as a Mr Potato Head toy! I think this is quite cool and I would certainly buy a homer potato head if I had a child at the target age. The product will be six inches in height and feature his iconic white shirt, blue trousers, and doughnut. continue reading>>

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man toys coming soon

So depending on your age you may remember Ghostbusters or must of seen at sometime the Ghostbuster films on TV, well a new range of Toys have been announced after the Marshmallow Fun Company have agreed a new deal with Sony Entertainment which allows them to feature Ghostbuster Toys in a new range.
Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Money box, new toys coming soon
It has been 30 years since the first Ghostbusters film back in 1984 Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray were included in the movie where they protect New York from paranormal critters. Imdb Link

If you ask people of a certain age what do they think of when you say Ghostbusters, the answer is the theme Go Ghostbusters, Slimer, or the huge Marshmallow character from the film. continue reading>>

Toy Story Woody branded terror threat UK

So who would of thought the Hero that is Woody from Toy Story fame would be accused of links to possible terror links – So at Heathrow in the UK it is claimed an Airport security worker confiscated the weapon from the children’s character and then as they were told:

The parent said the toy was his son’s and they were told nothing resembling a weapon of “any size” can go through airport security.

Now of course people are only doing their jobs and they should always take threats or possible risks seriously and they can choose to remove any item they like but come on people how small and dangerous is a tiny solid, non real weapon anyway. Perhaps this was a case of one worker taking the rules to the full extent. continue reading>>

Disney Sued Again infridgement of huggable bear

The one and only Disney Enterprises is being sued again, this time the issue centres around one of the characters used in the the 2010 film Toy Story 3. In the movie a villain was a fluffy purple bear called Lotso.

The naming of Lotso is the main focus of dispute for NJ based toy company Diece-Lisa Ind (DLI) – As according to them they have a licensed, patented and protected trademark line of cuddly toys named ‘Lots of Hugs’ and have held this since 1995. They claim the Lotso character in the film is a copy and imitation of its line of protected toy range. continue reading>>

Mega Brands extends licensed portfolio with Nickelodeon

A new range of toys based on top Nickelodeon animation shows have been announced at the American toy Fair and will feature heavily in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2014.

The Mega Brands company is expanding its range of Mega Blok Kids constructions toys and play-sets and will also be releasing new SpongeBob Squarepants toys and merchandise on behalf of the Nickelodeon brand.

KerPlunk

KerPlunk is a popular children’s game which was first marketed by the Ideal Toy Company back in 1967. The game is made up of a plastic tube and a number of plastic straws or rods in various colors which numbered around 30 or 26 in total. 

The base contained four separate numbered trays and the straws are pushed through the holes midway through the tube to form a web or criss cross lattice. Then some marbles are then placed in the top of the tube, but they are held up by the straw web.

At the start of the game the whole tube is turned so that a hole of the base of the tube is in line with the tray each player is using. Players then take it in turns removing a straw one at a time… but they need to pick wisely with the aim of having the least amount of marbles falling through the web and landing into their tray. continue reading>>

Hand Buzzer or Joy Buzzer History

Hand Buzzers or to some they are called Joy Buzzers, these toys or joke toys are favourites with pranksters or when playing a joke or practical trick on someone. Hand Buzzers have been giving a jolt to victims since 1928 when they were created by a Danish inventor called Soren Sorensen Adams who went on to form a company and a novelty producer. Sorensen also came up with Sneezing Power in 1906, and also the razzberry or Whoopie Cushion, the snakes in a can, and the exploding cigar novelty toys. – So a huge amount of practical and comical jokes all from one guy, very impressive. continue reading>>