Raving Toy Maniac

May 1, 2012 - The next series of Halo Minimates is hitting comic shops tomorrow and Toys "R" Us stores any day now, so we thought we'd show you the packaging for this amazing assortment. The two-packs will only be at TRU, the four-pack is only at comic shops and specialty stores -- both have Master Chief and Cortana, but the rest of the figures are only available at their respective locations! Check out the carded pics and collect them all!

Pre-order the TRU two-packs at toysrus.com, and find your closest comic shop at comicshoplocator.com! And get regular DST updates on Facebook and Twitter!

Bloomington, Minnesota - April 30, 2012 - MetaCon 2012, the largest upcoming comicon, sci-fi, and anime con to come to Minneapolis is thrilled to announce that two more stars from Power Rangers will be joining the convention in 2012. Michael Copon (Blue Ranger, Time Force) and Nakia Burrise (Yellow Ranger, Turbo, Zeo, Mighty Morphin') will join MetaCon from August 31 - September 2, 2012 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minneapolis for autograph signings and question and answer sessions. MetaCon will gather thousands of fans of TV, comics, sci-fi, anime, and popular culture to the Minneapolis, Minnesota area for a three-day weekend celebrating fandom and nerd life.

May 1, 2012 - Just in time for the Avengers movie, it's Marvel Minimates Series 44! Featuring the comic-book versions of some of the most famous Avengers, these two-packs will be available exclusively at comic shops and specialty stores starting tomorrow! Each Minimate is 2 inches tall, fully poseable and comes packed with accessories and interchangeable parts. Thor comes with an alternate head, Giant-Man comes with all the parts to turn him into Ant-Man, and be on the lookout for the rare variant set featuring Ant-Man II, a.k.a. Scott Lang!

Pick these figures up at your local comic shop, specialty store or your favorite online retailer! You can find your nearest comic shop at comicshoplocator.com! And get regular DST updates on Facebook and Twitter!

K'NEX Announces May Mission: K'NEX 20 on 20 Contest
Contests Run Monthly Through December, 20 Chances to Win Each Month!

Hatfield, PA, May 2012 - K'NEX, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, announced its fifth in a series of twelve contests, Mission: K'NEX 20 on 20, monthly "hunts" for secret codes on various K'NEX related web pages.

Every month on the 20th day, through December 2012, K'NEX will be giving away 20 products to 20 lucky fans! On the 1st weekday of every month a prize will be revealed and a new "mission" is assigned. Missions can be found on the K'NEX website: http://www.knex.com/20thanniversary/Mission20on20/ which directs participants how to find secret codes. Once a code is found, participants must return to the K'NEX site and enter the code. If correct, they are eligible to be entered for a chance to win a prize. On the 20th of each month, when the contest closes, 20 winners will be randomly chosen from those eligible entries.

May 1, 2012 - The second day of CustomCon 31 is now online!

The Day Two galleries include:

• New Avengers
• Tim Burton's: The Batman Minimates
• Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates
• Marvel Legends Golden Age Series 2 Two Packs
• "Before the Fall" Series 1 Minimates
• Heroic Commandos in Action!

April 30, 2012 - Congratulations to The Fwoosh on their 10th Anniversary!

To celebrate this milestone, they are giving away a big pile of toys! They have two prizes available: one is a batch of Young Justice action figures and the other is a batch of Avengers Movie toys in a seriously cool promotional box.

Head over to their contest page for more details on how to enter, but make sure you do so by the May 4th entry deadline.

The Avengers have Assembled! Avengers Movie Minimates Arriving Now at Toys "R" Us

April 2012 - Only days remain until Marvel's The Avengers hits U.S. theaters, but U.S. toy stores are already getting in some of the most fun Avengers toys we'll see this year! The movie-themed wave of Marvel Minimates is hitting Toys "R" Us stores now, with four two-packs featuring Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Nick Fury and Loki. Diamond Select Toys took the figures out on the streets of New York City to recreate their epic battle with Loki's Army, and they look even more spectacular in action! The Loki's Army Footsoldier and General and Maria Hill Minimates will be available exclusively at at comic shops later in May, so for now you'll have to make the Avengers fight each other, but judging by the trailers (and 50 years of comic books) that is apparently fairly common.

April 2012 - Gentle Giant is giving away a production sample of their Kit Fisto mini-bust.

To see how to enter, head over to the Gentle Giant blog and log in with your Facebook account or email. You can tweet to earn extra entries. Get moving, you only have until May 4 to enter.

April 30, 2012 - The first day of CustomCon 31 is now online!

The Day One galleries include:

• Archer Minimates
• New Avengers
• Tim Burton's: The Batman Minimates
• Marvel Legends Golden Age Series 1 Two Packs
• HEROES4US
• Age of Apocalypse Minimates

April 27, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

Hi - we've just listed a bunch of new preorders for the upcoming summer blockbusters:

GI JOE RETALIATION MOVIE TOYS
Hasbro has just announced the line-up of toys for the upcoming GI Joe movie. It includes 2 series of 3.75" figures as well as Alpha, bravo and Delta Vehicles, 10" Figures, Showdown Sets, and a number of role play items like Ninja masks, a blaster and a sword. Many people have been eagerly awaiting this line, and now it is ready for pre-orders.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=2963

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN MOVIE TOYS