Raving Toy Maniac

February 27, 2012 - A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import! Star Wars ARTFX+ Statues bring you all of the quality and detailing that you expect from an ARTFX release in a great smaller scale perfect for collecting! Following in the footsteps of the sold out Stormtrooper Commander 2 Pack is the latest elite version of the Clone Troopers as seen in Revenge of the Sith, the SHOCK TROOPER 2 PACK!

February 27, 2012 - The Official Transformers Collectors Club has released an update about recent issues:

Hello!

We wanted to give you the latest update on the current procedure for membership renewals and NEW memberships. As we continue to work to resolve the online store issues, we have put up a PDF that members can download and print out. These will need to be mailed in with a check or money order. We will process your membership as soon as they arrive. Just click the "Join Now" button on the main page at www.transformersclub.com.

Please note that the March 16th deadline is still a hard deadline (in house), so please make sure any mail is in the postal system by March 9th. If we could move the date we would, but that is not an option as these have to be processed due to existing schedules.

If you want to receive the free club exclusive Runamuck, your membership must be active as of March 16th. If your club expiration date is after March 16th you are good to go for this years figure.

Dreamworks Animation is Off to the Races with High-Octane Cast for Turbo In 2013

GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 24, 2012 -- DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. today announced that Ryan Reynolds will lead an all-star cast including Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Kurtwood Smith, Snoop Dogg and Samuel L. Jackson in the Company's upcoming original film Turbo, which tells the story of an ordinary garden snail with dreams of racing greatness. Turbo is scheduled to come to the big screen on July 19, 2013.

"Ryan Reynolds' infectious enthusiasm and humor will bring life to the lead role of Turbo and set the tone for this amazing roster of all-star voice talent," said DreamWorks Animation Chief Creative Officer Bill Damaschke. "This high-octane journey will take audiences on the race of their lives and completely re-define the traditional notion of moving at a snail's pace!"

Babies"R"Us® Introduces "V.I.B." Program to Reward Parents With a 10% Bonus Savings on Baby Essentials

Very Important Baby Card Allows Moms and Dads to Earn Up to $200 Annually Toward the Purchase of Diapers, Wipes, Formula and Baby Food at "R"Us® Stores Nationwide

K'NEX Launches "Class of '92" Promotion in Celebration of 20th Anniversary

K'NEX Fans are invited to share their building memories!

February 27, 2012 - K'NEX, the only US construction toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love™, announced a new promotion to celebrate its 20th anniversary, "Class of '92", open to adults, 18 years and older, who grew up playing with K'NEX.

Fans wishing to become part of the Class of '92 are invited to share K'NEX related stories & photos on the Class of '92 page, found on KNEX.com. K'NEX is seeking memories from adult builders' own childhoods and anecdotes on how they have shared their love of building with their children. Class of '92 also invites K'NEX fans to share their memories on the K'NEX facebook page (facebook.com/buildknex) and interact with other adult fans.

February 2012 - CustomCon 31 (Spring 2012) is coming soon! The event itself will be held from April 30 to May 4, but the entry deadline is April 9.

For more details on including your custom action figures in this event, please check out the CustomCon 31 entry guidelines.

Mezco and the Raving Toy Maniac present the Mezco Toy Fair Keychain Contest...

The contest has now ended. Congratulations to the winners:

• Raven F., Spongebob
• Scott D., Spongebob
• Scott B., Domo
• James G., Frankenstein's Monster
• Eric D., Living Dead Doll
• Paul T., Living Dead Doll
• Anthony R., button set
• Jason G., button set
• Mary P., The Spirit
• Katrina T., The Spirit
• Doreen C., The Spirit

The fine folks at Mezco Toyz sent us a pile of keychains (the ones they handed out to booth visitors at Toy Fair!) to use in a contest! We had a poll on our front page, and you voted to make each item its own prize, to be awarded to a separate winner. After seeing that and realizing that we would have to pick six winners and mail out six prizes, we figured that a few more wouldn't be too terribly much more work, so we looked around for our box from Mezco's Mystery Box Sale from last fall, and found a few more items to include as prizes.

Here are the prizes, each item to be awarded to a different winner:

February 24, 2012 - The Four Horsemen are looking for sculptors and painters! If you have some experience and can get to Northern New Jersey, now's your chance.

The details of what they are hoping to see and how to submit your portfolio are at:
http://www.fourhorsemen.biz/news/2012/2/24/the-horsemen-need-help.html

February 24, 2012 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer Urban-Collector has several new items of interest to collectors:

This week we are featuring new pre-orders including Dark Knight Rises Icon statues, an awesome Amazing Spider-Man statue and Arkham City Deluxe action figures!

Featured Pre-Orders

• Dark Knight Rises Bane 1/6 Scale Icon Statue
• Dark Knight Rises Catwoman 1/6 Scale Icon Statue

Tim Bruckner Introduces the IconoCasts, A New Line of Garage Kits and Mini-Busts

February 2012 - Prolific toy industry sculptor Tim Bruckner (DC Dynamics, Batman: Hush) has launched a new, affordable line of garage kits and hand-painted mini-busts based on his own sculpts of famous characters from literature and history. Called IconoCasts, the first assortment of three characters includes The Monster from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," hopeless romantic Cyrano de Bergerac and a laughing portrait of famed composer Ludwig Van Beethoven titled "Ode to Joy."

Each stands approximately 5.75 inches tall, and is available in unpainted and unassembled kit form ($30) as well as a painted, assembled version ($50). You can order all three through timbrucknershop.com, along with larger-scale versions and other examples of Bruckner's produced and unproduced work.

http://www.timbrucknershop.com