Raving Toy Maniac

Mezco Toyz Reveals 6th Summer Exclusive: Man Of Steel Mez-Itz Three Pack

June 2013 - New York - As the world of fandom collectively counts down to the July 18th start of San Diego Comic-Con International 2013, Mezco adds fuel to the flames of excitement by revealing the details of one of their Summer Exclusives: Man Of Steel Mez-Itz Tri-Pack.

The most exciting 2inch Mez-Itz in Metropolis are based on the upcoming big-budget action extravaganza hitting theatres in June 2013.

The pack includes mini Mez-itz versions of:

• Superman - the Man of Steel.
• Jor-El - Superman's birth Father and leading scientist of Krypton.
• General Zod - Superman's villainous arch nemesis.

Each figure stands 2inches tall and features 5 points of articulation and 1000 points of fun.

All three figures come in a collector friendly window box.

The Walking Dead Minimates Come to Life in a New Short Film

June 2013 - The third series of The Walking Dead Minimates hits comic shops and specialty stores on June 12th, and has already been spotted at Toys "R" Us. To commemorate the occasion, Diamond Select Toys and Art Asylum have put together a short film starring all of the TWD Minimates to date, and it's not for the faint of heart!

With photography and editing by Alex Kropinak (Marvel's What the...?!), a voiceover by Chris Ward (the band Acorns to Oaks) and music by Matt Takacs, the film draws on Rick's famous speech from the prison arc of the groundbreaking comic book, setting it to some of the most horrifying Minimates images you have ever seen. Check out the film below, and look for Series 3 in your local store!

Star Trek Action Figures Return to Toys "R" Us!

June 2013 - With Star Trek on everybody's mind again, thanks to the latest blockbuster film, Diamond Select Toys is bringing back Star Trek toys in a big way, to comic shops, specialty stores... and even Toys "R" Us! In addition to the previously announced TRU-exclusive assortment of Star Trek Legacy Minimates, DST is happy to announce that the iconic toy retailer will have their own exclusive edition of the two newest 7-inch action figures, Kirk and Spock!

NASA Partners With The LEGO Group For Design And Build Contest

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2013 -- NASA and the LEGO Group are partnering to inspire the next generation of aerospace engineers by offering a new design competition. The competition will spur students of all ages to use the toy bricks in building models of future airplanes and spacecraft.

The "NASA's Missions: Imagine and Build" competition opens Wednesday with an entry deadline of July 31. Winners in each category will be selected by a panel of NASA and LEGO officials and announced Sept. 1.

The first category in the contest is "Inventing our Future of Flight." In this challenge, participants will design and build their idea for an aircraft of the future based on real concepts and new technology NASA's aeronautics innovators are working on to increase fuel efficiency and reduce harmful emissions and noise.

June 6, 2013 - Listed below are the toy (and child-related) recalls from this week; these links go to the official announcements on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.

- President of LM Import-Export Sentenced to 22 Months in Federal Prison, Fined $10,000 for Importing Banned Children’s Products

- Country Life Recalls Target-Mins Iron Supplement Bottles Due to Lack of Child-Resistant Packaging

June 5, 2013 - (Sponsor Announcement) - Online retailer BigBadToyStore.com has several items of interest to collectors:

--------------
NEW PRE-ORDERS
--------------

STAR WARS BLACK FIGURES - 3.75", 6"
Hasbro's new line of well-articulated Star Wars figures is up for pre-order. The 3.75" Series 01 includes characters like Darth Vader, Luke, Biggs, Biker Scout and more, and they are listed at $114.99 for the Case of 12, $89.99 for the Set of 8 and $9.99 for the singles that are listed. We also have the first wave of 6" figures up, with the Set of Darth Maul, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and Sandtrooper at $83.99 or $22.99 individually.
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=3184&category=9517

GI JOE RETALIATION SERIES 03.5 CASE, SINGLES
This assortment contains new figures as well as Ultimate versions of previously-released figures. We have the Case of 12 at $114.99, with singles at $9.99 - $14.99 each.

May 2013 - May 2013 - Funko has announced a new batch of POP! vinyl figures based on The Walking Dead.

Expect to see The Walking Dead POP! - Series 3 in stores around July 11th. Series 3 includes Rick Grimes, the Governor, Merle Dixon, and a Prison Guard Walker Zombie.

There are also several variant versions of the Walking Dead POP! figures coming this summer. Scroll past the pictures to see the list, or stop at the Prison Guard Walker picture to avoid spoilers from Season 3 of the television series.

Remember to stop scrolling at this next picture if you don't want to see the spoilers. No, I don't think you have a short attention span, mostly I need more text here to bump the spoilery bits off the "preview" portion that shows up on the news page.

Kids Who Read Beat Summer Slide

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2013 -- For kids, few moments in life are more glorious than the end of the school year and the start of summer vacation. Hooray! Three whole months of sweet freedom!

But when school's out, kids from low-income families have a real problem on their hands.

Unlike their more affluent peers, most of them don't spend summer break at the library or reading books in the backseat on family trips. In fact, many of them won't open a book until school starts up again.

Those three months off take a disastrous toll. Experts call the effect "summer slide" and it erases months of hard-earned progress in school, lost ground that kids in need can't afford.

Books are the answer. Studies show that kids from low-income families who have access to books over the summer not only beat the summer slide, but make even greater gains than kids from wealthy and middle-class families.

Actor Jaden Smith Focuses On Earth Science in a New NASA PSA

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2013 -- Jaden Smith, star of Columbia Pictures' movie "After Earth," is featured in a new NASA public service announcement that describes the contributions of the agency's Earth science program to environmental awareness and exploration of our home planet.

The public service announcement features imagery from "After Earth" as well as animations of Earth data from 17 orbiting NASA satellites. The satellites are making cutting-edge observations of the entire Earth system, including the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and snow and ice. The observations are used by scientists worldwide to improve our understanding of our complex planet, better predict the future of our changing climate, and enhance life on Earth today.

May 30, 2013 - Listed below are the toy (and child-related) recalls from this week; these links go to the official announcements on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site.

- Fred Meyer Recalls "Chicken Dance" Easter Chicks Due to Hearing Damage Hazard

- Pottery Barn Kids Recalls Sweet Lambie Crib Bumpers Due to Entanglement Hazard

- Vive La Fete Recalls Children’s Pajamas Due to Violation of Federal Flammability Standard

- H&M Reannounces Recall of Children’s Water Bottles Due to Choking Hazard