November 2010 New Specialty Toys — General Toys

Christa is dressed to impress and sparkles everywhere she goes. She looks radiant in her green shoes with poofs on the toes, snowflake stockings, a shimmery off-the-shoulder red dress and a green scarf, topped off with a red bonnet.

Holiday Hannah is ready for any holiday party. Super fashionable, Hannah wears red pompoms in her highlighted golden hair, a cozy winter Santa sweater, a shiny gold light bulb-embroidered skirt, candy cane striped stockings and fuzzy white boots.

This game set includes a wooden cribbage board, a deck of cards, five wooden dice and instructions for 12 different games. Twelve games are featured, but numerous other games can be played with the set.

George the three-headed monster has a soft, yellow plush body, bright white teeth and red accents on each of his heads and tummy. This puppet is designed to make children smile, chasing away fears of "scary" monsters.

As it streaks across the Alaskan wilderness, the McKinley Explorer treats passengers to breathtaking views of the spectacular scenery and wildlife in special vista-dome cars. Bachmann’s version features models of the train's bi-level dome dining-lounge cars. This ready-to-run train set includes an EMD GP40 diesel locomotive with operating headlight, three full-dome passenger cars (the Knik, Kenai, and Kobuk), a 63" x 45" oval of snap-fit E-Z Track, a power pack/speed controller and an illustrated instruction manual. "Our set has the newest models of the passenger cars," Bachmann Trains Communications Manager Debra Schiff told TDmonthly.

Eli is proud to be the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. Eli is little Eleri Eagle's senior and they love spending time together. This "beautiful eagle plush (features) super soft fur and a realistic look," Manhattan Toy Marketing and Sales Manager Julie Flann told TDmonthly.

Doozers live within Fraggle Rock and stand only 6" tall. The Doozers are small humanoid pudgy green creatures. They spend most of their time busily constructing small buildings out of a candy-like substance (that the Fraggles love to eat, which ensures a steady and constant work flow for the Doozers) made out of radishes and chanting marching songs. They use miniature construction equipment and wear hard-hats and work boots. No one but the Doozers themselves seems to understand the actual purpose of their intricate and beautiful constructions. "Doozers look just like the Fraggle Rock characters and comes in a puppet or plush," Julie Flann, marketing and sales manager of Manhattan Toy, told TDmonthly.

Traveling Matt is a brave and famous Fraggle explorer. He is also Gobo's uncle. Matt spends most of the Fraggle Rock series in "Outer Space" (his perspective of the human world) and sends postcards back to his nephew describing his adventures there. Matt prides himself on his bravery and resourcefulness, but also tends towards clumsiness, frequently falling backwards or tripping during his travels. This Matt toy looks just like the Fraggle Rock character, and comes in plush and puppet versions.

Sprocket is an intelligent sheepdog owned by Doc, the inventor of Fraggle Rock, and he proves the motto that dog is truly man's best friend. He spends much of his time in Doc's Workshop, where his bed and food dish are, observing Doc at work. Sprocket is very communicative and frequently talks to Doc by barking, making faces, or pointing to objects in a form of charades. Doc often relies on Sprocket to help with household chores, including repairs on the water pipes. This soft plush toy has furry gray hair, just like the real Fraggle Sprocket.

Kids can learn anatomy, teach posture, do illustrations or recreate Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man with this articulated stencil. The stencil measures 13.5” tall, is see-through and easy-to-clean, and pivots at 15 different points.

This simple to use, open-ended building set features five colors of 8" flexible straws that can be cut to accommodate different sizes. Users can construct cars, jets, castles and more. The set includes 400 pieces.

Press this pig for "eye-popping" entertainment. This silly pig measures 3" tall.

Press this cow for eye-popping entertainment. This silly cow measures 3" tall.

This combination game set features popular games including chess, checkers, backgammon, cribbage, dominoes, dice and cards. It comes in a wooden box with an old-world latch.

Hot Wheels™ ZipBin® Wheelie Track Pack resembles a mag wheel with a Hot Wheels rim. It unzips from the mag wheel to a two-lane dragracing track with integrated jump. The backpack includes pockets for six favorite cars, but easily holds 100 cars. Designed for portable play, it interfaces with Hot Wheels® tracks and includes an authentic Hot Wheels® car.

Hot Wheels ZipBin Tool Box is a tote shaped like a mechanic's tool box. This soft-sided case has a chrome exterior with an authentic Hot Wheels raised diamond plate finish. It unzips into a workshop garage for tuning the cars. Designed for portable play, the pack interfaces with Hot Wheels tracks and includes an authentic Hot Wheels car.

This limited-edition Hot Wheels Impavido ZipBin RaceCase backpack is a toy backpack that looks just like the included Hot Wheels car. It is designed to carry Hot Wheels vehicles, and is equipped for portable play. Unzipped, it becomes a racing center with drivable roadways.

Hot Wheels ZipBin Skull Track is a tote with an integrated two-lane race track on the outside. When unzipped, the racetrack doubles in length. The tote easily holds 100 cars and is designed for portable play. It interfaces with Hot Wheels Tracks and includes an authentic Hot Wheels car. "We make it fun to be neat!" Wilson Peters, Neat-Oh1 International sales and marketing specialist, told TDmonthly.

This kit uses common household substances to make fun things like rock candy, super bubbles, and molding clay. Kids can explore the science behind the food we eat and the substances we use in our homes every day. Other experiments turn bones to rubber, change liquid to rainbows, make candy, and more.

"The Ball that Doesn't Play Straight!" The Guac Ball is a 9" Inflatable Ball with Gravitational Unequalizer.  A simple toss turns into a crazy game of "Catch Me if You Can". Available in 3 colors. For retailers, Guac Ball comes with a free 24 pack counter display box plus one free Guac Ball to demo in the store.

Moose Popper launches a soft foam ball up to 20 feet. When the moose is squeezed in the mid section, the sudden air pressure shoots out a soft foam ball. The harder he is squeezed, the faster and further the ball shoots out. The moose comes with six soft foam balls and a carry net. "There is no other soft foam ball shooter like this on the market. Moose Popper is an original in-house design," Joe Rooper, president of Hog Wild LLC, told TDmonthly.

The Safari Friends Pedestal Pets collection includes a gorilla, lion, hippo, and elephant. Pedestal Pets are sets of pencil toppers featuring a variety of animal figures. Each package comes with 4 animal pencil toppers, 4 matching pencils and 4 fun fact trading cards. Children can also go to the Pedestal Pets website and "adopt" their pets and print out coloring pages of all the animals.

The Barnyard Friends Pedestal Pets collection includes a horse, pig, sheep, and duck. Pedestal Pets are sets of pencil toppers featuring a variety of animal figures. Each package comes with 4 animal pencil toppers, 4 matching pencils and 4 fun fact trading cards. Children can also go to the Pedestal Pets website and "adopt" their pets and print out coloring pages of all the animals.

The Neighborhood Friends Pedestal Pets collection includes a cat, turtle, frog, and dog. Pedestal Pets are sets of pencil toppers featuring a variety of animal figures. Each package comes with 4 animal pencil toppers, 4 matching pencils and 4 fun fact trading cards. Children can also go to the Pedestal Pets website and "adopt" their pets and print out coloring pages of all the animals.