March 2011 Notable Toys — Collectibles

A Poofin is a large pillow-like Star that holds a collection of soft picture charms that represent all the great things in a kid's life and what they like about themselves. "Kids can make it one-of-a-kind by filling it with as many as 50 small, soft charms of their choosing. As kids build their charm collection, they get an understanding of just how awesome they are. Poofin is a plush collectible toy with soul that bridges the inner and outer dimensions of a child. As we like to say: What you put inside is what’s inside you. Poofin allows a child to share their stories with friends and family through the sharing of their personal charm collection," Ann Bowar, principal of Poofin, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

Designed by the French visionary Jean Albert Grégoire, the Panhard Dyna X was a light-weight compact saloon car that featured a front-wheel drive transmission. This 1:43 scale model depicts the EVIAN water delivery car of the mid 1900’s.

The 4CV is an economy car that was produced by the French manufacturer Renault. This was the first French car to sell over a million units. It features a rear-engine, rear-wheel drive and front suicide doors. This 1:43 scale model features the “32000 km Around The World” theme.

This comic book/graphic novel is a standard 32-page issue comic. "Fame: The Royals" reminds readers how much of William's life has been lived in the public eye; his birth, the tragic death of his mother Diana; his schooling, charitable work and military service. However, this issue, penned by CW Cooke ("Fame: Taylor Swift" and "Fame: Beyonce"), looks to give context to the headlines along with a fresh take on the burgeoning 8-year romance with his bride-to-be Kate Middleton. The special collector's edition (which will feature over forty pages), will retail for $7.99.  Some of the planned extras include pinup posters, special illustrations of the April 29th wedding as well as a comparison with Diana and Charles' 1981 wedding. The special edition also offers a unique double-sized cover by Martinena.

Made of 100% hypo-allergenic silicone, SLAPlets and SLAPlinx are customizable, tradeable fashion. The SLAPlet is a bright silicone slap bracelet that can be customized with slip-on SLAPlets. There are currently 6 fun colors available (blue, black, red, white, purple and pink) with six more on the way. Each SLAPlet comes with three SLAPlinx. SLAPlinks can also be bought separately in twelve-packs for $5.99.

Smokey and the Bandit II debuted in the United States on August 15, 1980. It was the sequel to the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit, which starred Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, Jackie Gleason and Dom DeLuise.  The story centers on Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) a now washed-up has-been living in the past.  It has been years since Bandit and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) made their famous 28-hour run to Texas for a few cases of Coors.  It is not till Big Enos and Little Enos make them an offer on another cross-country run that Cledus seeks the help of Frog (Sally Field) to encourage the Bandit to sober up and regain his fitness.  The job involves transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas and once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice played by Jackie Gleason is in hot pursuit to apprehend Bandit in the name of the law.  Frog abandons her second attempt at wedding Buford T. Justice's son Junior to help and buys Bandit a 1980 Turbo Trans Am powered by the Turbo 301; his iconic get-a-way car. Features full metal body and chassis, detailed graphics, custom license plates, opening doors, hood and trunk, fabric seat belts and is officially licensed by automotive manufacture and respective entertainment affiliation. Launch date: March 2011.

In motorsports there is a safety or “Pace Car” that is used to limit the speed of the competing cars on a racetrack for a caution period.  During this period competitors are not allowed to pass the Pace Car.  The officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been selecting a Pace Car and its driver for the Indy 500 each year the race has been held.  For the 1980 Indy 500 Race a distinctive 1980 Pontiac Turbo-Trans Am was the official Pace Car.  Powered by a turbocharged 4.9L V-8 engine, the Turbo-Trans Am needed only minor modifications to bring it up to Pace Car specs. The 1980 Trans Am was piloted by 1950 Indy 500 winner Johnnie Parsons, Sr. GreenLight recreates this machine on 1:18 scale with all details 100% accurate from the flaming chicken on the hood to the monster engine under the hood. Features full metal body and chassis, detailed graphics, custom license plates, opening doors, hood and trunk, fabric seat belts and is officially licensed by automotive manufacture and respective entertainment affiliation. Launch date: March 2011.

Friendship Linkz are colorful friendship bracelets hand-made in Peru using Fair Trade practices.  Each one comes with a silk-screened clay bead at the end. On one side of the bead "lives" a totem animal; on the other side "lives" a special word that relates to each animal. Friendship Linkz can connect kids to things that matter most in life: their friends, favorite animals, and words to live by.

Kachooz are an all new collectible line of unique and furry pencil toppers that come with different hair textures and colors. Launching with 36 new characters consisting of 20 different kinds of creatures, Kachooz!™ live in six little groups –  tiny tribe clusters they call Moops. The Moops are Nervous, 2Faced, Highlights, Mohawk, and Punk. Come in packs of two or four.

This Toob® contains highly detailed, hand-painted landmarks from cities around the world. An educational insert gives fun facts about the landmarks. Includes Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids of Giza, and more.

Contains 18 hand painted glow-in-the-dark pieces. Includes insert with educational facts abut the bugs.

Each starter pack comes with one collectors book and a pack of numbered stickers to place inside. There are over 1,200 stickers to find to complete the collection, and plenty of places to showcase the child's own designs as well. Each blind pack of stickers that comes with the book includes a water sticker, plus a combination of epoxy, foil, puffy and glitter stickers. Additional refill packs available (Note: It will take approximately 9 sticker packs to fill each StickerZine).

Based on characters from the cult classic movie, these plastic and resin figures will be released in two lines, one in Spring 2011 and one in the summer. They include a moving eye feature which enables the user to roll their eyes.

There are 10 Gomu erasers for each of Spin Master's 10 themes. These little erasers come in singles and in packs. The erasers vary in rarity, and you can track how many Gomu points you have on their website (the more rare the Gomu, the higher the point value).

These erasers from TY are tiny animals that can be taken apart and reassembled. The first release of Beanie Eraserz included 14 characters.

This ghostly marshmallow plays the main theme from the movie “Ghostbusters” when you press his tummy. Choose between happy or sad.

This popular video game gets its own collectible SackBoy critters, dressed in some of the costumes from the game. Available later this year.

Activision is back with Spyro. This time, characters in the video game are available as action figures that can be plugged into the game. Put the toy on the "power portal," and all of the power and skills that kids build up can be saved to the toy itself, so every time they play the game, no matter on what console, all of their statistics are in tact. Each character has its own unique powers, and two characters can be placed on the portal at once to play as a team or face of in one-on-one battle. Starter pack includes 1 copy of the game, 1 Portal of Power, and 3 Characters. Launch date: Fall 2011.

The Squinkies series of toys are soft, squeezy characters that can be held in the palm of a child's hand. Each toy comes inside its own bubble from which it can be removed. Put the Squinkie in the cupcake, insert a "coin," and the Squinkie comes tumbling out. The Cupcake can be opened to reveal a bakeshop playset.

This line of Plush and collectible toys corresponds to the incredibly popular MoshiMonsters.com. Many of the products can be used along with the website. Launch date: Fall 2011.

Mezco Toyz will be introducing even more characters from the DC Universe including world-famous super heroes such as Batman, Superman and the Green Lantern. The first series of 2 packs includes the following pairings: Batman: Gotham City's Dark Knight and The Joker: The Clown Prince of Crime; Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern: Intergalactic Protector of Earth and Sinestro: Former Green Lantern turned cosmic villain; Superman: The Last Son of Krypton- Earth's Greatest Hero and Mongul: Ruler of Warworld, gladiatorial space empire. Mini Mez-Itz are 2" collectibles. All Mini Mez-Itz feature five points of articulation and are packaged together on a blister card. This contains 1 of each of the 3 sets. Launch date: June 2011.

DC Mini Mezitz with Vehicles Set: Asst 1- Batman and The Batmobile is the 1st Mez-Itz character produced with a vehicle: The Batmobile. This 2 inch figure features all the articulation of his larger counterpart at 1/3 the size. Batman can fit inside this famous car, The Batmobile, and still have room for a 2nd passenger. The Batmobile is the first car to ever be transformed into a Mez-Itz vehicle. It measures nearly 6 inches long, features a detailed cockpit, and has a convertible hardtop so the Dark Knight and a passenger can fit inside. Batman and The Batmobile come packaged together in a collector friendly window box. Ships in late July 2011.

ThunderCats Ho! Straight from the ThunderCats' Lair on Third Earth, it's Lion-O and the legendary mystic Sword of Omens. This mega-scale figure measures over 20 inches tall from the tip of his upraised, extended sword to the soles of his Thunderian boots. Featuring 7 points of articulation this mega figure is extremely detailed, capturing not only the iconic look of Lion-O as he appeared in the classic television series, but the essence of Lion-O as he proudly raises the mystic Sword of Omens towards the heavens and roars out "Thundercats, Ho!" He comes complete with his Claw Shield and a removable mystic Sword Of Omens. Lion-O is packaged in a collector-friendly window box that allows him to be displayed while remaining Mint In Box. "We are the only 20 inch tall Lion-O ever produced. After the recent story on MTV pre-orders went insane," Mike Drake, director of special projects at Mezco Toyz, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.

Tupac Shakur has sold over seventy five million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Naturally, the next step was to become a bobblehead. Launch date: Early 2011.