3-D Laser Cut Models featuring detailed laser etching and laser cuts on a 4.5" square metal sheet.  Easily assembled by popping out the pieces and connecting them at the attachment points using the easy to follow instructions.  Eleven styles to choose from:  Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Car, P-51 Mustang, Fokker D-VII Bi-Plane, Boeing 747 Jet, Beach Buggy, Checker Cab, Huey Helicopter, Staten Island Ferry, Empire State Bldg, Chrysler Bldg. Launch date: September 2011.

Where to buy:
NORTH WEST

HEXACUS is an exploration in creativity and fun for the entire family. Just sort by size and color, then stack, nest, and balance to create a wide variety of patterns and shapes. Our Idea Booklet shows over 100 examples of easy to challenging patterns and shapes to build.  Ages: 2+  CONTENTS: 12 Hexagonal Pieces – 3 Red, 3 Orange, 2 Yellow, 2 Green, 1 Light Blue, 1 Dark Blue, Idea Booklet. "Due to it's unique and geometrically accurate shape, children are able to nest and stack HEXACUS pieces in a wide variety of ways using horizontal, vertical and diagonal planes," Jason Cheung, general manager of Huntar Company, Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2012.

Junglemorphs, new for 2011, is part of the Zoomorphs pop-together building system.  The child can build animals that exist or have existed in nature; or easily pop the pieces apart to make all sorts of friendly, poseable fantasy creatures.  There are four characters in this set:  Tree Python, Bird of Paradise, Tiger and Tropical Beetle.  All sets are interchangeable.  Some animals have hinged jaws. Launch date: August 2011.
— Karin Evick, manager of Kids' Ketch in Lewes, Del., told TDmonthly in an April 2012 survey that Zoomorphs are one of their best selling construction toys.

Attack the Hoth Rebel base with the Lego Star Wars AT-AT Walker (8129). Build one of the most iconic vehicles from the original Star Wars movies and celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Use the grappling hook to help Luke Skywalker climb the body of the AT-AT, then use his lightsaber to stop the walker before it destroys the Rebel base. Will Luke triumph in time? Includes 8 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Han Solo in Echo base gear, Rebel Trooper with P-Tower laser cannon, AT-AT pilot, 2 Snowtroopers, General Veers and Imperial Officer. AT-AT Walker measures more than 13" (33 cm) long and 12" (30 cm) tall. This is the stationary AT-AT model.
— As of 09/06/2011 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 22 reviews on ToysRus.com. Pros: Fun, durable, easy to assemble. Cons: Expensive for a non-motorized version of this product.

This 51 piece set helps kids get back to the basics. With the addition of square locking widgets this simple block set turns into a building set with ability to build stable horizontal and vertical structures as well as endless stacking fun. Launch date: 2010.
Awards: 2011 Parents' Choice Recommendation

Kids can have fun with the 24 Christmas gifts from LEGO City with the LEGO City Advent Calendar (7553). With a great for each day, the LEGO City advent calendar has 24 days of building fun with Mini-figures, vehicles and other accessories for LEGO City sets. The LEGO City Advent Calendar (7553) includes: 6 MiniFigures, Christmas accessories, furniture and lots of vehicles.

Escape from the Death Star in the iconic GO Star Wars Millennium Falcon (7965). Straight from the Death Star escape scene of Episode IV A New Hope, the all new LEGO Millennium Falcon features stunning details, like hull plates that open to reveal a detailed interior, twin flick missiles, rotating quad laser cannons and detachable cockpit cover. Featuring Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, Princess Leia Organa and Darth Vader, kids can rewrite history and help Ben Kenobi defeat his evil nemesis from the dark side. The LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon (7965) includes * Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, Princess Leia Organa and Darth Vader MiniFigures * Millennium Falcon features opening hull, detailed interior, twin flick missiles, rotating laser cannons and detachable cockpit cover * 3 lightsabers, 3 blasters and 1 crossbow also included
– As of 07/23/2012 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 73 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Set is very large; figures all fit inside the ship once it's built; sturdy once assembled. Cons: Though many reviewers said the set was durable enough to be played with, some reviewers reported that the set fell apart easily.

Playable Metal blocks are made in aluminum alloy. There are 10 different shapes each with threaded holes on many of its facets. Blocks can be interconnected using specially designed screws. This patented connecting mechanism makes building flexible structures possible for each two adjacent blocks can be secured in any easily adjusted angle. Playable Metal blocks are available in 7 metallic colors. This set includes, 22 playable metal blocks, 39 connecting screws, 6 aluminum rods, 2 special rods (sports pack), L-shaped wrench.

Kids can create shapes, animals, and people with the 42 geometric shapes included in this set. The set includes 24 idea cards. The wooden storage case with metal closure doubles as a playing surface for the pieces.

SmartMax allows children to explore magnetism safely. The oversized pieces are specifically designed for handling by young kids as they learn about the effects of magnetic attraction and repulsion. Older children will have fun using the pieces to construct towers and bridges. The magnets are strong enough to carry up to 60 times their weight. Basic 36 includes long bars, short bars, large 1.8" diameter metal balls and a guide to build models. 25-piece and 42-piece sets are also available.

The Domino Express Maxi Power Plus set combines the fascinating action of falling dominoes with even more exciting stunts. It comes with a rocket tower, 2 straight and 2 curved speed tracks, a plane launcher, 36 speed dominoes and over 100 regular dominoes to stack up and watch fall. This set is hours of fun for both new domino fans, as well as the experienced pro. Launch date: July 2011.

The WudWorkers™ line is a “Build and Play” construction line that allows children as young as three years old to begin their love affair with creative play and construction. They can be built into one specific set and become a work of art on a shelf, or they can be played with, taken apart, and then turned into something entirely different. "Our line stands out from any other wooden construction set through our design and creative engineering," Kris Millington, SVP of Maxim Enterprise Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2011.

These blocks can be stacked to over four feet tall—a foot taller than most stacking blocks. Kids can also arrange the blocks into cityscapes filled with skyscrapers, houses, vehicles, trees, and traffic signs, and then use the blocks as a play space for action figures, dolls, or toy cars. Includes 10 stacking blocks. Launch date: August 2011.

The all-new LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar comes with 24 unique gifts, including an exclusive Santa Claus Yoda minifigure plus vehicles and accessories from the Star Wars universe. Features 8 minifigures, mini Millennium Falcon and X-wing Starfighter, and is 266 pieces total.

The Make It! series are fun construction games that will challenge problem solving and memorization, and will develop fine motor skills of young children as they build their favorite creatures.  Featuring Dinosaurs, Zoo Animals, Farm Animals and Animal Babies, Make It! is a multiplayer game that teaches cooperation skills and animal recognition.  Simply take turns selecting game cards and try to collect the pieces necessary to complete your animal.  Great family games for all ages.  Ages 3+ years.

The HEXBUG Nano Hive Habitat Set is the first transportable environment that enables HEXBUG Nano architects to customize the design and layout within a HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set. The Hive Habitat Set features an integrated center ramp for multi-level Nano interaction and a floor spotted with attachment points that kids can build off of, further extending its creative play pattern. Each attachment point can be filled with a variety of new playground accessories including pegs, which act as bump points for the HEXBUG Nano, rotating flags, which direct the HEXBUG Nano toward ramps or other obstacles including merry-go-rounds and even a seesaw for the playfully energetic HEXBUG Nano to explore. The HEXBUG Nano Hive Habitat Set can be connected to any pre-existing habitat set or used as a stand-alone product that kids can simply pack up to go with a convenient carrying handle. The Hive Habitat Set comes with one extremely rare HEXBUG Nano mutation and 35 easy-connect construction pieces including 16 pegs, 16 adjustable flags, two merry-go-rounds and one seesaw. HEXBUG Hive is CPSIA approved for kids 3 and up.  Launch date: mid-August 2011.

100 piece assorted "camo" colors including : Green, Olive, Brown, Khaki, and Natural. Fun and educational, these award winning eco-friendly blocks will keep kids building for hours on end. This 100 piece CAMO colors set contains 5 different colors to add a little pizazz to building fun. Colors include: green, olive, brown, khaki and natural (20 blocks of each color). Kids can build towers, towns, castles and more. Building guide included. Launch date: July 2011.

This set includes 10 assorted colorful trees to decorate Citiblocs creations. This set of 10 vibrantly colored trees in a variety of shapes and sizes lets kids expand their Citiblocs environment. Launch date: July 2011.

Jurassicmorphs #14: Jurassicmorphs, new for 2011, is part of the Zoomorphs pop-together building system. The child can build animals that exist or have existed in nature; or easily pop the pieces apart to make all sorts of friendly, poseable fantasy creatures. There are six characters in this set:  Diplodocus, Pilosaur, Coelophysis, Rhamphorhyncus, Pterosaur and Triceratops All sets are interchangeable.  All animals have hinged jaws.  Also available: Junglemorphs #15. There are four characters in this set:  Tree Python, Bird of Paradise, Tiger and Tropical Beetle.  All sets are interchangeable.  Some animals have hinged jaws.
Awards: Family Fun TOY of the Year

Designed as party favors, the Fun Favor Pack contains 8 LEGO items ( 4 ea- Jeep and Yellow Airplane); Free LEGO Club membership and LEGOLAND Offers (free child admission).

This 152-piece set includes 4 minifigures: Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa and Skeleton Barbossa. Features the Black Pearl rowboat, treasure chest, gold bricks, gold coins, gems and apple. Turn the door to reveal cursed Skeleton Barbossa. Kids can flip the mast and row with the oars. Measures over 7 (17cm) wide (Rowboat measures over 4 (10cm) long and 1.5 (3cm) wide). Includes free poster.

This is a set of 27 interlocking Cubes arranged in a 3x3x3 cube shape.  The puzzle challenges the player to transform the arrangement of the 27 cubes from one shape to any other shape, without disengaging any of the Cubes from each other. Cubes must be shifted by sliding along their faces.  The Cubes can shift in all three dimensions: X, Y and Z, but each face slides in only one direction. There are many solutions because there are millions of shapes you can tranform from and to.  The ultimate goal is to be able to logically understand how to shift from one shape to another in the fewest number of moves.  Other games can be invented by disengaging the Cubes and re-engaging them with the colors "flipped" on one or some of the Cubes, creating a "marked" Cube. The challenge is then to shift the "marked" Cube or Cubes into a specific position in the arrangement
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: This cube puzzle challenges kids to use their spacial-temporal reasoning and logic skills. It's innovative design allows for more open-ended play than similar products, and it is portable for fun on-the-go.

This 22 piece rattling building block set was designed specially for Little Builders. Shake, rattle, and build with these colorful blocks sized for little hands. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: Dr. Toy 10 Best Toys of 2011

Dado Bricks are interlocking cardboard bricks, measuring 12 inches long x 6 inches deep x 3 inches high. Kids can use these stacking bricks to create kid-scale structures...walls, castles, forts, secret hide-outs, or even attractive room decor. Unlike other simple cardboard blocks on the market, the Dado Cardboard Bricks contain a protruding pair of square nubs along with a matching set of recessed square indentations. The result is a cardboard brick that when stacked, will not easily tumble and can retain a rigid structure. "The ONLY interlocking cardboard block on the market," Erik Quam, Director of Product Development at Fat Brain Toy, told TDmonthly.

"While there are several stacking toys on the market, none of them are circular and included the added element of balance.  Tobbles is a stacking toy which encourages children to explore and discover," Erik Quam, Director of Product Development at Fat Brain Toy, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2011 Finalist for ASTRA's Best Toys for Kids
— Melodie Ingwersen, owner of Creative Kids Inc in Columbia, S.C., told TDmonthly in an April 2012 survey about best selling infant & toddler products that they sell 2-3 dozen Tobbles each month.