January 2012 New Specialty Toys — Licensed Products

As Batman heads toward the bank in his Batmobile, he spots Two-Face and his evil henchmen zooming off with a huge safe in tow. Help Batman put a stop to Two-Face's antics and return the safe to where it belongs. Includes 5 minifigures: Batman, Two-Face, 2 henchmen and a guard. Batmobile features dual flick missiles; TwoFace's car features dual flick missiles, shooting function and lifting crane.

Spot It NHL edition is great for die-hard hockey fans. Hockey themed symbols give Spot It its cool edge. The logo of every NHL team appears on the cards.

What happens when America’s favorite pastime and the best-selling card game in the country collide? The official MLB™ edition of Spot It! Whether the logo of a favorite team, a bitter rival, or another baseball related image, spot it and players will be running the bases to victory.
— In a May 2012 survey about licensed products, Elmer  Carranza, manager of Doodlehopper 4 Kids in Springfield, Va., named Spot It as their best seller. They sell 24 copies each month.

Harry, Ron and Hermione often visit Hagrid in his hut on the Hogwarts grounds. Sometimes their visits are uneventful – but other times, a visit to Hagrid can lead to adventure. Includes 6 characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Hagrid, Norbert and Aragog. Hagrid's Hut features light up fire place. Furnishings, such as chairs, a table, a stove, and pots and pans also included. 442 LEGO pieces.
— As of 12/16/2011 this product had 4.5 out of 5 stars from 28 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Lots of great details inside the hut; a great selection of mini-figs; detailed instructions. Cons: Not very durable once it is built; a bit small.

Wearing a familiar cap and armed with his trusty snowplow, Thomas hauls two festively decorated cars to deliver BIG winter fun to one and all. Our new Large Scale Thomas’ Christmas Delivery ready-to-run electric train set includes Thomas the Tank Engine™ (with hat, snowplow and moving eyes), cargo car, coach, track, speed controller, power pack, and DVD video instructions. "This is the only Large Scale Thomas & Friends ready-to-run electric train set with a holiday theme," Debra Schiff, mommunications manager for Bachmann Trains, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2012.

Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists on a wild ride with The Magic School Bus GROW AMAZING POLYMERS group pack. This kit provides enough materials for 30 students and is great for the classroom, after-school programs, science enrichment, boys and girls scouts, camps, and a Magic School Bus birthday Party. Young Scientists grow super balls, snow, rainbow beads, crystal gels, and polymer flowers while learning about the importance and science of super-absorbent polymers. This kit comes with 30 colorful manuals that are based on the popular Magic School Bus tv and book series. "This is the first Magic School Bus themed group pack on the market, and has enough materials and manuals for 30 children," Esther Novis, president of The Young Scientists Club, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2012.

Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists on a wild ride with The Magic School Bus as they explore slime and polymers. Young Scientists take polymers out of milk, make slime, create goop, produce a snow eruption, melt snow, grow super-absorbent flowers, germinate seeds in polymers, perform a polymer trick, dehydrate polymers, and more. This gooey bus-shaped kit comes packed with science components, 20 colorful experiment cards, a data notebook to record observations, and 10 containers of polymers including super balls, rainbow beads, snow, and gel crystals. "The bus-shaped packaging is unique and comes packed with lots of polymers and activity cards," Esther Novis, president of The Young Scientists Club, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2012.

Creating fun scenes with Disney characters is easy. Light Up surface makes tracing a snap. Comes with 20 tracing sheets, 10 scenes stickers and coloring pencils.

These 3D images are of professional athletes from the National Basketball Association (NBA)and Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as cars from NASCAR. They come in 8" x 10" and 11.625" x 13.625" sizes and have an attached easel for standing. "They are 3 dimensional and are the only such product on the market that is licensed by the NBA, MLB, and NASCAR," David P. Bagliebter, CEO of Creative 3D, LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2010.

Defend the LEGO Star Wars Hoth Echo Base (7879) from the evil Imperial forces. Imperial forces have discovered the Rebel base hidden on the ice planet of Hoth and are preparing to crush the Rebel Alliance. Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and protocol droid R—3PO get ready to fend off the attack as 2 snowtroopers approach. Luke Skywalker is in the bacta tank being treated by medical droid 2—1B. The LEGO Star Wars Hoth Echo Base (7879) includes: Tauntaun stable with locking gate, tauntaun, rotating radar dishes, falling icicle trap, working cargo crane, and medical bay with bacta tank; Han Solo, injured Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, 2—1B, protocol droid R—3PO, Chewbacca and 2 snowtroopers; flick missile gun turrets; repeating blaster and blaster rifle weapons; Measures over 21" wide and 5" tall; Imperial speeder bike measures over 5" long; Contains 773 pieces.

Take home this LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean The Black Pearl (4184). After 13 years, Davy Jones has come to take Jack Sparrow back to the Flying Dutchman. As his tentacled adversary boards the Black Pearl with his brackish crew, Maccus and Bootstrap Bill, Jack and his friends Will and Joshamee are in no mood to surrender just yet. The LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean The Black Pearl (4184) includes: Jack Sparrow MiniFigure; Will Turner MiniFigure; Joshamee Gibbs MiniFigure; Davy Jones MiniFigure; Maccus and Bootstrap Bill MiniFigures. Contains 804 pieces. Launch date: October 2011.

This Pigeon plush toy, from Caldecott Honor Award Winning Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, has a bean-filled body of soft chenille with embroidered eyes, and velour feet and legs. Squeeze Pigeon and hear him plead "Let Me Drive the Bus!!!"... in author Mo Willems' own voice.
— As of 10/14/2011 this product had 4.3 out of 5 stars from 7 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Cute; good for kids who are fans of the book. Cons: No off switch.