I was able to check out the Toy Fair in New York City with past weekend. As soon as I got inside and took the tour I immediately turned back to my younger self and was fascinated by all the wonderful toys. There are some cool new toys geared toward boys and girls. I wish they had some of these toys when I was younger. From Star Wars to My Little Pony to Nerf to Play-Doh there was something there for any age range. Here are some of the highlights from the Toy Fair.
Star Wars
Star Wars has their traditional line of toys as well as Angry Birds toys. Hasbro will be launching a line called the Black Series. The Black Series will be geared toward the collector than those looking to play with toys. This line has figures were built with more accurate design and articulation which is due to be released in the fall of this year. The Black Series will have figures in the 6-Inch range as well as figures that are 3.75-inches tall. There is an Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader action figure that when dressed as Anakin the lightsaber is blue and red when dressed at Vader.
In the Angry Bird Star Wars line there is a bevy of new play sets. The fun and addictive app comes to life to with new toy line! Hasbro toys have worked with Rovio Entertainment to bring all the fun from the online game to the toy store. Children of all ages can stack up signature structures and vehicles from the game and you then use your Lightsaber Launcher to knock down the Imperial Pigs. The playsets include Star Destroyer Battle game, AT-AT Attack Battle game, Millennium Falcon bounce game, and many more. For more Star Wars toys click here.
My Little Pony
My Little Pony has been a staple in the toy store and in the cartoon world. This year there are products that are inspired by the “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” series. This series will have many toys ranging from digital gaming to apparel, plush, and fashion. Fans of the show can even make friends with My Little Pony on Facebook , Twitter and YouTube. Some of the toys are the Princess Celebration Cars, Crystal Princess Palace Playset, and Walkin’ Talkin’ Pinkie Pie Pony.
One toy that will be a major hit will be the My Little Pony Princess Twilight Sparkle Pony. Available in the fall of this year Twilight Sparkle is a pony that comes to life by talking and moving while your child interacts with the pony. The pony responds to touch and motion; simply touch her “cutie mark” and she will move her head and blink her eyes as she awakens. Brush her mane and she will hum songs and speak whimsical phrases. Her iridescent turquoise wings and unicorn horn illuminate with a touch, creating enchanting patterns of light. If you move the pony her wings flutter as if she was getting ready to take flight!
NERF
Not only does NERF have some great additions to their popular lines, but now they have something only for girls. NERF will be introducing their Rebelle line. This new line is inspired by current pop culture and on insight from girls. NERF Rebelle brand is there to give players confidence with high performance action that has a chic edge. There are crossbows that you can use an app on your iPhone to track your performance and play with friends by completing missions together.
I was really impressed with the addition in the Super Soaker line. There are many enchantments to their water blaster arsenal. One item was the Super Soaker Hydro Pack. I remember when I played in the summer with my friends and mywater blaster always needed to be refilled. Now kids these days don’t have to worry about their water supply with the Hydro Pack. This pack allows you to fill up with three liters of water that connects to any Super Soaker clip system blaster. Some of the blasters will be out in the spring and others will be out in the fall of this year.
PLAY-DOH
It seems every year PLAY-DOH has something new that my girls love to play with for hours on end. This year I am really excited to pick up the new PLAY-DOH Plus. The Plus is an innovative new compound allows you to complement it with the regular PLAY-DOH clay. The Plus is softer and lets your children make more designs to their creations with accent pieces. I know my daughters will enjoy the Rapunzel Hair Design Studio from Disney’s movie “Tangled”. You can create a cool crimp or twist up a braid with the roller featuring Rapunzel’s best friend Pascal. The set comes with sparkle PLAY-DOH, three different accessories, and one large PLAY-DOH can.
Furreal Friends
This is the first time I saw the Furreal Friends line and I was taken back with the many different toys and how they interact with you. My favorite was the Cuddles, My Giggly Monkey pet. This monkey is very lifelike and has over 100 responses. Some of Cuddles interacting features includes feeding, diaper changing, cuddling, tickling, swinging and rocking to sleep, and reacts to each interaction in a different way. There are also ponies, kitties and more from this toy line.
Transformers
The famous robots in disguise are back with many different lines. There are the Beast Hunters, Bot Shots, Construct-Bots, and Generations. For me the Generations line is in my wheelhouse. Just like the Star Wars Black Series line the Generations line from Transformers highlight the toys from the time I was a kid. This line has the Dinobots like Grimlock and the Titan Class Metroplex figure (that I still have from back in the day.) When I told my friends about this line they couldn’t wait to purchase a few to reclaim their childhood.
There were also great additions to the Marvel Universe, G.I.Joe, Baby Alive, and Star Trek lines. No matter if you are looking for great toys to give to your kids, nieces, nephews, or you are a collector 2013 looks like it will be a great year for toys!