Big Bad Toy Store has the Dark Knight – Mister Potato Head style. The Dark Knight Spud, which is made under license by PPW in Los Angeles, has Mr. Potato Head putting on the cowl and cape and making his voice sound like a he just swallowed a frog. It comes with cowl and cape, batarang, utility belt, and the trademarked Dark Knight black suit and boots.

No other details are known about the Dark Spud – whether he’ll have a Tumbler or SpudPod, but you can imagine the kitchy play on words with it. We do know that it’s available on Preorder for $17.99 for a June 2012 delivery. And if you pony up another $2, you can get a “collector’s grade” edition. Whatever that means. Sounds like an opportunity to just get another few bucks from you for a special box worth a quarter.

I rather like these special Spuds, but I just wish they’d come up with just the pieces to add to it as the last thing I need is a closet full of potatohead torsos. Coruse, I remember when you used REAL potatoes for dressing up! Good times.

Hat Tip – TNI

In addition to seeing the new line of LEGO Friends toys, there will be opportunities for kids to play with them, giving them the chance to build a Lemonade stand. And for every stand built, Toys R Us will donate $1 to the Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation up to $10,000. This foundation raises needed funds for the ongoing fight against childhood cancer. And each kid will be able to take home their Lemonade Stand to enjoy.

Now for the rules – there’s always rules on these kind of things, aren’t there? Anyway, the rules are that the LEGO Friends event is for children, ages 5-up. Parental supervision is required at all times. And all event materials and giveaways available while supplies last and distributed to participating children only. Limit one per child. Quantities limited; no rain checks. Not available in states where prohibited by law. Yada yada yada.

But it should be a great opportunity for girls to see what all the hoopla is all about with the new LEGO Friends sets. Recently there was an uproar over the new Brick line because the figures look nothing like the standard LEGO Minifig and girls complain they don’t really need a girl centric LEGO set. So head on over and find out for yourself!

Hat Tip –

The Personal Pitching Coach takes the standard pitchback design and adds a few things that help hone your pitching form. In addition to the 9 sector strike zone, it also has a high tech radar system which measures pitch velocit (from 20-99mph), calls balls and strikes, and even pitch counts for up to two different pitchers over the course of an inning. The Personal Pitching Coach will also tally strikeouts, walks, and total pitches, and it can be adjusted to handle both Little League and Major league strike zones. It’ll even measure for fast pitch softball so the girls aren’t left out. Made from durable 16-gauge steel with stainless steel hardware, the PPC is foldable and is powered by four D batteries that provide up to 100 hours of power.

But at $400 (compared to the low tech $20 model), it’s a bit pricey. But it’s Hammacher and that’s just how they roll.

Hat Tip – The Ferret

Huge enough to play with anywhere and cuddly enough to fall asleep on, these Jumbo Pillow Pets are made of the softest plush fabric. That makes them great for kids who have a hard time going to sleep while traveling. And they also make for a familiar face when visiting family out of town. And because they are machine washable, they are easy to keep him clean and safe for kids. No “Velveteen Rabbit” syndrome here. Just toss into the washer and then into the the dryer. Nice and easy.

Jumbo Pillow Pets are a full 30 square inches and come as Jumbo Lady Bug, Jumbo Puppy, Jumbo Zebra, Jumbo Teddy Bear and Jumbo Panda. And I’m thinking if your kid is really into the Dreamworks picture Kung Fu Panda, this is a great way to play out the fantasy of having the Dragon Warrior with you on vacation! Course, for me, it would have to be the Teddy Bear. Is there anything better than the overnight friend who’s been chasing off the monster under the bed since 1908?

On sale at Amazon right now with a cost of around $50 with free shipping!

Hat Tip – Best Toy Guide

Long long ago in a showspace far far away, LEGOs presence at the 2012 London Toy Fair in the UK was immense. And LEGO needed every spare inch of space as well as they previewed new toy sets and mini-figures for their existing toy lines, as well as some newcomers to the game which not only add more to my growing list of must haves, but should be quite popular around the world as well. Let’s take a look …

LEGO previewed planetary sets to add to their existing galaxy. This included sets for Yavin 4 (which included a nice X-Wing fighter and pilot minifigs), Bespin (which included a dual cloud car challenging your arrival and Lobot, Lando’s faithful right hand man), and the Forest Moon of Endor, complete with ATST “Chicken Walker) and Storm Troopers. Look for these out in August.

Other Star Wars sets will include a scaled down set for Republic Battle Cruiser Malevolence, Striker-class Starfighter with droid minfig, another JEDI Starfighter (flown by Saesee Tiin), a Sith Interceptor with Sith Trooper minifigs, and a Gungan Sub with Queen Amidala (although she was never on board that ship in Episode 1).

But the real stunner is bound to be #9516 Jabba’s Palace, complete with throne room, Sarlac pit, and a host of great minifigures including Jabba, Bib Fortuna, Gamorean Guard, Salacious Crumb, and Princess Leia in her bounty hunter disguise. Lastly, this year’s Advent Calendar will reflect the Prequels with Santa Darth Maul and an R2 Snowman. That’s bound to be fun.

There are other LEGO sets which are featured including the new Marvel Super Hero’s line and a great one called Monster Hunters. We hope to see more details on them later in the week. Stay tuned.

Hat Tip and photo credit- FBTB

The toy is made by Bladez Toyz’s as part of their “Pump & Play remote control” line and is known as the RC Jumbo Inflatable R2D2. It’s 26-inches tall and will foot pump, and a wireless remote. And it scoots around pretty fast as well. The RC Jumbo Inflatable R2D2 is scheduled to come out this fall and should cost around $60. Bladez also says that with it’s licensing deal with Lucasfilm, there will be more Pump and Play remote control toys coming out in time for Christmas. That would be cool. What would you like to see? Personally, I’d like to see an XWing/Tie Fighter duo for R/C dogfighting, or the Millenium Falcon would be a must! I think that C3PO would be cool, but would be very tall and probably difficult to operate due to center of gravity. Course, you could get more astromechs, but once you have R2D2, why would you want anything else?

Hat Tip – Pocket Lint

We’re all friends here at this kindy
Although at times you wouldn’t think so
But a smile and a hug, or a gently I’m sorry
Makes you feel okay
Okay, okay, okay, okay
- We’re All Friends, Lyrics

Sounds like a great sentiment doesn’t it? But when you’re in a band that makes millions a year in merchandise, CD sales, and concert tickets, that sentiment amounts to more of a line item in a ledger than an actual concept. Even more so if you’re one of the Wiggles who’s been sent packing with his hat in hand.

Sam Moran, aka the Yellow Wiggle for the last 5 years, was abruptly fired over the holidays and replaced with the original Yellow Wiggle Greg Page, who had left the kids band five years ago to attend to an illness he had contracted known as dysautonomia. According to the Wiggles press release, Page had returned to fine form and Moran had offered to step down so that Page could resume his role as the original Yellow Wiggle. But the real story is that Moran was forced out. Dumped to make room for Page’s return.

Passing the shirt.

Now as a parent who has a kid who grew up on the Wiggles, I am happy for Page’s return. The Wiggs weren’t really the same after his departure and apparently everyone thought so as their Disney Channel TV Series was canceled shortly after he left the group and ticket and CD sales have dropped dramatically since. But here’s the thing. Kids who remember Greg as the Yellow Wiggle are approaching their teen years. Kids who know the current Wiggles now, don’t know or even care that Greg was the original Wiggle. He’s the outsider. The guy who replaced THEIR Wiggle in the Yellow Shirt.

And what makes it even more interesting is that the other three Wiggles – Murray (Red), Anthony (Blue) and Jeff (Purple) – are sole owners in the Wiggles, Inc., sharing equally in the annual $28.1 million payday. This is believed to be the reason for Moran’s unceremonious departure as he was merely on a performing contract getting an annual salary. But since Page got a buy out when he original left the group, his returnb means that he is also merely a shirt for hire. So with millions in toys, CDs and ticket sales on the line, the big question will be – if the bottom line doesn’t rise, how long before Page gets the boot for someone else?

Hat Tip – The Telegraph

LEGO Magazine has a new ad out for the Marvel Universe line of LEGO toys, and guess what … they’re coming just in time for my birthday! W00t!

According to From Bricks to Bothans, an April launch is a bit puzzling because we haven’t really seen any images (save the ones we posted from ComiCon here) or sets leaked. But if you look at the minifigs they’ve got in the ad, they’re pulling out the big guns right off the bat: Wolverine (with new steel claws replacing the typical LEGO U shaped hand), Captain America, a very oversized Hulk (seriously, he’s at least twice as large as the typical minifig), and then Tony Stark, aka IronMan.

The line of Marvel Heroes is part of the LEGO Super Heroes line, which was launched this month with DC Heroes (actually, they went on sale a few weeks early for Christmas last month). The opening salvo included SuperMan, Green Lantern, and Batman, with sets including Superman vs. Lex Luthor Exoskeleton. They’re all really super cool and is a perfect edition to the LEGO line. I can’t wait until LEGO comes out with the LEGO Super Hero Video game, with the same tongue and cheek fun as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and the like!

The way it works is pretty slick. You attach the foam fighter glider toy to your smartphone right under the camera via a suction cup arm. Then, you start up the App Gear Foam Fighter App and the glider is overlaid onto a virtual flight sim where you can dogfight, strafe, bomb, and more. There’s also a multi player mode over WiFi where your friends can join into the furball and battle it out over the skies of World War II. There are multiple planes to collect (2 come in a pack) and each unlocks up to 12 specific World War II missions from the Battle of Britain, Battle over Europe or the Battle of the Pacific.

Features:

* Each plane style unlocks specific WWII fighter mission: Battle of Britain, Battle over Europe or the Battle of the Pacific
* Plane is mounted to the back of your mobile device and flies, fights and takes damage in real time
* Missions include free roam, fighter escort, dog fighting, bombing runs and flight training
* Each plane unlocks up to 12 missions per plane
* Each pack includes 2 planes, 2 folding stands and 1 arm attachment with suction cup
* Multiplayer mode over local Wi-Fi
* Free downloaded app, IOS and Android compatible

Cost is of the AppGear Toys is between $10-20 (I’m guessing Foam Fingers is $10) and will be available this Spring with a free download available at the iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace. OK, I promise, no more AppGear for awhile. But tell me that isn’t awesome!

Growing up as a kid, I loved Viewmaster. It took you to places you probably would never go to and give you 3D memories so you could live vicariously. It was really cool (especially the NASA Apollo reels, they were the best). Every kid I knew had a Viewmaster and we would not only watch them, but we would also trade and borrow each others discs. It was a great toy for passive playtime. But as the world moved from analog to digital, Viewmaster was faced with it’s own extinction, and evolve or die was the watch word.

So, by partnering up with Spatial View, Fisher Price is going to evolve and offer Viewmaster Digital 3D, over a century stereoscopic images that can be viewed on your mobile devices and also through your 3D capable HDTV.

“The View-Master archive is a virtual treasure-trove of 3D imagery capturing over 100 years of history and culture,” said Peter Snajczuk, Vice President of Marketing for Fisher-Price. “We’re thrilled to be working with Spatial View to make these spectacular images available digitally for download from ViewMasterDigital3D.com to a variety of 3D mobile devices and Internet-connected 3D TVs.”

Beginning sometime in the first quarter of 2012, iPhone 4 users will be able to turn their device into a digital Viewmaster thanks to Spatial View’s innovative 3DeeSlide accessory which will then let them view the images in 3D without the need of glasses. Support for Android 3D smart phones, Windows PCs, and 3D TV platforms will soon follow. The 3D images, which will initiallyinclude a selection of titles consisting of national parks, travel, nature, and history, will be sold in the classic package of 18-21 images for $1.99 at the Viewmaster Digital 3D website.

For more information or to be notified when the View-Master 3D images will be available, please visit www.viewmasterdigital3d.com.