Bricks. They were Legos before Legos were Legos. And they’ve been around since before Moses. The world is built on bricks. So why not play with them? That’s the concept behind Junior Tradesman who helps kids get in touch with their inner mason.

Junior Tradesman toys were created by Bradley Orkin, a plumber who used to bring his son with him on the job. He noticed that his son simply loved playing plumber and Orkin realized that while playing, his son was also learning a valuable trade. Standing in a hardware store, he started thinking about trade toys designed for kids – since play for kids is actually work. And Junior Tradesman was born.

It’s amazingly simple. A bucked of Lego sized clay bricks and some mortar mix. Add water to the mix and use the included trowel to start laying brick. There’s alsos several plastic door and window frames build around and a roof top to finish the house. Other products include First House, Free Play, and Garage. There’s also additional brick mix for sale.

All Junior Tradesman projects can be broken down and rebuilt in a wide variety of designs and the mix is non-toxic.
What. A. Fantastic. Idea!

Hat Tip – Make Blog

Arriving at the New York Toy Faire with pomp and pageantry is Princess Tiana, Disney’s latest royal princess from the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog.” Voiced by Tony Award-winning actress/singer Anika Noni Rose, Princess Tiana is the first Disney princess in over a decade and is a timely addition to the ever popular Disney Princess line that has girls dressing in costume as they walk the Magic Kingdom and get in touch with their inner royal.

These Mattel toys, ranging from cute baby dolls to hour glass collectibles in Barbie-esque glory, also include play sets and role-play dresses which will help young girls pretend to be Princess Tiana, who is also the first African American Disney princess to enter the pantheon. A distinction that’s long overdue.

The first wave of “The Princess and the Frog” merchandise, which will include apparel, home décor, consumer electronics, school supplies and personal care products will flood the Kingdom starting in late October / early November, while the Disney movie – the first hand drawn animated feature since Home on the Range – will arrive in theaters Christmas Day – perfect for little girls who get their Princesss Tiana toys from Santa!

Hat Tip – Jim Hill Media

When I think Star Wars, I’m seldom reminded of Play Doh. And vice-versa. So, when PlayDoh showed up at Toy Fair 09 in New York with a Star Wars play pack, one had to respond with “huh?”

But it’s true. Play-Doh playsets with Star Wars characters from the Galactic Heroes line of toys perched right on the lid. The characters chosen are gleaned from the Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network and include Anakin Skywalker (red), his apprentice Ahsoka Tano (green), Obi-Wan Kenobi (yellow) and R2-D2 (blue) – which shows how much street cred Anakin’s padawan has gotten in Star Wars lore placing C3PO, Yoda, or any other main Star Wars character.

I dunno. The figures are just static play figures. There’s no real mold capability that I can see from the photographs. So what’s the point? I mean, if Play-Doh had released a set of Star Wars molds for kids to make their own characters and create their own Star Wars scenes with Play-Doh, that’d be really sweet. But just what amounts to yet another tired collection figure that does nothing? Sorry, but this dog won’t hunt … or in Play-Doh’s case … mold.

Hat Tip – Rebel Scum

Lego has a few new cool Indiana Jones sets, which are debuting at the 2009 Toy Fair in New York this week. Included in the line, is the Temple of Doom set, a rather hefty collection of pieces to make a track and 2 mine cars, plus Indy, Thuggie, and Mola Ram minifigs to make an incredible mine chase journey which can only culminate in an impossible leap across a chasm of broken track. Cost is about $90 and will be out in August.

Also displayed at the fair is the Return of the Jedi Battle of Endor 10th Anniversary set, complete ATST walker, flying eWoks, speeder bikes and also a complete bunker with minifigs for Han Solo, Princess Leia, Rebel Commandos, Speeder Trooper, and R2D2. That set is packed! (and it should be for an MSRP of $100) There’s also a Rebel briefing room set complete with Mon Mothma, Lando Calrisian (in caped glory),General Nadine, and Admiral Akbar minifigs, along with an A Wing Starfighter and hangar set.

Lastly, there’s the Venator Star Destroyer set, an 1100 piece set for about $120 that my 9 year old is literally drooling over.

Hat Tip/Photo Credit – Action Figure Insider

With the upcoming sequel to the Terminator movie epic, Terminator: Salvation coming this summer, Playmates is gearing up with a whole spate of Terminator toys which will allow kids to pretend they’re the treaded T-600 assassin. And although the T600′s mission is to take out John Connor before he can mount a resistance, the heavy price tag on some of these toys make do Connor’s work for him. Still, they’re pretty cool toys that deserve a look.

The first toy of the Terminator line is a flying fist toy which shoots a out from the forearm to attack anyone in it’s path. Pretty cool, but with a cost of $75, one has to wonder who’s going to take it on, much less play with it.
Next is T-600 Voice and Vision helmet with light up eyes that makes the wearer look very ominous. Lastly, there’s the Terminator Endoskeleton Tatoos’ which will let kids pretend they’ve got some T-200 titanium under that fleshy covering of theirs.

The toys are due to be out in time for the premiere of the movie May 21st.

Hat Tip – The Giz

Nerf’s arsenal of foam based democracy is growing as the CS-35 rapid fire machine dart gun is introduced at Toy Fair 2009 in New York. The CS35 comes with a 35 round drum which plugs into it for rapid fire coverage. However, unlike the previous Vulcan machine gun they introduced last year, the CS35 doesn’t rely on battery power to spray the enemy with lethal foam death. Instead, Nerf has created a fairly interesting pump action power design which can fire as much as the handler can literally pump out the rounds.

And according to The Giz, the word on the street is that the 35 round drum is detachable and can be used on other Nerf models. That’s a sweet development if it bears true.

I tell you what, this rather paves the way for a design that Nerf should seriously consider … a Nerf Tommy Gun, which is the coolest firearms ever invented. In the 20s, it came with a 300 round drum for rapid fire, and the military version held a 30 round clip. Imagine if Nerf created that bad boy!

The CS-35 is scheduled to be released in the fall (just in time for Christmas) and will retail for $35. What a steal!

Hat Tip – The Giz – http://i.gizmodo.com/5153962/nerf-n+strike-raider-cs+35-lil-dick-tracys-automatic-tommy-gun-with-35+dart-drum-magazine