#i have multiple playsets so i think i would use those

[thatlesbiancrow]

I was digging in a box of my old monster high stuff to try and find clothes i can put my custom doll in until i get around to making her some myself, and i found this:

One of the little diaries that comes with the dolls!

I brought it upstairs with the clothes i snatched and decided to read it, mainly out of guilt for never doing so when i was little.

I didnt expect to cry. i want to go and find all the ones i had and read them now. it feels silly to cry at something like this but i did! it honestly really reassured me about life and stuff. too much has been going on right now and what it said was just really good for me i guess.

I'm so glad these were given to kids. i wonder how many other people they brought comfort to. i wish i read them when i was younger, but i'm glad i read it now.

[yanderemommabean]

Humanoid bara yandere dinos? Or hot humanoid Dino mamas?

“Specimen A, please open your mouth” You say while preparing your clipboard, watching the being before you stand with a curious expression. Human as they may seem, you know better than to fall for the gimmick. Type A specimens are especially skilled in camouflage and body modification, able to blend into their surroundings to attack prey by ambush.

The only way to tell them apart from your own species is by seeing their teeth, or in rare cases, the shape of their pupils when they are in a state of anger. Slits like that of a predator protecting its territory, preparing for a slaughter.

“Open...Mouth?” the specimen mimics, tilting its head curiously as it walks to you and sits at your feet. It waits for a confirming nod, and lets it’s large tongue loll out of it’s gaping, tooth filled maw. It was young, still learning how to speak it’s own tongue let alone humans. It was cute, they always were when fresh out of the incubators and into the playpen. You could tell this little one was different, much more open to sharing and learning compared to the other youngsters.

As you jot down some small observations, freezing when a type B specimen walked behind you with a low, possessive growl. Type B specimens were ones you were told to avoid when around younger hatchlings, as the mix of DNA and instincts created more hostile and possessive beings.

Type B were capable of using their stealth and pack like mentality to take down prey, having senses of smell and sight to which humans can only envy and wish to obtain in the next life. You hush the startled youngling from the unknown specimens approaching from behind, and hug them to your chest as they ask to be lifted up, pressing their face into your chest as they shake and whimper.

“Lovely parental instincts” One says as two other large, well built male specimen approach. “You’d be such a good mate you know? Our young would look lovely having your blood”.

“We could always use a human like you-” one says as he cages you in, growling as the young type A in your arms prevents him from moving in another inch.

The other male chuckles, while a female type B coos at your predicament. “Come on, let us take you. Your body is just aching to be marked and bred full of our DNA” she pacified, nodding her head towards the male on standby to shoo the other children away into the outside playground.

You stand your ground firmly, tightening your hold on the child while puffing your chest. Weakness was not an option, especially with a young one. “Back down. Go back to your enclosure before I'm forced to use protocol Z” you warn, side stepping out of the arms blocking you in as the two remaining specimens only stare you down with wicked grins.

The female purrs lowly, clicking to the other excitedly in their own language. The noise resonates through the both of them, almost a pleasant hum. You could only guess and assume what was being said, and used their distraction to get the other youngling to safety in the hatchlings enclosed playground.

No specimen was “Safe” per se, but if you had to choose any of the multiple categories, you’d choose the babies and hatchlings before their main instincts kicked in. They never caused much of a fuss. Well, until they learn what hunting is and then tag becomes a bit of a problem.

You press the lock button and try to take a deep breath, cursing to relieve some tension while the little ones tackle and run around on the playsets.

Jesus, how are they so good at escaping? Type B is notorious for pack attacks, could they be evolving? “God I can’t believe my notes are in there!” you huff, bringing your phone out to try and type down your thoughts, yelping and nearly dropping the device as it starts ringing.

“Gah!- Yes uhm, yes i’m here! “ you blurt out, pressing the phone to your ear as you give your location, notifying the voice of the security breach, blushing when a familiar voice calls out in the background.

“Ah, Y/n! Got those dinos in a riot again huh?” the head doctor called out, teasing you. You groan and cover your face with your other hand, muttering a goodbye before hanging up. Always the one to blame when the hybrids escape and go on the hunt. Anywhere from type A to Type Z. The hybrids have become increasingly persistent in getting a hold of a mate, or friend, or paternal figure, and you were brought to the team to try and figure out why.

Your thoughts are brought to a halt when shrill crying erupts on the playground, and you rush over to make sure the little ones are ok, seeing the type A from earlier was a bit too harsh when play biting. No big deal! No big deal! Just a kiss and a bandage, and some nice little snacks, and everything will be ok!

For the time being, as you’re unaware of the camouflaged eyes watching you from behind.

-Mommabean (Ok so! tell me what you think! sorry for any typos, my keyboard is wanky!)

[tiffyfoundsomething]

LOL BTW Cherry B.B.

I like dolls. I like weird dolls. I like a lot of different kinds of dolls.

I collect too many kinds of dolls, which kind of sucks honestly because that means I also need many kind of clothes and shoes...

But that’s neither here nor there.

LOL BTWs hit all of my weird AND cute buttons and while I don’t care for a lot of the LOL OMG designs and am not a big fan of the babies (despite owning quite a few...)

This is the obligatory Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3e56TwU

But this is not a full on review.

I like that at $20 these are about the price of one of the higher-priced playline Barbies but they do come with better quality clothing and more stuff.

I also like how MGA moved away from all of the excessive waste of LOLs with the OMGs and BTWs by making them both not-blind-packed, and making their boxes “playsets” which encourages keeping and using the packaging. The playability of these playsets is debatable (though I think BTW did it better than OMG), so I’m sure plenty of them still end up in the dump.

MGA is also smart enough to make their LOL lines in multiple styles, which will and does catch the eye of more collectors and kids than having them all be one style would.

I don’t like how hit or miss MGA’s quality control is, but the same can be said for any toy company.

Cherry B.B. is SO. CUTE. so I grabbed one when we were at Target.

When I opened the box I made a sound similar to “hhfhhblbllphphlblblblblb......”

That is just painfully cute. That’s too much cute.

I didn’t even open her jacket, honestly, and left most of her accessories in their packages.

I only took out her shoes, earrings, and one bracelet.

Thanks to PurpleMonkFish’s very detailed review, I did know there were some hidden compartments with more accessories, and that everything she comes with other than the stand and the little pink paperboard insert she stands on before you open the package will fit into the under-bed drawer in her little bedroom.

Which is really nice not having to find a place for those unused items.

Her size is just TOO MUCH, too. She’s so, so CUTE. This is something like the right balance of body size to big, round head, I think.

I got lucky that my Cherry B.B. looks good, too, other than her shoes needing a repaint. They’re pretty messy.

[nancypullen]

Getting My Jingle On

We’re 42 days from Christmas and I am NOT ready.  For the first time in years, I’m not ready.   Not only am I not ready, I don’t even have ideas ready.  Normally by this time if I haven’t made some major purchases, I’ve at least got a list of who is getting what and I’m making progress.  What gives?  It’s not like I’ve had anything else to do, we’ve been on some form of lockdown for 8 months!   This morning I sat down and ordered Mickey’s gifts. Why did I marry a man with expensive tastes?  I’ve also got a few things for the grandgirl because it seems I’m always shopping for her.  Her big gift this year is a backyard playset - both sets of grandparents contributed to the cause and I have no doubt she’ll have years of fun on it.  Okay, I guess I have made a little progress, but I don’t feel ready.  Mickey has pressured me to tell him what I’d like to find under the tree this year and so far I’ve put an electric toothbrush on my list.  I’m just that exciting.  I mean, what do any of us need right now?  Clothes? Where the heck would I go?  Jewelry? Ditto.  I could probably use some new shoes but with my poor feet I’d have to try them on and that would mean going store to store - and who’s doing that?  Not me.  I suppose I should ask Santa for hobby supplies and wrinkle cream.  Those are the only things I’m using these days. I’ve been making cards again, but once more they’ve taken an inappropriate turn.  Apparently when left to my own devices I become a middle school boy.  I can’t help it if the photos I find lend themselves to PG humor.  When I saw this guy...

I turned him into this.

See? I’d never say that in polite company! I’m biting my tongue with this fellow because my mother raised me right.

Look at these two dolly birds and tell me you don’t want to make a wiener joke.

Okay, maybe not.  Maybe that’s my pandemic brain talking.

I don’t know what this guy is saying yet, but it’s the dog that cracks me up.

And this match made in Heaven is just waiting for the right words.

I love it when I find a picture that has writing on the back.  I laughed out loud at this one, “Don’t get excited.”

King of the Cheese...oh come on, it’s begging for a fart joke. 

And so it goes, I scan collections of old photos until I giggle and then I pluck that one and save it.   I’m usually drawn to photos of women. I loved these two and made them into cards for my fellow postcard writers and resisters.

I normally don’t duplicate a card, I tend to get an idea for an individual and send a card suited just for them. I did make multiples for Halloween and send them out, and seeing a female VP felt like a good occasion for another batch.  Why not? I’m inspired now, my head is full of ideas for Christmas cards.   See these kids?

Wouldn’t it be funny if they were getting the lyrics wrong? Joy to the world, the Lord has gum... Frosty the Snowman was a happy jolly soul, with a corn cob pipe and a butt and nose... I have a friend who spent years in Catholic school and she and her classmates used to sing, “Peace on Earth and mercy mild, goddamn sinners reconciled…” She said her mother once dragged her out of a Christmas Eve service. How about, Where the tree tops glisten and children listen to hear slave elves in the snow... Santa won’t let them unionize.

This one I’m singing in a southern accent. Think Opie.

My head is full of nonsense and that means I should probably head for my desk and make something of it.  I’ll throw some lunch at the mister and ignore my chores for a couple of hours.  I’m starting to feel that warm Christmas spirit, I talked myself right into it!  I wonder if that’s what this kid was feeling.

Nah, looks like he just realized that it’s only 42 days away.  Ladies, the holidays are upon us!  Be brave, stay strong, be the most cheerful elf in the workshop - let’s do this!  May your wrapping paper flow like a river, may your tinsel never tangle, and may the mistletoe always be in your favor. Stay safe, stay well, and let’s spread some holiday cheer! XOXO, Nancy

[spongeekat]

The 6 Times Peter Wanted To Reveal his Identity (And the 1 Time He Did) Chapter 3

Masterlist Here

Day 3 - Tuesday

Peter’s hand rubbed against the zipper track beginning above the curve of his spine, fingertips again coming up empty. His arms dropped uselessly against his side, groaning to audibly show his disappointment.

His zipper was there somewhere. He heard it dinging against the metal teeth up the length of his back, and if he kept feeling for it he would find it.

Peter yawned, tears peeking out from the corners of his eyes, as his fingers continued to prod in the small of his back. He was completely and utterly exhausted. The night previous perusing the city had been brimming with robberies, car jackings, and muggings, as if the slight increase in temperature prompted every convict to crawl out of their hiding spots to wreak havoc. He’d clawed himself into his bed sometime around 5 AM, caught 2 hours of sleep, and was out the door sprinting to class by 7:00. He was looking for any reason not to go on patrol, even if it was as minor as an unlocatable zipper, to at least give him a chance to rest for a few seconds.

His gloves eventually brushed the pull tab, and he deflated. Guess he had to finish suiting up. He tugged the zipper up to his neck and fiddled with the spandex momentarily, pulling it snug in all the right places.

That was, until a knock on his window pane had the tired boy jumping 5 feet in the air and throwing himself backwards into a defensive position on his furthest wall. His toes firmly drug to a stop on the wallpaper, one arm shooting out with his fingers ready to tap his web-shooters if need be. There was a muted scuffling behind the glass, though his curtains were drawn so he couldn’t see who was there. It didn’t take long to figure out, however.

“ Petey, Petey, Petey, Petee-eee-ey ~” The intruder was caroling his name to the tune of Jolene , repeating his knuckle raps obnoxiously to the beat of the song. “ I’m begging of you please just let me in. ”

“Wade?” Peter snapped as realization sunk in to his chest. It took seconds to calm his adrenaline-ridden heartbeat, more relieved that he wasn’t about to face a criminal than he was mad Wade had nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. He peeled himself silently off the wall, taking short, but annoyed, steps to stand behind the curtains without drawing them. “What the hell, dude? You scared the pants off of me. Why are you on my fire escape? And singing Dolly Parton?”

Wade hummed the rest of the verse to himself, presumably out of parodying song lyrics, before he started to whisper-yell. “Ignoring the fact I should totally make fun of you for what you said, I’m here to check up on you! I said I was going to keep those sweet cheeks safe. Can I come in?”

“Into my bedroom?” Peter asked, weakly, swallowing the suggestive- but intrusive- thoughts that the question entailed. “Um, I’m kinda...preoccupied.”

“Ooo oooh ?”

“Not like that!” Peter groaned, smacking a hand to blanket the reddening of his cheeks. God, he had to change, and fast. He tore the zipper undone he had put in so much effort to find, shoving the suit off his shoulders and hips. “Give me a second!” He kicked the rest of fabric off and lodged it under his bed, using a pillow for extra cover to be safe. His web shooters clattered into the lockable drawer on his desk, the cartridges following them. Shutting the drawer so hard it shuddered, he located the first clothing options in sight; a pair of fluffy pajama pants and an Einstein shirt 2 sizes too big (which was totally a gag gift from MJ months ago that he’d never put  away), which he shimmied into. Confident that he had probablyconcealed every Spidey related item in his panic, he drew open the curtains and flashed Wade an unimpressed look. And there he was, in his full-suited glory, hanging upside down on the rail of Peter’s fire escape as if it was a playset.

“I have a few questions.” Peter said as he pushed the glass open, the screen absent due to years of him climbing out for his nightly routine. Wade didn’t seem to notice- or at least didn’t comment on the lack of one- looking ecstatic that he even answered. “First...why didn’t you call to check up on me? Or use the front door?” He gestured vaguely towards the direction of the living room to accentuate his point.

“You barely texted me today.” Wade answered, curling so he was sitting on top of the bar and facing Peter. The sit-up made his muscles bulge in the leather covering his thighs and abdomen and Peter inhaled carefully to maintain a level expression. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t lonely. Also, I missed you.”

“Good to know.” Peter rolled his eyes, watching Wade drop to hang upside-down childishly. “Just come in. You’re gonna break the rails.”

“Me? Getting on the VIP list to Peter’s bedroom? I feel like I got a golden ticket! Move aside, Willy Wonka!” Wade dropped himself to his hands, flipped ungracefully on his feet, and followed Peter’s lead to let him crawl inside the apartment. His muddy boots hit the carpet and he managed to pull his entire body inside the small opening. He paused upon straightening up, giving his bedroom the same scrutinizing examination he had to the living room his first time visiting. “Never mind. I wanna go outside again. You’re messy, and that’s something coming from me.”

Peter stared at him silently. The mercenary shrugged and half-lept to fall on top of his mattress. “Kidding. It’s cute. It fits you.”  

Peter did his best to ignore the creaking noise of his bed, making his way to his office chair to sit across the room. “I appreciate the housecall, but is that the only reason you came? I actually was kinda in the middle of something.”

“I’m hurt. I brought home-cooked meals and you already wanna kick me out?” Wade gasped in faux-pain, pulling off his pink Hello Kitty backpack. He drew out a grocery bag filled with containers, setting it beside the foot of the bed.

Peter was taken aback, a slightly stunned expression passing over his face. His outward appearance hardly changed, yet his stomach churned nervously at the thoughtful gesture. “You cook?”

“Nah, they’re frozen, but I make a mean pancake in case you’re ever interested. It’s the thought that counts though, right?”

“Thanks.” Peter rubbed his forearm, finding anywhere else to look to avoid staring at Wade.

“Soooo, what’s a kid like you busy doing tonight?” Wade asked as he stretched out across his comforter, propping his feet up on his mattress. “Playing games? Watching porn? Still wallowing about that ex-girlfriend that’s pregnant with someone else’s money-burner?”

“What? No, there’s no ex-girlfriend, dude, I already said that.” Peter muttered, struggling not to let his vision wander to his Spidey suit shoved  beneath Wade’s sitting place. “I have a lot of homework I have to catch up on.”

“Boooo-oring.” Wade kicked a few of his pillows aside, rolling onto his side as his bed squeaked again. Peter desperately needed that noise to stop if he was going to guard his sanity.

“Okay, well, this was a great visit and all, but you can text me next time you wanna play therapist, okay?” Peter pushed himself to his feet, walking over to offer his hand to Wade to help him up. He stood there a moment with no reaction, Wade seemingly refusing to accept it, instead sitting up on his own.

“Do you seriously want me to go?” Wade asked, a weird tone ebbing into his voice. Was he confused? Disappointed? Peter wasn’t .

“I-I mean, yeah, I already said I was busy.” He was trying to not sound as annoyed as he felt, but his throat was taut with irritation. It wasn’t quite with Wade, though, because he was trying to be nice. Mostly he was upset with himself; with his inability to execute with his plans that had landed him in a difficult situation he couldn’t imagine resolving without either or both of them ending up hurt; with his emotions that were so intense they were painful, only made worse by the fact Wade was acting so generous to him outside of his superhero identity; and with the fact Wade knew his name, his family situation, and where he lived. Yet he still wasn’t able to bring himself to say that simple sentence.

I’m Spider-Man.

He’d been ready to lay it all out on the line two days ago, albeit with hesitancy, but somehow he had convinced himself that Wade might actually start to reciprocate his feelings if he knew the man behind the mask. His gaze trailed to the plastic bag still resting on the mattress. He had gone out of his way to care for him multiple times. He might be a fun project for Wade to pass the time, but Peter didn’t think he would go this far for some kid he found fun to mess with.

Peter’s eyelids screwed shut, his mind piecing together a way to confront the issue. He could ask him why he was hanging around, and hopefully conversation would naturally circulate back to Sunday night. “H-Hey, Dea-”

“I’ll get out of your hair.” Peter suddenly felt the air change and Wade was towering him, his much larger frame barely an inch from his chest. He had to turn his head up at a steep angle to look at him. There wasn’t the usual humor in his words, and his body language was a lot more tense. Terrific. An upset Wade was never fun. He always had to dig to even get a hint of what was bothering him.

“What?” Peter blinked, watching as Wade shimmied passed him to grab his pack and sling it on his shoulder.

“You said you had stuff to do. I can tell when I’m a problem, Petey-Sweetie. Glad to see you didn’t off yourself today. Good job on that.” Wade shoved the window he had come in open, poking a leg out so that it connected with the grate of the fire escape. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

Peter chewed on his lower lip, his confession filed away in a queue of things to tell Wade in the future. He gave a short nod, guilt immediately radiating in the pit of his abdomen. “Thanks...for this all. Sorry to cut this so short. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“You better. I’ll be waiting.” Wade dropped his pack out the sill, waiting for it to clang against the metal, then ducked his body out of the small cavity. He grabbed his bag, moved to grip onto the ladder leading down into the darkness, then craned his neck to shout one last thing. “You  should get a window screen. You’ll get spiders or ants in your room if you leave it open like this.”

Peter suppressed a spurt of ironic laughter, settling for an amused half-smile instead. “I’ll remember that. Goodnight, Deadpool.”

His weight made the ladder rattle and bang on the poles obnoxiously, probably annoying every other neighbor underneath him, until the sound disappeared and Wade had run off. Once Peter wasn’t able hear his boots scraping the asphalt he pulled his curtains shut, finally feeling able to breathe.

He bent to grab the meal containers, to put them in the freezer before he left for his patrol. It was quite the stock of food, enough to stop him from starving for the rest of the week that Aunt May was absent, and his stomach growled in appreciation.

Maybe he’d see Wade on patrol as Spider-Man, and they’d converse with the comfortable familiarity that had developed naturally between them through years. Wade would make some flirtatious joke, along with one about the spider being his hero that had the strength punch him into another timeline, and they’d team up and be on their way. Peter would be able to feel like his strong, normal self. They’d be friends and superheroes, and not a weak kid and his supposed guardian angel. No lies hanging heavily between them.

He’d muse on Wade’s kindness, that he didn’t deserve, later. For now, he pulled his spidey suit out  and started dragging it up his legs. He had a city to protect, people to save, and his angst would have to be put on reserve for another day.

[bolddeducktionneverfails]

Merchandise Predictions!

(Time for something different!)

Since the New York Toy Fair is coming up this week, I wanted to put together a quick list of guesses of what we might be able to expect and what I would personally like to see because I’m very excited about this. I can imagine a lot more focus on the secondary characters this time around with some first wave characters returning.

Standard Figures:

There were six packs last time and the characters came with two accessories that reflected something they did on the show.

Mrs. Beakley wasn't included in the first wave, so maybe she’ll get one this time. She might come with a cleaning tool like a feather duster and a spy device. Perhaps a grappling hook of her own? Maybe a tray with tea?

It seems like Gyro is getting more involved this season, so a standard figure for him could be an option. I can definitely see Lil’ Bulb as one of his accessories. Maybe the other could be something like a notepad, a phone, or his shrink ray?

If Gyro gets merch, Fenton has a good chance of get his own too.  Could he come with a binder? The light ray he was using in “Shadow War”?

Lena was a Money Stack figure last time and is expected to return at some point this season. She might come with the friendship bracelet Webby made for her, a spell book or Webby’s doll.

I think Magica could end up getting a standard figure; there might  be a pattern going on where at least one villain is in each wave. One of her items would definitely be her scepter. Maybe another can be Scrooge’s Number One Dime with her face on it? They’d probably have to enlarge it. I’m probably asking for too much here, but it would be cool if her feathers were color changing; like at room temperature, they’re green, but when cold, they’re white.

Darkwing Duck was a Money Stack figure last time and it’s hinted that the show isn't done with him, so it would be really great if he got standard figure. He’d definitely have his gas gun; maybe converted to a grappling hook, and a saxophone like the one he was playing in “Last Crash” would be a fun addition.   

I believe Della is a possibility since she too is becoming more apparent this season, but I feel like it’s still too soon for her to have a standard figure or much merch in Wave 2 at all. She’s being talked about more yet she’s still elusive. Maybe PhatMojo & Disney will hold back on her until next year to give people more time to watch her mystery play out. If she does end up having a figure, maybe it’ll be a tool and removable goggles. Or maybe her entire flight cap will be removable.

Mark Beaks is another possibility, but the demand for a standard figure might be kinda low, though.He would, of course, come with a phone and maybe a snow cone too.

Playsets:

I think the next playset based on a building could be Scrooge’s mansion because both his home and The Money Bin are locations of extreme importance. Having them be the first would be the most expected.

The PhatMojo announcement article from last year seemed to imply that there will be many more vehicle sets to build in upcoming waves. Perhaps one of those could be the Gizmosuit? It’s a machine with pieces that connect together when activated. It’s a little hard to imagine Gizmo getting his own standard figure without a Fenton one and vice-versa. I feel like both of them wouldn't end up having standard figures; PM might want to do something special for Gizmo. If Fenton gets a standard figure, he could be placed into the robotic suit like Launchpad can be placed into the Sunchaser for the first wave. Maybe with a removable helmet you can snap on. However we get Gizmo, I hope he comes with a good stand/base to keep him from toppling over.

I suppose another possibility for a future vehicle playset could be Scrooge’s limo with a more chauffeur-looking Launchpad figure.

Another vehicle concept that could work is The Spear of Selene since it crashed into pieces (Haha oof) and Della’s trying to rebuild it(?) Maybe it’ll come with a long-haired Della figure too.

Mini Figure Set:

LP, Mrs. B and Donald were missing in the first batch so they have a high chance of appearing in the next installment if one is planned. Others I could see being included are Gyro, Fenton, and Lena.

Money Stacks:

Mrs. B, Gizmoduck, Fenton, Gyro, Mark, and maybe it’ll have Della as rare figure in a similar manner that Darkwing was.  Maybe Storkules, Selene and...Manny(?) could appear too. I feel like there might end up being character repeats from the first wave, but the poses will be different. Blind Bag figure waves tend to have multiples.

Talking Plush:

LP, Mrs. B and Donald since they weren't included in the last set. Gyro? Fenton? Lena?

Other Merch Things:

While I’m at it, more girl-aimed apparel, accessories & etc. with Webby on it along with more gender neutral stuff with all the cast together would be nice. A lot of those type of items that were released last year were only aimed at boys and there wasn't an effort to even things out. Which is really weird because while there are a lot of male characters in the cast, the reboot was never solely aimed at a boy demographic. Webby was surprisingly snuck into a couple of those items, but like...if you’re gonna separate, give us some girl stuff too.

Moving on from Target, it would be cool if the shopDisney came out with plush toys of Scrooge, Launchpad, Donald and Mrs.Beakley. We...we just need more Launchpad and Beakley merch; they tend to get kicked out of a lot of things. Adult apparel & accessories of the reboot to go alongside the classic styled stuff would be great to see too.

As much as I would love to, I won’t be able to attend the toy fair to see what we’ll be getting in person, but I’ll make sure to embed or reblog any coverage that ends up online...if we’re allowed to. Last year, it was asked for attendees not to take any photographs from PhatMojo’s display, but that request was ignored...hopefully things will be ok this time.

In the meantime, here’s a list of additional links:

PhatMojo’s Website

Target’s DT Collection

shopDisney’s DT Collection

JCPenney’s  DT Collection

[smashmusicideas]

Actually I'd really interested in learning how each of these sources are used.

Cool! Just to note, this one’s gonna be kinda long. So Star Wars is made of a huge smorgasbord of sources, and I’ll have missed a few, but here are at least the ones I can immediately remember.

Akira Kurosawa: probably more than any other single source, Kurosawa’s classic samurai movies loom large over Star Wars. Lucas is an unabashed Japanophile, and you can see dozens of details in the movies, the first one especially. Darth Vader’s beetle suit is a stripped down samurai armor, the lightsaber battles were modeled on samurai duels more than fantasy sword fights, and several of the characters were given “pseudo”-Japanese names like “Kenobi” to create a sense of exoticism. The plot of the first movie is basically The Hidden Fortress, a film about a general and princess’ escape from a villainous army both with the help and from the perspective of two lowly peasants - peasants who became the series’ Greek chorus C3PO and RD-D2. Lucas even wanted Kurosawa’s most famous collaborator, Toshiro Mifune, to play Han Solo.

1950s car culture: So even though the plot steals from Kurosawa, the premise came from Lucas’ teenage years. He was a fairly typical California kid obsessed with cars, and Luke Skywalker’s desire to get out from under his aunt and uncle’s care was modeled after his own desire to drive away from home in the seat of a classic American car. Most of the spaceships are part-WWII biplane, but also part muscle car, with fins and a smooth design. Instead of planes being generic units, everyone just gets their own; it’s actually kind of like Cowboy Bebop, which also drew from a broad swath of mid-century American culture.

WWII era adventure movies: This one’s fairly well known, I think. The space battles are basically dogfights, the high adventure takes a lot from Errol Flynn movies, and like those, the plots are heavily based around a very clear “good versus evil” plot. Some of these movies have a fatalism that’s really deliberately avoided in Lucas’ stuff, with characters knowing they’re going off to die, but his an have that there - it’s just in the background. And falling in with the prism of “everyone teaming up to fight the villains" through which we typically view World War II, there’s a sense of camaraderie and almost “building up the team” that happens, usually during a grand heroic climax.

Nazi imagery: This is sort of a weird one, because while the shadow of Nazism does loom over Star Wars - the term “Stormtrooper” literally comes from a contingent of the Nazi party that went around assaulting Jews and communists, some shots of villains mimic Triumph of the Will - it’s not really used in a political context. There are political elements found throughout the series (most infamously Lucas’ somewhat tin-eared criticism of Bush-era government overreach), but the Empire isn’t really representative of the Nazis or any other villainous fource, just as I don’t really think the Death Star is emblematic of, say, nuclear weapons. The Empire just represents evil at its most generic, a Rorschach test that can be whatever vaguely oppressive force the viewer wants. Star Wars is an interesting bridge that led the films of the late Sixties and Seventies into the Eighties, and a big part of that is a deliberate avoidance of overtly political storytelling in the name of more broadly popular, non-confrontational “popcorn flicks.” But there’s still an interest in these more difficult political elements at the fringes.

Planet of the Apes: we forget, but Star Wars wasn’t the only big science fiction franchise. There were five Apes movies, and there are a few parallels between the series (notably an emphasis on softer structures, a distrust of technological encroachment of nature, and a sort of Sixties New Age fetishization of the natural world), but what where the influence can really be seen is in the toys. Somewhat weirdly for a series so cynical and fatalistic that thee of the films had to be prequels because humans annihilated the world with a nuke in the second, Apes was one of the first big licensed toy lines, with a whole variety of dolls and playsets. The relationship between the Star Wars films and the Star Wars toys was in place from the first movie, and a lot of how it sold its dolls and playsets was definitely influenced by how Apes did it.

Film serials: we don’t really have these anymore, but classic film serial series of the Thirties through early Fifties were a big influence. For those less familiar, often in that period of time, film showings could be a longer affair; you might see a full-length film, but also documentary newsreels, a cartoon, and short films. Some of those would be serialized, but would include dialogue and writing to help people if they’d not seen the previous episodes. Star Wars shows that from the word go; the entire concept of it being an “Episode 4″ is itself a joke, a recap for a preceding story that doesn’t exist. And tonally, the movies take a lot from these series, with a generally upbeat tone, runtimes and plotting that take a lot from the attitude of those multiple-hour shows, problems that take no more than another episode to solve, and cliffhangers that promise an all new adventure coming up. Revenge of the Sith even puts a point on this by naming a minor character after one of the most famous serials: Commando Cody and the Radar Men from the Moon.

Sixties and Seventies Sci-Fi: This is a case where Lucas was looking at, among other things, his own source: the techno-dystopia TXH-1138, whose title gets a little reference in Star Wars as the cell Princess Leia is held in. Science fiction of those two decades often struck a line between smoother and blockier design, each associated with more optimistic or serene or more cynical and paranoid attitude that kind of defined American cultural attitudes in the mid to late-Seventies. Star Wars kinda bridged the gap; it was optimistic but decidedly apolitical, a world where both sides of the technological divide could exist. The machinery in particular takes a ton from those moves, all monochrome rooms and constant lights and switches. Unsurprisingly, these streams are all mostly tied to Seventies softcore hippiedom, an interest in light transcendental thought. But it’s not really about those; the science itself isn’t the focus. It’s why people - myself included - sometimes discuss Star Wars as not “really” science fiction. I’m not really as interested anymore in having that argument, but it’s certainly indebted to science fiction.

New Hollywood: More than anything, though, Lucas was part of the New Hollywood crew, a new breed of filmmaker that dominated the late Sixties to late Seventies in America. These were (almost all white and male) graduates of newly founded film schools. Influenced by Japanese and French cinema and inspired by communist revolutions (though very much not communist dogma; they viewed themselves as rebels from both marxist and capitalistic conformity), people like Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Tobe Hooper, Woody Allen, Roman Polanksi, and Ridley Scott tried to create a “revolution” in western and particularly American film. Lucas’ big pre-Star Wars films were THX and American Graffiti (as well as working on Apocalypse Now for a few years), and each represented two parts of Star Wars: oppressive technological social machinery and nostalgic small town chill. Eventually this culture died, partially from Lucas and Spielberg themselves; Jaws and Star Wars became cultural monoliths, altered film distribution, and indirectly began the slow death of both New Hollywood and drive-in theater culture.

There are other touchstones of less importance. Pretty much everything in Jabba’s Return of the Jedi palace comes from fantasy comics, and especially the art of Conan and death metal album artist Frank Frazetta. The pod-racing sequence in The Phantom Menace is a high-tech chariot race from religious epics like Ben-Hur. And certainly the tropes of fantasy storytelling are huge. Luke and Anakin aren’t just skilled young men; they’re heirs to a great legacy (and in one case, a comically absurd genetic superiority) that only justifies their importance and worth. The unfortunate racial caricature aliens in his films also come from those, along with many of the war movies and serials, ranging from the more benign (Chewbacca is essentially based on a classic cliché of a parter or servant from a “noble race” who follows his friend, but he’s likable and not indicative to any one culture) to, well, Watto.

And I think this is one of the bigger reasons why I find most of Lucas’ sequels less good, even in many ways preferring Star Wars to The Empire Strikes Back. As the films went on, this wealth of sources contracted, a sign of his becoming less voracious or engaged a consumer of not just pop culture but art as a whole. It’d pop up in a few ways, like the Ewoks’ defeat of the Empire alluding to the Vietnam War (whose end was still being processed in the culture), but generally those sources stayed unchallenged: Monochrome halls, dogfights, samurai duels, and fancy ships. As much as I’ve little interest in relitigating the prequels, I still maintain that their fundamental problem comes from Lucas not updating those sources, not using mysteries or film noir to craft a story set in the past.

And, of course, then came J.J. Abrams, and while I certainly enjoyed The Force Awakens far more than the prequels, it gets even worse under him, because that’s a Star Wars film where the only reference is just Star Wars itself. If the best parts of the film are about Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren struggling to live up to the legacy of Star Wars and its iconography - the shot of Rey eating under the giant mass of overbearing Star Wars trash is a favorite - than the worst is when it’s just redoing that iconography, most intensely in yet another X-Wing battle against yet another, dumber Death Star. And that one didn’t even kill off Greg Grunberg. I try to avoid “X fan-fiction” when describing something like this, but it’s reminiscent of modern superhero comics that are only about modern superhero comics, only really interested in the same tropes and icons.

And that’s also one of the greatest reasons I loved The Last Jedi so much, because it went back to those sources and reimagined them. So we get World War II culture, but instead of dogfighting it’s Casablanca, with two characters descending into a sleazy, corrupt world that’s ostensibly free from these endless space battles. We get this interest in politics, but it goes from focusing solely on the evil First Order to this idea that all these battles are more at the whims of an unseen military-industrial complex than anything else. And it even introduces new ideas of its own, from humor more akin to Mel Brooks than anything Lucas could ever do to a cheeky enjoyment of hinting at high octane violence in an otherwise family movie. Playing at the latter in particular leads to some brilliant visual splendor, with exploring red salt and crimson wall carpeting substituting for geysers of blood, and one major character’s visceral demise feels like something from an Evil Dead movie, equal parts horrific and hilarious.

But more than anything else, it’s the Japanese influence. Rian Johnson is another Japanophile and otaku, but he brings in his own wealth of influence, from other Japanese directors - mostly those who worked in the debatably trashier sections of the “chanbara” samurai genre - to even fatalistic manga and anime. Laura Dern’s awesome purple hair makes it implicit, but that sequence of her ship’s destruction comes so clearly from something like Gundam or Evangelion, a single gorgeous image conveying incredibly destruction. Even his Kurosawa lifts are different; he draws from the man’s color movies (which emphasized an intense, painterly use of color), and a major plot thread is based on Rashomon (that sequence in particular is interesting for also being on the few times we see a scene in Star Wars that’s dependent on character perspective). The film’s best sequence even ends with Rey and Kylo Ren fighting literal space samurai over walls of metaphorical blood.

There are also a few times where the film seems to bring in some of the prequel influence, with that casino planet or the more heavily choreographed fight scenes, and others when it outwardly deconstructs some of the series’ tropes. It all leads to this film that felt, at least to me, to be the first really “necessary” (such as it is) Star Wars film since the first, something as idiosyncratic as Lucas’ original.

I’m not sure exactly how to conclude this, other than to say when creating art, it’s easy to fall into a trap of just reusing your sources. I do that more often than I’d like, certainly. But bringing in new things can help. I recently started watching Cowboy Bebop again for the first time since college, and thinking about how that show used spaceships as car and plane analogues made me think about another way artists were able to come at the same ideas. And I don’t think knowing that Lucas was cribbing from these (and that his various producers and editors were keeping him under control to make a comprehensible final product) lessens any of the “magic” of them; at least to me it enhances it.

Though I should also note again that this is nowhere near a comprehensive list, and there is definitely a huge wealth of material he and everyone involved in the making of the movie exploited or used that I forgot about or haven’t noticed. But that often is how the process works; you bring in all sorts of ideas.

[notspoondere]

How to Scoop Less: Making Sleeping Dragons Die

[Or, Why This Bad Card is Bad]

I can’t believe Waking the Dragon has seen play.  I also can’t believe it led to a friend of mine making about $400. Yes, really.

More than that, though, I can’t believe people are convinced this card is good.  In this post I’ll be going over this card, what it does, how it’s used, how to play around it, why it’s suboptimal, and what you could more effectively play instead.

Waking the Dragon is a Normal Trap Card that reads as follows.

If this Set card in its owner's control has left the field because of an opponent's effect, and is now in the GY or banished: You can Special Summon 1 monster from your Deck or Extra Deck.

Note that it doesn’t ignore summoning conditions.  This is what leads to this card’s targets being fairly limited.  As of right now, the best targets are understood to be:

Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon

Naturia Exterio

Last Warrior from Another Planet

What you need to know about these cards:  Ultimate Falcon is a 3600 beater that’s unaffected by card effects, Naturia Exterio can (not once per turn) negate the activation of a spell/trap card by banishing one from grave and milling a card, and Last Warrior prevents either player from Summoning monsters.  99% of the time, Ultimate Falcon is coming out, let’s be real--it’s fairly difficult for a lot of decks to deal with it at the moment, even Draco can’t do anything about it (Stormforth does not work; for some reason it affects the card at resolution).

So how do you get this to go off?  Artifact Durendal can do it, I guess, but in practice, this card is going in Game 2 if you’re going first with set5.dek and you expect your opponent to try to do something about it.

This is not a totally invalid reason for which to side in a card, or a playset of a card; Starlight Road saw play for exactly this reason back in Zoo format to counter Twin Twisters, and (spoiler) I think that card is strictly better, but to be fair, the demands of backrow removal have slightly changed with True Draco and Pendulum decks in the format, and it’s worth looking at why that card might not be better.  Here are those reasons.

Cosmic Cyclone

Topologic Trisbaena

it can activate even if you’re locked under Red Reboot, I guess

That’s it.  Why’s that so?

Starlight Road covers every case except where exactly one backrow is being destroyed, or when any number of cards are not being destroyed.

Ash Blossom can’t negate Starlight Road.  This, too, is a valid reason for playing one card over another; see Double Summon in full-power SPYRAL.

Your opponent will not be tearing apart your backrow with multiple copies of MST, and even if they are, it‘s a 1/5 chance for them to hit this (roughly).  This makes it dodgy even for Cosmic Cyclone.

SPYRAL would be tearing your backrow apart card by card, but there are much more effective ways to approach that matchup.

True Draco is the one case where this might almost be a valid choice, but I think there are much less dodgy sides for that matchup as well.  I might do a post on this, but for the time being, I’ve been reconsidering Magic Deflector and Zombie World.

Let’s be real, Evenly Matched is just a better card to worry about, and face-down cards don’t even have effects, so it won’t trigger this card anyways.

The Solemn package and other counter traps (I’ve been looking into Ultimate Providence, personally) can stop your opponent from getting to Trisbaena unless you’re under Red Reboot, and Judgment just doesn’t care either way.  Those are all good cards.

For these reasons:  Please play Starlight Road or some counter to Evenly Matched instead!  You can find some counters for Evenly Matched in my earlier post here.

[modestmondays]

one of the most important money-makers for kid-centered media is merchandise, right? so i do wonder about this. because as far as i can tell, su is genuinely very popular and is consistently one of the most talked about shows on online platforms like tumblr, but the thing is, i don’t know if that’s true for the product-selling side of it. for some perspective - i live in norway. there are some cartoons you *cannot* avoid in nerd stores, like adventure time. at first i thought maybe su was "too

new” to have that status, but now that’s happened to rickand morty, which is newer in terms of being “big” online. so i wondered aboutdemographics - maybe rick & morty is more popular among the “typical” nerdy+ gamer demographic (teen boys) - but i visited america and saw that actually,there IS a lot of su merch being prominently sold, so i wonder two things: isthere any way to know whether the su merch is doing *well*, and is there anyway to know whether it’s doing well *internationally*?

as popular as su is in the US, i’m not sure whether that’strue elsewhere (and i’ve heard that that actually matters to CN US, and is partof why they still have certain shows that aren’t huge ‘talkers’ nationally, butsell merch and do well elsewhere). i certainly love SU, but from what i can tell,it’s not… actually a household name among nerds here, and it’s hard to findany merch… so i do wonder if being big in america and online is enough,though i agree there aren’t warning signs yet

I was actually in Denmark recently for a cousin’s BarMitzvah, and I can anecdotally confirm that Rick and Morty is waaaay morepopular in your part of the world than I expected, although kids there had heard of StevenUniverse too. The Szechuan Sauce nonsense shows that R&M already has a strongUS fanbase as well. I think the US R&M fanbase is a bit older, it’s not reallya “for kids” show here. But either way, it’s certainly a closer fit for the nerdy/gamerdemographic than SU is, on both sides of the Atlantic. I’d expect to findR&M stuff at comic book stores, Gamestop, that kind of place. And whilethose places may have SU comics/toys, I think you find more SU merch at Barnes &Noble, Hot Topic, and other non-geek stores.

I’m definitely seeing a lot of SU merch here, and it feels likethe quantity and scope are both increasing (strongly suggesting that salesnumbers are good), which is a big part of why I’m not worried about thefinancial future of the show. But it’s interesting that you’re not seeing thatinternationally.

edit: this got really long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut.

I tried to do some research. The CN website was totallyunhelpful because it has zero business info, just stuff for the target audience,which is kids (although I did see that the volleyball game is finally up!), and moving up thecorporate chain to Turner didn’t help, since CN is too small a part of theirbusiness to get much press.

But some more searching took me to http://www.licensemag.com/license-globalwhich was more helpful. Here’s some CN articles/press releases that I foundinteresting. I’ll pull out some key highlights.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-has-something-everyone(June 2016)

A big push for CNE moving forward will also be for theseries “Steven Universe.” Created by Rebecca Sugar, “StevenUniverse” follows the misadventures of Steven, the ultimate “littlebrother” to a team of magical guardians of humanity–the Crystal Gems–asthey band together to save the universe.

The series premiered on Cartoon Network in November 2013,but now is beginning to be supported by more robust offerings at retail.

“We’ve seen a huge pick up for ‘Steven Universe,’”says Yoder. “It’s one of those brands that has always rated reallywell–there is such a rich mythology within the storytelling–but it just took alittle longer for fans to really get to know the characters.”

According to CNE, theseries is a top performer on the network, coming in as the top grossing seriesper episode, and will now be expanded with a consumer product program.(emphasis mine)

Twenty-five-plus licensees have been tapped to expand thebrand to accessories (Accutime, Buckle-Down, Hot Properties and HighIntenCity), apparel (Bioworld, Underboss and Mighty Fine), gaming (USAopoly),home décor (Surreal Entertainment and the Northwest Company), novelty toys(A&A Global Industries, Funko, Just Toys International, Phat Mojo, ToyFactor and Zag Toys), costumes (Rubie’s Costume Co.) and more.

CNE will also leverage show creator Sugar for a publishingprogram with Penguin, and Boom! Studios will launch comic books and graphicnovels.

The products will sit at mid-tier retailers and hit shelvesin time for back-to-school, with stores such as Kohl’s, J.C. Penney and Searssigned on for inventory. Yoder says the program will expand to mass retailersand reach further into the kids’ demographic next year.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-energizing-evergreens(February 2017)

“The network has done a great job not just saying that wecreate multi-platform content, but actually doing it,” adds Yoder, who has beena member of the CNE team since 2006 and reports to Cartoon Network presidentChristina Miller. “We are giving our fans true multi-platform experiences, sowhile we are creating linear content, we are also offering additional contentspecific for CN apps as well as evaluating how we expand with SVODopportunities and how we support kids creating their own content.”

As Cartoon Network is responding to the changing dynamics oflinear television and kids’ viewing habits, the network is still deliveringstrong ratings and viewership, which bodes well for its brand licensing group.

CNE is a well-recognized global licensor, ranked No. 30 inthe world, according to the Top 150 Global Licensors Report published annuallyby License Global, reporting $2 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandiseworldwide.

While the challenges facing the rapidly changing traditionalkids’ TV sector have been well-documented, Cartoon Network has several keypoints of differentiation, including a well-established audience, the abilityto promote its shows, development of content across different platforms andstrong evergreen properties.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/portfolio-programs(July 15, 2017)

“The idea of putting together long-term portfolio dealscame about rather organically,” says Christina Miller, vice president ofconsumer products, Cartoon Network Enterprises, which has inked multi-propertydeals with Mattel, Hallmark, and to a lesser degree, FunKo Toys.

According to Miller, “There were two primary reasons wechose to explore this strategy. First, Mattel and Hallmark are leading licenseesin their respective fields, and we have solid relationships with each.Secondly, our shows receive a good deal of cross-viewership, so kids who watch'Fosters’ are likely to stay and watch 'Billy & Mandy,’ and so forth. Wedecided, rather than spend time looking for individual licensees for eachproperty, it would be more efficient to have a single company developingproduct for all properties that target ages 6 to 11.”

Not to mention, she adds, “it fosters a strong creativerelationship between our creators and artists and their design teams.”

Hallmark’s vice president of licensing acquisitions, KarenMitchell-Layton, agrees, adding, “The multi-year, multi-propertyarrangement will allow us to spend time and creative energy in not onlycreating products for today, but also to take an innovative approach as thecharacters and storylines evolve.” Under its agreement with CartoonNetwork, Hallmark now holds the exclusive licensing rights in the U.S. andCanada for a range of everyday and seasonal social expression products,including greeting cards and party-supply items. “Social expressions is anincredibly extensive category,” says Miller, “so we’d like to spendmore time on the creative and less on making multiple deals, which ultimately willlead to better, more sophisticated products. Similarly, the Mattel deal coversmultiple toy and games categories including vehicles, action figures, playsets,roleplay, board games, puzzles, and youth electronic items.” While Mattelnow has a first-look option on all newly created original series andprogramming, Miller is quick to point out that existing relationships such asBandai’s master toy deal for “Ben 10” will remain untouched.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-bolsters-experiential-initiatives(October 2017)

It takes more than great content to create a devoted fanbase, and Cartoon Network is putting fandom front and center to keep fansdeeply engaged with its properties.

“At a corporate level, Turner has put fandom veryfirmly in the center of our global strategy. We don’t talk about audiencesanymore, we talk about fans and fandom,” says Johanne Broadfield, vicepresident, Cartoon Network Enterprises EMEA, a part of Turner Entertainment.“For the past 18 months, we’ve been all about a 360-degree brandexperience.”

Putting fans at the heart of the business ups a property’sgame by fueling growth and fan commitment. In creating a foundation based onstrong core content, Cartoon Network is building its brands out to engage fanson a deeper level with a wide and varied set of temporary and permanentexperiences.

“We’re creating authentic, personal experiencesspecifically designed for fans of each brand to interact with the properties innew and unique ways,” says Broadfield.

Far from a one-size-fits-allapproach, Broadfield says the company is designing experiences tailored to eachbrand and its retail partners so that activations are meaningful and connectwith fans in a personal way.

Some analysis:

First, I don’t know how much to read into the lack of SUmentions in the later articles. It may not be one of the top sellers, but thatdoesn’t mean it’s doing poorly. “Top grossing series per episode” sounds prettygood, although they did see it as slower to grow on the merchandise side. Theymay be going for a similar slow burn internationally? I know the dubs arepretty far behind in some countries, and especially for younger kids, they’regoing to need the show in their native language. This would also hit stuff likecomics and books pretty hard. The Answer is a wonderful kid’s book, but it’sonly available in English.

Second, it looks like a lot of the licensing agreements areboth broad and exclusive, so if some of those retailers are US-only, so is themerch. Are Hot Topic or Funko international things? If not, then some of thetoys and clothing won’t be available—which exacerbates the previous problem,since toys and clothes could otherwise be sold to kids who aren’t nativeEnglish speakers with no trouble.

It seems like app and mobile tie-ins are a big part of theirholistic approach, and SU seems to be fine on that front. There’s hugeengagement from the fans across multiple platforms, although I’m not sure how much of that is from kids.

The last part, about unique fan experiences, made me thinkof Estelle’s “Stronger Than You” performance at SDCC. They went all out withthat one, giving out “Made of Love” t-shirts, reserving and decorating the stage, and gettinga huge crowd of fans together. They gave away more of those promotionalt-shirts during the panel at NYCC, too. I think they realize that the SU marketis there, and they’re doing a good job of engaging with us, even though we mostlyaren’t “boys age 6-11”.

Demographics may be a challenge, since CN was, up until recently,all about the boy’s programming (old Turner press releases emphasize thatsuccess). They’re branching out into other target demographics with shows like the PPG reboot or R&M, but it may beharder to nail down the SU fanbase into an easy target demographic. But they’re finding various ways to “engage” us(read: sell us stuff we want), and I hope that’ll continue.

I guess that didn’t really answer your questions, but hopefully it’s interesting anyway! It might be possible to get more specific sales data by reading SEC filings or calling them, but I don’t want to do that.

[actionfigureinsider]

It’s that time of year again, kids!  Time for one of my favorite annual rituals; My top ten collectibles of the year.  2016 was a banner year for toys & collectibles.  I think I speak for several of us here when I say that I spent WAYYY too much last year.  But you know what?  We got some amazing stuff!  We crossed some things off the list of “I never thought they’d make that!”  But they did.  And we love them for it.  Without further ado, here’s the list.

10.  Hasbro’s Star Wars Black Series Stormtrooper Helmet

Let’s face it, we ALL wanted one of these as a kid, and despite a few high-priced prop replicas (most of which were slightly off-model), there really wasn’t a viable mass market option available.  In come Hasbro, and delivers a high quality replica for a very reasonable price.  Instead of painting on details, The black “rubber” sections are co-molded, making for a very durable piece.  This one was way better than it had to be, and it sits proudly on display in my home.

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9.  Transformers Titans Return Gnaw

What a fun little surprise this guy turned out to be!  Of all the Transformers I bought this year, across multiple lines and price points, Gnaw turned out to be the most fun.  He’s such a perfect representation of the Sharkiticon from my youth, and he’s going to be hard not to army build them.

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8.  Mattel’s DC Multiverse Dark Knight Returns Armored Batman

As a tremendous fan of Frank Miller’s seminal work, this figure was DECADES overdue.  Some of Mattel’s Multiverse line are hit and miss, but other than the Mutant Gang Leader’s “nipple-gate”, all three of their offerings were stellar.  The Armored Batman, using mostly new tooling, was exceptional, and just a fun version of this beloved character.  Mattel seems to be going all-in on this line, so be sure to grab an extra before they’re gone, as an unmasked Old Man Bruce Wayne swap out head is coming in 2017.

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7.  Funko’s ReAction Aliens 30th Anniversary Box Set

I think it’s fair to say that some of Funko’s ReAction line have been hit and miss.  But when they’re a hit,they’re an outside the park home run.  Jaws.  Alien.  Gremlins.  Dark Crystal.  These were amazing.  2016 saw Funko seize the opportunity to make a set for the 30th anniversary of Aliens, and they killed it.  Retro style 5 POA figures of Ripley,the Power Loader, and the Queen herself hit all the right notes, reminding one of a time of toys past, all while being just great toys.

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6.  DC Collectibles Batman: The Animated Series Harvey Bulloch and Commissioner Gordon

I must admit, sometimes these figures are not 100% on model.  That said, I LOVE collecting this line!  Two of the very finest examples were Detective Harvey Bulloch and Commissioner Gordon.  They brought to vivid life two of my favorite characters who were never made in the original Kenner line.  I mean come on, Bulloch comes with 2 versions of his donut!  The look like they stepped right off the screen.  Give me an Officer Montoya, and my Gotham police force is complete!

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5.  Re-Edit 1/12 Scale Hulkbuster

The Hulkbuster is my all time favorite Iron Man suit.  While we’ve gotten some great offerings from Marvel Legends and Marvel Select, none match the quality and finish of the Re-Edit version.  Let’s run it down:  Super articulated.  Premium glossy and matte Metal paint finish.  Die Cast parts.  Opening cockpit with Iron Man torso inside.  Multiple light up areas.  Yeah, this one was stunning.  The only thing that really keeps it from scoring higher is the prohibitive price.  These aren’t cheap, but you get every penny’s worth of toy.

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4.  X-Plus Gigantic Series 1962 Godzilla

I think those of you who know me, know that I’m a lifelong Godzilla fanatic.  Of all the different versions of Godzilla shown in the films, the 1962 version (King Kong vs. Godzilla) is easily my personal favorite.  It’s so unique and distinct compared to other versions, and this suit was only used one time.  The gigantic series figure by X-Plus stands almost 20 inches tall, and has one of the very best sculpts of this suit ever done.  The paint was near perfect, and the inset clear eye lenses matched the film’s look perfectly.  Shipping from overseas is a bit costly, as the box is the size of a small refrigerator.

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The Top Three

OK, it get’s harder from here, as all of my top three are so close, any one of these could’ve won, as the margins were razor-thin.  At the end of the day, these were my absolute favorite purchases of the year:

3.  DC Collectibles Bat Wing

Wow.  Just wow.  At nearly 40″ long, this toy isn’t for everybody.  but let’s face facts:  The sculpt is 100% on point, the finish and construction are top quality, and the lighting effects are among the best I’ve seen.  It’s just jaw dropping when you see it in person.  It’s got working landing gear, the claw up front, and even the canopy that covers Robin’s seat.  No detail was missed, and at the MSRP of $140.00, it felt like a bargain.

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2.  Funko’s The Dark Crystal

Man, this one was so close to winning.  It hit the nostalgia factor big time.  I’ve always wanted these toys, which Kenner sculpted and hen cancelled.  Along came Funko, and they took their time to do it right, and it showed.  These are just incredible little toys.  I love that I have them so much.  They used replicas of Kenner’s card art, and even replicated the “Build A Crystal” feature.  As of press time, the Garthim is not readily available, as it was part of a set that was exclusive to NYCC.  Word on the street is that it’s a retailer exclusive in 2017, so never fear, your set will be complete!  I could buy three more waves and a couple of playsets for this line.  They’re selling fast, don’t miss out.

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Number One:

Mythic Legions by the Four Horsemen

Man these came out of left field.  For years the four Horsemen have been responsible for some of my favorite prototypes from other lines.  We all are familiar with their stellar work on DC and MOTUC.  This time, they’ve used their imagination to create their own medieval world of sword and sorcery, and the results are glorious.  Great articulation, stunning paint apps, and fresh designs help flesh out this world of Human  knights, trolls, barbarians, orcs, dwarves, and skeletons.

If this was all this line was about, that would be enough, but the Horsemen introduced a unique new form factor for this line.  All of their armor and parts are fully interchangeable.  You can even buy army builder sets that let you customize to your heart’s content.  Once I got some of these and started playing with them, I just couldn’t put them down for weeks.  Building on the first series’ success, additional figures and waves are coming soon, along with bigger creatures, like the new Trolls which are awesome!   Taking everything into account, these were the best toys I bought in 2016.

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…and that’s it for me folks!  2017 is already off to a great start, with toys like Playmate’s awesome Legendary Voltron series!  There’s a new Star Wars movie coming, more fantastic Transformers and Marvel Legends, imports, art toys, and statues than you can count.  It’s a great time for people like us, and until next time, I’ll see you at the stores!

Cap

    Captain Collector’s Best Of 2016 Top Ten It's that time of year again, kids!  Time for one of my favorite annual rituals; My top ten collectibles of the year.  

[operationrainfall]

Title Yu-Gi-Oh!: Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution Developer Other Ocean Interactive Publisher Konami Release Date August 20th, 2019 Genre Card Game, Strategy, Simulation Platform Nintendo Switch Age Rating T for Teen – Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Partial Nudity Official Website

It’s odd to realize I’ve been playing Yu-Gi-Oh! for almost two decades now. I got into the well-known card game just before it came stateside from Japan, and was instantly captivated by the art and overall style. I’ve watched firsthand as the game has evolved over the years, going from simplistic and easy to pick up to quite complex and incredibly fast. Like any card game, it’s changed a lot over time, and that’s part of why this Yu-Gi-Oh! game was so exciting. Not only is it the first Yu-Gi-Oh! videogame to hit a Nintendo console in a while, it’s also the first in recent history to feature up-to-date mechanics for the latest style of summons, Link Monsters. The question then, is whether Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is the best game in the series, or just the latest?

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For reference, the last Yu-Gi-Oh! videogame I played, Zexal World Duel Carnival, came out some 6 years ago. I say “I played” cause there have been other releases since then on PC, PS3 and Xbox in various regions, but I don’t like playing card games on consoles. I prefer portables, and feel that’s the ideal way to play a series like this. So I never played the original Legacy of the Duelist, but worry not, I’m still very up to date with the game mechanics. That’s what happens when you judge the game in your free time. So my hope with Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution was that it would let me get into the game without too much fanfare, unlock the cards I wanted quickly, and give me sufficient replay value. And I can say the game mostly delivered on all of those fronts.

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There are essentially 3 main modes in the game – Single Player, which consists of Campaign and Duelist Challenges; Multiplayer, which lets you face opponents locally or online; and Battle Pack, which lets you draft random cards to build decks. There’s also a card shop where you can spend hard-earned in-game currency to buy more packs. I spent most of my time with Campaign Mode, which features iconic battles from every Yu-Gi-Oh! series, including the original, GX, 5D’s, Zexal, ARC-V and VRAINS. Every consecutive series after the first introduced and focused on a new Summoning mechanic, starting with Fusion, then Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, and finally Links. Each mission has a bit of story, followed by a duel. Here you have a choice between using a story deck faithful to what was used on the show, or your own constructed deck or pre-constructed structure deck. The upside to using the story deck is they totally ignore the restrictions of the Forbidden and Limited list, letting you sometimes use multiple copies of some of the most powerful banned cards in the game, such as Pot of Greed. The downside is that they are so faithful that they often are chock full of mostly useless cards. I found it was fun to occasionally use a story deck, but more often I used my own decks, especially once I had unlocked enough cards to build a half-decent one.

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Playing through Campaign Mode to 100% completion takes a good long while, and I’d estimate I spent 70% of my overall playtime with it. The only exception to that rule is the latest series, VRAINS. To my surprise, this mode only had 3 missions, compared to 20+ for the others. Worse yet, there was absolutely no story for VRAINS, which was a bit of a letdown. And though you’re seemingly welcome to tackle the series in the order you prefer, I almost wish Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution had forced me to play VRAINS first. The reason being this mode explains Link summons, and how they changed pretty much every core aspect of the game. While I was already familiar with the changes, I can just see the confusion older players unfamiliar with the current mechanics would face. It especially would have made sense, given how short that particular Campaign is. But that complaint aside, I was mostly happy with Campaign Mode. It’s just as silly and challenging as the TV show might lead you to expect, and features tons of unique decks to battle against. While I was most familiar with the original show and 5D’s, it was fun seeing how they changed things up with each series. From ancient Egyptian spirits to motorcycles to dimensional travel and more, there’s a lot of interesting ideas represented by the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. They may not be perfectly explained or make the most sense, but that’s honestly the charm of most anime series. That sheer creativity coupled with great artwork makes for a heady brew.

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Once you beat all the missions in any of the Campaigns, your fun isn’t over. There’s something called Reverse Duels, which lets you play the iconic duels from the opposite side, oftentimes as the villain. There’s some really cool story decks you can use here, such as Pegasus’ Toon deck or Strings’ Slifer the Sky Dragon deck. What makes these interesting is they aren’t restricted by what cards were available when they first debuted. You’ll find more recent cards in these classic decks, so long as they make thematic sense. The only thing you won’t find are Link Monsters, which are entirely relegated to the VRAINS Campaign. So, if you want to use this new mechanic, you should play those missions first and buy a lot of Playmaker’s packs. I should mention, by progressing in the Campaigns, you’ll unlock packs for a variety of characters in the card shop. These will feature cards often used by those characters, as well as totally unexpected archetypes. Given that there’s some 9000+ card pool in the game, you’ll have your work cut out for you acquiring the maximum 3 copies of everything, especially since I found the RNG for the card shop was a bit diabolical. Sometimes you’ll unlock stuff with ease, but when I was fishing for multiple copies of cards I already owned, things got ridiculous, as in spending thousands of in-game cash on packs, only to not get what I wanted. I’d almost swear the game worked to stop me from getting what I wanted. And while this is a feature common to all the Yu-Gi-Oh! videogames, it’s exacerbated by one small detail – the lack of a code machine. Previous games allowed you to input an ID found on the bottom of physical cards to unlock them in the game for a price. I would have loved that feature here, as it would have made getting playsets of all the cards I needed much less time-consuming.

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Duelist Challenges have you face off against iconic characters as well, but this time they’re better-equipped. They’ll use more powerful themed decks, sometimes what you might expect them to use, other times not. A good example is Bandit Keith using a Pendulum / Scrap deck, or Alexis Rhodes using an Ice Barrier deck. I loved the unexpected quality of these match ups, and overall found Duelist Challenges more difficult and satisfying than the battles found in Campaign Mode. The one quality common in both is that often your AI opponent will have much better luck drawing their key cards than you will. Sometimes to an unfair degree. That said, it’s nothing a bit of strategy can’t solve. The Heart of the Cards might work in the show, but here you’ll need to rely on your tactical planning. Plus, it’s not all that hard to trick the AI opponent into making missteps you can capitalize on.

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The last mode I’m gonna mention is probably my favorite. Battle Pack lets you buy random packs and use what you pull to make decks. You can either hand pick cards from a pool or choose to just play with a random assortment. Then, when you’re all done playing a few rounds, you get to keep all the cards you pulled! I personally love this mode, since it relies less on using competitive and often boring Meta decks and rewards you more for creativity and flexible thinking. While it does cost 2000 points to play a few matches, compared to 200 or 400 per individual pack in the card shop, I find it’s well worth it. Especially since you can use your drafted deck to face local opponents, AI foes or play people online. While I’ve 100% completed Campaign, I’ll be coming back to Battle Pack for a long time.

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More Duels on Page 2!

Now I’ve mostly talked about the positive aspects of Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution, but there are some areas it falls short. One aforementioned area is how incredibly difficult it can be to pull what you need from packs. A related problem is the game doesn’t tell you when you pull new cards. That’s more of a minor problem, but it’s also one I’ve seen previous games do better. I also wouldn’t have minded a way of clarifying which archetypes are represented in which pack. Each one has a ton of different cards, and if you can remember them all, you have a better memory than me. More substantive is how the game doesn’t really help you navigate the Deck Edit mode. There’s a lot of filters to help search for things, and I had to discover them all on my own. That isn’t to say it’s impossible to figure out, but a little guidance would have gone a long way here. And, speaking of guidance, while I don’t mind the tutorials the game provides, I also feel they could have been more robust to help guide new players. The simple truth of the matter is Yu-Gi-Oh! is a very complex game with a lot to comprehend. That can be a bit intimidating to newer players, and without courting those people, this game will only really draw the attention of players already well-versed with the series. And that’s a shame, since there’s a lot to enjoy here.

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While most players won’t be buying this game for the art or music, I still feel I should touch upon both like usual. Visually, the game is a bit of a mixed bag. The interface for playing is clean and uncluttered, but it’s also a bit barebones. One fellow Yu-Gi-Oh! fan said the graphics could have come from a PS2 game, and I couldn’t entirely disagree. However, there is one area the graphics are pretty attractive, and that’s with the summon of iconic monsters. Whenever you summon a Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant or the like, they’ll get a flashy animation. These are quite cool, and do a lot to add to the mystique of these cards. The only downside is that there’s no option to toggle these off, because in duels where they are summoned repeatedly, it can wear a bit thin. As far as the writing in the game goes, it reads pretty well, though I was irritated when characters had a caption saying they were thinking to themselves, which was totally unnecessary. On the sound side of things, I have a less rosy opinion. The music in the game is very muted, even with my volume turned all the way up. There’s some adequate sound effects for things like Turn Change or activating cards, but it’s pretty average. It’s not offensive, but it could have been much flashier. Especially since previous Yu-Gi-Oh! videogames had features like dynamic music, where it changed dramatically when you were running low on Life Points. Not to mention, the theme songs from the shows were pretty memorable.

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All in all, I really enjoyed Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution. Even with its flaws, it’s easily the best videogame in the series to date. There’s a ton to keep you busy, and I’ve easily spent 30-40 hours already just for the sake of this review. The biggest issue I have with it is that it doesn’t do enough to court players unfamiliar with the nuance and newfound complexity of the game. Things like the Forbidden and Limited List are also confusing, in that they aren’t the most recent version, but instead seem a mishmash of previous lists. But if you can look past that sort of thing, you get a lot of bang for your buck for only $39.99. If you’re a fan of the series and are eager for an excuse to dive in and test out new deck ideas, then you’ll enjoy the game. Just be ready to spend a long time grinding for the cards you need.

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[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″]

Review Copy Purchased by Author

REVIEW: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution Title Yu-Gi-Oh!: Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution

[nintendoduck-blog]

Our Top Five ELC Christmas Toys

New Post has been published on https://www.vivrelereve.co.uk/our-top-five-elc-christmas-toys/

Our Top Five ELC Christmas Toys

Our Top Five ELC Christmas Toys

It’s the time of year when thoughts start to turn to Christmas shopping – especially for those with little ones to buy for. Popular toys can be in short supply and snapped up quickly so we’ve issued our list of top present predictions early this year to help parents plan ahead. They can, therefore, see which toys are going to be the most wanted and start ordering now to try and be more organised for the big day.

So we’ve been checking the toys out, playing with them, getting kids to play with them and updating in real-time wherever we can. We’re predicting these toys will be a big hit with kids this year! I can think of no better way to get prepped for the upcoming holiday than to giveaway a £50 Early Learning Centre gift card…that way you can purchase whatever you would like. Doesn’t matter what it is, this gift card can help you buy it!

Happyland Cherry Lane Cottage, £24

This gorgeous country cottage is a perfect first dolls’ house for your toddler. Happyland Cherry Lane Cottage opens right up and comes complete with two cute characters and their three pets. There is also furniture for your young child to move around, and even a treehouse in the garden. Your child can help the dolls cook in the Cherry Lane Cottage kitchen, wash in the bathroom and enjoy a nap in the bedroom. This is a great toy to help develop your child’s imagination and speech. It’s also fun to play with next to a friend.

Playing with a specially designed toddler dolls’ house such as Happyland Cherry Lane Cottage is a wonderful way for your young child to begin to explore the growing world of their imagination, as they move the characters and pets around. Your child can pretend the dolls are eating, sleeping or playing in the treehouse. ‘Small world’ play is a rewarding way for your young child to express what they’ve seen and experienced, and play out stories that they’ve enjoyed. This first dolls’ house also gives little ones a fun way of using their hands to develop fine motor skills – great for drawing, dressing and writing later on.

Suitable for children from 18 months.

  Key-Boom-Board, £50

Sing, drum and DJ on this recordable mega music station. The Key-Boom-Board is compact with fun and exciting beats. It is more than just a keyboard – the unique look, style and innovative design provides children with hours of fun. Use the drum sticks and create real funky beats with the tactile light up ‘follow me’ drum pads – Great for sensory development and for teaching children how to play along to the pre-recorded tunes which in turn helps with concentration, it builds confidence and is fantastic for co-ordination.

Sing and record your tune into the detachable microphone. This fun feature is a fantastic way for your child to show off their skills, you can attach an MP3 player too so they can sing along to their favourite tunes helping boost confidence and develops imagination. Add a contemporary feel to your music with the mixer disc and tremolo. The mixer disc adds a real DJ feel to the Key Boom Board as you experiment with the 5 different sound effects. Use the Tremolo to change the pitch of the sound.

Suitable for children from 3 years.

  ELC Wooden Classic Farm Playset, £50

With so much to do and lots of fun to be had, this wooden classic farm is perfect for imaginative play.

Beautifully crafted, this wooden farm playset includes farm buildings which slot together easily and stand on a sturdy base board. The roofs all lift off easily to allow little hands to play inside. Little farmers can lift the straw for the animals with the working winch and spin the sails of the windmill faster and faster.

A great way for your child to learn a little bit about the world around them through play, they will have hours of fun creating lots of stories and adventures on their very own farm.

Suitable for children from 3 years

  Little Senses Giant Lights And Sounds Activity Dome, £120

Jam-packed with colours, textures and sounds, the Little Senses activity dome is designed to stimulate the senses and keep baby busy. There are four hanging toys to encourage little limbs to reach out and play, including spinning cogs, rainmakers, a bead maze and ball drop with 4 balls. The dome features soothing playtime and nature sounds, with gently glowing lights to create a relaxing environment for babies and toddlers.

Suitable from birth.

VTech Toot Toot Pirate Ship, £39.99

Yo ho ho! Let’s set sail for the Treasure Island with our Toot Toot Pirate Ship from VTech! This interactive Pirate Ship is packed full of features and opens up to reveal a brilliant Treasure Island play set!

The pirate ship includes three Toot Toot characters: Captain Monty, Sailor Stanley and Monkey. Your little one can place their crew on the MagicPoints for fun swashbuckling responses. Press buttons for sounds, fire the cannon, explore the treasure island, battle the octopus, find the treasure and discover new friends for incredible adventures.

Great for pretend play, this interactive pirate ship play ship is waiting to set sail with your little ones – Toot Toot it’s a pirate’s life for me!

Suitable for children from 12 months

If you fancy winning this giveaway and getting your hands on a £50 ELC Gift Card. Just enter via the Rafflecopter below, good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions

Firstly, this promotion is open to residents of the UK only.

No purchase necessary.

By entering the prize draw entrants agree to be bound by any other requirements set out on this page.

Entry is only available online. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received, only partially received or delayed for any reason.

Entries that are incomplete, defaced or damaged will be deemed invalid.

Entries must not be sent through agencies or third parties. Any such entries will be invalid. No trade or multiple entries.

No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, delayed or damaged in transmission.

Winner details will be publicly announced if permission is granted.

Competition closes at 12am on 14th December 2018. Entries received after this time and date will not be entered into the draw.

The prize is a £50 ELC Gift Card.

Prize details are accurate at the time of promotion; the promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize for one of greater or equal value.

Consequently, the decision of the promoter in all matters is final and binding.

The Promoter reserves the right to withdraw the promotion due to circumstances beyond its control. Neither Vivre Le Rêve™ nor any other respective agents involved with this promotion. Shall be liable for any failure that is caused by something outside its reasonable control. Such circumstances shall include, but are not be limited to. Weather conditions, fire, flood, hurricane, strike, industrial dispute, war, hostilities. Political unrest, riots, civil commotion, inevitable accidents, supervening legislation or any other circumstances relating to Force Majeure.

[darklicious101-blog1]

16 Must-Follow Facebook Pages for baby tv toys Marketers

Baby toys and baby gifts shop offering educational, developmental and learning toys for infants, toddlers and kids. Talking about kid's age, which can be a purchasing factor to be considered, lots of parents occasionally think of impractical ideas like buying toys that are too advanced for their child's development. Our set of learning & educational toys for infants, infants & toddlers from 100+ manufacturers will genuinely match your child's development. Baby Toys Plush Octopus Infant Kids Educational Toys Dolls Baby Grab Bed Hanging Musical Toys For Children Newborns Brinquedos.

Help your kids develop these important skills by playing with their own learning toys. Nowadays educational toys and children outdoor play equipment can be a fun learning toy. As you don't want to drive your child too hard and cause developmental difficulties for them, you really do want to provide your baby with all the best toys which may help them become smarter by doing what babies do best - having fun, laughing, and enjoying.

Citation needed Andrew Witkin, director of advertising for Mega Brands advised Investor's Business Daily that, "They help build hand-eye coordination, science and mathematics abilities and let children be creative." 20 Other toys such as marbles http://edition.cnn.com/search/?text=baby toys , jackstones , and chunks serve similar functions in child development, allowing children to use their minds and bodies to learn about spatial relationships , cause and effect , and a vast array of different skills. Playing with toys is thought of as significant when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. Younger children use toys to discover their individuality, help their bodies grow powerful, learn cause and effect, research relationships, and practice skills they'll need as adults. Third, colorful octave knocking and pulling piano, this toy has vivid colours and gorgeous music, and this can help develop children's sensory and visual ability, moreover, this piano toys installed with wheels consists of pull function, can help baby to learn different walking and knocking the steel can help to clinic infant's eye-hand coordination.

The toys we have chosen all help the developmental phases in childhood through play, which is important for encouraging brain growth and cognitive skills - play enables children to use their imagination and encourages creativity, motor and physical abilities, be that by providing them directions to follow in an enjoyable way, the ability to process data, express emotion and solve problems, or opportunities to make. Baby Toys Musical Learning Table 6-12 Months up ,Early Education Music Activity Center Multiple Modes Larrning&Game Table for Kids Toddler Boys and Girls 1,2,3,4 Years Old Toys. If you're searching for baby learning toys, baby wooden toys, or entertaining and vibrant toys for babies to play, we have got you covered with all the best baby toys.

A number of these baby learning toys commonly used for stimulating sight sensation in the infants include colorful cubes, film books, play hide and seek with objects, soft books and soft toys with a variety of colour and patterns among various others. Developmental infant toys are superb tools for educating your kids since they will not force your kids to understand, they encourage schooling without the little ones realizing it. These days, buying toys for kids isn't so difficult, but many parents still have difficulty picking an proper toy for their baby according to distinct developmental stages.

They are able to make toys that kids of all ages love playing with and tag along when they move from the home. Playing with toys is one of the most important childhood actions, through play children learn and practice social skills, develop a sense of self and learn important life skills. When shopping for toddler toys, then you will be looking for toy between the ages of 1 and 3. This is a really important point in your child's life and for the learning course that they are on. They're interested in what's happening around them and studying seems fun and exciting once you purchase the ideal type of toys.

In choosing toys for children, in addition to the overall function, parents should also pay attention to the child's personality characteristics, and select toys appropriate for the wellbeing mental development of kids. Baby toys are significant towards the progression of the specific babies' learning capability as well as their motor skills. During the weeks of discovery, it's crucial to provide your infant with a number of age-appropriate learning toys to encourage wholesome growth and development.

On the flip side, even children have mastered the method of playing common toys, nevertheless they do not know how to play these toys that are common with new approaches by their imagination, under such circumstance, kids also lose their interests in those toys, and they then want their parents to purchase new toys for them. Nowadays, the infant toy buying guider from online seller for infant toys that website is would let all of parents know more about the meaning of the toys playing of kids. To aid you, we have rounded up the top toys and accessories in Fenwick for infants and kids, including the hottest must-haves, playsets and outdoor games, amongst a number of the much-loved snuggly soft toys.

From seeing a baby's delight when grasping a toy for the very first time, to assisting a toddler achieve new milestones, to seeing the miracle of a preschooler's imagination, it's easy to realize how significant play is for a child's development. Toys - and perform generally - are an important part of your child's learning and development, which means that your choice should take into account a few important elements. The writer, apart from being a kindergarten teacher is a massive fan of children toys and baby monitor He feels that toys are an very important part of a child's growing up years and these play a huge role in their general development.

Another study done by Jeffrey Trawick-Smith took 60 distinct kids ages three to five four and found them playing with nine distinct toys deemed perfect for growth. Designed to promote play and learning, whilst providing hours of pleasure, our collection of infant and toddler toys includes Fisher Price, Leap Frog and Peppa Pig. Baby toys with Elsa and Kids Children playing with balls video for kids children toddlers Superhero Elsa and the kids have a great deal of colorful balls.

Baby toys balls with Elsa and Kids Children playing chunks video for kids. Soft toys for playtime or great little toys which make learning fun. Combine learning with drama and put the foundations for your child's learning with our fab toys that are educational.

The LeapStart is a trendy, fun, educational and interactive toy that kids are desperate to receive their hands on. In our opinion, it's a reasonable price for a great product that sets children up for school-style learning. Shop the assortment of Baby and Toddler toys in Melissa & Doug for baby toys designed to encourage developmental exploration and learning. Gone are the simple newborn gifts and now is time for educational toys that keep them engaged, encourage active learning, foster their speech, walking and more.

If, like the author, you're convinced that a baby's toys are an important facet in the learning procedure of that child then you will want to guarantee that the toys you purchase meet the critical criteria outlined in this report. While digital toys could be acceptable for older children, then to get a kid, apart from flashing lights which might amuse it for a brief while, they don't offer much for the development of a very young child. Supply your child a lot of learning opportunities through wide assortment of toys: Toys for bath time, toddler cubes, books, puzzles, roller coaster toys, shape sorter, soft toys stackers, wooden toys, DVDs and CDs.

If you want to see the variety that's available of the merchandise mentioned above, have a look at the Baby Developmental Toys pages in Learning Toy Stores You will also find different kinds of learning toys amongst the shops there. Unlike toys that just amuse your kid, these toys are supposed to grow your baby's fine motor skills, help with recognition of sights and sounds, familiarity with various textures and brain growth. Baby learning toys for developing touch senses can be anything such as textured toys, dolls, soft toys, balls and much more.

Let your children play fun and educational toys. Macraft, Troy J. "Baby Toys and First Learning Toys For Ages 0-6 Months." Baby Toys and First Learning Toys For Ages 0-6 Months. Baby Toys and First Learning Toys For Ages 0-6 Months.

Most of us recognize that babies will find these skills obviously, however what educational baby toys do is help accelerate that process. Radio Baby Toy Mini Simulation Kitchen Toys Classic Toys Play Kids Children Pretend Play House Toys for Children Pink. In fact, some kids toys at the shopping center are dangerous for children playing.

Many parents always give kids the toys and request them to playwith, but I am sure not every parents understand the true goal of toys playing with. - Connecticut parents are issuing a warning about button batteries children's toys following their 18-month-old swallowed one, resulting in serious harm in the infant. . Children generally living in their own high energy modes could canalize their efforts and time into making playing and learning something which may be done simultaneously.

According to the age and psychological development of kids, there are various educational toys. Baby Learning Toys Help Children Develop! You are able to shop for infant learning toys which helps to develop certain skills in your child and you can find a lot of toys that there'll be one for your toddler regardless of what he or she likes or dislikes.

Today there have been numerous fun and safe baby learning toys only made for them, therefore it is a wonderful time to look around. Particular cause and effect related baby learning toys are also valued by kids. At times the baby learning toys are specially designed to teach particular learning functions.

As stated by the baby's development attributes, there are various sorts of toys acceptable for babies of every age period. Seventh, cubes: in the process of playing cubes, kids understand the images, learn the correct classification, enhance their thinking skills and promote their intellectual improvement. Parents should play more games with children, and you can choose for your baby some of these types of toys.

She finds the very best family friendly toys for children of all ages that are fun for kids, age appropriate, and inexpensive for any family's budget. Cartoon Baby Toys 0-12 Months Soft Animal Baby Rattles Children Infant Newborn. Learning Toys: Children Kids Learning Machine Computer.

Children at different age stages need different educational toys to promote their intellect development. It is not until they reach a couple of months old that babies really start consciously playing with toys, and up till that moment, it might just be a thing that generally lays around. There are some vibrant cases that caused stress among parents when children were playing any of war toys and the results of such plays were quite sad.

This is the reason you should choose your child's toy sensibly and be certain that it can be https://baby-bath-tub.com enjoyable to play with and at precisely the exact same time enlightening. When obtaining children toys in hands, especially the one that is too complex, children may simply don't understand how to play and it is hard for them to handle their existing ability, step by step, their interest in toys could be reduced. Ian Harris writes concerning wooden toys, their instructional advantages and play significance for infants, toddlers and kids.

Toys have always had an important role in contributing to children's development where they are used to practice and find out about the skills which are necessary in adulthood. Fun baby toys such as sand play are ideal for kids who can't swim and play on the water. When babies are attracted to the beach to playwith, parents are constantly searching for different fun baby toys because of their babies to play with around the sands.

The playing with baby toys is based on children's mental avocation and ability level. During the first 6 months, they might learn to touch and grasp for toys, and it's important that moms, dads, grandparents, grandparents and other loved ones interact with these very small infants using toys and other attention-grabbing objects to help with development. Since e few month baby cannot walk, talk, and operate so for the time passing activities these kids generally play with the rattle toys supplied by parents.

Independent play will promote a baby's development, but multi-sensory stimulation introduced by means of an adult is the real catalyst for advanced learning. While interacting with caregivers and parents provides the ideal instruction during baby's first few months, providing educational toys for infants will offer different forms of physical action through sight, sound, and touch that will keep their growing brains energetic, and help encourage their healthy development. VTech digital learning toys for children birth to age 9.

Also, Toys will not just enhance your infant's physical development Once he's able to combine in easy games with you, play will develop his cognitive , creative and social development skills also. From bespoke stacking toys to quality wooden decoration puzzles, not to mention treasurable tales, we've lots of extra special learning toys for toddlers and children at varying phases of development. Occasionally meant as decorations, keepsakestoys or toys for older kids and adults, many dolls are intended as toys for children, usually girls, to play.

31 Parents, grandparents, peers, and even teachers have been shown to respond more favorably to kids engaging in sex-typical behavior and playing sex-typical toys. 4 In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome , children played with dolls made from wax or terracotta , sticks, bows and arrows , and yo-yos When Greek children, particularly women, came old it had been customary for them to forfeit the toys of their childhood to the gods. Wooden baby toys like rattles and baby mobiles are great gifts for infants since they help them to develop those important early learning skills such as hearing, touch and sight.

At you'll find award winning enjoyable games, learning games, puzzles and toys for you infants, toddlers, and children. Playing is something every kid loves to perform. There are board games, card, and dice games, multi-player, single player, and outside games, the list continues on and on. The funny thing about it is that they're made for you to be on a learning curve the entire time you are having fun playing with. We've got a superb range of wooden infant and toddler toys that will stimulate and engage your child and assist them to develop their drama abilities.

Make sure your baby is getting the most from playtime using our educational toys, designed to light up young minds at the first phases.

[lady-rogue-soul-blog]

Fishing Tails

           When I was small, I spent a lot of time at my grandma and grandpa Keesee’s with my cousin Evan. First off, I’m going to apologize to Evan because there are probably going to be less than flattering stories about her involved in these stories. She’s old enough now to laugh at herself though.

           Time at Grandma and Grandpa’s was always exciting. The small patch of trees in their backyard became an extravagant forest, filled with animals and beasts we would try to catch and befriend, there was a Super Nintendo with Donkey Kong and Mickey Mouse that always started a war with who was going to play Minnie, and there was also Grandpa, who was a big plaything in and of himself.

           If there was an adventure outside the house that involved some sort of nature, Grandpa was the one taking us. Grandma often took us out shopping or to the grocery store, but Grandpa is the kind of man to prefer the sun on his skin and bugs in his hair. Everyone of my siblings and I can attest to the multiple fishing trips that was usually just him untangling our line or rebating our hooks.

           Still, these were fantastic adventures in my eyes.

           Another thing that should be noted about Grandpa, is he is what some would call odd. My grandma is quick to say that all the quirks in my personality came from his side of the family. This is of course is said with affection, and just stating that we both were goofy weirdos that had no problem embarrassing ourselves and the people with us.

           Evan hated worms- and fish- and I believe that was something she never grew out of, while I found a never ending amount of joy in them. There was always a stump we would kick over and pluck worms out from underneath for our fishing trip. I think Grandpa would mostly have us do this to watch me hold worms in Evan’s face and see her squirm, because rarely did we actually use the worms.

           With worms in a bucket and fishing poles in hand, Grandpa would load us into the back of his truck and head to Cape County Park.

           Now this park was my favorite for multiple reasons. First of all, there was always a playset fairly close to any destination we set up at. Second, there were actual bathrooms and I wouldn’t have to risk having to pee in the wild. And third, there was a dock with a baseball sized hole in a board and I was positive that one day I would catch a fish through that hole.

           The playsets were only ever accessed if we put in an adequate time fishing and did not have to leave in an emergency bathroom trip (which I think was the reason for leaving almost every time). No one- and I mean no one­- likes to poop in park bathrooms. Still, they were always a motivation to behave and stay close to grandpa just in case we did get to go there.

           Now, about this hole in the dock. I am almost positive my siblings and Evan remember it too, because it is burned into my brain of the countless hours I had convinced myself I was going to catch the biggest bluegill fish Cape County Park had ever seen through this damned hole. Evan was younger than me and also started taking time to drop her line into the water below with half a worm or a nibbled piece of bread. Keep in mind, Evan was the closest thing I had to a little sister, and she felt the wrath of stepping on my toes a few times. This often cued one of my furious glares at her for crowding in on my literal fishing hole.

           With a tone of kindness and firmness that only Grandpa could pull off, he would always remind me that she was littler than me and I was her best friend. Usually that cooled me off at least some, however the rage always came flaring back when her line got a nibble instead of mine.

           With every ounce of good luck Evan had near a body of water was met with a pound of bad luck. One day she decided a new tactic. As she dropped her line down the hole, she also lowered the tip if her pole, allowing her to pull her line a little in either direction in hopes to having hit a greater area of catching this fantastical bluegill. Of course, I was supportive and completely jealous I hadn’t thought of it before. Granted, she was also using a much smaller children’s fishing pole, so it was thinner and able to fit through the hole-

           Unfortunately, all of it was able to fit through the hole.

           The moment the pole slipped out of her hands, Evan and I looked at each other with big eyes only milliseconds before the little “plop”.

           “Uh oh,” Evan squeaked as both of our gazes turned to Grandpa who had chosen that moment to look over at us.

           A splash in the water wasn’t something to cause alarm when taking small children to a pond, however his grandpa senses were tingling.

           “What was that?”

           Our eyes grew wider as I made some failed attempt to try and hide my own fishing pole behind my back with the hope that if he didn’t see my pole he wouldn’t notice Evan’s missing. But, as I mentioned, this was a failed attempt.

           With an unreadable expression, Grandpa looked between the two of us, looked at my fishing pole, looked at Evan’s lack of a fishing pole, and then took a long hard stare at the hole in the dock between us. I can remember him being torn between being frustrated and impressed as he slowly set his fishing pole down. He walked off the dock and waded into the waist deep water and retrieved her pole all without a word.

           As he handed the fishing pole back to her he told us to pick up the bucket and follow him. Our time at the pond was over, and stayed over for at least the rest of that summer. He wasn’t angry, and it didn’t keep him from singing “Mary Lou” (which the only part I think he knew was “she stole the keys from my Cadillac car” because none us believed this was a real song until we heard it at a restaurant one day and it changed our lives).  

           He was not someone who let little things get him down, and really Grandpa is not someone who ever gets angry at us grandkids. That is coming from the only grandkid he ever had to spank and Grandma swears Grandpa cried harder than I did afterward. Even to this day Grandpa will apologize to me for the time he took us all bike riding and he got frustrated that we had to leave early because I kept complaining I was tired. When he got home Grandma reminded him that I was a lot smaller than the rest of my siblings and on a smaller bike so my legs had to move a lot more than the rest of theirs. Literally just last week he apologized to me for it even though I barely remember the event because it happened almost two decades ago!

           What he should be apologizing for is all the Fox News he exposed me to growing up. Totally, mostly, kidding. Really though, some of my best memories are with Grandpa singing and fishing. I don’t even really care for fishing, and can’t say I loved actually fishing back then either. I know I loved time outside with Grandpa though. It always made the day seem special and I honestly think those long afternoons really expanded my imagination. After all, having to be quiet and still trying to catch fish makes you think a lot.