Author: James Zahn

SuperSports by Super7 Inks a Deal with United States Women’s National Team Players Association

SuperSports by Super7 Inks a Deal with United States Women’s National Team Players Association

Posted by | Aug 16, 2019 | , ,

SuperSports by Super7 officially launched this summer with a wide range of products inspired by Major League Baseball (MLB). Now the company is kicking things toward a different goal: soccer. Super7 inked a new licensing deal to produce 3.75-inch ReAction Figures based on key soccer players from the United States Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA). The new collection will feature athletes including team captains Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Carli Lloyd as well as goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher — all of whom led the US Women to their fourth world championship. Additional ReAction Figures will include Julie Ertz (pictured top), Crystal Dunn,...

Read More
Bananagrams Goes ‘Wild With Words’ for Back to School

Bananagrams Goes ‘Wild With Words’ for Back to School

Posted by | Aug 16, 2019 | ,

It’s back-to-school season, and Bananagrams, Inc. is getting into the academic spirit with the launch of its Bananagrams School Club. Since 2015, more than 250,000 students and teachers have played the Bananagrams game through the Bananagrams Challenge. The new Club encourages both schools and students alike to “Go Wild With Words” throughout the school year. The company expects more than 130,000 students to take part this year, and it’s all in a quest to have fun with friends, while developing a love of wordplay and the English language arts. “Here at Bananagrams, Inc. we are passionate about literacy! We...

Read More
Numskull Introduces Licensed Range of TUBBZ Cosplaying Ducks

Numskull Introduces Licensed Range of TUBBZ Cosplaying Ducks

Posted by | Aug 15, 2019 | ,

The classic rubber ducks are getting into cosplay. Numskull is hitting the water with TUBBZ, a new range of officially licensed collectible cosplaying ducks. The new collection features classic rubber ducks decked out in costumes from major pop culture and gaming franchises, including Ghostbusters, DC Super Heroes, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Fallout, Destiny, Street Fighter, Borderlands, Lord of the Rings, and more. Each duck comes in a collectible, stackable box with a matching bathtub-shaped display stand. Each sub-range features four or more characters, featuring a sculpt that appropriately captures the spirit of the individual property. Figures are made of...

Read More
Spielwarenmesse Invites Manufacturers, Marketers to Enter the World of Toys

Spielwarenmesse Invites Manufacturers, Marketers to Enter the World of Toys

Posted by | Aug 14, 2019 | ,

World of Toys, by Spielwarenmesse eG, aims to help manufacturers and marketers better connect with global toy markets through presence at global toy fairs and trade shows. World of Toys provides the opportunity to exhibit in international pavilions at Kids India and the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, with plans in the works for Kids Russia, which will take place alongside Skrepka Expo next year. The organizers behind World of Toys can provide full support for toymakers who may otherwise be deterred by lack of experience, organization, or language barriers. All-inclusive packages include the technical and organizational implementation of...

Read More
TOMY’s Tomica Die-Cast Range Comes to North American Walmart Stores

TOMY’s Tomica Die-Cast Range Comes to North American Walmart Stores

Posted by | Aug 14, 2019 | , ,

The No. 1 die-cast vehicle brand in Japan has a new home in North America. Ahead of its 50th anniversary next year, Tomica by TOMY is available now in the die-cast aisle of select Walmart stores, providing kids and collectors in the U.S. and Canada with an initial assortment of 12 vehicles in two waves. The popular brand is known for its detail, particularly with the inclusion of “real car” features and moving parts in 1:64-scale. In recent years, Tomica vehicles have become a fixture of Instagram as a popular subject for toy photographers. “We are thrilled to partner...

Read More
Gridopolis Nears Successful Kickstarter Funding for 3D Strategy Game

Gridopolis Nears Successful Kickstarter Funding for 3D Strategy Game

Posted by | Aug 14, 2019 | ,

With just a week left to go, Gridopolis is inching toward successful funding of its Kickstarter campaign. The multiplayer 3D strategy game and system from designer Dave Schultze, owner and founder of SchultzeWORKS, presents players with the dynamic ability to move, jump, and build in three dimensions, using the extra parts they’re provided with at the start of each game. Each Gridopolis set includes a total of 217 pieces, but the game is played using just seven simple parts. Schultze, a toy design instructor at OTIS College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, play tested and refined the game over the...

Read More
Cra-Z-Art Enters Game Aisle with Flying Pigs

Cra-Z-Art Enters Game Aisle with Flying Pigs

Posted by | Aug 14, 2019 | , ,

Cra-Z-Art is making pigs fly. Known for its toys, puzzles, and art supply projects, Cra-Z-Art is entering the game aisle for the first time with Flying Pigs. Shown to attendees at the Toy Insider‘s Sweet Suite event in NYC last month, the game features toy pigs that fly inside an enclosed dome using a safe, motorized fan. Kids can insert the included wands through the four openings in the dome to catch the pigs as they attempt to fly right by. Whoever catches the most pigs wins, but beware the white pig — catching that one means putting all of...

Read More
Hasbro Expands Toy Recycling Program

Hasbro Expands Toy Recycling Program

Posted by | Aug 14, 2019 |

The Hasbro Toy Recycling Program is expanding. Launched in the U.S. on Earth Day last year as a pilot program in partnership with TerraCycle, the program is now available to consumers in Germany and France with plans to launch in Brazil later this year. Through the program, consumers can ship Hasbro toys and games to TerraCycle, where they will be processed for use in new materials that will be used to create play spaces, flower pots, park benches, and more. “Since launching the Hasbro Toy Recycling Program in the U.S. in 2018, we’ve been planning to expand into additional markets...

Read More
Kids II Rebrands as Kids2, Launches Online Retail Arm, and Builds New Factory

Kids II Rebrands as Kids2, Launches Online Retail Arm, and Builds New Factory

Posted by | Aug 13, 2019 |

Kids II Inc. is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a big way. In addition to a name change and rebrand as Kids2, the company is launching its own online retail arm and building a new, 72,000 square-foot manufacturing facility — currently under construction in China. The new factory and its accompanying 65,000 square foot office building will triple the overall Kids2 workforce with the addition of 1,000 employees who will fill management, operations, and factory roles at the new facility. Located near the Jiujiang Port in Central China, the project represents the company’s first fully-owned and operated manufacturing facility in...

Read More
Star Wars x Barbie Takes Fashion to a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars x Barbie Takes Fashion to a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Posted by | Aug 13, 2019 | , ,

Mattel and Lucasfilm collaborated on a new Star Wars x Barbie collection. Designed by Robert Best and released under the Barbie Gold Label line, Star Wars x Barbie launches with a collection of three fashion dolls, each inspired by original concept art from the production of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). Barbie x Darth Vader, Barbie x Princess Leia, and Barbie x R2-D2 are characters that take Star Wars icons and reimagine them through Barbie’s high-fashion lens. Dolls are packaged in premium slipcase packaging, and each includes a Star Wars doll stand and Certificate of Authenticity. Barbie x...

Read More

Latest Issue


Subscribe to Toy Report!

Podcast

Proud Members Of