Toy Fair 2018: Hasbro

Rob Hull March 2, 2018

So, now we come at last to one of the bigger name companies seen at Toy Fair. Hasbro has some of the biggest licenses in the industry, including Star Wars, Marvel and Transformers.

This year, in the Transformers segment, you will see some highly anticipated characters make their debut, including the first ever female combiners, and a new line to tie into the new animated series launching this year.

In the Marvel segment, you will see a special line celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Marvel Studios, a whole new Deadpool line and the coolest prop replica EVER!

Finally, in the Star Wars segment, you will see the return of the Vintage Collection, new additions to the Black Series line and the debut of toys for the upcoming Solo movie. This segment is also home to the first product from the Haslab division, the largest Star Wars item EVER conceived.

Lets’s dive in!

MARVEL

The Marvel segment is heating up as we head towards this Summer’s Avengers: Infinity War. Nothing tying into the movie directly was shown, but there were a ton of new Legends figures shown. There were both Spider-Man and X-Men themed assortments. Besides Avengers: Infinity War, there are two other Marvel movies coming out this year to make mention of. Ant-Man and the Wasp, is the sequel to Ant-Man, and again features Paul Rudd in the starring role. And, the there is Deadpool. This is a very tricky property for Hasbro, since they have to stay a “family friendly” company, so while they can’t make a full movie tie-in line pre se, the character is a lot of fun and a hit with fans of all ages, so they have created a line celebrating the character and his rich supporting cast.

Highlights for me included a stunning new Magneto figure, the beautiful Marvel Studios 10th Anniversary figures, and this guy, who did a spectacular job demoing the Infinity Gauntlet.

And here’s our gallery of photos from Hasbro’s Marvel area

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And, here is a gallery of images provided by Hasbro

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Toy Fair 2018 – LEGO

Rob Hull February 22, 2018

Toy Fair, and our coverage, begins with LEGO

Toy Fair 2017 – LEGO

Rob Hull February 23, 2017

It’s unseasonably warm, but that has not stopped the Toy Industry and media from flocking to NYC for the annual American International Toy Fair. We spent 4 days at the Javitts Center previewing the latest and greatest from a variety of different toy manufacturers, and we’re thrilled to share our coverage with you. It all starts with the #1 Toy Company in the world right now: LEGO

The LEGO Group is the #1 toy company in the world, and also the undisputed leader in the construction segment. Last year, LEGO made it’s next foray into the motion picture arena, with the release of The LEGO Batman Movie. In addition, at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, LEGO announced the innovative new technology building platform LEGO Boost. Capitalizing on that momentum, LEGO brought a diverse slate of sets, from themes old and new, to Toy Fair this year. Here is our report on what we saw.

Updates 18

First up on our tour through the world of LEGO is Brickheadz, a new line which allows you to build collectible oversized versions of iconic characters out of LEGO bricks. There will be twelve sets in the series (4 LEGO Batman Movie, 4 Marvel , 4 Disney). Ten of them (41585 – Batman, 48586 – Batgirl, 41587 – Robin, 41588 – Joker, 41589 – Captain America, 41590 – Iron Man, 41591 – Black Widow, 41592 – Hulk, 41595 – Belle and 41596 – Beast) will be released in March. The remaining two (41593 – Captain Jack Sparrow and 41594 – Captain Armando Salazar) are based on the upcoming movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and will be released in April.

These actually look really cool. They’re like the LEGO equivalent of a bobble-head. They’re sort of oversized mini-figures, but you’re not meant to play with them. They’re made more as display pieces. As such, the faces are a bit blockier, but they still look liek the characters they are meant to represent. At $9.99 each, it’s easy to pick your favorites or collect them all.

NOTE: The Pirates of the Caribbean Brickheadz were announced and unveiled at Toy Fair in a separate display case. The images will appear later in this report.

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Next up is that most collectible of LEGO items, the minifigure. Each series of these sought after single blind packs contains an assortment of unique LEGO minifigures not available anywhere else. There will be two series released in the next eight months (71018 – Available in May, 71019 – Available in August). Each series retails for $3.99 each.

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TOY FAIR 2016: LEGO

Rob Hull February 17, 2016

It’s a freezing cold February day, and I’m in New York City. This can only mean it’s time for Toy Fair once again. It’s 7am, which can only mean it’s time for the LEGO Media Event. Yes, bright and early while all the other toy companies are still snuggled in their beds, LEGO rouses all of the media from their slumber to show us the latest and greatest that they will be offering over the next several months. Fortunately, they also give us coffee. So, now that we’re all wide awake, let’s see what they’ve got on tap

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As it did last year, this year’s Toy Fair coverage begins with LEGO. The biggest brand in the construction segment, and the #1 Toy Company in the world, the LEGO Group continues to produce quality sets of building toys, featuring both favorite licensed characters and their own original IPs. From Duplo to Juniors, Star Wars and Superheroes to Friends and Elves, and Technic to Architecture, LEGO has designed a diverse portfolio designed to make them a constant companion for all ages. This year, LEGO will introduce more than 300 building sets across all age ranges designed to carry on this grand tradition. Here is a look at what LEGO has in store for 2016.

NOTE: THIS REPORT WILL BE BROKEN UP BY THEME AND THEN BY MONTH OF RELEASE

LEGO continues their adventures in a galaxy far, far away as the LEGO Star Wars continues to build momentum after the record shattering release of The Force Awakens. Building on the film’s popularity, in addition to the new series of the Rebels animated series, the LEGO Group is also announcing a new LEGO Star Wars property. More info on that later in this report. First, here is the rest of the LEGO Star Wars lineup for this year.

The Force Awakens

MARCH

75125 – Resistance X-Wing Fighter – 87 pcs – $9.99

JUNE

75148 – Encounter on Jakku – 530 pcs – $59.99
75149 – Resistance X-Wing Fighter – 740 pcs – $79.99

Rebels

MARCH

75127 – The Ghost – 104 pcs – $9.99
75128 – TIE Advanced Prototype – 93 pcs – $9.99
75129 – Wookie Gunship – 84 pcs – $9.99
75130 – AT-DP – 76 pcs – $9.99
75141 – Kanan’s Speeder Bike – 234 pcs – $19.99

JUNE

75150 – Vader’s TIE Advanced vs. A-Wing Starfighter – 702 pcs – $89.99
75157 – Captain Rex’s AT-TE – 972 pcs – $119.99

Saga

MARCH

75133 – Rebel Alliance Battle Pack – 101 pcs – $12.99
75134 – Galactic Empire Battle Pack – 109 pcs – $12.99
75135 – Obi-Wan’s Jedi Interceptor – 215 pcs – $24.99
75136 – Droid Escape Pod – 197 pcs – $24.99
75137 – Carbon Freezing Chamber – 231 pcs – $24.99
75138 – Hoth Attack – 233 pcs – $24.99
75142 – Homing Spider Droid – 310 pcs – $29.99

JUNE

75151 – Clone Turbo Tank – 903 pcs – $109.99

SEPTEMBER

75146 – LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar – 282 pcs – $39.99

As noted before, LEGO is introducing a brand new Star Wars animated property. Here are the details

LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures
To continue inspiring imagination and storytelling, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, an original animated series, will debut later this year. The show’s quirky heroes, the Freemakers, are a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from the scoured debris of space battles strewn throughout the galaxy. When the youngest Freemaker discovers a natural connection to the Force through an ancient artifact, his world turns upside down as he and his family find themselves in an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. Throughout their adventures, the Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new (and familiar) characters, and learn the true value of what it means to be a family. The series combines the excitement, action and adventure of a galaxy far, far away with a dose of brick-building humor for which LEGO content is best known. Two building sets based on the series launch this summer.

JUNE