Awesome Toy Blog

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is the perfect gift for fans of the Thundercats; which is experiencing a renaissance with a new animated series on Cartoon Network.

One of the big events of the past year was the return of the Thundercats; buzz started at toy fair last year when the first folks got their first glimpses of the toys.  At San Diego Comic-con the toys were on display and the show premiered just after SDCC to positive reviews.  The toys are now widely available and of all the product available, the basic 4″ figures are perfect for the Thundercats fan in your life.  They’re really solid figures, with a good sculpt, good deco, appropriate accessories and adequate articulation.  Each of the figures can interact with vehicles and playsets via the magnetic ThunderLynx system – which is continuing into the line next year.  One of the smartest things Bandai did with the relaunch was make the basic versions of all the characters available right from the start.  At about $8 each, getting the whole gang wouldn’t break the bank.  You can see the whole line on Amazon, Wal-Mart or your local Toys R Us.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is the perfect gift if you have an action figure collector in your life who opens their toys.
One of the more frustrating parts of being a 3 3/4″ action figure collector (think Marvel Universe, Star Wars, GI Joe) is keeping your collection standing up and stable.  Since the toys are pretty small, it doesn’t take much to knock them down.  One of the things I like about Marvel Universe figures is that each carded figure includes a stand; unfortunately comic packs, or team packs don’t include stands for the figures.  Nor do Star Wars figures, or most of the Marvel movie figures.  Fortunately Entertainment Earth offers a variety of stands, and they’re one of my favorite products that they carry (seriously, I have 100+ of these stands around my office and I’ve raved about them on twitter).  They fit modern Star Wars and Marvel Universe figures perfectly, and Marvel movie figures well (except for Red Skull, his foot hole is too big).  At just $10 for 25 stands, the price can’t be beat.  You have your choice of clear, black, white or grey.  These make a perfect stocking stuffer!

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today are the perfect shirts for anyone on your list.  And everyone needs shirts!

Epic Proportions makes fantastic shirts.  At San Diego Comic-con this past year I got their ‘Alcoholic’ shirt and it is one of the nicest, softest, awesomest shirts I have.  They have designs appeal to a wide variety of fandoms, designed by artists include Cliff Chiang and Walter Simonson.  Their AT-AT Maze and Vader shirts are perfect for the Star Wars fan, they have a Godzilla shirt, even a Science Ninja Team Gatchaman shirt. And for readers of this site, Epic Proportions are debuting a new shirt in their ‘signature’ series – a Walter Simonson design featuring his interpretation of a Balrog from Lord of the Rings!  Check out the picture below (with Walter modeling the shirt).  You can’t find this shirt for sale on the Epic Proportions site yet, as it’s being made available here first – and at a discounted price of $25.

 To order email  jerry@epicprops.com and tell him you want to order the shirt, and give your size (S,M,L, XL, XXL) and mailing address.  The total including shipping will be $28 and can be sent through PayPal.  Thanks so much to Jerry at Epic Proportions for extending this exclusive offer to readers of AwesomeToyBlog…now order a few shirts!

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is perfect gift for the Marvel Comics lover in your life.

Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line is full of gems; but one of this year’s releases is so good, it will make any Marvel fan happy (assuming they haven’t already bought it for themselves yet).  The Marvel Universe team packs are the best multi-packs that Hasbro has put out yet.  They average 4 figures at just $20 – a fantastic value.  There are two I’d specifically recommend, the first is the original Avengers set, which supplies all the original Avengers – sculpted in a Kirby-esque manner – simply fantastic.  Speaking of fantastic, the second recommended set is the Fantastic Four set – finally bringing and Invisible Woman in the Marvel Universe line.  Between her and H.E.R.B.I.E. this set is awesome.  You can pick these up at your local Walmart or Toys R Us!

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today are gifts that work for the Lego fan, or if you happen to know an architect or architecture aficionado – the Lego Architecture series is perfect!

Second only to the collectible mini-figure series, the Lego Architecture series are one of my favorite product lines released by Lego.  Each set allows you to build a scaled down version of a landmark building. While many of the sets lean towards modern architecture (the Guggenheim museum, the Robie House, Fallingwater) other sets such as the White House and Empire States Building represent other architectural movements.  Each set also includes small book with facts and details about the building, letting the builder know why the building is significant to architecture.   These sets range in price from $25 all the way to $200, personal favorites include the Guggenheim, Fallingwater and Seattle’s Space Needle. Other sets are available on Amazon or Lego.com.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is the perfect gift for the Star Wars fan who’s a kid or a kid at heart.

One of my favorite Star Wars items I own is my Darth Vader ForceFX lightsaber; but frankly, I get nervous playing with it.  Who wants to break a $100 lightsaber on a ceiling fan?  That’s no longer a concern thanks to the folks at Hasbro who introduced the Ultimate FX lightsabers – these featuring the same led blade ignition effect as the Force FX sabers, same quality sound effects, same awesome fun but at a significantly lower price point.  You can pick these sabers up at Target, Wal-Mart, Entertainment Earth, Amazon – all for about $30 to $35 – maybe less with all the holiday sales that are bound to be on the way.  No Star Wars fan would be unhappy with one of these awesome lightsabers. In fact, feel free to send me one!

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is the perfect gifts for a fan of Cartoon Network’s Ben10 animated series.

The series Ben10 tells the story of Ben, who possess a device – the Ultimatrix – which allows him to take the form of various alien creatures.  Using this device he protects the earth from all forms of evil – both extraterrestrial and terrestrial.  There’s a full line of Ben10 toys on the market from Bandai, but naturally I was drawn to the action figures.  The Hyperalien Ultimate Swampfire (priced at $10.99) represents one of the threats that Ben must face.  The figure is a nice large size (about 7inches), features a good sculpt and deco but basic, yet sturdy articulation.  This would be a great figure for younger fans – it won’t fall apart and doesn’t have pieces to lose.  The other side of the coin, represented by Terraspin, is a 4inch figure representing one of Ben’s alien forms.  Again, the toy is nicely made and sturdy – like the Swampfire figure.  One of my favorite features is the included disc with is compatible with the Ultamatrix role-play toy; adding an extra dimension to the fun.  The 4″ alien figures run about $7.50 and are available at local brick and mortar retailers as well as online.

Thanks to Bandai for providing samples to AwesomeToyBlog for this guide.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is something for everyone; seriously – if they have everything, this is the gift for them.

Target always has unique and clever ways of presenting gift cards; and this year is no exception.  One of the gift card options they have is a 48 piece Lego set which builds either Bullseye (the Target dog), a snowman or a polar bear.  Last year Target had a similar set; but the additional pieces are a huge perk.  The best part – you can load the gift card with whatever value you want; the set is essentially free.  Want a small gift for a friend – load the card with $5.  You need a gift for a sibling – load it with $50.  An X-box for yourself; put $250 on there – its a totally customizable gift.  In a word, perfect.

And while you’re at Target, consider picking up a limited edition St. Jude Bullseye plush dog – he’s a decent sized dog for $15 and 100% of the proceeds go to St. Jude’s Children Hospital.  This is an awesome way to help out a fantastic charity.  Check below for images of the Lego giftcard and the plush Bullseye.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people. But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge. To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide. Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day. Up today is the perfect gift for your favorite Whovian.

I realize that in the past few years there’s a ton of Doctor Who merchandise out on the market, its a far cry from when you could only order 1 mug, a calendar and maybe a t-shirt.  Having so much available merchandise does make gift buying a bit challenging; but today’s AwesomeToyBlog Holiday Gift Guide item is new, fresh and irresitable!  The Underground Toys talking plush Dalek is the choice for the gift guide.  Leveraging the new Dalek design, the plush villians include a sound chip happily informing you that they’ll ‘exterminate’ you upon squeezing them.  But the only thing these guys will ‘exterminate’ you with is cuteness.  Anyone who doesn’t like these shouldn’t get a present from you.  I’ve done some reasearch for you, and the plush Daleks are availble from Hastings, in red or blue and priced at $25. And if Daleks aren’t your thing, there is an almost as good plush TARDIS.  Check out images of this great Underground Toys product below.

 
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Now that the holiday season is upon us, it’s time to pick up gifts for your favorite people.  But, from time to time, your favorite geek/nerd/toy collector can sometimes pose a bit of a challenge.  To help you out, I’ve put together the AwesomeToyBlog holiday gift guide.  Ten products, each addressing a niche in the fandom, one each day.  Up today is a fantastic gift for a white elephant or a secret Santa.

I’ve made absolutely no attempt to hide my love of Funko’s Pop! vinyl figures.  They’re fantastic, and there’s some out there for everyone.  Marvel, DC, Disney, cereal icons, and more! For Christmas, however, Funko has a special holiday line of their Pop! vinyl figures.  Included in the holiday line up are the Heat Miser and Cold Miser from “The Year Without a Santa Claus” and Santa Claus, Rudolph and the Bumble from “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”.  These are absolutely fantastic holiday gifts, and are you ready for the best part?  The holiday Pop! vinyls are available at Target for just $4.99 (in the holiday section).  This is an incredible price!  I’ve already picked up a few of these for myself and as gifts; I’ve snapped pics of Santa and posted them below.  Check them out, and if you’re not near a Target; you can find these (and lots of other Pop! vinyl figures) at Entertainment Earth.