Our pal Sunny from CoolThings went to the Toy Fair 2012 in New York and snapped this photo of a very cool Star Wars LEGO set featuring Jabba the Hutt. That must be one big brick! Link - Thanks Sunny!

The highly-anticipated Lord of the Rings LEGO line was unveiled at a party in conjunction with the International Toy Fare 2012 in New York. Or, at least most of the sets. The Hobbit set is still under wraps. But representatives from TheOneRing.net were there and took pictures. The sets themselves, which feature Lord of the Rings minifigures, are expected to be introduced in stores starting in June. See more photographs in their report. Link -via The Daily What Geek

This video introduced me to Jaimie Mantzel. He not only builds toys, he builds everything else! The top comment at reddit tells more about him.

This guy is a complete and total bad-ass. Seriously. (He’s also nearly constantly manic too, but I digress.)

He has this giant tree-house he built in the middle of the woods by hand which he actually lives/lived in. When he realized he needed a lumber mill to build a giant workshop to go along with his tree house in the woods, he made one himself, with two tires, a motor, and some aluminum poles (no joke).

Why did he need a giant workshop in the middle of the woods, you ask? To build a working life size version of this robot of course! And he did it using 99% junk yard scrap MacGyvered together (like everything else he does). He also wore chain-mail while doing all this to ‘stay fit’.

He has a video blog with tons of videos on YouTube. This guy is so interesting he has caused countless people to spend 10+ hours watching his videos in a single sitting (myself included!). Just look at the other comments here and you’ll see how common an occurrence this is.

P.S. Almost forgot! His “tree house” has a giant trampoline in one of the rooms integrated into the floor (one of those giant backyard ones).

P.P.S. He also somehow convinced his lady-friend to move out into the middle the woods and into his tree-house with him while he did all of this.

Anyway, this toy does not yet have a name, but he is working with a toy company to eventually produce it. -via reddit

The iconic weapon wielded by the main character(s) in the Portal video game franchise is about to become a reality thanks to the team at Neca, makers of fine replicas and awesome action figures.

This 1/1 replica looks so good that your fellow cosplayers will be sooooo jealous when they see you sporting this bad boy! And the quite affordable $208 price tag makes it perfectly accessible to all who want to strap this sucker on during playtime.

You can see lots more pretty pictures of this cool life-size replica at the link below. I predict a flood of Portal cosplayers will be in attendance at Comic-Con this year, and every one of them will have one of these strapped to their arm. The world could use a few more Portal costumes, and about a thousand less anime cosplayers!

Link  –via Kotaku

Hooters, the chain restaurant that is built around showing off women’s *ahem* assets, is getting an extremely unlikely crossover in their Japanese restaurants as they introduce Hello Kitty elements just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Apparently, the Japanese don’t feel like characters intended for children should be kept separate from adult and sexually suggestive merchandising, which makes me wonder-where do they actually draw the line?

And were those Hello Kitty “personal massagers” I saw online actually licensed by Sanrio? Ewwwww!

Link

(YouTube Video)

Come for the reference to popular building bricks LEGO, stay for the graphic animated violence that makes bricks fly like never before. LEGO Captain America may be the most badass incarnation of the Marvel Comics character ever created, and that’s saying a lot since he’s been kicking tail in the comics since the 40s. Warning: Scenes of intense violence against toys ahead!

–via Comics Alliance

I have dubbed this ultimate gamer geek accessory the Forearm Guard Of (Dice) Rolling, but creator Dia calls it the Dungeons and Dragons Dice Gauntlet. It’s a hand made leather cuff that contains a LilyPad  setup inside which automatically rolls a die, from d4 to d20, then presents the result on the screen. And the fun part is-you can make one for yourself, because Dia has included detailed, step-by-step instructions at the link below.

So now, when you roll a natural 20, you can hold your arm aloft and yell like a true Barbarian, for the proof is right there on the screen! Seriously though, hang on to your dice because you don’t want the Dice Gauntlet to crap out on you when you’re about to go heads up with a Beholder.

Link  –via Topless Robot

(YouTube Link)

This seems like a good idea when you’re at the drawing board, but watching the final result is akin to being inside a slowly spinning centrifuge, and made me feel a bit woozy. And since this is the second video made with the GoPro attachable camera and a hula hoop I’ve seen in the last year, I can’t help but think that the people making these videos must have something against people with motion sickness, or else why? WHY? I can’t see straight….

Maybe this technique will be used if they ever decide to make that whirling dervishes biopic they’ve been talking about for years, or if some studio picks up Merry-Go-Round: The Musical, but otherwise let’s just leave the camera mounted on the tripod and refrain from making the viewers sick from now on, okay you hula hooping sadists?

–via TDW

(YouTube Link)

When you actually believe that The Muppets movie might be pushing some sort of communist, anti-oil agenda on our kids, you’ve got problems, but when you are called out by Kermit and Miss Piggy, two fleece-skinned superstars that aren’t afraid to tell it like it is, your claims start to look like utter hogwash. Watch as my favorite frog (sorry Frogger!) and pig (sorry Babe!) put the commie claims to bed via press conference.

–via Comedy Central

Mr. T has never looked so cute, and I guess he likes him some tea time! Created by artist Matt Jones, Mr. Tea comes complete with gold sugar cubes, gold stir stick and a slick black gold teacup, perfect for entertaining the favorite fools in your life.

It’s a vinyl figure for those who demand class and sophistication from their toys, and those who have some kind of A-Team home decor thing going on at their pad.

Link  –via Best Week Ever

What, me worry about DC Direct’s upcoming crossover action figure line, which features MAD Magazine’s gap toothed spokesman Alfred E. Neuman dressed up like DC’s most beloved superheroes?

No way, because these figures look awesome, even if you’re not a fan of the freckled face chuckle head.

And this is one of those creative and funny crossovers that makes me wish they would create a comic book series, The Many Faces Of A.E. Neuman perhaps, to go along with the toy line. Now that’s what I call a mind bender!

Link  –via Nerdcore

Photo: Sergey Teplyakov/vkontakte

Russian police does not take kindly to protests, even those carried out by toys and dolls:

Police in the Siberian city of Barnaul have asked prosecutors to investigate the legality of a recent protest that saw dozens of small dolls – teddy bears, Lego men, South Park figurines – arranged to mimic a protest, complete with signs reading: "I'm for clean elections" and "A thief should sit in jail, not in the Kremlin".

"Political opposition forces are using new technologies to carry out public events – using toys with placards at mini-protests," Andrei Mulintsev, the city's deputy police chief, said at a press conference this week, according to local media. "In our opinion, this is still an unsanctioned public event."

Link - via Metafilter

This incredibly cool sculpture is brought to you by the twisted mind of Ron English, an artist known for warping iconic figures into ironic statements (see Fat Tony and Dead Mickey), and who previously brought us an Obama-Lincoln mashup that was all the rage a few years back.

This time, Ron has brought us Obama hulking out, as he prepares for the upcoming election by saying “You vote for me or OBAMA SMASH!”

Link  –via AnimalNY

With a soggy and totally psychedelic style to his character renditions, it’s no wonder that Edwin Vazquez and his eye catching artworks have become a popular part of publications such as MAD magazine and Bongo Comics. Trip out on the drips, and some sweet tattoo inspired pieces, at the links below.

Link  –via ComicsAlliance

DC Comics has been making some ambitious moves lately, from a logo re-design to a 52 title relaunch, but their newest move should prove to be most heroic-a charity called We Can Be Heroes which will raise money to benefit humanitarian efforts in Africa. Here’s the dollars and cents of it all:

Donations of any amount made at the We Can Be Heroes site will reportedly be matched by DC Entertainment 100 percent, with 50 percent of branded “We Can Be Heroes” online merchandise sales being donated to the fund (unless you buy in Maine, Massachusetts and Alabama). Between these and other efforts, DC says that its three WCBH partners will receive a combined total of at least $2 million over the next two years.

Caped superfolks in print are fine, but stepping up to the plate and making a difference in the real world is truly noble indeed!

Link  –via ComicsAlliance

In the Western tradition, it has always been about Barbie. Venus? Actually Barbie. Mona Lisa? It was Barbie. The model for the Statue of Liberty? Barbie. So French artist Jocelyne Grivaud created many Barbie images as great artists should have composed them. Content warning: nudes.

Link (Google Translate) -via Flavorwire

Movies aren’t the only entertainment medium fond of ripping off ideas, video games have been ripping each other off from day one. The games on this list compiled by Dorkly are made up of familiar games with a slightly different look, proving that imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it generally doesn’t help you sell your product.

From Super Mario Bros. to Street Fighter, to (relatively) newer games like Team Fortress and Grand Theft Auto, no popular game is safe from copycats, yet sometimes a rip-off game takes on a life of its own and makes it big. So, should we hate on imitators, or enjoy the way they lampoon the big names in the industry?

Link

(YouTube Link)

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering “What’s the deal with cosplayers?” (hopefully in an internal voice that sounds like Jerry Seinfeld), then you should find this video informative and enlightening.

And, while the girl featured in the video can only speak out of personal experience, the sentiments expressed seem to be echoed by her fellow cosplayers, at least according to their comments and posts across the Interwebs.

So, did this video give you a better understanding of cosplay culture, or simply make you dislike the whole thing even more?

–via Geeks Are Sexy

(YouTube Link)

In China, copyright violations and giant robots go hand in hand, and apparently one of the best birthday gifts you can receive is a starring role in this creepy knockoff of the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

With the cast from Monsters Vs. Aliens cast as the villains, and the creepy birthday boy piloting the giant Gundam mechanized armor, it’s so cheesy that the MPAA are likely to turn a blind eye to their unlawful use of these character likenesses *cough**yeah right**cough*

–via Kotaku

The team at Exploding Rabbit have a gift for any fan of classic Nintendo games, and/or those looking to kill some time online with a really fun retro side scroller- Super Mario Crossover, a custom Super Mario Bros. game that allows you to play through as one of eight playable characters!

You can play as Link from The Legend Of Zelda, Samus from Metroid, Bill Rizer from Contra, Mega Man, even Simon from Castlevania, just to name a few.

Just think how fun it will be to smack Koopas around with a whip, or shoot Bowser in the face when he least expects it, all the while taking in the classic video game soundtrack slightly re-imagined. It’s like the NES threw a party, and you’re invited!

Link  –via ComicsAlliance

(YouTube Link)

This impressive tablet-style unit is called the ePawn Arena, a digital tabletop gaming unit which debuted at CES 2012. It’s billed as “the next level of Dungeons and Dragons style gaming”, but I think they’re missing the obvious potential as a never ending variety of board games ready to be loaded up and played, after the table’s been cleared, of course.

Who needs all those heavy boxes, full of game boards, cards and supplements, when you’ve got this sleek number just waiting to be loaded up with all the board games you’ll ever need?

Link   –via Geeks Are Sexy

This is not the sort of place you’ll want to take your grandma for lunch, this is the Capcom Bar, a themed restaurant which will feature food and desserts styled after video games. Video games and food-two great things that go great together!

So, there’s Resident Evil brain cakes, Monster Hunter well done meat, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney make-it-black-and-white seafood cream pasta, all of which can be enjoyed while playing an assortment of Capcom’s video games and enjoying the festive atmosphere of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Link

(YouTube Link)

Apparently there was a group of Canadian moralists who fought against violent, corrupting influences on children in the early 90s, and made their message known in a propaganda film entitled Not Just Fun And Games.

These squares despised toys, and had an awful lot of bad things to say about our beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, probably because their fathers never bought them that G.I. Joe doll they always wanted.

Why pile on more hate for the poor mutants, morality police-haven’t they been through enough? I mean, they already live in the sewer, what more do you want?

–via The Daily What

Who knew that pokeballs, the devices used by the characters in the anime series Pokemon to capture their little critter pals, would be so beautiful in real life? Created via photo manipulation by DeviantARTist wazzy88, their elemental contents look so real, like they could burst out at any moment in a surge of bling. No wonder Pokemon don’t mind being trapped inside those things for hours on end!

Link   –via Rampaged Reality

These awesome sculptures are obviously inspired by toys, yet their style and subject matter would be lost on children. From a Kim Jong-Il potato head to a Virgin Mary shaped jet, Stephen Ives celebrates childhood in a decidedly adult manner.

Some look like toy mods, others are sculptures which are styled after plastic toys, and all have a unique style that is playful with serious undertones.

The only thing I don’t like about these sculptures is the fact that they haven’t been made into vinyl toy versions, because I want them all for my collection!

Link  –via Super Punch

What do old school tabletop gamers, people who have recently discovered pen and paper roleplaying games, and those who are sick of paying a monthly fee for their MMO and/or want to actually see their fellow players sitting across from them have in common? Wizards of the Coast want you to help them develop the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

Straight from the dragon’s mouth:

Liz Schuh, head of publishing and licensing for Dungeons & Dragons spoke with the New York Times about their new venture. The game “is a unique entertainment experience because it’s crafted by the players at the table, and every gaming session is different,’ said Schuh. “We want to take that idea of the players crafting that experience to the next level and say: ‘Help us craft the rules. Help us craft how this game is played.’”

I am an avid tabletop gamer, and I’ve been playing games like Dungeons and Dragons since the eighties, so I can see how player input could be invaluable to the process of creating a new edition of their game. But is it really necessary to keep updating the game, when preexisting rules can be adapted? What do you guys think — is this a necessary update, or a Kraken sized advertising campaign?

Link  –via The Mary Sue

How did Rod Gillies accomplish this feat? He used LEGO bulldozer treads to operate the scrolling skyline. They alternate between one and two-brick widths to give the assembly flexibility.

Link -via Make

(YouTube Link)

This guy may look like he owns a windowless van, and hangs out near elementary schools, but he actually has other plans for children- he wants to sell them overpriced robotic toys.

Called Cubelets, they are a set of modular robotic cubes which can be combined into simple robots, and cost a whopping $25 apiece.

All kidding aside, this is a great idea for a product but seems extremely overpriced, and they should definitely consider hiring a spokesman who doesn’t look quite so creepy. Besides, who really needs these when there are so many cool motorized LEGO sets available?

–via Geekologie

The Coast Guard received a distress call about a body spotted floating off the coast of Old Portsmouth, Hants, and when they arrived they found that it was a creature from another planet!

What they had actually discovered was a life-sized replica of everybody’s favorite turtle-esque alien E.T., which had been stolen from the home of Margaret Wells over a year ago.

The replica was custom made by Margaret’s daughter, and what the person who stole E.T. intended to do with him is anybody’s guess. But since he washed up on the shore we can only assume that he owed money to some very bad people. Margaret’s response:

“He has lost a finger and looks a bit roughed up. But he has a smile on his face,” she said. “I always knew E.T. would come home.”

Link

The fish out of water was identified as a remote-controlled, helium-filled shark that has topped must-have present lists this Christmas.

The 1.44-metre-long Air Swimmer toy has a radio receiver attached to its underside and can be operated by remote control over a range of 15m.
Designer-developer William Mark Corporation warns that the shark is for “strictly indoor use only”.

A spokeswoman for air traffic control company Airways, Monica Davis, said a pilot had reported the shark and its location about nine kilometres from the airport at 2pm on December 26.

Link -via Dave Barry

This amazing LEGO sculpture of a Hyperion Battlecruiser from the video game Starcraft 2 was made by Sven Jungo, who used over 15000 LEGO bricks to build the highly detailed starship and must throw his back out every time he tries to move this thing!

And where does he display this behemoth in his house? I hope Sven doesn’t let any bratty little kids around this thing, because they might try to take it apart when no one’s looking.

You can see more pics of this incredible LEGO masterpiece at the link below, including artwork from the game as a point of reference. LEGO builders-Sven has already set the bar high for 2012!

Link

Inspired by the video game WipeOut, researchers at the Japan Institute of Science and Technology incorporated quantum levitation into a miniature race track. Or it’s viral marketing for the game.  -via Geeks Are Sexy

The tech world is talking about the new Steve Jobs action figure from Inicons that is eerily realistic. It comes with a ton of accessories, but no iPhone or iPad. The figure should be available in late February for $99. See a lot more pictures at Gizmodo. Link

Artist and photographer Carrie M. Becker re-imagined Barbie (the doll) as a pathological hoarder, and arranged Barbie’s dream house as such. She explains some of the thought behind the project in her artist’s statement. Somebody call a maid! No, a sanitation crew! You can see many different rooms in her Flickr set.  Link -via Laughing Squid

(Image credit: Flickr user Carrie M. Becker)

Slate V imagines LEGO sets that reflect what is going on in the world, in your choice of Occupy Wall Street or Arab Spring versions. If these really existed, I would be in line to get one! Then it would be easy to illustrate the events of the past year in LEGO. Link -via I Am Bored

Photo: David T Waller/Flickr

What to do with 2,500 old toy cars? Arrange them chromatically into a wonderful piece of art, of course. That's what UK artist David T. Waller did with this fantastic Toy Atlas Rainbow, which won the People's Award at the 2010 Arts Depot Open.

More at Christopher Jobson's super neat Colossal blog

In the alternate reality presented by these slick illustrations by Coran Stone, Calvin and Hobbes grew up to be super spies, and Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear are hell bent on bringing them both down.

These illustrations, and the story behind them, are just begging to be made into an animated series of some sort, and you can read the whole thing at the Geeks Are Sexy link below.

It’s the ultimate battle of imaginary friends, and I like the fact that, in the Pooh picture, Hobbes is still a stuffed animal!

Link –via GeeksAreSexy

(YouTube Link)

This young champion of justice is named Riley, and she’s sick and tired of all the toy marketing gimmicks that keep girls from buying the superhero toys that they really like.

Watch as she explains what all the pink at the toy stores really means, and I’m sure you’ll agree that she is totally right. Let girls enjoy their superhero toys already, or Riley’s going to grow up and take you all down!

–via ComicsAlliance

(YouTube Link)

This endearing little children’s book will bring out the Wookiee in your family tree, and comes complete with sound unit so you can hear the proper pronunciation of words in Wookinese Wookian Wookiee language.

Guaranteed to be hours of fun for you and/or your kid, unless the gutteral sounds of Wookiees gets on your nerves, in which case you will probably want to burn this book! Check out the advert videos and see for yourself if you can handle the process of learning to speak like a true Wookiee.

–via SuperPunch

The Addis family loves Legos…a lot. As in, this 100,000 brick Santa Dalek isn’t their only massive Christmas creation. Every year they make an equally impressive creation ranging from giant nutcrackers to mail boxes to angels. This year’s Dalek is certainly my personal favorite, but the rest are definitely worth a look.

Link Via BuzzFeed

Who would have thought that the deranged version of the Joker from the Dark Knight films would make a great getup for a little boy doll? Apparently someone from WorldBox, an Asian toy manufacturer who also thought it would be endearing to label the ads “Take Happiness Home”. More like “Your Kid Will Never Sleep Again”, or “Joker, Now With Diapers!”  *shivers*

Link –via SuperPunch

Concluding our look back at retro Christmas wishes, we check out the groovy gear people were digging back in 1975. Unlike previous decades, which were mostly about the toys, this one’s all about stylin’ and profilin’. And they even included the grown folks in this gallery of fashion regret, so take a gander and see what people put on their lists over 35 years ago. Pant sets FTW!

Link

The blog Hey! Look at My Toys! is hosting a contest for Christmas nativity scenes made from toys and action figures. The nine finalists are presented for voting. At first, I wanted to use a picture of the scene featuring a unicorn, then the one with Pee Wee Herman as Joseph, but then I saw this one by Nathan N. See them all at the site. Link -via Unreality magazine

Cracked has put together a great article on these terrible action figures from iconic lines, like the one featured above-April O’Neil’s Boss from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line.

These are the kind of toys that had kids yelling “Awwww man! Not this one!” at their birthday party, and they were always given (in my experience, anyway) by a relative who thought they were being cool by giving you a toy from one of the hottest lines. Thanks anyways Grandma! *forced smile*

Link

(Image via mattonfire)

Continuing our series of what kids wanted back in the day, we explore the 1980s-a time of excess, badass toys and fashion regrets. While kids in previous decades may have had simpler tastes, by the 80s it was all about the latest toys based on cartoons and TV shows, electronics and video game systems, sometimes all rolled into one.

I couldn’t find one site with a comprehensive list of what we all wanted for Christmas in the 80s, so I chose 3 different sites that detail most of the amazing toys from that decade:

14 Photos of Kids Opening Presents in the 80s –this one’s cute because you get to see their reaction as they get the toy/present of their dreams.

Looking Back on the Hottest 80s Toys –a list, accompanied with pictures, that briefly describes each toy. This one’s mostly aimed at girls.

Top 20 Totally Awesome Toys from the 80s –this one’s fun because it features TV commercials for most of the toys on the list.

Enjoy this look back at the fabulous toys of the 1980s, and if you still have some of these treasures in a box somewhere, they may be more valuable than you think!

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(YouTube Link)

Hasbro has created these awesome stop motion shorts to advertise their new line of Kre-O Transformers Sets, their version of LEGOs that come in sweet box sets featuring your favorite Autobots and Decepticons. I guess Megatron was on Santa’s naughty list this year!

–via ComicsAlliance

Totally gross, totally goofy, and it totally looks like the Garbage Pail Kids I totally loved collecting as a kid. Now I want need to get my hands on the whole set! Barf Vader, Yodelin’ Yoda, Hung Solo-this would be the ultimate crossover series! Who’s got some good ones?

Link –image by Luis Diaz

Ant farms are cool in and of themselves, but that doesn’t mean their designs can’t be improved on to look even more fascinating. WebEcoist has a great collection of some of the coolest ant farms around. From flags of different nations to the Clone Trooper farm, these toys make me want to go buy my own ant farm.

Link

At the height of the TMNT fad (circa 1994), the heroes in a half-shell put out a Christmas special, full of their own unique brand of self promotion. See how the Turtles can turn most any Christmas carol into a song about themselves, or food, and watch as their rubber lips flap to the beat. It’s a nostalgic Christmas clip for all the Ninja Turtles fans from way back!

Link

The 1966 TV show intro recreated, to the smallest detail, in LEGO bricks! For comparison purposes, here is the original. (via Buzzfeed)