Thundercats And More At London Toy Fair 2011!

As one of the many perks of my work over the last 4 years I've been lucky enough to go to events here and abroad on behalf of the companies I work for. The last two years it's been for my own company/shop Red Sun Comics & Collectables, and what better an event than a Toy Fair?

The London Toy Fair is the premier UK event for manufacturers to show their upcoming products, both to prospective buyers and the public, and although 2011 wasn't particularly eventful in brand new news there were a couple of things that caught my eye... I wasn't allowed to photograph any of it (although that didn't stop some people as I saw some of the pics below go up on line yesterday by some unscrupulous git via Thundercatslair.org) and I can't tell you much as I signed various non-disclosure agreements whilst viewing some of products in locked rooms, but here's a taster.

First up is the confirmation of a brand new Thundercats cartoon. OK so we'd all heard that one was on the way but up until today (or yesterday if you count the on line leak) I didn't know it was actually happening for real. To be honest I'm not 100% sold on the new designs at all at this stage, the characters all looks just that little bit too different for my young 80's mind to cope with (mutton chops massive barbarian Panthro, Tygra with a gun and an un-sexy diarrhoea coloured Cheetara), and the Manga-esque tint they all have (mostly Lion-O) doesn't float my boat... But then again it's frickin Thundercats and I'll love it no matter what!

As you'll see from the pics there's going to be a new range of toys from Bandai (which I saw in person today myself) which feature very well made 3.75" action figures, a new Battletank with sleak mini motor bikes that shoot out from underneath both front claws, a new Cats-Lair playset, a brand new Sword of Omens toy replica with movement + lights + sounds, a 15-20cm Lion-O figure and then my favourite which is the original 80's Lion-O in 20cm action figure form. They all look great and you can see these flying off the shelves when the show finally comes out this year. Below the first two pirate pics you'll find the official Warner Bros one which popped up yesterday in response to the leak...

The second thing I found out a lot about, but can't talk about the toys directly, is Doctor Who in 2011. Basically I've seen the new toys from Character Options based on the upcoming series and it looks like there's some very cool moments coming our way, maybe even the possible death (and possible re-birth) of Matt Smith's Doctor, and the destruction and rebuilding of the Tardis (again!) but that's unconfirmed. I can't say what the toys were due to the non disclosure agreement but that's the hint I got from what was being said and what I saw.

Lastly was the vast amount of new licenses and items being taken up by new companies such as:

Excellent Angry Birds plushes of all shapes and sizes + sounds from Character Options
Awesome Ghostbuster plushes (Stay Puft with movie music) from Underground Toys
New Family Guy plushes (the previous lot have sold so well for them it's crazy)
New Transformer movie plushes with sounds/music and high quality logo cushions (I own the first two versions!)
New Star Wars plushes with sounds including Princess Leia, Jawa, Boba Fett, C3-P0 and many more
New DC comic character bobble heads and vinyl toys distributed by G4G and Hive (all look awesome)
Wicked new Super Mario plushes and remote control Karts from Hive
New Tron Legacy toys from Spinmaster
New Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and Real Steel toys from Flair

And a lot more besides all that... It was a long and fruitful day and Red Sun will be doing a lot more cool stuff in 2011!!!

Here are two pics of some DC stuff I saw there which although might be available elsewhere in the world right now, we haven't had in our shop and I can't wait to get them! The second pic is a screen grab from the Little Mates website but the real things are so cute in their mini vinyl form, I want the whole lot!

Kryptonian Warrior

SKIN-teresting? ...

Have u watched MTV's Skins yet? Have u?? (Mondays, 10pm) Well, if u haven't, I strongly suggest that u make some time to check it out!

I initially described it as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off ... if Ferris was an asshole who used the F' word a lot" ... and I stand by that. I also liken it to - Kids - the 1995 movie with Rosario Dawson. But after watching the 2nd episode ... I'm still a little perplexed by the show ... but in a GOOD way!

I honestly can't say (or don't know if) I LIKE the show! And I mean that by it's content, its stories, and its characters - none of which are particularly "likeable". I appreciate the teen drama as much as the next guy, but is MTV just stunting for the sake of showing off? "Let's see how far we can push the envelope till it tears, and even when it does - so what? We made our point."? ... Is MTV beyond that mentality? Nope. I don't think so. But there is no denying that the gratuitous sex, drug use, and general disaffected disposition of pretty much all the teens is enticing to watch. The extended music montages, trippy cut scenes, and occasional SUPER extended dialogues might just be "style"... or "lack of"! It consistently floats back and forth between the two.

I don't know where the show is going ... but maybe that's the point. I'm fairly certain that it will result in the eventual death of one of the primary characters ... my guess would be Cadie - the EXTREME drug addict of the show. (keeping in mind that this show was adapted from a UK show, so those that have seen Skins in its original inception probably already know the outcome ... unless MTV decides to go off in its own direction with it)

There's been a lot of controversy about the influential and potentially harmful depiction of the teens on this show, as u can already figure there would be. People stupider than me who get all up in arms and frantic worrying about what this one tv program will do to the minds of their precious 14 and 15 year olds. (it seems that words like "bitch", "ass", "dick" and "shit" no longer need to be bleeped out (thank goodness) ... although, fyi - "fuck" still does need to be bleeped, apparently)  ... But isn't this just what real kids are really like in real life anyway? I certainly HOPE so ... er ... uhm, I mean - I imagine so :) ... but just a very sensationalized and extreme version of it. And, uhm ... isn't that pretty much like every other show on TV?

Whatever. Anyway ...

"Brilliant Car-wreck"? I don't know yet, but when I turn it on, I can't look away. It definitely makes me think - "hmmm ...", so that's at least SOMETHING for me in today's television environment. And I will definitely be tuning in next week to see what happens (if anything) next.