Kidrobot Futurama Series 1

I am a huge fan of Matt Groening's Futurama, and since my wife and I have been collecting vinyl toys for a while now, you can imagine how happy I was to find out that Kidrobot and Groening were teaming up once again to create a series of Futurama vinyl toys.


The series will be a blind box assortment, and will comprise a total of 12 figures, with 2 chase figures to boot. Each figure will be retailing for $8.95 USD and will release on August 13th, 2009.

From one of the pictures I've been able to find, it's been determined that the series will include the following figures:

- The Devil robot
- Nibbler
- Leela
- Morgo
- Zapp Brannigan
- Mom
- Fry
- Bender
- Lrrr
- Dr.Zoidberg

and what looks to be Hermes and Hypnotoad (all hail Hypnotoad) as the chase figures. I can't wait to see them for myself!

A visit to Playvalue Toys

Today, my wife, son and I decided to take a short trip to a fantastic toy store near our place called Playvalue Toys. This is the second time we visit this true toy store. Don't talk to me about places like Toys R US, as these are simply commercial entities that just happen to target children by selling toys. Playvalue is a true toy store, with an emphasis on educational and well manufactured toys. The store is located at 1501 Carling Avenue, in Ottawa, and occupies a space in a warehouse-type facility.

The store is divided into two main sections, the boxed toy section and the outdoor toy section. They have what I consider the largest selection of Playmobil toys I've ever seen, and I've had a chance to see some pretty exclusive toy stores in Europe! They also have a fantastic selection of Lego sets, and once again, it is pretty much the largest inventory I've seen with my own eyes. The only sets they seem to be missing are the very exclusive and limited-edition sets (which are pretty expensive to keep in stock, and don't necessarily appeal to children as much as adult-aged children!!!)

One of the fantastic lines that they carry is Plan Toys, and I am astounded at the quality of these toys every time I see them. They specialize in early childhood education and the types of toys the make are very indicative of their level of knowledge. Great stuff!!!

I highly recommend taking a look at the store's website, or better yet, go on ahead for a visit. There is ample parking, and the huge mural logo is hard to miss.

Something new from Lego: Architecture Series

The LEGO Group and Brickstructures Inc. have unveiled a great product labelled LEGO Architecture. The LEGO Group and Adam Reed Tucker of Brickstructures officially introduced the LEGO Architecture line in 2008, which now contains six different models and from the images I've seen so far, I am quite impressed. It is difficult to determine the exact scale of the models from the boxes, but most of them look simple enough that I imagine the scale to approach 1/500 to 1/700. It is also possible by comparing the different models to note that Lego has not selected a specific scale for the line, but rather has let the model itself decide the scale. It really is whatever looks good, and I think they look very good. Here is the image that can be found on the Lego website, in the Architecture Series section:









I look forward to getting my hands on one or more of these kits (specifically the Frank Lloyd Wright models). If you haven't played with Lego in a while, give it a try. It is a fantastic way to develop and improve your imagination!

I love Lego!

Many of us are familiar with the Lego construction blocks and I have yet to meet a person in North America that has not played at least once with these fantastic bricks. And although I am 36 years old, married and father to a wonderful little boy, I have yet to stop playing with Lego. And apparently, I'm not alone. In my quest for things Lego on the Web, I've discovered that I am not the only adult that enjoys building things with Lego.

Perhaps one of the most interesting sites I've found to date on the topic, MOC Pages is dedicated to showcasing Lego constructs of all types. As I browsed through the gallery of user uploads, I was absolutely astounded at some of the talented entries I found.

But I found other, equally interesting sites, albeit different, such as The Brick Testament, a fairly humorous view of the Old Testament, in Lego bricks!

Other more specialized sites, such as BrickArms, allow the creation of custom armies made up of Lego figurines! Go figure.

And finally, a useful database of all that is Lego, the Lugnet Guide is a user-created repository of over 4000 Lego products.

I am glad to see that Lego seems here to stay and that I will be able to introduce such a great toy to my son when he is finally old enough. For now, I'll just keep those bricks warm for him!