Toy Fair 2012

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We’re at the annual New York City 2012 Toy Fair! The Toy Fair goes for four days, and every day we visited new booths talking to tons of people and learning about all the newest toys. We’re bringing you a bit of that right now, with a list of the hottest toys of 2012.

Hottest Toys of the 2012 Toy Fair

Bobble Bots Moshi Monsters Moshlings are a collection of tiny, adorable little robotic critters. Monstro city and Moshi Monsters started as an online game, and are now being brought to life. HEXBUG uses its nano vibration technology so that these battery operated Bobble Bots bounce around their three dimensional environments’ from Monstro City, turning around when they reach a wall or obstacle instead of bumping into it and getting jammed.

We thought these were fantastic, we were floored by their sheer awesomeness when we first saw them. They defiantly hold the potential to become one of the biggest toys in 2012. Each Moshling is an extremely unique individual that comes with a name and personality and ranked with titles such as ‘rare’ ‘common’ ‘uncommon.’ There is something completely addicting about the way they look and buzz about that inspires the overwhelming desire to collect all of them and build up the entirety of Monstro City in your own home.

Razor is expanding their company with their new line of Vapor Gel Ammo Blasters, which bring a whole new meaning to mock battles. They took the idea of something classic and added to it new features that will greatly enhance your child’s playtime fun.

At Razor’s booth at the Toy Fair we got to see firsthand what changes they’d made with the Vapor Blaster- and they’re pretty cool. Their innovative environmentally friendly ammo is made up of small gel capsules which evaporate after they are fired, lengthening play time and making for non-stop battles without having to go retrieve ammo and then reload it. Their new launching system can shoot the gel ammo up to 80 feet and shoot over 100 rounds without needing to reload (on the Vapor Delta 500 Blaster model.) Couple that with convenient packs of 500 rounds of vapor gel ammo and a cool new design, and you’ve got a toy that will change the way your child plays for good.

TOMY has unveiled a great toy this year- one that is new but classic at the same time. It’s a line of small plastic dolls called Treena and Friends. As soon as we saw them we instantly formed the opinion that ‘these are going to be a hit.’

Each doll is the same size, a little less than 2 inches tall, with their own names, personalities, style, and numerous play houses and shops. But one thing that really sets them apart is the fact that they have two faces with different expressions on each. Simply press down on their heads and the face will switch around, from happy to sad for example. It sounds strange, but the way they are designed really works. They’ll be great for kids to collect and play with, and “With two faces 2 see” they won’t get bored!

Jay at Play is coming out with a fantastically futuristic app called “ToyTube MushABelly.” It is an augmented reality game which is essentially, how they put it, “Magic before your eyes.”

It’s quite wonderfully simple; you get a small packet that includes your MushABelly character card, ‘Launcher’ and ‘Target’ cards, and a code to scan when you download the app. Then place your ToyTube cards on a flat surface and launch the app. Holding your iPad or iPhone over the cards watch them pop up in 3-D on your screen. You’re then free to move them around with a light touch of your finger and engage in the MushABelly game, launching items at your targets. You can also put down multiple characters and see them all in the screen.

The App is free and will be available on the Android 3.0 platform soon as well.

Most children have done puzzles at some point. Some of them enjoy them and some of them don’t, but no matter what they thought about puzzles in the past, chances are they will enjoy Megabrands new 3-D Breakthrough puzzle.

One of our favorite Toy Fair 2012 puzzles came in the form of Megabrands Breakthrough Panda puzzle. It is a completely 3-D panda (extra-large model over 2 feet tall) that is looks pretty neat when you finish it. There is also an elephant model, and Lion and Monkey models on the way. Megabrands showed off great puzzles of all different levels of difficulty at the Toy Fair 2012, but these animals really stood out from the rest.

Puzzles were more or less rewarding to finish before, but for non-puzzlers and puzzlers alike Breakthrough puzzles 3-D animals will be rewarding and satisfying as your child really see’s their hard work come to life. And a plus-you don’t have to take it all apart when you’re done, kids can keep on enjoying them long after they are finished.

It’s a well-known fact that kids love to play pretend, and one of the best loved pretends of all is cooking and baking. It’s with this idea in mind that Manhattan Toys has unveiled the Groovy Girls Craftalicious Cake Creations at their Toy Fair 2012 booth.

Each set comes with a wide variety of utensils and decorating materials so your child can happily pretend that they are actually baking-these look so realistic and delicious that it’s tempting to take a bite. They also have accessories such as a cake stand to show off your work, and with a removable lid they double as a keepsake box, so they can be cherished as more than just wonderfully realistic delicious looking cake.

Included in each kit is all the tools needed to create a fantastic cake, such as molding clay, piping bags and tips and of course, the plastic cake slices themselves.

Boo has over three millions Facebook fans, his own book, calendar, and a plethora of Youtube videos, proof that he is considered by many to be one of the world’s most adorable dogs.

Now GUND has come out with a plush version of him to bring home and enjoy, fans and non-fans alike. You don’t have to know who Boo is to know he’s adorable.

Kickboard starts off strong in the 2012 Toy Fair with its Mini Micro three-in-one, already winning first place in the Infant & Baby category at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and overall as a ‘Favorite of the Trade.’
We got a great demo of this fantastic developmental scooter at the Toy Fair and were able to see how it works-and why it’s already gotten recognition.

The Mini Micro three-in-one grows with your child. They can start using it as early as twelve months and enjoy it until age five. Fun to ride and probably a nice boost in their sense of independence, it helps them develop confidence and competence on wheels in a safe manner. Its multi-functionality makes it a great investment for your child.

Remote control cars have been around for a while, but this year there’s been some really cool upgrades we had the pleasure of viewing at the Toy Fair. Kid Galaxy’s ‘World of Wheels’ has always set a pretty high standard for RC cars, but they outdid even themselves this year with their new Tractor Trailer Loader.

These back up, unhitch, and can be hitched back together when it pleases your child.
We thought each trailer was really impressive. There’s its awesome RC hitching feature of course, and they are large, about two feet long, and that alone kids will really love. They also look remarkably like real trucks-just downsized. Sometimes the larger the toy the more detail is compromised, but not with these.

CHECK BACK OFTEN, MORE TO COME SOON…

What toys were you most excited about at the 2012 Toy Fair?

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