Companies . . .

Mattel Drops the Hammer on Disney•Pixar Cars Week NASCAR Collaboration. Ahead of the Daytona 500 this weekend, Disney•Pixar‘s Cars Week is back with an official NASCAR collaboration. Mattel unleashed a 1:55-scale, die-cast Cars NASCAR assortment that puts a NASCAR-ified spin on classic characters from Pixar’s Cars franchise and brings NASCAR drivers into the Cars franchise.

Catch Gold Rings with LEGO Ideas’ Super Sonic Set. The LEGO Group revealed the latest fan-designed set to hit the coveted 10,000 votes on its LEGO ideas platform, which was greenlit for production — and it’s a scene every Sonic player will recognize. Designed by 24-year-old Viv Grannell, a passionate, UK-based LEGO and Sonic fan, this set features her brick-made version of the iconic Green Hill Zone level.

Jazwares Expands UFC Ultimate Series with New Wave of Figures. After launching its UFC Ultimate Series last summer, Jazwares is expanding the line of 6.5-inch collectible action figures to include new designs featuring popular UFC champions. This new wave of figures includes Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Amanda Nunes, Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, Urijah Faber, and a chase variant. 

Hasbro introduces Star Wars Mission Fleet in new animated shorts. A lineup of iconic Star Wars characters will be featured in a series of brand new animated shorts from Hasbro. The Star Wars Kids YouTube channel will be the home for three new videos featuring toys from Hasbro’s Mission Fleet figures and vehicle line. The new adventures aim to teach kids valuable lessons while introducing them to the new, smaller-scale Mission Fleet collection. The first short entitled, Even A Mandalorian Needs Help features Din Djarin, Grogu aka Baby Yoda.

Endless Games recognized by parents and educators of special needs children. Endless Games has plenty of options when it comes to exciting, original new board games, but in addition to the fun, some extra benefits are in play too. Some hidden benefits of Endless Games’ board games and card games have been exposed by special educators and parents of special needs children. 

Little Tikes’ Foamo foam machine brings the party anywhere. Foamo is a portable foam machine that is easy to use and just as easy to pack up, transport, and store. Foamo uses water and a Foamo solution pack to get the party started and get kids diving into mountains of foam within minutes. Parents can fill a 15- x 15-foot space in just five minutes and the solution provided can entertain families for up to two hours. 

The Pokemon Company ramps up TCG production amid ‘phenomenal demand’ and sell-out success. The Pokemon Company has stated that it is ramping up printing for the Pokemon Trading Card Game, following a surge in demand that has seen product sell-out across some of its newer launches. A statement issued to fans via its official website confirms that the Pokemon Company is “actively working to print...

Racing just got a major glow up with Sunny Days’ Glow Racers Hyper Bass. Sunny Days Entertainment introduces a new line of highly-detailed electronic cars that are just as much style as they are substance. Glow Racers Hyper Bass is a high functioning racing car geared for kids ages 3 and up. The durable, 10-inch model is equipped with enough features to make it a real car. 

Asmodee USA will release 'Matcha' into U.S. retail. Asmodee USA will release Matcha, a Japanese tea ceremony card game, into U.S. retail in March. Japanese tea ceremonies highlight interactions between their guests and their hosts that can never be replicated in the exact same way. In Matcha, players a try to collect the utensils they require to perform a ceremony by matching up tea ceremony cards.

Build Your Own means less plastic, paper fantastic! For Build Your Own, creating eco-friendly kits is at the core of the company’s brand ethos, and remains so as new products are developed. Toy World spoke to Keith Finch, studio and innovation director at Build Your Own, about how the company’s innovative STEM-led range is expanding for 2021, and why eco-friendly credentials matter to the team.

9 Story snags trio of kids shows. The distributor has added an eclectic mix of shows to its catalogue, including a live-action musical series, a fish-out-of-water toon and nature-centric shorts. First to join the distributor’s catalogue is CG-animated Weird Waters from Cleveland-based prodco Wayletta Productions, New York’s Meticulous Media and Moondog Animation in South Carolina. 

KIDKRAFT, TINKERTINI SEEK INVENTORS TO CREATE HIT WOODEN TOYS. KidKraft and TinkerTini have teamed up to mount a search for inventors who have fresh ideas for wooden toys. For more than 50 years, KidKraft has been a market leader in dollhouses, play kitchens, playhouses, ride-ons, playsets, kids’ furniture, and more.

TOY CREATORS ACADEMY PREPS SECOND EDITION. Following a successful launch last fall, The Toy Coach Azhelle Wade is ready to welcome another class of budding inventors into the Toy Creators Academy. Toy Creators Academy is the first toy business program of its kind to guide students through the entire process of developing new toy and game ideas into tangible products from concept to pitch.

I’m A Girly is teaming up with The R Collective to create the world’s first upcycled, sustainable clothing collection for dolls. The new collection will utilize excess fabric from the fast fashion industry to create new styles while drawing attention to wasteful practices in both the toy and fashion industries. I’m A Girly was launched in 2017 Swiss company Finfin AG to promote a mission of ‘sustainability with style....

Ginger Fox talks Millionaire, Taskmaster, and House of Games new launches for 2021  Millionaires, Taskmasters, and a whole House of Games Building on its successful range of games, Ginger Fox has been busy coming up with new and fresh ideas. Together with popular new licensed games, we’re bringing fun into your living room this year. Bring home the nation’s favourite game

Little Tikes expands Tobi range with Tobi Friends as “tech offers huge area of development for brand”. MGA Entertainment’s Little Tikes division is extending the range of its award-winning Tobi Robot Smartwatch with the launch of Tobi Friends, Chatter and Beeper – two new interactive electronic voice-activated toys. 

More titles coming from Thames & Kosmos. Five games are planned for early summer. Thames & Kosmos has announced plans to release five new games into the U.S. market in the period from May to July, including Anno 1800 and Lost Cities Roll & Write in May, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Fangs in June, and a new game in the Adventure Games line, The Grand Hotel Abaddon in July. 

Pegasus Spiele will release 'Kyoto' into the U.S. hobby channel in Q2. Pegasus Spiele will release Kyoto, a board game about the political dynamics of climate change board game by Deep Print Games, for the U.S. hobby channel in Q2. Kyoto puts players in the position of delegates of different countries negotiating at a climate conference. 

Games Workshop teases a new 'Warhammer 40,000' boxed set and codex. Games Workshop teased the Kabalite Warriors boxed set and Codex: Drukhari for Warhammer 40,000 which will release in 2021. The Kabalite Warriors boxed set features the slave-trading warriors that plunder and prey on the weak. They are heavily armed, and quickly dispatch any defenders of humanity with splinter cannons. 

Ravensburger NA announces another 'Disney Villainous' board game and a 'Pusheen' card game. Ravensburger NA announced both Disney Villainous: Despicable Plots and Pusheen the Cat: Purrfect Pick Card Game for release in February. Disney Villainous: Despicable Plots adds three new villains, Gaston (Beauty and the Beast), Lady Tremaine (Cinderella), and the Horned King (The Black Cauldron), for players...

Hornby unveils Playtrains range. Arriving in summer this year, Hornby says the collection will let children start to build their first model railway world, that they can then go on to develop, build and interact with. The Playtrains remote controlled battery train set and accessories is a completely new range that Hornby has developed for younger model locomotive fans. 

Cmon offers 'We Care - A Grizzled Game'. Capturing the zeitgeist of the pandemic, CMON is publishing a medical-themed version of The Grizzled entitled We Care – A Grizzled Game, set to release in Q2.  A portion of the sales will go to benefit the medical charity Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres. Based on Fabien Riffaud and Juan Rodriguez’ World War I survival game, We Care – A Grizzled Game puts...

Asmodee brings 'Influentia' to U.S. Asmodee will be releasing Influentia, a trick-taking game from Spanish publisher Ludonova, into the U.S. market in March. Set in a cyberpunk-style future, Influentia puts players in control of powerful families in a futuristic northern Italy.  Acting as top megacorporate executives, they seek to expand their influence over the game’s post-industrial dystopia, recruiting groups like netrunners...