Come the holidays, kids aren't shy to tell you what toys they want as presents. There's the popular ones every year, like LEGOs, but we see a return of Star Wars as well. Then there's two Disney powerhouses available from brands like Frozen and Big Hero 6. The point is, there's options, and here are some good ones for gifts. or tweet us at @Lance_GZ or @GameZoneOnline. Make sure to check out our entire 2014 Holiday Gift Guide. Singing 'Frozen' Anna and Elsa Dolls Combine your children's love of the Frozen characters and the songs all-in-one with Anna and Elsa singing dolls. When you activate their motion detection Anna and Elsa sings a song; Anna sings "For the First Time in Forever" and Elsa sings "Let it Go." They come in at $39.95 each. Because you haven't had your fill of Frozen yet, and because you haven't watched it on repeat since it released, there is now a Frozen Sing-Along Edition DVD. Like people don't have the words memorized already... Star Wars Rebels Inquisitor Lightsaber
Kids that love Star Wars love lightsabers. And what's cooler than a double-bladed lightsaber? How about a 3-in-1 lightsaber?! The Inquisitor's lightsaber from Star Wars Rebels is a double-bladed lightsaber that breaks into 2 single lightsabers and a Force Disc to throw at the enemy. Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends Figures I love that the 3.75" Star Wars figure is making a return. And my son loves it too, because he's having me buy all of them for him. There is a new wave of Star Wars Rebels figures releasing, and they have newcomers -- Ezra, Kanan, Inquisitor -- and fan favorites -- Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Darth Vader -- alike. Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends Star Wars Command come in sets (both big and small) that let kids take command of the greatest battles in Star Wars history via interactive playsets. You create battles and destroy armies with tiny plastic figures and vehicles, some of which even fire. You can tell who the cool kids are on the playground by the hoodies they wear.
And your kid could be the coolest (and deliver Leia's message to Obi-Wan) kid with this R2-D2 hoodie. There's quite a few good movies that are releasing on DVD and Blu-ray, or that have already released. While I'm more cautious about movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, my five-year-old saw it and loved it. Still, some safe options (and good ones) are Despicable Me 2, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and The LEGO Movie. The Force is strong with LEGO Star Wars. There's not a kid I know that doesn't love LEGO, and even if they don't know Star Wars, they always seem to love the ships and sets for them. This one pictured above is the Star Wars Rebels co-pack for the two ships in the show -- Phantom and Ghost. It also comes with the entire crew... except Sabine. There's LEGO Star Wars sets for all price ranges, from the cheap X-Wing Fighter, to the moderately priced Snowspeeder set, to the very expensive Millenium Falcon. Minecraft, the LEGO of the video game world, are now actual LEGOs.
So the game the kids are obsessed with are now the toys they virtually emulate. Whether it's your first night in the world and you build a little house, you're exploring a cave, or you're taking on the Ender Dragon, there's a Minecraft LEGO set for everyone. LEGO Friends are actually quite popular and are aimed at providing LEGOs that girls might enjoy more. They're bright, cute and are actually really awesome sets. I'm not saying that because I've bought a few... don't judge me. While you can go big with a Shopping Mall, House or Horse Show, there's also some really awesome LEGO Friends Jungle rescue sets. Cinderella's Castle (not exactly the one you find at Disney World) in LEGO form. This castle has a few rooms, treasure, jewels, Lucifer the cat, Bruno the dog, a dance floor, fireplace, Prince Charming, Cinderella and that enchanted glass slipper. What a fairy tale this would make. One of the best movies of the year has some really neat toys to accompany it. The action figures for Big Hero 6 are ones that I've seen played with by both girls and boys.
They have 8+ points of articulation and include Bayman, Hiro, Wasabi, Fred, Go Go Tomago, Honey Lemon and Yokai. You can see them HERE and find out where to buy, but I've seen them available at Target and Toys R Us. Big Hero 6 Deluxe Flying Baymax This is the first Big Hero 6 toy that every kid that my son is friends with wanted. The 11" Baymax has wings that come out, shoots his rocket fist, lights up, has 20+ points of articulation, and has sounds from the movie. He also comes with a 4.5" Hiro Hamada that connects to his back via magnets, so it looks like just in the movie when they fly around. You may remember that recently we talked about a new set of accessories by BrickForge, one of the most prominent LEGO customizers (see: Custom LEGO WWII Items by BrickForge). These items are actually part of a brand new product-line introduced by BrickForge called the RiGGED system, which allows LEGO fans to design and decorate their minifigs in a lot more creative ways than before.
A second set of accessories have been just released within the same line, so I thought to write an update. According to BrickForge’s blog, RiGGED stands for: Rapid – Interchangeable – Guns – Gear – Equipment – Design. The RiGGED system is a type of MMA (Modular Minifigure Accessory) structure and consists of traditional 3mm & 1.5mm peg & hole combinations integrated into quality ABS minifig accessories. Armors, belts, straps & other types of pack devices contain a series of 1.5mm pegs; constructing a three-dimensional canvas to which minifig enthusiasts can attach a number of other RiGGED accessories. The mix of which spawns hundreds of color/type combinations making each minifig more unique than the previous. “MMA – Modular Minifig Accessories are clearly the next evolution of 1.5” scale figure elements.” says Kyle Peterson (a.k.a. Armothe), owner of BrickForge Minifig Accessories. “Instead of a single piece of armor with various details molded into the design, the RiGGED system offers enthusiasts the opportunity to build their own custom body armor;
where details consist of actual elements that can be pieced together to form a complete assembly.” BrickForge has introduced the RiGGED system with its recent assortment of World War II accessories. Wave 1 consists of 17 elements in 6 colors. The Field Suspenders and Haversack are composed of pegs while most hand-held pieces are molded with a corresponding cavity. In addition, most firearms have removable attachments such as scopes, magazines & bipods – useful for creating multicolored accessories. Wave 1 elements like the Haversack can also attach to existing BrickForge elements like the Shock Trooper Armor & Tactical Vest. And the recently released Wave 2 introduces 20 new accessories modeled after items used by the AXIS powers during World War II, such as Fallschrimjager, Afrika Corps & Nachtjager. “Wave 1 was about the heroes, Wave 2 introduces the villains.” says Armothe. “Well, I suppose one could argue they were heroes for their country – either way minifig fans have a few more RiGGED accessories to mess around with”.
The new wave includes a printed M35 German Helmet, two-tone Stick Grenade, Field Cap, Satchel, Modular Vampir rifle, and more. Because elements are engineered with the RiGGED system they inherently couple with items from Wave 1, expanding customizing possibilities. There are also plans for a Wave 3 of accessories (and probably more) and new colors. I’m actually really excited about this new system and the possibilities. I’m not so much into the World War I and II era, so I haven’t gotten any of the accessories yet, but I’m planning to get at least some to try out. It is interesting to know that they are quite similar in concept to the Mega Bloks modular minifigure accessories, especially in the Mega Bloks Call of Duty sets. I always liked the options the modular system offered, and was hoping that something similar will be used by LEGO at some point. So I’m happy to see BrickForge’s pioneering work in this regard, and I hope that they will also expand the system into other themes.