Archive for the ‘Fun Stuff’ Category

What is the most expensive toy on Amazon?

I was looking for new toys on Amazon today and I thought I’d check and see what the most expensive toy listed was. Aside from some collectible items and some items (like coins) that aren’t toys, the most expensive item that came up seemed really odd. I thought it must be a typo, and, in fact, there were some other items listed that shouldn’t cost quite that much.

The most expensive one was this adorable flower selling for $46,341.90 (with free shipping). Click the image to see the actual listing.

There was no description and I’m not really sure what it does. It looks like a windup toy. It is worth $46,000? Probably not.

Actually, I lied. The most expensive toy item was, in fact, this playset.

It sells for $48,895.00 plus $4,600 shipping. This is probably the first item on the list that can be categorized as an actual toy and seems like the price is accurate.

Followed by the next two items:

Selling for $41,207.76.

For $37,986.74

I continued looking through my search and there were many outdoor items and such that were quite expensive and many items that were WAY overpriced like the ones above.

Full-Scale Lego X-Wing Fighter Visits Manhattan

This is an awesome world record! Lego has built a full-size Lego X-Wing Starfighter.

It’s made of 5.3 million legos. And it’s a model of a lego model. Got that?

Weighing 46,000 pounds, it took 32 people over 17,000 hours to build and it’s on display for the next few days in Times Square. After that it will be moving to California.

How big is it? It’s 11 feet high, 43 feet long, and has a wingspan of 44 feet.

It was built to promote the miniseries The Yoda Chronicles on The Cartoon Network, premiering May 29.

Via Gizmodo

 

The New Monopoly Token is…. A Cat!

monopoly token
The new token

As I posted earlier, Hasboro has been allowing the world to vote on what Monopoly token will be retired and which new one will take it’s place. I voted to retire the iron and replace it with the robot.

Well, the internet world has spoken, and the iron will, indeed, be retired. And it will be replaced by a cat. Which is, I guess, fair since there’s been a dog for many years.

This is your last chance to buy the iconic board game with the original set of tokens. So if you can’t stand change, buy the classic version before it’s too late.

And if you’d like to see the official results in a cute animation, check out their Facebook page.

Two Guys Made a Live-Action Remake of Toy Story

toy story kids
Jonason and Jesse at Pixar

This is awesome! Jonason Pauley (21) and Jesse Perrotta (19) have remade the entire Pixar movie Toy Story with live actors and real toys. Wow.

They used toys they found at Goodwill for their cast members. Some are not quite accurate. But they also created some toys from scratch which they couldn’t find (probably because they don’t exist). They have transformed two rooms in one of their homes into sets of Andy’s and Sid’s rooms (they must have amazing parents). It utilizes the original audio from the movie including the voices of Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz.

They even managed to get permission from Pixar to go ahead and post their video. One more reason why Pixar is awesome.

Check out the video below and when you’re done check out the outtakes.

 

Via Gizmodo

 

 

Keep out!

lego floor

There have been many nights when I had to walk into my kids room and I’d swear this is what their floor was like as I stepped on sharp Lego corners.

I once read an article with "tips" on how to train to be a parent. One tip was to spread tacks on the floor and walk on them to prepare you for walking on Lego. Good tip.

Via nerdapproved.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A short history of Lego

As Lego celbrates their 80th anniversary, they have produced a short animated film about the how the company began and their history. Check it out.

 

 

 

The Cool Talking Comic Book Cover

Check out this clever talking comic book cover for X-O Manowar.

They way it works is you use your smartphone to scan the QR Code, then place your phone on the dotted line and an animation begins that causes the illusion of the character speaking. Very clever and possibly one of the best uses I’ve seen for QR Codes.

 

 

Via BoingBoing

Awesome Dad and Great Kids Cover Depeche Mode

Check out these great videos below. They feature Dicken Schraden and his kids, Mila and Korben covering Depeche Mode songs. Dad is awesome and talented. The kids are adorable and amazing. One comment I read on YouTube sums it up for me, "wait till these kids grow older and finally realize just? how cool their dad was."

 

Via Cubiclebot

 

Slinky on an escalator

A slinky on an escalator. Nothing more to say.

 

 

 

 

Check spelling

A Day in the Life of Monkey, a Rescue Dog

A day in the life of Monkey, a rescue dog. Adopt a pet – you’ll both be into something good!

 

 

 

Giant Legoman Washes Ashore in Florida

giant legoman
Legoman washed up on shore

A giant Legoman washed ashore in Siesta Key Village, Florida Tuesday. He’s about 8 feet tall and on his chest is the message "No real than you are." On his back is the name Ego Leonard and the number 8.

A google search leads to this website for Ego Leonard.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first Legoman to wash up on shores. Three years ago, one washed up in Zandvoort, Holland, and one also washed up on Brighton Beach, England. This leads to the question "were they all released into the sea at the same time and this guy has been making the transatlantic journey ever since?"

A google search of the text on his torso leads to this website for Ego Leonard, which seems to belong to a group of Dutch artists.

The information on the main page of their website says:

"I would like to introduce myself:
My name is Ego Leonard and according to you I come from the virtual world. A world that for me represents happiness, solidarity, all green and blossoming, with no rules or limitations.
Lately however, my world has been flooded with fortune-hunters and people drunk with power. And many new encounters in the virtual world have triggered my curiosity about your way of life.
I am here to discover and learn about your world and thoughts.
Show me all the beautiful things that are there to admire and experience in your world. Let’s become friends, share your story with me, take me with you on a journey through beautiful meadows, words, sounds and gestures."

Below is some video of the most recent visitor to our shores.

 

Via BoingBoing

 

Google Honors Gumby’s Dad

google logo
Today’s Google Logo

If you visit Google today, you will be greeted by this logo shown here. The reason? It’s Art Clokey’s birthday.

You do know who Art Clokey is don’t you? Of course you do. He’s Gumby’s Dad.

Art first created Gumbasia, a stop-motion film, which let him to create Gumby and eventually an entire cast of characters including Pokey, The Blockheads, Prickle, Denali, and a few others. Gumby’s head was inspired by the hair of Art’s father.

Later, Clokey also created the Davey and Goliath series. (My friend, Rich, still uses Goliath’s voice to call me "Davey").

Art Clokey passed away in 2010 from a bladder infection.

Lots of Gumby Videos
are available for purchase on Amazon!

 

 

The Substitute on MTV

This has nothing to do with toys. But my son is on this show. Be sure to watch it!

 

Wearable Barbie

barbie jewelry
Barbie necklace

Margaux Lange loved Barbie as a child. As an adult with a bachelor of fine arts degree, she put that obsession to good use and began creating Barbie jewelry. But she went a few steps further than just standard Barbie jewelry. She creates hers by directly incorporating bits of discarded Barbie and Ken dolls.

The liberated Barbie pieces are imaginatively combined with sterling silver and pigmented resins to transform a mass-produced feminine icon into unique pieces of wearable art.

barbie jewelry
Barbie earrings

Her unique creations are sold at art and jewelry galleries and museum stores in the U.S. and as far away as Australia and Russia. They are also available for purchase on Etsy.

Some are quite beautiful and abstract until you look closely and realize that they are, in fact, made from pieces of dolls. Some are a bit disturbing. Some are a bit cutesy and some are quite elegant. A few are a bit provocative, using otherwise clothed sections of the dolls’ anatomy.

barbie jewelry barbie jewelry
Barbie and Ken necklace
Turn the Other Cheek Bracelet

Via Gizmodo

A Doll Emergency

Victoria Cristofis with rescued "baby"

I read a news item on Gizmodo this morning that I found interesting. Police in Workshop, Nottinghamshire, received a call that a baby was left trapped in a hot locked car. They arrived on the scene and saw the baby in the car and smashed the window to get in and rescue… a doll.

The doll they rescued was a "Reborn Doll", named Sam, and was so lifelike it even has anatomically correct veins. Victoria Cristofis bought the doll for her daughter Chanel’s birthday in June and it not only looks like a real baby, it even smells like one (hmmm). This is not the first time Ms. Cristofis has had people mistake the doll for a baby. She’s been accosted by people while shopping and accused of mistreating it because she was handling it like a doll, she’s had people shout at her because she was allowing her daughter to shake her baby, and she’s had people come up to her and touch it, thinking it was real.

Original and "Reborn" doll

But this brought up a bigger question for me. What is a Reborn Doll?

Reborn dolls are realistic manufactured dolls that have been enhanced to be even more realistic. They are also known as "living dolls" or "unliving dolls" (a term which fits best for me). The hobby of enhancing dolls began around 1990 and has grown into quite an industry in recent years with finished dolls selling for as high as thousands of dollars. There’s also an extensive online community. At first doll collectors were purchasing them, but it has expanded to parents and even to women who "adopt" the dolls and treat them as infants. You can even get a doll customized to look like a particular infant.

Consumers can either buy a finished doll, or they can buy a kit to do the enhancements themselves. Manufacturers have responded by creating dolls meant just for the reborn process.

A Closeup of a reborn doll

The process of "reborning" can be quite extensive involving removing the factory paint from a doll, applying layers of paint for realistic skin appearance, replacing eyes, manicuring nails, drilling out nostrils, adding hair, weighting the body with pellets, weighting the head so the owner must support it just like a newborn, adding magnets for pacifiers, etc., implanting devices that simulate heartbeats or breathing. They can also include an umbilical cord, heat packs (so they are warm), and voice boxes, or anatomically correct genitals.

One problem with Reborning is that it runs the risk of dolls falling into the "Uncanny Valley". Meaning that they become so realistic that they become creepy. As human-like features in robots, animation and such become more lifelike we tend to like them up to a point. Once they start approaching truly lifelike features, they become creepy. Apparently for this reason department stores don’t carry the dolls.

Dave’s Cool Toys Blog
We post news about new toys on our site, new toys in the market, general toy information, or stuff we just thought was cool (usually toys).

We welcome your feedback and comments.

Be sure to check out our toys at Dave's Cool Toys. We work hard to find toys you won't find at the big box stores. Now go out and play!

Dave Ference

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