March 4th, 2014 by Stinkhead

The Ringling Bros Circus: Built to Amaze is coming to DC in a few weeks, and there are several deals and opportunities to take the family. We always have a great time, check it out below.

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March 3rd, 2014 by Stinkhead

Part 1 all the cool stuff I saw at the 2014 Toy Fair.
Many still photos can be found here:

• Spin Master: Tenkai Knights, Spy Gear, Air Hogs
• MEGA: Spongebob, Hot Wheels, Ka-Pow
• LEGO: Simpsons, Chima, Star Wars, Lego Movie, Ninjago, Ultra Agents
• Modarri: Modarri Cars website (my photos coming soon)
• Play Visions: official website (my photos coming soon)
• Hasbro: Star Wars, Transformers, Nerf, Furby
• Educational Insights: official site (my photos coming soon)
• Irwin Toy: official siteTomy: official site
• Mod Robotics: official site
• Makey Makey: official site
• Z Wind Ups: official site

Part 2: Collectibles, and Part 3: Kids’ Stuff

Posted in 3&up, 5&up, batman, Boys, crafts, event, gifts, Girls, kids, playmobil, podcast, Toy Fair, toys, video | Comments Off on Podcast: Toy Fair 2014 Part 1: Cool Stuff

February 24th, 2014 by Stinkhead

Spin Master, maker of Spy Gear and Air Hogs, as well as the master licensor of How to Train Your Dragon 2 enticed us with a great display this year. Surprises were around every corner, and I loved their booth. Check out my take, below.

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February 23rd, 2014 by Stinkhead

I’m still working on my master Toy Fair video, but I wanted to share the raw video from the playmobil booth. You can read my detailed write-up here or click below for all the still photos.

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February 18th, 2014 by Stinkhead

My absolute favorite tour at Toy Fair every year is the Playmobil booth. The last several years have shown and overall decline in originality from most toy manufacturers… but not at Playmobil. This year, this was the only booth that only had new stuff to show. All the other tours had 2 and 3 year old items on display with only one or two new things. Also many companies are moving away from internal properties they invented, and simply licensing out popular characters. (Two years ago it was allll Angry Birds, this year, everyone had My Little Pony) That’s why, year after year, Playmobil has consistently thrilled and surprised me. Check out what I got to see this year. Literally everything new from their booth is in the large photo gallery below.

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January 26th, 2014 by Stinkhead

Monster Jam returned to the Verizon Center in Washington DC the weekend of January 25th. We checked out the pit party, we marveled at the Nuclear Cowboyz‘ halftime exhibition, and we cheered on Illuminator as Jay Snyder won his second racing title this weekend. Check out our pics below!

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January 15th, 2014 by Stinkhead

Today I got to chat with Bethesda based monster truck driver Jay Snyder. My son and I first got to witness his truck Illuminator at the Montgomery County Fair three years ago (see video below), and have been trying to keep up ever since. Next weekend at Monster Jam in DC, Illuminator will be competing against Crushstation, Man of Steel, Iron Outlaw, Bounty Hunter, and of course, Grave Digger. I wanted to ask Jay a few questions about driving a monster truck, and he delivered. Check it out.

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January 6th, 2014 by Stinkhead

Monster Jam Trucks to Arrive in the Nation’s Capital January 24-25, 2014

(Washington, DC) – For the first time since 2011, Monster Jam® returns to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. January 24 and 25, 2014.

Monster trucks are custom-designed machines that sit atop 66-inch-tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, monster trucks generate almost 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. They whirl and fly 130 feet into the air, amazing audiences of all ages.

Click below for more.

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December 24th, 2013 by Stinkhead

My six year old son has been talking about secret labs and mad scientists for almost a year. I caught an epiphany looking at used play kitchens at a consignment sale. I could spray that one black and make it a mad scientist lab…. I was really surprised that I could pull the whole thing off for less than $50, but make a pretty memorable toy. Click below for pics and how-to.

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June 9th, 2013 by Stinkhead

Click below for a ton of awesome photos from the June 8, 2013 Monster Jam Path of Destruction at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore MD.!
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