McFarlane Toys is really revolutionizing their business with a plethora of new products and a switch back to some old packaging. Well the clamshell packaging is back and now collectors are rejoicing because they can once again easily obtain a mint figure. With all of that said you have to take some of them out to display them, don’t you?

The Team Canada set is amazing. Jarome Iginla, Roberto Luongo and Sidney Crosby make up the set. The retail set has the red uniforms (a Walmart Canada exclusive, there are less than 10,000 of each made) and the collector level figures have their white uniforms. The amazing part about these figures is that they were in production since October. What if one or more of the players got hurt? That’s a calculated risk the company took.

NHL 24 (April) features:
Mike Cammalleri (Habs), John Tavares (Isles) and Jonas Gustavsson, “The Monster” (Leafs) to name a few. This release will have 200-400 randomly signed; sequentially-numbered pieces in it and Tavares should be the hot autograph! The price point is still $9.99. Collectors can spot the autographs by looking on the side of the base (see our gallery here, http://sportsology.smugmug.com/) and some are signed on the base like the Gordie Howe (signed Gordon with the #9), Whalers pieces (which has his full name on the name plate because Mark and Marty were on the team) that are in NHL23 which is out now!

For those who order a case of let’s say Tim Thomas figures, they will get a random player, get a collector level or chase figure and most likely of a different player.

NHL25 players are subject to change but most likely will include:
J.S. Giguere in his Leafs jersey and Sidney Crosby.

There are some big names that the company is going after for future hockey autograph figures and look for some team sets in other sports. This company is working hard to give collectors what they want.

The most intriguing and new toy was “The Gibbon”. We saw three daredevils, one female and two males perform some very tough gymnastic type moves on what is a 2-inch taught line made from the same material that they use in rock climbing:
Listen to that interview here:
www.cardcornerclub.net/podcast/lewis.mp3
Check out their product on www.gibbonslacklines.com

One item that looks like a ton of fun was the Frisbee pole game by www.poleishsports.com.
For Frisbee freaks the plastic Frisbee they provide is 160 grams instead of 175 so you can get better distance. The object is to knock the plastic bottles they provide off the poles. Since I live near Rowan University I could picture a lot of college students turning this into a game that involves beer bottles but hey the company isn’t endorsing games like that. That could happen at any family gathering as well, and if it does so be it.

Check out the YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJHbmcpGu0s

The Free Rider – Created in Brooklyn, looks like a skate/skateboard kind of invention with urethane wheels that comes with training wheels until you learn how to master it. That’s pretty cool. Listen to a short interview here:
www.cardcornerclub.net/podcast/ayal.mp3

Steve Feldman reports here on Uncle Milton Toys:
Last year Uncle Milton brought you the Star Wars Jedi Trainer. This year they again combine the Sci-Fi world of Star Wars and science and have three products to keep an eye out for, Mini Lightsaber Tech Lab, Lightsaber Room Light, and the Death Star Planetarium.

The Mini Lightsaber tech will allow you to build your own mini lightsaber you will be able to choose form four different color and you can take off the blade and put on one of two bulbs one spotlight and one flood light. Those looking for a larger lightsaber then the Lightsaber Room Light will add décor to your room. It comes with a remote control and it has a timer that will turn off after 20 minutes.

The Death Star Planetarium has some learning possibilities that Uncle Milton is famous for. There are two different top that you can put on. The first is a map of the Star Wars Universe, the second is the top that displays the solar system. You can shine the night time sky on the ceiling and when kids don’t know they are learning it seems they learn more. When not in use put the top on and you have a replica Death Star to display. See more here at:

http://www.unclemilton.com/

Steve and I ended the day at the Hard Rock Café home which used to be the old and very famous Paramount Theatre. The food was great and I had the best Veggie Burger of my life there! After the food and some great conversation with our waiter, we were invited by the Tour Guide, Kaige Dvelle, to go on a tour of the restaurant and the backstage area including the green room and the famous stage that Elvis and the Beatles played on as well as many of the Vh1 “Unplugged” concerts over the years.

This is the best Hard Rock that I’ve visited to date and it’s a rocker’s dream to go there and see some great memorabilia including three of my favorites:

Jim Morrison’s pants. They are stitched near the crotch and there looks to be some lipstick still on the leather pants.
Ringo Starr’s original drum set.
Pete Townsend’s guitar that he used to play at the US festival.

The tour concluded on the roof where we had an amazing view of Broadway and all those lights! What a great ending to an amazing day and Part 2 of this article will appear on Card Corner in the coming days. Toy Fair will run for three more days down at the Javits Center! Traffic was light today but lets see if it picks up.