Classic Lego, Wheel Set 021

Todays post is about one of our store's most prized items, the Lego 021 Wheel Set. This is a set that will probably have a lot of parents thinking back to their own childhood days. This was one of the first Lego sets available in North America, it comes with 185 pieces, and when it went on sale in 1966 it cost $4.99 (thats $35.44 adjusted for inflation). Today as a rare collectors item it is of course worth much more, and anyone who might be interested in purchasing this item should contact us directly via email to discuss the price.

The classic Lego bricks never go out of style.

To place this item in context a brief history is in order. The company that would become Lego was founded in Denmark in 1932 and made wooden items such as step ladders, stools, and of course, toys. After World War 2 plastic began to be used to make the toys and the forerunner of the Lego brick was first made. In the 1950's Lego bricks as we know them began to be sold in Europe, and in 1954 the word Lego was officially registered in Denmark. In 1961 the Samsonite Corporation was given an exclusive lisencing agreement to sell Lego toys in North America, which lasted until 1972. This is one of the sets that was produced by Samsonite during that time.

And I thought they only made Luggage. 

After almost 50 years in the world this set is in quite good condition, never having been opened. We are very excited to have it, and it's now on prominent display in one of our glass cases.

-Allen

Sources:
Lego History
Inflation Calculator

Nanodots, magnets from the future, now.

When we went to Toy Fair up in New York City back in February we saw more cool toys than we could really take in all at once. One thing that really stood out however were a simple toy called Nanodots, small silver magnetic spheres that once you pick up are hard to put down. We were totally taken with these small building magnets, and placed our first order with the company then and there.

Nanodots come in two sizes, the original Nanodots are small 5mm diameter spheres, and the Megadots are about the size of a marble. They come in a variety of colors including black, silver, gold and the original steel. The silver and gold Nanodots are even coated in real silver and gold! For that reason those sets will cost a little more than the steel and black sets of the same size.

Now these are defiantly building toys, and like wooden blocks or Lego they have a very long replay value. The basic set comes with 64 Nanodots and that is plenty to make all kinds of cool designs, and as you add more Nanodots you will be able to build more and more complex objects. The larger 216 sets come with a storage bag to keep the Nanodots in, however I find that putting them on the front of the refrigerator is a much more convenient way to keep them close at hand.

Mixing the colors can make really interesting designs!

Nanodots make a great gift for older children and adults, but they are not intended for younger children. The recommended age from the company is 14 years and up. These are powerful magnets for their size, and should not be put on electronic devices. That being said, they are great building toys and can have a very meditative effect on the user. The smallest set retails for $14.99 and the largest set sells for $44.99. They will make a great little gift for the builder or engineer in your life!

-Allen

Playmobil Easter Eggs!

It's last minute shopping time,

Here's a great Easter deal!

Every year Playmobil comes out with a selection of small toys inside of colorful eggs for Easter, and this year is no different. This year the eggs come with 4 options, a child with a unicorn, a knight with cannon, a driver with a go-kart, and a veterinarian with baby animals. These little toys make a great addition to any Easter Basket, and because they are already in an egg there is no extra work!

Normally these toys sell for $7.99, but tomorrow only we will be giving them away with any purchase over $25.00! We will be open from Noon until 4pm tomorrow, so please stop in for any small (or large!) last minute presents you may need.

Just a reminder, our store is located at 582 Wharton Blvd. Exton, PA 19341.

Happy Easter!

-Allen

Summer Movies, Part 1

As the summer movie season is coming up soon I thought I would go through a few flicks that I am particularly looking forward to (and some I'm less than excited for) and take a little time to think about the toys that may come out of them as well. First up, May...

The Avengers

May 4th

Will I see it: Absolutely

Up first is The Avengers, the film that so many of the Marvel super hero movies have been building toward for several years now. With leading actors such as Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson, and under the direction of Joss Whedon, this is sure to be a smash hit. 

Any super hero movie is guaranteed to have a good line of toys these days, and a multi-hero movie filled with popular characters like The Avengers is sure to have a particularly robust selection. With figures of Iron Man, Thor, and The Hulk, just to name a few, I’m sure we will be seeing these characters in just about every place that a toy can be sold. Among the toys I am personally most looking forward to will be the release of Lego's Marvel Super Heroes line, which could not possibly be better timed.

Now that's what I call marketing.

Battleship

May 18th

Will I see it: If nothing else is going on, and other people are already going. 

I have watched the trailer for this movie several times and I can honestly say I have hardly any idea what it is about. Battleship seems to be a textbook summer blockbuster action movie. Big name actors? Check. Over the top special effects? Check. A plot that doesn’t really try to make sense? Check. This movie is basically Independence Day with 50% less logic and 100% less Will Smith. Now I’m not saying I absolutely wont go see it, and possibly enjoy it, but probably not.

Being based on a relatively simple board game makes the possibilities for toys somewhat limited, aside from the game it self anyways. There will probably be a line of action figures and some vehicles (a battleship perhaps?) that come out this summer, but I doubt we’ll see them anywhere but the bargain bin by the time the movie is out of theaters. 

Men in Black III

May 25th

Will I see it: Yes, but maybe not on opening night. 

Men in Black’s quirky and (mostly) lovable aliens will probably succeed where Battleship’s mysterious aliens fail, and that is in making a genuinely entertaining summer movie. Big summer movies are what Will Smith does best, and this is a proven, if not always spectacular, formula. This will be a fun movie. 

Science fiction generally makes for good toys and action figures, and I do vaguely remember having some Men in Black toys from the first movie when I was younger, so I’m sure we’ll see at least a few items popping up in the near future. 

Thats all for now. Up next, June.

-Allen

Lego Technic Race Truck (8041)

When I was young I loved Legos. I had buckets full of them, or I would have had buckets of them if they were ever actually in the buckets. Mostly the were spread out across the floor in various stages of construction. I had castles, pirate

s, and space ships all mixed together the same time. They were some of my favorite toys.

I stopped collecting of legos sometime in high school, and it’s been a long time since I’ve put together a complete Lego set. Working in the store here I am often reminded of all the fun I used to have with many similar sets years ago, so when Mike asked me to put together this Technic set for the store to give away some time soon I jumped at the task.

Aside from the first Lego Mindstorm’s that came out back in 1998 I never really had too many of the Technic Lego sets. I had always veered toward the more whimsical lines such as the Castle and Pirates sets. I suppose I had always wanted the more “imaginative” type of legos, and the “realistic” stuff just didn’t do much for me. But I have to say that I had a great time assembling the truck. Especially fun were the “technic” parts, where the gears and cranks worked in sync to move the various parts. The way the Technic sets are constructed really is impressive. Of all the ways that Legos help kids to learn the Technic line really gets at the kind of spacial relationships that can be hard to teach.

Easily the most impressive feature of this set is the moving piston engine. The eight pistons are attached to a small crank shaft that isconnected to the two rear wheels by a series of gears so that when the truck is pushed the pistons move in and out like a real engine. This is the kind of thing that can really help a young child or even a teenager understand the workings of a mechanical engine.

Over all this set of 608 pieces took me about two and a half hours to put together. It was a great “distraction” from my usual work and if you have a child (or an inner child) who is interested at all in how things work mechanically I cannot recommend the Technic Legos enough.

This lego set is going to be given away soon! Stop into our store to sign up for the raffle.

-Allen

Captain America, The First Avenger

Captain America, The First Avenger hits movie theaters today, and this comic book nerd has been counting down the days until I could to go see the star spangled hero jump into action. So when I was offered the opportunity to see the 10:30am showing before work today I jumped at the idea.

The story takes us back to the dark days of World War 2, when Nazi Germany was overrunning the continent of Europe, and America was looking for a hero to stand behind. Steve Rogers was not that hero. After being rejected by the army multiple times Rogers, played by Chris Evans, is taken into a secret government test project which results in his transformation into Captain America.

Chris Evans, who previously had played the part of the human torch in the Fantastic Four movies, plays a strong and quiet type hero in this movie, but still manages to pull the human side out of the character. The villain, Red Skull, is played by Hugo Weaving who brings his considerable acting abilities to the roll and balances the movie well between the hero and villain. Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones give strong supporting performances, and the sepia tone setting really adds to the story.

The movie follows a mostly traditional story line for Captain America, with a good but not too long back story and lots of action later in the film. The movie does a good job of tying into the other Marvel movies that are building towards next summers Avengers movie, which after watching this movie I am becoming more excited about.

This was a movie almost tailor made for me, so I'll hold myself back in the over all score, but I don't see much of a downside to this over all solid movie. Did it have to be in 3D? Mostly not, but a few quick scenes do make you jump in a way that 2D can't. If you enjoy A good super hero movie, a great villain, good action scenes and a few good jokes about silly super hero costumes, then this summer block buster is for you.

8 out of 10

-Allen

Introducing the all-new BullMarketToys.com! 127.6% more awesome!!!

Yes, that's right, in celebration of our 10th anniversary in the collectible toy business, we have totally revamped BullMarketToys.com for your perusing and purchasing enjoyment! We are not sure it is actually 127.6% more awesome, but my 3 year-old daughter thinks it's way cool - that's good enough for us - we hope you agree!

What the big deal, you ask? Well, we have improved...

• Navigation - top main category bars
• Searches - search by Brand, Price, Key Words, etc.
  
• Account Settings - set-up your own account, or use your Amazon.com account to pay if you prefer
• Store Layout - including a new SALE category, just in time for our 10th Anniversary Sale Event from now until August 5th!
  

Over the next couple of weeks, we will highlight more about the new store, but in the meantime, please explore the store and let us know what you think - you can either email me Mike at mikeo@bullmarkettoys.com or use the Contact Us link in the store.

For now - Happy Collecting (and Playing)!

-Mike, Brian and Allen