A Big Week for Trading Cards...

It's a week for all the TCG players to get salivating over - if you're not still drooling over the new Pokemon Black & White booster from last weekend that is :) There's another, not one, but two releases to look forward to this week from YuGiOh! and World of Warcraft.

First up to bat is the WOW TCG with its new War of the Elements booster pack - the first Worldbreaker expansion - due in Wednesday-ish. As well as a pile of great cards for the game, WOW online players can expect a new set of more-than-nice loot cards.

Meanwhile, this weekend sees the latest YuGiOh! Sneak Peek event with players getting their first chance to get their hands on the new Extreme Victory booster featuring the new Tech Genus and Meklord archetypes plus loads of new goodies for existing archetypes. You can only get your hands on a few packs by being at our Sneak Peek event on Sunday though - for more packs, you'll have to wait for the following weekend.

Gonna be a fun week :)

Restocks on Tomica

If you didn't get into Tomica last year, shame on you! It's brilliant. Anyway, just a quick post today, to let you know that everything that was out of stock, erm, isn't anymore. If you've yet to enjoy Tomica Hypercity - the best car/rail/city building thingy around by a long, long way, then take a look at our Tomica range here.

Mic-o-Mic Construction

When I first clapped eyes on Mic-o-Mic at Toy Fair, I was instantly impressed. Construction toys are one of my favourite sections in the shop, but we devote a lot of space already to them, so it takes something very special to get my attention and convince me to expand our selection even further. Mic-o-Mic, aimed at children of 5 years plus, managed it, and that says a lot.

Firstly there's the design quality of Mic-o-Mic. Bright colours, tactile, and just - well - gorgeous. Yep, it is very good, but then so are the Meccano and K'Nex ranges we already stock, so what makes it different? Once the model is 'pinned' together (using, I have to say, an incredibly novel method) it is solid and robust enough that it can be a toy for playing with. Even if that plane has to perform a "crash-landing", it's still not going to fall to bits.

I'm loving Mic-O-Mic - one of my top recommendations at the moment - if you want to find out more about Mic-O-Mic, go here to our full information page and if you live in the UK, and want to buy some Mic-O-Mic, go here.

New in Stock This Week

It's a busy start to the week for stock arrivals. First up, we've got one of the most eagerly anticipated arrivals of every spring, Match Attax Extra. Arriving tomorrow, Match Attax Extra features all the updates to the Premiership from the January Transfer Window. There's also plenty of other goodies too - watch our Match Attax Guide Page for more details in due course.

We've also got a whole pile of new Yoohoo & Friends plushies - they continue to be one of the big hits in store just now, and we can't wait to see what the new ones look like. There's also badly needed Zoobles restocks arriving. Phew - just before we run out of the last lot.

Finally, and possibly most excitingly, we've got the arrival of Eggbods (pictured). We saw Eggbods at Toy Fair this year, and well, we think they're pretty cool - shop customers, do drop in and let us know what you think. It's no co-incidence that they're being launched in time for Easter - they make a novel alternative to chocolate - but we have a suspicion that they might go on to be one of the crazes of the year - we'll see.

Pokemon is B(l)ack (and White)

Now I'm sure all our biggest fans are well aware that I'm a bit of a Pokemon anorak. If you weren't, you won't know how excited I am about the release of Black & White across all the various Pokemon guises.

There's a new series of the anime (and it started in real style last weekend), the new console games (I've still to get my hands on a copy, but it wont be long) and (where the shop comes in), the new trading cards.

This week, we have the first Pokemon Trading Card release of the Black & White era, and it's a little bit special. The Black & White Sneak Peek tin contains what you'd normally expect in a Pokemon tin - there's four booster packs from previous releases. But then it gets good. Each of the three tins contains a 5 card promo from the new Black & White Generation, then there's the shiny card which features one of the brand new starter Pokemon - Oshawott, Snivy or Tepig, PLUS you get the starter Pokemon on the shiny card in figure form too. Uber-cool.

Finally, All Coming Back In

At Bus Stop Towers, we hate it when we run out of stuff that you love. We're used to it happening at Christmas Time, but when it happens in February, it means we've got some pretty hot crazes on our hands. Finally though, there's light at the end of the tunnel, and a few things we've been desperately trying to get hold off arrive back in stock tomorrow.

Firstly there's Zoobles. If you're one of the people who've been trooping in each day to check if we have them, tomorrow it's good news time. Last time around we could only get the two-packs (Toobles) and what we did get lasted all of five minutes. This time, we've got single packs, double packs and our first glance at playsets too. They should last a little longer this time, but I'd still advise you to come and see us sooner rather than later.

Then there's the other hot property of the moment, Moshi Monsters. Whilst we've managed to keep some of the plush moshlings in stock, our first batch of the large talking Moshis vanished in the blink of an eye. They reappear tomorrow, as do the Moshi Monsters Mash Up trading cards we've been trying to get for months. Happy days :)

More For Our Roleplaying Fans

One of our many missions this year is to provide a better service to our hardcore of RPG fans that frequent the premises. Well, I'm pleased to say that stage one of our mission is now complete. We've been stocking D&D for a long time, the Fantasy Flight Warhammer RPGs have been around since late last year and now we've added: World of Darkness (including the Werewolf and Mage settings), Call of Cthulhu, Pathfinder, Traveller and Tunnels and Trolls into the mix. That pretty much gives us a decent coverage of all the most popular RPGs of right now.

But don't forget that whayt we hold in stock is only the beginning. We can quickly get hold of pretty much any currently-in-print RPG rulebook or supplement - with over a thousand RPG products in stock at our suppliers at any one time, we can be fairly certain of getting you whatever you want, whenever you need it. Put us to the test :) Anyway, you can check out all the stock items over at the RPG section of the website. Enjoy!

Best of Toy Fair Part 3 - Moshi Monsters Plush

What do you get when you cross the massive smash hit massive multiplayer game, Moshi Monsters, with adorable soft toys? Probably one of the biggest crazes of 2011. When it was announced that Moshi Monsters were entering the toy arena in a big way it looked certain that there was something huge coming and early indications are that the prediction isn't wrong.

There's talking Moshis plus a wide range of Moshlings available in plush and backpack clip on forms, plus a big range of colelctible moshling figures too. You can find out more about the new Moshi Monsters soft toys here, and they'll be available with worldwide shipping on our website soon.

Best of Toy Fair Part 2 - Iwako Erasers

We always look forward to spotting the big Japanese crazes at Toy Fair - they are invariably very cool indeed. Last year it was Micro Pets, which were awesome. This year, we spotted the small, very plain looking box with the Japanese writing from about 40 paces. "Iwako," the sign above the stand told us. We already knew that the box would contain something great...

Iwako make fantastically fun-shaped erasers - many with removable and inter-changeable parts. Massively trendy in Japan, already huge in the US, and about to be huge here too - there have been over 800 Iwako erasers released in Japan, and a fair number of them will be available in the UK within the next week or two. You can find out more about Iwako here.

Best of Toy Fair Part 1 - Zoobles

Over the next few posts, I'll be highlighting all the best of Toy Fair this year - the things I think will be the hot crazes and must-have-toys of 2011. I'm starting today with Zoobles. They were released by Spinmaster in the US in late 2010, to huge success, and make their United Kingdom debut in January 2011.

Zoobles are little animals, that start out wrapped up in spheres. When placed in their Happitats, they magically spring into life and reveal gorgeous creations with loads to see and do. With already over 150 Zoobles available and many more to come, plus playsets to follow, oh, and an online interactive element to play as well, they look very likely to be one of the smash toy hits of 2011.

To find out more about Zoobles, here's our information page.

Mega Bloks Halo Arrives

We've been watching the Halo Mega Bloks range quietly for some time now, and seen it take off and become something that we simply had to have on our shelves. It's a great combination - Mega Bloks make superb construction toys, compatible with the 'L' word that we never mention at Bus Stop Towers and Halo (in case you live deep underground somewhere) is one of the biggest selling console games of all time.

The Halo Heroes Foil Packs are just the first piece in the jigsaw and there is much more to come - watch this space. Check out our Halo Mega Bloks page on the website.

Yoohoo & Friends - A Surprise Hit

This one caught us by surprise, and its not often we say that. When we brought Yoohoo & Friends in last year, we had no idea they would catch the imagination to the extent that they have. Everyone seems to want one. Unless you already have one, in which case you want two, or three or four.

Yoohoo & Friends are a series of plush toys by Aurora, based on endangered creatures from around the world. They are gorgeous. Anyway. We keep increasing the quantities we bring in, and the number of differnet creatures from the range, and they keep all selling. Maybe we have enought to keep them in stock for a while this time? We'll see.

To check out our full range of Yoohoo & Friends, go here.

Watch out soon, for news of Gogos Crazy Bones Trading Cards...

Premier League Stickers Due Tomorrow

The Topps Premier League Stickers are always cool. Well guess what. They got even cooler this year. For the first time, we have 3D stickers - wow! As well as all the teams and players, there's loads of cool extras too - a legend player for each team, rising stars, club strip stickers and much more besides in a bumper 440-odd card collection.

We should have them in stock tomorrow. To find out more about this year's Topps Premier League Sticker Collection, go here.

Gogos Superstars Arrive in the UK

OK, so we had England World Cup Gogos over the summer, but it's been a while since our last real fix of Gogos Crazy Bones. We've been waiting patiently, ever since Power Gogos, and boy has it been worth the wait - we now have Gogos Superstars...

Gogos Crazy Bones Superstars are the latest series in the ever popular pocket-money hit. This time though, there's a big new twists. The Superstars line up contains 84 of the most popular Crazy Bones from Series 1 to 24, but with a new fuzzy/velvety finish. It's hard to describe, but trust us, they're uber-cool.

What's more, each pack of Gogos Crazy Bones Superstars comes complete with a fantastic new stackable storage cube. The cubes can be put together in any way you like, to create the ultimate display of your favourite Crazy Bones.

We've put together all the information you need on Gogos Crazy Bones Superstars here, or if you just want to quickly buy some Gogos Crazy Bones Superstars, you can go here.

Finally, as a little extra treat, since we keep getting asked, we've put together a complete list of Gogos Crazy Bones names for all 4 regular series.

A History of YuGiOh!

OK, so that's a bit of a grand title for the YuGiOh! project we've been working on. However, we now have an excellent resource in place for YuGiOh! players and collectors, over on Squidoo. It contains detailed information on every booster pack released, right from Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon through to the forthcoming Starstrike Blast.

Each info page has full spoiler lists for the OCG and TCG, featured cards and loads of other facts. There's also pages for loads of structure decks and quite a few OCG exclusive boosters too. You can check out the index to all our YuGiOh! information pages here.

Breyer Model Horses Arrive at The Towers

We never rest in our mission to bring you the very finest toys in the world. Here's the latest installment ;) - Breyer Model Horses. If you've never come across the Breyer brand before, then you're in for a treat. Breyer horses are simply stunning, beautifully scuplted and wonderfully detailed. If you want an introduction to the Breyer brand, go here.

Alternately, you can jump straight over to the brand-spanking new Breyer Section of our website.

Will Bandz Be Big in The UK?

The number one, smash playground pocket-money hit of the moment in the US is Bandz. Everywhere you go, children have huge numbers of these funky rubber bands wrapped around their wrists. Bandz are worn, collected, traded and gifted are just generally massive.

Will the trend head to the UK? We're not sure, but we've made sure to get some in stock in case they do. You can check out our range of Bandz here.

Oops We Ran Out of Shining Darkness

In common with virtually every other Yu-Gi-Oh! retailer in the land, we've gone and run out of the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! booster, The Shining Darkness. There ain't gonna be any around for the next month or so unfortunately, until the unlimited print run comes out.

Fear not though - we've organised a few treats on the Yu-Gi-Oh! front for you. Not one, but three great restocks are in. First up, we've got the hugely popular Kaiba Duelist Pack, back by popular demand. Secondly, the Machina Mayhem deck makes a welcome return and finally (possibly for the last time) Raging Battle, the first Konami only booster is making a guest appearance. Three great Yu-Gi-Oh! products to keep you going. Don't say we're not good to you!

Adrenalyn XL: Everything You Wanted to Know

As most of you will know, Adrenalyn XL World Cup Trading Cards are our biggest selling online product at the moment. People all over the world are buying them from little old Bus Stop Towers, which is a nice feeling (and thankyou if that includes you).

Anyway, as is sometimes the case with products like these, there is relatively little information online about Adrenalyn XL, so I've tried to resolve that for you. I created a page over on Squidoo, all about them. There's facts, votes, links to lods of other resources and a guestbook, so you can share information with fellow collectors. Go ahead, check out my Adrenalyn XL Info Page.

Geomag Makes A Triumphant Return

Its just great when a fantastic brand makes a comeback, and we were delighted to hear that Geomag was being re-launched in the United Kingdom after a few years out of the arena. If you missed it last time around, Geomag is a fantastic construction brand, which allows the creation of fantastic models with a few simple magnetic components. See the image to the left to get a quick idea.

Anyway, we loved Geomag first time around, so of course we were right up the front of the queue to get some of the new Geomag products straight off the production line for you - and we're pleased to report that the new kits look superb. Check the new Geomag out here.

Adrenalyn XL Goes Crazy

Adrenalyn XL World Cup 2010 Trading Cards only launched last week, but suddenly, out of nowhere they've become the top selling product on our website. It's no surprise really.

Match Attax have been showing us for the last couple of years that Trading Cards have supplanted Stickers when it comes to football. Add to that, it's World Cup year. Add to that, we're not talking about any old Tom, Dick or Harry, this is the mighty Panini. Suddenly it makes perfect sense that Adrenalyn XL should be the biggest thing in The Universe for kids over the next few months.

We're attempting to keep tabs on this phenomenon over on our Squidoo page on Adrenalyn XL. We'll see you over there to enjoy the fun!

What Will Be Toy Craze of The Year 2010?

An unusually long and serious blog post from me today. I guess I've been doing this long enough to know better than to try and second guess kids, but with so many great toys coming out this year, I thought I'd take a shot at it. I'm going to have a run through of everything I think has a chance of being the 'big craze' of 2010. Batten down the hatches. Let's get going.

1 Can Gogos Crazy Bones keep going?
20+ months into the phenomenon that is Gogos, we're asking can it run any longer? The next release is, erm, a departure from the norm, with the England World Cup Gogos. A mistake? Possibly. But then I said series 2 wouldn't work, about a year-and-a-half ago.
Bus Stop Rating 6/10

2 Freaky Flickers - Freaky Bouncy Flicky Fun
Collectible characters that can be flicked around in various games. Yes, sounds a little familiar. Oh, but they bounce too. Kind of. There is an interactive, online element in the offing, so perhaps there'll be something there which will kick them into life.
Bus Stop Rating 5/10

3 Xenox Space Warriors - Panini Does Aliens
Collectible Alien figures - 8 figures from each of the 4 planets gives 32 Aliens to collect. They look good and can be used for a variety of games. The starter pack contains a fairly simplistic version of rock-paper-scissors which is a little dissappointing, but there's obviously much more to come in future games, because we aint even been required to look at the cards that come with the aliens yet. Could rock?
Bus Stop Rating 6/10

4 Mighty Beanz Return
We caught a glimpse of the new Mighty Beanz at Toy Fair. They rock. There's not much more to say, other than to point out that the accessories are cool too. They're also being distributed by Spin Master, who are behind the very cool Tech Deck, Bakugan Battle Brawlers and Bendaroos. They don't make many mistakes.
Bus Stop Rating 10/10

5 Micro Pets-i Take Over The World?
Huge in Japan, getting huge in The States. Massive in the UK next? There are already some smart people saying they'll be the biggest toy of 2010. They arrived in stock last week and they are great. The price (a bit more than your average pocket money line) might stop them being truly huge, but we'll see.
Bus Stop Rating 8/10

6 Toonz - Gogos Only Cooler?
OK, OK, they do, on the surface, look a little like Gogos. However there is a great twist. The hologram faces are very, very cool. These might really take off.
Bus Stop Rating 7/10

7 Dracco Spin - Spinning, Battling Tops
Yes, there's been a few battley/spinny things around over the last few years. They do look cool, but is it one too far?
Bus Stop Rating 5/10

8 The Humble Yo-Yo
A lot of people are saying that the humble Yo-Yo will make a comeback this year. The problem is that none of the people saying this are children (yet). We'll see. You'll notice no link. We'll have a range in stock soon though.
Bus Stop Rating 6/10

9 Adrenalyn XL World Cup 2010 Trading Cards
It's World Cup year. Match Attax have succesfully transformed the humble football sticker into a Trading Card. Now the mighty, legendary, experts of World Cup collectibles, Panini have weighed in, with their World Cup Trading Cards. This might go stellar.
Bus Stop Rating 9/10

There we go, 9 possibles. But then what do I know. As usual the kids'll tell us.

New Look Coming To Our Website

There's a good reason why I've been a tad quiet recently. You see, I've been away scheming and plotting and planning a new look to the Bus Stop website. Today, you can catch a sneek peak. We've put the new format live on our Bean World section. Jump over to the website and take a swatch at the new image. Oh, and I love feedback, so give us a shout with you thoughts.

Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

We're absolutely loving the Pokemon TCG at the moment. Every time a release comes out, we gasp audibly at how exciting it is, and then observe that the next one surely can't top it. But... They just keep getting better and better, dont they? Well, hot on the heels of the jaw-dropping Arceus release, here comes Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver. Wow!

Feraligatr, Typhlosion and Meganium are back, with more new gameplay elements than you can shake a stick at, legends Ho-Oh and Lugia, half a dozen new Pokemon Prime. I could go on, but the best advice is to grab some quick and start exploring Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver for yourself.

Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver cards are available at the Pokemon Section of our website.

Xenox Space Warriors

It's not often on this blog that I get excited enough about something to write about it before it hits the shelves for the first time, but then Xenox Space Warriors might just be worth getting worked up about. Like all the best toys of its genre Xenox Space Warriors double up as a collection and an action packed game - we just can't wait for a shot.

We'll also have the Xenox Space Warriors starter pack in stock which contains the game board and a couple of Space Warriors to kick start your collection. There are 32 Xenox to collect in Series 1. They should be available from Thursday or Friday on our website. Watch our Twitter stream (@busstoptoyshop) to make sure you don't miss out on the first batch!