JUST when you’ve managed to recover from the holiday hangover, the American International Toy Fair will start filling children’s wish lists.
Toy manufacturers from around the globe are descending on New York from Sunday through Wednesday, introducing everything from action figures and board games to sporting equipment and preschool toys.
Toy Fair isn’t open to the public – it’s for buyers and other industry types only – so we’re previewing five of the most drool-worthy and buzzed-about toys that will be highlighted at the fair.
Fortunately for the wallets of parents, these toys won’t be out for months:
* TMX
Price: $39.99
Available: September
Details about this next generation Tickle Me Elmo – the red furry “Sesame Street” creation that spawned a million parental headaches in 1996 – are being so closely guarded, you’d think they were the president’s nuclear codes.
The only details Fisher-Price will release is that the TMX requires six AA batteries (included), its name can be read as “Tickle Me Elmo Extreme,” and that it will hit stores in September. They won’t even reveal what the goggle-eyed toy will look like, beyond a shadowy and mysterious photo.
But, the 10th anniversary toy has been shown to a select few in the industry. Toy Wishes magazine editor-in-chief Jim Silver was one of them, and he thinks it’s “surprising.” But the only actual details he will reveal about the TMX is that “it’s red, looks like Elmo, and its movements are so realistic I thought he was being moved by wire.”
* Pleo
Price: $199
Available: fall
The makers of the “Emo-tronic” Furby have created the next wave of kid-friendly “organic robotics” with the Pleo, further blurring the line between life and technology.
Modeled after a week-old camarasaurus from the Jurassic period (native to North America), the approximately 20-inch dinosaur shows actual emotions – including joy, aggression and boredom – in addition to crying when it’s scared, growling when hungry or stretching when it wakes up.
To stop the Pleo from doing something like walking off the edge of a table, it has seven computer brains (the Furby only had two) controlling 38 sensors and 14 motors. Makers say this gives the Pleo fluid motion, intelligence and a personality.
* Butterscotch FurReal Friends Pony
Price: $299.99
Available: fall
It’s a fantasy come true for young girls: a pony that can be kept at home!
Butterscotch, the plush toy, can be treated just like a real pony. With a moving head, eyes, ears and swishing tail, she can feel when she’s being groomed (thanks to sensors) and will whinny or snort with happiness and move in her head for more.
She can also be fed with pretend carrots – if she’s hungry, she’ll open her mouth, but when she’s had enough, she’ll shake her head “no.” (Bonus for parents: no need to muck out a stall.)
And, because Butterscotch is life- sized, little kids can actually sit on her. The only thing she won’t do is walk around.
* Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes
Price: $69.99
Available: July
The Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes have “proximity sensor technology” that registers movement, so waving a hand over a tube produces a cacophony of sound – including the familiar performance group’s tubes, xylophone and drum sounds.
Since many kids now have iPods and MP3 players, the Blue Man Group musical instruments (there’s also a keyboard, drum suit and air pole) are compatible with the devices, so kids can plug them in and jam alongside their favorite music.
* Air Hogs Hydro Freak
Price: $69.99
Available: fall
Radio-controlled planes and boats have been around forever, but this is the first time one will be able to work on any terrain.
The flying Air Hogs Hydro Freak can take off and land on the ground or in the water, all on its own power. There’s no need to toss it in the air or carefully place it in a pond.
Technically, you can take off from the sidewalk, fly around for a bit and then land the plane in a lake, or vice versa. Because of this, it’s actually more like a car that flies and floats.