14 February 2012
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London Toy Fair 2012 sees the launch of over 10,000 toys
This year's Toy Fair was packed with over 10,000 toys and even the odd celebrity or two! ...
Though the rain was pouring outside, the atmosphere within Olympia was electric as exhibitors from all over the world showed off their new products at Toy Fair 2012, hosted by the British Toy & Hobby Association.
Exhibitors included Hornby Hobbies, Oxford Diecast, Revell, Meccano, Tomy UK, Pocketbond and LEGO, to name just a handful.
Pictured is a small selection of some of the new products that were shown for the first time at the fair – look out for more new releases from London on our website and from the Nuremberg Toy Fair in a 16-page supplement FREE with next month’s issue of sister publication, Diecast Collector.
Celebrities present on press day included TV presenter Lorraine Kelly, who revealed the winner of TOMY’s ‘Search for a Raa Raa Star’ competition, and ex-England football player John Barnes, who re-launched table top game, Subbuteo – sets will be available in UK stores from March, retailing at around £39.95.
Strolling around the stands, new releases that caught our eye included Meccano’s beautiful ‘Unicorn’ ship from ‘The Adventures of Tintin’, which has 630+ parts and retails at £49.99; a selection of 1/72 scale military models on the Pocketbond stand by Easy Model, which have an impressive level of detail at a very reasonable price; and two 1/32 scale Ford Tractors from Britains, the Ford 6600 and Ford 7600, which are expected to retail at around £17.99 each.
Special congratulations must go to Hornby Hobbies who took home three Best New Toy Awards, voted for by a panel of independent toy retailers. We’re sure that its glow-in-the-dark Micro Scalextric ‘Star Wars’ Death Star Attack set will have many admirers, while its limited edition diecast figurines based on the official London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic pictograms will certainly be a big hit with people who wish to mark this historic event.
Other winners included LEGO, Hasbro and Flair while Revell picked up a Best New Toy Award in the Hobby and Models category for its Outspeeder, a mini stunt car with built-in roll bar and a top speed of 20km/h.
“This year’s Toy Fair Best New Toy Award winners show just how innovative and ‘on the pulse’ the UK toy industry is with exciting new product launches across traditional and cutting edge categories,” said Majen Immink, Communications Manager, British Toy & Hobby Association.