A DESPICABLE GIVEAWAY

** This post is in partnership with Universal Pictures **

The hilarious antics and misadventures of Gru and his Minions are returning to the big screen on JUNE 30 when DESPICABLE ME 3 opens at movie theaters throughout the United States.  To say me kids are EXCITED to go see this movie is an understatement.  Picture Agnes seeing a big Fluffy unicorn and you get my drift about how much they want to go on a family outing to see Despicable Me 3 this summer.



So what is the plot for this movie?  After he is fired from the Anti-Villain League for failing to take down the latest bad guy to threaten humanity, Gru finds himself in the midst of a major identity crisis.  But when a mysterious stranger shows up to inform Gru that he has a long-lost twin brother—a brother who desperately wishes to follow in his twin’s despicable footsteps—one former super-villain will rediscover just how good it feels to be bad.

To share my family's excitement about this movie, A Geek Daddy is hosting A DESPICABLE GIVEAWAY.  I'll be giving away to one lucky randomly selected winner a $25 Fandango gift card to see Despicable Me 3 at the movie theater plus two Despicable Me Mega Construx Micro packs. Must be over 18 years old and have a U.S. mailing address to be eligible to win (no P.O. Boxes allowed).  Prizes are courtesy of Universal Pictures and Mega Brands. Enter below for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MEGA CONSTRUX MICRO ACTION FIGURES

Get ready for buildable buffoonery movie-sized mischief with Despicable Me action figures in Mega Construx blind bag Micro packs.  There are 12 to collect including Fluffy the unicorn among an assortment of minions for you to create your own shenanigans with.  Recommended for ages 5 and up, collect this new assortment of Mega Construx action figures that feature all-new outfits, gear, themes, and accessories to allow you to build your very own loyal tribe of Minions.  Available now at Toys R Us, Target and Walmart.

For more information about the movie, please visit www.despicable.me. Also check out the Despicable Me social media content on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and GruTube searching with #DespicableMe3. Find out more about Mega Construx toys by visiting www.megaconstrux.com or following the brand on Twitter or Instagram.

DISCLAIMER & GIVEAWAY RULES A Geek Daddy has not been financially compensated for this post and  hosting the giveaway but did receive the same prize being awarded for personal use. The prize is provided by Universal Pictures. Must be a US resident over the age of 18 to participate. Must submit eligible entries through the rafflecopter format for a chance to win. Winner when notified by email has 48 hours to reply by providing a valid mailing address within the United States to accept the prize. Universal Pictures will be responsible for shipping the prize to the randomly selected winner.  By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog as we are facilitating this free opportunity as a benefit to our readers.

Create, Construct, Customize - C3 NBA Toys

**A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free to review**

The 2016-17 NBA season starts up in a few days when professional basketball games commence on October 25th. Will LeBron James' Cavaliers reign supreme for another season or will Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors dethrone the King.  With the C3 lineup of NBA licensed toys you can decide!  Play out an All-Star Game, Slam Dunk Contest, or the World Championship Series with C3's line-up of mini-figures representing some of the NBA's most popular athletes using court and hoop sets that you construct from building blocks which conveniently are also compatible with other major plastic brick construction toy brands.  There are also locker sets that can be built as a display for the mini-figures of your favorite NBA stars.

Build a basketball hoop and imagine great one-on-one matchups between your favorite NBA players.  Recreate your favorite slam dunks with a play set that includes a pivoting plastic min-figure holder to elevate them to provide the appearance of leaping to the basket.  Build the ultimate NBA championship team with the C3 Elite Edition Full Court set which allows you to build an arena to play your games in.  Mini-figures are includes in the available play sets and you can pick up additional players to build up teams through blind packs that each include one of 26 different NBA stars along with a basketball accessory.  Also available are Best of the East and Best of the West mini-figure 5 packs and the NBA Game On Series which features one one player along with a constructible hoop.

My kids have had a lot of fun slamming and jamming on a basketball court they've made by combining the Slam Dunk Competition play set with one of the hoops that comes included with a NBA Game On Series pack.  With C3's NBA toys you can build your ultimate fantasy teams and matchups.  Snap, Build & Ball!


For more information, please visit c3toys.com/NBA

Building Blocks for Grown Ups

Watch out LEGO,  KRE-O & MEGA BLOKS there is a new brand of building blocks creeping onto store shelves this fall looking to take a bite out of your sales.  McFarlane Toys has partnered with AMC's The Walking Dead television show to produce a new line of building block play sets based upon the popular television show.  These building block play sets will be available starting in October, just in time for the beginning of The Walking Dead Season 5 on AMC, and will be sold exclusively on Toys-R-Us' website and at its retail stores.  The McFarlane Toys' The Walking Dead line will initially include 3 play sets:  Daryl Dixon with Chopper, The Governor's Room, and Prison Tower with Gate.  These play sets will retail between $9.99 and $64.99.  Additionally, blind bags for $2.99 each will be available to purchase that will allow people to buy additional scaled figurines of show cast members and zombies to include within their play sets.  The fall lineup of blind bags will include Michonne, Carl Grimes, Riot Gear Walker, Michonne's Pet Walker, and Herd Walkers.  Additional play sets and blind bag characters are expected to come out in the future.

While these are building block sets they really aren't aimed at a children's audience so McFarlane won't really be competing with LEGO and KRE-O.  The McFarlane Toys' The Walking Dead build block line is really aimed at adult building block hobbyists, toy collectors, and fans of the television series.  Unlike LEGO and KRE-O these building block sets will have very detailed figurine sculpts and accessories.  For example the Governor's Room play set will have the walker head aquariums from the television show that actually light up.  These new building block sets will probably be more competitive instead with MEGA BLOKS who have some brands like ASSASSINS CREED, HALO, and CALL TO DUTY that are marketed to teens and adults.  Interestingly, McFarlane Toys has the action figure license to 2 of these brands MEGA BLOKS is currently selling building block toys for HALO and ASSASSINS CREED. 

 

 As you can see from the picture below, McFarlane Toys building block aspect of these play sets will be mostly focused on the core scenery base with figurines/accessories probably playing a larger part in the appeal of these toys than their constructable features.

 

Here's the press release by McFarlane Toys announcing this new brand of building block:



Famed artist and award-winning toy designer Todd McFarlane and McFarlane Toys are unveiling a revolutionary evolution in brick building toys based on television’s most watched drama, AMC’s The Walking Dead. Known as a game-changer for its realistic action figures, including those based on The Walking Dead, McFarlane Toys is adding a new licensed category to the company’s portfolio. The new The Walking Dead toys will extend McFarlane’s high standards of artistic vision, realistic accuracy and incredible detail into the brick building toy aisle alongside of other leading manufacturers. McFarlane Toys’ The Walking Dead building sets and figures will be available this fall only at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com

The initial McFarlane Toys’ The Walking Dead brick building line will feature realistic sculpts, light-up and shaped features, iconic environments, and dozens of your fan-favorite characters and walkers. Both collectors and fans of the cult phenomenon can literally recreate their favorite scenes with this new highly detailed and realistic The Walking Dead product line.

“Twenty years ago I walked into the action figure aisle, saw an artistic void, and asked, can these toys look cooler? The answer was yes, they could, and I’ve survived twenty years next to the big boys creating those artistic toys,” said McFarlane. “Now I’m walking into another aisle with that same question, and the answer is still yes!”

“Will these be the best building sets out there? I’ll leave it up to the consumer to decide,” said McFarlane. But, will it look cooler? Yes. Will it be more detailed? Absolutely. Will it be more realistic? I guarantee it!”


Are you ready for the building block apocalypse?! Keep an eye out for the zombies as they'll be roaming toy store aisles during this year's Christmas holiday shopping season.

Photos provide via McFarlane Toys website & facebook page for publicity purposes