One of my favorite booths to visit every year at Toy Fair is Lego. This year did not disappoint, and they seem to be doing their best to create a Lego set for every kid. Here's what caught my eye.
One of my daughter's second grade buddies was mortified that I didn't know Lego's new Chima line before going to Toy Fair (and GeekMom Rachel even wrote about it). Though it's just launched, it's apparently all the rage with the elementary school crowd. Chima mixes in role play and competitive battle as everyone vies for the power of "Chi." I felt pretty awesome when I launched a Chima racer through the Ring of Fire.
In case you're worried that Chima will cannibalize the Ninjago line, fear not. There's plenty of Ninjago hitting store shelves, too. There's also the new space-themed Galaxy Squad line. I loved the organic creatures, particularly the Hive Crawler that walks its spidery legs as it moves towards you. It's got a Starship Troopers vibe about it.
For kids like my two-year-old, Lego continues to expand the Duplo line. There's an adorable Number Train with numbered blocks, a construction site, cars gassing up at the gas station, a zoo bus, and my favorite of the lot, My First Circus.
With the branded content, superheroes are taking a bit of a back seat. What we're getting instead are Old West sets to go with the release of The Lone Ranger, and some rad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sets.
Many geeks will rejoice when they hear about two particular sets. Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are still going strong, and the Pirate Ship Ambush features a Peter Jackson minifig. And, Star Wars fans, there's tons coming out for you, including Jabba's Sail Barge, which, for the very first time, has a slave Leia minifig. That particular ensemble has never been my thing, but its significance is not lost on me. [Update: I stand corrected. There has been a Leia minifig before. Thanks, Nathan.]
I'm saving all my money for the supercharged Lego Mindstorms EV3. Now you can build with more memory and a larger processor, and an infrared sensor that lets you do all kinds of cool things. Lego showed a Mindstorms snake that will snap at you if you get too close. You can build a robot to chase your baby brother or shoot mini-spheres at targets all around the house. There's new Linux-based firmware, you can integrate the robot with your phone, and a USB port and SD slot further expand your possibilities. Anyone from a novice to a hacker can make something amazing happen. GeekMom Marziah has more information.
Finally, I've decided I just need to get over hating on the Lego Friends line. I'll forever wish the minifigs followed the look of every other Lego set, but the market has spoken. Lego Friends won the 2013 Toy of the Year award, and Lego says that in the past year the number of girls playing with construction sets has tripled. I even found myself loving the Heartlake High, with an awesome science lab. Uncle!
Happy building, everyone!
