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Toy Maniac's Top Ten Play Sets by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(November 20, 2009)
Well it is here. I have danced around the issue for some time but I have finally gathered my own Top Ten Play Sets list. I did a piece over a year ago questioning where the play sets have gone. It seems now that Hasbro, the only producer to even touch bigg

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(November 13, 2009)
It should come as no surprise that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.7 million copies in just North America and the United Kingdom on its first day. It is being hailed as the game of the year (though Assassins Creed 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 ma

Grand Theft Auto: Death Star by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(November 06, 2009)
For those of you that don’t know, Star Wars the Force Unleashed: The Ultimate Sith Edition has arrived in stores. For those of that are willing to upgrade or perhaps have switched systems now is your chance to pick this new and improved edition to 2008�

Toy Review: Masters of the Universe Classic: Zodak by Robert T. Trate, Critic
(October 29, 2009)
Years ago Mattel was simply thought of as the company that made Matchbox cars. They dabbled in the action figure realm from time to time but outside of He-Man and The Masters of the Universe there hadn’t really been anything else.

Toy Review: Avatar Jake Sully by Mattel by Robert T. Trate, Writer
(October 23, 2009)
It is almost the season, the season where retailers will pack the shelves with tons of toys. In the market today shelf space is everything. Hasbro and Mattel already fill the action figure aisle with DC Universe, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Star Wars,

Toy Stores Where Have You Gone? by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(October 16, 2009)
I don’t know if you have noticed it or not but the toy stores are disappearing. It wasn’t that long ago when you could climb into the canyons of the mall and find a K-B Toy Store just packed to the hilt with all the latest stuff.

Top 5 Marvelous Mini Play Sets by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(October 09, 2009)
“Play sets, where have you gone?” was a question I asked just little over a year ago (see column). The era of the massive toy play set is gone. The G.I. Joe Headquarters has been replaced with a mobile command center. This is nothing but a big vehicle

Toy Maniac: Zombies Ate My Neighbors Retro Review by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(October 02, 2009)
Yes it is time for another Retro Review by Mania’s Toy Maniac. It seems only fitting that this week we look back at a classic game from Konami and LucasArts called Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993). In this current era of realistic gore, Nazi Zombies, Spac

8 Crazy Masters of the Universe Figures by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(September 25, 2009)
“By the Power of Grayskull” echoed on television for a little over two years yet the words live on to this very day. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was an incredible blend of science fiction with swords and sorcery.

5 Must Have Childhood Toy Guns by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(September 18, 2009)
In my quest to find the best (property licensed) toy guns form the seventies, eighties and nineties I discovered that most of the time they were too few and far between. Many of the short lived eighties TV series, though having had several action figures,

10 Toy Chariots of the Gods by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(September 11, 2009)
Let’s face it, not all of us had every vehicle that Kenner, Hasbro or Mattel made from our favorite toy lines. There were many that were just out of reach, i.e. way too expensive. There were some that only happened after we “grew up” and started to d

10 Action Figures That Died 1,000 Deaths by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(September 04, 2009)
Let’s face it, all action figures are not created equal. There are many that garner that special place in our hearts and become immortal. Han Solo, Snake Eyes and Spider-Man are just a few that would never die in our childhood adventures.

The Top 5 Expanded Star Wars Universe Figures by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(August 28, 2009)
When the original Star Wars films said goodbye in 1983 many of us thought that was the end. Sure there was the hope that one day George Lucas would get around to telling episodes seven, eight and nine but that never came to be. Then, in May of 1992 author

Toy Maniac: Artistry on Display at Comic Con by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(August 21, 2009)
Comic Con already seems like a distant memory until I look at the tons of pictures I have sitting in my computer. Wearing multiple hats here at Mania I really did run around like a chicken with my head cut off for those five days.

10 Movies That Need Action Figures by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(August 14, 2009)
With companies like Mezco and NECA always adding to their Movie Maniac, Cinema of Fear and Reel Toys lines there is still a chance. So if Moses from the Bible and the Cloverfield creature can have action figures then why not these guys?

Toy Maniac Retro Review: G.I. Joe A Real American Hero (NES) by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(August 07, 2009)
In 1991 when G.I. Joe A Real American Hero was released for the Nintendo I had grown out of G.I. Joe. Getting G.I. Joe toys for Christmas was no longer the cool or hip thing, as I unfortunately found out.

Toy Maniac: Post Comic-Con Toy Report by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(July 31, 2009)
Who had the pleasure of navigating some 100,000 people in San Diego last week? I for one took no pleasure in trying to walk through hordes of people that by day two all had the same mind set.

Toy Maniac: Doctor Who Toy Review by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(July 24, 2009)
In the last year I have become obsessed with Doctor Who. An action figure for my toy self became a necessity. Last year at the San Diego Comic Con I witnessed, for the first time, the sheer magnitude of figures that are available for this series by Undergr

Convention Maniac's Survival Guide to the SDCC by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(July 17, 2009)
Forgive me if you were looking for the Toy Maniac column this week. Just this week I am switching gears to focus solely on the San Diego Comic Con.

SDCC Toy Shopping Bag by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(July 10, 2009)
The San Diego Comic Con is twelve days away. If you are able to make the trek to Nerdvana and celebrate an event that is better than Christmas and Hanukah rolled into one consider yourself lucky.

NECA's Aliens Warrior Review by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(June 26, 2009)
While shuffling through Toys R Us this week where I was hoping to find some of the 25th Anniversary Transformer toys, which are still nowhere to be found, I found a true gem of a toy.

TRANSFORMERS’ Giant Robots by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(June 19, 2009)
With the dawn of yet another Transformer movie upon us I thought I would look at back at some of the bigger first generation Transformers.

The Phantom Menace Toy Keepsakes by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(June 12, 2009)
This June is a rough month for us Maniacs. There is a huge gap between the Up and Drag Me to Hell weekend and the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Nazi Zombies War by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(June 05, 2009)
I am sending out an S.O.S.. Why? Because I have had it and many of you Maniacs probably feel the same way. Now it isn’t the Zombies, Nazi Zombies to be precise, that I wish to complain about. It is the knuckle heads that, virtually, stand next to you in

Toy Maniac's May Round Up by Robert T. Trate, Columnist
(May 29, 2009)
Well another May is about to close and already many of us are turning our attention to what is next. As your humble Toy Maniac I have noticed huge gaping holes in the Transformers aisle as well as the redundant G.I. Joe figures still cluttering the racks.