YoYo Related News From Around The World
YoYoFactory has finally “officially” announced the Flight, their new offstring yoyo! We got a peek at prototypes at the Las Vegas Open and it looks and plays great. The YoYoFactory Flight will be officially released at NY Toy Fair, and in stores by early March.
The 2014 International Toy Fair will be taking place in New York City this weekend and Yomega will be there showcasing their latest products for 2014. Here is a preview of what they will be showing.
First up from Yomega’s licensed line of Star Wars Yo-Yos we have the String Bling and YoMen. These were first announced last year, but are finally now in full production and available in retail outlets.
The String Bling are Fireball yoyos with all-new Star Wars designs featuring Yoda, Boba Fett, Darth Vader and Clone Trooper. The yoyo comes with a collectable Star Wars character rings that are used to protect your fingers while yoyoing.
The YoMen are display stands that showcase your yoyos with the characters Darth Vader, Clone Trooper, Yoda and General Grievous. A Yomega Fireball yoyo is cradled on the stands and sculpted in the character’s likeness.
Next up we have Yomega’s range of kendamas. Yomega was the first yoyo company to manufacture and market a kendama, and their response to the growing popularity of kendama in the United States has been to steadily improve and refresh their line of kendama offerings.
They are also introducing an addition to their Pro line called the Coyote Kendama
“Inspired by the American Desert COYOTE KENDAMA is an all-new special collection from our premium KENDAMA PRO line. This first assortment includes Painted Desert, Malachite… and of course, the Trickster! He is the Coyote, the legendary “Trickster” in Native American folklore. Kendama players demand high performance and the coolest new looks, and COYOTE KENDAMA delivers!”
Also relating to kendamas, Yomega is introducing a new skill toy called the Ticayo. Similar to the traditional bilboquet, the Ticayo should appeal to kendama players, and anyone interested in another challenging skill toy.
“The Ticayo is a classic ball and catch game originating in Mexico. Yomega’s Ticayo is crafted in Germany of premium hard wood. The style of play is similar to the Kendama, but the shape of the ball and the handle areunique,creatingitsownchallenge. Packaged in an environmentally friendly kraft paper box, the Ticayo comes with its own cubed-styled stand for display. The Ticayo is available in four colors and natural. Available in the US and Canada only through Yomega.”
For Yomega’s higher end pieces we have the Raider, Maverick, Dash, Yo-Mods, Glide, and my personal favorite the Prodigy!
Things to note from this part of the catalog is that the Star Wars line is featured on the Glide with Boba Fett, Darth Vader, the Imperial insignia, and the Rebel insignia. The Maverick is also getting a new look, and the yoyo itself has undergone some design tweaks to improve performance. Better balance and weight distribution has made this my new favorite carry-around yoyo; it’s a must try for 2014! And the Raider is being released with th original logo, for fans of that classic Yomega look!
The biggest announcement for Toy Fair is the new collaboration between Yomega and YoYoJam! Three performance plastic yoyos, designed and manufactured by YoYoJam and distributed by Yomega!
The Odyssey, Journey, and all-new Firestorm will begin shipping to retailers in March. We’ve got full pics and specs on all three models….click through for details.
[button color=”light” link=”http://yoyonews.com/2014/02/13/yomega-yoyojam-announce-new-collaboration/” target=”blank”]Click Here For Details On The New YoYoJam x Yomega Releases[/button]
YoYoFactory‘s 2013 catalog folds out into a giant poster of Paul Han. OMG HE’S SO DREAMY!
Check out YoYoFactory’s new models and packaging at the International Toy Fair in NYC, Booth #4845, Feb. 10 – 13. The show is only open to the trade, but we’ll have photos of their new releases as soon as the show opens!
Our friend Takahiko Hasegawa is at the Hong Kong Toy Fair, and he posted these pics to his Instagram account of the new YoYoFactory packaging. He also posted a pic of a new metal yoyo that we apparently weren’t supposed to see yet, since he deleted the pictures shortly afterwards. I didn’t grab the pics immediately when I saw them, and now I don’t remember the name of the yoyo. A text message to Seth Peterson at YoYoFactory yielded this: “Wait until Toy Fair. Maybe.”
So, rumor has it YoYoFactory has a new metal yoyo coming out that is currently on display in Hong Kong and might be on display in New York in February. More info when we get it! In the meantime, dig the new YoYoFactory packaging…hats off to John Huber for another fantastic job!
UPDATE: The yoyo is called the Ricochet, and František Bína pointed out on our Facebook page that YoYoFactory posted a pic of it on their Instagram. It’s been mentioned that it’s titanium, but no one from YoYoFactory will confirm. Pic below!
