Horrified mum finds checklist of sex toys and explicit positions accidentally printed in young daughter’s Frozen 2 diary

WHEN a little girl received a Frozen 2 diary for her fifth birthday, she was understandably delighted with the gift.

However, her mum, called Toni, was soon left horrified when she realised the present contained a checklist of sex toys and explicit positions.

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A little girl was delighted to receive a Frozen 2 diary for her fifth birthdayCredit: Facebook

In a post of Facebook, the shocked woman revealed how a friend had purchased the Disney-branded product from Australian chain Kmart.

Her daughter, called Millie, was showing her aunt the diary - featuring pictures from the popular children's film franchise - when she discovered the adult-themed list on one of the pages.

The worried mum wrote: "If it was in a diary in the adults section in Kmart I would have understood but not in a kid's book come on."

The x-rated notes appeared to have been accidentally included, since the same Frozen diary had incidentally also been purchased by Toni's brother for her daughter, and didn't feature the unexpected content.

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Her mum was horrified to discover the gift had been printed with a list of sex toys and explicit positionsCredit: Facebook

Fortunately, the five-year-old is not yet able to understand the words on the page - saving her mum from a rather awkward conversation.

Toni continued: "She has just started pre-school but she isn't learning those words."

The diary showed no signs of tampering, so it appeared to be a genuine mistake at the manufacturing stage.

When the mum took the item back to the shop the staff were "very apologetic" about the error.

She has just started pre-school but she isn't learning those words.

Toni

Toni added: "They did try and replace it but I just said I would keep it just for the laughs."

Commenting on the incident, a Kmart spokesperson said: "We are so very sorry – and extremely embarrassed – to hear about a customer's recent experience with our Frozen 2 Diary Make Over Set.

'This does not in any way reflect our views as a family business and we are investigating this situation as a priority with our supplier. 

'We do hope this is an isolated incident, but have decided to withdraw this item from sale just to be sure. 

'We'll be conducting a thorough investigation and encourage any customers who have experienced an issue to please get in contact with a member of our customer service team on 1800 124 125."

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In other parenting news, we told you how a dad has created a stunning treehouse for his daughter for just a tenner.

We also revealed how a mum created a "lunch menu" at home to cheer up her kids missing school dinners.

And a toddler has covered his face in lipstick after getting into his mum's make-up bag.

Jacqueline Jossa shows off her impressive vocals as she sings Frozen with daughter Ella

The top 12 toys available this Christmas (according to the experts!)

Dream Toys is the highly anticipated 'top toy' list that helps parents work out what their kids might want most for Christmas – and snap them up before they sell out.

The list, from the Toy Retailers Association, is compiled by a panel of retailers and industry experts and this year's top 12 has just been revealed.

But what will a mum and her two daughters think of the selection, which ranges from £10 dolls to £100 crowd-pleasers? Here's the lowdown from mum Claire Spreadbury, and her girls, Rosie, aged 10 and Poppy, seven.

1. Mattel Barbie Dreamplane Playset, £79.99

What is it? It's Barbie's private jet, of course. Push it on its wheels, open it up, recline the seats and play away. Comes with lots of bits and pieces (including a plastic puppy), but no Barbie dolls.

Kids' view: Generally, my kids are impressed. "That's cool," says Poppy. They're all about the extra 'stuff' that comes with it, but as long as that's included (which it is), they think it's a great toy for children around 7-years-old. Both girls agree £79.99 is too expensive, but you can currently buy it for £50 from Argos, which they feel is definitely worth it.

Parent's view: It's a lot of pink plastic. I'm trying to buy less plastic stuff generally, and Poppy already has a pink plane, albeit a Shopkins one, so I wouldn't buy this, but I can see it being a hit on Christmas Day, and something - much like the Barbie Camper from last year - that would be brought out and played with.

2. Skyrocket Blume Dolls, £9.99

What is it? The Blume doll comes in a sealed plant pot. You water the top of the pot and her hair, which is made of compressed foam, expands so she pops out. It's got the surprise element and the hair also comes off and is interchangeable.

Kids' view: "Oh, wow," says Poppy. "I like gardening and it looks like gardening. I definitely want one of those." Rosie thinks it's a great product - and is especially impressed by the price - but says it's too young for her.

Parent's view: This is the perfect bargain present for Christmas. The surprise element is lovely, it's not too big or too small, and costs a tenner. I'll be giving at least one of these out at Christmas.

3. Jakks Pacific Frozen 2 'Into the Unknown' Elsa Doll, £39.99

What is it? This is a new Elsa doll, from the movie Frozen 2. She has giant eyes, hair you can brush and if you press a button, she says things and sings songs.

Kids' view: Both my kids are less keen on this one, but I should point out that after being obsessed with Frozen the first time round, they're not massively up for the sequel, because they think it will be too young for them. "It's definitely not for anyone my age," says Rosie. The girls agree it would work for four or five-year-olds who like Frozen, but think it's 'way' too expensive. "It's only worth £15," decides Rosie.

Parent's view: I actually agree with my kids. We had singing and non-singing dolls in 2013 when the first film came out (and the singing one was really annoying), but they loved them at the time. Having said that, they didn't get played with all that much, and they are quite expensive, so I'm not sure I'd splash out again.

4. LEGO Harry Potter Knight Bus, £34.99

What is it? 403 Lego pieces make up the purple Harry Potter Knight Bus and it's aimed at ages 8 and over. There's a hinged side panel, removable roof and three mini figures – Harry Potter, Stan Shunpike and Ernie Prang.

Kids' view: There were gasps when they saw the door opens up the entire side, and they both agreed any LEGO and/or Harry Potter fans would love it, and that it's priced pretty fairly.

Parent's view: I think this is great. My kids aren't massively into Lego or Harry Potter (I know, it's annoying), but I would definitely buy this for friends or family. It's not too overpriced, which a lot of big Lego sets can be, looks relatively straightforward to make (Poppy would happily get stuck into it, even though she's a bit younger than 8) and the features give it lots of playability.

5. MGA Entertainment L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper, £99.99

What is it? This is the big LOL toy for Christmas - a pink campervan which comes with 55 surprises inside, and working lights and sounds. The surprises are all bagged up and hidden in different areas of the Glamper. It also comes with one LOL doll.

Kids' view: This was the big hitter in our house. Both the 7 and the 10-year-old want it. There's total silence whilst we watch the video showing it off and a lot of murmerings about it being 'so cool'. What's cool about it? "Everything! There are so many accessories and surprise things." Rosie is impressed by the addition of the phone holder, which means you can play your own music. Poppy thinks it's worth every penny of that £100 note. Rosie's less sure, but you can find it in most places for under £90 right now.

Parent's view: There's no doubt this is a massive crowd-pleaser. Any LOL fans are going to love you forever, and all the different surprises mean it's a gift that will keep on giving for hours. For anyone who already has a Barbie Camper (like us) this feels incredibly similar, but with more bang for your buck. And the girls tell me it's 'so much better'. If you're going to splash out on a lot of plastic, this might be the thing to buy.

6. Hasbro Nerf Elite Fortnite SP-L, £19.99

What is it? This is a new Nerf blaster, which replicates the look and colours of the ones used in the video game Fortnite. It comes with six Nerf darts and a removable barrel attachment. The darts can fire out, reaching around 30 feet.

Kids' view: "It's actually really cool," says Rosie. She thinks all the boys in her school would love it (and hopefully some less sexist girls, too). Poppy agrees anyone who likes guns would think it's great, and they both think the price point is 'decent'.

Parent's view: We don't have any Nerf toys in our house, but giving a new blaster a Fortnite makeover is a great idea, and at £20, they're the perfect price for a Christmas present.

7. Spin Master Toys Owleez, £49.99

What is it? This is an interactive owl, which comes in two colours - pink and white. You need to pet and love them and teach them how to fly by swooping them around. On the first attempt, they might be too scared or not ready, but once they are, their head lifts up and they fly through the air.

Kids' view: "So cute," says Poppy, though she was worried about it flying around in the house... They like that it's cuddly and techy all at the same time, so the age bracket will be quite vast for this one. Both girls would like one for Christmas, but they think it's quite expensive.

Parent's view: I think this is a great gift and although £50 is a bit steep, they're on offer in quite a few places (Argos, Smyths, The Entertainer) at around £40 right now. It's a great Christmas present they can play with on the day, and doesn't take up loads of space, so that's a plus in my book!

8. Spin Master Toys PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Super PAWs Mighty Jet Command Centre, £59.99

What is it? A two-in-one vehicle, which can switch from being a jet into a mobile command centre. There's room for the Mighty Pups and the Deluxe Mighty Vehicle to fit inside, but these are sold separately.

Kids' view: Rosie points out it's a bit 'babyish' for anyone of her age. Poppy still secretly quite likes Paw Patrol and would happily play with this, and they both think the price is quite fair.

Parent's view: I would avoid this like the plague. It's a huge heap of plastic, takes up loads of room and seems overpriced to me, but there's no doubt Paw Patrol fans will love it.

9. Character Options Peppa Pig Peppa's Stage Playset, £39.99

What is it? A stage for Peppa and her friends to perform on. There are interchangeable backgrounds, seats for characters to watch, Peppa and George, sound effects and cardboard cutouts.

Kids' view: The girls are surprisingly impressed with this. They weren't expecting to like it but both agree, that for little ones, it's a really good gift, if a little pricey.

Parent's view: I think this is a bit expensive, but brings in creative play and I can see lots of kids acting out cute Peppa shows on Christmas Day. It's a gift I would have been happy for my kids to receive.

10. Tomy Rizmo, £59.99

What is it? This is the latest interactive toy, which starts life as a furball baby. All you can see are two lights amid its fur.

But if you play with it, and continue to play and sing to it, Rizmo will start growing tufts and ears and will soon be singing along or back at you.

Kids' view: Rosie wouldn't put it on her Christmas list, but Poppy is more impressed, and they're mesmerised by the way it grows and changes through play.

You need to play with it for about half an hour a day and after two weeks, he will have fully evolved.

Parent's view: Honestly, I think this is really complicated and something my kids would get bored with. It's the new Furby, but it requires a lot of interaction. It's more suitable for younger children, but because of the different modes, it's aimed at kids no younger than 6. I'd probably give it a miss, but it's a very clever toy.

11. Flair Leisure Products Ryan's World Super Surprise Safe, £44.99

What is it? Use the key to unlock the safe and discover more than 30 surprises. There are three different layers to open up - the first one has tabs you can just push your fingers through, the second one you smash up with a plastic hammer you've already opened, and the last one uses clues to help kids discover what's inside.

Kids' view: The girls think this is a great gift - they love the surprise elements and the fact it comes with keys, though they wouldn't actually want it for themselves.

Parent's view: I think this is a brilliant gift, it's just too expensive. Most of what's inside is plastic and/or seems incredibly cheap to me. You can make slime from some of the ingredients, and it's quite creative, but most of it will end up in the bin by New Year. The way you unlock all the surprise gifts is really great though, and kids will love it.

12. Mattel Toy Story 4 True Talkers, £17.99

What is it? Plastic Toy Story dolls - Buzz, Woody, Forky, Jessie, Rex and Bo Beep, each with 15 sounds and phrases.

Kids' view: "I feel like it's a bit boring," says Rosie. "You just press buttons and they say stuff.

"I mean, if you had all of them, it would be a little more fun, because you can play with them together." So, although they think £17.99 is a fair price, they'd definitely want more than one of them.

Parent's view: I'd happily give or receive these, but I thought the girls' point about needing more than one to play with was really interesting, as I doubt anyone would buy two, and if you did, it makes it a much more expensive gift.

Toys for Tots starting early to cheer local children

© Provided by Sherman/Dennison Herald Democrat Toys for Tots box at Dollar general in Sherman in 2016. [Herald Democrat]

Although the Easter Bunny just recently packed away his basket of eggs and goodies, an organization most associated with Christmas is stepping up to help deliver some early holiday cheer to children stuck at home during the COVID-19 crisis.

Toys for Tots of Texoma Coordinator Debi Runnels said the desire right now is to give children a little extra cheer while they deal with the many changes in their lives brought on by the COVID-19 social distancing requirements.

"We can't help people with food (or other needs) but we can do what we do best and help with toys," Runnels said. She said to keep the project safe for everyone involved, they are skipping the process of having people drop off toys for the project. Instead a group called Good360 is stepping in to provide the toys for local nonprofits who will distribute them to local children. Runnels said she didn't yet have any information on which local groups might be getting part of the two million toys, books, games, and puzzles that will be distributed.

The toys will come direct from toy vendors and be shipped to the nonprofits.

Information on the Toysfortots.org website said those who wish to get their children involved with the toy giveaway should "contact a local non-profit organization and ask them if they are a member of the Good360 network. If they are a member with Good360, ask if they can apply on your behalf to receive toys from the program. If your local non-profit organization is not a member of the Good360 network, ask the non-profit if they can register with Good360 to become a member and then apply on your behalf to receive toys from the program."

The website said local nonprofits can register to be part of the program with Good360 on their website at: https://good360.org/marketplace/register/.

"There is NO FEE for a non-profit organization to register to become a member of Good360," information on the website said "Non-profit organizations can typically be approved by Good360 in 24 hours. Non 501(c)(3) organizations such as faith based organizations can also register to become a Good360 member, but approval typically takes 2-3 business days."

Good360's stated purpose is to "transform lives by providing hope, dignity, and a sense of renewed possibility to individuals, families, and communities impacted by disasters or other challenging life circumstances who, without us, would struggle to find that hope," according to information on the website.

For more coronavirus related news, visit http://www.HeraldDemocrat.com/coronavirus.

CNN Wire

McDonald's bringing back retro Happy Meal toys

  McDonald's Happy Meal might be for kids, but officially it's over the hill. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the company's first Happy Meal, the kids meal that helped McDonald's achieve fast food supremacy. Today, roughly one in every four orders at McDonald's includes a Happy Meal, according to retail data tracker Sense360. Each Happy Meal contains the option of a hamburger or chicken nuggets, a side like french fries and a drink. And a toy, some of which have become […]

A mother is charged with murder after delivering a stillborn baby with meth in its system

(CNN) — A 25-year-old woman in central California has been arrested and charged with murder after she delivered a stillborn baby that authorities said had toxic levels of methamphetamine in its system. The Hanford Police Department said in a news release that Chelsea Cheyenne Becker delivered a stillborn child September 10 that medical professionals believed may have been exposed to drugs while she was pregnant. The death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy by the Kings County Coroner's Office […]

Little boy decides to use his birthday money to give his teacher a 'pay raise'

(CNN) — Nine-year-old boys usually spend their birthday money on toys or video games, but one Florida boy decided to do something different. Parker Williams got $15 for his birthday and instead of buying something for himself, he decided to give his teacher at Gorrie Elementary in Tampa a pay raise. "I think more people should be nice because it's a nicer thing to do than being mean," Williams told CNN affiliate WFLA. "I think she's a really kind teacher…and she spends […]

Vaping illness outbreak climbs to 10 cases in Idaho

BOISE, ID (KIVI) — New data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) shows a hike in the number of vaping-related illnesses in the state. This mysterious lung injury is now being investigated by federal and state agencies. According to the latest nationwide data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37 Americans have now reportedly died from vaping-related lung injury. 1888 vaping-related illnesses have been reported nationwide, and now, according to IDHW, a record number […]

Airbnb CEO says all listings and hosts will be verified by December 2020

(CNN) — Amid growing concerns about its rental listing platform, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company will start verifying all hosts and listings on its platform. The news comes after a Vice investigation, published last Thursday, uncovered a "nationwide web of deception" where a person or organization was able to exploit Airbnb's rules through phony listings and fake reviews undetected by the company. Also last Thursday, five people were shot and killed at a Halloween party held in an Airbnb rental in Orinda, […]

Scientists discover first new HIV strain in nearly two decades

(CNN) — For the first time in 19 years, a team of scientists has detected a new strain of HIV. The strain is a part of the Group M version of HIV-1, the same family of virus subtypes to blame for the global HIV pandemic, according to Abbott Laboratories, which conducted the research along with the University of Missouri, Kansas City. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. HIV has several different subtypes or strains, and like other viruses, it […]

Bud Light Seltzer is coming out with hard seltzer

(CNN) — Bud Light Seltzer is joining the battle for spiked seltzer supremacy. Anheuser-Busch InBev's newest addition to its spiked seltzer lineup is coming early next year. Although it's named after its bestselling beer, Bud Light Seltzer will taste like hard seltzer. The beer conglomerate hopes the recognizable Bud Light brand will give it an edge in the rapidly growing segment of the alcohol business. Bud Light Seltzer, which will debut in the first quarter of 2020, is made from cane sugar […]

A 13-year-old boy charged with murder has escaped in North Carolina, officials say

Police say they're looking for a 13-year-old murder suspect who escaped from officers following a court appearance in the North Carolina city of Lumberton on Tuesday, officials said.

Impeachment investigators announce first public hearings next week

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff on Wednesday announced public impeachment hearings will begin next week as Democrats prepare to take their case against President Donald Trump to the public. Schiff, a California Democrat, said that three witnesses would testify in public next week: US diplomat Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent will appear next Wednesday, and former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is testifying next Friday. The open hearings mark a new phase of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry into Trump and Ukraine and will be the […]

The Senate unanimously passes a bill that makes animal cruelty a federal felony

The Senate has unanimously passed a bill that makes animal cruelty a federal felony. The PACT Act — which stands for Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture — was approved by the Senate on Tuesday. The bipartisan legislation, which passed the House last month, expands a previous law passed in 2010. "There's no place in a civilized society for maiming and torturing animals – period," said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill. Current federal law prohibits animal fighting […]

Airbnb secures a $1 billion loan and Omnicom plans layoffs, furloughs: Wednesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age's Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters. 

Airbnb secures $1billion loan

Airbnb has lined up a $1 billion loan amid more speculation that it will delay its planned IPO due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Bloomberg News, the cash will come from a group of more than 20 investors including Silver Lake, BlackRock and Fidelity Investments. The company confirmed it had secured commitments for a $1 billion syndicated loan although it didn't give further detail. 

Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO and co-founder, said in a statement: "I deeply appreciate the confidence and trust that so many have shown in our company even as every sector in travel is going through the storm of the pandemic. All of the actions we have taken over the last several weeks assure that Airbnb will emerge from the storm of the pandemic even stronger, regardless of how long the storm lasts."

The loan comes as Airbnb is offering "online experiences" on its site, in order to offset losses from its travel business. As reported by Forbes, these include meditation with Buddhist monks in Japan, virtual visits with dogs in Chernobyl and cooking with a Moroccan family. 

Omnicom starts layoffs, furloughs

As the pandemic hits agencies where it hurts, the cuts, layoffs and furloughs are coming thick and fast at the big networks. Following Dentsu Aegis announcement of salary cuts and furloughs on Monday, yesterday Omnicom Group Chairman-CEO John Wren warned employees in an all-staff memo obtained by Ad Age that furloughs and staff reductions will be carried out "across many of our agencies."

Ad Age's Lindsay Rittenhouse reports that "layoffs and furloughs are expected to start this week," according to one person familiar with the matter.  In the memo, Wren noted, "Where possible, our agencies will use furloughs rather than permanent reductions, so we can bring people back if, and when, conditions improve and client demand recovers."

Wren also said that he will be waiving his entire salary through the end of September and Omnicom's executive leadership team would be reducing their salaries by a third.

FTC cracks down on coronavirus claims

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on companies that are making fake claims related to COVID-19. Ad Age's Garett Sloane reports that on Tuesday, the FTC sent warning letters to 10 companies that allegedly overstated the power of their products to combat coronavirus. It targeted companies running Facebook and Instagram accounts and Amazon sellers, hawking products and services like Vitamin C injections, face cleansers, and wellness devices that are claimed to treat the virus. For example, one Texas company, Resurgence Wellness, used hashtags like "covid19" and "coronavirustreatment" on its Instagram posts.

Just brieflyP&G raises its quarterly dividend: Procter & Gamble is raising its quarterly dividend by 6 percent, even as many other companies slash or suspend theirs, CNBC reports. P&G also said it would announce its fiscal third-quarter earnings on Friday, ahead of its previously announced date of April 21.

Maurice Lévy won't work: The former Publicis Groupe chief executive's stint as WeWork's marketing chief quietly came to end a few weeks ago, Campaign is reporting. Lévy left his post as interim chief marketing officer of the beleaguered office-sharing business at the end of February, after only three months.

Out-of-home in a pandemic: How does out-of-home advertising survive in a pandemic lockdown when nobody is supposed to be outside? Ad Age's Jeanine Poggi speaks to Barry Frey, CEO of the DPPA, the organization for the digital out-of-home industry, about the subject in the latest edition of Ad Age Remotely. It's not all bad news: Frey says that while OOH ad revenue is certainly taking a hit right now, he expects most ad dollars to shift later in the year once people get back outside. He also believes the situation will also lead to innovation in content and a stronger desire for out-of-home to serve news and entertainment to consumers.

Small Agency extended: Ad Age is extending the deadline for the 2020 Small Agency Awards to May 7. To apply for this year's contest, go here. And note that while entries will still require revenue figures, due to this year's extraordinary circumstances, no entry will be penalized for showing a loss.

Dropped: McDonald's is dropping its sponsorship of Nascar driver Kyle Larson after the professional athlete was recorded using a racial slur. Larson is a member of Chip Ganassi Racing, an organization McDonald's has sponsored for more than a decade.

Corona creativity of the day: Heineken is encouraging drinkers to "socialize responsibly" in quarantine in a new spot created by Publicis Italy—a country where lockdown has now been in force for over a month. The ad shows people socializing  the "old way," with handshakes, high fives, hugs and kisses, before moving to the new way of doing things that we're all becoming familiar with, like catching up with friends over a few beers via video call. Watch it here. 

That does it for today's Wake-Up Call, thanks for reading and we hope you are all staying safe and well. For more industry news and insight, follow us on Twitter:@adage. 

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Top 5 Best Transformers Toys with Drill Themed Alt Modes

-Kanrabat- wrote:For me, I prefer about all the Hasbro components for their unique moldings and toy colors. Only the drill tank suck.

I am surprised with the unique moldings comment. Only strafe and Afterburner had new headsculpts for instance, while the rest were all straight redecos of previously released toys. I get that it's a bit unfair to say about scattershot's head who is a redeco of retail scattershot but for the boxset, they couldn't even bother giving this combiner a new headsculpt, which was my default reasoning behind getting UW Computron instead.

Deadput wrote:And I love the drill from the Brawl mold version, tiny pointy drills are just as good as big drills.

That's just something fembots say to make the bots with small drills happy.

Bumblevivisector wrote:So this top 5 inevitably devolved into the old CW/UW Technobot debate.

As long as we are just having fun and distracted by the world going to hell, I'm ok with it. And thanks for your perspective on that debate!

ZeroWolf wrote:I'll echo others, Transmetal Scavenger needs to be on this list somewhere but I can appreciate it being hard to call with the other entries. Good job either Will!

Thanks! And he is here now that many have mentioned him. I agree that he is one of the best Transformers toys ever made and he got his due on my lists a couple of times, most recently here. For this list based on alt modes, I tried to keep it obvious, and I personally always felt his drills applied more to his robot mode. That's just me though.

Black Hat wrote:Hasbro Computron is a funny one. I actually prefer some of the more toy inspired deco choices, especially Afterburner and Scattershot's vehicle mode, and Strafe is kinda cool in his own right.

I think Hasbro even botched the toy decos. Afterburner is the wrong kind of orange. At least takara went all cartoon accurate while hasbro pulled their usual jack of all trades master of none thing with these guys.

I will say that I really love that Scattershot alt mode deco though, it's just a nice mix of red and white, highlighting the molded detail.

Windsweeper wrote:Always enjoy your lists.

Problem with 3 of these was availability. Drillhorn and United Nosecone were only available in Japan and Titans Return Twintwist had limited availability too.

Thanks! As for availability, I get the issue with the g1 toy (though one would argue that for any g1 toy for collectors who weren't even alive in the 80s), but UW Computron was available to any fan who wanted him and had acces to the internet. Hasbro computron was just as hard or easy to find, when thinking of global availability, with him being a boxset. In the end, both were boxsets you could buy from most online vendors and none were readily available at brick and mortar retail compared to the other retail combiners in the line.

Windsweeper wrote:As I said, I enjoyed the list. Considering the drill tank subject matter, it could have been boring...

Black Hat wrote:I'd be tempted to put Armada Drillbit in here as an honourable mention, largely because I do love me some Minicons, and Drillbit is a really cool one, with his drill arm and neat vehicle mode.

Drillbit is one of my all time favourite minicons, that's why I gave him a shout out on this list: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... oys/43762/

McDonald's Will Stop Putting Plastic Toys in Happy Meals Next Year

A few months after celebrating the Happy Meal's 40th anniversary by resurrecting some of its most popular toys, McDonald's has announced that it will be eliminating plastic toys altogether in the the UK and Ireland.

Starting in 2021, McDonald's will swap out a hard plastic non-sustainable toy with either a soft toy, a paper-based toy, or an optional book. The company said the move would eliminate more than 3,000 metric tonnes of potential plastic waste. And starting this month, McDonald's will be testing paper packaging for Happy Meal toys and books instead of plastic cellophane, which will further reduce plastic waste by an additional 200 metric tonnes.

The announcement comes after several campaigns encouraged the fast food giant to find ways to reduce its environmental footprint. That includes a Change.org petition started by two young girls wanting McDonald's to stop giving away plastic toys with its kids meals, which has collected over 568,000 signatures to-date.

Beyond reducing plastic it's giving out, McDonald's also plans to take back of the plastic already in the wild. The company announced it will be installing collection boxes for used and unwanted Happy Meal toys that customers can drop off. The toys will be recycled, and the regenerated plastic will be used to build playground equipment for Ronald McDonald House Charities here and in Ireland.

McDonald's restaurants in countries like Canada already offer book alternatives to Happy Meal toys. While these localised initiatives are a solid start, there are over 37,800 McDonald's restaurants around the world. Cutting down plastic toys and other waste are really needed at that level to really make a dent.

Single-use plastic waste is just one of many unfortunate side effects of fast food chains like McDonald's specifically targeting children with special meals that include toys and collectibles. The next step after that will be to eliminate the Happy Meal altogether and encourage families (and kids) to seek out healthier alternatives when dining out.

Featured image: Gizmodo