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Pokemon and Star Wars dominate 2017's hottest toys

A new Pokemon battling game, an electric skateboard and some Bill and Ted action figures were our picks from the UK's biggest toy fair.

Andrew Lanxon
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Andrew Lanxon
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1 of 29 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

This cheeky festive Pikachu is one of a vast selection of toys, games, gifts and collectables shown off at the 2017 Toy Fair held in Olympia, London.

The largest in the UK, the Toy Fair is the place to see all the latest toys that will be hitting shelves around the world this year. We trawled the massive show floor to find all the coolest tech toys and gadgets. (Note companies here give prices in pounds, which we've converted. Final prices in the US and Australia are likely to differ.)

Pokemon Go players who loved the "Santachu" special edition pikachus in the hit mobile game will love this real-life plush version. It's on sale in the coming weeks for £14 (which converts to around $17 or AU$23).

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One of my favourite things from the show was the new Throw 'n' Pop Pokeball Pokemon game. You and a friend put your Pokemon critters of choice inside these pokeballs. Throw them down at the same time and they spring open, converting the pokeballs into dice -- whoever has the higher number wins the round!

They're on sale now for £11 (which converts to about $14 or AU$18).

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Using an augmented reality iPad app, these Mardles story books come to life, allowing you to interact with the characters that star in each of the books.

The app will be free, while each of the books will cost £7 (about $9 or AU$12) when they hit stores in the UK this June.

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Mardles uses the same augmented reality app to turn a paper mask into a scary on-screen monster.

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This Ecto-1 die-cast model looks awesome.

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The Toy Fair is housed in the magnificent Olympia building in west London.

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I loved this DeLorean from "Back to the Future III", made by Oxford Diecast. It's on sale soon in the UK for £15 (about $20 or AU$25).

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8 of 29 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

There was a boat load of Star Wars merchandise at this year's show. I was particularly keen on this inflatable BB-8 droid, which turned out to be remote-controlled.

On sale now for £40 (converts to $50, AU$65).

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If you're more into precisely crafted Star Wars memorabilia, these Kylo Ren, Rey and Finn statues are probably more up your street.

You'll have to shell out the princely sum of £350 ($440, AU$580) each for them, though.

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Or if you'd rather celebrate the twisted artwork of HR Giger, this Alien statue could be yours for £1,200 (about $1,500 or AU$2,000).

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Some of the "toys" at the show aren't for the whole family. This barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat from "The Walking Dead" might be made of rubber, but it's sturdy enough to knock a photographer's camera from his hands.

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These little characters were created using the 3Doodler Start -- a child-friendly version of the regular 3Doodler 3D printing pen. The Start is wireless and uses a much lower heat that won't burn clumsy fingers.

It's available for $49 in the US and £49 in the UK (about AU$80 converted).

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I was fascinated by architecture as a kid, so I was really excited by this home design kit by Arckit. While there are instructions in each kit on how to build a specific building, children (or enthusiastic adults) are encouraged to try their own designs out too.

This kit shown here will cost £159 (converts to $200 or AU$265).

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You'll see many things on the show floor at the Toy Fair, but I didn't expect to see a man walking round with a real, living bearded dragon clinging to his sleeve.

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This third-generation Micro Drone is now equipped with a gimbal-stabilised camera, and can be flown using the included headset, which gives you a first-person view of what the drone is seeing.

It's on sale now for £150 (converts to $190 or AU$250).

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No, that's not a toy, that's a human being, but he's wearing a pair of BeatMoovz bands on his wrists and ankles. When he dances, the bands sense the motion and, using the company's app, translates the movement into drumbeats. It was really cool to watch this dancer -- who also created the BeatMoovz -- bust his best moves and hear the resulting beats.

A pair of the bands will cost £50 (which converts to about $60 or AU$85), although you'll need two sets if you want them on your wrists and ankles.

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CNET video producer Jonathan Garnham is riding the latest electric skateboard from Razor. The X Cruiser uses lithium ion batteries and can reach a top speed of 8 mph.

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The X Cruiser's speed is controlled by this small throttle.

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It didn't take Jon long to fall off it. Perhaps this one is best left to the kids.

It's on sale later in the summer for £230 (which converts to $290 or AU$380).

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Isn't this plush Togepi just adorable? Yours for £14 (converts to around $17 or AU$23).

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Or opt for everyone's favourite terrible Pokemon, Magikarp!

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I badly want these figures of Bill, Ted and Rufus from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in my house.

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The Bloodhound SSC rocket car is due to make its land speed record attempt in 2018, but you can have this official model version now.

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Are your kids jealous of your Apple Watch? Then consider the Kurio smartwatch for kids. As well as the augmented reality camera function shown here, it comes with a variety of games, messaging between other watch owners and tools to help kids learn new languages.

It's available soon for around £80 (converts to $100 or AU$135).

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There are few things cooler than chilling your whisky with a giant BB-8 shaped ice cube.

Available now on Amazon for £15 or $11.

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These cuddly bears -- Peekaboos by Ty -- are not only cute, they're iPad holders too.

They're available soon for £20 (which converts to $25 or AU$35).

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If you enjoyed the animated movie "Secret Life of Pets" (and I'm sure you did, it's great fun) then you may like this plush version of Chloe...

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...or the aggressive social crusader who just wants to be hugged, Snowball.

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I have no idea why there's a dead alien in a fish tank.

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