1.
Figurine
–
A figurine or statuette is a small statue that represents a human, deity or animal, or in practice a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with pottery, metal, wood, glass, ceramic figurines not made of porcelain are called terracottas in historical contexts. Figures with movable parts, allowing limbs to be posed, are likely to be called dolls, mannequins, or action figures, or robots or automata. Figurines and miniatures are used in board games, such as chess. In China, there are extant Neolithic figurines, European prehistoric figurines of women, some appearing pregnant, are called Venus figurines, because of their presumed connection to fertility. The two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, Olmec figurines in semi-precious stones and pottery had a wide influence all over Mesoamerica about 1000-500 BC, and were apparently usually kept in houses. These early figurines are among the first signs of human culture, one cannot know in some cases how they were used. They probably had religious or ceremonial significance and may have used in many types of rituals. Some may have worn as jewelry or intended to amuse children. Porcelain and other ceramics are common materials for figurines, ancient Greek terracotta figurines, made in moulds, were a large industry by the Hellenistic period, and ones in bronze also very common. In Roman art bronze came to predominate, most of these were religious, and deposited in large numbers in temples as votives, or kept in the home and sometimes buried with their owner. But types such as Tanagra figurines included many purely decorative subjects, there are many early examples from China, which drove the experimentation in Europe to replicate the process. The first European porcelain figurines, produced in a process mastered in Germany were known as Meissen ware after the city where it began, soon the technique was copied in other cities, such as the one depicted from Dresden. Genre figurines of gallant scenes, beggars or figurines of saints are carved from pinewood in Val Gardena, South Tyrol, modern figurines, particularly those made of plastic, are often referred to as figures. They can encompass modern action figures and other figures as well as Precious Moments and Hummel figurines, Bobbleheads, Sebastian Miniatures. Two companies which produce porcelain figurines are Royal Doulton, Lladró, Figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts have been referred to by the terms inaction figures and staction figures. There is also a known as mini war gaming in which players use figurines in table top based games
Figurine
–
Chinese porcelain blanc de Chine figure of
Guan Yin, Ming Dynasty
Figurine
–
18th century Saint John Baptist pinewood
polychrome figurine
Figurine
–
Prehistoric
Venus of Willendorf figurine
Figurine
–
Minoan pottery praying woman, 16th century BC
2.
Plastic
–
Plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and can be molded into solid objects. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high mass, but they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, due to their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in an enormous and expanding range of products, from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, horn and bone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in most of their former uses. In developed countries, about a third of plastic is used in packaging, other uses include automobiles, furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the ratios may be different - for example, the worlds first fully synthetic plastic was bakelite, invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland who coined the term plastics. Toward the end of the century, one approach to this problem was met with wide efforts toward recycling, the word plastic is derived from the Greek πλαστικός meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός meaning molded. The common word plastic should not be confused with the technical adjective plastic, used for insulating parts in electrical fixtures, paper laminated products, thermally insulation foams. Problems include the probability of moldings naturally being dark colors, One of the most expensive commercial polymers. It forms the basis of artistic and commercial acrylic paints when suspended in water with the use of other agents, polytetrafluoroethylene – Heat-resistant, low-friction coatings, used in things like non-stick surfaces for frying pans, plumbers tape and water slides. It is more known as Teflon. Urea-formaldehyde – One of the aminoplasts and used as an alternative to phenolics. Used as an adhesive and electrical switch housings. Early plastics were bio-derived materials such as egg and blood proteins, in 1600 BC, Mesoamericans used natural rubber for balls, bands, and figurines. Treated cattle horns were used as windows for lanterns in the Middle Ages, materials that mimicked the properties of horns were developed by treating milk-proteins with lye. In the 1800s, as industrial chemistry developed during the Industrial Revolution, the development of plastics also accelerated with Charles Goodyears discovery of vulcanization to thermoset materials derived from natural rubber. Parkesine is considered the first man-made plastic, the plastic material was patented by Alexander Parkes, In Birmingham, UK in 1856. It was unveiled at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London, parkesine won a bronze medal at the 1862 Worlds fair in London
Plastic
–
Household items made of various types of plastic
Plastic
–
A chair made with a polypropylene seat
Plastic
–
Plastic (LDPE) bowl, by GEECO, Made in England, c1950.
Plastic
–
Molded plastic food replicas on display outside a restaurant in
Japan
3.
Film
–
A film, also called a movie, motion picture, theatrical film or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession, the process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry. The word cinema, short for cinematography, is used to refer to the industry of films. Films were originally recorded onto plastic film through a photochemical process, the adoption of CGI-based special effects led to the use of digital intermediates. Most contemporary films are now fully digital through the process of production, distribution. Films recorded in a form traditionally included an analogous optical soundtrack. It runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it and is not projected, Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures. They reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them, Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful medium for educating—or indoctrinating—citizens. The visual basis of film gives it a power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles to translate the dialog into the language of the viewer, some have criticized the film industrys glorification of violence and its potentially negative treatment of women. The individual images that make up a film are called frames, the perception of motion is due to a psychological effect called phi phenomenon. The name film originates from the fact that film has historically been the medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for a motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photoplay. The most common term in the United States is movie, while in Europe film is preferred. Terms for the field, in general, include the big screen, the screen, the movies, and cinema. In early years, the sheet was sometimes used instead of screen. Preceding film in origin by thousands of years, early plays and dances had elements common to film, scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, much terminology later used in film theory and criticism apply, such as mise en scène. Owing to the lack of any technology for doing so, the moving images, the magic lantern, probably created by Christiaan Huygens in the 1650s, could be used to project animation, which was achieved by various types of mechanical slides
Film
–
A vintage Fox movietone motion picture camera
Film
–
The
Berlin Wintergarten theatre was the site of the first
cinema ever, with a short film presented by the
Skladanowsky brothers on 1 November 1895. The image depicts a July 1940
variety show.
Film
–
A shot from
Georges Méliès Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1902), an early narrative film.
Film
–
This
16 mm spring-wound
Bolex "H16" Reflex camera is a popular entry level camera used in
film schools.
4.
Comic book
–
A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comic art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by brief descriptive prose and written narrative, although comics has some origins in 18th century Japan and 1830s Europe, comic books were first popularized in the United States during the 1930s. Comic books are reliant on their organization and appearance, authors largely focus on the frame of the page, size, orientation, and panel positions. These characteristic aspects of books are necessary in conveying the content. The key elements of comic books include panels, balloons, text, balloons are usually convex spatial containers of information that are related to a character using a tail element. The tail has an origin, path, tip, and pointed direction, there are many technological formulas used to create comic books, including directions, axes, data, and metrics. Following these key formatting procedures is the writing, drawing, Comics as a print medium have existed in America since the printing of The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck in 1842 in hardcover, making it the first known American prototype comic book. The introduction of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shusters Superman in 1938 turned comic books into a major industry, the Golden Age originated the archetype of the superhero. Historians generally divide the timeline of the American comic book into eras, the Golden Age of Comic Books began with the introduction of Superman in 1938, spurring a period of high sales. The Silver Age of comic books is considered to date from the first successful revival of the then-dormant superhero form. The demarcation between the Silver Age and the era, the Bronze Age of Comic Books, is less well-defined. The Modern Age of Comic Books runs from the mid-1980s to the present day, in response to attention from the government and from the media, the U. S. comic book industry set up the Comics Magazine Association of America. The CMAA instilled the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the self-censorship Comics Code that year and it was not until the 1970s that comic books could be published without passing through the inspection of the CMAA. In the early 1970s, a surge of creativity emerged in what known as underground comix. Published and distributed independently of the comics industry, most of such comics reflected the youth counterculture. Underground comics were almost never sold at newsstands, but rather in such youth-oriented outlets as head shops and record stores, frank Stacks The Adventures of Jesus, published under the name Foolbert Sturgeon, has been credited as the first underground comic. The rise of comic book specialty stores in the late 1970s created/paralleled a dedicated market for independent or alternative comics in the U. S, some independent comics continued in the tradition of underground comics. A few represented experimental attempts to bring closer to the status of fine art
Comic book
–
Comic books on display at a museum
Comic book
–
René Goscinny (1926 – 1977), writer of the
Astérix comic book series.
Comic book
–
Hugo Pratt (1927 – 1995), author of the
Corto Maltese comic book series.
5.
Video game
–
A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video game referred to a raster display device. Some theorists categorize video games as an art form, but this designation is controversial, the electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms, examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices, the input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, joysticks, mouse devices, keyboards, the touchscreens of mobile devices, and buttons, or even, with the Kinect sensor, a persons hands and body. Players typically view the game on a screen or television or computer monitor, or sometimes on virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game sound effects, music and, in the 2010s, some games in the 2000s include haptic, vibration-creating effects, force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets. In the 2010s, the game industry is of increasing commercial importance, with growth driven particularly by the emerging Asian markets and mobile games. As of 2015, video games generated sales of USD74 billion annually worldwide, early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U. S. Written by MIT students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanens on a DEC PDP-1 computer in 1961, and the hit ping pong-style Pong, used the DEC PDP-1s vector display to have two spaceships battle each other. In 1971, Computer Space, created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was the first commercially sold and it used a black-and-white television for its display, and the computer system was made of 74 series TTL chips. The game was featured in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, Computer Space was followed in 1972 by the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console. Modeled after a late 1960s prototype console developed by Ralph H. Baer called the Brown Box and these were followed by two versions of Ataris Pong, an arcade version in 1972 and a home version in 1975 that dramatically increased video game popularity. The commercial success of Pong led numerous other companies to develop Pong clones and their own systems, the game inspired arcade machines to become prevalent in mainstream locations such as shopping malls, traditional storefronts, restaurants, and convenience stores. The game also became the subject of articles and stories on television and in newspapers and magazines. Space Invaders was soon licensed for the Atari VCS, becoming the first killer app, the term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is commonly used
Video game
–
Two girls playing a driving-themed video arcade game in 2007.
Video game
–
Tennis for Two, an early
analog computer game that used an
oscilloscope for a display
Video game
–
Nolan Bushnell at the
Game Developers Conference in 2011
6.
Marketing
–
Marketing is the study and management of exchange relationships. Marketing is used to create the customer, to keep the customer, with the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that Marketing is one of the premier components of Business Management - the other being Innovation. Other services and management activities such as Operations, Human Resources, Accounting, Law, the term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to a market to buy or sell goods or services. The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably, a similar concept is the value-based marketing which states the role of marketing to contribute to increasing shareholder value. Marketing practice tended to be seen as an industry in the past. The overall process starts with marketing research and goes through market segmentation, business planning and execution, ending with pre and it is also related to many of the creative arts. The marketing literature is also adept at re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times, the term marketing concept pertains to the fundamental premise of modern marketing. This concept proposes that in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, Marketing and marketing concepts are directly related. An orientation, in the context, relates to a perception or attitude a firm holds towards its product or service. There exist several common orientations, A firm employing a product orientation is chiefly concerned with the quality of its own product, a firm would also assume that as long as its product was of a high standard, people would buy and consume the product. A firm using a sales orientation focuses primarily on the selling/promotion of a particular product, consequently, this entails simply selling an already existing product, and using promotion techniques to attain the highest sales possible. Such an orientation may suit scenarios in which a firm holds dead stock, or otherwise sells a product that is in high demand, a firm focusing on a production orientation specializes in producing as much as possible of a given product or service. Thus, this signifies a firm exploiting economies of scale, until the minimum efficient scale is reached, a production orientation may be deployed when a high demand for a product or service exists, coupled with a good certainty that consumer tastes do not rapidly alter. The marketing orientation is perhaps the most common used in contemporary marketing. It involves a firm essentially basing its marketing plans around the marketing concept, the marketing orientation often has three prime facets, which are, A firm in the market economy can survive by producing goods that persons are willing and able to buy. Consequently, ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firms future viability, in this sense, a firms marketing department is often seen as of prime importance within the functional level of an organization. Information from a marketing department would be used to guide the actions of other departments within the firm. As an example, a department could ascertain that consumers desired a new type of product
Marketing
–
Constructive criticism helps marketers adapt offerings to meet changing customer needs.
7.
Sweden
–
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
Sweden
–
A
Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.
Sweden
–
Flag
Sweden
–
A
romantic nationalist interpretation of
Valdemar IV taking control over
Gotland. The final battle outside the walls of Visby in 1361 ended with a massacre of 1,800 defenders of the city.
Sweden
–
Stockholm in mid-17th century
8.
Collecting
–
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. The scope of collecting is unlimited, which is expressed in the expression, If something exists. The most obvious way to categorise collections is by the type of objects collected, most collections are of manufactured commercial items, but natural objects such as birds eggs, butterflies, rocks, and seashells can also be the subject of a collection. Some collectors may not a specific type of object, but instead objects with specific properties, for example. Among collections of manufactured items, the objects may be antique, antiques are collectible items at least 100 years old, while collectibles can be arbitrarily recent. Collectors and dealers may use the vintage to describe older collectibles. Items which were once everyday objects but may now be collectible since almost all those once produced have been destroyed or discarded are called ephemera, philately, phillumeny, and deltiology are forms of collecting which can be undertaken at minimal expense. Some collectors are generalists with very broad criteria for inclusion, while others focus on a subtopic within their area of interest, the monetary value of objects is important to some collectors but irrelevant to others. Some collectors maintain objects in pristine condition, while others use the items they collect, collecting is for some people a childhood hobby, but for others a lifelong pursuit or one that begins in adulthood. Collectors who begin early in life often modify their aims when they get older, the emergence of the internet as a global forum for different collectors has resulted in many isolated enthusiasts finding each other. Collecting is a practice with an old cultural history. The Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty collected books from all over the world at the Library of Alexandria. The collecting hobby is a descendant of the cabinet of curiosities which was common among scholars with the means. Planned collecting of ephemeral publications goes back at least to George Thomason in the reign of Charles I, collecting engravings and other prints by those whose means did not allow them to buy original works of art also goes back many centuries. The involvement of larger numbers of people in collecting activities comes with the prosperity and that is when collecting such items as antique china, furniture and decorative items from oriental countries becomes established. The retail price of a collectible is valid only at the moment it was purchased, once the collectible comes into the buyer’s possession, its value is linked to what is called the secondary market. There is no market for an item unless someone is willing to buy it. Depending on various factors, individuals, auctioneers, and secondary retailers may sell a collectible for more and these factors include, but are not limited to, condition, age, supply, and demand
Collecting
–
Stamp album used for collecting stamps
Collecting
–
"Musei Wormiani Historia", the
frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum depicting
Ole Worm 's cabinet of curiosities
Collecting
–
Herbert Kullmann, picture sale catalogue by Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, May 1914.
Collecting
–
A collection of
Nutcrackers
9.
Hasbro
–
/ˈhæzbroʊ/ is an American multinational toy and board game company. Hasbro is the third largest toy maker in the world with revenues of approximately $4.45 billion, Hasbro acquired the trademarks and products of Kenner, Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, among others. Among its toy and game products are the iconic Monopoly board game, Joe figurine, Furby electronic stuffed animal, Transformers mechanical toys and My Little Pony. The Hasbro brand also spawned TV shows, such as Family Game Night on the Discovery Family network, the corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The majority of its products are manufactured in East Asia, in 1923, three brothers named Herman, Hillel and Henry Hassenfeld founded Hassenfeld Brothers, a company selling textile remnants, in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the next two decades, the company expanded to produce pencil cases and school supplies, in 1926, Hassenfeld Brothers was incorporated, with Hillel leaving for another textile business while Henry took charge of the corporation. With cost of rising and their pencil supplier making pencil cases. In the 1940s, Hassenfeld Brothers produced doctor and nurse kits, its first toys, with Hillels death in 1943, Henry Hassenfeld became CEO while his son, Merrill, became president. The company entered the fields during World War II to support its toy line. Hassenfeld Brothers first toy hit was Mr. Potato Head, which the company purchased from George Lerner in 1952, the toy was a smash success. In 1954, the became a Disney major licensee. In 1960, Henry died and Merrill took over the parent company and his older brother Harold ran the pencil-making business, Hassenfeld Brothers expanded to Canada with Hassenfeld Brothers Ltd. in 1961. The company was approached in 1963 to license a toy based on The Lieutenant, instead, in 1964, Hassenfeld Brothers produced the G. I. Joe toy, which they termed an action figure in order to market the toy to boys who wouldnt want to play with dolls, Joe accounted for two-thirds of Hassenfelds sales. Having previously sold toys under the Hasbro trade name, the company shortened its name to Hasbro Industries in 1968, with the unpopular Vietnam War at its height in 1969, Hasbro redesigned GI Joe to be less militaristic and more adventure oriented. Its promotional efforts included the catchphrase Boy Oh Boy and its A Hasbro Toy. in television commercials and print ads. Also in 1969 Hasbro bought Burt Claster Enterprises, which produced Romper Room and had just begun a Romper Room toy line, a month-long teamsters strike and far eastern supplier troubles caused the company to have a $1 million loss for the year. By 1975, the company had ended the nursery chain, Hasbro also entered the cookware field with the Galloping Gourmet line based on a contemporary television cooking show
Hasbro
–
A selection of knockoff Jumpstarters, a variety of Transformers
Hasbro
–
Making the World Smile
10.
G.I. Joe
–
Joe is a line of action figures produced and owned by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U. S. armed forces with the Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, Action Marine and later on, the name derived from the usage of G. I. Joe for the generic U. S. soldier, itself derived from the general term G. I. Joe led to the coining of the action figure. Joes appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys, Joe trademark has been used by Hasbro for several different toy lines, although only two have been successful. The original 12-inch line introduced on February 2,1964 centered on action figures. In the United Kingdom, this line was licensed to Palitoy, in 1982 the line was relaunched in a 3. 75-inch scale complete with vehicles, playsets, and a complex background story involving an ongoing struggle between the G. I. Joe Team and the evil Cobra Command which seeks to take over the Free World through terrorism, as the American line evolved into the Real American Hero series, Action Man also changed, by using the same molds and being renamed as Action Force. Although the members of the G. I, Joe team are not superheroes, they all had expertise in areas such as martial arts, weapons, and explosives. Joe was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York, in 2003. The conventional marketing wisdom of the early 1960s was that boys would not play with dolls, Action figure was the only acceptable term, and has since become the generic description for any poseable doll intended for boys. Americas movable fighting man is a trademark of Hasbro, and was prominently displayed on every boxed figure package. The Hasbro prototypes were originally named Rocky Skip and Ace, before the universal name G. I. One of the prototypes would later sell in a Heritage auction in 2003 for $200,001, the scar on the right cheek was one, another, unintentional at first, was the placement of the right thumbnail on the underside of the thumb. Joe™, was used through some point in 1965, the markings changed once G. I, Joe was a registered trademark, G. I. Joe® now appears on the first line, subsequently, the stamped trademarking was altered after the patent was granted, and assigned a number,3,277,602. Figures with this marking would have entered the market during 1967. By the late 1960s, in the wake of the Vietnam War, the line became known as The Adventures of G. I
G.I. Joe
–
Original G.I. Joe lineup.
G.I. Joe
–
Mike Power, Atomic Man
11.
Doll
–
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, the use of dolls as toys was documented in Greece around 100 AD. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate art, modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, going back to the 15th century. With industrialization and new materials such as porcelain and plastic, dolls were increasingly mass-produced, during the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as collectibles. The earliest dolls were made from materials such as clay, stone, wood, bone, ivory, leather. Archaeological evidence places dolls as the foremost candidate for the oldest known toy, wooden paddle dolls have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to as early as the 21st century BC. Dolls with movable limbs and removable clothing date back to at least 200 BC, Greek dolls were made of clay and articulated at the hips and shoulders. There are stories from ancient Greece around 100 AD that show that dolls were used by girls as playthings. In Rome, dolls were made of clay, wood or ivory, Dolls have been found in the graves of Roman children. Like children today, the members of Roman civilization would have dressed their dolls according to the latest fashions. When Greek and Roman girls got married they would dedicate their doll to a goddess, rag dolls are traditionally home-made from spare scraps of cloth material. Roman rag dolls have been found dating back to 300 BC, traditional dolls are sometimes used as childrens playthings, but they may also have spiritual, magical and ritual value. There is no defined line between spiritual dolls and toys, in some cultures dolls that had been used in rituals were given to children. They were also used in education and as carriers of cultural heritage. In other cultures dolls were considered too laden with magical powers to allow children to play with them, African dolls are used to teach and entertain, they are supernatural intermediaries, and they are manipulated for ritual purposes. Their shape and costume vary according to region and custom, Dolls are frequently handed down from mother to daughter. Akuaba are wooden ritual fertility dolls from Ghana and nearby areas, the best known akuaba are those of the Ashanti people, whose akuaba have large, disc-like heads. Other tribes in the region have their own style of akuaba
Doll
–
European
bisque doll from the 1870s
Doll
–
A typical Egyptian
paddle doll from 2080 - 1990 BC
Doll
–
Traditional
African akuaba dolls
Doll
–
Japanese hina dolls, displayed during the
Hinamatsuri festival
12.
Palitoy
–
Palitoy was a British toy company. It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and its products included Action Man, Action Girl, Action Force, Tiny Tears, Pippa, Tressy, Mainline Model Railways, Merlin, Star Wars figures and the Care Bears. The Cascelloid Company was founded by Alfred Edward Pallett in Coalville, Leicestershire in 1919 to produce celluloid and their first toy was in 1920 and the first doll in 1925. Cascelloid was bought in 1931 by British Xylonite and the word Palitoy was created as a trademark in 1935 for their toy division, injection moulding was developed by British Xylonite in 1941 and was used for the Palitoy toy ranges. In 1978 the Chad Valley toy company was sold to Palitoy, Palitoy was sold to US food company General Mills in 1968, and formed part of the companys toy division, sometimes known as CPG. In 1981 British toy group Airfix Products fell into receivership, palitoys owner General Mills acquired the Airfix kit range and its GMR model railways range. General Mills also snapped up UK rights to Meccano, back in 1971 it had acquired non-UK rights when it bought Miro-Meccano in France from the receivers of another British toy group, Tri-ang. 1 May 1985 also saw the end of most manufacturing at Palitoy with 327 staff in manufacturing and distribution out of 585 made redundant and manufacturing shifted overseas. The restructure was undertaken in advance of the spin-off of General Mills toy division CPG, separated from its parent in 1985 as Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. There were many potential acquirers of the business but the subsidiary was floated on the exchange with General Mills shareholders getting equivalent shares in Kenner Parker. This was more tax efficient for General Mills, once independent, Kenner Parkers strategy was to withdraw from the modelling market. As a consequence, Palitoy sold Airfix to Humbrol in 1986, in 1987 Tonka purchased Kenner Parker including Palitoy for $555 million, borrowing extensively to fund the acquisition. However, the cost of servicing the debt meant Tonka itself had to find a buyer, Hasbro closed the former Palitoy site in 1994 with manufacture of the last product made there, Play-Doh, being transferred to Hasbros Irish factory. The 10-acre site was put on the market in July 1996 for a price of £1. 25m with outline planning permission for housing
Palitoy
–
Palitoy
13.
Action Man
–
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbros American movable fighting man, G. I. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of Coalville, the figure and accessories were originally based on the Hasbro 1964 G. I. Joe figure was patented in 1966, even the specific method of attaching the appendages was patented as a Connection for Use in Toy Figures. The first Action Man figures were Action Soldier, Action Sailor, all were available in the four original hair colours, Blonde, Auburn, Brown and Black. They were accompanied by outfits depicting United States Forces of WWII, in later years, the figures and accompanying uniforms and accessories would reflect the forces of the United Kingdom rather than the USA. Action Man was subsequently reintroduced in 1993, based on the G. I, Joe Hall of Fame figure of that time. Palitoy was the UK licensee for Hasbro Industries, Palitoy grew out of a plastics firm established by Alfred Edward Pallett in 1909 and went on to become one of Britains leading toy manufacturers until its ultimate closure in 1984. In 1964 Sales Director Hal Belton brought back from the States a new toy called G I Joe to give, as a present, when he realised that it was well received by his grandson he borrowed the toy and presented it to the General Manager Miles Fletcher. Miles and his Production Director Brian Wybrow made contact with Hasbro at the New York toy fair the next year, samples were acquired from Hasbro and marketing research was carried out – Palitoy employees were given samples to take home for their children to test. The controversy at the time was should boys be playing with a doll, Palitoy ignored these concerns and the word doll was banned when discussing the new toy. A name was needed and Gee Advertising was commissioned to come up some ideas. A list was passed around the company for people to cast their preference, One name remembered was Ace 21 because the mannequin had 21 separate components. In the early years Action Man competed with the entirely British Tommy Gunn by Pedigree Toys who were the producers of the Sindy doll, the Tommy Gunn figure copied aspects of Hasbros G. I. Joe, released two years earlier in the United States, however, he was ultimately unable to compete with Action Man and was discontinued in 1968. Action Man was then developed with primarily British themes from 1970 onwards, military, adventurers, One series that truly set Palitoys line apart from Hasbros was the Ceremonials. The non-military was also covered with adventurous elements such as rescue, Arctic exploration, scuba. One outfit was only available through the Action Man stars scheme, Joe lineup, this outfit was sold with figure in a variety of configurations through Hasbro Canada. Marketing changed from producing a figure with the option to buy several different outfits to whole packs of figure plus outfit
Action Man
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1990s Action Man
14.
Takara
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Takara Co. Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co. Ltd. to form Takara Tomy The company motto was 「遊びは文化」. Takara is perhaps best known for producing the transforming Diaclone and Micromans Micro Change toylines and these toy lines, created in 1975, were re-branded in 1984 as Transformers by Hasbro for the Western market. Takara originated the hit toylines Battle Beasts, E-kara karaoke microphone, Battle B-Daman and Beyblade, Takara also developed and published video games. However, none of their games for the NES and the Famicom were published in the United States, Takara was also involved in the production of the game seek-and-destroy with play-it during 2003. It has even published its own 3D fighting game series, Battle Arena Toshinden, Takara also published many other Japan-only games based on semi-popular franchises in that country. In 2003 Takara purchased a stake in publicly traded software publisher Atlus. The BowLingual was named as one of the best inventions of 2002 by Time magazine, see also Yumemi Kobo, dream generator. In 2005, another Takara product, Walkie bits, which are colorful, multi-function miniature robotic turtles, was honored as a Time magazines best invention, this time in the robot category. Though relatively simple in functionality, at 5 centimetres long and less than 15 grams each, upon introduction, in the 1980s, the company was criticized for its original mascot, a golliwog-like character named Dakko-Chan. Western news media had earlier noted the proliferation of the mascot without comment, besides the design, the new Dakko-Chan may be any color, rather than the constant black of the original. On 13 May,2005, Takara and Tomy announced their merger which would become effective from 1 March,2006. In English, the name of the merged company is TOMY Co. Ltd. while in Japanese the legal company name is the combined name. The decision to use the Tomy name in English, while the Takara-Tomy name in Japanese, was made for pragmatic reasons, Tomy had built considerable brand recognition internationally, particularly in the area of infant and preschool products, where brand trust is very important. On the other hand, most of Takaras international hit products have sold and branded by other companies. Therefore, going through the process of registering and/or changing the company name in all the countries where Tomy does business would have been expensive and unproductive. Thus, with the companys international subsidiaries continuing to use the Tomy name. Name in official English, while taking the combined name K. K, Takara-Tomy TYO,7867 in official Japanese
Takara
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Takara
15.
Microman
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Microman was a science fiction toy line created, manufactured and marketed by Takara Co. Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. At the core of the Microman line was a series of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. The core of the Microman line consisted of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures which were known for their number of articulation points relative to other toys of similar size/scale in the 1970s. The toy line also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories, many of the Microman toys used interchangeable 5-millimetre connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys. The Microman toy line was licensed and released in the United States by Mego Corporation as the Micronauts from 1976–1980, Takara first released Microman toys in Japan in 1974 as a smaller version of their popular 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall 1972 Henshin Cyborg line. Henshin Cyborg figures were based on 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall Combat Joe figures—which themselves were based on Hasbro’s G. I, Joe figures—with their bodies molded in clear plastic, exposing their inner workings and supposed cybernetic parts. Additional vehicles were sold as “Micro-Kit Machine Series” sets which required assembly prior to use, Takara also introduced a new line of die-cast figures dubbed Super Steel Microman and even introduced a new line of “enemy” figures dubbed the Acroyears. 1977 was arguably the most successful year for the original Microman line with manga being published in TV Magazine, with the release of Star Wars in 1977, the market for science fiction merchandise became increasingly filled with competing science fiction related products. New figures such as the Police Keeper, Micro Knight MC-X, lack of a positive response to the new line was strong enough that previously announced toys in the line—such as the remote control Hoodman spaceship Hoodmans RCB Noah—were cancelled. With the line in a slump, Takara attempted to revive the line with the new Rescue Command series of toys and action figures. At the core of the Rescue Command was the new Rescue Secret Base, gimmicks included the Microman Punch figure whose arm could be wound up to “punch” and Microman Blizzard series of figures that contained a battery-powered fan. Below is a basic overview list documenting classic Microman 3. 75-inch-tall action figure releases from 1974 to 1980 and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all classic Microman releases/variants but rather a high-level overview of Takara’s 3. 75-inch-tall Microman line offerings. While new figures would be released that looked similar to the older. Additionally the focus of the line switched from the figures themselves, to the toys. Instead of each figure type containing 3 to 4 different color variants, and variations in color on any particular figure type was simply an arbitrary choice without any naming or character backstory changes. A greater focus was now on the such as the Micro Robot series of toys as well as larger robot-oriented playsets. Takara’s focus of the 1982 line was on the new Micro Borg, while—for example—the Micro Robot W Box Set came with a New Microman M004 Eiji figured, these figures were only available as bonuses in a box set and not on their own as individual figures. In 1983, Takara introduced a new kind of Microman toy line called Micro Change, while the focus of the line had clearly shifted away from the original Microman figures, Takara did release one last figure dubbed, Salam
Microman
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A scan of the cover of a Microman catalog from 1976.
16.
Mego Corporation
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The Mego Corporation was a toy company founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed action figures, celebrity dolls, for a time in the 1970s, their line of 8-inch-scale action figures with interchangeable bodies became the industry standard. Mego was founded in 1954 by D. David Abrams and Madeline Abrams, the company thrived in the 1950s and early 1960s as an importer of dime store toys until the rising cost of newspaper advertising forced Mego to change its business model. In 1971, the Abrams son Martin, a recent business graduate, was named company president. Under Martin Abrams direction, the company shifted its production to action figures with interchangeable bodies, generic bodies could be mass-produced and different figures created by interposing different heads and costumes on them. In 1972 Mego secured the licenses to create toys for both National Periodical Publications and Marvel Comics, the popularity of this line of 8 figures — dubbed The Worlds Greatest Super Heroes — created the standard action figure scale for the 1970s. Mego began to purchase the rights of motion pictures, television programs, and comic books, eventually producing action figure lines for Planet of the Apes, Star Trek. Mego also obtained licenses from Edgar Rice Burroughs for his creations, the Planet of the Apes and Star Trek figures proved popular and inspired the rise of action figure series based on popular culture franchises. During this period, Mego was known for the parties the company threw at the annual New York American International Toy Fair. In 1975, Mego launched its Wizard of Oz film dolls with a gala whose special guests were every surviving member of the main cast. Megos party at the Waldorf-Astoria with Sonny and Cher introducing their dolls drew a thousand people, both dolls were formally unveiled on The Mike Douglas Show. The Cher doll was the doll in 1976, helping to make Mego the sixth-ranked American toy manufacturer. In 1976, Martin Abrams hashed out a deal with the Japanese toy manufacturer Takara to bring their popular lucite 3 fully articulated Microman figures to the United States under the name Micronauts. This decision seemed of little consequence to Mego at first, because the Micronauts figures initially sold well, on the other hand, the Star Wars film was extremely popular and competitor Kenner Products sold substantial numbers of Star Wars action figures. Although these lines of Mego figures were of higher quality than Kenners 12 Star Wars figures. The widespread success of Kenners Star Wars 3-3/4 toy line made the newer, smaller size the industry standard. In the late 1970s, Mego was earning about $100 million in sales, in the fiscal years 1980 and 1981, Mego reported combined losses of $40 million. In fiscal year 1982, the reported losses of between $18 and $20 million
Mego Corporation
–
1976
Nubia doll from the
Wonder Woman series
17.
Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences
Marvel Comics
–
Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first comic from Marvel precursor
Timely Comics. Cover art by
Frank R. Paul.
Marvel Comics
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The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). Cover art by
Jack Kirby (penciler) and unconfirmed inker.
Marvel Comics
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The Avengers #4 (March 1964), with (from left to right), the
Wasp,
Giant-Man,
Captain America,
Iron Man,
Thor and (inset) the
Sub-Mariner. Cover art by
Jack Kirby and
George Roussos.
Marvel Comics
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Howard the Duck #8 (Jan. 1977). Cover art by
Gene Colan and
Steve Leialoha
18.
DC Comics
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DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher. It is the unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. a division of Time Warner, the company has also published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta and many titles under their alternative imprint Vertigo. The initials DC came from the popular series Detective Comics. Random House distributes DC Comics books to the market, while Diamond Comic Distributors supplies the comics shop specialty market. DC Comics and its major, longtime competitor Marvel Comics together shared 70% of the American comic book market in 2016, entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications in autumn 1934. The company debuted with the tabloid-sized New Fun, The Big Comic Magazine #1 with a date of February 1935. That title evolved into Adventure Comics, which continued through issue #503 in 1983, in 2009 DC revived Adventure Comics with its original numbering. In 1935, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, created Doctor Occult. Wheeler-Nicholsons third and final title, Detective Comics, advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936, the themed anthology series would become a sensation with the introduction of Batman in issue #27. By then, however, Wheeler-Nicholson had gone, Detective Comics, Inc. was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfelds accountant, listed as owners. Major Wheeler-Nicholson remained for a year, but cash-flow problems continued, shortly afterward, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied, also known as Nicholson Publishing, at a bankruptcy auction. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a fourth title, Action Comics, Action Comics #1, the first comic book to feature the new character archetype—soon known as superheroes—proved a sales hit. The company quickly introduced such popular characters as the Sandman and Batman. That year, Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, and kept only Picture Stories from the Bible as the foundation of his own new company, at that point, Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics. Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, Independent News, National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on the stock market in 1961. The company began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics Wonder Man and this extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, at the time comics top-selling character. Despite the fact that parallels between Captain Marvel and Superman seemed more tenuous, the courts ruled that substantial and deliberate copying of copyrighted material had occurred, faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost, Fawcett capitulated in 1955 and ceased comics publication
DC Comics
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1987 test logo.
DC Comics
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The current DC Comics logo
19.
Micronauts
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Micronauts was a North American science fiction toy line manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The core of the Micronaut toy line—designs, articulation and modeling—was based on, Mego officially discontinued the Micronauts line in 1980 prior to the company’s bankruptcy and dissolution in 1982. But years after Mego’s demise other toy companies—such as Palisades Toys, the core of the Micronaut line consisted of 3. 75-inch-tall action figures which were known for their high number of articulation points relative to other toys of similar size/scale in the 1970s. The toy line also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories, many of the Micronauts toys used interchangeable 5-millimetre connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys. Takara first released Microman toys in Japan in 1974 as a smaller version their popular 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall 1972 Henshin Cyborg line, Henshin Cyborg figures were based on 8-inch-tall & 12-inch-tall Combat Joe figures—which themselves were based on Hasbro’s G. I. Joe figures—with their bodies molded in plastic, exposing their inner workings. In 1976, Mego licensed Microman action figures—and other similar toys—from Takara and marketed the toy line in North America, during their initial series 1 and series 2 release, Takara produced small quantities of products in Japan before production was officially moved to Mego’s facilities in Hong Kong. Additionally, leftover Micronaut toy line stock from Mego’s production run was sold for sale/clearance in North America by Lion Rock Limited under the Micronauts name. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all Mego releases/variants and this licensing agreement was done by Palisades under the assumption that the original manufacturing tooling and molds from the 1970s Mego toy line were still available. As a result, retailers were wary of carrying the new Micronauts toy line, the whole series of events was Palisades’ largest financial loss to date, and contributed to the company’s bankruptcy in 2006. Below is a basic overview list of Palisades Toys Micronaut toys with size/scale and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all Palisades Toys releases/variants but rather a high-level overview of their Micronaut line offerings. In January 2005, SOTA Toys unveiled plans for a toy line called “Micronauts. Concept art was released and prototypes displayed at the 2005 Toy Fair and they appeared at the 2006 San Diego Comic Con. The initial series was planned to include 6-inch renditions of Lobros, Baron Karza, plans changed to an online-only box set of all three characters, available on SOTA’s website as smaller figures. He noted that the Palisades-line “disaster…had a huge effect, ” with retailers rejecting SOTA’s upcoming series. Macaluso hoped to release the line in 2007—before SOTA’s license expired—and considered funding it himself, below is a basic overview list of proposed SOTA Micronauts releases. Since no products were produced this is simply a high-level overview of their proposed Micronaut line offerings. In June 2016, Hasbro announced the release of a limited edition Micronauts Classic Collection toy set
Micronauts
–
A scan of the 1977 cover of an official
Mego Micronauts catalog.
20.
Star Wars
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Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of characters a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars and it was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed-to-negative reactions, a sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars, The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards and have been successes, with a combined box office revenue of over $7.5 billion. Spin-off films include Star Wars, The Clone Wars and Rogue One, Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the Most successful film merchandising franchise. In 2015, the value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $42 billion. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and earned the rights to all subsequent Star Wars films. Walt Disney Studios owns digital distribution rights to all the Star Wars films, the events depicted in the Star Wars franchise take place in an unnamed fictional galaxy at an undetermined point in the distant past. Many species of creatures are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a single galactic government. In the prequel trilogy, this is depicted in the form of the Galactic Republic, at the end of the trilogy and throughout the original trilogy. Preceding and during the trilogy, this government is the New Republic. One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the Force and it is described in the first produced film as an energy field created by all living things surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together. While the Force can be used for good, known as the side, it also has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression. The sequel trilogy introduces the Knights of Ren, an order of practitioners of the side of the Force aligned with the First Order. The first film in the series, Star Wars, was released on May 25,1977 and this was followed by two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21,1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25,1983
Star Wars
–
A street performer in costume as
Darth Vader in
Amsterdam. Vader is one of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars franchise.
Star Wars
–
The Star Wars logo as seen in all films
Star Wars
–
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars
Star Wars
–
John Williams, composer of the musical
scores for all six films of the original and prequel trilogies.
21.
Mattel
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Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing company founded in 1945 with headquarters in El Segundo, California. In 2014, it ranked #403 on the Fortune 500 list, in the early 1980s, Mattel produced video game systems, under both its own brands and under license from Nintendo. The company has presence in 40 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations, the company operates through three business segments, North America, international, and American Girl. It is the worlds largest toy maker in terms of revenue, on January 17,2017 Mattel named Google executive Margaret Margo Georgiadis as its next CEO. The companys name is a portmanteau of those of Harold Matt Matson and Elliot Handler, Mattel Creations was founded in 1945 by Harold Matt Matson and Elliot Handler. The company initially sold picture frames, then dollhouse furniture, Matson soon sold his share to Handler due to poor health, and Handlers wife Ruth took over Matsons role. In 1947, the company had its first hit toy, a ukulele called Uke-A-Doodle, the company was incorporated the next year in California. Mattel became the first year-round sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club TV series in 1955, the Barbie doll was introduced in 1959, becoming the companys best selling toy ever. In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy, a doll that revolutionized the toy industry. The company went public in 1960 and was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1963, Mattel also acquired a number of companies during the 1960s. In 1965, the built on its success with the Chatty Cathy doll to introduce the See n Say talking toy which spawned a line of products. Hot Wheels was first released to the market in 1968, in May 1970, Mattel formed a joint venture film production company, Radnitz/Mattel Productions, with producer Robert B. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was purchased by the Mattel company in 1971 for $40 million from the Feld family, who were retained as management. Mattel had placed the circus corporation up for sale despite its profit contributions to Mattel by December 1973 as Mattel showed a $29.9 million loss in 1972. An investigation in 1974 concluded false and misleading financial reports had been issued, arthur S. Spear, a Mattel vice president was selected to run the company in 1975 and led it back to profitability in 1977. Ruth Handler sold back her stock in 1980, the Mattel Electronics line was started in 1977 with an all-electronic handheld game. The success of the led to the expansion of the line with game console then the line becoming its own corporation in 1982. Mattel Electronics forced Mattel to take a $394 million loss in 1983, in 1979, through Feld Productions, Mattel purchased the Holiday on Ice and Ice Follies for $12 million
Mattel
–
Aerial view of Mattel headquarters
Mattel
–
Mattel, Inc.
22.
Masters of the Universe
–
Masters of the Universe is a media franchise created by Mattel. Later spin-offs also featured He-Mans sister She-Ra and her struggle against the Evil Horde, along with other planets/settings, in 1976, Mattels CEO Ray Wagner declined a request to produce a toyline of action figures based on the characters from the George Lucas film Star Wars. The earliest storybooks and much of the backstory were written by Donald F. Glut. Two other designers, Mark Taylor and Jill Barad, have taken credit for creation of the superhero. The only way I was going to have a chance to sell this was to make three 3D models—big ones, I glued a Big Jim figure into a battle action pose and I added a lot of clay to his body. I then had plaster casts made and these three prototypes, which I presented in late 1980, brought He-Man into existence. I simply explained that this was a figure that could be taken anywhere and dropped into any context because he had a generic name. These prototypes were molded from an extensively modified Big Jim action figure, the He-Man Trio models were a barbarian, a soldier, and a spaceman. Out of the three concepts, the barbarian version He-Man was chosen to be the basis of the toyline, in 1980, the rights-holders of Conan the Barbarian began negotiating the characters toy rights with Mattel. They entered in an agreement the following year regarding characters from the Conan movie, upon Mattel introducing a toy line starring He-Man, the rights-holders sued the toy company claiming the character was a copy of Conan. The decision to change He-Mans hair to blonde was made by Mattels Tom Kalinske, from these early concepts, Mattel would finally produce the original Masters of the Universe action figure toyline in 1981. Released as 5 1/2 inch action figures, the lore of Masters of the Universe would first be explored through minicomics that accompanied the toys through the duration line. He-Man was given his power by the Goddess/Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, after the original toy releases, DC Comics would adapt the franchise into special insert appearances in their regular comic series and a three issue mini-series in 1982. These issues introduced elements to the series, such as He-Man being the alter ego of Prince Adam, son of the royal family of Eternia, as in Adams father King Randor. Masters of the Universe, an action movie was released in 1987 by Cannon Films, starring Dolph Lundgren. He-Man would be back in 1989, in an entirely new. Jetlag Productions would go to produce 65 episodes of the New Adventures cartoon, while minicomics, ultimately though, the series would not be as successful and the entire franchise would go on a hiatus for more than a decade. Several volumes of books were also produced to go along with the series by Image Comics
Masters of the Universe
–
The New Adventures animated series.
23.
Thundercats
–
ThunderCats is an American animated series based on a group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The show was created by Tobin Ted Wolf and animated by Japanese animation studio Pacific Animation Corporation, the characters were originally featured in an animated TV series named ThunderCats, running from 1985 to 1989. The original ThunderCats show was animated in Japan while being produced, written, the series was originally distributed by Rankin-Bass Productions then-parent company Telepictures Corporation, which would later merge with Lorimar Productions in 1986. There were also comic book series produced. A ThunderCats comic book based on the animated series was originally published by Marvel Comics through its Star Comics imprint in 1985. During this time, a new series was published by Marvel UK consisting of 129 issues and was published for three years. Beginning in 2002 ThunderCats titles were published by Wildstorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics, a side-scrolling video game based on the series, ThunderCats, The Lost Eye of Thundera, was published in 1987. Items of clothing featuring the ThunderCats logo and DVD boxsets of the series enjoyed a resurgence in the mid-to-late 2000s as nostalgia for the former childrens favorite grew. It was announced on June 7,2007, that Aurelio Jaro is making a CGI-animated feature film of ThunderCats, in October 2007, Variety magazine revealed that Jerry OFlaherty, veteran video game art director, had signed on to direct. The film was being produced by Spring Creek Productions and it was originally set for a summer 2010 release, but it has since been reported that the movie was never greenlit, and as of 2016, has not been made. Concept art for the film has also leaked online. In January 2017, while talking about Resident Evil, The Final Chapter, a second television series was launched in 2011, but was cancelled after its first season
Thundercats
–
ThunderCats logo
24.
The Real Ghostbusters
–
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series, a spinoff of the 1984 comedy movie Ghostbusters. The series ran from September 13,1986 to October 5,1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, J. Michael Straczynski was story editor, and wrote episodes for every season except four and seven. The Real was added to the title after a dispute with Filmation, the series continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer. At the start of the season in 1988, the show was retitled to Slimer. It aired in a time slot, which the show began doing under its original name earlier that same year in January. In addition to the regular thirty-minute Real Ghostbusters episode, a half-hour Slimer sub-series was added that included 2–3 short animated segments focusing on the character Slimer, cartoons was handled by Wang Film Productions. At the end of its run,147 episodes had aired, including the syndicated episodes and 13 episodes of Slimer. Slimer is shown to haunt the Sedgewick Hotel as its recurring pest, van Huego and her dog Fred, odd-job worker Rudy. Slimer had an antagonist named Professor Norman Dweeb, a mad scientist usually accompanied by a sidekick pink poodle named Elizabeth. Dweeb wants to capture Slimer to experiment on him and to gain personal glory, Dweeb also made three appearances in the main series, one a clip show from the last two seasons. Other enemies of Slimer include a cat named Manx, a dog named Bruiser, a tough woman named Mrs. Stone. One of the ghosts from the Slimer cartoons, the Sleaze, a short pilot episode was produced, but never aired in full. The full four-minute promo was released on Time Lifes DVD set in 2008, scenes of the pilot can be seen in TV promos that aired prior to the beginning of the series. When he auditioned for the voice of Egon Spengler, Maurice LaMarche noted that while he was asked not to impersonate Harold Ramis, he did so anyway and eventually got the part. Ernie Hudson was the actor from the films who auditioned to play his character in the series, however. At the same time The Real Ghostbusters was being created, Filmation was making a cartoon known simply as Ghostbusters, the character designs by Jim McDermott were dramatically redesigned from the way the same characters looked in the movie. Although the Ghostbusters concept was tinkered with, the show does feature many tie-ins from the films. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man made numerous appearances, during the third season, Walter Peck, the Environmental Protection Agency antagonist from the original film, reappeared
The Real Ghostbusters
–
Logo displayed at the opening title
25.
Super Powers Collection
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The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s. In 1984, DC Comics awarded the master toy license of their characters to Kenner Products and this emphasis on each figures super power led to the naming of the line - The Super Powers Collection. Each figure in the first two series were also packaged with a mini-comic featuring that characters adventures, artist George Pérez also received royalties for his design of Cyborg and redesign of Lex Luthor. Ed Hannigan had already redesigned Brainiac in Action Comics the previous year, most other designs were based on José Luis García-López classic DC Style Guides. In all, three series of figures and accessories were released, but after three years of production the line collapsed, once the line was on the market, a vigorous merchandising campaign took place, with DC Comics and Kenner striving for the Super Powers logo to become ubiquitous. DC Comics produced three comic book featuring characters from the toyline, one during each year of the toylines existence. The first series of comics in 1984 was plotted by Jack Kirby, who also provided covers, the third and final series was penciled by Carmine Infantino. These comics were separate from the continuity of the comics featuring the characters. Hanna Barbera also produced two animated series, called Super Friends, The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team, Kenner offered several mail-in promotions including a flexible vinyl record called The Darkseid Saga, child-size Superman plastic cape, and an 18 by 24 color poster. Burger King produced cup holders and meal packs as part of the promotion, Inc. s Kid Vid Productions produced three See & Read books for Super Powers under their Kid Stuff line named Battle At the Earths Core, Darkseid… of the Moon, and The Battle for Apokolips. Available as a book with audio cassette, vinyl record. I. J. E. Inc. also released a Listen N Look book for the line called The Adventures of Superman, duPont Pharmaceuticals and the National Association of Retail Druggists commissioned Super Powers, Good Health Activity Book which promoted fitness and health education for children. This black & white book went through four printings up to 1989 though later editions were titled DC Comics Super Heroes, the DC Comics Super Heroes logo would replace the Super Powers logo on merchandise when the line died out. Only the toy line carried the Collection tag, all other merchandise would have a solo Super Powers logo, Superman, The Game would acquire the Super Powers logo in later releases. The DC Heroes role-playing modules were advertised under the Super Powers banner, Canada Fancy Superman French Fries featured a mail-in offer for the Clark Kent action figure and a sweepstakes to win a figure from the line. Canadian Shell Gasoline Stations offered a promotion for a coupon for a specially carded action figure from the line for purchasing 25 liters, according to the 1984 Consumer Promotions Catalogue, Sunnyland Refining Co. Superman brand Peanut Butter would offer coupons for action figures, Supermobile, Lex-Soar 7, however, the jars never appeared to surface with the promotion. Some aspects of the line persist even in recent history, such as in 1993 temporary tattoos, studio Store, a 2009 calendar in Australia, comic strip-like pajamas offered at Target in 2009, underwear briefs and boxers, and school supplies
Super Powers Collection
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This article includes a
list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient
inline citations. Please help to
improve this article by
introducing more precise citations. (November 2010)
Super Powers Collection
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An advertisement for the Warner Home Video video cassettes.
Super Powers Collection
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cover to Super Powers #5 (Nov 1984), art by
Jack Kirby
Super Powers Collection
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Advertisement for the first wave of Super Powers action figures from trade ads and covers in various DC comics published titles from 1984-1985.
26.
Anime
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Anime is Japanese hand-drawn or computer animation. The word is the pronunciation of animation in Japanese, where this term references all animation. Arguably, the abstract approach to the words meaning may open up the possibility of anime produced in countries other than Japan. For simplicity, many Westerners strictly view anime as a Japanese animation product, some scholars suggest defining anime as specifically or quintessentially Japanese may be related to a new form of orientalism. The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, and Japanese anime production has continued to increase steadily. Anime is distributed theatrically, by way of television broadcasts, directly to home media and it is classified into numerous genres targeting diverse broad and niche audiences. Anime is an art form with distinctive production methods and techniques that have been adapted over time in response to emergent technologies. It consists of an ideal story-telling mechanism, combining art, characterization, cinematography. The production of anime focuses less on the animation of movement and more on the realism of settings as well as the use of effects, including panning, zooming. Being hand-drawn, anime is separated from reality by a gap of fiction that provides an ideal path for escapism that audiences can immerse themselves into with relative ease. Diverse art styles are used and character proportions and features can be quite varied, the anime industry consists of over 430 production studios, including major names like Studio Ghibli, Gainax, and Toei Animation. Despite comprising only a fraction of Japans domestic film market, anime makes up a majority of Japanese DVD sales and it has also seen international success after the rise of English-dubbed programming. This rise in popularity has resulted in non-Japanese productions using the anime art style. Anime is an art form, specifically animation, that all genres found in cinema. In Japanese, the term refers to all forms of animation from around the world. In English, anime is more used to denote a Japanese-style animated film or television entertainment or as a style of animation created in Japan. The etymology of the anime is disputed. The English term animation is written in Japanese katakana as アニメーション and is アニメ in its shortened form, in English, anime—when used as a common noun—normally functions as a mass noun
Anime
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A cel from
Namakura Gatana, the earliest surviving Japanese animated short made for cinemas, produced in 1917
Anime
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A frame from
Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors (1944), the first
feature-length anime film
Anime
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Anime artists employ many distinct visual styles
27.
Gundam
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The popularity of the first TV series and the merchandising that followed spawned a franchise that has come to include works released in numerous media. Titles have appeared in the form of television series and OVAs, movies, manga, novels. The franchise has led to the creation of one of the biggest toy. As of 2014, the Gundam franchise generates revenues of 80 billion yen a year, the 2014 retail sales of Gundam toy and hobby items totaled 18.4 billion yen. Also, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ranked 18th and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ ranked 20th, gunpla holds 90% of the Japanese character plastic model market. Academics in Japan have also viewed the series as inspiration, with the International Gundam Society being the first academic institution based on an animated TV series. Mobile Suit Gundam was developed by noted animator Yoshiyuki Tomino, along with a group of Sunrise creators who went under the collective pseudonym of Hajime Yatate. During its conceptual phase, the series was titled Freedom Fighter Gunboy, or simply Gunboy for the gun the robot was armed with, the Yatate team combined the English word gun with the last syllable of the word freedom to form the portmanteau name Gundom. Tomino then changed it to the current title, suggesting that Gundam signified a powerful unit wielding a gun powerful enough to hold back enemies, like a hydroelectric dam holding back floods. In keeping with this concept, Gundam in all media that followed are often depicted as singularly unique or limited-production, most Gundam are large, bipedal, humanoid-shaped vehicles controlled from cockpits by a human pilot. The majority of mobile suits have a cockpit in the torso of the machine. Mobile Suit Gundam is said to have pioneered the real robot subgenre of mecha anime, unlike its super robot cousins, Mobile Suit Gundam attempted a realism in the robot design and weaponry, by running out of energy and ammunition or breaking and malfunctioning. The technology is practical and is derived from true science or at least well-explained, feasible technology. One difficulty, however, is that the designation for each ONeill cylinder does not relate to the terms for the Lagrange points. The necessity of developing humanoid robots is also explained, albeit fictional, the general narratives of Gundam shows classify as war drama. These are often framed in the series as a debate between the protagonist and antagonist over the course of a duel, as try to convince each other of the righteousness of their causes. Most of the stories are structured as coming-of-age dramas, where the main casts personalities, points of view, allegiances, goals, and actions may or may not change dramatically as events unfold. This makes the plot seem more realistic than earlier super robot animated series where the hero and cast usually act in the same predictable manner, with little connection between the episodes
Gundam
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The
RX-78-2 Gundam, by
Hajime Katoki
28.
Cyborg
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A cyborg is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline, while cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, including humans, they might also conceivably be any kind of organism. In popular culture, some cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical or as almost indistinguishable from humans, Cyborgs in fiction often play up a human contempt for over-dependence on technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. Cyborgs are also portrayed with physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart. According to some definitions of the term, the physical attachments humanity has with even the most basic technologies have made them cyborgs. Implants, especially cochlear implants, that combine mechanical modification with any kind of response are also cyborg enhancements. Some theorists cite such modifications as contact lenses, hearing aids, as cyborgs currently are on the rise some theorists argue there is a need to develop new definitions of aging and for instance a bio-techno-social definition of aging has been suggested. The term is used to address human-technology mixtures in the abstract. When augmented with these technologies and connected in communication with people in times and places. This is like a computer, which gains power by using Internet protocols to connect with other computers, bruce Sterling in his universe of Shaper/Mechanist suggested an idea of alternative cyborg called Lobster, which is made not by using internal implants, but by using an external shell. Unlike human cyborgs that appear human externally while being synthetic internally, Lobster looks inhuman externally, the computer game Deus Ex, Invisible War prominently featured cyborgs called Omar, where Omar is a Russian translation of the word Lobster. The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II, as early as 1843, Edgar Allan Poe described a man with extensive prostheses in the short story The Man That Was Used Up. In 1911, Jean de la Hire introduced the Nyctalope, a science fiction hero who was perhaps the first literary cyborg, edmond Hamilton presented space explorers with a mixture of organic and machine parts in his novel The Comet Doom in 1928. He later featured the talking, living brain of an old scientist, Simon Wright, floating around in a transparent case, in all the adventures of his famous hero, Captain Future. cybernetic organisms. In the short story No Woman Born in 1944, C. L. Moore wrote of Deirdre, the term was coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. The term first appears in print five months earlier when The New York Times reported on the Psychophysiological Aspects of Space Flight Symposium where Clynes, a book titled Cyborg, Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer was published by Doubleday in 2001. Some of the ideas in the book were incorporated into the 35 mm motion picture film Cyberman, Cyborgs tissues structured with carbon nanotubes and plant or fungal cells have been used in artificial tissue engineering to produce new materials for mechanical and electrical uses. The work was presented by Di Giacomo and Maresca at MRS2013 Spring conference on Apr, 3rd, the cyborg obtained is inexpensive, light and has unique mechanical properties
Cyborg
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Neil Harbisson, cyborg activist and president of the
Cyborg Foundation.
Cyborg
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Main articles
29.
Transformers (toy line)
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The Transformers is a line of toys produced by the Japanese company Takara and American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara in the toylines Diaclone, other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well. In 1984, Hasbro bought the rights to the molds. The premise behind the Transformers toyline is that an individual toys parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, the taglines More Than Meets The Eye and Robots In Disguise reflect this ability. The Transformers toyline is typically divided into two factions, the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons. Transformers toys are sold at a number of points. There have also been a number of based on the toys including a comic book series, an animated television series. The original series program was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity, a live-action film series directed by Michael Bay has produced five films, with more planned. The following Transformers toy series were released in the United States, the owner of the new Transformer is encouraged to cut out the tech specs and save it. Although only the numbers can be truly deemed technical specifications, the card is usually referred to as the Transformers tech specs. Each specification is rated by a value from 1 to 10,1 being the lowest, Micromasters teams have teamwork ratings instead of ranks. Unlike the other ratings, teamwork seems to be split along faction lines, a second unique spec value, Cooperation, replaced the Firepower rating used on individuals cards. The traditional order was abandoned for the Micromaster team specifications. The values started becoming inconsistent and skewed in Generation 2 and Beast Wars, thus it became rarer and rarer to see any low numbers. Most characters numbers hardly ever dipped below 8, the Go-Bot version of Optimus Prime was the first character to have all values at 10, a trend that would repeat for most leader characters. When even more powerful versions of the Optimus Primal toy were introduced, with the Transformers, Cybertron line a few characters even got Unknown and Infinity ratings. The decoder consisted of red plastic which rendered the interference patterns invisible. Related to tech specs were Marvels Transformer Universe comics, where the entry for each Transformer contained an expanded bio based on the one printed on the tech specs, however, numerical tech specs were not included
Transformers (toy line)
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How to use the Tech Specs decoder.
30.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures are toys based on the franchise of the same name and have been produced by the company Playmates Toys since 1988. The first TMNT license came in the form of a game by Palladium. Within a year, First Comics began to reprint the issues in color volumes, four were produced. These sold well, and Eastman and Laird were soon contacted by Mark Freedman, Freedman took the idea to a variety of toy companies, only to be turned down by those who felt the concept was not popular enough to support a toy line. Only one company expressed interest, a little-known California company by the name of Playmates, not entirely willing to risk marketing a small cult comic book, Playmates insisted that a cartoon series be produced first. Wolf and his team combined concepts and ideas with Playmates marketing crew, headed by Karl Aaronian and then VP of Sales, Richard Sallis and President of Playmates, Bill Carlson. Aaronian brought on several designers and concepteer and writer John Schulte and worked out the backstory that would live on toy packaging for the entire run of the product. Sachs called the high-concept pitch Green Against Brick, the sense of humor was honed with the collaboration of MWSs writers, Walk Kubiak, Aaronian, Schulte and Sachs. Playmates and their team essentially served as producers and contributing writers to the miniseries that was first launch to sell-in the toy action figures. Phrases like Heroes in a Half Shell and many of the catch phrases and battle slogans came from the writing. As the series developed, veteran writer Jack Mendelsohn came on board as both an editor and scriptwriter. David Wise, Michael Charles Hill and Michael Reaves wrote most of the scripts, taking input via Mendelsohn and collaborating writer Schulte, in signing with Murakami-Wolf-Swenson Productions, Eastman and Laird saw the production of the first TMNT cartoon in December 1987. Playmates held up their end of the deal and produced the first series of TMNT action figures in the summer of 1988, the premiere series included the four Turtles, Splinter, April, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop, and a Foot Soldier. Vehicles included the Cheapskate, Turtle Trooper, Turtle Blimp, each vehicle set was packaged with a jokebook and a small catalog. Corresponding firmly with its series counterpart, the original TMNT action figure line would last ten years. The first three series of figures took obvious influence from the original Mirage comics, the Turtles lacked pupils and had bulging muscles with large veins. The blister card art was also very unrefined and reflected the comics, in fact, Shredders pose was based directly on art from the debut issue. Each figure had at least 7 points of articulation, many including the characters signature weapon
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures
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2014 TMNT action figure checklist
.JPG)
