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Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. Mattel consists of three business segments: North America, International and American Girl.
Hasbro, Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions.
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.
The Mego Corporation is an American toy company that in its original iteration was first 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, and the Micronauts toy line. For a time in the 1970s, their line of 8-inch-scale action figures with interchangeable bodies became the industry standard.
Blythe is a fashion doll, about 28 cm (11 inch) tall, with an oversized head and large eyes that change color with the pull of a string. It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the United States by toy company Kenner. In 2001, the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. There is a network of hobbyists who customize the doll for resale and create clothing and shoes for Blythe. Enthusiasts share photographs of their work and other types of dolls on the Internet.
Ertl is a former American manufacturing company and current brand of toys, best known for its die-cast metal alloy collectible replicas of agricultural machinery. Other products manufactured by Ertl include cars, airplanes, and commercial vehicles.
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Company, Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was「遊びは文化」("playing is culture").
Tomy Company, Ltd., trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere, is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as Tomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company (富山玩具製作所), became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate. In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer, Takara, and although the English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo.
Tomica is a line of die-cast toy vehicles produced since 1970 by Takara Tomy Co. of Japan. Ostensibly, Tomica diecast were an outgrowth of Tomica World, an autonomous toy line of motorized train accessories that Tomy had created based on Plarail and produced since 1959. Similar in concept, Tomica can be thought of as the "Japanese Matchbox", but focuses mainly on Japanese brands.
Licca-chan is a Japanese fashion doll launched on July 4, 1967 by Takara, enjoying the same kind of popularity in Japan as the Barbie series does in the United States. Takara had sold over 48 million Licca-chan dolls as of 2002, and over 53 million as of 2007. Licca-chan was created by former shōjo manga artist, Miyako Maki.
Johnny Lightning is a brand of diecast model cars launched in 1969 by Topper Corporation, similar to the hugely successful Mattel's Hot Wheels cars. Their claim to fame at that time was that they were extremely fast compared to other brands of die-cast cars. Their most important technology was to mold in a small hook under the front axle so that they could be propelled by a lever-driven catapult, far faster than could be obtained by either gravity, or battery powered "supercharger" devices.
Merchandise for the Thomas & Friends franchise has been produced to capitalize on the success of the television series Thomas & Friends. Whilst merchandise was produced alongside due to the popularity of the first of The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry since 1945, and the original broadcast of the television series in 1984 in the United Kingdom, large numbers of manufacturers have sought to produce Thomas-branded items after the television series was broadcast in the United States and Japan.
Wooden toy trains are toy trains that run on a wooden track system with grooves to guide the wheels of the rolling stock. While the trains, tracks and scenery accessories are made mainly of wood, the engines and cars connect to each other using metal hooks or small magnets, and some use plastic wheels mounted on metal axles. Some trains are made to resemble anthropomorphical, fictional, and prototypical railroad equipment.
Jenny is a 10½ inch fashion doll produced by Takara since 1982. The doll was known as Takara Barbie, and in 1986 the doll was renamed "Jenny" after Takara ended their licensing agreement with Mattel. Takara Barbie differs from a western Barbie. Takara Barbie was altered to better appeal to Japanese preferences, with a shorter height, large rounded manga-style eyes and a closed mouth. Like her Western counterpart, Jenny wears a large variety of outfits, which often include street fashion, school uniforms, kimono, and other uniquely Japanese costumes, such as "Bullet-Train Stewardess Jenny". Today the Jenny doll is a sentimental favorite doll in Japan, but she is much less popular than Licca-chan, Japan's market leader fashion doll.
In 2007, a series of product recalls and import bans were imposed by the product safety institutions of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand against products manufactured in and exported from the mainland of the People's Republic of China (PRC) because of numerous alleged consumer safety issues. The many product recalls within the year led Consumer Reports and other observers to dub 2007 "The Year of the Recall.”
Britains, earlier known by the founder's name W. Britain, is a British toy brand and former manufacturing company known for its die-cast scale models of agricultural machinery, and figurines. The company was established in 1893 as a toy soldiers manufacturer.
Plarail is a toy train and plastic track system made by Tomy and introduced in Japan in 1959. It was expanded into a battery-operated electric toy train system in October 1961. Plarail is not compatible with most other brands of model railway, although as it has a similar rail gauge to the wooden toy train systems, rolling stock may run on both systems to some degree.
Lamaze Infant Development System is a line of baby toys belonging to Takara Tomy, which acquired the former owner, RC2 Corporation and its subsidiary Learning Curve Brands, in 2011. The name Lamaze is licensed by Lamaze International, a Washington, D.C. based nonprofit organization. The toys are developed in collaboration with Jerome and Dorothy Singer, psychologists at Yale University.
Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion is a Japanese toy franchise created by Takara Tomy, in association with the Japan Railways Group. It is a spin-off of the long-running Plarail model train franchise, with the toys first launched back at March 16, 2015. An anime adaptation by OLM aired in all JNN stations in Japan from January 2018 to June 2019. A second anime titled Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z aired from April 2021 to March 2022 on TV Tokyo. A third anime by Signal.MD and Production I.G titled Shinkalion: Change the World is set to premiere in April 2024.
Round 2 is an American manufacturing company which produces scale models including die-cast, plastic, slot cars, and other hobby products. The company is based in South Bend, Indiana. The company was founded in 2005 by Thomas E. Lowe who previously owned toy company Playing Mantis. Round 2 holds several hobby brands, most of which were acquired and relaunched by Round 2 under the original brand name. Brands sold under Round 2 includes long-running model kit and diecast brands, including AMT, Hawk, Johnny Lightning, MPC, and Racing Champions.
References
- ↑ "About Our Key Brands and Licenses". RC2 company website. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ↑ "Corporation News: RC2 Corporation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 David Barboza and Louise Story (June 19, 2007). "RC2's Train Wreck". The New York Times . Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ↑ "Toy maker RC2 to sell line of Totally Spies fashion/action dolls". Kids Today. October 14, 2005. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
- ↑ "RC2 recalls more toy trains due to lead paint". Reuters. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
- ↑ Kachi, Hiroyuki. "Tomy Buys Toy Train Line". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660 . Retrieved 2015-12-16.
