An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals, glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and injected into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould-maker from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels of cars. Advances in 3D printing technology, using photopolymers that do not melt during the injection moulding of some lower-temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection moulds.
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.
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, is an American toy brand owned by Hasbro. Kenner Products began as a toy company founded in 1946, going on to produce several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures for the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models.
Apache Chief is a Native American superhero from the various Hanna-Barbera Super Friends and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law cartoons and the DC comic book series of the same name. He was one of the new heroes added to increase the number of non-white characters in the Super Friends' ranks. The visual look of the character was created by cartoonist Alex Toth, who designed many superheroes for Hanna-Barbera beginning in the 1960s. He was voiced by Michael Rye in most of his Super Friends appearances, Regis Cordic in his debut appearance, Al Fann in "History of Doom", and Maurice LaMarche in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
Thingmaker, also called Creepy Crawlers, is an activity toy made by Mattel, beginning in 1964. The toy consists of a series of die-cast metal moulds resembling various bug-like creatures, into which is poured a liquid chemical substance called "Plasti-Goop", which comes in assorted colours. The mould is then heated to about 390 °F (199 °C) in an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plasti-Goop is cured by the heat, and when cooled forms semi-solid, rubbery replicas which can be removed from the mould.
Captain Action was an action figure created in 1966, equipped with a wardrobe of costumes and facial masks allowing him to become Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Sgt. Fury, Steve Canyon, and the Green Hornet. Captain Action was the Ideal Toy Company's answer to Hasbro's G.I. Joe, although the protagonist dolls of both toy lines were created and designed by the same toy-and-idea man, Stan Weston. Captain Action also had a working 4 foot parachute.
McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
"Shakermaker" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. Written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, the song was first released as the second single from their debut studio album Definitely Maybe on 20 June 1994. The single peaked at number eleven in the UK. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry in 2013, having previously been their only single of the 1990s not to be certified in the UK. As of 2021, it remains the only single from the band's first two albums not to reach at least platinum status in the UK.
Dymkovo toys, also known as the Vyatka toys or Kirov toys are moulded painted clay figures of people and animals. It is one of the old Russian folk art handicrafts, which still exists in the village of Dymkovo near Kirov. Traditionally, the Dymkovo toys are made by women.
Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s. These action figures, inspired by the character's appearance in comics and serials, were created by DC Comics and manufactured by various toy companies. These figures were made of various materials such as wood, tin, and plastic. They were typically between 6 and 8 inches in height and featured movable joints that allowed them to be posed in various positions.
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy, Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.
Jada Toys, Inc. is an American manufacturer of collectible scale model cars, figures, radio controlled model vehicles, and dolls. It was founded in 1999 by Jack and May Li. Jada's products are predominantly aimed at the collectible market, and are available and popular at retail outlets worldwide.
Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (2016–2018).
Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories and games. Founded in 1998 by Mike Becker and Claudia Becker, Funko was originally conceived as a small project to create various low-tech, nostalgia-themed toys. The company's first manufactured bobblehead was of the Big Boy restaurant mascot.
Lego Art is a Lego theme introduced in 2020. It offers sets based on iconic personalities and characters in pop culture, allowing builders to reproduce them in a mosaic-like format using Lego 1x1 studs. Following the launch of Lego DOTS, a theme mainly targeted towards children, the Lego Art theme is the second 2D tile creative concept to be launched by The Lego Group in August 2020.
Disney Infinity is an action-adventure sandbox toys-to-life video game series developed by Avalanche Software. The setting of the series was a giant customizable universe of imagination, known as the Toy Box, populated with toy versions of iconic Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters.
Pasta processing is the process in which wheat semolina or flour is mixed with water and the dough is extruded to a specific shape, dried and packaged.
