Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of cloth dolls with plastic heads first produced by Coleco Industries in 1982. They were inspired by the Little People soft sculptured dolls sold by Xavier Roberts as collectibles. The brand was renamed 'Cabbage Patch Kids' by Roger L. Schlaifer when he acquired the exclusive worldwide licensing rights in 1982.
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were popular at the time.
LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher based in New York City. Founded in 1970 by Jack Friedman, the company was acquired by MCA Inc. in 1985, sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990, and dissolved in 1994. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and the company shifted towards video game publishing before being closed in 1994. The company's branding was last used for the release of Spirit of Speed 1937 in 2000.
Tyco International plc was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Tyco International was composed of two major business segments: security solutions and fire protection.
Ed Templeton is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington Beach, California.
A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die-casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other machined metal parts. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection molding, but the two methods are distinct because of the properties of the materials.
Playskool is an American brand of educational toys and games for children. The former Playskool manufacturing company was a subsidiary of the Milton Bradley Company and was headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Playskool's last remaining plant in Chicago was shut down in 1984, and Playskool became a brand of Hasbro, which had acquired Milton Bradley that same year.
Tyco Toys was an American toy manufacturer. It was acquired by Mattel in 1997, becoming one of its brands.
Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc., was a toy company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. They are best known for creating Micro Machines, which accounted for 50% of its sales in 1989, and distributing the Game Genie in the United States.
The Incredible Crash Dummies is a line of action figures designed by David McDonald and Jim Byrne, styled after the eponymous crash test dummy popularized in a public service advertising campaign of the late 1980s, to educate people on the safety of wearing seat belts. The toys were first released by Tyco Toys in the early 1990s and discontinued in 1994. From 2004 on, a new series of animated shorts involving the crash dummies was produced and the action figures subsequently revived under the Hot Wheels brand, another subdivision of Mattel.
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie is a 1987 film adaptation of the children's trading cards series of the same name produced, directed, and co-written by Rod Amateau. It was the last film to be directed by Amateau before his retirement in 1989 and death in 2003.
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.
Garbage Pail Kids is an American animated series which was produced in 1987, based on the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards, produced and directed by Bob Hathcock and co-written and developed by Flint Dille. Due to controversial themes, it did not air in the United States. However, it did air in certain countries around the world, including in Europe and the Caribbean.
Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen Schelle, and Margaret Evans-Price.
The PlasmaCar is a plastic ride-on toy car designed for children, made popular by Canadian toy distributor PlaSmart. The PlasmaCar can be propelled by wiggling the front steering wheel which is attached to two pivoting wheels touching the ground. It harnesses the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction in order to drive the car forward and backward. It does not require a power source such as batteries, fuel, pedals, or gears - it simply runs on the child's ability to wiggle the steering wheel. It can be operated indoors and/or outdoors, though it works best on a smooth, flat surface.
Joe Simko is a New York City based illustrator who has contributed to Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages trading cards. Producer/Co-Director of the Garbage Pail Kids documentary film, 30 Years of Garbage. He is the illustrator/author of the book series, The Sweet Rot, and he designs artwork for bands, creating album covers, tour posters and concert shirts. His project Cereal Killers Trading Cards, 1st Series was released May 2, 2011. The Cereal Killers cards spoof breakfast cereals with popular horror films. Joe wrote and painted all 55 cards for the first and second set and launched the series through his new company, Wax Eye. Bad Kill, 2nd Series was released through Wax Eye in June 2012.
Prizes are promotional items—small toys, games, trading cards, collectables, and other small items of nominal value—found in packages of brand-name retail products that are included in the price of the product with the intent to boost sales, similar to toys in kid's meals. Collectable prizes produced in series are used extensively—as a loyalty marketing program—in food, drink, and other retail products to increase sales through repeat purchases from collectors. Prizes have been distributed through bread, candy, cereal, cheese, chips, crackers, laundry detergent, margarine, popcorn, and soft drinks. The types of prizes have included comics, fortunes, jokes, key rings, magic tricks, models, pin-back buttons, plastic mini-spoons, puzzles, riddles, stickers, temporary tattoos, tazos, trade cards, trading cards, and small toys. Prizes are sometimes referred to as "in-pack" premiums, although historically the word "premium" has been used to denote an item that is not packaged with the product and requires a proof of purchase and/or a small additional payment to cover shipping and/or handling charges.
A Lego clone is a line or brand of children's construction blocks which is mechanically compatible with Lego brand blocks, but is produced by another manufacturer. The blocks were originally patented by The Lego Group in 1961 as "toy building bricks", and the company has since remained dominant in this market. Some competitors have moved to take advantage of Lego brand recognition by advertising their own products as compatible with Lego, with statements such as "compatible with leading building bricks".
Nosco Plastics, Inc. was the plastics molding division of National Organ Supply Company created in 1934 to make plastic parts for electric organs and was located at 1701 Gaskell Avenue, Erie, Pennsylvania, 16503. Beginning in 1948 with the implementation of the newly developed screw injection molding process, NOSCO quickly became a major early producer of tiny plastic toys called "slum" sold to wholesalers as carnival merchandise, used by the millions as prizes in packages of Cracker Jack popcorn confection, and mail-order flats that were heavily advertised in American comic books as "100 Toy Soldiers for $1" by E. Joseph Cossman & Company. NOSCO also held a number of patents on plastic molded products including mechanical toys, storage containers, pallets, and medical syringes.
Moose Toys is an Australian-owned toy design, development and distribution company founded in 1985. Moose is headquartered in Australia, has over 600 staff and distributes to over 50 countries.
