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.
Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models. The company was closed by its corporate parent Hasbro in 2000.
McFarlane Toys is a 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, is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
Marvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the 6-inch (150 mm) scale, with spin-off lines in the 4-inch (100 mm), 8-inch (200 mm), and 12-inch (300 mm) scale.
Roger Sweet is an American designer. He grew up in Akron, Ohio and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and the Institute of Design in Chicago, Illinois. He served as a lead designer at Mattel throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s and worked extensively on the Masters of the Universe toy line. Before working for Mattel, Sweet held design positions with Walter Dorwin Teague Associates, an industrial design firm, and other design firms. He worked on the accounts of such companies as Boeing, Rubbermaid, Hoover, and Procter & Gamble, and on such products as the interior of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet airliner, and the Downy and Scope packages.
The Attacktix Battle Figure Game was a collectable action figure game produced by Hasbro, released 2005 through 2006 and featuring characters from the Star Wars, Transformers, and Marvel Comics franchises. Many of the action figures are sold in starter sets in quantities of five or in quantities of three in a booster pack. Most figures average approximately 3.5 inches tall with other larger sized "mega" figures and vehicles. The figures sport a wide variety of spring-loaded action features such as projectile launchers and swinging close combat parts. The goal of the Attacktix game is to physically knock down the opponent's figures. It has been compared to another miniatures game, HeroClix.
Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s.
A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped.
Wrestling Superstars were the first action figures based on the wrestlers of the WWF. Wrestling action figures were the brainchild of Richard Derwald of Buffalo NY who sold the idea to LJN in the summer of 1984.. They were made by the toy and video game company LJN from 1984 to 1989. The figures were made of solid rubber and paint and were very accurate in appearance to their real life counterparts.
The Hasbro G.I. Joe Hall of Fame era of 12" action figures began in 1991, when Hasbro released the Target Exclusive Duke in response to the high demand from nostalgic collectors of the vintage era G.I. Joe action figures. Duke was the first 12" (30 cm) action figure produced in the Hasbro G.I. Joe line since 1978. During the G.I. Joe Hall of Fame era, Hasbro introduced several new products to the world of action figure collectibles. The first innovation was the limited edition, individually numbered collectible figures. These figures had collectors scrambling to find the lowest numbers which were expected to have the highest resale value. Hasbro also used variant sets to increase demand and interest in the figures. Additionally, talking voice chips were used in some figures; and limited edition action figure sets were released for the Street Fighter II video game and movie characters, and also for the Mortal Kombat characters.
In 2003, DC rewarded the rights to produce Batman, Superman, and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited figures to Mattel. Mattel, who took over production from Hasbro, released their first original comic-style toy line, Batman, in 2003, and it lasted until summer 2005.
DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios, and were first available for sale in 2008. The "DC Classics" line ceased to be sold at retail in 2012 with wave 20. The series then became an online-and-convention exclusive line. It was announced in late 2014 that the line would come to an end with a final series of six figures celebrating the history of the line.
The WWE Hasbro Action Figure line was an action figure toyline based on the Superstars of the WWE, produced by the toy company Hasbro from 1990 to 1994. The toys were made of plastic, with many featuring a signature action move based on their real life counterpart.
The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, as part of their Fisher-Price brand.
DC Universe is a toy brand manufactured by Mattel. It has five sub-lines – Classics, Fighting Figures, Giants of Justice, Infinite Heroes, and the reintegrated Justice League Unlimited line.
Marvel Universe is a 33⁄4" action figure line manufactured by Hasbro, featuring characters from the Marvel Comics universe. It first hit stores in early 2009 and features detailed sculpting, multiple points of articulation, and accessories. The line was created by Hasbro Designer Dave Vonner.
WWE action figures are poseable figures based upon wrestlers and personalities of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). They are currently manufactured by Mattel and have formerly been manufactured by Jakks and Hasbro. Currently, Mattel produce two separate series' of WWE action figures, marketed as "elite series" and "basic series". The basic series is generally at a lower price point with less accessories. The elite series generally comes with accessories such as shirts, weapons, and hats and have more points of joint manipulation.
At the Toyfair 2010 in New York City, Mattel revealed the WWE Legends action figure line. The figures are elite style and some also come with accessories. Series 1 arrived at stores in July 2010 with Series 2 right around the corner to be hitting the shelves in August 2010. Series 3, 4, 5 and 6 were announced at the 2010 San Diego ComicCon and followed in tow, being released to stores in September 2010, October 2010, November 2010 and December 2010 respectively.
G.I. Joe is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced 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 Action Nurse. The name is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from the more general term "G.I.". The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure". G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys.
