The Transformers is a line of mecha toys produced by Japanese company Takara and American toy company Hasbro. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toy lines, it spawned the Transformers media franchise.
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. They made many types of toys including tin toys, toy soldiers, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars and model trains. Some of their notable toys are Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Big Wheel tricycles, Disney branded dollhouses and playsets based on TV shows like Gunsmoke. Its products were often imprinted with the slogan "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"
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 dolls, 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.
Micro Machines are a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid-1980s and throughout the 1990s. Micro Machines are tiny scale component style "playsets" and vehicles that are slightly larger than N scale.
Microman was a science fiction toyline created, manufactured and marketed by Takara Co., Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. The Microman line was a series of 3.75-inch-tall (9.5 cm) action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. Unlike other toylines at the time, Microman figures were marketed as being the "actual" size of cyborg beings called "Micros" that hailed from a fictional planet known as "Micro Earth" and disguised themselves as action figures while on planet Earth.
GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers. Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their buyout of Tonka in 1991. Subsequently, the universe depicted in the animated series Challenge of the GoBots and follow-up film GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords was established as an alternate universe within the Transformers multiverse. While Hasbro now owns the fictional side of the property, the actual toys and their likenesses were only licensed from Bandai in the 1980s, were not covered by the Tonka acquisition, and are not available for Hasbro use.
Dinosaucers is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States, produced by DIC Animation City and distributed in syndication in the US by Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created by producer Michael E. Uslan, who considered it a "harebrained idea". A total of 65 episodes were made for the show's first-run syndication, but it only lasted one season.
Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones was a line of toys manufactured by Galoob in 1984-5.
The Bots Master is a 1993 cartoon series, produced by Jean Chalopin through his company "Créativité et Développement" ("C&D") in France and Saban International. In total 40 episodes were made, each one having a special 3D segment and titles. The series was co-produced by Avi Arad and Associates. The show also had a toyline based on it.
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.
Robo Machine was a European transforming robot toyline released by Bandai from 1982 to 1988. Robo Machines was a short-lived revival from late 1992 to 1993. The line was initially a European release of the Machine Robo line, before gradually becoming the counterpart to Tonka’s Gobots line. The line appeared in the UK, France and Germany, amongst others.
Mighty Max was a series of toys that were manufactured by Bluebird Toys PLC in the UK in 1992. The toys were similar to the earlier Polly Pocket toyline; however, these toys were marketed primarily towards young boys. In Canada and the United States, they were distributed by Irwin Toy Limited and Mattel Inc. respectively. The original toyline consisted mainly of "Doom Zones" and "Horror Heads." "Doom Zones" were small playsets with a horror theme and featured miniature figurines of menacing creatures and the hero Max, a young boy with blond hair, jeans, a white t-shirt with a red "M" on it, and a baseball cap which also always had an "M" on it. The "Horror Heads" were smaller-sized playsets, also shaped like the heads of creatures and contained miniature figures. It was later adapted into a TV series, as well as a tie-in video game The Adventures of Mighty Max produced by Ocean Software for the Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis.
Zoids: Starriors was a robot toyline created by Tomy in association with Marvel Comics in 1984. It was a sub-line from Zoids, but it had a new storyline that was different to Zoids. Six Marvel mini-comics were distributed with the toys. Marvel also produced a four-issue limited series written by Louise Simonson, with art by Michael Chen, Ian Akin, and Brian Garvey, and covers painted by Bill Sienkiewicz.
Action figures based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise have been produced by Playmates Toys since 1988. Staff artists at the Northampton, Massachusetts based Mirage Studios have provided conceptual designs for many of the figures, vehicles, and playsets and are credited on the packaging of the products they created.
Between 1978 to 1985, Kenner produced and sold action figures based on the Star Wars franchise. From a line of over 100 unique toys, a total of more than 300 million units were sold during their original run. Kenner began producing new Star Wars action figures in 1995.
The World of Springfield is a series of action figures featuring characters from the animated sitcom The Simpsons. The line ran between December 1999 and December 2004 and was released by Playmates Toys.
Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. is a 1992 legal case where the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that there was no copyright infringement made by the Game Genie, a video game accessory that could alter the output of games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The court determined that Galoob's Game Genie did not violate Nintendo's exclusive right to make derivative works of their games, because the Game Genie did not create a new permanent work. The court also found that the alterations produced by the Game Genie qualified as non-commercial fair use, and none of the alterations were supplanting demand for Nintendo's games.
The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphasis on education, it was notable for its ruggedness, expandability, and the quality of its operating system. An accompanying 1982 television series, The Computer Programme, featuring Chris Serle learning to use the machine, was broadcast on BBC2.
NakNak was a collectable toy line manufactured by Hasbro from early 2001 to late 2003. They were "stacking battle action figures" that clicked when their arms or legs were moved. In addition to solely collecting the toys, players were also able to play a game of stacking them without the figures falling over. It was heralded as the "first ever stacking battle action figure brand".
Micro Machines is a racing video game developed by Codemasters and originally published by Camerica for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. Themed around Galoob's Micro Machines toys, players race in miniaturised toy vehicles around various environments. The game is the first installment in the Micro Machines video game series.
