When was the company that owned the "Machine Wars" toys founded?
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Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toy line) Originally imported to the West as a "filler" line while "" was in production, "Robots in Disguise" brought the Autobot and Decepticon factions (and thus, the original concept of robots transforming into vehicles and other objects rather than organic-looking animals) back into the general public after five years of "Beast Wars" and "Beast Machines" lines. ("Machine Wars", which was exclusive to Kay-Bee Toys branches, was a previous failed attempt at rejuvenating interest in both factions.) While it introduced many new figures, majority of the line consisted of repaints from "Generation 1", "Generation 2", "Beast Wars/Beast Machines" and "Machine Wars".
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KB Toys K·B Toys (known as Kay Bee Toys until 1997) was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores in the United States. Founded in 1922, it operated, at its height, 1300 stores across all 50 states, and went out of business in 2009. International retailer Toys "R" Us acquired the remains of K·B Toys, consisting mainly of its website, trademarks, and intellectual property rights.
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Machine Robo Machine Robo (マシンロボ ) is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe, and Machine Men (or Robot Machine Men) in Australia. A large portion of these toys were exported to North America as part of Tonka's Gobots and Rock Lords series, beginning in 1983.
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Toys for Bob Toys for Bob is an American video game developer founded in Novato, California in 1989. The name Toys for Bob was invented by Laurie Lessen-Reiche; it was chosen to stimulate curiosity and allude to Paul and Fred's appreciation of real toys.
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Wham-O Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company headquartered in Carson, California, United States. They are known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, the Slip 'N Slide, the Super Ball, the Trac-Ball, Silly String, the Hacky Sack, and the Boogie Board.
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Metzeler Metzeler is a German motorcycle tyre company founded in 1863. Metzeler originally produced a variety of rubber and plastic products, expanding into aviation in 1890 and automotive and motorcycle tyres in 1892. The factory was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt after the war. In the 1950s and 1960s the American distributor of Metzeler tyres was Berliner Motor Corporation. After 1979, Metzeler focused only on motorcycle tyres, and was acquired by Pirelli in 1986.
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Spacewarp (toy) Spacewarp is line of build-it-yourself, marble run toy "roller coasters" first made in the 1980s by Bandai. Users cut lengths of track to the correct size from a single roll of thick plastic tubing, forming curves and loops held in place by plastic track rail holders which attach to metal rods held vertical in a black plastic base. Steel balls roll around the track and on to a battery-powered Screw conveyor that takes them to the top to start all over again.
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MegaBots Inc. MegaBots Inc. is an American startup company headquartered in Hayward, California that creates giant robots and real-world mecha for robotic sports competitions. In June 2015, MegaBots challenged Japan-based Suidobashi Heavy Industry to the world's first giant robot duel. Suidobashi accepted the challenge on the condition that the fight include melee combat. In August 2015, MegaBots announced plans to upgrade its Mark II robot with melee capabilities by raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign and partnering with Howe and Howe Technologies, NASA, and IHMC.
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Deluxe Reading Deluxe Reading was a toy manufacturer based in Elizabeth, New Jersey USA which produced toys under several brand names including: Deluxe Topper, Deluxe Toy Creations, Deluxe Reading, Topper Corp., Topper Toy Group, and Topper Toys. The Topper Toys brand was most used in print advertisement and television commercials (children's TV). It was founded and run by Henry Orenstein, a holocaust survivor.
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Transformers: Beast Wars Transformers: Beast Wars is an entertainment franchise from Hasbro, and part of the larger Transformers franchise. The fiction directly follows the continuity established by the 1984 series and , while ignoring the continuity established with the Japanese Transformers series, though this franchise would have two exclusive Japanese series of its own. Previous to Beast Wars, Hasbro had attempted to relaunch the original toys and animation as "". Hasbro intended another franchise titled Transtech to follow, combining Beast Wars and Generation 1 characters and aesthetics, but this was cancelled. Instead the franchise began a series of reboots, beginning with the Japanese-produced "" series.
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Muttpop Muttpop is a producer of designer toys founded in 2005 by Robert Silva and Jerry Frissen specializing in artist-created toys. Muttpop is known for its "Lucha Libre" inspired toys.
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Icemat Icemat is a manufacturer, distributor and online retailer of a line of products targeted primarily at computer gamers. The company was founded in 2001 as a producer of mousing surfaces made of frosted glass. They have since expanded their product line to include headphones, sound cards and apparel. Icemat was seen often to produce partnerships with professional gaming teams and to sponsor events and individual players.
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Battleline Publications Battleline Publications was a board wargame company founded by Steven Peek in 1973. Output was relatively low at first, with each game being funded by sales of the one before, but their games were generally well-respected. Several were re-published by Avalon Hill, and their second game, "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" designed by S. Craig Taylor is still considered one of the better games on its subject. They also put out a couple games that can be considered card wargames, and at one point became a division of Heritage Models.
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Robotix (toyline) Robotix is a line of toy motorized modular construction sets, used to construct robots, robotic vehicles, and machines, and often including action figures. Robotix toys were first marketed by the Milton Bradley Company (MB) from 1984 until 1986. The 1985 cartoon series "Robotix" was based on these toys. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Robotix toys were sold by RC2 Corporation under its Learning Curve brand. Learning Curve changed the colors of the original MB toys from mostly black and white to bright colors, introduced new parts, and expanded the range of playsets.
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Coleco Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It became a highly successful toy company in the 1980s, known for its mass-produced version of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consoles, the Coleco Telstar dedicated consoles and ColecoVision. While the company disappeared in 1988 as a result of bankruptcy, the Coleco brand was revived in 2005, and remains active to this day.
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Shocker Toys Shocker Toys was a company that manufactured limited release toys and collectible products based on comic book and cartoon characters, as well as original creations. Founded in 1998, the company was run by Geoff Beckett Jr., Lance Buttiglieri, and Bill Roshia and was based in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
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Merrythought Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in soft toys, especially teddy bears. It is the last remaining British teddy bear factory to still make its products in Britain and is located at Ironbridge in Shropshire.
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Alliance Rubber Company Alliance Rubber Company is a US manufacturer of rubber bands, founded by William H. Spencer in 1923 in Alliance, Ohio. The company sells its products to commercial stationers, newspapers, produce growers, the United States government, post offices, retailers, promotional products industry, and industrial packaging houses.
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Tyco Toys Tyco Toys was an American toy manufacturer. Since 1997, it has been a division of Mattel, Inc.
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ToyWatch ToyWatch Was a luxury Italian watchmaking company founded in Milan in 2006.
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Corgi Toys Corgi Toys (trademark) is the name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles produced by Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in the United Kingdom. The Mettoy (Metal Toy) company was founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann in Northampton, England, where he was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz, who had previously worked for Ulmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. They decided to market a range of toy vehicles as competition to Meccano's Dinky Toys model vehicles, which had dominated the British market for many years. Corgi Toys were introduced in the UK in July 1956 and were manufactured in Swansea, Wales, for twenty seven years before the company went into liquidation. A management buy-out re-formed the company as Corgi Toys Limited in March 1984. In 1989, the management sold the Corgi brand to Mattel and the factory was retained under the name of Microlink Industries Ltd. In 1995, Corgi regained its independence as a new company, Corgi Classics Limited, and moved to new premises in Leicester.
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Lego minifigure Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a "minifig", or simply just "fig", is a small plastic articulated figurine, many of which are yellow, available as part of the construction toy Lego, produced by Danish toy manufacturer the Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978, and have become hugely successful, with over 3.7 billion produced, and the figure appearing in a variety of media, including movies, books and video games. The figures are usually found within Lego sets, although they are also sold separately as keychains and magnets. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from film franchises or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme (such as police officers, astronauts and pirates). Minifigures are collected by both children and adults. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in a large number of combinations.