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71-742: The franchise started with a plamo kit line and includes six main anime TV series ( Chaotic Century , New Century , Fuzors , Genesis , Wild , Wild Zero ), as well as several video games and manga products. There have been a number of different Zoids model lines over the years, both in Japan and other countries. Between these lines, over 200 different designs have been released, some several times over. Several companies outside of Takara-Tomy have produced Zoids kits. This has led to Zoids being made as die-cast figures, highly detailed posing kits, smaller action figures and even PVC figurines. The predecessors to Zoids. Released in 1982, "Mechabonica"

142-570: A 3 inch tall action figure of the pilot. Like the regular Zoids line, the Zoids were divided into Helic and Zenebas factions. The 1:24 Zoids were not a success, and were discontinued after a year. In 1990, TOMY re-released several of the 1:24 scale Zoids in a new line called Zevle . The Zoids were recolored from the OJR versions, and came with detailed, 3 inch tall action figures of the pilot and crew. The pilot figures were unpainted and on sprues, much like

213-727: A company from Korea better known for model airplanes and ships, re-released many of the NJR Zoid models, as well as some Zoids from the Customize Parts, Fuzors and Genesis series. In most cases, these Academy Zoids have nearly identical packaging to their Japanese predecessors save for the Korean language and a sticker bearing the Academy logo. Though the quality of the Academy Zoids were on par with their Japanese counterparts in

284-413: A complete kit. Detail parts of other materials are sometimes included in kits or sold separately, such as metal tubing to simulate exhaust systems, or vinyl tubing to simulate hoses or wiring. Almost all plastic models are designed in a well-established scale. Each type of subject has one or more common scales, though they differ from one to the other. The general aim is to allow the finished model to be of

355-479: A completely imaginary subject. The creation of custom automobile models is related to the creation of actual custom cars and often an individual may have an interest in both, although the cost of customizing a real car is obviously enormously greater than that of customizing a model. The first plastic models were injection molded in cellulose acetate (e.g. Frog Penguin and Varney Trains ), but currently most plastic models are injection-molded in polystyrene , and

426-598: A continuation of the series but their release status is currently unknown. The models are incredibly rare (even more so than the Japanese Mechabonica) and demand is boosted even further by their unique color schemes. TOMY sold the Mechabonica line in the United States and Europe in late 1982, under the name Zoids . The line was far more successful than Mechabonica, which led TOMY to reintroduce

497-584: A greater degree of detail moulded in situ, but as the moulds used don't last as long, the price of such kits is considerably higher. In recent times, the latest releases from major manufacturers offer unprecedented detail that is a match for the finest resin kits, often including high-quality mixed-media (photo-etched brass, turned aluminum) parts. Many modellers build dioramas as landscaped scenes built around one or more models. They are most common for military vehicles such as tanks , but airfield scenes and 2-3 ships in formation are also popular. Conversions use

568-543: A kit as a starting point, and modify it to be something else. For instance, kits of the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") are readily available, but the Constitution was just one of six sister ships, and an ambitious modeller will modify the kit, by sawing, filing, adding pieces, and so forth, to make a model of one of the others. Scratch building is the creation of a model "from scratch" rather than

639-425: A lucrative side business selling the unassembled parts of these "promos" to hobbyists to assemble, thus finding a new revenue stream for the injection molds which were so expensive to update each year. These early models were typically lower in detail than currently standard, with non-opening hoods and no engines, and simplified or no detail on the chassis , which attached to the body with very visible screws. Within

710-449: A manufactured kit. True scratchbuilt models consist of parts made by hand and do not incorporate parts from other kits. These are rare. When parts from other kits are included, the art is technically called "Kit Bashing." Most pieces referred to as "scratchbuilt" are actually a combination of kit bashing and scratchbuilding. Thus, it has become common for either term to be used loosely to refer to these more common hybrid models. Kitbashing

781-629: A model kit, and had to be assembled. The crew figures also came with accessories of guns and beam sabers. Zevle featured its own "Battle Story" on the boxes, but while it was similar to the Zoids Battle Story, it was unrelated to it. Like the 1/24th Zoids, Zevle was a commercial failure and was discontinued. Kenner acquired the rights to release Zoids in North America, releasing the Technozoids line in 1995–1996. The Zoids in

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852-466: A new line of non-motorised Zoids called Blox , which featured flexible construction. Blox Zoids can be easily disassembled and combined with each other, as well as with regular Zoids. In 2002, Toys Dream Project began a line of limited Zoids releases. The line consisted of a mixture of new recolors of existing Zoids and re-releases of older versions of some Zoids in their OJR colors, as well as kits paired with uniquely colored customize parts. Following

923-468: A number of Zoids that were previously only released in North America. The line was abruptly halted in early 2005, with several items unreleased. Fuzors is commonly abbreviated as FZ . In early 2005, another new Zoid line was launched, to tie into the Zoids: Genesis anime. The line consists of a mixture of old designs, new designs and older designs with new parts. The line is most notable for

994-479: A reasonable size, while maintaining consistency across models for collections. The following are the most common scales for popular subjects: In reality, models do not always conform to their nominal scale; there are 1/25 scale automobile models which are larger than some 1/24 scale models, for instance. For example, the engine in the recent reissue of the AMT Ala Kart show truck is significantly smaller than

1065-545: A short time, the kit business began to overshadow the production of promos, and the level of accuracy and detail was raised to satisfy the demands of the marketplace. In the 1960s, Tamiya manufactured aircraft kits in the peculiar (at the time) scale of 1/100. Although the range included famous aircraft such as the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress , McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II , North American F-86 Sabre , Dassault Mirage III , Grumman A-6 Intruder and

1136-584: A similar approach with some of their action figure lines, most notably on their 2010 3.75" Spider-Man action figure line as well as some of their 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra product. In 1998, the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect line was released but sales were less than expected. The Night Hunter series, the second line of toys based on Chaos Effect , was planned for 1999, but was cancelled due to poor sales. The Jurassic Park series became more of an annoyance to Hasbro rather than

1207-411: A smaller company (Feber) but unfortunately the line performed even worse than its Japanese counterpart. The same 3 models were released but bizarrely they were given new color schemes; grey parts became silver and the dark blue caps became bright blue. The models were not given names but are listed as Starzeta I, II and III. SZ IV (Garantula), SZ V (Aquadon) and SZ VI (Gorgodos) were supposedly planned as

1278-651: A trademark brand name. Due to this, the overproduction of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace toys, coupled with low sales, forced Hasbro to downsize by getting rid of the Kenner department in Cincinnati. 100 people were transferred and 420 were laid off. Among these 420 was the Jurassic Park design team (which also designed Batman among other toy lines), who had just started the very early concepts for Jurassic Park III . Because of this, Hasbro assigned

1349-528: A weekend cannot compare with a kit built over months where a tiny add-on part such as an aircraft seat can cost more than the entire kit itself. Though plastic modeling is generally an uncontroversial hobby, it's not immune to social pressures: Kenner Products 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

1420-440: Is a consumer-grade plastic scale model manufactured as a kit , primarily assembled by hobbyists , and intended primarily for display. A plastic model kit depicts various subjects, ranging from real life military and civilian vehicles to characters and machinery from original kit lines and pop fiction, especially from eastern pop culture. A kit varies in difficulty, ranging from a "snap-together" model that assembles straight from

1491-521: Is a modelling technique where parts from multiple model kits are combined to create a novel model form. For example, the effects crews on the various Star Trek TV shows frequently kitbashed multiple starship models to quickly create new classes of ship for use in background scenes where details would not be particularly obvious. The demographics of plastic modeling have changed in its half-century of existence, from young boys buying them as toys to older adults building them to assemble large collections. In

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1562-470: Is commonly abbreviated as OAR by fans and collectors. In 1983, following the success of the OAR, TOMY reintroduced the Zoids line in Japan. The relaunched Japanese line, now entitled Zoids , was a success, running from 1983 until 1990. The Zoids line had its own "Battle Story" that was told serially on the backs of the model boxes and in catalogues. Initially, the Zoids were divided into two distinct factions,

1633-721: Is used for the Bio-Zoids released as part of this line. Released in May 2006, the Neo-Blox are an improvement on the previous Blox line, primarily due to the greater range of poseability the 'Blox and peg' connection system has. Two sublines have also been released. The first is the Legends Series , which features Zoids from previous releases, but redesigned to be the same size as the Neo-Blox Zoids, and modified to use

1704-518: The Batman Forever movie (1995). Later toy lines expanded beyond the movie series and took inspiration from Batman's animated series and comic book incarnations. Kenner went on to develop lines centered on Superman and other DC Comics characters as well. As with The Real Ghostbusters , most of these DC Comics lines incorporated multi-colored costumes, weapons and action features which were not based directly on any existing storylines, although

1775-533: The Star Wars trilogy from 1976 through 1985. After Kenner acquired the license to produce Star Wars toys when the Mego Corporation rejected it in 1976, Kenner popularized the 3.75 inch action figure that became an industry standard. Kenner also produced toys related to the popular 1970s TV series The Six Million Dollar Man and the 1979 sci-fi movie Alien . In 1981, Kenner belatedly entered

1846-678: The LTV A-7 Corsair II , it never enjoyed the same success as 1/72 scale kits did. Soon, Tamiya stopped manufacturing 1/100 scale aircraft but re-issued a small selection of them in 2004. Since the 1970s, Japanese firms such as Hasegawa and Tamiya , and since the 1990s also Chinese firms such as DML , AFV Club and Trumpeter have dominated the field and represent the highest level of technology. Brands from Russia , Central Europe , and Korea have also become prominent recently with companies like Academy Plastic Model . Many smaller companies have also produced plastic models, both in

1917-610: The NJR . Although it was initially successful, Hasbro suspended the line in 2004, due to poor sales. The cancellation of the line left a number of new Zoids unreleased, including most of those not yet re-released by TOMY. Much of the leftover stock was later released by Hasbro in Australia and the UK. In Australia and South-East Asia, these Zoids were released by TOMY. These countries were identical to Hasbro's Zoids, but featured TOMY branding on

1988-464: The United States , as well as some other countries, many modelers are former members of the military who like to recreate the actual equipment they used in service. Technological advances have made model-building more and more sophisticated, and the proliferation of expensive detailing add-ons have raised the bar for competition within modeling clubs. As a result, a kit built "out of the box" on

2059-679: The Helic Republic and the Zenebas Empire. In 1989, the Zenebas Empire was replaced with the Guylos Empire. The Original Japanese Release is commonly abbreviated as OJR . Zoids were also released in Europe, (and to a limited extent in Australia, South Africa and South-East Asia), from 1984 to 1987 by TOMY. The models in this release were a mixture of ones directly ported over from the OJR, as well as recolored Zoids, including

2130-469: The UK and Europe (with a re-release in Australia and South-East Asia) in 1994. The Zoids 2 line featured very bright color schemes, with all the Zoids having at least some chromed parts. The Zoids also had unique stickers with odd swirling designs. The Zoids 2 line did not feature distinctive factions for the Zoids, but did have a backstory loosely based on (but not a continuation of) the UK Zoid comic, with

2201-515: The US and Canada by TOMY, in 1985–86. All the Zoids in the line were OJR Zoids, however, some versions of the same model retained their original (OJR) color scheme, whereas other versions of the same model received a distinctive Robo Strux color scheme. Thus, the Robo Strux line had two differently colored releases of several models. Based on their color schemes, the Zoids were divided into two factions,

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2272-471: The United States, beginning in 1958. In the early 1960s, Kenner introduced its corporate mascot, The Kenner Gooney Bird, which would be used in both its company logo ( "It's Kenner! It's fun!" ) and TV ads, in both animated form and puppetry. One commercial was produced by Muppets creator Jim Henson and featured a puppet that would later become the Sesame Street character Little Bird . The Bird

2343-576: The Universe toy line as well as Kenner's earlier Super Powers toy line. This idea of basing a toy line on well-known characters but then coming up with original designs that were not based on any published storylines represented a major shift in the design approach to action figure toy lines at the time. In previous years, one major approach to producing toy lines was to base them closely on popular, well-known characters from properties like Star Wars , Marvel Comics , or DC Comics. The other major approach

2414-653: The Zenebas Empire returning later. The OJR battle story was continued on the NJR boxes, with the Zoids Anime and Manga drawing on alternate versions of the New Battle Story's events. The line was abruptly discontinued in August 2004. By the end of the line, there were still thirty-three Zoids from the OJR line that had yet to be re-released. The New Japanese Release is unofficially abbreviated as NJR . Along with

2485-523: The Zoids invading Earth and humanity's last hope being to turn the Zoids against each other. Like Technozoids, Zoids 2 was eventually discontinued. Zoids 2 is commonly abbreviated as Z2 . In 1999, TOMY relaunched the Zoids line in Japan, with subsequent releases elsewhere in Asia. Initially, the line consisted of recolored re-releases of older Zoids, but TOMY quickly began producing new Zoids designs. The Zoids were divided into Helic and Guylos factions, with

2556-489: The action figures. In 1985, DC Comics named Kenner as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great for its work on the Super Powers Collection. One of the more popular action figure lines in the late 1980s was Kenner's The Real Ghostbusters , based on the 1986-1991 animated series adaptation of the 1984 feature film Ghostbusters . The toy line debuted

2627-738: The box, to a kit that requires special tools, paints, and plastic cements. The most popular subjects of plastic models by far are vehicles such as aircraft , ships , automobiles , and armored vehicles such as tanks. The majority of models throughout its early history depict military vehicles, due to the wider variety of form and historical context compared to civilian vehicles. Other subjects include science fiction vehicles and mecha, real spacecraft , buildings, animals, human(oid) dolls/action figures, and characters from pop culture. While military, ship, and aircraft modelers prize accuracy above all, modelers of automobiles and science-fiction themes may attempt to duplicate an existing subject, or may depict

2698-621: The box. In the UK the Zoids boxes featured slightly different logos to both Australia and the US. The UK release featured several Zoids designs and color schemes that were not available in the US. Any Blox Zoids that were released by Hasbro were sold as part of the line known as Z-Builders . Most of the Z-Builders were re-releases of the NJR Blox line, but the line included several Hasbro-designed Zoids, as well as individual releases of Blox Zoids that did not occur in Japan. The Z-Builders line

2769-521: The character names and likenesses were typically drawn from the source material. This design approach to the DC Comics toy lines was continued to a large extent by Mattel when they took over the DC Comics license and produced lines based on the movies Batman Begins , The Dark Knight and Superman Returns as well as the Justice League cartoons. Hasbro, Kenner's eventual buyer, has taken

2840-474: The diecast toy car market, with a short-lived range called Fast 111's. The 1980s also saw the release of the "Fashion Star Fillies" line of model horses , a product discontinued by the end of the decade. One of Kenner's most highly acclaimed lines was the Super Powers Collection , produced from 1984 to 1986. These action figures were based on the famed superheroes of DC Comics . What made

2911-657: The early 2000s, the age and repeated use of some molds, such as Command Wolf and Liger Zero, has caused degradation in the line. The line continues to sell Zoids exclusively in Korean markets. Starting in late 2006, the High-end Master Model line, commonly abbreviated HMM , is a joint effort between Tomy and Kotobukiya. The line advertises high-quality, highly detailed, pose-able model kits based on designs of existing Zoids. Plastic model kit A plastic model kit , ( plamo in Eastern influenced parlance),

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2982-513: The engine in the original issue. AMT employees from the 1960s note that, at that time, all AMT kits were packaged into boxes of a standardized size, to simplify shipping; and the overriding requirement of designing any kit was that it had to fit into that precise size of box, no matter how large or small the original vehicle. This practice was common for other genres and manufacturers of models as well. In modern times this practice has become known as fit-the-box scale. In practice, this means that kits of

3053-448: The heroic Blue Guardians and the evil Red Mutants. However, there was no accompanying story or media. Due to the lack of marketing and the relatively high prices of the models, Robostrux was rather short-lived. Robostrux is commonly abbreviated as RS . In 1988, TOMY launched a sub-line of the OJR, featuring larger-scale Zoids. The 1:24 line featured Zoids of similar size to existing ones, but scaled for larger pilots. Each kit came with

3124-579: The high costs of equipment and making molds make it unsuitable for lower-yield production. Thus, models of minor and obscure subjects are often manufactured using alternative processes. Vacuum forming is popular for aircraft models, though assembly is more difficult than for injection-molded kits. Early manufacturers of vacuum formed model kits included Airmodel (the former DDR ), Contrail, Airframe (Canada), Formaplane, and Rareplanes (UK). Resin-casting , popular with smaller manufacturers, particularly aftermarket firms (but also producers of full kits), yields

3195-436: The hobby to the game world allows novice modelers and people who do not have space, time, or money to buy multiple models to pursue their interests. Another form of practicing in the virtual world is a 3D modeling with the use of such software like Blender , FreeCAD , Lego Digital Designer (superseded by BrickLink Studio ) or LeoCAD, etc. While injection-molding is the predominant manufacturing process for plastic models,

3266-606: The launch of the NJR , Hasbro licensed Zoids for release in North America and South-East Asia in 2001. Like the NJR , the line was divided into Republic and Empire factions, with the Anime providing the backstory. Initially, the Hasbro line consisted of just re-releases of Zoids from the NJR . However, they later began developing their own Zoid designs, as well as co-developing others with TOMY. Additionally, Hasbro had planned to re-release several OJR Zoids that had not been released in

3337-688: The line in Japan under the new name. Later, a pair of original Zoids, the Power Zoids Tank and Serpent, were created exclusively for the European and North American markets and were never released in Japan. Other Zoids like the Bigasaur (renamed to Giant ZRK) were also released. Radio Shack released the Mammoth Zoid in the US at the same time. While not a part of the release, it is generally counted with them. The Original American Release

3408-399: The line so successful was that the characters were modeled almost exactly from the style guide of the company; and also, each character performed some "action." For example, if Superman 's legs are squeezed, he would throw a punch. Furthermore, Kenner was able to commission some of the characters' creators like Jack Kirby for his New Gods characters and George Perez for Cyborg to design

3479-476: The line were all recolors of earlier Zoids released in the OJR, although some were directly imported from the Zoids2 line. There were no distinct factions for the Zoids, and no backstory was given. The Technozoids line was a failure and was discontinued after one year. A number of Zoids were left unreleased at the end of the line. Technozoids is commonly abbreviated as TZ . TOMY released another line of Zoids in

3550-437: The much-anticipated reissues of Houndsoldier and Gilvader. Reactions to the line were mixed; the re-releases of older designs (which included several OJR Zoids not previously re-released) were well received. The new designs, namely the Bio-Zoids which had rubber armor, did not do so well, having been plagued by quality control issues and production errors. Genesis is commonly abbreviated as GZ . An alternate abbreviation, GB ,

3621-489: The original series of Star Wars , Jurassic Park and Batman as well as die cast models . The company underwent numerous acquisitions and mergers throughout its lifetime, starting with by General Mills in 1967, which eventually spun it off alongside Parker Brothers in 1985 as Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. In 1987, Kenner Parker was acquired by Tonka , which in turn was purchased by Hasbro in 1991. Hasbro closed and merged Kenner's offices and products in 2000. The brand

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3692-948: The original. The first plastic models were manufactured at the end of 1936 by Frog in the UK , with a range of 1/72nd scale model kits called 'Penguin'. In the late 1940s several American companies such as Hawk , Varney, Empire, Renwal and Lindberg began to produce plastic models. Many manufacturers began production in the 1950s and gained ascendancy in the 1960s such as Aurora , Revell , AMT , and Monogram in America, Airfix in UK and Heller SA in France. Other manufacturers included; Matchbox (UK), Italeri , ESCI , (both Italian) Novo {ex-Frog moulds} (former Soviet Union), and Fujimi , Nichimo and Bandai (Japan). American model companies who had been producing assembled promotional scale models of new automobiles each year for automobile dealers found

3763-686: The parts are bonded together, usually with a plastic solvent-based adhesive, although experienced modelers may also use epoxy , cyanoacrylate , and white glue where their particular properties would be advantageous. While often omitted by novice modellers, specially formulated paint is sold for application to plastic models. Complex markings such as aircraft insignia or automobile body decorative details and model identification badges are typically provided with kits as screen-printed water-slide decals . Recently, models requiring less skill, time, and/or effort have been marketed, targeted to younger or less skilled modelers as well as those who just wish to reduce

3834-548: The past and currently. Prior to the rise of plastic models, shaped wood models were offered to model builders. These wood model kits often required extensive work to create results easily obtained by the plastic models. With the development of new technologies, modeling hobby can also be practiced in the virtual world. The Model Builder game, produced by Moonlit studio, available on Steam (service) , consists of cutting, assembling, and painting airplanes, helicopters, tanks, cars, and others and making dioramas with them. Transferring

3905-781: The prepainting, thus eliminating the large expense of creating another set of molds. Another trend which has become very extensive is to produce kits where the parts snap together, with no glue needed; sometimes the majority of the parts snap together with a few requiring glue. Often there is some simplification of detail as well; for instance, automotive kits without opening hoods and no engine detail, or sometimes opaque windows with no interior detail. These are often supplied in colored plastic, although smaller details would still require painting. Decals are usually not supplied with these but sometimes vinyl stickers are provided for insignia and similar details. Resin casting and vacuum forming are also used to produce models, or particular parts where

3976-649: The rare Ghost Zoids line. Additionally, the Tank and Serpent Power Zoids from the OAR were released. Most of the Zoids in the line were renamed. The Zoids in the release were divided into two distinct factions, which are the Blue Guardians and the Red Mutants. The line had its own story told in the UK Zoids comic. The Original European Release is commonly abbreviated as OER . Robo Strux were released in

4047-486: The re-launch of the Zoids line, TOMY also launched a line known as Customise Parts or simply CP . The line consisted of additional weapons and equipment that could be added onto Zoids models. The line was a mixture of new parts and re-issues of parts originally included in various OJR models (as well as the Empire and Republic Customization Kits). The Customise Parts line was discontinued in 2002. In 2002, TOMY introduced

4118-644: The same connector system. The second are the Custom Blox ; subline appeared to be on hold, with Tomy instead focusing on the Legend Blox sub-line. With the cancellation of all unreleased Neo-Blox in early 2007, the line was effectively dead. The Neo-Blox is abbreviated as either NBZ or NB . Alternate abbreviations are used for the Legends Series ( LB ) and the Custom Blox ( CBZ ). Academy,

4189-409: The same subject in nominally identical scales may produce finished models which actually differ in size, and that hypothetically identical parts in such kits may not be easily swapped between them, even when the kits are both by the same manufacturer. The shape of the model may not entirely conform to the subject, as well; reviews of kits in modeling magazines often comment on how well the model depicts

4260-483: The same year as the cartoon and continued production through most of its run. Although the initial releases accurately resembled The Real Ghostbusters cartoon designs, unlike Super Powers, the toy line very soon stopped attempting to be faithful to the existing source material. Instead, new, original costumes, weapons and ghost characters were designed by Kenner, many of them centered on unique action features, similar to those popularized by Mattel 's competing Masters of

4331-516: The scale of production is not such as to support the investment required for injection molding. Plastic ship model kits typically provide thread in several sizes and colors for the rigging . Automobile kits typically contain vinyl tires, although sometimes these are molded from polystyrene as well, particularly in very inexpensive kits. Thin metal details produced by photoetching have become popular relatively recently, both as detailing parts manufactured and sold by small businesses, and as parts of

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4402-534: The source material of licensed toy lines continued with Kenner's Dark Knight Collection, launched in 1990 and the first of their numerous lines based on the Batman character. This initial set was created to capitalize on the phenomenal success of the cinematic version of the character, releasing vehicles (such as the Batmobile or Batplane ) inspired on the highly successful 1989 film . Kenner also made vehicles from

4473-419: The time and effort required to complete a model. One such trend has been to offer a fully detailed kit requiring normal assembly and gluing, but eliminate the often frustrating task of painting the kit by molding it out of colored plastic, or by supplying it pre-painted and with decals applied. Often these kits are identical to another kit supplied in normal white or gray plastic except for the colored plastic or

4544-474: The toys from Jurassic Park III to their Star Wars design team, who scaled the humans to be in size with Star Wars figures and made the style of the toys similar to the ones from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones . In 2010, Hasbro began releasing modern Star Wars action figures with packaging reminiscent of the original Kenner 1978–1984 Star Wars product line. Star Wars: The Vintage Collection

4615-408: Was acquired by Tonka in 1987. Under Tonka management, Kenner Products was reconstituted as a division. Tonka (including Kenner) was purchased by the toy company Hasbro in mid-1991. Hasbro closed the Cincinnati offices of Kenner in 2000, and Kenner's product lines were merged into Hasbro's. One of Kenner's original products was the "Bubble-Matic," a toy gun that blew bubbles. An "updated" version

4686-762: Was available at least as late as the mid-1960s. Kenner introduced its popular Girder and Panel building sets construction toy in 1957, the Give-a-Show projector in 1959, the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963, the Electric Mold Master also in 1963, the Spirograph drawing toy in 1966, and the Starting Lineup sports action figure collectible line in 1988. Kenner Products obtained the rights to produce Star Wars action figures and playsets for

4757-423: Was for the toy companies to invent their own original characters and then help produce comic books and cartoons that promoted those exact designs (e.g., Hasbro 's G.I. Joe and Transformers and Mattel's Masters of the Universe ). In a departure from this, Kenner did not have any arrangement to incorporate their new concepts and designs into The Real Ghostbusters cartoons or comic books. This looser approach to

4828-415: Was phased out by 1974. The company was purchased by General Mills in 1967. In 1971, General Mills merged its Rainbow Crafts division into Kenner, bringing Play-Doh into the Kenner product line. In 1985, General Mills would spin-off both its Kenner and Parker Brothers toy divisions to form Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. The following year Kenner Parker sold off its Lionel Trains division. Kenner Parker

4899-485: Was reintroduced by Hasbro in 2010 with the release of Star Wars : The Vintage Collection . Kenner was founded in 1946 in Cincinnati , Ohio, by brothers Albert, Philip and Joseph L. Steiner. The company was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, just north of Cincinnati Union Terminal . It was a pioneer in the use of television advertisement for the marketing of merchandise across

4970-608: Was suspended alongside the motorized models. Z-Builders was released in Australia and the Pacific featuring TOMY branding instead of Hasbro branding. In late 2004, TOMY launched a new Zoids line to tie into the Zoids: Fuzors anime that was then showing on Japanese TV. The line was composed entirely of recolors of older Blox and Zoids. Some models were altered slightly, or packaged with additional parts, mainly to allow different Zoids to connect (or "fuse"). The line also featured

5041-535: Was technically not a Zoids line, but is counted as such by collectors as it consisted of three models that would later be re-released as the first three Zoids (Garius, Elephantus, and Glidoler). The line was not very successful and was quickly dropped by Tomy. Starzeta was the Spanish version of the Mechabonica line. Since Tomy had no direct marketing power in Spain during the 80s the models were released under licence by

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