“Star Trek” toys seek new generation of fans
Toymakers are aiming for the next generation of “Star Trek” fans with a new line of toys based on the J.J. Abrams film. Gareb Shamus, publisher of Toy Wishes (www.toywishes.com), says director Abrams will bring a contemporary feel to a classic property.
“For this brand especially, by bringing in somebody like J.J. Abrams, who has been an amazing contemporary director-producer in this decade, with hits like ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’ … he’s able to appeal to today’s core fan, and (the) masses, as somebody who’s … innovative and exciting in what he does,” Shamus said.
“What they want to do is introduce Star Trek to a whole new generation of kids, and also appeal to the core fans they’ve had all these years.”
The Playmates Toys’ products, coming to stores this spring, will be available in three different sizes – 3 ¾ inches, 6 inches and 12 inches. The company is also teaming with Mattel to offer “Star Trek” Barbies.
The 3 ¾ inch line is expected to retail at around $7 and feature the characters from the new film, including Kirk, Spock and McCoy.
“Especially in today’s economic times, there’s definitely a trend for all toy companies to offer less expensive price point items,” Shamus said. “There’s no question that especially with the ‘Star Trek’ line, they want to create an entry point that can get as many people interested in and excited about the toys as possible.”
The smaller line also makes it more affordable to build sets and accessories, like playsets for the Bridge and Transporter Room of the Enterprise.
“‘Star Trek’ has history that can be built upon, so that when you see it for the first time, you feel like it’s a very rich, exciting franchise,” Shamus said. “This is a great chance for them to introduce the movie to a lot of kids that haven’t been exposed to it.”
– By Matthew Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman
Toys, cartoonists honored at Action Figure Museum
PAULS VALLEY – Oklahoma cartoonists and famous toy lines were among the honorees Saturday as the Toy and Action Figure Museum, 111 S. Chickasaw, celebrated its third anniversary.
Joining the museum’s action figure Hall of Fame were two action-figure lines that took the 1980s by storm: Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
Masters of the Universe were supremely muscled characters who lived on the planet Eternia. The star of this line was He-Man, who gained his strength when he held aloft his magic sword and repeated the phrase “by the power of Grayskull.”
“G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” was a 1980s update of the classic Joe action figure, which had been a 12-inch figure. “A Real American Hero” was in the 3 and ¾-inch size and introduced G.I. Joe, a special missions force for the U.S. military, who defended freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. Rather than just one “G.I. Joe,” the brand now introduced a line full of characters, developed by comics and animation writer Larry Hama, including the ninja Snake-Eyes, leader Duke and counter-intelligence specialist Scarlett.
Introduced into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection Hall of Fame were four cartoonists – and it came as a surprise to one of them. Museum curator Kevin Stark, creator of the comic strip and comic book “Geezer,” was named to the Hall of Fame. “Geezer” ran for seven years in the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat, and further comic books are in development.
Also honored:
Russell Myers, the creator of “Broom Hilda,” who was raised and attended college in Tulsa.
George Storm, who created adventure strips “Phil Hardy” in 1925 and “Bobby Thatcher” in 1927. He co-created The Hangman for MLJ and drew Bugs Bunny for Dell. He died in 1976.
Terry Tidwell, who was born and raised in Claremore. He worked on “The Green Hornet” and “Conan.” Tidwell, who was in attendance at the ceremony, also co-created the Tulsa-based hero “The Twilight Avenger.”
– Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Indiana Jones LEGOs
SAN DIEGO — Indiana Jones was on hand at Comic-Con International in brick form. Toymaker LEGO showcased the adventurer both as a giant LEGO figure, and in displays from the latest line featuring the character.
– Matt Price
“Watchmen” toys revealed
DC Direct revealed action figures and busts based on “Watchmen,” the upcoming film directed by Zack Snyder. The world-premiere of the figures was at the DC Booth on Thursday afternoon at Comic-Con International.
– Matt Price
Batman bricks stack up
SAN DIEGO — LEGO has a display of several toys from their “Batman” line. Showing off the capabilities of the building toys are a 4-ft tall Batman and Robin, built from LEGOs. There are LEGO versions of Batman’s “Tumbler” Batmobile, the Batplane and Joker’s truck, among others.
– Matt Price
Toy & Action Figure Museum on “Incredible Hulk”
Kevin Stark and Lenny Brumley of the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley talk about the Incredible Hulk. Be sure to visit the Toy and Action Figure Museum, 111 S. Chickasaw St., this weekend for some Hulk-related events.
Poll: Frisbee, Hula Hoop top toys of all-time
WHAM-O recently announced that an online poll by “The Toy Guy” found the Frisbee and Hula Hoop to be the best toys of all-time.
The Toy Guy, Chris Byrne, conducted the poll during the month of February. He asked voters to choose their favorites from a list that included Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Slinky, Barbie, Yo-Yo, Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head and a handful of other classic toys.
“The online poll results show the timeless appeal of outdoor fun that has been the defining spirit of all of WHAM-O’s toys and sporting goods over the past 60 years,” said Chris Guirlinger, vice president of marketing at WHAM-O in a release. “Hula Hoop and the Frisbee are two leaders in WHAM-O’s legendary brand family that have become an integral part of the fabric of American society, right alongside baseball and apple pie.”
Byrne said the results show the need for classic toys even in today’s marketplace.
“It’s no surprise that these toys would win our poll. No matter how much technology dominates contemporary play, there’s still room for classic play,” said Byrne in a release. “This is the play that remains a fundamental part of our culture and creates experiences and memories that last a lifetime.”
The poll results come as WHAM-O celebrates its 60th Anniversary.
– Matt Price
DC Universe Classics action figures reviewed
A quick shout-out to my brother Chris, who has posted several pictures, and the first review that I have seen, of the new DC Universe Classics action figure line over at fwoosh:
Overall impressions: A great start of things to come. You can see from this first wave the potential that exists within this line. Mattel’s plan is to produce 5 waves per year for the next 5 years and then possibly more from there if they renew their contract with DC. Mattel has addressed a couple of the issues I had with the DC Superheroes line. The neck articulation is spot on and all the joints have great range of motion. 
Collecting all the figures in the wave allows fans to build their own Metamorpho figure. Future plans for the DC Classics line include a “Gorilla Grodd” series featuring figures of Superman and Firestorm, and a “Solomon Grundy” line with Hal Jordan and Sinestro.
– Matt Price
Keep on rockin’ in the (electricity-) free world
Posting was light from me on Friday, and I apologize, but I was out in the state working on a story about some folks in Carney, Oklahoma that ran in today’s paper.
Carney is a little town that was hit hard by the ice storm. Driving through, it looked like a tornado had come through and just missed all the houses.
Some folks found lodging in other cities where the power had already returned, but a lot of Carney residents stayed right where they are to take care of their town and the people in it.
The hot-spot — literally, since they have a generator working — is the Carney Fire Department. Some people sleep there and many stop by throughout the day for a hot meal. They were making chili while I was there.
With reports that power might not return to Carney until after Christmas, I took note of what they had done to make life bearable inside the station. The kitchen was pumping out food. Cell phone chargers snaked out of every available outlet.
And, standing next to the TV, was one of these:
Because the outage be damned, those kids were going to play some Guitar Hero.
– Greg Elwell
Military display opens at Action Figure Museum
Heather Warlick writes for the Oklahoman about the opening of the Military display for the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley.
Today, on Pearl Harbor Day, the museum will open free to the public to unveil a new room dedicated to the heroes of World War II.
“We’ve always had a military section in the museum, but we have a lot of veterans come through and we really wanted to honor them with the display,” curator Kevin Stark told the Oklahoman.
Find more about the museum at www.actionfiguremuseum.com.
- Matt Price
