The Toy Thread, -new toys, retro, weird toys, Bratz, etc

New line of New Orleans Barbie Dolls

Search results page for Tickle Me Emo video

This should probably be merged with one of our other threads later, maybe the "Weird and Gross Stuff" thread.

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Thank goodness I was a tom boy when I was a kid - I didn't have much exposure to stuff like this-

Baby Pee Pee (Video of TV commercial for male baby doll who pees)

If that video ever gets pulled, just do a google for "baby pee pee doll"

Similar doll / video:
Baby Wee Wee: The Uncircumcised Peeing Doll for Kids

No comments at all about the baby pee pee doll?

This is comedy gold, how can y'all pass it up??

Retro Toys

Barbie makes Bratz bow out

Federal judge tells Mattel rival MGA to stop selling dolls

By Kayce T. Ataiyero and Ameet Sachdev | Tribune reporters
December 5, 2008

In the long-running struggle between the makers of Barbie and Bratz, the more demure diva has emerged victorious over her sassier, sultrier competitor.

MGA Entertainment Inc. was dealt a knock-out legal punch late Wednesday when a federal judge ordered the company to stop making the doe-eyed, pouty-lipped Bratz dolls it's been selling since 2001. Competitors go up against each other every day, but it's rare for a court to order a company's products off the shelf, legal experts said.

The ruling came after a jury found in August that the Bratz creator developed the idea while working at Mattel, maker of the iconic Barbie doll. After a four-year legal battle, the jury awarded Mattel up to $100 million in damages for breach of contract and copyright infringement.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson ordered MGA to stop manufacturing all 40 Bratz dolls and reimburse vendors and distributors for the costs of the dolls and for shipping them back.

The ruling was prompted by a dispute over the jury's verdict that did not indicate which dolls violated copyright infringement laws.

The Bratz empire was founded on four dolls—Jade, Sasha, Yasmin and Cloe. MGA, which no longer makes these characters, argued that the other dolls did not violate the law and that they should be able to sell them.

The dolls can stay on store shelves through the holiday season, then must be recalled. MGA is appealing and has asked to continue selling the dolls in the interim. A hearing on post-trial motions is scheduled on Feb. 11

Drew Crum, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, called the case a "stunning victory" for Mattel, the world's largest toy company. Since Bratz hit the doll scene, Crum said that Barbie's market share has dwindled, representing less than 20 percent of Mattel's revenue.

Mattel's legal win is a rarity because infringement actions rarely go to verdict, say lawyers who specialize in copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property.

"Ninety-eight percent of my cases settle," said Glen Belvis, a partner at Chicago-based Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione. "And they settle because the stakes are so high."

One settlement that gained wide attention involved the popular BlackBerry wireless e-mail service. A patent dispute threatened to shut down the company. In 2006, the BlackBerry's maker, Research In Motion, agreed to pay $612.5 million to the patent holder to keep running its business.

The consumer impact of Mattel's ruling is so wide that it reminded many legal scholars of Polaroid Corp.'s victory over Eastman Kodak Co. in 1985. A judge ruled that Kodak had violated Polaroid's patents for instant photography. The decision forced Kodak to abandon instant photography the following year. In 1990, the judge ruled that Kodak must pay Polaroid $909 million in damages.

Since then firms have become more aggressive about protecting inventions, especially in today's high-tech era of global business. Between 1997 and 2001, patent applications jumped by 50 percent.

"Companies view this as the protection of the economic value of ideas," said Manotti Jenkins, a partner at Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman, who concentrates on intellectual property.

Sales of Barbie and Bratz have declined this year in the face of new competitors, including Jakks Pacific Inc.'s Hannah Montana dolls and Mattel's own High School Musical products, said Sean McGowan, a Needham & Co. analyst in New York.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson estimated that Bratz sales have fallen from $750 million in 2005 to just under $300 million in 2008. Domestic sales of Barbie were down 15 percent in 2007, according to market research firm NPD Group. Barbie sales figures were not available.

The court's decision "transforms" the competitive landscape of the $2 billion-plus U.S. fashion doll category and "severely weakens [a] competitor," analyst Drew Crum wrote in a report.

Julie Livingston, spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association, said the case is likely to be studied by the industry for years. "This case highlights how passionate toy companies are about protecting their intellectual property, and how complex the creative process of bringing a new toy to the marketplace can be," she said. Tribune news services contributed to this report.

Page has photo of new toy:
Rubik's Cube gets spherical twist as Rubik's 360

Feb 2, 2009

Unlike Microsoft's own Xbox 360, the Rubik's 360 is actually round. Imagine that, right? Said device is about to be officially unveiled in Germany this week at a national toy show, and while many question its ability to recreate the wonder and amazement associated with the original Cube, puzzle aficionados the world over are still enthusiastic about giving it a go.

The unit features six balls trapped inside of three transparent plastic spheres; in order to solve it, players must figure out how to get the internal balls "from an inner sphere into matching slots on the outer sphere by shaking them through a middle sphere that has only two holes."

Sadly, we'll have to wait until August before being perpetually frustrated by yet another Rubik's invention, but needless to say, we're pretty stoked to get irate later this year.

Barbie Might Get Banned in WV

Excerpt:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Barbie could get an unwelcome present for her 50th birthday: outlawed in West Virginia.

A state lawmaker proposed a bill Tuesday to ban sales of the iconic Mattel doll and others like her.

The proposal from Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge says such toys influence girls to place too much importance on physical beauty, at the expense of their intellectual and emotional development.

America's Most Popular Toys and the Passions they Inspired

Scrabble and Other Games -- on Boards, Fields, Courts and Ice -- Have Overvalued Points; Vermont Avenue Is a Steal

A trio of words -- one that's slang for pizza, another defined as a body's vital life force and a third referring to a snoring sound -- have conspired to change the game of Scrabble.

"Za," "qi" and "zzz" were added recently to the game's official word list for its original English-language edition.

Because Z's and Q's each have the game's highest point value of 10, those monosyllabic words can rack up big scores for relatively little effort.

So now that those high-scoring letters are more versatile, some Scrabble aficionados would like to see the rules changed -- which would be the only change since Alfred Butts popularized the game in 1948.

This guy has a lot of cool toys he made out of paper:

Toy A Day Blog

Some of his readers have submitted photos of toys they've made, and their stuff is pretty good, too.

From the January 8, 2009 issue of Popbitch:

Speaking of Barbie, someone sent me an e-mail with the subject heading, "Happy 50th Barbie" with this image attached:
click small image to enlarge:

direct

I feel like putting THAT in the Makes Me Feel Old thread. Barbie is 50...the first Barbies I had were the mod era ones from the late 60s. They made some great clothes then.
My fave toys were Fisher-Price things. I had the farm, the castle, a house, etc. I saw the farm in a slightly different looking form at Wal Mart last week.
For some reason I remember being in high school and hearing some girls talk about Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

The only Fisher Price playset I owned as a kid was the A-Frame house (with the green colored roof). Click here to view photo of the A-Frame House play set

For some reason, my play set did not come with the black and white dog, just the parents and the two kid figures. (I think maybe my A-frame house play set was second-hand and not new and so it came missing a few parts.)

But so many friends of mine owned the other play sets, that I still got to play with the other stuff (like the farm). A lot of friends had the air plane set.

Wait- I owned the A-Frame house when I was about 5 years old, but now that I think of it, someone gave me the castle and dragon playset when I was about eight or nine, so I did have that.

I mostly had the Weeble play sets. I had the Weeble pirate set (view pirate set), the Weeble cowboy set, and the Weeble tree house, and the Weeble haunted house.

Page has pic of doll:

Controversy Barbie

Hip to some parents but objectionable to others, Mattel’s new Tattoo Barbie comes with stickers and a do-it-yourself stamp

Mar 20 09

Is Barbie having a midlife crisis, or is she simply embracing the times?

The iconic doll, who celebrated her 50th birthday this year, is receiving a lot of backlash from parents who say her new look sets a bad example for young girls.

Totally Stylin’ Tattoo Barbie is part of Mattel’s spring Barbie line. Retailing for $20 and up, the doll comes with tattoo stickers that can be placed anywhere on her body.

She also comes with a tattoo stamper, so owners can stamp themselves with a girlish variety of temporary tattoos.

“One of the things (people) need to know is that Barbie is a fashionista,” said Bob Friedland, the senior public relations manger for Toys R Us. “She’s always in style, and she’s always showing current trends.”

Mr. Friedland said that parents who object to the new tattoo Barbie can simply choose a doll they find acceptable from Mattel’s huge collection of Barbies.

Chattanooga resident Dave Branham, 29, said he has no problem letting his 2-year-old daughter play with the doll.

“Mommy and Daddy have tattoos, and she knows people out there who have tattoos,” he said. “I think (the doll) is a dumb idea, but I would let her play with it.”

Tina Couch, director of Best Beginnings, a daycare near Northgate Mall, has an issue with Tattoo Barbie, but she said the decision to buy such a doll depends entirely on the parents and their beliefs.

“I probably would not purchase it as a gift for anyone or for my own child,” she said. “I think it probably will sell, but personally I wouldn’t purchase it. It wouldn’t be given as a gift, and I wouldn’t have one in my home. I wouldn’t allow my child to accept that gift either.”

Ms. Couch said she believes the main concern for toy companies is what’s going to sell.

Click link above to read the rest.

Page has photos of the products (in the form of a slide show):
The 7 Most Inappropriate Toys for Kids

Examples from their page:

POLL DANCE DOLL
The keywords on the box read "Interesting," "Flash," and "Up and Down," which sound like they were written by the happiest pedophile in playland.

S.T.D. Stuffed Toys
"My child has herpes!" If that's something you'd like to yell without your child actually being infected with a venereal disease then these plushies are for you...you weirdo.

Kids' Nipple Tassle Shirt
Available in “nipper sizes” 0-6 months, 6-12 months. Shudder.

I'm shocked that the Huffington Post would consider those toys inappropriate. I do agree that they are highly inappropriate toys for children.

I know, as they're a "lefty" blog (and I don't mean lefty as in "south paw." Don't mean to offend the left handed, of which I am one).

Lefties don't have a problem with teaching pre-schoolers how to slap a condom onto a cucumber or making 1st graders read "Heather has two mommies," but I thought the content was funny/strange enough to be worth linking to.

Believe me, I cringe a little anytime I have to link to a lefty blog for whatever reason.

Flap Over "Homeless" American Girl Doll

Some Observers See It as Awareness-Raising, Others Fear It Sends Wrong Message; And Where Do Proceeds Go?

American Girl dolls are expensive and extremely popular - among the most sought-after toys among girls from ages four and up.

Each doll comes with its own storyline, and a relatively new doll is causing quite a stir.

"Gwen," which debuted this year, is portrayed as being homeless.

In an accompanying book and movie, "Chrissa Stands Strong," a friend stands up for Gwen against bullying classmates.

click link above to read the rest