Biff Tannen Paints Toys!

"McFly? Hello?!" Tom Wilson is the artist formerly known as Biff. Check out his very cool Pop Culture Art in this piece from Inside the Artist's Studio. I dig the red View Master!



If you're unable to see the video above, try going here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HHQDkyoWMs

Merry Christmas!

Air Blaster? ZAP-A-BUBBLE!

Dave wrote, "I have enjoyed pulling out my old toys from mom and dads basement and sharing with my kids, from HO cars to Erector sets. Question, I have a air gun made by whamo part marked 1967, but, it does not look like any of the ones I have seen online. I have searched everywhere on the web and cannot find anything like it. It uses a small rod to pull back and lock then fires the burst of air using a rubber like diaphragm. Any ideas? It is blue and white and appears to be maybe a response to the ones that were discontinued."

Dave, you have the rare WHAM-O ZAP-A-BUBBLE. It was released after WHAM-O had hits with Giant Monster Bubbles (1964) and Zillion Bubbles (1966).

WOW #5

The next "WHAM-O of the WEEK" comes to us through WHAM-O, via Britain. In 1960, WHAM-O bought the rights to a toy called “Fun Gun" from a British toy company. WHAM-O co-founder, Rich Knerr told me, “We got the Fun Gun from another company that was about to throw it away. We picked up the parts, took over production of it, and man, that was a great one!”
Two years later, the toy was renamed and re-released as the classic, Air Blaster, a toy that could propel a blast of air nearly 40 feet! ...okay, more like 20 feet. When asked why they changed the name, Rich said, “Well, one name said what it was and the other didn’t.”

Today, another blaster from WHAM-O has hit the scene. Check out the newest WHAM-O hit HERE!

Frisbee Poll... Just Curious

Online Surveys & Market Research

Lexus Shmexus, I want the Big Wheel!

Invented in 1969 by Marx Toy company designer, Ray Lohr, Big Wheel was simply the best toy ever created.

Bratz Get Barred

A federal judge in California has ordered MGA to stop selling its Bratz dolls and even banned it from using the Bratz name. U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson decided that "hundreds of Bratz products infringe on copyrights owned by rival toymaker Mattel." He also ordered MGA to recall all Bratz dolls from stores and to destroy "specialized plates, molds and matrices" used in the manufacturing of the dolls. WOW.

From the beginning this lawsuit between Barbie and Bratz has played like a twisted version of The Jerry Springer Show, in which the Bratz were asked, "Who's you're daddy?"

Turns out it was designer, Carter Bryant. A jury made the decision this summer that Bryant was indeed employed at Mattel when he came up with the Bratz designs. Mattel was asking for $1 billion in damages, which isn't so far fetched when you consider what the Bratz line has made (MGA is a private company, but revenue is said to be around $2 billion), and what the Bratz line has done to Barbie's sales (down over 10% since the Bratz debut).

Read the full story here.

CHRONICLE BOOKS PODCAST

Click HERE to listen to Chronicle Books promote the WHAM-O Super-Book with vintage audio from the company's TV ads!

The James Bond Attache Case

A fellow toy freak named Andy stopped by my B&N signing on Saturday to show me his James Bond Attache Case. This is a rare and very popular toy. It's hard to find complete, owing to its many small (and secret) parts. It contains a plastic shell-firing pistol, complete with scope and silencer (and the ability to convert into a rifle). There's a secret message decoder, code book (with booby trap), passport, wallet, cash and business cards. There's the hidden dagger that slides out of one edge of the case, but the coolest part, which I had forgotten about, was that a kid could booby trap the case to explode (fire a cap) if it was opened incorrectly.

It's spy week, here at The Playmakers, because just last week a caller on WGN IDed the Six Finger by Topper Toys. Weird but wonderful.