Join the Fashion Angels as they travel around the world! These magnetic playsets are perfect for fun for kids ages 4+ on the go.  Each collectible magnetic tin comes with 80 magnetic fashions, 4 scenes and a storage pouch, so your child can spend hours creating fashionable ensembles without losing pieces along the way.

Well as you know I’ve covered the Bratz/Barbie case and the latest news in the case, and now the jury has reached a verdict: Mattel has been awarded $100 million in its case against MGA.  The question still at hand: Will MGA be able to continue selling Bratz products?  This question will be decided upon at a later hearing by US District Judge Stephen Larson 

Read the full story here: www.ToyNewsMag.com

When I saw Uglydolls featured on the news last year, I had to have an one, and I bought this little guy.  According to his hang tag, his name is Ox and his best buddy is Wedgehead. 

Uglydolls emerged from a love story: the two creators, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, came up with these scary-cute critters.  When distance separated the couple, David sent Sun-Min many “I miss you” letters with his little “Wage” character drawn at the bottom.  As a surprise, Sun-Min sewed Wage into a plush doll and sent the doll to David.  David asked Sun-Min to sew a couple more for the Giant Robot store in Los Angeles, and they sold out in one day! Sun-Min and David then began to pull more characters from the Uglyverse, a universe where UGLY meant unique and special, to translate into plush Uglydolls. 

They both met again at their very first Uglydoll Toy Fair booth in New York, where they would go on to win Toy Of The Year four years later!   Sun-Min and David are currently married and have children that can now share in the Uglydolls saga.

Now Uglydoll characters are available in a variety of sizes and styles of plush, and are available  at specialty retailers worldwide.

Stretch Armstrong was by far the coolest toy for boys and girls alike!  First made by Kenner in 1976, this action figure was unique in that you could pull on the arms and legs and stretch Armstrong without breaking him…or so the company’s advertising claimed.   Armstrong’s body was well-muscled, dressed in a pair of swimming shorts, and filled with corn syrup, which proved very messy when the boys in my class decided to puncture poor Armstrong’s leg with a pencil (typical).  Also, after many cruel stretching sessions, sometimes the limbs would start to harden or develop small cracks that allowed the goop to leak out.

In the 1990s Stretch Armstrong was re-issued with a more buff, wrestling-inspired physique and a canine sidekick, Fetch Armstrong.   

Looking back now, I realize that these toys were ingenious because they were basically stress balls for kids!  It is much better that a kid takes his or her anger out on a stretchy doll than on another kid.  Plus, there’s just something about stretching a Stretch Armstrong, knowing that at any second, the toy could erupt and cover you in yucky goo!

Do you have fond memories of Stretch Armstrong or any of the stretchy toys that followed?

If you’re wondering what’s happening with the Bratz/Barbie case, Carter Bryant testified that he was inspired to create the Bratz after seeing advertisements in the magazine, Seventeen, but he didn’t specify which ones. 

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when reading this story at Toy News Online, because, when questioned about the role of certain ads in the creation of the dolls, every answer Bryant gave included the phrase “I don’t remember”.  Hmm…sounds fishy to me!  But like I said, I don’t really care what happens.  I absolutely hate Bratz dolls, and Barbie is barely better in my book.  What do you think about this case?  Should Mattel just drop it?  Or do you think they have a valid claim?

The National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention has arrived here in Kansas City.  Now if you’ve read my previous article about Barbie and Bratz, you know that I am not a big fan.  However, in light of the convention being in town, I thought it would be fitting to talk about Barbie doll history (it’s quite interesting). 

Although I still believe she gives girls the wrong idea about how they should look, I also believe that Barbie has come quite a long way.  From instructing girls to lose weight by not eating (1965 Slumber Party Barbie) to undergoing physical changes to be more realistic (1997) to portraying independent, professional women, Barbie is far from the girl she used to be. 

On a side note, before we launch into Barbie facts, do you have some ideas for alternatives to Barbie dolls?  If so, please leave your thoughts at the bottom of this post.

continue reading "Fascinating Toy History: Barbie"