Guys and Dolls: A Male’s Retrospective on Barbie

If you haven’t been paying attention, I’m a boy. Shocking, yes? I was born a boy, grew up a boy, and am currently still a boy. This is relevant because today I’m going to talk about Barbies. What could a boy possibly say about Barbies? Plenty, because while I grew up as a boy, all my friends were girls. Plus, Barbie is still incredibly popular these days, so it’s time for a follow-up article to the most famous girls’ toy from a boy’s perspective. Grab your pink convertible and let’s go for a ride. Read more

Still Leading the Way: A Hot Wheels Retrospective

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Talking Cars, Space Ships, and Classic Americana: The Most Popular Die-Cast Toys

I’m taking another day off video games to go into one of my favorite things from my childhood: Die-cast cars. The term can be applied to a lot of things, such as Hot Wheels and the like, but I actually won’t be bringing Hot Wheels into this since, well, that makes for an article in of itself sometime next week. Okay, not the classic thought of what makes a car a Hot Wheels car at least. I can’t lie, I’m talking about the most popular die-cast cars right now, so Hot Wheels are going to show up in some way or another. Read more

MGA Refutes Settlement with Mattel over Bratz

In an interesting turn of events, Isaac Larian, the CEO of MGA, denies that they will be sharing revenue with Mattel to end the infringement case over the popular Bratz dolls.  We reported two weeks ago that the Bratz dolls were subject to heavy pay-outs, but according to Reuters, the matter is still to be decided. Read more

Bratz versus Barbie

We’re on a roll for reporting Mattel’s various lawsuits.  The toy giant was awarded $100 million in its Bratz ownership suit against MGA Entertainment.  The hip fashion dolls were designed by Carter Bryant while he was under contract with Mattel.

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“The Dark Knight” Toys

With the recent release of Batman: The Dark Knight breaking the record for opening weekend box office sales, it’s no surprise that the movie’s toys and collectibles are flying off of shelves across the country. The official toys are coming from Mattel, who has released a line of action figures, role-playing toys, vehicles, and playsets.

Some of the most popular toys are the Wayne Tech Mega Cape Accessory, a cape with a five foot wingspan that retracts into a back harness. The Shift Attack Sports Coupe comes with both Batman and Bruce Wayne figures, and the coupe turns into a missile-firing attack vehicle. And the Rapid Fire Utility Belt has a motorized blaster of foam missiles and also comes with a cape.

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