• I work at a Toy Store, Toys R Us in fact. Shoulder Buddies is actually a deviously intelligent design idea and has relatively good, albeit simple, design. I will say that if you want to take the Justin Bieber Dolls as a stepping stone, they do actually look like him, lmao. Fingers Crossed they don't ruin it.

• "Here's a smaller company that went to Warner Bros. and convinced them they were the best company for the job." That's naively optimisitc. At best this company convinced them that they could meet a base level of requirements for less money than the other companies bidding. Nothing in this companies' portfolio indicates they have the experience necessary to do so. This is not something that does, nor should inspire confidence.

• Looking at their backers I’d say the product they need to make is a kid’s game called "How to Turn $50 Billion of Investor Capital into $12 Billion in Assets and Still Claim You Made A Profit!" Now that’s a Bridge people can throw themselves off of.

• The LOTR toys had their ups and downs... The sculpts got better and better, as well as the articulation  as the line progressed (they also reduced the packaging which was a huge deal IMO.) The plastic materials used to build the figures unfortunately was a harder, more brittle material and could shatter if dropped. Since there was no give  with that hard plastic they used hinges in hands which makes hold accessories very difficult to pose. You would think at 6" scale, they could of used a lot more cloth for robes instead of rubbery plastics but I guess cost would of made the price go way up. I think the upside to the hard plastic is it holds fine detail really well but then again, looking at the newest G.I. Joe and Star Wars lines, softer plastics can do so as well. I have also heard that the hard plastic is cheaper but as I am not up on inside baseball of mass-produced toys, I can't confirm that.  I think they should go for the 3 3/4 scale. If they get good talent to sculpt, use a mix of soft goods and plastics (see some of the recent Star Wars figures). Also this means they could produce larger set (wargs, horses, trolls... dragon!) to accompany them for realistic pricing. Also, if they could get their hands on some of the video game rights that have been done, their are some crazy siege weapons (Feng Zhu did some amazing concept work) and other accessories... Of course, I like toys, LOTRs, The Hobbit and care about these things and not the profit margin so I imagine I have given this more thought to this than WB will ever. I just hope Direct Toys are having these conversations.

• MEh ... i wouldnt be proud to say my company is responsable for unleashing Justeen Bieber on the world.... Boondocks toys , yes sure cus they are awesome and add to street credit. Justeen bieber well that just shows how much crappy music one likes .  

• At least we have the inevitable Rifftrax of The Hobbit to look forward to, right?

• ARGH! That photo needs to be reused in FFF. It's horrible!

• As long as Topps does the trading cards, it's all good. Imagine... a set of autographs of every dwarf!

• Yeah.... a toy company in China is reading toplessrobot.

• ? While finding some of the figures at the end of the line was difficult, I don't remember there being much of a problem getting a lot of the figures during the line's heyday. At least in the US. Something Hasbro and Mattel could learn how to do.

• I fondly remember the figures from the LOTR line Toy Biz did from 2001 to 2004-ish. I probably would have filled out my collection if there was a way for that line's style to continue. Which I'm guessing is not going to happen. Something tells me there's going to be an opening for licensee manager at Time Warner in a few years...

• The Toy Biz ones were some of the best mass market movie toys ever produced.

• But how decent were the LoTR toys? I never saw a single figure in retail and only recently have seen some pop up at flea markets.

• as were we all sigh   at least this is good for our house hold budget

• Oh Sharkfuck! I really wanted Hobbit toys that were compatible with my 6" scale LOTR toys from Toy Biz.

• But those were all great movies, while these are presumably shitty toylines. Unlike Jackson these guys are far more of an unproven quantity, and should be regarded warily as such.

• You know who else didn't have much of a track record dealing with properties anyone had ever heard of before getting signed on for a big Tolkien-related project?  Peter Jackson. Think of Bobby Jack as "Meet the Feebles," Busytown as "Heavenly Creatures" and Justin Bieber dolls as "The Frighteners."  And give them a chance to show what they can do with Tolkien before you write them off.

• This is Topless Robot sir. We are all about being negative, cynical and pissy. We will always assume the worst about anything and if by chance things turn out good, we will still find something to bitch about.

• Fucking hamster wranglers, man...

• There is the source material be a good line, especially if they can obtain the LOTR rights too. I liked elements of the LOTR line from Toy Biz and some of the later sculpts were good (I have an awesome Boromir, an excellent Gandalf and an okay Aragon... To go with my inSANE barlog!) The dream scenario would be that the the toy company starts working directly with WETA to set the standards of quality, along with hiring some sculptors with skills. They should put out a hiring call and get the best customizers to compete. It would be neat to have a good toy collection that becomes a long term collection (that isn't run by Hasbro or Mattel)

•  sorry, yes meant play along toys.

• Everything is sculpted in the orient now anyway so why not? They might actually be decent.

• Certainly, IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FACT THAT ONE DAY YOUR INFERIOR FLESH AND BLOOD HAMSTER SHALL DIE IN AGONY. ONLY ROBOT HAMSTERS CAN SPARE THE FEELINGS OF EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE LITTLE KIDS!!!

• I think you mean Play Along Toys. And their Caspian line did a have a nice playset, if I remember correctly: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Narnia-Prince-Caspian-Playset/dp/B001535JQQ

• Yeah, but you said Bandai would screw up the Thundercats, too.

• I am so disappointed. ;_;

• Some of the people from the Bridge are from Playground Toys. They did a pretty good job with the Prince Caspian line. The monsters from that line were pretty cool. The humans could use a lot of work, though. Especially their proportions. The new line will start with the Hobbit (obviously) and move into LOTR after (providing it sticks around).  

• If you are an action figure collector you would know the nerd hatred for Kung Zhu. These toys have clogged the pegs of all major retailers for over a year now. Pegs that could have been filled with more Star Wars, G.I Joe, or other decent toys lines.

• They couldn't do any worse than the Green Lantern toys that came out for that movie.....

• Can I just have a regular hamster?

• I grabbed most of the toys out there for this--To me- 8 characters are not alot (especially in the richard scary world) - (well 9 if you buy all the playsets)-- and 6 wheelie (8 if you buy all the playsets)  cars (plus the missed opportunity of goldbug).  Personally I think they are a little overpriced for the quality-- I know they are made for preschoolers- but the little figures feel like cheaper plastic- compared to similar style figures-- like Imaginext, the Jedi Force Line, or Little People.. And the wheelie cars feel cheap as well...  You can see that this toy company is know for Fad toys-- so Dont expect a long lived line- if that is what you are looking for..

• Zhu Zhu Pets!!! They're wacky hamster toys for girls that have expansion pack battle suits for boys! ...WHOSE RESPONSIBLE THIS?!

• When I read the words "Justin Bieber dolls" in a Hobbit-related article, I died a little inside.

• Shoulder buddies are little 1" animals with troll doll hair- and magnetic feet- that you attach to your shoulder by putting a metal disc under your shirt-- so the illusion is that they are sitting on your shoulder-- they are all over TRU and are stupid--(im talking pet rock and shaped rubber bands that look like regular rubber bands once they are on your wrist stupid)-- which means of course means that they will be the hottest toy of christmas

• I know you go into a coma if you don't complain about something every 30 minutes or so but why can't we give the new guy a shot?  Actually, you're probably right, if there is one thing that's been proven time and time again it's that the best course of action is to maintain the status quo.  Screw Bridge Direct!

• I've seen their transformers-esque figures, and am unimpressed.

• I am so sick of bloggers shitting on everything before anything has even come out. Can we have a little optimism here? Here's a smaller company that went to Warner Bros. and convinced them they were the best company for the job. Can we give them the benefit of the doubt for now? I imagine the employees who worked hard to score this deal were very happy with themselves before reading something like this.

• According to their site, they also have Power Rangers in the works. They also make plastic ties.

• I like the Richard Scarry's Busytown action figures on their website :)

• No company should look at Mattel as an example of what to do... They singlehandedly Killed the early 200X Batman line... HOW THE FUCK do you screw up a Batman line!? They also killed the Harry Potter line at the HEIGHT of Pottermania... OR the ass-backwards way they've dealt with almost EVERYTHING on DC Universe Classics... If I see one more Hal Jordan I'm going to dick slap the genius who brought us so many Hal Jordans... Should I do it using a yellow dildo? Don't get me Started on Masters of the Universe... I love the toys, but not Mattel's moronic ways of managing the line...

• You've never heard of Bobby Jack? ROB BRICKEN, Y U SO OLD? :c Bobby Jack infiltrated every bit of my childhood, from toys to clothes to headphones. He was a little cheeky monkey and I think also maybe a sailor... Or something. Also, I'm extremely curious as to what Shoulder Buddies are. Siamese twin dolls, joined at the shoulder?

• Well, if it is a newcomer, hopefully they know enough to take pages out of Hasbro's book when it comes to articulation. I'd cite Mattel, except UGH their 3 3/4 figures tend to be inferior. And they're Mattel. I'll be cautiously optimistic, I suppose.

• Saw the "Busy World" toys at Toys R Us recently. I too consider myself a pretty hardcore toy nerd. and although i never worked for ToyFare, i once was chosen as "Letter of the Month" and i won TWO Clone Wars maquettes for my efforts. The Busy World toys are pretty cool. Theyre colorful and span a bunch of characters. There is no guarantee that that means the Hobbit toys will be any good. But, as far as the company goes, i can speak to the quality of the Busy World toys.

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