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Botcon '96 Takes Over The Windy City

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The 3rd annual Transformers Convention has been set. Men In Black Collectibles have brought Botcon to Chicago, Illinois this year. So get ready to transform and roll out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday July 12th - 14th, 1996.

Planned for the convention: Kenner will be present to talk about the current line. Kenner will bring along a few unique "one-of-a-kind" items for fans to be in awe over.

As usual, there will be a dealer room to buy all your Transformers merchandise. A free showing of Transformers: The Movie on Friday for pre-registrants only. A video room for screening of your favorite Transformers episodes. A panel room for discussions and panels on Transformers. A display room will hold a collection of Transformers items to be admired.

This year's convention will be held at the Clarion Resort in Rosemont, Illinois. Conveniently located near O'Hare Airport, the Clarion has shuttles from the airport every 15 minutes. Negotiated with the hotel, the rate per room will be the same as last year; $67.00 a night. So this year you get a great rate and the big city of Chicago to go out and have fun in.

The Clarion Hotel is lcoated off I-90 on the Mannheim Road North exit. Reservations can be made by calling (800)221-2222 or their local number is (847)297-8464. The 800 number does not have the $67.00 rate so you will have to call the local number to get the special BOTCON rate. Clarion may be reached by writing to Clarion Resort, 6810 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018. Make sure to mention you are registering for BOTCON.

Dealers can set up Friday afternoon from 6:00pm to 9:00pm and some attendees will be able to attend the Friday set-up to get the first chance on good toys. This "dealer day" first chance pass is available only through preregistration. The "Dealer Day" first chance pass will allows guests in the dealer room Friday between 7:00pm and 9:00pm and at 8:00am-9:00am on Saturday.

Non-registrants costs will be $7.00 for a one-day pass, and $10 for the weekend pass. No walk-ins are available for Friday's showing of Transformers: The Movie.

This article was originally published in TRANS-FORUM by the owner of SEIBERTRON.com

And From Headquarters (July 1996) ...

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About a month ago, the first issue of Trans-Forum was sent across the world to many people. Perhaps you were wondering how I created Trans-Forum's mailing list? Simple. I pulled out all of the complete addresses from Transformers: Generation 2 Transmissions.

Is everyone pumped about Botcon? I sure am. July 12th cannot come fast enough! I am very anxious.

Please help me recruit new Trans-Forum members. Tell your friends about it. Send their names and addresses on an additional sheet of paper if you feel they may be interested.

I will be handing out copies of this special edition at BOTCON in hopes of recruiting many new members.

Well, once again, I am out of space and time. The next issue will begin Trans-Forum's regular quarterly schedule starting in October. Until then, enjoy Botcon '96 and I hope to see you there! Roll out!

This article was originally published in TRANS-FORUM by the owner of SEIBERTRON.com

The Beast Within!

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The Transformers have returned with an animalistic vengeance in 1996!!! The Besaet Wars Transformers have brought upon a new era of Transformers greatness. The Beast Wars Transformers have out sold almost every other action figure in my area. These new Transformers are hot, fresh, and very exciting.

It appears that 1996 will be the extra push Transformers has needed for many years. Already this year, fourteen new Transformers have been released; a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion with five additional Transformers was released throughout March and April; some of the biggest Beast Wars Transformers toys this year have yet to be released; and a hot, new computer animated cartoon series will be in syndication on television this fall!

My only disappointment with these new Beast Wars Transformers has to do with the fact that there are no Autobots or Decepticons! Optimus Primal leads the heoric Maximals defending the Earth from Megatron and his evil Predacons! While I have thoroughly enjoyed the newest additions to the Transformers Universe, I do miss the cataclysmic battles between the Autobots and Decepticons. I will share with you my theory on the Autobot/Maximal and Decepticon/Predacon connection at a later date.

This article was originally published in TRANS-FORUM by the owner of SEIBERTRON.com

Hop in your Deceptive Automobile to BotCon '96!

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Botcon 1996 will be held in Rosemont, Illinois, not far from Chicago! The 1996 International Transformers convention, BOTCON, will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Transformers: The Movie. Can you believe it? 10 years ago this August, Transformers: The Movie was released throughout the world on the big screen!

Men In Black, the group of people who have orchestrated the Trasnformers convention, live in Ypsilanti, Michigan. From their house they buy, sell and trade Transformers with people from all over the country and in Michigan.

Botcon '96 will be held in the Rosemont Clarion Resort from July 12th - 14th. Hotel accommodattions can be made by contacting the Clarion Resort at (847)297-8464. Hotel rooms are $67.00 per night, per room, and they are going fast! Just let them know that you are staying for the Men In Black convention block.

Men In Black have made a deal with Hasbro/Kenner to make an exclusive toy for BOTCON '96. This year's Botcon Transformer will be a repainted black/gold/gray Beast Wars Optimus Primal bat. It looks much cooler than the original Optimus Primal.

Dennis Barger, one of Men In Black's head honchos, can be contacted at (313)483-TOYS for any additional information regarding BOTCON '96. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can contact Men In Black's web site at http://www.htonline.com/Men_in_Black.

This article was originally published in TRANS-FORUM by the owner of SEIBERTRON.com

Beast Wars Series Premieres With Winning Ratings In U.S.

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New 3-D Computer Animated series Produced By Alliance Multimedia and Mainframe Entertainment Beats all kid competition in majority of markets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 27 - Toronto - BEAST WARS^TM, the all-new high-tech animated i children's television series which previewed in 85% of the U.S. with an exciting two-part mini-series, earned impressive ratings for its world premiere in April, 1996, it was announced by Steven DeNure, President, , I Alliance Multimedia.

In New York, the largest U.S. television market, BEAST WARS^TM earned a 4.6 rating, 15 share, which marks a 21% increase in ratings and a 33% increase in share over the previous week's programming, and a 35% increase in ratings and 36% increase in share over the lead-in.

Nationally, BEAST WARS^TM earned equally impressive ratings in the 30 overnight markets, averaging an increase over its lead-in in 77% of the markets and beating all competition in over 70% of the metered ':1 markets. BEAST WARS^TM is the action-packed battle for control of a uniquely powerful energy source called "energon". From a distant peaceful planet populated by highly evolved robotic beings, the ruling Maximals^TM chase a renegade band of evil Predacons^TM through time and space, only to crash land on a mysterious earth-like planet. The planet is so rich in energon that it causes the robot's chips to overload, forcing both groups to adapt by splicing their cybergenetic code with the DNA of indigenous animal forms. When the two sides meet they revert to their metalloid forms to do battle. Outnumbered, the Maximals must use their skill and cunning to prevent the Predacons from acquiring enough energon to fuel their relentless drive to dominate the universe.

"BEAST WARS is the next step in the evolution of3-D computer animation for television, and confirms Mainframe Entertainment's position as the leader in the field," said DeNure.

BEAST WARS^TM executive producers are Christopher Brough, Steven DeNure, Stephane Reichel and Ian Pearson. Jonathan Goodwill is Producer.

Alliance Communications Corporation is a worldwide filmed entertainment company headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Paris and Shannon. Its shares trade in Toronto and Montreal under AAC and it is listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol ALLIF.

Mainframe Entertainment is the world's first producer of full length computer generated family programming located in Vancouver, Canada.

Poor Sales May Deal Toy Robots Fatal Blow

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Hasbro Can't Toy with Optimus Prime

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Written by Lane Crockett

Kids not only say the darndest things, but when they speak as one, they get things done. Ask Alfred C. Carosi.

Carosi is a corporate vice president of marketing services with Hasbro, a toy company. Hasbro happens to be the creator of Transformers, a popular children's program featuring a range of robots as heroes and villians. They're called autobots.

Locally, the series can be seen at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday on KMSS, Channel 33.

Hasbro, in an effort to revamp its toy line pertaining to Transformers, used its feature-length film of the same name to kill off Optimus Prime, leader of the good guys on the TV series.

The philosphy of Hasbro in terms of toy product is to turn its entire line every two years and introduce new toys. The company thought the feature film a good place to kill off Optimus Prime and give a reason for his disapearance from the toy line.

"There was immediate reaction," says Carosi. "We got a lot of phone calls and letters from kids. We were frankly surprised at the number of letters. When we killed off Optimus Prime, I thought they might be a little bit upset, but we had new heroes for them in the movie. That didn't seem to matter."

So for the first time, Hasbro brought back a series figure. Optimus is back on the TV show, but he's still out of the toy line.

"We did it because the kids seemed to really like him. He's in all the new episodes, but he wasn't a part of the series after the movie. That could be confusing because we killed off a bunch in the movie... easily half a dozen.

"We didn't get any letters about any of the other characters. Based on that, we took a look at bringing Optimus back. If Bobby Ewing can come back, why not Optimus Prime?"

In the storyline returning Optimus, Carosi says, the reaction was fantastic from the kids. Generally speaking, he says, Transformers ratings were up in major markets like New York and Chicago, where Hasbro is headquartered.

Although Optimus doesn't find himself in the toy line right now, Carosi says Hasbro is seriously looking at bringing the toy back next year.

Oddly, Optimus was not the leading toy in the Transformers line. He sold for $20. Carosi says some of the lower-priced ones sold better. Of the larger toys, Optimus was No. 1 at his price range.

"Optimus was leader of the good autobots, I guess that's why he was so popular. He was replaced in the movie by Rodimus Prime, who is the hero in the new episodes. Optimus came back and took over in a two-parter. He was Rodimus' father figure.

"Well, we've done it and we learned. The key is to be responsive to the kids, not upset them. We did that inadvertently. By definition, what we do should be fun."

Carosi says the feature-length film did well and engineered good responses from kids. It is now being readied for videocassette release.

"Hasbro probably won't do another film," Carosi says. "They are very expensive to produce. We lost money on Transformers and My Little Pony, which we also created."

Hasbro's most popular creation is the G.I. Joe animated show. Transformers is No. 2. G.I. Joe was created in 1964. Carosis says, in 1982, G.I. Joe was made into action figures.

"There's no one G.I. Joe now. He has become a G.I. Joe team. By the way, the good figures outsell the villains."

The lead seller for the bad guys is a figure called Cobra Commander, who appears on G.I. Joe.

As for Optimus Prime, he seems to be secure now. Hasbro has learned not to tamper with him. After all, he has an army of youngsters backing him.

Editor's Note: This newspaper article was obtained through Linden High School's micro-fiche film library during my senior year in 1995. Linden High School is located in Linden, Mi. See ... it pays to save all that stuff!!!

Hottest toy sells out before it's delivered

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The mustachioed man in the blue jogging suit was in a dilemma.

He kept staring at the rack of Go Bots and Robo Force creatures. Sure, the Robo Force robot has "powerful crusher arms" and can stick to walls, and the Go Bot robot can change from the Block Head Enemy to a cement mixer.

But the big question remained: Would they satisfy his son? Would they hold his attention?

Jason is 10, and like thousands of other youngsters across the country, he has put Transformers - the new Hasbro Industries, Inc., wonder toy - at the top of his Christmas list.

But he may have to settle for one of the other robot-type toys, such as Go Bots or Robo Force. His dad, 37 year-old Joe North of Mount Washington, is among a growing number of parents who can't get their hands on the darn Transformers.

They are too popular. The craze for the colorful little plastic and metal robots which can be transformed into cars, planes and guns has turned normally polite parents into pushing and shoving fanatics who will do almost anything to get little Johnny or Sue what they want.

Yesterday, a mother awaiting a toy shipment at Toys-R-Us in Towsontowne Marketplace recalled getting caught in a mob scene at the same store several weeks ago.

"I'm not very good in crowds. People were pushing and shoving and I didn't get anything." she said, even though she had been among those waiting the longest.

And several weeks ago at Kiddie City in Eastern Center Plaza the police were summoned by a woman who wanted to press charges against the pushy person behind her, recalled Eric Blackmer, the store's assistant manager.

The toys, which range in price from $3 to $30, are so much in demand they rarely make it to the shelves. As soon as the toys are brought in off the truck in cartons, scads of eager parents grab them up.

But early yesterday morning at Toys-R-Us there were only two mothers, including the one with the bad luck, hovering in the back of the store near the coloring books and blocks, awaiting the day's shipment. The hordes must have known it wasn't the day, because the truck didn't come.

The day before there was a line and a truck did come in. But there were no Transformers aboard. And that's expected to be the scenario until the new year, when Hasbro comes out with dozens of new Transformers including Dinobots, which turn from robots into dinosaurs.

"I could kill myself," said Pat Milan, 30, of Baltimore City. "I saw an Optimus Prime in the summertime for $20 and I didn't buy it."

Optimus Prime is the Transformer to end all Transformers. He is the leader of the noble Autobots (the evil Transformers are called Decepticons) and with a few twists and turns he becomes a tractor trailer. (Second in popularity is Soundwave. It looks like a miniature cassette player until it is magically transformed into a robot. He is a Decepticon, a bad guy, whose motto is "Cries and screams are music to my ears.")

Will Mrs. Milan's son be devastated when he wakes up Christmas morning and doesn't find Optimus under the tree?

"He won't hold it against me," Mrs. Milan said. "He happens to be a smart kid. He understands that toy makers have kids on a string."

Transformers have been a hot item since they hit the market in May [1984], and that was the time to shop for them.

"This is beyond our wildest dreams," said Stephen Schwartz, senior vice president of marketing at Hasbro in Pawtucket, R.I.

Hasbro - which also brought kids GI Joe and My LIttle Pony - has shipped $100 million worth of Transformers since their introduction into this country eight months ago. That is wholesale dollars, he said.

To give a comparison, Mr. Schwartz noted that Coleco shipped $60 million worth of Cabbage Patch Kids in its first 12 months.

Coleco has little to worry about, however.Their homely dolls once again are among the most wanted and hardest to get toys.

People can put their names on a waiting list, but with little hope of receiving a doll before Christmas. A person who signed up at Toys-R-Us in Towson became number 10,219 on the list yesterday.

And the glum prospect for satisfying a child with a Transformer this season is echoed in toy stores all over town.

"The truck came this afternoon and we got 32 cartons. But no Transformers. I doubt if we will get any more [before Christmas]," said a worker at Best Products in Towson.

What's the attraction?

Mr. Schwartz believes it lies in "the magic of transforming something from one thing into another ... it's a real fantasy world."

One 8-year-old summed it up this way: "They're neat. GI Joes and those kind of toys are just boring. But these new things can change form robot to vehicle or plane. It's really neat."

Incidentally, Joe North, the man in the blue running suit who was trying to find the toy with the most action, finally settled on a Robot watch. Time will tell if he made the right choice.

Milton Bradley purchase, hot toys put Pawtucket firm near industry's top

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Written by Hamilton Allen for the Providence Journal

PAWTUCKET - In September, it bought a company that had been losing money. Some observers said the deal was no bargain.

In October, its new president - on the job less than three weeks - resigned.

In November, it announced plans to shut a major plant and move its operations to other states; at least 450 people would lose their jobs.

But don't get out the handkerchiefs. This is Hasbro Bradley Inc., which probably has done more to put Pawtucket on the business map than any other company since Samuel Slater built his mill.

It was in September that Hasbro, a 48-year-old company with 2,000 employees, acquired Milton Bradley, a 124-year old game and puzzle maker with 4,000 employees and operations in 14 foreign countries.

The acquisition, merging two familiar names in the toy and game trade, created one of the largest toy and game manufacturers in the nation. It may soon be the largest.

"If Hasbro isn't number one, they'll be a very close second I'll tell you," said Stephen F. Smith, editor in chief of Toy & Hobby World, the industry's most widely circulated trade publication. Just how large that will be will be decided early next year when annual sales figures come out.

Stephen Hassenfeld, Hasbro's chairman, says sales are now running at the rate of $875 million annually. For 1984, however, total sales will be less because Milton Bradley's contributions are limited to the last six months of 1984.

Even so, the numbers reflect an increase of major proportions: Sales of $138 million two years ago, $730 million this year; net income of $7 million two years ago, $48 million this year.

That assures Hasbro a berth in the Fortune 500 - the annual listing of the 500 largest US industrial corporations, based on sales. The only Rhode Island company now on that list is Textron, the Providence-based conglomerate. Nortek, a diversified manufacturer now moving from Cranston to Providence, is also likely to win a place on the list. It expects sales of more than $500 million for 1984.

Hasbro's growth in business means growth in the managerial, executive and professional staff. The company added about 200 to its Pawtucket staff this year and will probably add another 200 in 1985, Hassenfeld said.

In a state as small as Rhode Island, that can have a significant ripple effect on real estate, grocery stores and other consumer goods and services.

Some of Hasbro's growth results from the acquisition. A number of people coming to the Pawtucket area to live are moving from the former Milton Bradley headquarters in Springfield, Mass., and from the former Chicago headquarters of Playskool, a Milton Bradley subsidiary.

But growth at the home office in Pawtucket also reflects internal growth. Before the merger on September 10th, Hasbro's administrative and professional staff in Rhode Island had increased by 105 this year, Hassenfeld said.

Hasbro is now working to accommodate the staff increase. Most of the people new to the home office will work at headquarters, thus displacing manufacturing space there.

Manufacturing is to move to a Hasbro building on Delta Drive, off Armistice Boulevard in Pawtucket. The building is now used for warehouse and distribution functions, which will be moved to West Warwick where Hasbro has leased more than half (260,000 square feet) of the BIF building off Route 95.

Meanwhile, the former Milton Bradley headquarters in Springfield, Mass., is for sale.

Hassenfeld, 42, grandson of one of the company's founding brothers, occupies an office that is unusually spare - no pictures on the wall, no drapes at the windows, little furniture. Magazines sit in stacks by the dozen on the floor and a large conference table.

He's running an hour late as he summarizes the benefits he expects from the Milton Bradley purchase.

• The opportunity to be more significant in the pre-school market. The company will take the best of Hasbro's traditional preschool line and the best of Playskool, discarding the rest. Playskool will probably be the name for the combined line.
  
• The opportunity to be more significant in the global market. Milton Bradley's foreign manufacturing and sales had given the company 37 percent of total sales. Hasbro, which only had plants in Canada and England, can now sell toys through the Milton Bradley network.
  
• A broader project line. If Hasbro can get several popular toys on the store shelves, it can continue to reduce dependence on one or two high-volume toys. Hassenfeld says he seeks diversity the same way an investor seeks to balance his securities portfolio. Too many toy and game companies, he says, rely on a single product and then aren't able to resist any kind of a down draft in sales of those products.

He cites the G.I.Joe toy line, the company's most popular product, as an example.

"Joe," as he's known at headquarters, contributed 40 percent of total sales two years ago. Hassenfeld confesses that while he loved Joe's success, Hasbro's dependence on the toy "made me nervous."

This year, Joe will capture $125 million in sales - but that's only 17 percent of total estimated sales.

The merger is now more than three months old, but the effort of bringing two large companies together has had its rough spots.

There was the matter of James J. Shea Jr, son of a Milton Bradley chairman. Shea, at 58, was himself chairman, president and chief executive officer of Milton Bradley at the time of the acquisition.

On September 10th, with the merger completed, he was named president and chief operating officer of Hasbro Bradley.

Less than three weeks later, Shea announced his resignation. The slot was immediately filled by Alan G. Hassenfeld, 36, younger brother of the chairman, who had been executive vice president.

"I would have liked it to have worked out differently," Stephen Hassenfeld said. "It didn't, and it surprised probably no one; it didn't surprise anyone in the industry."

Shea, he said, is a man "whose style is quite different from mine. I tend to run things on a much more participatory basis, but that doesn't mean that his style was wrong. Obviously, he is a very talented individual. But I can understand the problems somebody has in going from a chief executive officer of a big company like that to a number two position.

"After all, if somebody came along and took away my opportunity to be the lead person in interfacing with Wall Street, to be the one responsible for mergers and acquisitions, to be the interface with the board of directors, well, that's taking away a big piece of everything that you've trained for.

"All that was defined up front. YOu can't have two people doing the same work. And as part of the acquisition, it was defined that I would do all those things. Nonetheless, it left him all of a sudden without things he was used to doing."

If anything triggered the resignation, it apparently was a dispute over Playskool. It was Shea - not Hassenfeld - who first wanted to close the Playskool plant in Chicago. Shea had made this known last spring around the time plans for the merger were being announced. But Hassenfeld wanted the plant to remain open, at least until after the merger, to see if it could be saved.

Hassenfeld acknowledges that this was a source of "some discomfort" between the two men "because it was probably the first time in many, many years that he had really had to ask somebody."

There is an irony in the Playskool episode because, as it turned out, Hassenfeld changed his mind and agreed with Shea. He cites two factors entering into the decision to close the plant; Poor construction of one part of the plant and the plant's location in an area that potential employees were reluctant to enter.

The merger has meant trimming the executive staff from Milton Bradley, but the only other resignation was that of George Volanakis, president of Playskool, Hassenfeld said.

Playskool manufacturing will be shifter in a few months to a plant of Milton Bradley's in East Longmeadow, Mass. Playskool marketing, engineering, research and development will move to Pawtucket.

If the merger has hit a pothole or two, no one on Wall Street seems to be noticing.

"There can be little doubt that the acquisition of Milton Bradley has created the most profitable entrant in the toy industry - one that is running neck and neck for sales leadership," said stock analyst David S. Leibowitz, senior vice president of American Securities Corp. of New York City.

A key to the merger, he believes, is that the two complement each other. Milton Bradley's strength is in puzzles and board games, an area where Hasbro is relatively weak; Milton Bradley is a major player in Europe; foreign sales haven't been a major activity for Hasbro.

This could mean even greater earnings for a company who net income has already soared, in Liebowitz's view.

"Customers have been making commitments for spring, summer and autumn 1985 deliveries since September, and the new line has been very well received," he explained. That means, he said, that "1985 could be another pacesetter."

But Hasbro has strengths in popular basic toys that could fill any toy box; Mr. Potato Head, Lite Brite, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Peanuts and Sesame Street characters are among them.

Found on Top 10 toy characters for 1984 are not only the popular G.I.Joe series but My Little Pony, a miniature pony in pastel colors with long silky mane and tail for combing and braiding, and Glow-Bug, a stuffed bug that lights up.

Casting an unusually cheery glow on Hasbro's receivables are Transformers, a new entry of miniature robots that can be twisted and turned into toy cars, planes - even toy cassette recorders.

Paul Rothman, analyst and vice president of research at the Advest Inc. securities firm in Hartford, sees a possibility for crossbreeding between the strongest lines of the two companies.

"You could take some of the hot things in the Hasbro line and turn them into games and puzzles," for Milton Bradley, Rothman said. "For example, if Mr. Potato Head is so popular, why not a Mr. Potato Head game?"

The acclaim is coming fast these days, but last spring when the proposed merger was announced there was suspicion that Hasbro was paying - at $360 million in cash and stock - too much for Milton Bradley.

Milton Bradley's 1983 sales were off 2.5 percent from the previous year, operating earnings were down 44 percent, and the company had taken a $30 million write off on its consumer electronics subsidiary. The bottom line was a 1983 net loss of $19 million.

The Hasbro offer was "an early Christmas for Milton Bradley shareholders," Leibowitz said at the time.

Harry E. Wells 3rd, research director at the Adams, Harkness & Hill securities firm in Boston, observed that Hasbro's offer of $50 a share was 2.2 times Milton Bradley's book value of $21 - $22 a share.

"A generous evaluation, to say the least," Wells commented then.

Today, Wells is unabashed in his enthusiasm for the merger, crediting Hassenfeld for having the "cash, stock and imagination" to go through with it.

Wells doesn't consider Shea's resignation very interesting. This merger, he said, "has probably gone smoother than anyone would have dreamed."

Other sources agree that the Shea resignation was inevitable. Besides being accustomed to being the top man, he had "a potful of money," as one analyst phrased it, from his sale of Milton Bradley stock to Hasbro.

"In his place, what would you have done? It was preordained that he would quit," commented another observer.

Noted Stephen Smith, the magazine editor, "People who fit in with the new management structure stayed; those who couldn't left. Hasbro definitely calls the tune, and anyone who can't fit in with their management style would decide to leave."

He believes the future of the merged entity can be predicted from the past successes of each. "That means good traditional toys - not electronics. Everything else works off of that; licensing their toys to other toy manufacturers; basing television stories on their toy characters.

"It's like a pitcher with a fast ball," Smith added. "If you have a fast ball, then you can go to a curve, a slider, a change of pace. They have the fast ball and it's the basic toy business."

Editor's Note: This newspaper article was obtained through Linden High School's micro-fiche film library during my senior year in 1995. Linden High School is located in Linden, Mi. See ... it pays to save all that stuff!!!

Santa's orders launch invasion of robots

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Written by Judy Hille. Micro-fiche from the Arizona Republic (Phoenix) 

Santa. Hey, Santa! Stop swilling eggnog for a minute, and answer this vital question. Those of us who are No. 12,248 or so on the Cabbage Patch doll waiting lists want to know what else is going to be under the tree and underfoot this year.

GoBots? Robotrons? Autobots? What are you mumbling about, old pal? Take your beard out of your mouth and - good grief! What's that thing emerging from the kitchen?

Yes, Virginia, robots are the bottom line this Christmas. And they're doing a lot more than fighting evil and zooming through space in a youngster's imagination. Don't be surprised if the punch and fruitcake come in to the party on little roller feet.

Omnibot, from the California company Tomy, is 2 feet tall, programmable a week in advance and comes with a serving tray for $300. Maxx Steele, a $350 robot from Ideal, does similar tricks, like waking you up in the morning with a built-in alarm clock. They're being promoted for ages 3 to 12.

This information comes from Penny Richman, communications director for the trade association of commercial elves, the Toy Manufacturers of America. She just bought a robot herself. Guess what it did at her latest cocktail gathering?

Robots for most kids, though, will be smaller and will come to the party as cars, trucks, planes, and watches and other innocent guises. The magic happens when the kid gives the Volkswagen a couple of spins and a click. Shazam! It's a robot.

Japanese children have been playing with metal people for about 10 years, but this is the first year they've been exported here. They are sold with legends that give kids a good-vs-evil scenario for play.

GoDaikin Super Robots are the originals, well-designed and fairly expensive ($15 to $85). One of the less costly ones, Dynaman ($18), shoots his fist into space and can turn into a rolling vehicle.

Tonka has GoBots, 4-inch plastic and metal cars and trucks that change into machine people, for about $3.50. Similar are Robotrons, a from Buddy L. Corp., which are a bit cheaper.

"Kids are gravitating to the Transformers," said Mark Osman, assistant manager at Toys By Roy in Fiesta Mall. "Last Saturday, the Matchbox ones, Voltrons - I put out a case and it sold in 15 minutes. I brought out another case, and people were grabbing them out of my arms. It was the same thing Monday."

Transformers, by Hasbro, come in a wide range of prices (about $3 to $25) and varieties of complication. One of the most alluring is the Decepticon Communicator ($20) disguised as a mild-mannered mini-cassette player. Not only does the player turn into an 11-inch robot, the "cassette" also converts into a tiny companion piece.

G.I.Joe and the Star Wars group are the granddaddies of the action figures and still do moderately well. Mattel's Masters of the Universe, which last year sent dozens of parents scurrying after the heroic but scarce He-Man, has introduced Snake Mountain, where the evil Skeletor lives. He-Man's feline war buddy, Battle Cat, is in big demand this year, Osman said.

The outlook in the Cabbage Patch is still bleak, said Osman, who gets at least 25 to 50 calls a day about them. Cabbage Patch clothes, strollers and other accessories are flying off the shelves, however.

"We have numerous amounts of collectible dolls, not Cabbage Patch ones, but others, that are going like crazy," said Donna Scelza, manager of Little House Toys at Metrocenter. According to Richman, doll collecting is now the No. 2 hobby in the United States, after stamp collecting.

Coleco changed this year's Cabbage Patch doll body, Richman said, to cater to just this market. It also has introduced Preemies, which are adopted at an earlier age.

The most popular doll in the world is a jockette this year, Great Shape Barbie. Mattel, maker of the 21-year-old Barbie, also hopes to cash in big with a new line of Rainbow Brite dolls ($10 to $21).

Rainbow Brite has a cast of characters (Red Butler, Patty O'Green, Murky and Lurky Dismal), transportation (STarlite, a flying horse), a little friend (Sprites, tiny dolls that come with each bigger doll) and, of course, a story line about Rainbow Land, where they all live.

"It's really cute stuff," Osman said. "But Rainbow Brite hasn't been on TV yet that much. Once it gets exposure, it's going to sell."

The thing at Little House Toys that attracts the most kids is a Swedish Brio wooden train, Scelza said.

"You start with the starter kit and go on forever, until you have a farm here and a village there," she said. "People just go crazy over it. Kids come in here just to see it and stay forever."

Trivia games, though not as white-hot as they were last spring and summer, have proliferated and are selling briskly. Some sources say there are as many as 50 on the market now, and many of these are for the younger set eager to play the sort of game that's keeping Mom and Dad up past midnight, yelling with their friends.

Selchow & Richter's Trivial Pursuit version for young players won't debut until around February, Richman said.

Editor's Note: This newspaper article was obtained through Linden High School's micro-fiche film library during my senior year in 1995. Linden High School is located in Linden, Mi. See ... it pays to save all that stuff!!!