MetaFilter posts tagged with toys

Action Joe! Jouets vendues separement!

MegoSteve — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:05:12 -0800

Oh, Rom...

kittens for breakfast — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:39:28 -0800

Rom: Spaceknight was an improbable comics success: Based on a toy series that consisted of one figure (Rom), the comics series debuted in 1979 and lasted an unlikely 75 issues, featuring art from such luminaries as P. Craig Russell and Steve Ditko (previously, previously and previously). The series was written by Marvel Comics mainstay Bill Mantlo, who retired from comics and became a public defender (the legal kind), only to suffer a tragic accident in the mid-1990s that left him in need of constant medical attention. A 2007 benefit for the writer -- Spacenight: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo -- will be followed by Spacenight 2, an auction of original Rom-related artwork that can be viewed here.

Brick House

mattdidthat — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:32:37 -0800

James May built his own house with Lego.

Rubber Band Machine Gun

KokuRyu — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:08:46 -0800

Rubber Band Machine Gun [via the always awesome Japan Probe] Here is a link some photos that show how one can construct a rubber band machine gun. Nakamura has written a guide book to the art of making rubber band guns.

Adult Education: a useless lecture series

anotherpanacea — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:25:30 -0800

You Are Not Going to be Famous. On Metatourism. How NOT to Raise a Chimp in Your Home: the Legacy of W. N. Kellogg. Exploring the Audiovisual Phenomenon of Beatles-Lookalike Long Playing Album & A Short List of the Worst Toys in the World.

Аста ла виста, беби

madamjujujive — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:30:31 -0800

Stalin's Secret Weapon - a Russian hobbyist's terminator-esque diorama painstakingly constructed from military action figures. (Via buzz

A film by Wes Anderson

hippybear — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:31:14 -0800

Toy Stories: Dan Meth explores some up and coming movies inspired by your childhood toy chest.

Monumental men of action

klangklangston — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:16:47 -0800

Robert Burden's artwork (drawings, paintings) mainly concerns toys. His flags are neat too. I didn't figure out how to deep link.

Barefoot and crafting in the kitchen

orange swan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:26:33 -0800

If you’ve got extra kitchenware about is never used to cook or contains food anymore, here are some (low calorie!) ways to use it again. If you’ve kicked your caffeine habit, your metal coffeepots can become lamps, or your teapot can morph into a camel. Other items of kitchenware can become recycled toys. If you now eat oatmeal instead of muffins for breakfast, your child might enjoy the novelty of a muffin tin meal, or making recycled crayons, or counting down the days until a birthday. Muffin tins can also be used as a way to display curios, or collages, or become wall art. If you’ve sworn off cookies, your old cookie sheet can become an Advent or perpetual calendar. Cookie tins can be redecorated, or turned into a coin bank or purse. Cookie tins can become tambourines, ukuleles, or banjos. Or they can become clocks, bracelets, ribbon and string dispensers, or figurines. However, if as you craft you find yourself scarfing down the crumbs that lurk in the crevices of your old cookie tins, you are probably not over your cookie habit and should reserve at least one baking sheet and tin for their original purpose.

Play-Doh!!!

GavinR — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:11:45 -0800

Old Play-doh ads! Chop that mop. Excellent! What has been done cannot be undone. Arbeit Macht Frei! Oooooh...pretty sparkles.... Tasty! Bart Smit? Basa?

"10 millimeter explosive tip caseless. Standard light armor piercing round, why? "

Artw — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:45:49 -0800

UnNerfed - the Nerf dart blaster overclocked to 500 rounds per minute.

Thomas' Pixelated Pickle: Or The Year in Thomas

Artw — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:51:02 -0800

Just over sixty years ago the Reverend W. V. Awdry told his sick son a series of stories based on real life incidents with trains, which he later wrote up as the Railway Series. Now Thomas the Tank Engine and the other engines of the Isle of Sodor (somewhere between Barrow-in-Furness and the Isle of Man) are a global phenomena, with toys, books and of course the TV series - filmed using model trains on more than 70 1:32 scale 16-by-20-foot sets, and voiced by the likes of Ringo Starr and Alec Baldwin. 2008 has been a rough year for Thomas: George Carlin, who voiced the series in the US up until 1998, passed away (previously), as did David Mitton, who had written and directed over 180 episodes (and who has previously worked on the special effects for Thunderbirds). There's changes ahead for Thomas as well - this year saw the faces of the engines, which had previously been cast in silicone and attached with double sided tape, replaced by CGI faces, and from 2009 onwards Nitrogen studios in Canada will be taking over production with an entirely CGI Thomas. Meanwhile a group of British students continues the tradition of model engine-based storytelling with their YouTube based British Railway Series.

Beware the pink aisle

Artw — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:44:37 -0800

Do girls toys and boys toys lead to a gender gap?

Osama bin Lego, apparently

hifiparasol — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:35:04 -0800

So, for about two years now, Will Chapman of BrickArms has been creating a wide variety of custom Lego minifigures, ranging from World War II soldiers (both Axis and Allies) to a certain copyrighted British Secret Service agent. One of Chapman's more popular creations is "Mr. White," a "bandit" brimming with weapons (including an AK-47 and RPG) and grenades. This week, the Sun ran a story. Then Fox News ran another. A BrickArms representative responds on The Brothers Brick blog, then responds again. Oh, and just for fun, here's Michelle Malkin's take.

Toys have lives too

Brandon Blatcher — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:00:00 -0800

The private life of your favorite toys.

I think that's a hard G.

Manhasset — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:30:38 -0800

Gizmine - "the world's largest Japanese gadgets and lifestyle design shop." Viewable by color, theme, price, popularity, or brand.

You'll poke your eye out!

Knappster — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:04:50 -0800

"This toy is so fantastic that it's not just for humans anymore. You can find otters, chimps and dogs -- especially dogs -- playing with it." The National Toy Hall of Fame has inducted the stick.

From the inside out.

blue_beetle — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:46:14 -0800

A cat getting into a yogurt box. And a girl getting into a vending machine. DLYT.

Cuddle 'n Coo 'n Proselytize

Knappster — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:04:58 -0800

The Mattel toy company insists that their Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo dolls do not utter the phrase "Islam is the light." You be the judge.

Skirmish at Greenbrier, Maryland

marxchivist — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:31:17 -0800

A Deadly Skirmish at Greenbrier, Maryland. A little-known engagement of the American Civil War. This bucolic crossroads was visited by the hard hand of war. The Confederate Artillerymen await, then unleash leaden death on the Hoosier troops. Carnage ensues in the gathering gloom. The Butcher's Bill.

Soft Science

sergeant sandwich — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:01:34 -0800

If you like those giant plush microbes but maybe they're a little too life-sciencey for ya, perhaps you would like The Particle Zoo instead.

Play, what you experience daily

Artw — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:24:41 -0800

Playmobil Online Archiv - Playmobils archive of every toy they've ever produced, from it's start in 1974 onwards. It's only available in German, but even non-German speakers can appreciate gems like this awesome tiger tamer or these Mexican bandits, odd anachronisms like the chimney sweep or the figures for recreating the American civil war. Collectobil - the unofficial site for fans and collectors of Playmobil, and more Playmobil links. Previously discussed: Playmobil Security Check Point, Playmobile Hazmat Team.

all the things you once tried so hard to forget…

stinkycheese — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:37:41 -0800

Kindertrauma is about the movies, books, and toys that scared you when you were a kid. It’s also about kids in scary movies, both as heroes and villains. And everything else that’s traumatic to a tyke! Be sure not to miss Traumafessions, or the section on scary toys.

Girl fight

Artw — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:55:29 -0800

Barbie vs Bratz: Mattel sues MGA, claiming the Bratz designs were created by a Mattel employee and smuggled to its rival.

This is the way the world ends

Artw — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:53:59 -0800

Superstar Scottish comics writer Grant Morrison is about to tear the DC Universe apart again with Final Crisis, the latest in a series of apocalypses and world ending events he's inflicted on various comics worlds over the years. But there was a time before fame when he wrote the tie-in comic for ZOIDS, the robot dinosaur children's toy. So what did he do? Ushered in the apocalypse, in the form of THE BLACK ZOID.