Toys That Time Forgot Volume 1

Toys That Time Forgot Volume 1 by Blake Wright

Do you remember back in the early 1980s, playing with all of the toys based on the sci-fi fantasy film Krull produced by Knickerbocker Toys? What about the Masters Of The Universe meets Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots line that was Hasbro’s Tribes range in the early 1990s? Or all of those ReSaurus-made action figures and role-play accessories based on the break-out video game Oddworld in 1997? No? Well, that’s because they were never made. But would it shock you to learn that each of these examples was well on its way to being produced?

Stories like these are more prevalent than one might think. Each has a separate, unique set of circumstances with a single common thread — the majority of them have gone untold. This book, Toys That Time Forgot aims to shine a light on some of the more interesting, higher-profile boys' toys and action figure projects that made it all the way through to the prototype stage, but for whatever reasons never made it to retailers. Some of the stories are funny. Some are painful. Most are well worth documenting.

Written and compiled by journalist Blake Wright, the 200-plus page hardcover book will take an in-depth look at over 20 instances of toy lines that suffered these types of fates. Stories are supplemented with supporting photographs of the production process, existing prototypes, control drawings used to create the sculpts, concept sketches and more. The stories (and supplemental materials) have come straight from the men and women that lived them — from inventors and sculptors to project managers and toy company executives.