#discontinued toys | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

verywolf589 · 4 months ago

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alienprincelee · 1 year ago

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Ello Creation System - A Deep Dive

While scrolling on Youtube I found myself remembering about the Ello Creation System, and after trying to look for pictures of the sets I used to have I found myself getting into a hyperfixation hole about the whole thing.

I'm not so sure how obscure or unknown they are, but after a while I was able to uncover a bit of history about them, and I want to share that with the world.

(Ello-Opolis: People, Places and Things set)

In the late 90's to early 2000;s, Ivy Ross was the head of Mattel's creative division, being in charge of "Project Platypus", a team developing a new set of building toys aimed for preteen girls. In that team was Richard Manville, who developed the concept and idea for the toy, from the branding and packaging to the look of the pieces. After Bratz launched, Ivy Ross left Mattel and a couple of months after Ello Creation System was discontinued.

One thing that I find interesting is how the Wikipedia page says it was discontinued in 2004, while in Mattel's own website it states some of the toys were released in 2005. Also, not all of the sets are listed on Mattel's website, such as Ello-Opolis Cats and Dogs, and On The Go Snow (which even has an Amazon listing), and there's even some that I haven't found any pictures of besides the ones on the Mattel website like the watch and the scooter.

(High Res image of the scooter set from @richardmanville . No other pictures currently exist on the internet (that I know of).

(This is the only picture of the watch on the whole internet, I'd absolutely love to own one, but I think I'd be okay with just a high-res picture. Was it ever released?)

A very interesting thing I'd like to share is what I've found on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, which mentions the name Ello Creation System and its logo were registered under Mattel until 2011, for its use in items such as toys, educational games, clothing and shoes, bed spreads, lunch boxes, cutlery, hair combs, toothbrushes, backpacks, stationary, lamps, shampoo, and even bandages, they sure wanted to be covered in case the name went big.

(One of the Ello trademarks on the USPTO website)

In that same search I found out that after their trademark ran out, in 2013 LeapFrog grabbed the name "ello" for a brand of water bottles, which was one of the intended uses Mattel had for the line.

The reason for the discontinuation is still unknown, but since Manville is still present in social media maybe he could bring some light into it. Since I'm not any type of notorious journalist, documentary YouTuber or any of the sorts I don't think I've got the qualifications to bother him about an obscure project he ran 20 years ago, but maybe one of you does, in which case I'd love to hear about it to get the end of the mystery, my ASD brain would absolutely appreciate that!!

Let me know if any of you knew about this, or if you've got any other info you'd like to share about the toys! Whether it be your stories about playing with them or if you know any bits or pieces missing!

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piosyne · 16 days ago

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Eagerly awaited sequel to spirit hunter: cutie mark- Bronyashiki

#Puts on my conspiracy cap ok so death mark takes place in 1997 which exactly corresponds with the time hasbro revived the mlp brand #for the first time after gen 1s discontinuation in the 1980s #mlp Also did have brand penetration in japan since 1985 albeit in a very strange and actually very interesting way in that #hasbro allied with a japanese toy company to produce jpn only toys under the mlp brand name that were in an entirely different style #theyre actually really cute they look more like Sylvanians but theyre super rare and coveted by collectors #tho the kujous are international travelers so that doesnt rlly matter much he couldve worked with some pegasisters overseas #Hes so twilight coded guys #my art #death mark #spirit hunter death mark #死印 #kazuo yashiki #satoru mashita #death mark mlp au

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beanbagbuddies4life · 8 months ago

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Tumblr plush purchasers, I have a question.

or just like, where do you buy plush in general?

#I phrased it that way because sometimes instead of being toys beanies are ~*~90s nostalgia collectibles~*~ and get traded on a different #scale in different ways #like #if i were gonna go buy like the softest plush i could id go to a different site than if i were looking for a specific discontinued beanbag #i am asking because i have beanie babies to sell #beanie babies #plush #plushblr #poll

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blacktobackmesa · 7 months ago

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ever since i made my hlvrai magazine collage i have been fighting a moral battle about wanting to buy vintage gamer magazines to cut into little pieces and make art with. where does one draw the line for collectables.

#'just print out scans of magazine pages' you understand NOTHING #look i already make doll customs out of discontinued toys from 40 years ago. i dont work on rare ones tho #unless they were already fucked up. you give me an MLP Mimic that is beyond repair and she's becoming an art piece

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forsty · 14 days ago

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making a christmas wishlist for family is so wierd cause my closest family members don't really know my interests that well

#shrugs #then again i have very niche interests #it's that time again where my SIL asks if I've made a list and im like...... sorry i haven't had the time yet to construct a list of-#Normal Things A Person Should Put On Their Wishlist #and not a list that is like.... 'a replica of little joe from bonanza's hat' or 'discontinued toy from 2006'

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hissterical-nyaan · 1 month ago

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One year since my IKEA date

#and oh he left me so heartbroken #i hate how he made me fall in love with him and ripped it all away #told me we'll go back there and get my favourite toy back #and guess what mfer the time it took me to go there again THEY DISCONTINUED THE TOY #feels poetic na #god I do miss him and I hate that I miss him #he never deserved all the kindness and love I gave he never deserved my vulnerability #but he was the only one who LISTENED and joked and tied my shoelaces for me and swapped places so creepy men won't touch me

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lethaldolls · 2 years ago

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30 year old pony I stole from my grandma that reminds me of fluttershy!!!

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innovatorbunny · 7 months ago

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where's the negative legend video on these

#lite sprites #zelfs #la dee da #kawaii crush #honestly if i was insane enough id make my own video on discontinued girls toys #bunny says...

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squishymain · 10 months ago

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Discontinued And Controversial Toys That Showed Up In The Barbie Movie (and ones that didn't show up in the movie)

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wedding-shemp · 2 years ago

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...did american girl seriously release another historical doll that's a blonde white girl...

#like im sorry to be an sjw or whatever #but theyre 40 years in and there's still no asian historical character besides the best friends doll that's been discontinued #like #ok #also it's the SAME doll like istg theyre not even switching the wigs anymore #sad #literally so many interesting things they could do with this time period to differentiate the doll from #a million fucking other toys on the market #and they went with white millenial nostalgia bait. again.#fucks sake at least make her brunette or something #imagine in 15 years when these end up at goodwill the nightmare collectors are going to have identifying these dolls with #the same hair and skin tone and face mold #theyre not even switching the face mold im pretty sure!#these are. identical dolls.#is it budget cuts is that it #would it simply be too expensive to get a different color of vinyl doll limbs #fucks sake

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thevalleyoftriumph · 1 year ago

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i finally understand how thoze really dedicated toy collectorz feel <--- just spent a good hour trying to track down even a HINT of a stupid roblox figurine i want to get my handz on

#whyyy did they have to discontinue THIZ YEAR why couldnt they have WAITED A YEAR for ME AND ME SPECIFICALLY #.......i have. a 3d printer... hrmmm... you know... if i could get some sort of model software running....#i could just.....MAKE my silly toy real..... probably for cheaper than however much anyone else iz willing to sell him #[the only active ebay listing ive found for my guy iz selling him at like 60 buckz minimum]#[which iz MAJOR suckz]#kitkat chitchat

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i-identify-pet-products · 7 months ago

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