#discontinued toys

[verywolf589]

[alienprincelee]

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!

[piosyne]

Eagerly awaited sequel to spirit hunter: cutie mark- Bronyashiki

[beanbagbuddies4life]

Tumblr plush purchasers, I have a question.

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

[blisterthigh]

not a day passes where i don't think about the yamaguchi cable figure

[blacktobackmesa]

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.

[forsty]

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

[mtsodie]

i still havent been able to find the homestar runner pronouns post . does anyone have it . please

[mayaa8]

[innovatorbunny]

where's the negative legend video on these

[hissterical-nyaan]

One year since my IKEA date

[squishymain]

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

[johnmalevolent]

i watched tate no yuusha back in 2019 when it still aired and i remember not liking the fact raphtalia turned into a grown woman in a short time. so the other day i was like hm years have passed and maybe my sense of judgment has changed and maybe i'll get the point of raphtalia's development better. but no. i hate it more now

[thevalleyoftriumph]

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

[i-identify-pet-products]

Mammoth Flossy Chews Twin Tug in Pink/Green

This is Luna. She loves playing tug of war and destroying her toys.

[pony-royale-restoration]

I recently had an interest in Pony Royale again which is like a core memory of my childhood. I went online to see if anyone was still selling them or if there was any fandom for them and I was surprised to find that hardly anyone ever knew about Pony Royale’s existence. I’m very sad this toy line went under the radar and disappeared and I want to give it some attention by restoring my own ponies and some that I bought off eBay.

Pony Royale was a toy line that started in 2012 and it likely stopped being produced by 2014 since it couldn’t compete with MLP in the pony toy market, nor did it have any show or cartoon to have a previous following. It was a brilliant idea that features changeable manes and tails and accessories and they even made a carousel to go with the ponies and all the accessories could be stored in the carousel as its furnishings. For example, the skirts would become the curtains, the manes and tails would go on the mannequin ponies, the saddle blankets would go on a rack, and the saddlettes (pieces that hold saddle blankets in place) decorate the base of the mirror, and the tiaras decorate the top of the carousel. It was a brilliant idea and unfortunately it was ahead of its time. I can see this concept being very popular today despite it being made over a decade ago.

Anyways, I will be using this blog to document my progress restoring Pony Royale ponies and the carousel I bought as it’s in need of some TLC as well and could use a paint job. I have never taken on toy restoration before but it’s something I’ve wanted to do, so I apologize for amateur mistakes ahead. Since I can’t find anyone who’s done Pony Royale restoration before, I hope I can pioneer some knowledge for future PR restorers to build off of so they don’t have to start from ground zero. All I could find was MLP pony restoration which helps a little bit but the way PR ponies are built is different because of the changeable parts which adds a challenge.

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