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Toy Vault was founded in 1998 to fill a
need in the marketplace for high quality well crafted toys and
figures based on overlooked properties, such as Alice in Wonderland
and Lord Of The Rings.
The first two licenses were action figures based on Lord Of The
Rings and the Jabberwock, an action figure from Through The Looking
Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Gandalf and Balrog action figures were released in 1997. The Jabberwock
tooling mold was lost in China and the Jabberwock figure was never
produced. Two copies of the action figures actually exist, produced
as samples prior to production.
In 1999, Toy Vault obtained licenses on Jim Henson’s Farscape,
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City, Robert Jordan’s Wheel Of Time, and Sony’s
EverQuest.
The company produced action figures of Gollum, Gimli, Frodo, and
Uglúk based on Lord Of The Rings, and Samaritan and The Confessor
based on Astro City.
In 2000, Toy Vault obtained licenses on Pez, Monty Python, and
Cthulhu.
The company produced action figures of the Lord Of The Nazgûl,
Barrow wight and Galadriel based on Lord Of The Rings. Also produced
on Farscape were action figures of Aeryn, Crichton, D’Argo, Chiana
and Zhaan, and on EverQuest action figures of Female Dark Elf
Spellcaster, Male Troll, Male Iksar and Gnoll.
It was this year that Toy Vault first start producing product
other than action figures. The first pre painted cold cast statues
were released this year, the Hanging Judge from Deadlands,and
the Alice In Wonderland series 1 cold cast set. A keychain was
made of the DRD from Farscape. Lastly, the first plush, a Cthulhu
plush figure, was produced based on the Cthulhu license.
2001: The Cthulhu line takes off and Toy Vault starts to consider
plush as one of its major strengths. Besides medium and small
Cthulhu plush, the first Monty Python Product - the Rabbit With
Big Pointy Teeth - which sells out and sells out and (in 2003
is still selling out). Guardians Of Atlantis, an underwater creature
line, debuts at Toy Fair but due to poor response is never released.
The second Farscape series is released (Rygel, Scorpius, Aeryn
and Crais), as well as the first and only EverQuest figure line
(Gnoll, Dark Elf, Iksar, Troll). An attempt to move into the gift
market with a Pez line has mixed results, with good reviews but
low sales on the Pez Christmas Ornaments.
2002: Toy Vault has it's largest product
release line yet, and moves into the mainstream toy market, placing
product in WalMart, KMart, Walgreens, etc. New licenses include
SpongeBob SquarePants and Godzilla. Items from SpongeBob released
include: Make-A-Bob, Patrick Plush Coin Bank, Mini Make-A-Bob,
SpongeBob Plush Coin Bank, Gary Plush Coin Bank, Krabby Patty
Bobbler, 2 Mini Bobblers, 2 Mini Wigglers and the Pants Drop Bobbler.
Monty Python items manufactured include the Live Plush Parrot
What's Sleeping, the Black Knight with Removable Limbs, the exploding
Penguin, and the Killer Sheep. Godzilla is introduced with the
Mothra plush in December. New Cthulhu product is represented by
Dracuthulu, Summer Fun Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and Gothic Cthulhu.
The Here Be Monsters line starts with the Red Dragon, and Baby
Red Dragon Plush More Farscape figures are released, with the
first two of the Farscape Reunited figures of Crichton and Zhaan.
2003: Toy Vault gets its first Yu-Gi-Oh!
license, releasing 2-D keychains, 2-D Magnets and plastic coin
banks. The first plush from The Other Side Of The Looking Glass
arrives in the form of the Cheshire Cat. A new line of gaming
supplies is started. First releases include the Angel Of Vengeance
and Mithril Dragon deck boxes, and the Angel of Vengeance and
Mithril Dragon life counters. More Here Be Monsters arrive, including
the Ice Dragon and Minotaur. The Godzilla line starts to really
expand, with release of the 4 Superdeformed Mini Bobblers (Godzilla,
Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mecha Godzilla) and plush Godzilla and King
Ghidorah. With Farscape cancelled, product release becomes less
light, but includes the boxed Aeryn, and the final release of
the D'Argo cold cast statue. Super Hero Cthulhu, Shoggoth and
Secret Agent Cthulhu continue to fill out the Cthulhu line.
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