Archive for the 'Rudolph' Category
Every one who loves the holiday classic show, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer®, knows the multitude of characters that make up the world of Rudolph®. Over the years, Playing Mantis, Inc. and next Round 2 LLC, have produced a complete line of standard poseable figures, playsets, ultimate figures and pvc figurines based on the classic show. In the previous posts, we have been introducing the new size of poseables being produced by Round 2 for 2011 and we couldn’t be more excited. BUT, actually there’s a reason to up the ante on excitement, particularly if you are a long time collector of our Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer product. This new size brings our poseable figures in perfect scale with a couple of our favorite character replicas. Pictured above is a photo of our Ultimate Humble Bumble figure last produced in 2004, Deluxe Yukon Cornelius from 2010 and our new mid-scale 2011 Hermey and Rudolph holiday poseable figures.
Check out the frame grabs in the image below! Looks like we’re picture perfect and right-sized!
It’s our musical Snowman Sam! Forever Fun’s deluxe mid-scale poseable Sam the Snowman comes ready to narrate the story of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer®. Sam comes with a banjo accessory ready to sing and play his way through the story.
That completes Forever Fun’s 2011 mid-scale poseable line up for Rudolph®. To recap, we have Hermey, Santa Claus, Rudolph and Sam the Snowman. They are all available as deluxe mid-scale poseable with accessories and as the basic mid-scale poseable . Both deluxe and basic poseables are packaged with eight memory game pieces for holiday fun. Collect them all for more family fun. We are really excited about this whole line up and hope you are too. Let us know what you think.
Who better to do the job of guiding a sleigh than the most famous reindeer of the all! Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer® is also going to be a part of Forever Fun’s deluxe mid-scale poseables for 2011. Santa’s pal comes with his own snow base perfect for display. Deluxe mid-scale Rudolph is spreading the Christmas cheer with his own little wreath decorated with red and gold. He looks ready to take the lead, but who is going to take the lead of the story?
When there’s an elf there must be his loveable boss, Santa! Forever Fun’s deluxe mid-scale poseable Santa Claus comes with all the goodies for a successful Christmas. In order for Santa to do his job, he comes right to your home bearing three presents just for you. Christmas Eve can get chilly, so we gave our mid-scale poseable Santa a real (and removeable) cloth hat and jacket to stay warm while flying through the cold night air. With the ensemble complete, Santa Claus deluxe mid-scale poseable is almost on his way. There’s only one thing is missing; someone to guide to his sleigh.
Forever Fun is ready to roll out our Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer® deluxe mid-scale poseables. We are just as excited about these guys as we are for the Peanuts mid-scale poseables. Each adorable Rudolph® poseable will be packaged as deluxe mid-scales with accessories and basic mid-scales packaged out accessories. To kick off the unveiling we start with the most famous elf of all, Hermey. He’s dressed and ready to work in his vintage colors with his hammer and dentistry book. Don’t fret Bumbles, Hermey can take care of all of you dentistry needs! What is an elf without the big guy in red? Keep an eye out because Santa Claus is on his way.
We’re rolling out all NEW figures in a NEW size! That’s right! Our Rudolph Holiday poseables for 2011 are new sculpts in a new scale – comparable to the 3-3/4 action size in quality and detail. We’ve been double busy, not only making sure these new figures are the best they can possibly be, but we are also working with a new factory this year. I am pleased to report that they are doing an admirable job despite the learning curve. The image below shows hard copies of the sculpts for the NEW Rudolph poseables. First test shots of the figures have proven that the engineers have done a great job with articulation. Keep checking back because Katie will be posting an image and description of each. Toys R Us will be carrying all four styles in basic assortment as well as a deluxe assortment which includes a Rudolph poseable figure plus an accessory.
photo by RICK GOLDSCHMIDT ARCHIVES
There was a small item in the news recently, the kind of article that many casual readers could have easily overlooked. However, for those of us who are fans of Rudolph, it came as a big bit of very sad news: Billie Mae Richards, the voice of our beloved Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, has died.
For most of us who have worked on the Rudolph line here at Round 2 and also previously at Playing Mantis, developing the Rudolph line was (and is) so much more than just a job. I grew up with Rudolph on television every Christmas, and to actually become a part of that holiday phenomenon, even in such a peripheral manner, is a real privilege and an honor. It is about so much more than just commerce. When we started adding audio to our figures, and the instantly identifiable sounds of the REAL Rudolph started coming out of our product, it was that perfect icing on our holiday cake, the final touch that at last made our product feel truly genuine.
We have Billie Mae Richards to thank for that. The dulcet tones of that shy little reindeer, humble and magnificent at the same time, will continue to be an indelible part of our holiday year after year, for generations to come. Maybe it was just a tiny incandescent bulb that really gave Rudolph his shiny nose, but it was Rudolph’s distinctive voice — full of insecurity, goodness and hope — that gave that little stop-motion puppet its heart.
Thank you, Billie Mae, for truly bringing Rudolph to life.
Rick Goldschmidt – A Rankin Bass Historian’s Account
(The below has been written to the best of my understanding. I can only speak to what I have seen first hand and what I have been told through broken English.)
(and as you’ll see, my favorite punctuation mark is the parenthesis)
We had our first meeting today and it went really well. The meeting today was with one of our suppliers for our Forever Fun product line. To be painfully honest, they let us down with the quality of our Forever Fun product last year and this was the primary reason for me making the trip. They also work on our die cast products and do a very good job with that line. I’ll meet with our Round 2 Models kit manufacturer later tomorrow afternoon.
The meeting was very constructive. I’m here because I know the answers to the factory’s questions and I know what we can and can’t live without. We were able to walk through all of the new product that has been set so far for this year. I was informed about difficulties the factories have with workers. (I’d say they are good problems for them to have. More on that further on down.) I was able to find some solutions to a few problems they were having too. Thanks to the benefit of the internet, I was able to “discuss” our meeting with my compatriots Bob and Terri back at the office via aim once I returned to my hotel. (there is 12 hours difference in time zones) We were able to hammer out a few details I didn’t want to nail down without their input. I also went on a brief tour of the factory…
I think this is the one aspect everyone seems to be most curious about. What are the working conditions like? My impression is… not terrible. I’ll be upfront and honest; the idea of working in any factory day in and day out gives me heeby-jeebies. Many people, including some I know and love, do this every day. God bless them for it. There isn’t anything “wrong” with it. It just isn’t for me. With that said, as factories go it wasn’t much worse than any others I’ve been in during summer jobs during college, print shops or RV plants I’ve spent time in.
It was dirty, loud in some spots and smelly in others not unlike those I’ve been in at home. I did pick up on things like the lack of eye protection and such. I definitely saw no sign of children which we would all fear. The Chinese government has made worker rights a priority in the recent past. This is part of the reason why you might have noticed price increases in products in the last few years. They are paid for over time (though I honestly don’t know how many hours they are to work before considering it “overtime”) and they are to receive Sunday off.
Workers also hold an upper hand because even though the population of China is huge, it is aging and younger workers are pickier about where they work and what they do. There are jobs that no one wants to do even at higher rates of pay. Spray deco which our Forever Fun uses quite extensively is a job people don’t want because they don’t like the smell (it smelled no worse than an American screen printing shop to me). Younger workers would also rather work in a better environment like the booming service industry. Southern China’s manufacturing districts grew because people were willing to move there for work in addition to the large concentration of people already in the area. With other areas growing in population, people are staying closer to home. In the past, people would move away from home (along with their immediate families in many cases) for years at a time to work at a factory. Areas in Northern China can now attract workers with better wages. This is a flip flop from the past. These are all factors plus the fact that land owners share their wealth with their extended families so people of working age in the area don’t necessarily need to work to feed their families anyway. (Land in China is very valuable and increasing in value)
I asked where most of the factory workers lived. (as I recall, they employ 400 between two facilities) I had heard that most will live in a dorm at the factory but I had seen many apartments in the area as well. I was told that many workers are family and that they stay at the factory. (I didn’t see the dorms. If I did, I didn’t know it.) They work from 8-12, 1:30-6 and 7:30-9. If this artist’s math is right (fat chance) that comes to 10 hours a day. I work close to that 5 days a week. Add in my commute time and I would be spending the same amount of time away from home.
I don’t mean to put too much shine on a turd here. The area the factory was in is dirty. It was raining today but I was told that even if it wasn’t, we still wouldn’t see the sun for the smog. If you spend time out in it, I understand you end up pretty gritty. The office area was dingy compared to those at home. Again, I’d say the smog has something to do with that. We spent most of our time in an air conditioned conference room but the rest of the office was ventilated by open windows.
… At one quiet moment, I asked Eric, the gentleman I spent most of the day talking to (and young son of the owner), “what do you do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?” and he said “No, not really. Just spend time at home”. I’m not sure if he fully understood my question or if he didn’t want to go into it. Sadly, the look on his face backed up his answer.
Is this the best place on Earth to make a living? No, not compared to options we have. Are we as Americans demanding about the product we buy? Yes. It has to be good quality, safe and inexpensive. That’s hard to achieve and some times when it is achieved, it is at the expense of another human being(s) somewhere else in the world. No one person (that I know of) is to blame. It is what we have grown into. By the same token, people are making money and getting rich in China too. Things aren’t terribly different a world away. I think this coin has more than two sides and they aren’t all as equally shiny. Take that as you may (or will… or whichever is grammatically correct.)
(See what I meant about the parenthesis?)
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Fat Santa Claus is one of this year’s Forever Fun product offerings in the deluxe poseable category of Rudolph figurines. As the story goes, Mrs. Claus is concerned that she might have to alter his coat if he doesn’t start eating and fattening up. And Santa is Casual about the whole idea. This deluxe product includes our poseable Casual Santa with a fabric coat and hat. Put it on and he’s fattened up and ready for his Christmas ride. Press the fabric toy bag and you’ll activate sounds from the classic show. Baby Rudolph with a light-up nose is also included. This is a soft good mockup of the suit, which the factory will emulate for the production run. He looks so happy — it almost seems his tummy shakes… like a bowlful of jelly!