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Diamond Select Toys
Encyclopedia
Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for children and adults, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics
, Star Wars
, Star Trek
, Transformers
, Ghostbusters
, Halo
, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica
, 24
and Back to the Future
. While they have made collectibles in numerous product categories, including action figures, plush, banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates
mini-figures, which has helped make Minimates one of the most prolific and diverse toy brands in the world.
, who produced them at a 3-inch scale on their own beginning in 2002, then in 2-inch and 2.5-inch scales in partnership with other companies. Already a manufacturer of Marvel action figures and statues, Diamond Select Toys brought their Marvel license to the table to create Marvel Minimates, and the 2-inch line was launched in 2003. The 2-inch Minimate has since become the lone remaining body type, and the Marvel line is still active to this day, with 41 waves released in the main series, making it the longest-running superhero toy line in history. In 2007, after years of partnership, Diamond Select Toys acquired select assets of Art Asylum, and DST has since developed Minimates based on its own concepts, under the brands Calico Jack's Pirate Raiders and Minimates M.A.X. Both lines incorporate vehicles, and as such a line of Minimate Vehicles has been made available featuring Pirate Raiders and M.A.X alongside licenses like Terminator 2 and Back to the Future
.
was the first Select line, and The Munsters
will be the next, although both series will also come in non-Select versions without the larger accessory pieces. A Select line is also planned for Alice: Madness Returns
.
and Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose
. DST then expanded the line's scope by creating their own interpretations of female characters from popular fiction and history, including Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Anne Bonny
, Medusa
, Snow White and Bo Peep. Upcoming characters include Darkchylde
, Lady Death
and Alice (from Alice: Madness Returns
), and a series of Minimates has also been announced that will include all of the current Femme Fatales characters.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
, Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
, Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a military-themed line of action figures and toys in Hasbro's G.I. Joe franchise. The toyline lasted from 1982 to 1994, producing well over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. The line reappeared in 1997 and has continued in one form or another to the...
, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
and Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
. While they have made collectibles in numerous product categories, including action figures, plush, banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates
Minimates
Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a 2" tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 points of articulation, higher than average for block...
mini-figures, which has helped make Minimates one of the most prolific and diverse toy brands in the world.
Minimates
Minimates were created by New York-based design house Art AsylumArt Asylum
Art Asylum is a New York City based design studio and toy company.Originally started by Digger Mesch and Donna Soldano in 1996, Art Asylum was initially just a work-for-hire sculpting studio which designed various action figures, busts and statues for numerous toy companies such as ToyCom and...
, who produced them at a 3-inch scale on their own beginning in 2002, then in 2-inch and 2.5-inch scales in partnership with other companies. Already a manufacturer of Marvel action figures and statues, Diamond Select Toys brought their Marvel license to the table to create Marvel Minimates, and the 2-inch line was launched in 2003. The 2-inch Minimate has since become the lone remaining body type, and the Marvel line is still active to this day, with 41 waves released in the main series, making it the longest-running superhero toy line in history. In 2007, after years of partnership, Diamond Select Toys acquired select assets of Art Asylum, and DST has since developed Minimates based on its own concepts, under the brands Calico Jack's Pirate Raiders and Minimates M.A.X. Both lines incorporate vehicles, and as such a line of Minimate Vehicles has been made available featuring Pirate Raiders and M.A.X alongside licenses like Terminator 2 and Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
.
Marvel Select and Other Select Lines
The 7-inch-scale Marvel Select line was originally developed by DST in 2002 with Marvel Comics' toy division, Toy Biz, as a specialty-market counterpart to the larger company's mass-market offerings. Diamond Select handled design, sales and marketing, while Toy Biz handled development and production, and the characters were mostly based on peripheral Ultimate Marvel and Marvel Knights characters. Figures focused on sculpting over articulation at first, but they also included detailed, diorama-sized bases and accessories (sometimes even a second figure) that required large packaging, distinctively decorated with comic artwork of each character. DST eventually took over development and production, as well, and the line expanded to include core Marvel characters. The line began to receive acclaim from collectors for its oversized characters, like the Hulk, who would often fill up the already sizable Select packaging, although bases and accessories were made smaller to fit. As the line has continued, DST has used the "Select" label for other lines, to indicate that a line is in the 7-inch scale and comes with an elaborate base or accessory. Universal MonstersUniversal Monsters
Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
was the first Select line, and The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
will be the next, although both series will also come in non-Select versions without the larger accessory pieces. A Select line is also planned for Alice: Madness Returns
Alice: Madness Returns
Alice: Madness Returns is a video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 released on June 14, 2011, in North America, June 16, 2011, in Europe and June 17, 2011, in the United Kingdom. It is the sequel to the 2000 Windows and Mac video game American McGee's Alice...
.
Femme Fatales
The Femme Fatales line of 9-inch PVC statues began by licensing popular female characters from independent comic books, including DawnDawn (comics)
Dawn is a fictional character created by comic book artist Joseph Michael Linsner. She first appeared on the cover of Cry for Dawn #1 before featuring in her own one shot Drama from the new publisher Sirius Entertainment and then the miniseries Dawn: Lucifer's Halo, Dawn: Return of the Goddess,...
and Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose is an American comic book, written and drawn by Jim Balent with coloring and lettering by Holly Golightly and published by Broadsword Comics since 1999....
. DST then expanded the line's scope by creating their own interpretations of female characters from popular fiction and history, including Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny was an Irish woman who became a famous female pirate, operating in the Caribbean. What little is known of her life comes largely from A General History of the Pyrates.-Historical record:...
, Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
, Snow White and Bo Peep. Upcoming characters include Darkchylde
Darkchylde
Darkchylde is an American comic book character created in 1996 by Randy Queen. It was originally published by Maximum Press, and later by Image Comics, through Homage Comics, a publishing imprint of Wildstorm...
, Lady Death
Lady Death
Lady Death is a fictional character, a comic book goddess created by Brian Pulido and Steven Hughes. Lady Death first appeared in Evil Ernie #1 by Eternity Comics in December 1991. Lady Death then reappeared in the Evil Ernie: The Resurrection mini-series published by Pulido under his now defunct...
and Alice (from Alice: Madness Returns
Alice: Madness Returns
Alice: Madness Returns is a video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 released on June 14, 2011, in North America, June 16, 2011, in Europe and June 17, 2011, in the United Kingdom. It is the sequel to the 2000 Windows and Mac video game American McGee's Alice...
), and a series of Minimates has also been announced that will include all of the current Femme Fatales characters.
Current Diamond Select Toys Licenses
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Past Diamond Select Toys Licenses
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External links
- DiamondSelectToys.com official site
- ArtAsylum.com official AA site
- ArtAsylum.com Blog official DST blog
- Minimates.com official Minimates page
- YouTube Diamond Select's official Channel
- Facebook Diamond Select's official page
- @CollectDST Twitter account
- @Minimates Twitter account