B is for Bluebird Toys - An Overview

So - Bluebird Toys (UK) Ltd Huh? They came, they made, they went! And contributed more to the small scale world in their short time than much bigger, longer lived companies...or did they really?

The 1997 Argos catalogue page annoncing the launch/availability of Havok.

Bluebird were formed in 1980 by Torquil Norman who was an old Model Toys man ( Berwick-Timpo owned), and one has to assume he had ideas about how to do things differently in a new decade with new mores. He started well with a 'Big Yellow Teapot' pre-school toy and other 'activity' toys for tots, and the company got off to a flying start.

Zero Hour catalogue pages from 1990 & 1992

However, all was not rosy in the garden and the company seems to have grown too fast, cash flow tightened and within ten years it was struggling. The answer was Polly Pocket, which quickly became very successful and refilled the companies coffers, she was then joined by Mighty Max, who sadly only lasted about 4 years. However Polly wasn't necessarily a Bluebird invention, she was licenced from a company called Origin Products Limited, possibly a wholly owned subsidiary?. Google gives about three 'Origins', one making trouser-presses in the Far East, a group of engineers in London and a dead homepage, so no clarity there!

Manta Force and Viper Squad pages from the 1990 catalogue.

A look at the acknowledgements 'small print' on the back of a late catalogue shows that - in fact - all the products being issued by Bluebird have dues to another source. The Manta Force, for instance was in the Tomy stable.

The fact that Hasbro have bought Mattel (a long time partner and eventual purchaser of Bluebird) while Takara and Tomy have married doesn't help with the research, this was all happening at the start of the 'modern' period of toy production where Tomy will re-use Starriors as RATS and use the cockpits on some Zoids while issuing separate licences to Hasbro and Kenner! It's all about quick profit, quick turnaround, making moulds pay and shovelling the residue to clearance houses for repackaging in Spain, Mexico or the souks of Istanbul.

If you go to the London Toy Fair regularly you'll know that companies come and go so fast, seem to grow and then disappear, or turn out to be no more than a brand or trade mark with a separate stand, it's hard to know who's what, and they're not that interested in the customer either. "The Customers Always Right" has become the customer will buy what we present to them or what we present to the kids until they pester the customer to see things our way!

So we find that Kenner/Parker, Fredrick Warne, BBC Enterprises, Tomy, DC Comics, Disney, Lewis Galoob and others were all getting a slice of the Bluebird pie.

Clockwise from top right; Polly pocket Catalogue page; 40mm Prince Charmings (?); and a Batman card.

In the end - which came at the end of 1997 - Mattel won a bidding war and bought their old trading partner and moved production to the US, swallowing Galoob as well...just before Hasbro swallowed the lot!

Mr Norman? Well, 'Sir' Norman went off to spend a lot of money on a theatre, which might help the more cynical among us (Me Sir! Me!) understand who was behind Origin Products? Note; Mattel are still crediting an Origin on the PP website...

H is for Havok by Bluebird Toys, Skirmish Battle Set

In 1997 Bluebird produced what could have been a real runner against Games Workshop, however they managed to tie the launch in to the UK 'Catalogue Shopping' chain Argos, which rather stunted the child at birth! The initial release was a starter box called 'Skirmish Battle Set' (Argos Cat.No. 307/0338), this was accompanied by two other releases; The 'Karn Banshee Attack Thopters (307/0338) and; 307/0008 a couple of 3 figure sets, however due to the vagaries of Argos stock-control the two sets were random, so army building with any sense of order was a nightmare!

Front and back of the box.

Figures included in the Skirmish set were at the back left; 3x 47th Line troopers of the Nexus and a 'Hundred [Form]' warrior (in front - green), front right; 3 'Darkest Suns' and behind them - in rust brown - a 'Form' warrior, from the Karn Empire.

The 'Form's' that each Form-warrior stays close to, large, simple robots with some parts in common and with the back-flags - a nod to the Samurai, something else that GW mine with much enthusiasm...there's nothing new under the sun, even the Darkest Sun!

The basic scenery, note the early computer graphics, there is no care in the design of these, no love, if you are going to print and die-cut a sheet of card, why not do it properly? The cost is in the card (and shipping) not the ink and has been since the 70's.

Army building allowed for a third 'side' the Pteravore, similar to GW's Tyranids, or H.R. Geiger's Alien, it's all recycled!

H is for Havok by Bluebird Toys, Figures & Figure Sets

This is how they came from Argos, two random packets, in this case Nexus Tribunes and Pteravore Razors.

Here we see most of the units fielded by the Nexus, less those shown in the previous post. Front L-R are three members of the Brotherhood and - baseless - a Doomguard. Middle row shows the three Kinsmen and three Nexus Troopers, sans bases. The rear row has the Tribunes on the left and Assault Troops on the right.

The Nexus were supposed to get two larger vehicles; a Mauler light-attack tank and a Hammer heavy-assault tank, I don't believe either ever made it to market? The Hammer sharing a code number (N-09) with the Storm-trooper set, it's a fair bet they weren't issued either!

The Karn present themselves, again from to back, Left to right; Klan Warriors, two un-based Kai-unes and three Karn Troopers with behind them; a set of Borkian Mercenaries and two Suma-kai, again without bases.

Most sets have 'detailing' stickers on weapons, shields or - in this case - wings, these seem to have been applied before final sale to end-user. The karn also have 'lost' units; Glaive Riders (share a code with the Banshee Thopters) and Heavy Weapons.

Final Army/Race was the Pteravore, and the only set I've found are the Razors. Two further sets had army/points cards included in the battle set; P-02 'Screamers' and P-03 'Hell Hounds', I suspect that they were never issued.

Inset photo shows the base types/designs I've yet to identify/allocate to a specific set, and any help given with be gratefully received/acknowledged.

I've managed to identify some bases from the two mint sets and the play-set, most of the rest are around 70% sure, the baseless ones are probably those in the inset, as to the green ones? The stickers were placed in the factory, so both the green ones and some black ones I have without bases might be for the 'Thopters' or something?

Note; Because some other sets share numbers, it may be that those figures with a vehicle code accompanied that vehicle (packaging-wise?) or were destined to?