Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select Toys and Collectibles, LLC
(DST)

Type	Private
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Timonum, Maryland United States
Number of locations	1
Key people	Chuck Terceira (Director) Robert Yee (Legal Affairs)
Products	Toys and Collectibles
Divisions	Art Asylum
Website	http://www.diamondselecttoys.com

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.

Minimates

Main article: Minimates

Minimates were created by New York-based design house Art Asylum, 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^[1], 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.

Marvel Select and Other Select Lines

Main article: Marvel Select

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.^[2] 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^[3], 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 Monsters 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.

Femme Fatales

The Femme Fatales line of 9-inch PVC statues began by licensing popular female characters from independent comic books, including Dawn 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.

Current Diamond Select Toys Licenses

Alice: Madness Returns - Minimates, Select action figures, Femme Fatales PVC statues Back to the Future - Minimates, Minimate vehicles, electronic vehicles, prop replicas Dawn - Minimates, Femme Fatales PVC statues, Retro action figures Darkchylde - Minimates, Femme Fatales PVC statues Ghostbusters - Minimates, light-up statues, banks Halo - Minimates, Minimate vehicles, banks Knight Rider - Minimate vehicles, electronic vehicles, prop replicas Lady Death - Minimates, Femme Fatales PVC statues Marvel Comics - Minimates, Marvel Select action figures, bottle openers Marvel Studios - Minimates, Marvel Select action figures Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - Minimates The Munsters - Select action figures, Minimate vehicles Playstation - Minimates The Real Ghostbusters - Minimates Star Trek - Retro action figures, electronic ships, electronic accessories, action figures (retired), Minimates (retired) Star Wars - Banks, Ultimate Quarter Scale action figures (retired) Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose - Minimates, Femme Fatales PVC statues Universal Monsters - Minimates, Select action figures, Retro action figures

Past Diamond Select Toys Licenses

24 Alien Vs. Predator Aliens Archie Comics Angel Army of Darkness Beowulf Buffy the Vampire Slayer Edward Scissorhands G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero The Godfather Hellboy Indiana Jones Kabuki Man With No Name Trilogy Mouse Guard The Munsters Office Space Planet of the Apes Playstation The Real Ghostbusters Rocky Serenity The Silence of the Lambs The Spirit Stargate Street Fighter Terminator 2 Transformers

References

1. ^ "Diamond Select Acquires Art Asylum"
2. ^ "Cool Toy Review: Marvel Select Photo Archive: Ultimate Spider-Man"
3. ^ "Superheroes Base Reveiew: Marvel Select Hulk"

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