Battle Trolls

"The Original Battle Trolls" was a brand of action figures produced by Hasbro. They were made in attempt to market the popular concept of troll dolls to young boys in the early 1990s.

Introduced in 1992 at $4.99 to $5.99, [cite news | title = Battle Trolls taking charge. (What's Selling) | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4938/is_199303/ai_n18100408 | publisher = Playthings | date = March 1993 | last = Wanderer | first = Robert | accessdate = 2007-04-14 ] the line featured various characters, many of them spoofs of famous ones. This includes Nunchuck (a ninja troll), Franken Troll (a nod to Frankenstein's monster), and Super Troll (costumed nearly identical to Superman). The trolls were marketed as “Big Haired Dudes with Bad Attitudes”cite web | work = Metal Misfit | url = http://metalmisfit.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/from-the-other-blog-trollin-along-singin-a-song/ | date = 2007-04-09 | accessdate = 2007-04-14 | title = From the OTHER blog: Trollin’ along, singin’ a song… ] cite web | url = http://www.virtualtoychest.com/battletrolls/battletrolls.html | title = Virtual Toy Chest's Battle Trolls Archive | date = 2003 | accessdate = 2007-04-14 ] and were actually quite large at approximately 10 inches tall (including about 4 inches of hair). Each Troll featured a cut joint at the waist and included two handheld accessories. In association with their tough nature, many of them had facial stitches and their toes poking through their boots. Details would also be given on their cardbacks as how to properly take care of them, suggesting that the owner keep them in dark, smelly places and keep them "cranky, mean and ready to fight anything or anyone for years!"

While initially successful, the "Battle Troll" line failed to achieve the popular success that the 'original' troll toys enjoyed. Though much of the line consisted of references to classic fiction and popular culture, it was retired in 1993 after one additional run with newer characters. A third set was planned but unfortunately never saw the light of day. Other prototypes were displayed at the 1993 New York Toy Fair but never released. This includes a line of villains called the "Evil Horde" as well as Joker and Alien spoofs. A photo of the latter can be viewed online. [Cawiezel, Marc H. [http://members.aol.com/earlvira/alienpredatortoys.htm "The History of Unproduced Alien and Predator Toys"] Members.AOL.com (October 29, 2006). Retrieved July 22, 2008.]

Characters

"Battle Trolls" were introduced in three series.

Series 1

* General Troll ("veteran of the mother of all troll battles, the Persian Carpet War")
* Sir Trollahad ("suit of armor can be used to deflect weapons, and fry an egg in 30 seconds flat (when the weather is hot)")
* Trollbot ("part old soup cans" and "part personal computer")
* Officer PaTroll ("voted 'most likely to let a felon escape' in his class at the Troll Enforcement Academy)
* Franken Troll ("horrible handiwork of a troll scientist - a gruesome assortment of spare body parts assembled in an ill-fated attempt to create the ultimate troll!")
* Punk Troll ("drummer in the band Metrollica" who "damages his enemies' hearing, destroys hotel rooms, and worries that no one understands him")
* Roadhog Troll ("trained to survive against all odds in an urban wasteland")
* Super Troll ("faster than a speeding cockroach" and "able to leap small house pets in a single bound!")

Series 2

* Count Troll-U-La
* Nunchuk Troll
* T.D. Troll
* Sgt. Troll
* Trollaf
* Trollminator
* Cap'N Troll
* Troll-Clops

Series 3

* Wolfman Troll
* Quick Draw Troll
* Cable Troll
* The Trolltimate Wrestler
* (mad scientist)
* (merman)

Other

* Capture Net w/ Bulls-Eye Troll (Troll-Clops repaint)
* Trollasaurus w/ SvenTroll (Trollaf repaint)

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzUmA1bewLg Battle Trolls, Series 3 TV Commercial]

References