July 2003 - Action figure manufacturer bbi pulled out the stops for its third anniversary in the action figure arena by producing another in a series of limited edition figures. The WWII Elite Force German Fallschirmjager figure joins the ranks as this year's special figure.

To create an air of excitement around the company's anniversary as well as its auspicious figure, bbi held an on-line contest for its Members who tried to guess the identity of the mystery figure based on a series of clues. Mike Schnieders of Olathe, Kansas was the first to guess correctly. Of course Mike's passion for re-enacting and his membership in the 2nd Fallschirmjager Regiment in the Midwest probably made the clues a little more obvious for this WWII buff. Mike also customizes his figures and relies on his research of specific units and events to make his figures as accurate as possible "Way to go Mike" for winning the figure as well as a round of applause from bbi!

Only 2,003 of this limited edition figure were manufactured with one hundred of them to be available at Comic Con in San Diego. The first 100 people to stop in can purchase the Fallschirmjager figure directly from bbi and meet the design team that created it.

German Fallschirmjager Paratrooper

On May 20, 1941, Germany's Fallschirmjager troops, the highly trained elite paratrooper divisions, undertook an airborne assault on the Greek island of Crete using a new concept to warfare - the vertical envelopment. This technique employed mass landings of paratroopers to capture key objectives. For the first time in history, a battle had been won entirely by airborne forces. While the outcome was a success for the Germans, their losses were great. With 16,000 casualties and nearly 200 transport aircraft lost, Hitler decreed that all further confrontations with the Allies were to be fought using ground forces.

For more information about these and other bbi action figures or to become a bbi Member, visit the Blue Box Toys website at www.blueboxtoys.com.

Suggested Retail: $79.99
Available: July

Elite Force, WWII Elite Force and bbi are registered trademarks of Blue Box Toys. � 2003 Blue Box Toys. All rights reserved.