Raving Toy Maniac

B

Bendie(s)
A type of toy manufacturing process wherein rubber is molded around a wire
armature making the piece extremely flexible. Some figures are entirely
constructed this way while others may have only parts (such as arms, legs,
etc.) incorporated into the figure, such as McFarlane Toys' recent "Sansker"
figure which had a "bendie" tail attached to a hard-plastic body.

 

Blister
Refers to the clear plastic shell (attached to the card) encasing the action
figure inside.

 

BTAS
"Batman: The Animated Series", an abbreviation for the cartoon, comic
book, and one of Kenner's Batman toy lines.

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C

Card
Refers to the cardboard backing of an action figure's packaging that the
blister is attached to.

 

Carded
Denotes an unopened action figure, usually understood to be in mint
condition.

 

CNP
"Complete No Package", an abbreviation used in the description
of a toy's condition.

 

Con (i.e. Bot Con, Comic Con, Sci-Fi Con, etc.)

A "con" (short for convention) is a planned event based on a theme (Star
Trek perhaps?) where dealers of the after market sell their wares,
merchandise is given out by raffle or contest, special guests make
appearances to sign autographs, etc. Usually sponsored by a local interest
group of the particular genre chosen for the event.

 

"C" Scale (a.k.a. C-1 through C-10)
A common grading system used to convey the condition of a toy being sold
or traded among collectors. For complete details see Grading Guide for
Carded Action Figures by Eric G. Myres.

 

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D

Dealer
A person who sells toys on the after-market.

 

Die Cast
A toy manufactured out of metal.

 

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E

Exclusive
Figures, vehicles, playsets, etc., made for only one retail store (such
as Toys 'R' Us). Please see Collector's crash course - part 2 for more
details.

 

ESB
The "Empire Strikes Back", an abbreviation for the movie and
one of Kenner's Star Wars toy lines.

 

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F

Foreign Card
Refers to the backing card of an action figure NOT sold in the United States,
and usually displays the print of a language other than English.

 

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G

Gen. 1 (Gen. 2, Gen.3, etc.)
"Generation 1", an abbreviation for the series of Kenner's
"Transformers" toy lines.

 

Green Card
Refers to the color of card (in this case "green") of Kenner's "Power Of
The Force-2" toy lines.

 

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H

Holo
"Hologram", an abbreviation for a sticker on the cards of the popular
series of Kenner's "Power Of The Force-2" toy line. They usually appeared
on the "orange cards" and the "green cards".

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I

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J

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K

KB
An abbreviation for the major retail toy store, Kay Bee Toys.

 

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L

Limited Edition
Toy companies frequently reduce the production of one or more figures in
a series and are even possibly numbered in an attempt to enhance collector
appeal. Most toy manufacturers feel that characters which are not expected
to sell in large quantities often merit the "Limited Edition"
label and are frequently found in the company's collector edition series.

 

LOB
The "Legends Of Batman", an abbreviation for one of Kenner's
Batman toy lines.

Loose
Defines the the condition of a toy that has been removed from it's packaging
and may be missing some accessories or parts that the toy originally came
with.

 

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M

Mail-In Premium (or mail-away)
Action figures or accessories that are usually one-time-offers used to
promote any number of other products. The consumer must buy other
products and mail the "proof of purchase" seals of those products back
to the manufacturer in order to receive the item(s) which is/are not
available elsewhere. Please see Collector's crash course - part 2
for more details.

 

MIB
"Men In Black", an abbreviation for Playmates line of movie figures
of the same name.

 

MIB
"Mint In Box", an abbreviation used in the description of a toy's
condition.

 

MINMB
"Mint In Near Mint Box", an abbreviation used in the description
of a toy's condition.

 

MINMP
"Mint In Near Mint Package", an abbreviation used in the description
of a toy's condition.

 

MIP
"Mint In Package", an abbreviation used in the description of
a toy's condition.

 

MOC
"Mint On Card", an abbreviation used in the description of a
toy's condition.

 

MONMC
"Mint On Near Mint Card", an abbreviation used in the description
of a toy's condition.

 

MOTU
"Masters of the Universe", an abbreviation for Mattel's line
of "He-Man" figures.

 

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