The ever-changing toy industry welcomes its newest player on the scene withhigh expectations as N2 Toys is born. Ron Hayes, the former head of WarnerBros. Toys, is now spearheading N2 Toys, which boasts a veteran creative team, many of whom have been together since their Kenner days in the mid-eighties. Hayes, a Kenner and Warner Bros. product design prodigy whose name has become synonymous with many of the most successful toy lines of the last 20 years, including Batman, Space Jam, the original Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Aliens, Jurassic Park and Play Doh, is president of the new Cincinnati-based company.

"We're off to a fast start and very excited about the potential for N2Toys," says Hayes. "We're going to be a promotionally driven player who is small enough to be nimble and highly reactive, yet always willing to venture into new channels of distribution - from pre-school to adult hard-edge collectibles. Things come and go so quickly in this business,you have to be able to identify properties with great crossover potential long before they 'make their mark' with the consumer."

From a blip on N2's radar screen to an amazingly quick turnaround time in developing prototypes comes a perfect example of such a property. N2 is poised to steal the show at Toy Fair next month with its new toy line based on the hit TV series, The Crocodile Hunter. N2 Toys was recently named the master toy licensee for this breakout show on the Animal Planet Network that is based on the outback adventures of Australian daredevil wildlife expert and fan icon Steve Irwin.

The Crocodile Hunter product line will include fully articulated action figures with voice chips of Steve and wife Terri Irwin on their wildlife adventures, a wide range of plush outback creatures that includes alife-size crocodile, and adventure vehicles and equipment, all retailing between $7.99 and $24.99.

On the other side of the toy industry spectrum, N2 Toys is capitalizing on the popularity of adult collectibles with a product line based on the HeavyMetal FAKK2 video game. It has also entered into a product development agreement with preeminent rap artist and producer Master P, whose stable of more than 30 rap artists includes Snoop Doggy Dog. And the international market is already abuzz with the N2 line of edgy collectibles based on the Warner Bros.' hit release, Matrix.

"To some extent, the toy industry is a guessing game," says Hayes. "Andwe all know there's a very short attention span for newness. I just have a feeling we're coming in at the right time and have the right mix of talent, desire and insanity to make N2 Toys work. I can't imagine doing anything else!"

Look for more on this exciting new company very soon from RTM.

[Updated 1-19-2000]