Friday, April 04, 2008

K'NEX meets Sesame Street

This summer KID K'NEX will expand their product line with a brand-new series of play sets featuring the lovable Muppets of "Sesame Street". KID K'NEX products allow kids to build a world of fun and imaginative characters. Each "Sesame Street" play set set will include colorful, oversized building pieces that will allow you to construct and recreate your favorite "Sesame Street" character (or use your imagination to mix-and-match part to create your own unique creature).

The series will launch with five new KID K'NEX building sets. The basic building sets include "Abby Cadabby", "Bert & Ernie", "Grover/Super Grover", "Cookie Monster & Hooper's Store", and "Elmo and his piano". Aside from just the standard character parts, each set also includes accessories and fun activity cards featuring additional building ideas and character variations that can be constructed with the parts.

K'NEX is also planning to release an accompanying series of "Sesame Street" Lid Kids canister – including "Oscar the Grouch", "Cookie Monster", "Elmo", and "Ernie". Each Lid Kids canister features the colorful, oversized, easy-snap KID K'NEX pieces in a fun-faced container. These uniquely packed sets also include fun stickers and an educational activity sheet along with all the nessesary character building pieces. Each canister will be released with a suggested retail price of just $10.99.

The first wave of "Sesame Street" KID K'NEX building sets will be available in July 2008 at retail stores nationwide. KID K'NEX building sets are designed for children ages 2-5 years. I will keep you updated as information on these exciting and creative new toys continues to surface.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Boy, those are some of the weirdest Muppet products I ever seen. They look like futuristic robots.

Anonymous said...

Horrible design.....yuck!!

Anonymous said...

They are made of of K'NEX, what do you expect? These ain't gonna be perfect lifenesses, but they capture the characters and are very nice looking. I think they are quite cute. And I can't wait to pick some up -- Super Grover looks super cool.

Petey-P said...

I wrote the comment above and I have something for you to think about, Jeff: Think back to the original Sesame Street Fisher Price set (Little Peoples). Those were simple, but appealing in design. I'm not commenting on the design because they're not a perfect likeness of character, I'm commenting because they lack appeal.

frogboy4 said...

I think the Sesame Kubricks are look better (more in the classic Little People style mentioned), but these are interesting as well - even with the freaky hands and head plugs. This is a different type of toy that has a distinct design and functionality than other figures. For what these are - I like them.

Vaughn Michael said...

They're for kids so they are fun and kids will enjoy them.
These aren't action figure for adults like palisades muppet toys.

Anonymous said...

I'll buy 'em on clearance.

Anonymous said...

A new Sesame Street "Ernie" toy made by K'NEX and distributed by Hasbro is to be released in the U.S. and Europe on July 15.

"Nightmare on Sesame Street," an in-depth 30-page report being released by the National Labor Committee (NLC), documents-using factory and product photos and worker interviews-the abusive sweatshop conditions endured by the 600 mostly young workers, including a hundred 16-year-old high school students and several children, at the Kai Da Toy factory in Shenzhen, China. [Full report: http://www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=577 ]

Every labor law in China is violated at the factory.

Workers making "Ernie" toys are forced to toil 13 to 15 hours a day, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 or 11:00 p.m., seven days a week, going for months without a single day off. Workers are at the factory 104 hours a week. There are mandatory 19-to-23½-hour, all-night shifts before shipments must leave for the U.S. or Europe.

The workers are systematically cheated of half the wages due them, earning just $36.55 for working an 89-hour week instead of the $77.84 they were legally owed. Management cheats the poor workers of over $100,000 in wages due them each month.

The workers handle potentially toxic oil paints and solvents without protective gear.

The workers sweat as they race to complete 50 "Ernie" toys each hour and 650 in the 13-hour shift. The workers are paid less than one cent for each toy they complete.

Dorm conditions are primitive, with eight workers sharing each room, sleeping on narrow double-level bunk beds. The rooms lack water and toilets.

The cafeteria is filthy and infested with mice. The workers receive a thin rice gruel for breakfast.

One young worker asked that the parents and children who purchase these "Ernie" toys…. "think of how much sweat and tears we paid to make these toys."

"The abuse of young toy workers in China will not end unless parents and children demand that Sesame Street, Hasbro and K'NEX immediately clean up the Kai Da factory and take concrete steps to guarantee that the legal rights of the workers will finally be respected. There is absolutely no reason why these powerful toy companies cannot pay fair wages and treat the workers as human beings."

K'NEX describes itself as the second largest children's construction toy company in the world, controlling 12 percent of the U.S. market and 40 percent of the market in the United Kingdom. K'NEX toys are sold in 45 countries. Hasbro owns 50 percent of K'NEX's international and 10 percent of its domestic operations. K'NEX is an official Sesame Street licensee.