Rare Toys

This is an incomplete list of rare or hard-to-find figure variants from many different McFarlane toy lines and series. While McFarlane is known for producing many variations on their figures, particularly when re-releasing them, the rare variants are initially shipped along with the more common variant and are considered more valuable by collectors because of their relatively low quantity in relation to the common variant as well as the other figures in the series. Collectors should always check a legitimate industry trade magazine (such as Toyfare) for prices and actual notes on the style and identification of rare variants before making a purchase.

Spawn, Conan, McFarlane Monsters

* Belit (Conan: Series 1) She wears a Viking-style outfit with a twisted metal belt, which either has a black line painted in-between the links or simply shows her skin. In contrast to the Tiffany figure from the Spawn 26 line and the Dorothy figure from The Twisted Land of Oz, the rare variant of this figure is the one that shows less skin (i.e. the one with the black painted-in belt).

* Dorothy (Twisted Land of Oz): Rare variant has her full body visible, showing her breasts bound with a leather strap. Common variant comes with a black piece of cloth over her upper torso, effectively censoring the toy for mass distribution.

* Elizabeth Bathory (McFarlane Monsters Series 3): The “blood queen” figure is bathing naked in a pool of blood and has a rare variant where her right breast is partially exposed above the blood, showing a nipple, whereas the common variant has both breasts covered.

* The Ogre (Spawn 11): Variant has a giant mace in the right hand while common has no weapon

* Tiffany (Spawn 26): The versions of the angel Tiffany from this series differ by the style of underwear that the character is wearing, which is visible by looking at the toy’s backside. The more common variant is wearing bikini-style underwear that shows less skin, while the rare variant bears a thong that is more revealing.

* Lotus Angel II (Spawn 28): Variant has no covering over the upper portion of her chest. Common variant has a red and green covering with a small skull on it around her neck that obscures her bust.

* Zombie Spawn II (Spawn 28): Variant has three skulls chained together and attached to right arm, while common has no chain of skulls.

* Grave Digger (Spawn Regenerated): The figure’s base has two arms coming out of the grave, whereas the common variant base is just a pile of dirt

History of Toys

Most young mammals play, and will play with whatever they can find, turning such things as pinecones or rocks into toys. It simply makes sense then that toys have a history as old as human civilization itself. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations. They have been written about in some of our oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization (3000-1500 BCE) include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string.

The earliest toys were made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Dolls are some of the oldest types of toy[citation needed]. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls with wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, and wood. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terra cotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods.

As technology changed and civilization progressed to what it is today, toys also changed. Whereas ancient toys were made from materials found in nature like stone, wood, and grass modern toys are often made from plastic, cloth, and synthentic materials. Ancient toys were often made by the parents and family of the children who used them, or by the children themselves, nowadays modern toys are often mass-produced and sold in stores.

One example of this change in the nature of toys is embodied by the changes that have taken place in one of the oldest and most universal of human toys; dolls. The earliest dolls were simple wooden carvings and bundles of grass; Egyptian dolls were sometimes jointed so that their limbs could move realistically; dolls that could say "mama" were around in the early 1800s; and today there are dolls that can recognize and identify objects, the voice of their owner, and choose among hundreds of pre-programed phrases with which to respond. The materials that toys are made from have changed, what toys can do has changed, but the fact that children play with toys has not changed.

Toys

A toy is an object meant to be played with. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but items produced for other purposes can also be used as toys. A child may pick up a household item and 'fly' it around pretending that it is an airplane, or an animal might play with a pinecone by batting at it, chasing it, and throwing it up in the air. Some toys are intended primarily as Collector's items and are not to be played with.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls of infants, animals, or soldiers, and miniature representations of the tools of adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word is unknown, but it is believed to have been first used in the 14th century.

Toys and play in general are an important part of the process of learning about the world and growing up. The young use toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys and play to form and strengthen social bonds, teach the young, remember and reinforce lessons from their own youth, exercise their minds and bodies, practice skills they may not use every day, and decorate their living spaces. Toys are more than simple amusement, and they and the way they are used profoundly influence most aspects of life.