Mega Brands

Mega Bloks building blocks (above) are compatible with LEGO interlocking building blocks.(below)

Mega Brands, Incorporated TSX: MB (Formerly Mega Bloks, Incorporated) is a publicly traded children's toy company based in Montreal, Canada. Mega Bloks is the name of their most popular toy, plastic building blocks. Mega Brands Inc. distributes a range of toys, puzzles, and craft-based products worldwide but enjoys greatest success in North America, where Mega Bloks is one of the top 10 toy brands.

History

In 1967, Victor Bertrand and his wife Rita founded the company as Ritvik Toys, Inc. (a portmanteau word based on a combination of Rita and Victor). Ritvik was amalgamated with Ritvik Holdings Inc. on June 30 , 1998. [1] On March 19, 2002, the name was changed from Ritvik Holdings Inc. to Mega Bloks Inc. Currently, the founders' sons Vic Bertrand Jr. and Marc Bertrand are COO and CEO, respectively.

On June 15, 2006, following the acquisition of several brand names not associated with construction brick toys, the company again changed its name, this time from Mega Bloks Inc. to Mega Brands Inc.

The LEGO Group has filed suit against Mega Bloks Inc. in courts around the world on the grounds that Mega Bloks' use of the "studs and tubes" interlocking brick system is a violation of trademarks held by LEGO. Generally such suits have been unsuccessful, chiefly because the functional design of the basic brick is considered a matter of patent rather than trademark law, and all relevant LEGO patents have expired. In one of the most recent decisions, on November 17, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Mega Bloks' right to continue selling the product in Canada [2].

Products

The Mega Bloks toy brand should be distinguished from its parent company MEGA Brands Inc., which offers a range of products in addition to toy construction bricks.

The building blocks come in four sizes.

1. Maxi size, introduced in 1985, intended for very young children. The blocks feature slightly rounded corners and edges and have tall rounded studs.
2. Mini size, introduced in 1989, designed for toddlers and preschoolers. The bricks likewise have slightly rounded edges and corners. The studs are 5/12 the height of the body of the brick.
3. Micro size, introduced in 1991, has sharp edges and corners, and the studs are 1/6 the height of the body of the brick.
4. Nano size, introduced in 2004, is the smallest.

The first three scales are intercompatible to varying degrees and may be combined in building. Nano is not directly compatible with any of the other scales.

Most blocks are manufactured in Canada, but some of the more specialized elements are made in China.

The overall quality of Mega Bloks elements has improved markedly since the first sets were released. Although they have improved since their beginning, they are still of highly inferior quality when compared to LEGO bricks. Certain early elements suffered from inconsistent clutch power and were susceptible to stress fracture. This is due to tighter molding tolerances and improvements in the quality of the ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) of which Mega Bloks elements are composed.

On October 15, 2003 debuted a commercial for Honda in which computer-generated imagery showed a cloud of Mega Bloks bricks raining down to assemble a life-sized version of the Element SUV.

On October 12, 2004, Mega Bloks released an animated movie, Dragons: Fire & Ice, direct to DVD and video and which subsequently aired on the Cartoon Network. Fire & Ice was based on Mega Bloks' successful "Dragons" product line, featuring detailed warriors, castles, and, of course, dragons, in Micro scale. A sequel, entitled Dragons: Metal Ages has also aired on the Cartoon Network and been released on video. The first movie was released near the time of release for the second Bionicle movie, Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru nui. This could be a sign that Mega Bloks was trying to compete with Bionicle's success by releasing a movie of their own as a way to compete.

Mega Bloks has entered numerous license agreements over the years with such properties as NASCAR, Harley-Davidson, Marvel Comics, Gundam, Bandai, Star Trek, TMNT, and The Walt Disney Company.

Additionally, Mega Bloks has produced sets based on Pokémon, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Spider-Man 3 and Dragons, as well as sets in tribute to the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) and the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Many Micro-scale Mega Bloks sets include small action figures whose design has evolved substantially over time. Early versions had little articulation and compared poorly with figures offered in competing brick-based construction toys. Mega Bloks figures were constructed from a small number of standard, interchangeable components like legs, arms, and torsos, with minimal printing on a basically spherical head to yield a rudimentary face.

More recently, Mega Bloks figures have attained a much greater level of detail and articulation, with high-quality sculpts of head and body elements alike, in many cases with unique designs to represent a particular character. Examples of these can be seen in their Mega Bloks Pyrates line.

External links

• Official
  • Official Mega Brands Website
  • Official Japanese Language Mega Bloks Website
  • Official Korean Language Mega Bloks Website
• Community
  • The Bloks Forum The first online forum specifically dedicated to Mega Bloks and fans of the brand.
  • [3] An archive of all things about the Mega Bloks line, Nano Building System. (Still being populated)
• Media
  • Dragons: Fire & Ice IMDb entry
  • Dragons: Metal Ages IMDb entry
  • Commercial for the Honda Element constructed of Mega Bloks, titled "Purpose"

References

• KIRKBI AG and LEGO CANADA INC. v. RITVIK HOLDINGS INC
• Mega Bloks Prospectus This PDF file on megabloks.com contains details on the company and its products.
• Press release. Link to the announcement of the agreement by which MEGA Brands, Inc. began using software developed by Aras Corporation.