The Original Battle Trolls was a brand of action figures produced by Hasbro from 1992-1993. They were made in attempt to market the popular concept of troll dolls to young boys in the early 1990s.
Overview
Introduced in 1992 at $4.99 to $6.99, the trolls were marketed with the slogan “Big Haired Dudes with Bad Attitudes” and were actually quite large at approximately 4 3/4 inches tall. The line did not establish a story arc to provide a unifying narrative for the characters as a group. However each individual troll was provided a brief biographical profile, and, details on their cardbacks as how to properly "neglect" them suggested that the owner hide them in "a dark, smelly place" and keep them "cranky, mean and ready to fight anything or anyone for years!". In association with their tough nature, many of them had facial stitches and their toes poking through their boots. The line featured 26 individual characters, two of which were repaints available in special "vehicle sets". Each Troll featured a single cut joint at the waist and included two handheld accessories. All but four had an accessory designed to launch a projectile by flicking with the finger. The individual characters were styled on either generic action/adventure themes ; athletes ; military servicemen ; monsters ; or outright spoofs of famous franchises. While initially successful, the Battle Trolls line failed to achieve the popular success that the 'original' troll toys enjoyed. Though much of the line consisted of references to classic fiction and popular culture, it was retired in 1993 after a third, much scarcer run with 8 final characters. A fourth series was planned, but never produced. The prototypes were displayed at the 1993 New York Toy Fair. This featured a line of six villains called the Evil Horde, including trolls styled after the Joker, Swamp Thing, an Alien, and one that looked like a hooded executioner. A promotional photo of the group can be viewed online. Imitations of Battle Trolls were made by competing companies: "Troll Warriors" by Tyco, "Troll Fighter" by Simba, and "Troll Force" by Toys 'n Things.
Characters
Battle Trolls were introduced in three assortments.
