When I saw all of the Polar Lights model kits on sale in Big Lots discount stores for $3.00 each a few years ago i thought the company was gone. However, in the December 2008 and January 2009 Diamond Distributor Catalogs, Polar Lights had ads! The December issue had an ad for a dinosaur plastic model kit and the January issue has an ad for the Robby the Robot kit in a new box (no the box he was issued in a few years ago). Anyone see any Polar Lights stuff elsewhere?
That's a good question. Whatever happened to Polar Lights? Where is polar Lights now?
Their web site homepage brings you to a diecast Ertl farm tractor. Yech! :o
http://www.polarlights.com/ (http://www.polarlights.com/)
Polar Lights was part of Playing Mantis. Playing Mantis was bought out by RC2 several years ago. In the process, Polar Lights was pretty much merged with AMT and eventually phased out. Since then, RC2 put chunks of the company up for sale, including AMT and Polar Lights.
Tom Lowe, the guy that originally started and owned Playing Mantis, started a new company called Round 2 to sell slot cars and other products. He set up a deal with RC2 to license the use of the trademarks and toolings from AMT, MPC, and Polar Lights. He has started to reissue a number of kits including the 1:1000 scale USS Enterprise, Klingon Ship, and NX-01 from Polar Lights. The old AMT was just recently reissued in a replica of the original box and a limited edition collector's tin.
There are a number of reissues scheduled for 2009 including the AMT Munsters Koach and Dragula, Mr. Spock, the Witch, the Interplanetary UFO, the large 1:350 refit Enterprise, Robby the Robot and more. They are also working on a new 1:1000 scale Akira class ship from Star Trek.
Hope that helps
Steve
Steve, thank you. That is wonderful news. Having those kits readily available again allows for more play time and fun conversions. Thank you!
Quote from: fmofmpls on December 25, 2008, 09:33:16 AM
That's a good question. Whatever happened to Polar Lights? Where is polar Lights now?
Their web site homepage brings you to a diecast Ertl farm tractor. Yech! :o
http://www.polarlights.com/ (http://www.polarlights.com/)
Ha! That reminds me Terry of the old days when going to shows listed as "toy shows" in the hopes of finding one monster morsel and then walking in and finding it was a show dedicated to just farm equipment toys (this happened to me more than once) or a teddy bear show (just once). However, instead of turning back, I would pay my admission and hope one table had one case of anything else that might have something of interest to me, which never happened.
Quote from: Bogey on December 26, 2008, 11:32:19 AM
Ha! That reminds me Terry of the old days when going to shows listed as "toy shows" in the hopes of finding one monster morsel and then walking in and finding it was a show dedicated to just farm equipment toys (this happened to me more than once) or a teddy bear show (just once). However, instead of turning back, I would pay my admission and hope one table had one case of anything else that might have something of interest to me, which never happened.
What was nice about those farm shows was that you could find a 'non farm toy' on a table, being sold by someone that didn't have a clue as to what it was, then reselling it and using the
profit to buy an overpriced monster toy!
Polar Lights is back from beyond and has some new Star Trek model kits coming soon from what I understand. Apparently Moebius and Monarch convinced whomever owns them to get back to styrene kit making. If I am not mistaken, the ships are up for pre-order in a recent "Previews" at the LCS.
I have seen their name on Dinosaur models and a reissue of their wonderful Robby the Robot kit. Since Wal-Mart gave up carrying model kits (as well as Target) and many hobby shops closing due to teh economy it's getting harder to find quality kits locally.