[img]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20020419/mdf16817.jpg[/img]
Action figures of President George W. Bush and Islamic militant Osama bin Laden are part of a group of new action figure designs by Herobuilders. The Connecticut toy maker is selling 'life-like action figures' based on major figures tied to the Sept. 11 attacks, including Bush, bin Laden, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Vicale Corporation via Reuters)
[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/020419/161/1fa0q.html[/url]

Full story:
[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020419/od_nm/dolls_dc_1[/url]
[b]Toymaker Sells Bush, Bin Laden Dolls[/b]
[i]Fri Apr 19, 7:54 AM ET[/i]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - They're not G.I. Joe.

A Connecticut toy maker is selling "life-like action figures" based on major figures tied to the Sept. 11 attacks, including President Bush, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani  and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The company, Herobuilders.com, identifies the dolls on its Web site for legal reasons as "Our Hero," "The Rock" and "The Ally," respectively.

And because collectors began demanding an adversary, the company added a fourth doll to the line -- Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden.

"People started asking specifically for an Osama doll," Emil Vicale, president of the company, said in an interview on Thursday.

Vicale said that at first he sold only dolls of "real guys who changed the world -- the presidential figure, the mayoral figure and the prime minister figure." He added the bin Laden doll, saying "although I developed this site just for personal reasons, it's a business, too."

Sales of the Bush and bin Laden dolls, the most popular, have been in the "low thousands" so far, Vicale said. Sales of the bin Laden dolls are running about one-third higher, he said.

Vicale said he has sold only seven Giuliani dolls, however, and "not even one" Blair doll. The dolls cost $26.95 each.

Since starting doll sales, Vicale said one e-mail sender "called me shameless and called me a scumbag" but said overall, reactions have been "really, really great. I got one from a military sergeant who said he loved it ... and that he would send it to everyone in his address book."

The bin Laden doll is clothed in combat fatigues, although the Web site also portrays him in a pink dress. The others are clothed in camouflage -- the Blair doll wears shorts and tall socks.

Vicale said he may discontinue his slow-selling "Gumby" dolls, which sell for $19.95 apiece. These also bear likenesses of bin Laden, Blair, Bush and Giuliani, and are modeled after the green putty-like animated character.

Vicale also owns BBC Design Group, which engineers products using three-dimensional digital technology. He said he bought the former Toybuilders.com, which made custom toys using 3-D technology last September -- after Sept. 11, although negotiations began earlier.

That is pretty dang funny.

BOTD redux? [:D]
[img]http://www.herobuilders.com/lib/herobuilders/lg-ubl-drag.jpg[/img]

Can they wear the Ultimate Soldier gear?

Kharn

Anyone think there is any collectibility in these things?  Worth buying the GWB and Osama?

Get the Osama with the pink dress and I'd say you're all set to make millions in 25 years.