Thursday, September 27 2:03 AM SGT

Toy trends shift in terror's aftermath

In the aftermath of grisly US suicide attacks, even the world of toys has changed: aggressive action heroes are back in their boxes, while firemen figures are flying off the shelves of New York stores.

And with parents anxious to see children focusing on the positive aspects of the crisis, such as the heroism shown by rescuers, there are likely to be lots of little paramedics and police officers going door to door for candy as is traditional in the United States on October 31.

At Rubie's Costumes in New York, sales of police officer and firefighter costumes have jumped 50 percent ahead of Halloween. They are also bestsellers at retail giant Walmart, the chain said.

"This year, after the WTC attack, the trend of Halloween is going to be very different," said Howard Beige, vice president of sales at Rubie's.

"The two number one costumes for children are firefighter follow by police officer. Everything patriotic is going to be the focus on Halloween," Beige said.

Meanwhile toys that turn imagined violence and even terrorism into a form of play suddenly seem inappropriate.

Danish toymaker Lego Systems has withdrawn its Alpha Team game worldwide after a complaint from a US consumer, according to a spokeswoman for the company, based in Billund, Denmark.

The game lets players bombard cities with bomb-like devices. Its instruction booklet shows a plane flying full throttle toward a city and bombing it.

Eva Lykkegaard, the company spokeswoman, said the toy did not reflect Lego's values, and expressed regret that it had been on sale since February.

But Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of US toymaker Mattel Inc, has upped production of its "Billy Blazes" fire fighter action hero.

In mid November the firm will send a new Billy Blazes figure outfitted in a New York fireman's uniform to Toys R' Us outlets in New York state and neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut.

Fisher-Price has increased production of the toy by 100,000 units and says it will donate the sales receipts to firefighter safety programs.

FAO Schwarz, Manhattan's largest and best-known toy store, says it has stopped selling a missile-launching helicopter toy by Mattel whose packaging describes an enemy who blows up buildings from atop the World Trade Center.

The US Consumer Protection Agency has called on toymakers to withdraw violent toys from stores.

Source