Azrak-Hamway International, Inc. (AHI), was a New York toy company founded in 1964 that initially offered inexpensive novelty-type toy items. In 1974 Azrak-Hamway acquired the Remco Toy name and produced toys of more substance under the

Remco Remco Industries Inc. was an American toy company. Founded in 1949, it is known for toys integrating technology and innovation from their inception. The company's slogan in its early TV commercials was, "Every Boy Wants a Remco Toy...And So Do ...

brand, including several popular culture licensed items like

Universal Monsters The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise comprising various horror film series distributed by Universal Pictures. It consists of different horror creature characters o ...

Space 1999 ''Space: 1999'' is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the premiere episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit an ...

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, Marvel Super Heroes and other TV Tie-in products. Azrak-Hamway created the Child Guidance division in 1994 in an effort to produce child learning toys. In 1997 Jakks Pacific acquired Child Guidance and Remco from Azrak-Hamway International. Many of the inexpensive items offered by Azrak-Hamway were licensed products that featured climbing, hanging, or parachuting figures sold on simple bubble cards. These toys include: * 1973-1981 Official Worlds Famous Super Monsters * 1973

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Spider-Car (basis of the

Spider-Mobile Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

) * 1974

Batcycle * 1974

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

Water Gun, Parachutist, Helicopter, Stunt Cycle, On Horse, Prison Wagon * 1974 Action Apeman * 1974 Spider-Man Cycle * 1974

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

Emergency Helicopter * 1974

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

Die Cast Fast Wheels * 1974 Superman Zing Wing * 1974

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

Flintmobile * 1974 The Flintstones Flintmobile Road Racing Set * 1975 The Flintstones Flintmobile ith Flintboat on trailer* 1975 The Flintstones Flintmobile Pull-Strap * 1975 Batman Batmobile & Batboat with trailer * 1975 Batman Stunt Cycle * 1975 Batman Pat Blane with Launcher * 1975

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

Sky Diving Parachutist, Phaser Ray-Gun, U.S.S. Enterprise Water Gun, Phaser Saucer Gun, Flying Enterprise, Pin Ball Game * 1976 Batman Batmobile * 1976 Batman Walkie-Talkie Playset * 1976 Sky Diving Parachutist (Batman, Penguin, Joker, Shazam!, Spider-Man, Robin) * 1976 Jet Discs for Star Trek and Space: 1999 * 1977 Batman Batmobile Remote Control Car * 1977

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...

Desk Set accessories * 1977 Space: 1999 toys * 1977

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

Mobile and Crime Fighter Super Jet * 1978 Parachuting toys (

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

) * 1979

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

Parachutists * 1979

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

Power Spouter Water Gun, Parachutist, Van, Stunt Cycle * 1979 Neck Pets * 1979 Star Fleet Wind-Up Robot and Walkie-Talkie * 1982

Sgt. Rock Sergeant Franklin John Rock, also known as simply Sgt. Rock, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Sgt. Rock first appeared in '' Our Army at War'' #83 (June 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher ...

Stunt Cycle and Parachutist Commando * 1983 The Mighty Crusaders HelicopterHeiler, 38. For toy collectors, the most significant AHI toy contribution was the Official World Famous Super Monsters toyline, licensed from

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

. These toys, released in 1973 (with additional monsters added through 1976) were an effort to capitalize on the Mego Corporation's popular Mad Monster Line. The set of 8-inch action figures included:

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

, Wolfman,

Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

and the

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

. All except Dracula were officially licensed from Universal Studios. The

Mego Corporation Mego Corporation () is an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed action figu ...

forced Azrak-Hamway to remove their line "Action Apemen" through injunction, as it was agreed to infringe on Mego's license rights to produce Planet of the Apes figures (Mego outbid AHI on the figure license, even though AHI produced many ancillary Planet of the Apes products).

References

External links

AHI tribute site featuring many catalogs
Toy companies of the United States Defunct toy manufacturers Defunct companies based in New York (state) Companies based in New York (state) {{Toy-company-stub