science

Supernaturals (toy line)

Supernaturals (toy line) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Supernaturals (toy line) rather than just read about it. In short: Supernaturals was the brandname to a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987. Overview Supernaturals was one of several 1980s toy lines to use holographic technology, similar to Hasbro lines Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light and Battle Beasts.

Key takeaways

Supernaturals (toy line) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Supernaturals (toy line) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Supernaturals (toy line) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Supernaturals was the brandname to a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987.

Overview Supernaturals was one of several 1980s toy lines to use holographic technology, similar to Hasbro lines Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light and Battle Beasts. Like many action figures of the period, it was split into two prosaic Heroic and Evil factions. Large Warriors, smaller Ghostlings and a selection of playsets and vehicles were released. Tonka launched Supernaturals with a large hologram display at the 1987 New York Toy Show. The use of holograms on a line of toys attracted considerable attention at the time. The Warrior figures featured holograms on both the upper body and shield accessories, as well as 'glow-in-the-dark' weaponry. The upper body was cast in flat plastic, with the hologram giving the appearance of three dimensions; clip-on upper body armour was included to hide the hologram - simulating the Warriors being able to hide their 'real' visages, and the expression of the hologram face would change depending on the angle the toy was viewed from. Only a single wave of toys was issued before the Supernaturals was cancelled, and the line was a financial failure for Tonka.

Toy line Heroic Warriors

Evil Warriors

Heroic Ghostlings (with swords)

Evil Ghostlings (with swords)

Playsets and vehicles

Comic In America, the toy line's backstory - featuring centuries-old warriors reviving in the Tomb of Doom - was explained by text included on the toy packaging and a pack-in mini-comic. However, in Britain a licensed fortnightly comic was produced by Fleetway Publications, featuring in-house material created to promote the line for Tonka. The series was previewed by a free comic given away with the 31 October 1987 editions of Fleetway's top selling weekly boys' comics, 2000 AD and Eagle. The first regular issue of the 32-page 40p comic was issued at the same time, with a 'Double Mask' based on the character Skull included; the second included a similar giveaway. John Gillatt, Sandy James and Jim Watson were among the artists. In line with a pattern used in many British children's comics of the period, the comic had a fictional editor, the Ghostling Spooks. The lead strip was "The Legend of the Supernaturals" and the lighter "Ghostlings!". Also included were non-Supernaturals strips, including ventriloquist dummy story "The Doll" (written by Peter Milligan) and self-contained 'creepy' stories reportedly chosen by another Ghostling, Scary Cat. Profile material and toy adverts also featured heavily in the comic. While the comic was produced under the auspices of IPC boys' adventure group editor Barrie Tomlinson he had very little memory of working on it when writing his autobiography. Like the toyline, the comic was not a success - lasting just nine fortnightly issues before being cancelled. Some of the material was reprinted in the hardbacked Supernaturals Adventure Book, an annual issued in 1988.

Reception Toy historian Mark Bellomo included the line in an article for Mental Floss about 12 1980s toys that didn't take off, noting that the then-innovative hologram technology made the figures prohibitively expensive for many of the children of the time.

Notes

References

External links Checklist at figurerealm.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Supernaturals (toy line)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Supernaturals (toy line) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Supernaturals (toy line) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Supernaturals (toy line) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Supernaturals (toy line)

In research: Supernaturals (toy line) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Supernaturals (toy line) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Supernaturals (toy line) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Action figures, Fiction about holography, Tonka brands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Supernaturals (toy line) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Supernaturals (toy line) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Supernaturals (toy line) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Supernaturals (toy line) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Supernaturals (toy line) in simple terms?

Supernaturals was the brandname to a short-lived line of action figures produced by American toy company Tonka in 1987. Overview Supernaturals was one of several 1980s toy lines to use holographic technology, similar to Hasbro lines Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light and Battle Beasts.

Why does Supernaturals (toy line) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Supernaturals (toy line)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Supernaturals (toy line).