Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

David watt was born in Northern Ireland in 1944, and passed away in September 2021. Hw was a passionate Lego salesman and sales agent. Davis worked at Lego for over 24 years as area sales manager i...n Northern Ireland, overseeing both independent retailers and some national accounts. Davis won Top Salesman several times, winning the coveted Silver Lego Brick trophy with his name engraved on it. In 1999, David was devastated to be no longer working for Lego. However, ever the resilient individual, David decided to continue working in toys and built up substantial busiess for Schleich in Norther Ireland before retiring a few years ago. David was married to Jennie in 1972, and together they created a beautiful family of three sons and nine grandchildren. David will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.Show more

John Birchwood was born in 1940 and passed away on February 21, 2024. He was passionate about the toy industry, working in the toy trade until he was 80 years old, when he announced his retirement. ... John's entré into the toy industry was through his father, Eric Birchwood, who worked at Mobo Toys. John worked alongside him for a brief time before joining Berwick Toys as sales director, moving up in the ranks to eventually become managing director. After Berwick Toys collapsed in the early 1980s, John worked for A.B.Gee for a short period of time and then set off on his own as a sales agent with the help of his father. Together, they made up Birchwood Agencies, and represented companies like Morris Vulcan Toys, where after a few years, John went and worked. However, that didn't last more than a few years, because then John opened up World Sports Int. UK in partnership with a Taiwanese manufacturer that dealt predominantly in roller skates. For a while, World Sports Int. was the main supplier of in-line skates to mail order giants Littlewoods and GUS. Later, in 1998, John's son Richard joined up with him to open J & R Sports. They made the JD Bug Scooter in 2000 and became very popular, getting the company really up and running in 2007. In 2011, they became the distribution partner for Madd Gear the UK & Ireland: this was the start of the pro scooter market and Madd Gear was a leading player. John worked there with his son, Richard, and his daughter, Lindsay, until his 80th birthday, when he announced his retirement. Though, according to Richard, he was never very far away. He was so passionate about the industry that he always wanted to be in the know. John was a proud father, grandfather, and Manchester United fan. He will be dearly missed by all those that knew him.Show more

Darrell Burge passed away suddenly on February 10, 2021. Darrell worked at Hornby, specifically on the brand Airfix. he oversaw he revitalization of Airfix products and the brand over the last decade ...and was beloved by all his colleagues at Hornby. Darrell was also instrumental in approaching Key Publishing in 2009 with the aim of creating a new monthly AirFix-themed publication, which resulted in the Airfix Model World magazine. A product drive purely by his own passion for the brand, his memory will always be preserved in the magazine. He was also the driving force behind Airfix's agreement with South Korean manufacturer Academy to bring the latter's 1/35 armor products to the European market. Darrell is survived by his wife, Jane, and his children, Emily, Martin, and Gavin, and his granddaughter, Oriana. He will be deeply missed by friends, family, coworkers, and all those that knew him.Show more

Willi Zapf of Zapf Creation passed away in July of 2021. Willi and his wife, Brigitte Zapf, took over Zapf Creation in 1958, putting their name out there in the international doll market. Willi's lead...ership has helped mold Zapf Creation into the successful company that it is today. In 1991, Willi and Brigitte launched Baby Born, which became incredibly successful. Though Willi sold the company in 1992, he continued to lead it through success, growth, and innovation until his retirement in 1997. Andrew Laughton, who was the head of Zapf UK for many years, said this of his dear friend: "“Willi was a true gentleman. I would not have even entered the toy industry without his support and belief. A good friend of my father, together they built the Max Zapf business in the UK until he sold it over 20 years ago. I’ll be forever grateful to Willi and the entire Zapf family for their friendship and the opportunity they gave my family. His son Stefan still works at Zapf, heading up IT, so the family connection to the brand still remains. It’s poignant that 2021 is the 30th anniversary of Baby born – the brand transformed the large doll business worldwide, and it was Willi who saw the concept and believed in it from the start.”Show more

Mark Sharp passed away on February 9th, 2024. Mark was a sales agent at Brainstorm. Mark traveled a lot for work, and even met his wife while traveling in Kibbutz in the Middle East. They had two c...hildren together, and the family loved to travel. Mark's colleagues at Brainstorm have expressed their deep sadness over the loss of their friend and colleague. "He was a delight to work with and we will all miss him immensely – as will all of his customers. It hardly seems believable that we were with him all through Toy Fair, and now he has gone so suddenly," his friend Nick Saunders told Toy World.Show more

Yoshitaka Murayama passed away on Feb. 6, 2024. Yoshitaka was the creator of Eiyuden Chronicle and Suikoden, and the founder of Rabbit & Bear Studios. Yoshitaka studied computer programming studie...s at University of Tokoyo, and was hired by Konami to develop a game for an internally developed video game console. Later, Yoshitaka and a few others got to work on a RPG game for Sony's PlayStation console, which is when Suikoden was born. His bosses loved the idea, and Yoshitaka was tasked with making 108 characters mirroring the 108 outlaws in the Chinese classic Shui Hu Zhuan, the book the game was based on. It was released in 1995, and started gaining traction with fans. It probably helped that Yoshitaka personally responded to every piece of fan mail that was sent.Show more

Barry Harding passed away on February 11, 2024, He was an excellent salesman and a very well respected man. Barry enjoyed a long career in the toy industry of over 40 years. Within those years, he ...worked for multiple major companies, including Fisher Price, Playmobil, and Step2. He also opened his own sales agency, BG Marketing, which represented a number of international toy companies in the UK market, including Kiddesigns. His close friend John Mitchell described him as "honest, dependable, decent and totally committed – a salesperson of the highest integrity. He was dedicated to his craft and one of the most courteous people you will ever meet." Barry will be deeply missed by friends, family, and all those that knew him.Show more

Steve Kennedy Lynn passed away on January 12, 2024, due to complications related to Type 1 diabetes. Steve graduated from Wilson High in Long Beach in 1983, then attended Cal State Long Beach, whe...re he received a degree in art. As a student, he was a resident illustrated for published periodicals, and he designed and painted murals at both his high school and college. He had his own art studios in Long Beach, Anaglyph Studios and Sow's Ear Studios, where he had a successful career in art of all mediums, especially sculpture. He designed and sculpted the very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures, and helped in the development of the characters themselves. He sculpted all of the best McDonald's Happy Meal toys, co-created and sculpted Mattel's Street Sharks and Street Dinosaurs, created and sculpted the Toxix Creators, and worked in the Disney Art Department at Disneyland, where he did illustrations, sculptures, and ride design. Steve also attended Burning Man each year, and designed and constructed many of the large sculptures and founded the Lost Penguin Tribe. Steve will be dearly missed by friends, family, and all who knew him.Show more

Gill Sheppard, owner of Rainbow Toys in Midsomer Norton, passed away on September 7, 2023 after a 19 month battle with cancer. Gill owned Rainbow Toys with her husband, Julian.

Scott Bennie, famous game designer, passed away in March of 2022 due to complications from pneumonia. He was 61. Scott Bennie became interested in games in high school, especially role playing gam...es. He submitted articles to Dragon Magazine, made his first sale in 1981, and became a freelancer for TSR, Inc. Scott graduated from University of British Columbia in 1986, and in 1990, he was hired at Interplay Productions. He became one of the four designers on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I. He also designed Castles, and was one of the writers on Star Trek: Judgement Rites, Fallout, Starfleet Command, and many others. He will be deeply missed by friends, family, and colleagues alike.Show more