Troll Dolls

Those Dam Troll Dolls or Nasty LOTR Trolls?

Troll dolls were called Leprechauns when they first were introduced, and they have also been called Norfins, Treasure Trolls, Wishniks, Gonks and Dam dolls. They were quite the toy to have from 1963 to 1965, and even in years beyond those. Troll dolls are not Kewpie dolls, although some people used to mistakenly call them that.

If you like the cute Troll Dolls Click
Your Flag or Closest to You!
 

Troll dolls were also a fad in the 1970′s, 80′s and 90′s, and ten or so manufacturers created them. Troll dolls made the roll call of the one hundred most creative and memorable toys in the 20th century.

If you want Lord of the Ring Troll Dolls Click
Your Flag or Closest to You!
 

Thomas Dam, a Danish woodcutter and fisherman, created the first troll dolls in 1959. They were popular in some countries in Europe before they were released in the United States. Dam also sold the dolls locally, and they were known as Dam dolls. They had glass eyes and sheep wool hair. There were also cheap imitations made, and they flooded North American toy stores.

The imitations were known as Norfins, Gonks, Treasure Trolls and Uneeda’s Wishnik Trolls. They had the same pot belly and tall hair. In 2003, Congressional law finally gave the Dam family the restoration of their rightful copyright, and they then became the only official manufacturers of troll dolls.

Lots of people collect troll dolls, but the original dolls have the highest value. Some of the most avid collectors may have thousands of these dolls, and their sizes range from the size found in gumball machines to dolls that are over a foot tall.

The fans of troll dolls were featured on the Drew Carey Show, where his antagonistic co-worker keeps a collection of trolls on her desk. Troll dolls have often been featured in other TV shows and movies, as well.

In the 1990′s, troll dolls were marketed to young boys, with an action figure line that included Battle Trolls and Troll Warriors. There were even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle trolls. These products did not enjoy much success, however. They were also included in games for SNES and NES.

Troll dolls were modernized in 2005 in Trollz, which was an animated series about five trolls living in a world with dragons and ogres and magic. This did not impact the sales of troll dolls any more than previous efforts had. Even though it included school, clothes, acne, boyfriends and learning how to become a troll, this series was dropped.

In 2007, the Danish company that originally made and marketed troll dolls filed a lawsuit against the company that made Trollz, claiming that DIC Entertainment did not accurately represent its ability to manufacture and market modern troll dolls. They also said that DIC had destroyed the goodwill and image of the most legendary doll, the troll doll.

If you had troll dolls when you were younger, you may be ready now to fish out that old box in the attic. All troll dolls aren’t valuable, though. Millions of trolls were made, and only the very rare troll dolls bring big bucks for sellers. But a troll collection can fit in cleverly with collections of toys or dolls, and just looking at your old trolls will bring back a welcome wave of nostalgia for the days when troll dolls were the talk of the town, in toys.