I learned about the Modarri Kickstarter campaign from one of my PR contacts in the world of toys. This is the exact type of toy campaign that I was eager to jump on immediately and help fund. The company is looking to raise $80,000 in the next 54 days. It is a huge undertaking and really ambitious. I think that the cars have a great appeal. They are modular and that means that you can assemble and disassemble them easily. It also means that you can mix and match the components and create your own cars from the different sets.

Personally, as a kid I would “borrow” my Dad’s precision screwdriver kit and take apart my Transformers toys, the ones that were the repaints (like Prowl, Silverstreak and BlueStreak) and I would swap the parts with each other. A toy like this would have kept me from stripping the screws on my toys and breaking the screwdrivers. I also like that you can get 3D printed additional parts for the toys. Learn more about the campaign in the Press Release below.

THOUGHTFULL TOYS LAUNCHES FIRST TOY LINE ON KICKSTARTER
Modarri: The Toy Car Reinvented

Santa Cruz, CA (November 18, 2013) Thoughtfull Toys, a new company launched by longtime toy pros who have worked on dozens of successful toys and product lines, has begun a fundraising drive on Kickstarter for its first toy line, Modarri toy cars.

A trio of toy inventors and professionals—David Silverglate, whose former Rhino Toys developed the stunningly successful Oball; Brian Gulassa, who designed over 200 toys over his 25-year career for a long list of the most major toy companies; and Trevor Hite, an operations specialist with over 20 years of experience in managing lean and profitable companies in the toy, amusement ride, bike, tool, health care and education fields—have launched a drive to raise $80,000 or more at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1344682921/modarri-the-toy-car-reinvented?ref=live

Silverglate sold Rhino Toys to Kids II Inc. in 2010 and worked to develop new products for them through 2012 under a management
transition agreement. The products developed by Silverglate and his team are currently sold by the millions each year in all major retailers, and some are currently still under development by Kids II.

Although he could have drifted off into retirement, David wasn’t done playing and wasn’t done inventing. He assembled the trio that is now Thoughtfull Toys and started cranking out new ideas and products.

But this time, no more baby toys! Silverglate has a taste for cool cars and wanted to create toys that he and his cohorts would enjoy. Hence Modarri.

Modarri is a new kind of miniature car line that you drive with your fingers using realistic steering and suspension. Design your own unique cars for the best performance and looks by swapping parts from one vehicle to another using the included Hex Tool. Modarri cars aren’t only for kids (recommended for ages 6+ and not for ages 0-3 due to small parts).

“We took care to design beautiful cars that teens and adults would also love and want to collect,” Silverglate said. “Like lots of guys, we love cars and often find ourselves surfing the internet for cool car designs, drooling over muscle cars, race cars, concept cars, toy cars, playing with our kids’ cars and adding to their (or our) collections. We think and hope that a lot of you are like us and never really ‘grew up.’ Our goal was to create toy cars that are sleek, gorgeous, fun, durable, drivable, buildable and interchangeable.”

A group of investors who previously backed Rhino Toys has ponied up to help the trio launch Thoughtfull Toys, but Silverglate thought it would be excellent to tap into other “kidults,” as the term has been coined, and seek the support of hundreds of average joes and janes, so he hatched the idea to launch Modarri on Kickstarter.

The campaign seeks to raise $80,000, to bolster the company’s start-up funds. A host of Rewards ranging from being the first to own one or all three cars when they roll off the assembly line, to 3D printed cars or ones signed by designer Gulassa, or “face-time” with the toy biz gurus, including at Toy Fair, are offered in the Kickstarter campaign. “Stretch goals” are also outlined that would allow the company to more aggressively launch, if more funds are raised.

Modarri will be shown at a sleek, modern booth at the American International Toy Fair in February in New York, where Thoughtfull Toys will connect with old friends and take orders on its new line, expected to ship in the spring.

Silverglate sneak-previewed the Modarri concept to key industry contacts at the Toy Show in Dallas in October, and met with resounding approval. Since then, he’s forged ahead with the Kickstarter launch, designing retail packaging, their Toy Fair booth, and assembling a team for sales, marketing, public relations, and logistics.

“I hope some of our old friends and acquaintances in the business will jump in to the Kickstarter campaign and help us launch Modarri with broad-based support,” Gulassa said. “It would be such fun to have true toy fans be among the first to receive our cars in the spring.”

About Thoughtfull Toys
Thoughtfull Toys is a small toy company based in Santa Cruz, CA. Started in early 2013 by David Silverglate, creator of the Oball and Woosh, the company is dedicated to creating and selling beautiful, functional, durable toys. When the group studied the toy car market and found space for innovation, they decided to create modular cars that weren’t made of wood, bricks, sticks or blocks. Although Thoughtfull Toys is new, the group behind it has deep experience bringing new toys to the market, selling them to “mom & pop” and “big box” retailers and creating toys that sell. The group is excited by the challenge of combining their vision of a unique toy car line with their toy experience and knowledge.