Denys Fisher Denys Fisher Denys Fisher (11 May 1918 – 17 September 2002) was an English engineer who invented the spirograph toy and created the company Denys Fisher Toys. He left Leeds University to join the family firm, Kingfisher (Lubrication) Ltd. In 1960 he left the firm to set up his own company, Denys Fisher Engineering, in Leeds. In 1961 the company won a contract with NATO to supply springs and precision components for its 20 mm cannon. Between 1962 and 1964 he developed various drawing machines from Meccano pieces, eventually producing a prototype Spirograph. Patented in 16 countries, it went on
Toy Vault inception in 1998, Toy Vault acquired a license from Tolkien Enterprises to produce plastic figures based on the "Lord of the Rings". This was the first series of action figures ever produced based purely on a literary property. Rob Rooney "The Road Less Traveled" 1999 available at http://actionfigures.about.com/library/weekly/aa011899.htm. Toy Vault Toy Vault, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is a designer and manufacturer of plush toys, plush apparel, board games and other novelty items. Perhaps best known for their Monty Python toys, Toy Vault also holds licenses for such properties as Godzilla, "The Princess Bride", Jim Henson's "Labyrinth", KISS, "Trigun"