Homies are a series of 2-inch figurines loosely based upon Chicano (Mexican American) characters in the life of artist David Gonzales. First created in 1998, these plastic figurines were sold exclusively by A & A Global Industries via bulk vending machines. These loveable characters quickly became collectibles among young children and teenagers and adults from all walks of life. Homies, truly has no set demographics. They are fun to collect and feature interesting characters that we can all relate to.
Gonzales then created a story for each of the Homies' characters, each of which had a positive view of the characters. Some of them became former jailmates who went on to educate children about how to avoid jail. Mainstream stores, such as Walmart, welcomed the Homies to their stacks, and the toy branched out to include a line of die cast cars, among other things. By 2005, the Homies character line had women, as well as Filipino, Japanese and Puerto Rican characters. The Puerto Ricans set, which includes twelve of the Homies, are nicknamed Los Boricuas. Homies are distributed throughout the world.
Homies have become a highly collectible item among fans of the line. Many imitation toys have hit the market following the success of Homies, but none can compare to the life that Dave Gonzales puts into each of his characters. Today there are over 250 Homies characters spanning 10 different series with more to come.
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