R&L (Rosenhain & Lipmann), an Australian company based in Melbourne, first produced toy inserts ('premiums') for boxed cereal in 1957. From 1958, these toys were made of plastic (solid polyethylene or solid/snap polystyrene), and each one was wrapped in clear cellophane. Initially, their designs were simple and unremarkable, with themes such as animals, people, and vehicles. From the late 1960s, some of the series that were appearing were unique, droll, and quite fantastic. In Australia, they were initially found inside cereal boxes (usually, one per box), but in other countries where some of the sets were distributed, they could be found in other products such as Cracker Jack in America. The R&L company was taken over by the firm Compañia General de Plasticos, S.A, of Mexico in 1977 where production continued into the 1990s. As recently as 2007, some of the Mexican version of the sets reappeared in jumbo packets of sweets where complete sets were given away.

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