Eat your cereals if you want to break the speed record on land...

Lot's of crazy toys were made as prizes inside the cereal boxes, and it was kind of their business model before some crazy kids swallowed and or choked on them. Then the E.U. and Happy Meals took over... well... At least you can still find some of these gems.

301.13 mph 1935 Rolls-Royce Canpbell Bluebird, Kelloggs, 1959, USA

With Lledo model behind...

Chrome face...

Robot, KA nº 772, Hong Kong, 1970's

Customize your own Batmobile...

Tumbler Batmobile, Custom Motors, Hotwheels, Mattel, China, 2009

Does this car really need some extra body parts to make it more bad-ass ? I don't think so... but people at Mattel thought otherwise...

It's electronic, and mixes a VW Beetle with a robot... t's... our all new redesigned Robocon !

Showing the game inside... looks a little
like a Tamagotchi kind of thing...

With hood/trunk closed,
Robocon, Bandai, Japan, 1999

I love it when a plan comes together !

(from left to right) John "Hannibal" Smith, "B.A." Baracus, "Howling Mad"
Murdock and Templeton Peck, Galoob, Hong Kong, 1983

In the Hall of Fame of TV shows from the 80ies, this one has to be one of the most known. The A-Team which aired first in 1983 was later on shown on all the TV's in the world.

Make bubbles, not war !

Tanque Invencible, Patentado, ?, Spain ?

 

Forget cameo camouflage patterns. This is the Red Baron of the tanks, baby ! No way this thing will loose itself in the sandbox !

You dip the yellow part of the canon in the soap - and blow
at the back, regulating airflow with finger on hole on the turret.

Remember the Galaxy Rangers ?

Shane Gooseman, Galoob, China, 1986

This was a show I really enjoyed when I was a kid. And one of the first cartoons that mixed computer generated images with actual drawing of the cells. Galoob made the toys - but they were never quite mainstream. Mattel's Bravestarr, as a toy line had a lot more success and was based on more or less the same idea of mixing sci-fi with cowboys and other "Western"elements (a little like Leji Matsumoto liked to do also in his work).

By the Power of Castle Grayskull ! or... "To Eternia and beyond !" - MOTU's finest

He-Man and Teela, Mattel, Taiwan, 1981

Which ones did you have when you were a kid ? The Masters Of The Universe franchise was huge in the 80ies, and in a way Mattel's response to Kenner with their own action figure hit.

In fact, just like GI Joe, it was the toy-world that started it all, and not the other way around. The original He-Man prototype was a Big Jim figurine with clay around it to increase muscle mass.

From there, the cartoons were born... and the comics, cereals, movies, lunchboxes,  ...

The weirdest Star Wars toy - ever

Lots of "oh-not-so-great" ideas came out of George Lucas' marketing "let's get rich" plans, but this one for me has to be the weirdest.

Take :

1. One of your most beloved characters (well, hmmm.)
2. Make him glow in the dark
3. Use some glue

And you have...

Glow-in-the-dark JarJar sticky tongue,
Smith Foods, China, 1999

And another holy grail ! The Ceji Capitaine Flam !

Capitaine Flam (Captain Future), CEJI Arbois, Hong Kong 

There have been 2 Mego sized dolls made of Captain Future in the 80ies when the cartoon came out. The boxed Italian Mattel version (see here) and the carded French CEJI version.

The CEJI version was based on the same body used for Go Nagai's "Actarus / Duke Fleed / Daisuke Umon" and "Alcor / Kabuto Kōji" dolls, which were quite a sales success during the "Goldorak" years in France. The "Capitaine Flam" doll, unfortunately, was not as widely distributed or produced as the Goldorak dolls, which makes it quite hard to find.

Detail (face and torso)... you still could see the old logo of
TF1 on the card...

Furthermore, the main issue with these dolls (both the Goldorak ones and this Capitaine Flam) was the quality of the plastic/rubber used for the joints and the hands, which crumbled in fine dust. This means that it is next to impossible to find one today that has not had to be restored at some point (like this one). For you out there that have one in pieces, I recommend the book "La Clinique du Pr. Kelp Tome 1" (see bibliography - ISBN 2-35250-007-9 - pg. 22-29) where they explain how to make new joints and new molds for the hands.

The torso, belt and
guns are quite realistic !

If you compare this image to the toy, the colors have been well
respected ! Much more so than the Mattel version.

Before the concept of Mint On Card...

Why did so few Star Wars figurines survive on their blister card ? This might be a reason... This is Palitoys's campaign during The Empire Strikes Back to promote the art of Bounty Hunting... with scissors !

Front and back of "capture log" - these were distributed in the toystores of the day...

Really ? You are going to ruin a perfect card just to get freakin' 2
seconds of fame Dengar ? He's not even the cool Bounty Hunter ! 

Tattoos...

Something kind of disappearing in today's world are the temporary tattoos that kids used to get in chewing gum packs or potato chips bags. But this was definitely something that defined the 70ies and 80ies and we were always proud to show our latest tattoo to the classroom. Here some examples of French tattoos from Goldorak / Grandizer / Goldrake...

The package was the most colorful element...

Completely harmless... remove using comestible oils ?

Back of tattoo sheet with instructions...

Colous have faded after 40 years

The pirates are back...

Harlock doll, Medicom, Japan, 1990's

Emeraldas, Yellow Submarine (Takara), Japan, 1998

The chubby prince...

He got the Sofubi treatment ! Yeah !

Duke Fleed (Actarus), HL PRO, China,
2017

The Nono family picture !

A bunch of Nono's !

Sniks ? what is a Snik ?

Baseball Astrosnik and rocket, Bully, Germany, 1981

With the success of the Smurfs (Schtroumpfes, Pitufos, Smurfen...) came a number of non-Peyo look-alikes. The Snorkels had their thing in the deep waters of the ocean, and these little guys called (Astro)Sniks had their story in space.

I just found that rocket (marked SNIK-X1 !) on the flea market of Lisbon 2 weeks ago... The little Snik itself is a "retooling"of a similar Smurf figurine. Nice way to go Bully ! Just take a Schleich figurine design, modify it a little and voilà ! No royalties paid I guess...

For the little story, Bully even edited some Comics and other merchandising, but unlike their Belgian blue cousins they never got the TV cartoon treatment...

Counting days with Robocon !

1 click on the Radar... and it's tomorrow!

Robocon, Banpresto, China, 2010's

Sleeping with the pirate...

OK, not really a toy, but for all fans of Matsumoto a gem and oh so difficult to find in good condition these days. Good for a nap... even better as decor on the sofa... (my wife will kill me...)

Captain Harlock pillow, Sacis, Roma (Italy), 1978

Mecha with horns...

Grendizer money box, High Dream China, 2010's

Chinese firepower...

KY-2 Gun, 196 MS 604, 1970's ?

Well, since it has a planet on it it kind of qualifies as a ray gun / rifle... but why the wooden stock ?

Bad robot !

Megatron, Hasbro, China, 2009

I love truck'n !

Plastic trucks, ?, probably 70's

A little find at the feira... have no idea who made these - no markings.

There is a frog on the line !

Sneak-peak for the latest Iphone ? not really...

Frog-phone squeeze toy, maker ?