Where do you keep your space cents ?

Mr. Robot Bank, Wolverine, USA,
1968

When you're a kid, personal finances are crucial to buy all the stuff you want (read: more toys !) so it is important to have a good manager for your 401K's and other retirement funds. These robots will do just that!

Nice to note how the molds travelled from one country to another. System is the same - but they had to do some adjustments for the Peseta!

Robot Bank, ?, Spain,
1960's-1970's

Bug-eyed robot

Engine Robot (lighted head detail), Horikawa, Japan,
1960's

Sometimes a classic design is just what is needed. The bug-eyed Horikawa's are just as robot as you can get. Menacing looks, mechanics spinning, ... They are not as dependable as Swiss watches, but they come quite close !

Another cosmonautski ?

Cosmonaut, ?, Russia,
1960's

Blown plastic, movable arms. No other markings....

Egg-toy robots (Kinder ?)

Robots, ?, Italy,
1970's or 80's

Sometimes a toy does not need to be big or expensive... these 3 Grandizer-like robots have lots of details for their small size...

Capitaine Flam tu n'es pas... de notre galaxie...

Captain Future (Capitaine Flam) characters, Schleich, Germany,
1980

Le Cyberlabe, Popy, Singapore,
1980

One of the favorite series in 1980 on French TV was Capitaine Flam (Captain Future or Capitan Futuro for some of you...). Based on a 40's SCI FI pulp hero by Edmond Hamilton, this "space detective" working for the earth government was bad news for all the villains of the galaxy. He travelled along in a very cool ship, the Comet (or "Cyberlabe" in the French version).

Marx Car of the Future

Car of the Future, Marx, USA,
1950's

When most cars (the real ones) in the 50ies started looking like spaceships, toycompany MARX had to go the extra mile to get a futuristic look that was not yet used on one of the Cadillacs or Desotos of that time...

Gone are the side fins. Let's add a turbine (sparkles) and ... hmmm, let's make it a three wheeler. Lots of modern looking futuristic gauges and a glass canopy instead of a windshield will do the trick too. And the driver, either definitely greenish alien or very very roadsick humanoid... Now tricky question: was this car made before or after Virgil Exner's "forward look" ?

Car of the Future cockpit (detail), Marx, USA,
1950's

Mach Baron, Red Baron ?

I never knew if these half-robots / half-japanese superheroes were related in any way. These two are good examples of KAIJU, vinyl blown inexpensive toys that gave the Japanese kids the possibility to play with their favorite characters without having to ruin their parent's wallet for the expensive die-cast counterpart... Most KAIJU's are monster characters from one of the Ultraman, Spectreman, ... ("live sentai") shows, but sometimes a robot made the cut also. 

Mach Baron, Popy or Bullmark ?, Japan,
1970's

Red Baron, Popy or Bullmark ?, Japan,

1970's

Unknown plastic...

Some toys belong on my "don't have a clue" list... This one is all shiny and chrome... But no idea of what or who it is.

Robot, unknown, Japan ? Hong Kong ?
1960's ?

When cute gets to Shogun Warriors

Kewpies (Getter 1, Jeeg, Grandizer and Mazinger), Toyfull, China,
2010's

Go Nagai's robots and friends, seen in a friendly way...
Mini bobble heads of the gang...

Biker Robots

Getter 1 on trike, Modern Toys, Japan,
1970's

Why would you put some of the fiercest robots on a tricycle ? To roam the universe ? They have spaceships and saucers to do that ! To sell some more ? Yep.... good marketing from the guys at Popy... And added play value !

Grandizer on trike, POPY, Japan,
1970's

Grandizer on trike, POPY, Japan,
1970's

Hong Kong - Tai Yuen Street

First a quick picture for touristic guides - nice skyline by the way....

And now let's go to what really matters !

Tai Yuen street is full of toystores of the kind that still hang things around... the ones that have robots hidden under piles of other blisters and boxes... toystores where you can hardly breath but it doesn't matter.

It is a quest - it is archeology - and waiting to find the unexpected.... If I am very rich one day, this is what I want to do. From Tokyo to Bangkok to Mexico City. Go and looking for these.

These places still exist.

They are just much harder to find.

Macau

Kites, downtown Macau 2011

Toys Kingdom - close to St. Paul's ruins

Heaven

And more of it...

Beats any Toys R Us !!!

Been away for a while... but finding very interesting places around the way... Here in the streets of Macau.

Bagged 'Bots

Robocon character, Popy, Japan, 1970's

Grandizer water can, Popy, Japan, 1970's

Diapollon robot watering can, EIWA, japan, 1970's

Grandizer vinyl toy, Popy, Japan, 1970's