Back to the 80ies...

Monchichi with astronaut costume,
Sekiguchi, Japan, 1980's

Lots of toys have their moment of fame... These were definitely the monkeys of the eighties !

The BIG ones... Suite et Fin

Daimos, Mattel, Japan, 1976

"be square !"

and "Mr. Ugly"

Godzilla, Mattel, Japan, 1976

the BIG ones... part 1

Grandizer, Mattel, Japan, 1976

Raydeen, Mattel, Japan, 1976

Gaiking, Mattel, Japan, 1976

Great Mazinger, Mattel, Japan, 1976

Dragun, Mattel, Japan, 1976

Achhhh - the smell of pure plastic in the morning ! And lots of shooting missiles to scare the cat ! 

Elementary, dear Watson !

Sherlock Holmes figurines, Yolanda, Spain, 1980's

Remember these ? They were the heroes (and villains - yes Moriarty...) of Sherlock Hound, an Italian-Japanese cartoon which retold Sherlock Holmes tales using anthropomorphic animals (RAI & TMS production) Later on, these aired on French TV, in Spain etc.

Interesting story, Hayao Miyazaki, who directed 6 episodes of Sherlock, would later on be one of the 3 founding members of the Ghibli studios, where Miyazaki would continue with anthropomorphic animals on a whole new level (like in Porco Rosso). The style and attention to movement and detail is already present in the Sherlock Hound cartoons...

A little of Spock's wisdom...

Mr. Spock, MEGO, Hong Kong, 1974

It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want. 

--Spock in 'Errand of Mercy'

I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question. 

--Spock in 'This Side of Paradise'

Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them. Captain, a starship also runs on loyalty to one man. And nothing can replace it or him. 

--Spock in 'The Ultimate Computer'

Judging by the pollution content of the atmosphere, I believe we have arrived at the late twentieth century. 

--Spock in 'The Voyage Home'

Change is the essential process of all existence.
--Spock

Without followers, evil cannot spread.
--Spock, "And the Children Shall Lead

In the strict scientific sense we all feed on death -- even vegetarians.
--Spock, "Wolf in the Fold"

New toy-fair in Lisbon...

If you are around Lisbon on the 1st of December - come and visit !

Chrome Belly and Mosquito Eyes

Sounding Robot, Horikawa, Japan,
1981

... and big buttons on the head. I wanted a walkman in the 80ies... All I received was this juke-box instead. Hehehe !

Before Star Trek..

... you had cowboys (= the good guys) and indians (hmmmm excuse me... "native Americans" (= the bad guys)) on TV.

I still had a glimpse of the Wild West series like Rintintin and Davy Crocket and Bonanza. 

So naturally, I did play also with these... 

Cowboy on horse (detail), composite material,
Elastolin, Germany, 1950's

...... then came Mr. Spock and R2D2...

Not only for Jedi Knights...

The laser-saber thing was quite popular in the 70ies. George Lucas had it,... and Leji Matsumoto also !

The design of Captain Harlock's saber is quite more interesting than the single handles of the SW blades...

Also, it could be fired as a gun/laser.

Captain Harlock lightsaber, Takatoku toys,

Japan, 1970's

Mini-Mark AKA Ken Washio AKA Ace Goodheart AKA Ken the Eagle

Very often, Japanese cartoons are cutted and dubbed and cleaned and changed before they made it to the "West"-ern markets. No blood was allowed, no obvious kills, monsters were not supposed to be too scary etc. Censorship was definitely present with the broadcasters of the time - and many excellent cartoons were simply too much altered and lost most of their interest / story-line due to the process. Translating the name of the characters was also another headache - like in this case...

Ken Washio, Bullmark, Japan, 1970's

Header-card shows him on a bike ?
he should be flying G1, a plane ! 

Crag - Glague

Got a knight in shining armour ? If you are Captain Future - you get one of those right in your team.

Reffered to as "tas de féraille" (piece of scrapmetal) in the french cartoon - he was nevertheless a great help to solve all the plots in the serie.

Glague - GA-97, Popy, Japan, 1970's

There were 2 versions of this toy. This is the later one. Due to safety concerns of spring loaded missiles in the CE they just glued the mechanism of the gun. Saved a lot of visits to ophtalmologists - but spoiled lots of the fun !

Liberty is a banner...

... the banner of our favorite space pirate. This one is Italian made - superüber-rare and quite fragile. (hmmmm- reminds me of the Atlantic Alcadia - see here : http://geoffstoys.blogspot.pt/2012/01/one-that-was-hard-to-get.html). Gun + belt is original - laser saber is not.

Capitan Harlock, Sperlari, Italy, 1978

This toy is huge - about 13-14' / box is
even larger !

Parts of the box... will be restored in the
future.

El Batiauto del Don Carmelo

Batiauto, Juguetes Don Carmelo, Argentina, 1960's-70's

The caped crusader was very popular in South America - and lots o local toy companies tried to cash in on the phenomenon. Bichi was probably the best known - with battery op. versions of the Lincoln futura and Batboat.

But they definitely did not compete in size with Juguetes Don Carmelo, who issued this gigantic Batmobile. Different versions exist, some black, some blue, some with drivers, others without etc. Details like launcher tubes were also added on later models. 

The box is generic to the company - and very colourfull, with a large black and white label on the lid.

The box had fantstic artwork of cowboys and indians !

Lots of cranes in Buenos Aires' Gotham version...

Size comparaison with Corgi and HW toy

It says it all

No gas or petrol ? Take the bike !

In a time of economic difficulties, it would be nice to see one Europe going in the same direction towards the finish...

Plastic bikers (handpainted), unknown, France ? Spain ? Italy ?
1960's ?

You'll need a rocket to save the world...

TB-1, Vivid Imgination, China,
1999

Opening the hull and you have the
cockpit and a space scooter !

TB-3, Vivid Imagination, China, 1999

Opening the hull and you have a
working elevator !

Each one has a little pilot and a "Soundtech" feature with reactor sounds and cockpit dialogues... Just like in the classic series !

Queen Emeraldas - Gashapon style

This is probably the first serie of Gashapon toys that were produced based on a Leji Matsumoto serie (1998 Queen Emeraldas OAV). With Harlock in his "young"version / costume...

Queen Emeraldas bust, Yujin (?) China
1998

Emeraldas, Yujin (?), China, 1998

Tochiro, Yujin (?), China, 1998

Hiroshi Umino, Yujin (?) China, 1998

Harlock, Yujin (?) China
1998