Go "Coloured" Nagai

Mazinger

Great Mazinger

Grandizer

 
They are all 3 contemporary chinese, super fragile cheap toys... but hey, they have the merit to go for the best of the best in the Shogun Warrior World ! LED light belly button.

Zap once more !

Green raygun, ? (castle), Hong Kong, 1970's

Another one for the armory... olive green... made for the martian market ? Oh, I bet they are green with envy...

Before the Batpod...

Batcopter, Corgi Toys, England, 1970's

Wait a minute, if you take away the wings and spray it another color you have the chopper of Magnum PI. Is there a connection ?

I thought they smelled bad on the outside !

Tauntaun and Rebel soldier, Kenner,
Hong Kong,, 1979

Special effects model

Tic tac watch your back...

Harlock alarm clock, Bayard, France, 1979

Animated watches and clocks were really fashionable back in the seventies. Mickey Mouse had a bunch of them (I think Ingersoll started making them in the 30ies) and French clock-maker Bayard took the idea over to make some really cool alarm clocks of their own. From Candy-Candy to Goldorak, there was not one hero that did not get the treatment...

Going boxing ?

Robocon Piggy Bank, ?, China, 2000's

Cannot get tired of my love robot... This one is ready to give some huggin' to Rocky Balboa...

The classic Mechanized Robot

If there is one robot that could represent the "Golden Age" of space toys, that would be it. So famous he even appears on covers of books and magazines related to the hobby (see bibliography on the right).

Mechanized Robot, Osaka (copy of Nomura toy),
Japan,  2001 (1957) 

Again, big copy of the famous Robby Robot from the 1956 movie "Forbidden Planet". Since toymakers could care less about paying royalties at that time, ....they just copied it and gave it another name...

Voilá...

The  poster of the movie !

Where is your Rolex, Captain ?

Captain Future watch, Industria Argentina
("El Reloj del Capitan Futuro"), ?

Sometimes it is not really easy to put a date on a toy. This watch came from Argentina and has the Captain Future logotype. It seems too new to be vintage from the 80ies though...Since no watch was made in Europe (or I think even in Japan) it is quite an interesting toy since Captain Future had indeed a watch that could hypnotize his enemies...

Doctor Jones, I presume ?

Indy? That's the name of the dog ! Papercraft....

One of my son's favorite heroes... So here he is for all, whip and fedora included!

The Adams

Black and White - extra scarry !

Adams Family (candy containers), HBPC, China, 1993

Finally together !

Astronauts, Raja, Portugal, 1950's

Sometimes it takes time to find your match. My "comandante" Peck found his flying partner (Miss Margot - great name for miss astronaut) at the latest toyfair here in Lisbon. These two figurines were RAJA (icecream) giveaways and made especifically for the Portuguese market.

Raja logotype on back

I'm bad, I'm bad !

The name says it all... Anakin AKA... Hasbro, China, 2005

fulgure-aux-poings !

Goldorak, Magnéto, Germany, 1978

Small figurine, but quite powerfull magnets on its fists ! The box guarantees the "magnetic power action" for at least 50 years. Another 15 to go before I can prove they were right !

Robby ?

Rubber robot, Galoob, China, 1990's

When you're out of imagination as a toy designer, just go back to your classics for inspiration !

Robo 8 chan

Another kiss-me-I'm-cute robot - Robochan had a big number "8" on its chest, a number considered "lucky" in Asian cultures... Popy made a diecast version (see Tv Toy Advertising - section on the right) of this toys as well as a full-plastic version (seen here).

Robo 8 chan with policeman, Popy, Japan, 1980's

Space Lab

The 70ies were not only missions to the moon. In the meantime, NASA continued to study space with their SKYLAB program. Not long afterwards, Japanese toy-makers jumped on the opportunity to create new versions of tin toy rockets - lab included.

See more about Skylab here.

Space Lab, Alps, Japan, 1970's

baby Atom

How cute can cute be ? Yes - it is a rhetorical question. And for Tezuka's wonder-boy, definitely very up-to-date. This is all about KAWAII people (if you don't know what Kawaii is, google it up !)

Atom 001, Tezuka Moderno Labo, Organic,
China, 2010's

X-Or

Space Sheriff Gavan (X-OR), Popy, Japan, 1982

This one comes from one of the many Japanese Sci-Fy shows we got to see in France. The music was really cool on this one...

Greenland vs America

Hulk and Cap'n A, unknown, China, 2010's

Yes, sometimes I feel green too... 

And my name ain't Dr. Banner :)

Great fair !

Here some pics of the toyfair we had in Lisbon and some of the items to be found... Always nice to be around people that have the same "toy" virus...