My Vintage Tin Toys Collection

I used to play with tin toys from China when I was very young. Those toys are 'hand-me-down' toys as I can't recall my parents ever buying them for me. One distinct feature about tin toys is that it has some kind of smell..dunno how to describe it. In my effort to have a toy museum, I collected some tin toys, for nostalgic reasons and also for future generations to see how toys have evolved. These tin toys from China are usually from the 60s and 70s.


The first picture shows a tin truck with panda inside. The truck have friction sound when push, and the baby panda inside slides from side to side. I used to have one of these but can't remember if the animals inside was panda. The other car was a BMW sedan. Again it has friction sound when push or pull.

One of my favorite is the police car. When you push/pull it, it has sparkles that light up the siren thingy...and windows as well. The taxi is similar to the police car, minus the sparkles.


Next, I have the common wind-up jumping frog. Beware when buying, there are re-issues today, the difference is in the eye. The vintage have painted eyes whereas the new ones have 'pasted on' wiggly eyes. Then I have a mini wind up tank. My favorite of the lot is the tin easter egg. You push down the lever, the egg spins and you see a cute little chick inside. According to an antique dealer, this easter egg is from the 1960s. How to check? The 'made in China' sticker behind the toy uses a traditional Mandarin of China, whereas the 1970s version have a simplified Mandarin for the word 'China".

Collectible Value: These are quite rare in Ebay. Most of the vintage tin toys I found in EBay are from Japan. Saw some of these trading at USD24++

Mattel's Hotwheels Speed Racer: Battle Morph Mach 6 Review

Originally priced at RM209, I got mine for RM79.90 at Parkson. This Speed Racer Mach 6 playset is huge, the vehicle actually fits the 5" Speed figure included in this set. Interesting to note, this set comes under HotWheels branding. I am not really a fan of Speed Racer but a fan of movie related toys and also a sucker for play features! So this reduced price movie merchandise got my attention.
One setback about the toy is the packaging is not collector friendly. It's sealed at all sides and the car comes with batteries. To remove the batteries for storage would mean the need to 'de-virginize' the packaging. To keep it mint in sealed box would risk battery leakage.

Here's what the toy can do.
1) Pull spoiler to activate battle mode - this is cool as the vehicle instantly transform to battle mode with lights and sounds effect!
2) Jump jack attack - as seen in the movie
3) Loads of weapons - heat seeking missiles, high speed sawblade and cat claw tires
4) Deploy homing bird - a birdlike missile that shoots out from the front of the car
5) Articulated Speed figure with removable helmet
Play Value: 8/10
Collectible Value: 6/10. Still new. Ebay Buy It Now @ USD20 - USD60

More Vintage Kenner Star Wars Collection

I like to collect vintge Star Wars toys...and if possible, I like to collect them in sets or diorama. Pictured are some of my collection.

Dagobah set with Luke Bespin, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, Yoda and R2 with sensorscope. The playset is almost complete, just mising one levitation piece only. The pit foam is damaged due to age..I got this whole set at a good price from eBay.

Next is the Maintenance Energizer set. It comes with 8 tools a.k.a hydrospanners and 2 hose. Maintenance Energizer - what is it for? Based on the boxart, it is like a petrol station to pump up the X-Wing and the the tools to fix the Falcon or other Star Wars vehicles. Initially I have the box and the maintenance energizer minus the tools, given free when I bought another item. After a long while, I decided to check out eBay to see if they sell loose tools to complete the set. They do sell but very pricey. I waited and finally came across a seller that sell a complete set minus the box plus a free vintage chewbacca figure. Whats good about this eBay seller is that it has some accessories that I am looking for to complete my other loose Star War figures. So I got them...and now I have a complete Zuckuss!! Yaaay!

I've also a set of vintage Bounty Hunters to simulate the Bounty Hunters briefing scene by Darth Vader.

Thought of saving money since the economic doesn't look good but then...I saw some reasonably priced MOC vintage figures on eBay...hhmm

LJN Thundercats Lion-O Figure

Thundercats toys - one of the must haves for the 80's kid. Unfortunately I didn't get the toys when I was a kid and thanks to eBay, now I can have one Lion-O figure. Well its kinda pricey for a loose complete figure, I got mine for over RM100++. I remember seeing a loose Lion-O in Singapore toy flea market selling for $1.00 only...but I guess those days are gone..

Lion-O comes with sword, claw glove and power ring (Mine still works! Yaaay!) At the back of the figure you have a button, when press activates his right arm to have a slashing action. Insert the power ring to the back and Lion-O' s eyes glow! Very cool for a toy made in the 80's. Now looking for a Mummra figure to complete the equation.....

Old Kenner Batman and ToyBiz Spiderman figures found in Speedy Video

While shopping for Chinese New Year, I stumbled upon a 1997 Kenner Batman and Robin movie: Batman with Mr Freeze twin pack, selling for RM12.90 in Speedy Video store. Usually I only buy Batman figures in his original blue/black costume but in this case I made an exception because 1) its cheap, 2) its from Kenner (which is now no more ) and 3) its dated 1997. Then I went to another Speedy Video Store and they have another Batman and Robin twin pack featuring a Metallic costumed Robin and Batman, selling for the same price. Still have a lot in stock...check it out if you're a fan.

Another unusual find in Speedy store is a 1996-7 ToyBiz 10" Spiderman figures. I got the super poseable Spidey (which comes with a web) and the Unmasked Spidey with Peter Parker head (which comes with his Spidey mask). I got it for RM19.90 each. There are other Spidey figures too, what I saw was Spidey in a metallic silver armour, Black Costumed Spidey and Scarlet Spidey in a blue T-shirt thingi. Haven't check other stores so dunno what else do they have.

On closer inspection, the Unmasked Spidey costume have two different shades of blue, the upper body and knee have a darker blue while the lap have a lighter shade. At first I thought it was a manufacturer defect/reject but when I checked in eBay, it seemed the figures in US is made that way too. Ebay price is USD29.90 Buy it now while for the super poseable Spidey is USD20.00 Buy it now.

1980s KALKITOS AND MAGIC PRESTO TRANSFERS

I still remember my first Kalkitos, "Tarzan" which I got for my Christmas present when I was very young. I of course didn't get to play it due to my age. My uncles and brother are the ones enjoying my Kalkitos.

Kalkitos - a piece of background scene with a piece of rub-on transfers for you to create your own adventure. It's a cheap and good past time for 80s kids like me. If my memory serve me correctly, it cost only RM0.75 for small ones and RM1.50 for the big ones. And I can get them from the local grocery store..

I searched ebay for Kalkitos - and found a few - at an unbelievable high price!! It cost 5 Euros excluding shipment!!! Then I did some research on the net and found Magic Presto - similar to Kalkitos but a US version. With luck, I got myself 4 vintage 1983 Star Wars Return of the Jedi Magic presto set, still sealed in bag. Well it still costly but not as bad as Kalkitos.

Collectible Value: Kalkitos is very rare in eBay. However you can still find Magic Presto in Ebay selling for USD9.90 per piece average.

Takara / Tezuka Production Astro Boy Real Action Figure Review

Another great find for 2009, also for RM20 is this Astro Boy Real Action Figure set from Takara/Tezuka Production. Astro Boy comes with 2 pair of hands (clenched fist and open palm), hand canon, a robot, 2 pair of legs (standing and flying), Astro Boy sillouette head base, a stand for the robot and a stand for flying pose.

Figure is small, about 4" tall but pack with great play value - another great toy from Takara. Figure have reasonable articulation except for the robot which is just a block of plastic. This figure also display very well - with nice sculpt and quality paint job. Recommended to Astro Boy fans.
Play Value: 8/10 - one thing lack in this figure is the open chest. Takara have a bigger Astro Boy action figure that have this features

Collectible Value: 5/10 - eBay selling at USD15-20