Toy OTD: Modern Pets Wind-Up Baton Poodle
This is a tricky item to research - I'm not sure if Modern Pets is the name of both the manufacturer and the line, or just the line. At any rate, this is the current Japanese equivalent of the Dakin Dream Pets toy line, consisting of a completely different series of animal designs.This character is called "Baton Poodle", and it's somewhat unique - while there are many plushes and some vinyl figures of the various designs, this is the only wind-up toy in the line (that I'm aware of). As you'd expect, it shakes its batons about when wound up.
I bought mine for around $18 or so at Super 7 in San Francisco, but they don't have them in stock any longer. If you can read Japanese, you can buy a wind-up Baton Poodle here for 1,344 Yen (or $11.59 USD) + shipping.
Labels: baton poodle, japanese toy, modern pets, plush, plush toy, poodle, toy, wind-up
posted by Jeff Pidgeon at
8:38 PM
3 Comments:
Modern Japanese windups, eh?
Did you ever happen to see John Dymer's collection? He had an uncle who regularly traveled to occupied Japan in the the primo period for toys, and gave John every. single. cool. windup you could get--and John kept them all prisitine. They were the ones that cost many many hundreds(if not 4 figures)on ebay. They were so inventive and fun(a writing bear! a dog magician! an oversleeping bear who wakes up to an alarm clock, cries and goes back to bed! etc) I wondered why no one bothered to make that sort any longer.
I've never seen John's collection, but it sounds like I'd love it if I did! Hopefully someday, he'll hire a good photographer and Chronicle Books can make a book of his wind-ups.
I'm assuming it's either money or safety issues that put a kibosh to the old wind-up toys! Those are usually the key reasons.
This was probably an old posting but I'll respond to it anyways in-order set the details straight.
Thats' Jenny L., right? The old wind-ups and battery operated mechanical toys referred to were saved from my childhood during the 1950's. My mom, god rest her soul, would buy me one each time I would take the 20 mile streetcar ride with her to the Department Stores in Downtown Pittsburgh, mostly at Christmas time. These toys, like all tin toys at the time, were stamped "Made in Japan". My Uncle never saw Japan. Some that I opened up as a kid had Japanese writing on the inside because they were recycled from old tin cans. I don't have THAT many because I could only carry one back each time I went to Pittsburgh.
Any of my old freds from Warner Bros. are welcome to see them any time yer in Topanga.
-John Dymer
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