Toy OTD: Fisher-Price Muppet Puppet #852: Rowlf (1977)

I know a lot of Muppet fans aren't all that thrilled with Fisher-Price's '70s merchandise, but I have a fondness for it. I think their best offerings were the Animal (which I never had) and Rowlf (which I did) hand puppets. Maybe if I'd had one of the original Ideal Rowlf puppets, I'd feel differently!

Rowlf is a basic hand puppet done well. It's a good likeness - mainly due to the fabric used for the 'fur', and the accuracy of the face. It's designed a little more horizontally than the real character, but the eye/nose materials used still evoke him nicely.

The biggest difference between Fisher-Price's version and the actual puppet is that the operator's hand is inserted into the back of the toy's head; while the real puppet is manipulated from underneath. It's less accurate, but I like the fact that the toy has a full body. I do wish the belly had more volume, and that one (or both) of the arms could be operated. Still, I think it's nice that Rowlf could double as a plush in a pinch.

This toy doesn't have enough volume to sit up by itself. It's a shame, but considering it was primarily designed as a puppet first, it's not a big detraction from its play value.

The packaging is simple, appealing and on-theme for the character. Most of the box is decorated with backstage scenes from the Muppet Theater, complete with 'curtains' and 'footlights'. There's also some photos of play scenes with the puppet, ostensibly to pull in toy store shoppers. There must have been some confusion in the marketing surveys, as the toy also sports a tag making it clear that Rowlf is a hand puppet. It doesn't feel like an afterthought, though - the tag design is consistent with the box.

This toy isn't old enough to make finding one difficult, but there is one thing to keep in mind. This puppet was lined with sheets of foam to help give it some body without having to completely stuff the torso. As a result, twenty-three-year-old foam will probably be a crumbly mess. Be prepared to keep it as a display piece, do major re-lining work, or avoid it altogether. If you do decide to buy, there's three eBay auctions starting at $9.99 + shipping right now. Of course, if you want to be hard-core, there's one of the original Ideal Rowlf puppets on eBay for $500 + shipping. Hop to it!

Toy OTD: Quaker Cereal Mail-Order Premium: Cap'n Crunch Bank

Cap'n Crunch was the source of many cool ads, in-box prizes and mail-order premiums. This bank is one of my favorites!

I think this offer was from the late sixties or early seventies - for money and box tops, you could get either a bank in the shape of the Cap'n or his main nemesis, Jean La Foote. It's a simply made item, but it's fun and appealing.

The colors are accurate when you compare it to the cartoon character. Granted, the proportions are extremely tweaked in order to make the character work as a bank. There's not much of a pose here, either, but I think the original design still comes through and rescues the execution. The paint work is rather sketchy too, and to some degree the bank looks like an unauthorized bootleg. It really depends on how appealing you find early manufacturing and design - you either buy into its primitive vibe, or you don't.

These bank aren't terribly rare, so finding one shouldn't be all that difficult. In fact, there's a really nice-looking one up for auction on eBay starting at $24.99 + shipping. Enjoy!

Toy OTD: Jay Ward Figurine: Sherman

I think that this is the last of the Jay Ward ceramic figurines that I bought (yipe!) two years ago. I'm not precisely sure when this line was made - it might have been thirty years ago (for the Do-Right Emporium), or maybe only ten years ago (for the Universal Studios theme parks). It might be a rarer collectible, or it might not. I like it anyhow!

First off, it's a slightly less popular character - most manufacturers stick with Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris and Natasha. Secondly, it's reasonably on model (especially considering the medium). Granted, the sculpt could be a lot tighter, and the paint work is pretty mushy too. Still, it's pretty faithful to the original design, the color choices are good, and the pose is nicely asymmetrical. Decent work for what looks to be a pretty inexpensively made figurine!

I'm not sure where you'd get one of these at this point - unless my latter theory was correct, and they're still being made for the Universal parks. The internet has turned up empty, so it's back to the ol' eBay favorite search. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Schmid Bros. Snoopy Music Box (1968)

This is a very special childhood toy with a lot of history.

When I was a kid, there was a drug store in Vermont called Campbell's Pharmacy - it was where I bought a lot of my comic books, and they also sold figurines, music boxes, and other gift items. Snoopy was prominently displayed in the main window, and being the huge Peanuts fan that I was, I immediately fell in love with it. I stopped to look at it every time we went by the shop. Or at least I did until it disappeared one day. I was heartbroken.

Of course, my parents had bought it for me, and it became one of my favorite possessions. I played it constantly, even though I had no idea what the song Over There was really about. I even took it into the bathroom with me at bath time, until one day it fell off the back of the toilet, landing on the floor. The fall rendered it silent.

I was very upset, but Dad patiently opened the doghouse up and repaired it. As an explanation for the damage, he painted bullet holes on the side, simulating an enemy attack! And so I've kept it to this very day. I've discarded and 'upgraded' many of my childhood playthings, but this one simply has too much love inside of it.

Of course, I think this music box is wonderful - the design is crude, even primitive, but that's part of its simple charm. In a way, it's just as elemental as the comic itself. An astronaut version that plays Fly Me To The Moon was also made at the time.

These music boxes weren't made in enormous quantities, so naturally they're sought-after collectibles today. There's one up for auction on eBay right now starting at $9.99 + shipping, but I'd be prepared to pay $100 or more for it. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Berries Devil Novelty Figure, 1971

Some toys you just hang onto because you've had them for too long to imagine discarding them. I think this was a flea market purchase, one of those OCD-collector days where you want to bring something home with you. Then it becomes an entrenched, sentimental object, the toy version of a common-law marriage.

This is one of the few toys I went out of my way to alter - usually, I can't bring myself to change anything, even if it would be simple to do. It used to have an "I Love You This Much" decal on its belly. I couldn't deal with that, even ironically, so with a little scrubbing and a little Goo Gone®, off it came! The figure is so banged up by this point, that a few more scratches wouldn't make much difference.

Everything here is pretty much average - the pose is symmetrical, and the design isn't much to talk about. The proportions of the face are pretty even, and the eye treatment is pretty lifeless. That unfortunately dominoes, weakening everything else - even though the sculpt is decent, and the color choices are okay.

I can't imagine finding another one of these - it's not a licensed character, so there probably isn't much nostalgic demand for them. A cursory search on eBay turned up nothing, and looking deeper is probably more trouble than it's worth. The good news is, if you want one and manage to find it, it'll probably be very cheap. I'd pop "I Love You This Much" into a favorite search - that'll probably give you the most specific results to sift through. Good luck!

Toy OTD: R&L Co. Tooly Bird Figurines: Turkey Tongs, Double-Headed Rook Wrench (1971)

Here's a couple of toys that I've have since I was a kid! These were packed in Kellogg's cereals in the early seventies, and were molded in a variety of colors. Their names varied depending on the distribution area (these were also called Percy Pincer and Slugsy Spanner in Australia - much better than the long-winded domestic monikers).

It's always cool to see cereal premiums made in the days before everything was a tie-in to a television show or movie. These little guys tried to appeal to kids on their own merits! I like the surreal quality of the designs - maybe they were inspired by Alice in Wonderland, or Dr. Seuss' drawings.

There were twelve Tooly Birds in one line, but there may have been more than one series, as this checklist doesn't include either of the characters that I have. This could be a nightmare for a completist, if you were compelled to figure out all the plastic colors and try to get one of each character in all of them. Fortunately for me, I don't go in for that anymore!

It looks like it'd be difficult to get individual Tooly Birds - the eBay auctions that I've found are usually lots of six or more. The going bids seem to range between ten and sixty dollars, so I'd say the figures can cost you at least five or six dollars each. Good luck!

The Greed Of Christmases Past: Wishbookweb.com

If you don't already take enough trips down memory lane, here's a site that's archived a bunch of the old Wish Books. If you're under thirty years old, your parents may not have ordered all (or any of) your presents from JC Penny or Sears!

I loved the ritual of the Christmas Wish Book arriving each year - poring through the toy section for weeks, carefully circling and meticulously listing the stuff I wanted.

At one point, I had everything on this page but the plush (before Star Wars, Peanuts was the thing for me)! It's wild to look through these catalogs now - just like today, some of the toys are great, and others are really awful. Check 'em out!

Toy OTD: Fisher-Price #444: Queen Busy/Buzzy Bee (1962-1985)

This isn't one of Fisher-Price's best toys necessarily, but I had one as a kid, so nostalgia demanded that I get a spiffy replacement from eBay!

Queen Busy Bee is nice and simple, with a cute noisemaker and plenty of charm. The designers get a lot of play value out of their simple materials, accenting the spinning wheels and wings with bouncing spring antennae. I wonder if the illustrator knew what the artwork was for - there's wings painted onto the 'thorax', even though the toy has wings as separate parts! It's very cute, regardless.

This toy was made for so long, there's tons and tons of them out there - it'd almost be harder not to own one! Needless to say, there's some variations in the construction, but basically no one version is much more expensive to get than another (well, the '59 model will cost you, but in general it's not a pricey toy). A quick search on eBay revealed thirty-seven different auctions, so this is kind of a fish in a barrel unless you're looking for the box, or want to the toy to be in ultra-mint condition. Have fun!

Toy OTD: Ahi/Azrak-Hamway Int'l Flintmobile (1974)

I love me some Flintmobile! It's one of the neatest looking cartoon vehicles, and it beat the Wacky Races cars by roughly ten years. I love the design, I love the sound effect it makes when it drives away, and I love that's it's the only car where driving it's about a million times harder than walking! You can't even turn it around without picking the whole damn thing up into the air. Fred may be overweight, but he's no weakling. One 'wheel' alone probably weighs as much as he does!

Anyway, here's a motorized version from the early seventies. This one's broken, so I have no idea how mobile it would be. This design preserves almost everything I like about the car - nice, simple shapes and appealing colors. The toy's proportions are also really nice - ofttimes the car gets too wide in order to accommodate all of the characters. That being said, it's too bad that Wilma and Betty got bumped, but you see Fred and Barney carpooling on the show a lot, so it makes sense (though if you follow that line of reasoning, Dino shouldn't be there). I wish Dino was poking through the soft top like he does in the opening sequence, but the designer's solution is still pretty appealing.

I bought this on eBay - since it wasn't working and not very old, I don't think it was all that expensive. On the other hand, it doesn't seem all that common, either - I can't find another one online anywhere. I think an eBay Favorite Search is in order, if you want this car!

UPDATE (08/05/09): Here's some added info from bfentworld@verizon.net:
"The car was meant for a table - when it got to an edge, a rod dropped down to trigger a turn/rotate in another direction, towards another edge of the table."

Toy OTD: Eldon Billy Blastoff With Space Crawler (1968-71)

This figure is one of my favorite space toys! I didn't grow up with Major Matt Mason, so I imprinted on a beat-up Billy Blastoff that I found at a flea market. That one didn't survive my childhood, so I picked up a spiffy, operational version from eBay much later on.

It's a clever format for a toy - let the figure itself power all of the accessories (even his laser pistol). Billy's backpack is motorized, so you simply plug it into any of the vehicles in the line, and away you go! There were several different conveyances to choose from, as well as a full-blown moon base, and Robbie, his robot buddy. Billy was also available as a fireman and a scuba diver (there may be still other variants), each with still more accessories. As far as I know, the astronaut is the most common, with a walking version made a little later. It makes sense that Billy Blastoff was the most popular of the line - once you come up with a catchy name like that, anything else just isn't gonna cut it!

These aren't as popular as the Major Matt toys, and they're also easier to find in good shape (no wire armatures to break). Some items can get pricey, depending on rarity and how difficult they are to find complete. There's an eBay auction for a decent-condition Billy with several vehicles that's currently at $45.12 + shipping.

Check out a Billy Blastoff TV spot here!

Toy OTD: '70s Tony The Tiger Vinyl Figure

I'm assuming that this figure was a mail-order premium that you could buy with either cash, or a combination of money and box tops. Regardless, it's a great-looking toy - definitely stockier than the animated character, but appealingly sculpted and painted to preserve its cool graphic design. My travel agent back in Vermont had one of these on her desk, and of course I coveted it, trying to get her to sell it to me, but to no avail. I picked up my first Tony figure from eBay, then upgraded to this one (it had a better paint job) later on.

I don't remember how much I paid for the figure, but being fairly common, I think they fall into the $40-$60 range. Got2haveit.com has one for $49.99 + shipping, and there's an auction on eBay right now currently at $2.99 + shipping! Maybe there's a bargain there...

Unfortunately Named Toy Dept.

Here's an ad from a far more innocent time... uh, 1975 or so. Okay, so maybe this product had a really, really naive project head.

Toy OTD: Hasbro Mr. Potato Head: Fireman (1970s)

Here's another cute variant from the '70s Mr. Potato Head line. It's interesting that, even as the arms were temporarily jettisoned from the design, the character still has accessories that required arms! I'm glad they brought the arms back, appealing as this line is. I also like the pants-as-body treatment, too - it's a nice compromise from the wobbly full-body that the toy originally had.

eBay is probably your best bet if you want to get one - I don't see any for sale right now, but it's nothing a Favorite Search can't eventually fix. I'm not sure how much these go for nowadays - this one was a gift from a friend.

Toy OTD: Ideal Zeroid Robots: Zobor, The Bronze Transporter

Here's another robot from the late '60s/early '70s toy line from Ideal, the Zeroids. Each toy scooted about on motorized treads. Zobor's early box was cleverly designed to add to the play value - the robot could pull the box along on its wheels, carrying cargo like a wheelbarrow. The robots came with different hands (some magnetic) and a variety of accessories.

One of my school buddies had this specific Zeroid, and I coveted it fiercely. I managed to pick up this one years later on eBay, and other than some missing accessories and paint wear, it's in good shape. eBay is really the only place to buy one of these, and examples in decent condition start at roughly $70-$100 each. The more complete it is, of course, the more it'll cost!

Merchandising History

VARIETY GALLERY: 'Star Wars' toys
Size matters not for vintage figures
By DAVID LEWIS
Posted: Fri., May 4, 2007, 5:33pm PT

Nearly as famous as the films themselves, vintage "Star Wars" figures have a following of their own, and helped revolutionize the action figure industry into the thriving business it is today.

Conventional wisdom of the mid-'70s saw movies (even those aimed at kids) as a merchandising gamble, and Fox and Lucasfilm had trouble finding a suitor when it came to toy manufacturers, but Kenner Products took a chance. When the film debuted in May 1977, it became an instant surprise hit. As "Star Wars" fever swept the world, fans clamored for any paraphernalia relating to the film. Except for some cheapie games and puzzles, Kenner was unable to deliver toys in time for Christmas that year.

Early bird

In the meantime, Kenner offered a strange alternative: It presold a set of four figures (Luke, Leia, Chewie and R2) in an empty box dubbed the "Early Bird Certificate Package." Kids and collectors could purchase the box, which they could later exchange for the four figures. The ploy worked, and Kenner sold out of its "Early Bird" run. Fan anticipation was further sated soon after, when the first 20 figures were released.

Size matters not

Eschewing the larger size of such successful figure lines as Hasbro's 12" G.I. Joe and Mego's various 8" figures, Kenner opted to sculpt the "Star Wars" figures at 3¾" tall. While the size didn't allow for great detail, it lowered the price of each toy, and quickly became the industry standard. Chief among the converted was Hasbro, whose hugely successful 1982 relaunch of G.I. Joe stood at 3¾".

Variations

In addition to a number of small production variations, the first wave of "Star Wars" figures contained a number of oddities. The initial pressings of Luke, Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi came with what came to be known as "double-telescoping" lightsabers, which could be extended to nearly twice their original length. These figures are now extremely rare. Also, the Imperial officer figure originally known as the "Death Squad Commander" was later renamed the less sinister "Star Destroyer Commander."

Fett fete

The 21st figure of the initial line was the as-yet-unseen-on-film Boba Fett. Destined to become a fan favorite, Fett had been shown only in a brief animated clip on 1978's "Star Wars Holiday Special." The Fett figure was initially slated to include a "rocket-firing" feature, but Kenner scrapped the idea over safety concerns. While the rocket-firing Fett never made it to production, various prototypes made their way into the public, and they typically fetch a bounty numbering in the thousands on eBay.

'Power' is on

1980's "Empire Strikes Back" and 1983's "Return of the Jedi," each yielded new figure lines, yet after "Jedi" left theaters, excitement for the toys began to wane. Kenner introduced a new line, dubbed "The Power of the Force" which re-issued the old figures with new packaging. The POTF line also offered 15 new figures, mostly featuring briefly-seen background players like Amanaman, Barada and the elderly Anakin Skywalker, whose ghostly image appears in the last scene of "Jedi."

Tooning in

In 1983, Kenner produced two other "Star Wars"-related lines, based on the animated spinoffs "Droids" and "Ewoks." The "Droids" line provided for one of toy collecting's strangest occurrences. A second line of figures failed to make it past the prototype stage, but somehow a mold of the portly minor character Vlix made it to Brazil, where it was produced several years later. Now considered the Holy Grail of toy collecting, the little-known character commands obscene amounts of money on the secondary market.

New Color Model Pictures!

Here's the latest pictures of the beaver toy color model. I think it's pretty much ready to go - I e-mailed Gentle Giant to ask them about which colors could be cast in vinyl, and which couldn't (as opposed to painting the entire figure). Ultimately, I'd like the body and tail to have more of a softer matte finish than they do now - not quite as shiny as they currently are. Other than that, I think it's ready to go! Let me know what you think... last chance...