Toy OTD: Japanese Muttley Bank

I imagine I've mentioned before that Wacky Races merchandise is still fairly common in Japan. Aside from the cars themselves, Muttley is a very popular character in any WR toy line, maybe because he was a cartoon survivor, going from Wacky Races to Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines and other Hanna-Barbera shows later on. Plus, he's a cute cuddly dog - it's not super-tough marketing math!

I picked up this vinyl bank about eight or nine years ago from eBay, when that was the easiest way to get Japanese toys. It's still one of my favorite H-B/WR pieces. It's a great sculpt, capturing the iconic pose really well. It's not marked up with any unnecessary branding or logos, and the coin slot is handily out of sight when viewed from the front. The paint work is limited and simple, but well-executed. The colors may not be perfectly on-model, but they're bright and appealing. I'm not sure who the manufacturer is - there doesn't seem to be any markings on it anywhere.

Even though I bought this quite a while ago, two eBay auctions popped right up on the first try. You can buy one for $22.00 + $7.61 shipping (or best offer) right now from SHE_WOLF DOG TOYS - enjoy!

Toy OTD: Rush, Inc's Euvodesign Nuigurumi Bank

I don't know much at all about this company, or one of its mascots, Nuigurumi. It appears to be an ecologically-minded organization, but I can't figure out much more than that. Anyway, the mascot is a cool design, and so is this bank (though it doesn't look like it can hold much money). The colors and sculpt are great - the paint work is mostly fine, with the globe's line work being the only rough point.

I think I originally got this at Super 7 (though I may have gotten it at a toy show or convention), but I doubt that they have more of them at this point. If you can read Japanese, you can still get one at Euvodesign's web store for ￥1,575, or about $13.74 + shipping. If you order it directly from them, I think a portion of the proceeds goes to charity (though it's hard to tell). You may need to use a Japanese shopping/bidding service for this one!

Toy OTD: Kato Kogei Toy Story Banks

I picked these up quite a while ago, and I'm still really impressed with them. The sculpts are really appealing, and for ceramic pieces, the color work is nicely done, too. Big bonus points for making the alien's mouth the coin slot, as well as using a real cork in Hamm's belly. I'm not sure why the designers didn't simply make the characters larger, instead of sculpting them on a labeled base, but it doesn't detract too much from the overall effect (at least the base shape is appropriate for the logo). A Woody bank was also made for this line, but I liked these two the best.

I think I bought these from eBay originally, but I don't see any for sale there now. Granted, that was probably around ten years ago or more, so it's not going to be easy to track these down - Google isn't turning up much on them, either. An eBay favorite search is your best bet at this point!