Space Toys and Me: Guest Article by Ykessa

"Hi Paul,

How did I get started collecting these Hong Kong plastic space vehicles? Well it started after I purchased a plastic car made in British Crown Hong Kong. I was amazed that it was almost promotional like in quality even if a little chintzy when it came to the hard plastic they used. I have been a long time collector of toys in general and, like most collectors, my tastes have evolved over the years to better and better and harder to find items. Started with Matchbox, then to Dinky & Corgi & Tekno etc and then jumped to Japanese tin and finally German tin. Never would have considered plastic until I got this nice European car made in Hong Kong. Fun part is not much was known about them and it became as much fun tracking down info on them as actually collecting. Then making calls to the United Kingdom where most of these toys ended up and of course thru ebay, one could find a large amount of variety. Not easy and many letters written asking if other collectors I knew had any or would contact me when they saw some. I can say now that I have quite a collection of vehicles made in Hong Kong in the 50’s and 60’s. When I saw my first space toy, omg, had to have it. What fun…I started planning how to display it and any others I might find.

Then started contacting robot and space toy collectors/dealers to ask about them. These guys knew how hard most were to find. Many had collected and dealt with Japanese tin robots and rockets and saucers for years and knew these Hong Kong ones were hard to find. Of course harder to find meant more costly. Even at higher prices that I was paying, not many were offered to me. So what I have listed is all I was able to find and many of those I listed at what I paid. I more or less lost my drive to find more as they became harder to find and ended up concentrating on the vehicles. I am working on a history of the toys made in Hong Kong and actively looking for any sales catalogs from them. So if I ever get actual info on some of the companies that made these toys, I will let you know so your readers can be informed. Funny, I have sold quite a few of these space vehicles already and I am already missing them. But they are going to nice new homes around the world. Thanks for your interest.

Best,
Randy (ykessa on fleabay)"

Thanks for sharing Randy. What a great collection! Amazing stuff including the LP-like LN Space Radar Car and the Batmobile-like Space car pictured above [which I've seen as a model in a Japanese magazine somewhere].