Just been into two huge discount shops in Wakefield's city centre. Not Poundland or Pound Shop, these were even cheaper, the 89p + shop and one called Mini Market. You must have shops like these near you?
The toy sections were vast affairs and I always have a butchers to see which knockoffs are popular and whether there's anything interesting from China. Without doubt the knockoff of choice at the moment is anything to do with the Avengers. That's the Marvel gang and not Emma Peel.
Most of the larger toys are utility vehicles like huge boxed cement mixers and motorbikes and the top racks are draped with massive carded weapons sets, everything from Police SWAT sets, Knights in Armour to the new kids on the block, Ninja Killers.
The Ninja weapons sets are quite amazing and I would have fought Bruce Lee himself for them forty years ago! The table-sized blister cards contain plastic nunchaks, plastic shurikens, a plastic Ninjato Katana sword and scabbard, a sai or two, maybe a tonfa and best of all, a short plastic bow and quiver of rubber-tipped plastic arrows, the Yumi and Ya. Mind boggling. I had to make them all from scratch when I was 12!
However, the most interesting thing about these cheapo store toy shelves is the complete lack of space-related stuff. Not a rocket, a missile, an astronaut or a spaceship. Not even a space shuttle anymore. Nasa? Nada!
I have come to the conclusion that modern cheap space toys are dead or dying!
What do you think?
While it isn't mainstream space I suppose, small, often clockwork, robots are still about.
ReplyDeleteI have a nice silvered one that contains a biro (which I found after it was featured on the Small Scale World blog).
Yes, robots seem to still have some appeal Andy I agree. I suppose they have become part of pop culture now. What's the name of your new one. Robirot?
DeleteIn the U.S. we have Dollar Tree and Dollar General.The same idea,cheap goods, everything costs a dollar.In the past, ive found some interesting toys,namely strange looking dinosaurs or monsters,but space toys are rare.At present I tend to see Army men(always in stock)Ninjas,police men and fire men.While colorful and plentiful,they lack the fantasy element that usually catches my eye.
ReplyDeleteThe choice sounds remarkably similar to here Brian. You have Ninjas too! Yes, Army men and vehicles are everywhere in the cheapo shops. It seems to be the lowest common denominator for the plastic toy industry. Perhaps the Toy Story films gave green army men a new lease of life which they're still enjoying. I love those shop names by the way, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. So much more interesting than the Pound Shop!
DeleteI think they're dead too. I had hoped that the new Star Wars films would have kicked off a resurgence of space toys, but nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteNo, there's hardly anything. I suppose Star Wars will always have a market for knockoffs but generic space toys seem to have all but vanished. There used to be loads of Space Shuttles around in the shops but now they're retired I suspect it will take a manned mission to Mars to fire the public's imagination again, despite NASA having has some amazing missions in the last few years like Curiosity and Philae.
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