I used to love going to car boot sales. I went every Sunday morning for years during the 1990's in particular. It was the high point of the week. I'm not sure why I stopped.
Anyway, some of the small nuggets of fun I often found for some reason have formed links in my aging brain. They're not linked really but I suppose they tell a basic story of space toy design in the Nineteen Eighties, toys that became the unwanted detritus tossed beneath boot sale stalls in the Nineties.
First up I regularly found the cheeky little T-Bob from M.A.S.K. from Kenner's 1986 range.
The little fella was clearly inspired by Star Wars' R2D2 and his stiff little fingers reminded me of my dear old Minibot from the Sixties like this one.
I often confused the black wheels of T-Bob with another wheeled Star Wars vehicle at Car Boots, the MTV 7 Mini Rig like this one also by Kenner from 1981.
Another larger version of R2D2, at least in my eyes, regularly nestling at the bottom of junk boxes were the Roboforce robots by Ideal from 1984. You know the ones, they had a large rubber suction cup base and concertina arms like the one shown. I imagine that these form the basis of some collections nowadays eh?
Even more soft rubbery plastic was deployed to create another resident of the discarded piles beneath the stalls, the Trendmasters 1992 Space Trooper seen below. I think it reflects the emergence of gaming in toy design and the influence of Warhammer. But are they collectable at all?
My final installment in this disparate tale is a toy which I often wish I'd bought but for some reason didn't. It had everything I like - size, monstrous looks, alien style - and came out in the 1990's when I used to go up town toy hunting. There were stacks of these boxed critters in a discount toy shop and I looked, handled and just walked on by. I never saw the toy again. They must be collectable now?
I give you the awesome Alien Space Hunter from Trendmasters 1993.
What did you regularly find at sales and markets readers?
I always quickly scan the wares at swap meets and street markets, and skip what isn't of interest to myself or my boys. Which of late is less and less, because what I'm interested in is very rarely available these days, replaced by more modern toys that don't mean anything to me. And which will indeed be the future collectables - they'll just have to get through that tricky period between when they're mere second-hand/discarded/even "junk" and their generation reaching the nostalgic age to start collecting them.
ReplyDeleteAs to toys for my boys, they've grown out of them. The odd computer game aside, I get all wistful on a street market nowadays, seeing the Lego, Hot Wheels, dinosaurs etc that I used to snap up for them but now leave where it is...
Best -- Paul
Yes, our specialisms don't lend themselves to boot sales and flea markets do they Paul. When I was a general old toy collector and seller I used to come home with bin bags' full of stuff! I doubt there will be space fleets like SWORD or SpaceX again though. That bird has flown.
DeleteThnk your t-bob may be based on a robot that appeared in Disney's "Black Hole"?
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Andy. Max or Vincent I think they were called.
DeleteIts a shame about those Alien Space Hunters.I have seen sealed boxes recently,but because they were sold with batteries in them,they are usually stained with nasty yellow battery acid and they don't work after 20 or so years.I bought a pair anyway and cleaned them up.Even without the electronic effects, they are an impressive, heavy hunk of rubber.
ReplyDeletehey Brian, send us a snap of your two rubber hunters for the blog!
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