Top of the Morning

Here I go again with my hypocritical view on tin toys!Yes, I've always been a staunch supporter of plastic, but just lately a couple of tin toys have crept in, including the tinplate trains and a robot and now, my latest obsession, Spinning Tops!

Ive always been fascinated by spinning tops and have collected them off and on since I was a child. Little cracker toys, gumball charms and plastic toys from lucky bags and kinder eggs all added to my fascination. A couple of weeks ago, I got a loose top in a mixed lot of other bits, the smaller one with the diamond pattern. Although it was a good deal larger than the one I had previously collected from crackers etc, it spun fairly well with a twist of thumb and forefinger. Then as is usually the case, another appeared on ebay, with the winder. This was the larger white one and a modest bid secured it. Luckily, the winder also fitted the first one, so I soon had both spinning furiously, humming as they went. Just last night, I won a third, the yellow Tri-ang branded model, which was hand delivered this morning by a local seller. The winder is wooden, with a stout spring inside and sets the tops off at a really fast pace, spinning effortlessly with the eerie hum. The other two are unbranded and probably Japanese manufacture.