Ed has kindly sent me some shots of his almost complete Hamilton Invaders toys. These are some of my most favourite space toys from the sixties, which were never fully released in the UK. Remco ran the line from 1964 to 1965 and besides these toys, also produced a helmet and pistol set, so kids could really get down to alien blasting action. In 1964 REMCO introduced its "Hamilton's Invaders Horrible Hamilton" line of toys. The toys capitalized on the bug craze in sci-fi and horror flicks from that era as well as collectors' cards included in packs of bubble gum, such as The Black Scorpion, THEM!, Tarantula and The Deadly Mantis.
All the toys shots below are from Ed's personal collection. take it away Ed!
REMCO made numerous sets which contained a mix of bugs and Defenders. While the sets were very imaginative and should have caught the attention of boys, for some reason the line was a poor seller. It could be that, while the look of the toys was terrific, the inner pull-string spring mechanisms were cheaply made and prone to breakage. As well, the bugs couldn't withstand the rough play that boys are accustomed to and horns, antennas, and pinchers (or pincers or mandibles - whatever) broke off easily. The line was produced into 1965 then was discontinued.
The cardboard cave was only included in the large, boxed sets - those in plain carboard boxes with bold black lettering - of which there were several. The cave resembles a volcano and folds flat for easy inclusion into the packaging. It measures: 13" x 14"D at the bottom x 12"H. It's big enough to fit Horrible Hamilton (the big bug) inside and a couple of the other bugs but you'd be hard-pressed to fit the full complement of bugs.
Horrible Hamilton. This sample has a broken tail piece - it should be longer than what's shown in the photo
There were two medium sized bugs: Remco referred to this as 'The Beetle'. My sample is intact
This is 'The Spider'. My sample is missing the antenna and the pinchers - a common occurrence among these toys
There were three small bugs referred to as 'Grotesque's'. There are wheels underneath allowing them to roll along the floor. My samples are all intact
The opposing forces were called 'The Defenders'. This is the Torpedo Tank and is the largest vehicle in the series. It's also the only one which is battery operated, all the others having pull—string spring mechanisms. This tank would have shot a small diameter 'satellite' as its torpedo, but is missing from my sample
The 'Dwarf Tank. When I hear that term I think of the Japanese Chi-Ha tank from WWII or the tiny Renault and it's a pretty good comparison. These shot little projectiles which are most often lot. My sample has one remaining of the four originally provided.
The now iconic 'Mosquito Jeep'. The inspiration for a long line of copycat toy designs. These shot the same little projectiles as the tank. My sample has one remaining of the four originally provided.
The Hornet Helicopter. An unusual design in that it has no tail boom or rotor. This too had projectiles, but they didn't fire. To release them you tilted the helicopter backwards allowing them to fall out!
The Defending soldiers (six in blue and a white driver). At 70mm, these were quite large for 'Army Man' figures
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