No Toy is an Island

The island of Taiwan has a long proud history of toy manufacture.

Here's three space toys from the former Formosa.

See what you think readers?

The Super Jet Car. It looks chunky.

The Machine Cop. You do not want to mess with this guy! 

The most ambitious of the three here and with echoes of Gatchaman, the Dolphin II.

I really like the look of this. You?

PLANET SURFACE PATROL: MYSTERY MACHINE

 This strange space vehicle caught my eye online a while back.

Planet Surface Patrol.

Its has pull-back action and and was made in China.

The orange ribbed wheels immediately made me think of the SpaceX MEV2, but the picture shows a more conventional tyre.

And what is that design? It seems so familiar. Any ideas?

THE ACE TEAM

 At Sunday's boot sale I had great fun rummaging in a box of old stuff  - all 25p each!

Having bagged my booty, as always I've begun to think about what I left behind! The booter's curse!

The box contained a a couple of cheapo helicopters labelled Ace Team and I think Air Team. Clearly A-Team knockoffs, both were small black die-casts.

These were not the toys I was looking for and I left them behind in their dusty casket for someone else.

Looking up these cheapo choppers I could only find Ace Team and only the van, which wasn't at the sale. 

There's one on Ebay and it says the maker is Szetoys, which is new to me. 

Googling further there's even a version of this with Mr. T pictured on the roof.

What I did get from the sale was the real McCoy, a Rough Riders A-Team Enforcer van, which needs a bit of TLC. Here's one I saw on Worthpoint.

Have you got any A-Team toys or knockoffs readers?

Friction Long Distance Jetliner MF 105 from the Kang Yuan Toy Factory Shanghai China

Appearing as part of my JR21 alerts, I saw this tin jetliner recently on the 'Bay, a fine old Chinese plane.

It's clearly related to the Chinese tin Moonship that a few of us own. Its from the same factory.

The box art is even better than the toy. Looking long and sleek it's got Fireflash vibes galore. The toy looks shorter than the illustration.

Is this a toy you own?

SH SPACE SHIP: SILVER MACHINE

 

these pics of a toy spaceship caught my eye over on Spain's Todocollecion site a while back.

Its got everything; the glitz, the mystery wheels ....

Its even got a squirmy alien in the doorway - one we've seen before courtesy of Wotan Bill.

I like it. Do you?

TOYS MADE IN HONG KONG: THE LEGEND

This is an interesting look at the history of toymaking in Hong Kong.

There's mention of the Century 21/ JR21 New Flying Saucer too!

https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/curriculum-development/kla/pshe/references-and-resources/history/CDI020170798_Ms_Lau.pdf

and here's a Chinese site about Supercar!

https://sledgehammer.pixnet.net/blog/post/406544860-%E8%90%AC%E8%83%BD%E8%BB%8A-supercar

What do you think?

SON AL GUARDIAN RIDER: RODEO NASTY?

 

This Guardian Rider by Son Al Toys is a hotch-potch of styles and origins I reckon, a classic cheapo mash-up but fascinating nonetheless.

From the box art it looks like there was a spider - this one - and horse and a robot too.

What do think readers? What are its origins? Is it ugly? Ideal for Xmas?

CHUAN SHIN CHINA PIONEER SAUCER

 

I think I've blogged this afore years ago, its the Chuan Shin 2001 P2ONEEL FLY SAUCER aka the Pioneer. I assume P2oneel was one way of saying it!

Its an interesting looking toy. What are its influences readers do you reckon?

CHINA'S TIN PASSENGER ROCKET

I saw this online and thought, wow! 

Its a Passenger Rocket ST-1, tinplate and made in China. Sized 33 x 24 cm.

Its as sleek as they come and looks simply stunning.

Goggling it there appears to be a box variation too, which I prefer I think.

And this popped up too. Its not a Passenger Rocket but its a damn fine Jet Passenger Liner from China, the MF 212.

Do you have anything like this readers?

SPACE CRAFT LATEST DESIGN MADE IN CHINA: A MINI THUNDERBIRD 5?

 

There is something very Thunderbird 5 about this Chinese spaceship, the "Latest Design".

the box art shows a silver rear engine, which I must say looks a lot better than the yellow one on this example of the toy I saw on vintagespacetoys.com

I like the pipes coming out of the engines too, which look like a stethoscope attached to the cockpit dome!

Do you like this toy?

PAINT YOUR SPACE WAGON

I saw this old tin bundle on auction yonks ago and noticed the rocket.

Its the Chinese tinplate "Moon Rocket", which has appeared many times here under the name of the Moonship [click the label below for more], but this one is different. It looks sort of shoddy.

Would you say its been painted?

RED ROVER READY

This week China landed a rover on Mars. It seemed to happen without much ceremony, certainly here in the UK.

Its called Zhurong and joins the American motors Curiosity and Perseverance as they trundle over the dust of the Planet Red.

Both superpowers have staked a claim then. Is that how it is?

Here it is, Zhugong, with its lander and ramp and Roger Dean-esque solar panels. What do you think?

I was intrigued to find out the USSR landed also landed a craft on Mars in 1971, which included a small rover on skis. The lander failed and rover never got out. It was called Mars 2.

TIN ROCKET PLANE MF101 ST-1

I saw this a while ago, a tinplate Rocket Plane MF101 on Toy Hunter's site

https://www.toyhunteruk.co.uk/product/vintage-friction-drive-tin-plate-rocket-plane-no-mf-101/

The description doesn't say Made in China but I guess it is.

It recalls those other sleek Chinese toy rocket ships we feature here, the Moonship. I onder if these are related to the Rocket Plane? Anyone know?

ROCKET PLANE: MF 101: TINPLATE SUPERSONIC

This is an interesting tinplate rocket plane on this UK dealer website. It has hints of the Chinese tin Moonship. 

There's a flicker of Gerry Anderson design in it too.

What do you think? Have you got one?

https://www.toyhunteruk.co.uk/product/vintage-friction-drive-tin-plate-rocket-plane-no-mf-101/

ANDY'S CHINESE MOON ROCKET

Hi Woodsy,

This was a Christmas present to myself, a modern Chinese copy of a 1950-60s tin toy "Moon Rocket", which now sits in my workroom.

Having looked on the 'net, I think the original was Japanese, by Masudaya. 

It's not a bad copy (I could never afford the original version), although some of the metal parts are now plastic, and there is a paper sticker on the fin bearing the name. 

I suspect the original was rather larger, and that the body shape was designed to hold batteries. The lights on the side have now become just coloured hemispheres.

It came with a large chromed plastic radar dish, on a long (and damaged) stem - I shortened the stem when repairing it, which I think gives a better appearance. 

Surprisingly, one old toy has the figure of a spaceman (looking rather more like a diver) looking through a periscope here - not sure if this is authentic, it certainly doesn't make much sense! 

The Chinese regularly make copies of older Japanese toys, I'm not sure if this is because it saves them having to create a new design, or because having the appearance of an old toy makes their products more attractive to the 'nostalgia' market -maybe both!

all the best,

Andy B.

UK

SPACE TANK MODEL FROM CHEAP PLASTIC TOYS

Check out this amazing space tank model, on the cool Science Fiction Modeller blog, made from cheap Hong Kong military toys. I've even had these toys in a job lot I got a few years back! If only IO had any modelling skills!

http://gmart364.blogspot.co.uk/2012_08_01_archive.html

TOY MINE ACE COMBAT X31

I dunno, there's something SWORDy about this cheapo toy. Maybe some Dyna Soar, maybe some Probe Force 3?

What do you think?

Available on Ebay in the USA.

APOLLO MOON EXPLORING MADE IN CHINA?

I know many of you have bought these Apollo Moon Exploring- style cake toppers since they first surfaced, especially on Etsy. I got some too and I was well pleased.

Mine were labeled Made in China on the bases.

Does anyone have any idea who might be still making these in China?