Arto's Miniature TVs

Here's a small selection of miniature televisions in my collection. 

The flicker Mickey and the 1980's bank promotional flicker robots are sharpeners, the taller Mickey television has a rollable paper strip with various images.

The rest are View-Master type see-thru viewers.

Arto

Helsinki Base

LUNAR ROVER ON FILM CASSETTE

 

I'm always intrigued by old film stock, in whatever form. You never know what might be on there! The Beatles' last concert maybe!

We can be sure that these two films are Lunar Rover and Mt. St. Helens.

I had projectors as a kid with Thunderbirds and Looney Toons but these circular cassettes are much later and more advanced I would say.

Did you have anything like this?

THE KENNER ALIEN MOVIE VIEWER

Hi,

Here is a short You Tube item from Toy Tinker Tim on a toy movie viewer. 

The viewer took various film cassettes, and was hand-cranked, as were many of these viewers. 

The cassette shown is based on the movie Alien, and is called Alien Terror, copyright date 1979. It is a short reel of film highlights, without sound. 

Clearly this was a toy aimed at younger children, yet Alien was R-rated in the USA, meaning that no one under 17 was admitted unless accompanied by an adult. 

In Britain the film was rated X by the British Board of Film Censors - no one under 18 admitted at all, but now down to a 15 - no one under 15 allowed to view. 

Most of these toy lines would have been in development and manufacture long before the film was submitted to the film censors, and rated, but it is hard to see R and X ratings helping to sell a toy line aimed at children. 

There were plenty of other toys based on adult-rated films, or sometimes on a children's spin-off cartoon series. Very weird.

Kenner Alien Movie Viewer 1979 - YouTube

Have you or did you have one?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

WILL'S FLASHY FLICKERS

Hi Woodsy, seeing the Give a Show projectors on the blog reminded me of the old Marx Flashy Flickers projector gun. 

Did you have Flashy Flickers?

Will Os.

UK

ROB'S MATE'S GIVE-A-SHOW PROJECTOR

I visited a friend’s house recently, and we played “Show and Tell” with some of his vintage toys, all saved from childhood. I thought MBC readers would like to see pix. Here's the first.

Did you have one?

Rob Craig

USA

Toy Slide and Movie Projectors

Hi

         Here is an item from You Tube, and 60s Child, on the Chad Valley Give-A-Show slide projector. The projector came in different colours, and was boxed with a selection of slide strips - seven pictures to each story, in full colour. 

Different sets had different box top artwork. Several of these were devoted to Gerry Anderson, Batman, or Doctor Who. In fact, a complete Doctor Who story is featured in this clip. Additional slide strips could also be purchased. I never had any of these toys, but would have loved such a set. I did have a Viewmaster stereoscopic slide viewer.

     I should point out that at 0:08 there is a 'naughty' slide, I assume intended as an adult joke. Apart from this intrusion, this is a most interesting item.

"60s Kids could Give A show " The Iconic toy slide projector - YouTube

Then, from Vintage Toy Review, an item on the Kenner Cassette Movie Projector, which had its own screen. The films could also be projected to a larger size if required. This was an actual motion picture, not a series of still slides. Three films: Fat Albert, Scooby Doo, and Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, all shown in full. Hand cranked.

Vintage Toy Review: 1973 Kenner Cassette Movie Projector - YouTube

The Fisher-Price Movie Viewer and Theater. The Viewer is another hand held item, a bit like a small movie camera, into which cassettes are placed. The Movie Theater uses the same cassettes, and is again hand cranked, but has an illuminated screen. This actually resembles a small TV set, and it too can be used as a projector.

Fisher-Price Movie Viewer & Theater - YouTube

Another item on the Fisher-Price Viewers, this is a bit more basic, but does give some further information. Shows the side projection feature.

Throw Back Thursday: Fisher Price Movie Viewer Theater - YouTube

Now the Kenner Easy-Show Movie Projector. This used real 8mm film, and the Projectors came with three reels, each of which contained two short films. No threading required, as the film was in a continuous loop. Battery powered light, but the film is still hand cranked. Again, the films are shown. All very short, and the quality is poor, but great to see them at all.

Kenner Easy-Show Projector - YouTube

Paul Adams from New Zealand

FLASHY FLICKERS ANYONE?

I adored my Flashy Flickers as a kid.

It was a plastic rifle that was really a film projector.

Made by Marx you could get lots of films.

Here's one I picked up from Pudsey Toy Fair:

Tomahawk, Aquaman, Wonderwoman.

There are more listed on the box

Did you have a Flashy Flickers or another film slide projector?

We can get a feel for what the Flashy Flicker slide show was like courtesy of robokilroy's excellent scans of The Phantom on You Tube.