^^ This one does have the chain and clip, its just hanging down the back so you dont see it in the photo. I do take the chains off some key rings if they are more like a figure, and look better without it . . . I have quite a lot of other key rings i haven't got round to taking pics of yet
Ah, silly me, I should have checked out the flickr shots first before opening my mouth. I used to have a big bundle of key rings when I was kid, all looped together in one giant mess - sort of the one kind of souvenir you could afford as a kid (at least back then). Combine that with the ones they used to have in gumball machines, fair prizes, and flea market finds, it added up to a lot of memories. (now if only I had ever had the need for one....^-^ )
Yeah, they were affordable and everywhere! A lot of the ones i had were 'prizes' in the seaside arcade 'two penny falls' like this one below. Hours of fun for the whole family! Before i graduated to Alien Pinball and Atari Star Wars Arcade
I found the purple dude at a boot-sale on Sunday. 30p. I found the red one a few months ago . . . I am assuming these are knock-off power-rangers super-sentai style figures. I dont think they are official characters. If that is the case, i think they are pretty cool for cheapo toys . . .
Recent blasters, i have three of these now in different colorways . . . They are the best quality construction out of all the blasters i have. 50p for the two at a boot-sale.
Moog, you always have great finds at garage sales. I love those space guns. Everytime I see toy space guns now, I can't get this quote out of my head: "Get that guy! Get that guy! Pew! Pew! Pewww!" - Bernadette Big Bang Theory
Haha, the first person to make me aware of that particular spelling of a laser-gun sound, was Rich (MVH). It was something he'd posted on SB about headers he was designing for a toy release he was doing. I can't remember exactly what . . . I'd never seen it before and it made me laugh
Vietnam war patch and ULLR (who I just learned is the Germanic pagan God of Skiing & Hunting) pin. $3 for the pair
^^ Nice finds. My brother got obsessed with reading Vietnam novels recently. After he finished the ones i already owned he went out and bought about 10 more. He's been passing them on to me . . . I've just read 'The 13th Valley' by John M. Del Vecchio and 'Fields of Fire' by James Webb. Also, 'Matterhorn' by Karl Marlantes . . . Here's a nice toy i grabbed at a boot-sale. I found one of them years ago which was the standard red and silver but it was so badly bashed-in and knackered i passed on it. It was nice to find this one recently in such good working order. I assume its a bootleg. The propeller is quite powerful, so i could use it as a fan if i wanted to . . . The guy selling it told me he's tried it out (you basically stick a wire to the ceiling with the attachment that comes with it) and it whirls around in circles like a mad thing . . . he said "It nearly took my eye out". He was still happy to sell me this dangerous toy for £1.50
These are pretty amazing. I... I mean they would be were I a child! Those can't be very old can they? Then again I can't really imagine something like this being produced today.
Love that flying Ultra, @The Moog !! He is a real beauty. I have seen a few of these, there was also an Astroboy one I was really after. I can't believe you passed on the red painted version!?! Sending you money now to go back and get it for me. Very cool pickups @Kerk1, I especially really dig that ULLR badge, a fantastic design, and right up my alley.
Well, i love 'em and i'm an adult The tag on one of them said - 2013 Smiffy's, Gainsborough, UK Haha, nah. It was really smashed to crap . . . all split-open with a bashed-in face. It was a real downer seeing it in such a state . . .
Hmm.. I wonder if they're the same Smiffy's that makes this absurd gun? Boy, you Brits are into some weird stuff And why won't Amazon UK deliver it to the US!? I notice everyone in the reviews mentioning they bought it for their "fancy dress" parties. I don't know what that is, but i could probably think of some better uses for an awesome yet ridiculous inflatable machine gun. And only a couple of them involve air travel. Between this and your pew-pews, I'm beginning to think you guys just have better toys than us.
Yep, i bet its the same company. Vintage ball with squeaker. Quite a trippy design. 50p at a boot-sale. Hard to guess its age . . .
Are all this squeaker toys you're buying dog toys? Those are they only kind squeaker toys I've ever known of, but some of these, like that handsome fox you posted the other day, seem slightly elevated above mere "dog toys"
The fox and all the other Combex stuff i've posted were definitely for children. A lot of the larger ones were also converted into 'night lights' at the factory in the 50's . . . That trippy ball however, i'm undecided about. It could be a fancy dog toy or meant for kids - its hard to say!
Hmm.. that's interesting. I wonder if I've never heard of squeaky toys for children because it's a uniquely British thing or because it's just something from a previous era I've never run across. And the hypno-ball is pretty neat. Could be it's meant to be shared by the kids and Fido
That ... Squeeks were and still are made for kids, there is nothing more wonderful and annoying than when your child learns to squeeze a squeeker.
@scobot You're in Australia though, right? So maybe not "uniquely British", but I'm still thinking they might not be commonplace in the US. For instance, I googled "children's squeaky toy" and the first result was from a "global market" website. and their weren't really any other significant links available. And you know Google and the internet are just falling all over themselves to sell you stuff if the have it for sale. I think there may be some exceptions, though. The ubiquitous "rubber ducky" is a squeaky toy, albeit one usually relegated to bathtime (Americans are only comfortable with their kids enjoying squeaky toys when their sudsy? ). Also, a couple are in the Toy Story movies. The thee-headed alien which everyone probably knows, and there was a squeaky penguin in TS2 (info from Wikipedia's squeaky toy entry). It's still certainly possible that squeaky toys were a thing at some point in our history, but I'm not sure they are now. At least not like in yours (or, possibly, @The Moog 's, he didn't actually mention if they were a current thing there). I did find this bit of British weirdness (again, via the Wikipedia entry):
OK, that "Space Bomber" is just bizarre. It genuinely looks more like some ornate Egyptian artifact than it does a child's toy. Wow.
@Odibex squeeker toys have been around quite some time in the US. There are a few artists who's toys are very collectible. Edward Mobley and Ruth E Newton are a couple that I know of off the top of my head. Check out vintage rubber toys from the 40s-70s, most of them are probably squeaker toys.
OK, I appreciate that info! I see you've given a couple 'historical' examples, and I did leave open the possibility that they may have been popular here at one time. But, and only because i have an UNQUENCHABLE THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE. I'd like to ask for clarification as to whether they're still a thing (outside of rubber duckies)? I guess it's not explicitly clear from what you've said. I mean, I'm looking at some of the Mobley and Newton toys (which are super cute, btw) and there's such an cornucopia of them that I feel like I'd have to know if something like that was going on today.
