Does anyone know if there is a vintage figure or style that is part plush, with plastic face, hands, feet parts, that may have inspired earlier street toys like the Medicom Missing Link, or Supreme Camacho, and more recently the Shelterbank Land figures? I've noticed similarities in the hand and feet style across these different toys and wondering if they are all grounded in the same inspiration?
I've never seen Narlies before. i thought of my pet monster as well, but they seem a little different, they don't have the plastic hands or feet, and have a separate hand/body construction. Where as these toys seem to have the have the single piece head/body style.
I just think it's something doll makers have been doing since the 50's I think this Gigglee Eyes Monster from 1988 most resembles the newer Land dolls... But Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Kewpie, Howdy Doody, Popeye... look up any major character-based franchise and they might just have a doll in this style.
This post gets all the win from me. Thank you so much D! As much as the entirety of Gobots gets shit on (undeservedly so, in my opinion, but that is another matter) I stand by the fact that the Rocklords were equals to some of the greatest transforming toys brought to the west to come out of the 80s. Machine Robo forever!! And I will have words with anyone who says otherwise.
Vincent Van Gopher from Deputy Dawg by Ideal. Ideal, Knickerbocker, and Rushton were some of the makers of the mixed plush/plastic or rubber figures in the 1950's and 60's.
Yeah I would say this goes back to the early 50s (if not before) Rushton is best known for their plastic face plush animals from the 50s (and 60s) This is a 50s Rushton Skunk. I think there were probably santas with plastic faces earlier than this though. Gund was doing it in the 40s-Here's a Gund Mickey Here's another 40s (probably home-sewn) baby: In the 50s there were also plenty of hand puppets that were craft heads and whatever fabric was around: I have xmas Knee-Hugger elves from Japan/Korea/Hong Kong produced between the 40s, and 60s that also fit the formula.
Ha I was gonna post this same pic of Rauls Trolls, but then I remembered how I ripped the fur from mine. They're more like "plastic toys with fur hot glued to them" than truly "Mixed plush/plastic" haha. Sorry to all my bald Rauls.
Finding Gund's contributions seem to have started around 1945 (though I've seen others marked 30s--possibly in error by the sellers)
