Toltoys Kid » Kenner

Toltoys Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman Action Figures

tol11toys — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:38:43 +0000

Being the consummate promoters that Toltoys were in the 70′s, it should be no surprise that Lee Majors and his glamorous wife of the time Farrah Fawcett-Majors were bought out to Australia for the launch of his Col. Steve Austin character action figures. There must be some images or video of their visit floating around, I’d love to add them here if anyone has some!

The figures were released in Australia in regular US Kenner boxes with Toltoys stickers applied as in the examples below.

Toltoys Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman Action Figures is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Toltoys Return of the Jedi Speederbike

tol11toys — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:02:33 +0000

The iconic Speederbike was one of the most loved toys from the Kenner USA Star Wars range, and they were also sold here in Australia in Kenner boxes during the ROTJ era. Recently though the keen eyes of Aussie super-collector Pat O’Brien noticed that some local versions were issued in a slightly larger box than the US version, and backed up the claim to a local variation with the famous “PO Box 72 Alexandria NSW” Toltoys mailing address being present on the included instructions.

The Toltoys box overlapping the Kenner example.

The Alexandria address.

Small differences but significant to Toltoys variation hunters! Is your a Toltoys version? Let me know below…

Thanks again to Pat O’Brien for the find and photos.

Will

Toltoys Return of the Jedi Speederbike is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Star Wars Toltoys 3 Position Laser Rifle

tol11toys — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:36:08 +0000

These rifles show up boxed much less frequently than the smaller Han Solo Blasters, and finding one in Toltoys livery (Rather than Kenner) is near impossible, so it was great to see this relatively nice example appear on Ebay recently and subsequently make its way into one of the best Toltoys collections here in Oz.

Thanks to Paul Naylor for the photo!

Will

Star Wars Toltoys 3 Position Laser Rifle is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Star Wars Toltoys Update

tol11toys — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Star Wars Toltoys Update

Our latest Toltoys Star Wars update features the unassuming little green guy above. A regular ESB Yoda you say? Computer says No. What appears to be a regular Kenner USA release is in fact a rare Toltoys release Survival Kit Offer card, see the reverse shot below. Or at least that’s what it was, until Toltoys updated the offer with the ultra-rare 4 Lom Offer stickers. Yes that’s right, a double Toltoys offer card. Not since the Anakin POTF / Aussie Coin Offer Sticker combo has a Toltoys double act come along, and aren’t we glad it did!

Part two of this update features the mysterious “Toltoys NZ upside-down blister” attached to the 9/10th scale card. If I were a northern hemispherian I wouldn’t be able to resist some kind of “Down Under” pun here, but I’m not so I will.

These crazy blisters appear to have been affixed to their cards by Ugnaughts, it’s the only possible explanation. The cards themselves are also slightly smaller than their Kenner counterparts (see the pic below for comparison); again resist the urge for size jokes please. This Hammerhead is only the third carded example I’ve seen, although there are a couple of cardbacks out there too. The supposition of New Zealand origin comes largely from anecdotal evidence, plus anyone whose ever seen an episode of Flight of the Conchords understands it’s no stretch for weird yet strangely entertaining stuff to come out of the Land of the Long White Sheep. Anyone have any of these weird blisters out there?

Finally this update we have a Droids 3-pack set. It appears to be a standard Kenner USA release but check the back and you’ll notice all the height measurements have been blacked out. Why? Well for the same reason the Royale with Cheese exists – the metric system. The card was printed with US imperial measurements, not the proper (!) legally approved Australian metrics. While they appear to have been done by hand that seems unlikely, so unless Toltoys employed a thousand 15 year-old work-experience kids for the worst week of their lives I’d suspect (as does the discoverer and owner of this item) that they were created with a template or hastily constructed overprint. It will only take one more example to prove the theory, anyone got one?

Huge thanks to Dax for these three incredible items this week, what will his eagle eyes turn up next?

Cheers,

Will

Star Wars Toltoys Update is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Kenner Toltoys 12 Back

tol11toys — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:34:00 +0000

An unusual Star Wars Toltoys find!

To most Star Wars collectors that item above appears to be your run-of-the-mill Kenner Star Wars C3PO 12 Back figure. The keen eyed collectors will note that the blister has been reattached to the card-back for use as a display item, but that is not of consequence here.

Flipping the card over reveals a metric conversion sticker of a type used by Toltoys Australia. These stickers were applied to foreign card-backs to comply with local sales laws requiring the use of metric measurements over imperial. These stickers have been previously found on Toltoys printed cards, but to my knowledge they have never been found on a Kenner card-back.

These are tough enough to find on Toltoys card-backs, but this discovery opens up a whole new variation for collectors to search for! Speculating on where these figures fit into the chronological release of Star Wars figures in Australia is tough to do, were they late release items dumped here at the change-over to Empire Strikes Back figures? Or were they in fact the very first Star Wars figures sold in Australia, before Toltoys managed to print their own card-backs. All suggestions and ideas are welcome!

Special thanks for this discovery goes to Toltoys collector Pat O’Brien, who also provided the photos.

Cheers,

Will

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Toltoys Stretch Armstrong

tol11toys — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:21:00 +0000

The Toltoys Stretch Armstrong

If you don’t remember this guy from the 70′s then you’re either not trying or your parents owe you an apology. His heavy-as-hell corn-syrup filled body could stretch several feet before slowly reverting to his original form upon release. A fun toy and lethal weapon when swung in contained spaces.

Stretch was a huge hit for Kenner in the USA and Palitoy in the UK, so naturally Aussie kids were looked after by the good folks at Toltoys.

The box design is virtually identical to the US edition, save for the bright blue Toltoys logos on the side, top and bottom panels.

It’s interesting to see from the bottom of this box that the Toltoys Australian Stretch Armstrong body was manufactured in the UK, the head and pants in Hong Kong before insertion into boxes printed in Melbourne. A true citizen of the world.

For more Stretch Armstrong info than you ever thought possible check out Stretch Armstrong World, and then the Mego Museum’s Super Elastic Heroes section for more rare stretchy pics and info.

Some of Stretch’s very hard to find buddies were also sold by Toltoys in Australia, including the Stretch Serpent, more details in a future post…

Thanks for today’s model must go to the semi-willing Pete E. Marvel, The talented Mr. TV and the CRU Crew.

Cheers,

Will

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Mr Potato Head Store Display

tol11toys — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Mr Potato Head Store Display

Check out this great Toltoys Mr Potato Head counter-top retail display! Full of minty boxed Toltoys branded Potato Head friends, these would have graced the counters of toy stores Australia wide in the late 60′s.

Will

Mr Potato Head Store Display is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Toltoys Kenner Cairo Swordsman

tol11toys — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:44:00 +0000

And here’s the Swordsman

A few weeks ago I posted three of the four Aussie Indiana Jones variant figures, and now thanks to regular contributor and Toltoys afficianado Brody Walker, here is the last of the quartet; the Cairo Swordsman.

Cheers!

Will

Toltoys Kenner Cairo Swordsman is a post from: Toltoys Kid

Kenner Indiana Jones Figures

tol11toys — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:27:00 +0000

More Kenner Indy Goodness

Here we go with another four of the Indy Kenner line of figures from 1981′s Raiders of the Lost Ark.

First up is Indy’s digging buddy Sallah, played on screen by Middle Earth’s tallest Dwarf, John Rhys-Davies. This is the hardest to find of the the figures shown here, and tough to get with a nice clear bubble.

Next we have the German Mechanic as played by Pat Roach. Roach actually played a series of villains in the first three Indy movies. The tiny wrench accessory from this figures is easily lost.

French archeologist Rene Belloq is up next, the little paper map accessory that came with this figure is often missing from loose figures. Indy trivia lore states that actor Paul Freeman did in fact swallow the fly that crawled into his mouth during the scene where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark.

Lastly today is the Cairo Swordsman, along with the Toht figure the most common in the Indy Kenner line.

Aussie Indy Trivia Time

# 1 Indy’s bullwhip is made of Kangaroo hide.

#2 Indy’s hat was listed as an “Australian model” when purchased new in London by the costume department.

#3 The mountaineers challenging Marion to the drinking competition in her Nepalese bar are supposed to be Aussies.

Keen on more Indy toy info? Check out Raiders of the Lost Toys.

Will

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Toltoys Indiana Jones Figures

tol11toys — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:15:00 +0000

Kenner / Toltoys Indiana Jones Figures

Nothing screams “Buy Me!” more than a sticker telling you about a fabulous free toy you can’t get. While those lucky little sods stateside were sending off three POPs (Proof of Purchase) by the truck-load for their “Free Belloq”, little Aussie kids were only allowed to dream about ever owning the famed French archeologist the German’s called Bellosh.

Kenner’s Indy line was famous for completely stuffing up the case ratios in the release of the first four figures, heaps of Tohts and Cairo Swordsmen and bugger-all Indys and Marions.

I have a mate who recalls standing in Adelaide’s largest toy store searching through an entire wall of Tohts and Swordsman for either of the other toy and coming up empty. The figures were not re-ordered by the retailers in the quantities hoped, and the line died a slow death after a second release of five new characters.

The sluggish sales were likely the reason Toltoys opted out of printing their own cards, so we received the US versions with a corrective sticker attached telling us not to send of POPs to the US, although I wonder how many Aussie kids did? Tears before bedtime if they did!

So here we are all these years later and Indy is back on the big screen, and the first four Kenner Indy figures with the Australian sticker attached are now among of the rarest and most sought-after variations in the Indy collecting world.

The Marion Ravenwood shown here is the only completely sealed version found to date I believe. The Cairo Swordsman isn’t pictured, hopefully one of the Toltoys Mafia will send me a pic after reading this

Cheers!

Will

Toltoys Indiana Jones Figures is a post from: Toltoys Kid