Vintage Australian Toys & Ephemera
Big Bubbles, Some Troubles. You’ve got to wonder what WHAM-O were thinking when they decided to market a toy to children that was designed to be inflated by mouth, yet was not safe enough to come in to contact with painted surfaces or furniture. (Re-)Introducing SuperElasticBubblePlastic. Basically you squeezed out a blob of this toothpaste-like … Read More “SuperElasticBubblePlastic” »
There they are, blast ’em! One of the coolest toys produced for the Star Wars license was Han Solo’s blaster, sold as the “Star Wars Laser Pistol” by Kenner in the US and Toltoys here in Australia. This was a top toy, fun sound effects and great feel in the hand. I still recall my … Read More “Toltoys Star Wars Laser Pistol” »
Toltoys Special Offer Items Some of the most sought after pieces in the Kenner US Star Wars line are the “Special Offer” (SO) vehicles. To help move old product and keep large department chains happy Kenner would include one or more free items (usually figures) inside the box, advertising the fact with a flashy sticker … Read More “Toltoys Special Offer Items” »
…And still more Star Wars! This week: The Toltoys ROTJ 65 Back The difficulty and frustration in tracking down Toltoys logo 12 and 20 back carded figures in my opinion has led to an appreciation of the other Aussie issued cardbacks, primarily the Return of the Jedi 65 Back card with the “Nien Nunb” free … Read More “Toltoys ROTJ 65 Backs Nien Nunb Offer” »
Star Wars Month The Death Star playset Play-value. Great toy-makers have always known it’s the secret of a successful toy. In my opinion the best example of play value in the vintage Star Wars line is the Death Star playset created by UK company Palitoy, and adapted around the world by Kenner Canada, Meccano France, … Read More “Toltoys Death Star Playset” »
Star Wars Month The Australian POTF Coin Offer The transition from Return of Jedi carded figures to the Power of The Force (POTF) line in 1985 produced an interesting variation here in Australia. The POTF figures included a collector coin blister packed above the figure, a new idea to help revive sales of the long … Read More “Australian Star Wars POTF Coin Offer” »
Star Wars Week* Cardbacks Update *Might actually be a couple of weeks. I love talking with people who are more knowledgeable than me, and when it comes to Toltoys Star Wars collecting there are a whole bunch! One such collector is my mate Dax, who happens to have the finest collection of Star Wars cardbacks … Read More “Star Wars Toltoys Card Backs” »
Star Wars Week Part Three: Board Games & Puzzles Due to their relatively short production turnaround time, board games have always been a great movie tie-in option. Print a new board, design some pieces and a play format and stick it all in a standard size box, voila! I believe that Kenner managed to get … Read More “Toltoys Board Games and Puzzles” »
Toltoys Week Part Two: 12 Inch Figures One of the shortest lived lines of the original Kenner Star Wars release was the series of 12 inch figures. Great sculpts and tailored cloth outfits weren’t enough to create the sales that Kenner wanted, and so after barely limping across the line into Empire Strikes Back marketing … Read More “Toltoys 12″ Figures” »