Vintage Toys & Memorabilia

VINTAGE TOY GUIDE BOOK REVIEW - Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory!

2008-12-13T20:28:00.008-06:00

As both a vintage toy collector ( & dealer ) I am always looking for good reference material to learn more about my favorite vintage toys & collectibles. One such book is a brand-new one published by Chronicle Books titled, "Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory". Written by Tim Walsh, this baby is packed with tons of great information, color photos, vintage ads, illustrations, & much more all about the super-classic toy company, Wham-O! We have all at one time had a favorite Wham-O Toy. I mean, they have been around for over 60 years! They're famous for making the Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Super Ball, Slip 'N Slide, Silly String, Hacky Sack, Monster Magnet, Superelasticbubbleplastic, & much much more! Shown here are just a few of the many photos seen inside this wonderful book. I also found a YouTube video of the author explaining the book. Overall it's 192 well-written pages that will totally bring back the good memories. As a toy collector I found that it reminded me of many toys I used to love but sadly forgot, like "Magic Window"! My sister & I used to play with that thing all the time, ha ha! As a toy dealer the book is also a great reference for time lines, different issues of packaging for the same toy, when they came out, etc...it's just loaded with tons of great photos too! So, it's seriously a great book that I can reccommend to everybody who loves vintage toy history.

Ad: A Great Place To Buy Toys & Action Figures!

2007-12-02T01:01:00.000-06:00

WALLPAPER BACKGROUND: Vintage 1950's GRAN'PA FROG Fisher Price Pull Toy #464

2007-12-02T00:55:00.000-06:00

Here's a wallpaper I made for Vintage Toy Collectors to decorate their desktop or use in a MySpace layout. It's the ultra-classic Vintage 1950's GRAN'PA FROG Fisher Price Pull Toy #464. He's made of wood with a few plastic parts. The design graphics were applied with paper litho art. Beautiful!!

Vintage 1970's SSP SMASH-UP DERBY SET By Kenner

2007-12-02T00:16:00.000-06:00

Here's a classic retro toy I fondly remember having as a kid. It's the SSP SMASH-UP DERBY SET made by Kenner in the 70's. First I remember having a simple SSP Race Car. It had a rip-cord you could pull to make a gyro-wheel spin, you set it down & away it goes. These have become extremely collectible for a few reasons: They're hard-to-find, they made many different versions, everybody has great memories of playing with them, & they're cool! Later, Kenner made a toy set that consisted of 2 Smash-Up Derby Cars & some accessories. Usually a set of ramps. The goal was to get the car to fly off the ramps & hit in mid-air...awesome! Kenner made many different variations with just a few shown up above. Also, down below, is a really cool retro 70's TV Toy Commercial for this toy, check it out!!

Vintage 1970's BARBIE COUNTRY CAMPER By Mattel ©1970

2007-12-02T00:07:00.000-06:00

This should bring back a lot of fond memories for Vintage Barbie Doll Collectors. Here's the BARBIE COUNTRY CAMPER! Made by Mattel ©1970. This was one of Barbie's most popular vehicles. It came with outdoor furniture so you pretend you were camping, Yyyee HHaaaww!! These are starting to get pretty hard-to-find in MINT condition but I think the best thing about it is the original box with the cool vintage graphics, great for display! Below is a cool YouTube video of the famous 1971 TV Commercial, enjoy!

This Year Please Donate Some Toys To TOYS FOR TOTS!

2007-11-26T06:18:00.000-06:00

"Let's Show Everyone That Toy Collectors Are The Most Generous People You Can Meet!"

I never "Get Political" or anything like that but I want to remind everybody about an incredible charity called TOYS FOR TOTS.
I know many of you have heard of it. Every year the US Marine Corp starts a drive to help bring toys to under-privledged children everywhere.
I think as toy collectors we really need to think about how we are blessed with this freedom & we need to think about others.
Since 1989 this organization has helped bring joy & happiness to many children who's parents can hardly afford food!
Think about being a little kid & the sheer joy a gift of a toy brings. You can help others who can't help themselves.

All they ask for is a very easy thing we can all do. Either donate money ( ANY amount helps ) or
donate a sealed MINT IN PACKAGE Toy to one of their drop-off locations. Their "Donation Boxes" are everywhere!
I know they have them at ALL Toys-R-Us stores, that's the one I use.
But, if you check out their website they can tell you all of the many spots in your own hometown.
I hope everyone who reads this not only thinks about it but does it. Thank You, I appreciate you reading this far.

You can find all the information you need at their official website:
http://www.toysfortots.org/

Vintage 1970's Hasbro INCHWORM Riding Toy

2007-11-26T02:10:00.000-06:00

I know that lately this Vintage Toy Blog has been on sort-of a "riding toy" kick but I swear I don't mean to be, it just happened like that. I promise I'm gonna be covering a lot more variety than this so please bear with me, ha ha! I just had to do this one because it's kinda special to me. I remember as a little kid my Sister had this, now classic, riding toy by Hasbro Romper Room called The INCHWORM. She loved that toy dearly & rode it every single day. Now, 30 or so years later, these are actually very very hard-to-find, at least the vintage ones anyway. As a Vintage Toy Dealer I found one a few years back. I sold it on eBay & it did very well. I sold it around Christmas & I guess 2 or 3 people wanted it real bad. Ya know, as a perfect xmas gift idea! Anyway, this was a ride-on toy by Hasbro Romper Room that is now super-classic. Right here I'm showing you the Original Box ( wonderful graphics ), the Actual INCHWORM Toy, a Vintage Magazine Toy Ad, & a very cool YouTube video of the Retro 70's TV Toy Commercial, enjoy!

FREE DESKTOP WALLPAPERS: Toy Ride Car MARX-MOBILE ELECTRIC-DRIVE!

2007-11-19T17:05:00.000-06:00

Here's a nice set of 2 Wallpapers you can use to brighten your desktop or place in a MySpace Layout. This is an extremely cool Vintage Toy, The MARX-MOBILE ELECTRIC-DRIVE Toy Car Ride. It's Electra-Matic!!

THE BIG WHEEL Riding Toy By LOUIS MARX and COMPANY

2007-11-18T12:42:00.000-06:00

Anyone who grew-up in the 1970's has to remember this classic toy, It's the BIG WHEEL by Marx! I remember that, as kids, we all learned that if you got a lot of speed, sort of went into a slight turn & hit the hand brake then WHOOOSSSHH! You would spin-out like crazy, ha ha! Ahhhh, good times. This was a really great ride-on toy. The Big Wheel was created by Louis Marx Toys and unveiled to the public at the 1969 New York City Toy Fair. The Big Wheel immediately became a national success! One of their early sales brochures reads as follows, "The Big Wheel by Marx. Adjustable seat. Easy-reach handbrake for quick stop/start action. Large plastic front wheel for lots of pedal power. New extra-wide rear racing slicks for "drift-action" turns. Modified long-horn handlebars. "Engine roar" can be turned on and off. Flashy decals and detailing on fork. Hot red, blue, and yellow plastic and steel construction. 38 in. long x 201/2 in. high. For ages 4 to 9." Here's some photos to enjoy ( I love the classic Vintage Ads, especially the one with Cap'n Crunch ) & remember to watch the YouTube Vintage Toy Commercial at the end. Also, the large picture of the BIG WHEEL, with the bright-white background, is actually a HUGE Desktop Wallpaper. Click on it, then add this Classic Vintage Toy to your PC Desktop or put it in a MySpace layout!

Vintage Cereal Box Collectibles: BOO BERRY By General Mills

2007-11-16T17:01:00.000-06:00

One of the many things I personally collect are Vintage Cereal Boxes. I even buy new ones that come out but my favorites are the ones from my childhood, mainly the 1970's. My favorite cereals as a kid were Quisp, Cap'n Crunch, Pink Panther Flakes, & Freakies! One character I really love is BOO BERRY! He was a part of the monster cereal group that also included Frankenberry, Count Chocula, Yummy Mummy, & Fruit Brute. Shown here are a few examples of older BOO BERRY Cereal Boxes & some premiums. I've even included a few brand-new items to show that people still really love this character. One item that's pretty cool is a Boo Berry in Car Bobble-Head Nodder made by Funko, enjoy!

2 RARE Vintage BICHI Batman Toys of Batmobile & Batboat

2007-11-14T10:23:00.000-06:00

We have another vintage toy blog called The BAT-BLOG & this was a post from there done about a year ago. Included in the pictures above are 2 extremely RARE Batman Toys both made by a foreign toy company called BICHI. They make toys in Argentina! One is a very cool 1960's style Batmobile ( like the one designed by George Barris for the 1966 TV Series starring Adam West), shown with original box. The other is an extremely cool Batboat that is a battery operated bump-n-go vehicle, also with original box. I love the graphics on the boxes but the Bat-Boat's box is my favorite, see the explosion & there's a dead person in it....awesome! Both vehicles feature Robin The Boy Wonder ( Burt Ward ) riding shotgun. Ya gotta love that! Remember to click on the small pics for larger photos. Be sure to visit the Bat-Blog today!! CLICK HERE To Visit The BAT-BLOG BATMAN FAN SITE!

PHOTO: Vintage 1960's UNIVERSIAL MONSTERS Soaky Bubble Bath Bottles

2007-11-14T00:29:00.000-06:00

In the early 1960's the Colgate Palmolive Company came up with the idea to put children's bubble bath in plastic bottles shaped like favorite cartoon characters. They made quite a bit of them & I have collected them for years. I'm not sure why I started to collect them but I bet it's because I loved them as a child. At my grandmother's house she still has the Mr. Magoo one that I used to play with. They have done many characters including, Felix The Cat, Superman, Tweety Bird, Mickey Mouse, & even the Beatles. I have about 65 of them that I will share later but right now I wanted to focus on these four, The Universial Monsters. This complete set of 4 bottles are quite RARE. They made Frankenstein, Wolfman, Mummy, & The Creature From The Lost Lagoon! The Creature Soaky, in this picture above, is shown with it's original "packaging", a RARE cardboard sleeve that it fit into.

VIDEO: Vintage DR. SEUSS SUPER SEE AND SAY Mattel Toy TV Commercial

2007-11-14T00:21:00.000-06:00

Here's a blast from the past! This is a Vintage Toy TV Commercial for the DR. SEUSS SUPER SEE AND SAY Toy made by Mattel. As a small child the Cat in The Hat Seuss Books created a true joy of reading for me & I'll always love them for that...Enjoy.

Welcome To My VINTAGE TOYS AND MEMORABILIA Blog Page

2007-11-13T18:48:00.000-06:00

Greetings & Welcome! Thank you for checking out my new blog. My real name is Tommy but I am known as Tomstoyz. I just started this baby but I'll have it jam-packed with tons of fun stuff very soon so stay tuned. I have been a Vintage Toy Dealer for over 20+ years & a very serious collector for even longer. With this blog I plan to share the experience I have learned & spread the joy of collecting. One day about 20+ years ago I drove by an antique store in my hometown of Oklahoma City named THE ANTIQUE STOP. I had driven by it a few times thinking how neat the place looked. One day I stopped & went inside. While there I found an old metal lunch box, the Incredible Hulk ©1978. I also found a Vintage 1960's Fisher Price Bumble Bee Pull Toy that is kind of common but I used to have one as a kid & it brought back a lot of fond memories. I ended up buying both items & this was the start of something big. I then spent the next 20+ years going to garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales, etc...I have set-up at toy shows, indoor/outdoor flea markets, & was even an eBay slave for 11 years. I guess I've seen it all but even if you're in this business for hundreds of years I don't think you can, ha ha. That's one of the things I like best about this hobby. It never ends.