Windup Toys |
As with many collecting hobbies, my interest in windup toys began quite harmlessly. I don't remember the exact year, but I do recall buying the white-knob windup toucan at a second-hand shop, not because it was a mere quarter, but because it hopped around when you wound it up. In other words, it was too amusing to pass up. Little did I know at the time that it would be the first of many motorized little toys that I would own. Although I collect metal windup toys, particularly spaceships and robots, I like to concentrate on the smaller plastic windups usually made by Tomy or Bandai Toys of Japan from the 1960s and 70s. Chances are if you come across a plastic windup toy with a white knob, it will have been manufactured by the Tomy company. They produced hundreds of different birds, animals, insects, fish, vehicles, etc., each with an interesting movement when the knob was cranked up. They also represented various themes such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Valentine's Day. The following are a few items from my collection. |
'NIGHT OF THE LIVING WIND-UPS': "Hmmm, sounds like hundreds of shuffling, tiny, plastic feet and what's that incessant whirring noise? OH GOD, IT CAN'T BE !!! NO, STAY AWAY !!! STAY BACK !!! EEEYAAAAGGGGHHHH.* !!! ". (Place shrill violin music here...) |
