Fans of classic science fiction movies will fondly remember Robby the Robot as the iconic mechanical character from the classic 1956 science fiction movie, Forbidden Planet, directed by Fred Wilcox and starring Leslie Nielsen. The popularity of the film and its high tech robot inspired a series of toy lines during the 1950’s and 1960’s.… Read More »
During the ’50s, several Japanese toy companies excelled at mass producing small battery operated and small motorized wind up tin robot toys. These toys were inexpensive and attracted a lot of interest from children. Because they were able to cheaply mass produce robot toys for American children, the Japanese toy industry boomed during this period.… Read More »
When we take a moment to take a look back at many of the past children toys produced around the world, Marx’s line of toy robots are undoubtedly among the most beloved by collectors. Marx introduced this toyline in the 1950s and 1960s to capitalize on the space and robot craze of the era, when… Read More »
Shop for classic 1960’s vintage toy robots on sale. Collect classic antique sci fi robot toys for your collection. Classic popular ’60s battery operated robot toys from this era include Marx, Taiyo, Horikawa, and other classic brand robots from Japan. If you are shopping for the classic Robby the Robot toys click here. Browse through… Read More »
The Wonder Festival Toy Convention (aka “Wonderfes”) featured an amazing showcase of action figures, model kits, and robotic toys. These robot toys, commonly known by collectors as “mecha,” are popular with Japanese toy collectors. The interest for these robotic collectibles has crossed the Pacific, attracting a large fan base in North America. This fascination for… Read More »
The company Nomura, similar to many other manufacturers in Japan, began in the tin toy industry in the late 1940’s after World War II to help reconstruct the economy of their nation. Nomura is famous for their tin robot toys such as Tetsujin 28 aka Iron Man and Astro Boy. In addition, coming off the… Read More »
In Japan, Horikawa was one of the most prolific manufacturers of battery operated tin toys in the industry after the second World War. Their brand are recognized by the company’s logo “SH” on their products which includes collectible tin toys such as robots, rocket ships and space stations. Horikawa was so popular as a toymaker… Read More »
During the 1950’s and 1960’s post war era, Yoshiya was a major toy manufacturer in Japan. The company stayed in business until the 1970’s. Yoshiya was also known as Kobe Yoko Ltd. and produced several friction, wind-up, and battery powered mechanical toys during their run. Many of their robot toys are now popular with toy… Read More »
The Japanese toy company Bandai during the early 1970’s created a toy division called Popy. Although they initially made tin toys such as the Grendizer robot photographed on the left, Popy started to incorporate die-cast metal into their action figure robot toys to reduce production costs during the ’70s. The metal was zinc based and… Read More »
If you grew up in the ’80s, you’ll probably remember the classic robot cartoon action series, The Transformers, that ignited the toy robot craze in the United States that fueled the toy and children television industry during that time period. Robot action figures were already popular in Japan, but these toys didn’t capture the attention… Read More »