Hamilton's Invaders appreciation thread!

[horrorhunter]

Found this 1964 Christmastime video on YT with some great HI window-boxed playsets.

Watch 'em rip through that glorius packaging! 

[horrorhunter]

A lot of 2 Hamilton's Invaders toys (Hamilton Beetle and Hamilton Spider) sold for around $230 total.



Both are in excellent condition and the seller stated that the pull-string motors still work. I saw this too late, or I would have bought them. In this condition this lot was way underpriced. I don't have the Beetle, and my Spider is the original one I had as a kid from 1964 so it's lesser condition. The seller listed this with a "Best Offer" but some wise buyer grabbed these quickly as I would have done. Rats!

[horrorhunter]

An old Christmas photo for sale on eBay shows a kid playing with his Hamilton's Invaders toys.

[horrorhunter]

This eBay auction was ended by the seller because "the item is no longer available" for this Horrible Hamilton in top condition.



This is the signature piece that collectors like to display on the shelf from their HI collections. They really are scarce in this undamaged condition still working. This one doesn't even have glue stains on the seams. You see Horrible Hamiltons listed on eBay in various lower conditions missing pieces with breaks and not working for around $100-$300. In this high grade it probably should sell for $600-$700. Of course, with shipping and tax and listed at $750 you're looking at around $850, so someone must have bypassed eBay and made a deal under the table.

Now it's back up for the same price. 

[horrorhunter]

This Horrible Hamilton sold at eBay auction for around $175 total (SH + tax). It's missing the pull-string so it doesn't crawl, but for display it's pretty nice with no missing pieces or breaks.



With high-grade working examples selling for 3-4 times that it was a pretty good buy. Honestly, these are just desirable for display these days anyway. You never know when the pull-string motor will conk out and when it does you're left with a string that won't retract and no longer displays that great. It's a bonus if it still works but probably not that big a deal anymore.