Mechanical Toy Battle Royale!

[horrorhunter]

I like Great Garloo and King Zor.

I never had any of these as a kid. I was born in '59 and was too young when these were popular (I remember seeing Mr. Machine but I wasn't interested). If I were born a few years earlier I would probably feel more of the "nostalgic charm" that causes us to love toys. As it is I don't have any of these toys, and judging by the prices they sell for I probably never will. When I've seen them for sale they are always missing parts and/or damaged and sellers still want hundreds of $ for them. Always have to pass. If I ever see a Garloo or Zor in great condition and complete for a really good price I would probably buy it, but I doubt that will ever happen. The others I would have to find at a very low price to be interested. And I wouldn't be interested in Mr. Machine at all except for resale. I know these toys mean a lot to some collectors and I respect that. I'm just being honest about my own feelings towards them. If I'd had any of these as a kid I'm sure I would feel differently.

[Hepcat]

I very clearly remember a Great Garloo on display at Kresge in downtown London. I pointed it out to my mother but at that price point it was an absolute no-go.

I was blissfully unaware of King Zor though. I guess the downtown five-and-dime stores where my mother used to take me in tow, Kresge, Woolworth, Metropolitan and Zellers, never had any. Nor did the Tuckey Hardware store on the corner near my house. The toy departments in the big Simpson's and Eaton's department stores probably stocked King Zors but my mother wisely kept me away from them.

Nor did I ever see any TV ads for King Zor. We didn't have cable in those days and the one local channel we received only carried kids' cartoon shows from 12:00 to 12:30 PM and 4:30 to 5:30 PM on weekdays with Kenner seeming to have a monopoly on toy ads. As a result Kenner toys sold very well in London. "It's Kenner, it's fun! Awkkk!"





Today though I'd love to add a King Zor to my collection, and that includes the Ideal board game too!

[Allhallowsday]

I like Great Garloo and King Zor.

I never had any of these as a kid. I was born in '59 and was too young when these were popular (I remember seeing Mr. Machine but I wasn't interested). If I were born a few years earlier I would probably feel more of the "nostalgic charm" that causes us to love toys. As it is I don't have any of these toys, and judging by the prices they sell for I probably never will. When I've seen them for sale they are always missing parts and/or damaged and sellers still want hundreds of $ for them. Always have to pass. If I ever see a Garloo or Zor in great condition and complete for a really good price I would probably buy it, but I doubt that will ever happen. The others I would have to find at a very low price to be interested. And I wouldn't be interested in Mr. Machine at all except for resale. I know these toys mean a lot to some collectors and I respect that. I'm just being honest about my own feelings towards them. If I'd had any of these as a kid I'm sure I would feel differently.

I've seen all of these toys, but only had the two versions of SON of Garloo.  I once about 25 years ago came across a GREAT GARLOO complete in box and unplayed with.  I remember the seller wanted a whopping... $200?   

[Hepcat]

$200?!!!!

[Mord]

I've seen all of these toys, but only had the two versions of SON of Garloo.  I once about 25 years ago came across a GREAT GARLOO complete in box and unplayed with.  I remember the seller wanted a whopping... $200?   

I hope you didn't wind up paying that much. If you did, I'll take off your hands for $225 (just so you don't feel swindled).

[WnewCreatureFeatures]

King Zor Story

I recall one day I picked up a King Zor , mint working no acc , got it at a yard sale for $2 , this was a toy I never had as a kid nor was I familiar with its collectibility as I never saw one before.

One day after doing a trade for some carded Major Matt Mason figures , I still had it in the trunk of the car so when I put the figures in the car I took it out of the trunk and presented it to the dealer as a freebie , the guy nearly fainted , later on I found out why

[Hepcat]

...the guy nearly fainted....

What year was this?

I believe I found out about King Zor in the book Toys of the Sixties by Bill Bruegman:



Toy Bop by Tom Frey really reinforced its coolness for me.

[WnewCreatureFeatures]

What year was this?

I believe I found out about King Zor in the book Toys of the Sixties by Bill Bruegman:



Toy Bop by Tom Frey really reinforced its coolness for me.

It was in the 80s , I went there with a friend who also grew up w/ the same era toys but he never had one or saw one as well

[Hepcat]

Hmmmm. Most of these stories of yours do seem to be from the 1980's. Books on toys only really started to appear in the 1990's.

I recall a dealer from Buffalo setting up a booth with M.I.B. Aurora model kits at a downtown Toronto model show in 1981-82. The "original" six were $15 each while the scarcer more elaborate Munsters kit was $35-$50! A comic dealer in Hamilton had a Glo Creature kit for sale for something like $50 for months/years in 1983-84. I turned my nose up at it because to a "purist" like me the Glo kits were a bowdlerization of the concept. Just a cheap gimmick if you will.



So who were the biggest toy dealers in the 1980's? What were the biggest toy shows?

[WnewCreatureFeatures]

Hard to remember specific dealers but peolple like the Placenties , Hake , Sadereskis , Bostoff , Kessler were the bigger dealers back then , use to see them at the Kennedy and Phili shows as well as the big car show in Pa.

I recall I saw a big loo for $65 nice shape no acc at Brimfield Flea market I think Kessler was selling it  , I immediatly grabbed my friend who bought it , next to that stall was a guy with a paint bucket 1/2  filled w/ loose Remco Addams Family & Munsters dolls I think he had wanted $10 each or $75 for the whole 5 lb canister of dolls.

Like a dummy I passed on both deals as I was a box nut back then

[WnewCreatureFeatures]

Hmmmm. Most of these stories of yours do seem to be from the 1980's. Books on toys only really started to appear in the 1990's.

Yes I believe it was a pivitol time in collecting history,

In the 70s these goodies were just considered used toys or collectibles at best then Star Wars hit the scene and slowly the market changed and toys were in . 

Star Wars (orig film) was the last true toy line produced and after that toys became "collectibles" with infinite variation large production runs , etc,
it both stimulated and doomed the field as toys after that were then made with collectors in mind and not just kids playthings in limited runs like any other toy from the past


Then non toy people got involved in the toy marketplace leaving other more traditional forms of investment which eventually transformed the toy field and changed it from a place for inexpensive childhood memories to a big buck marketplace for investors

[Allhallowsday]

I hope you didn't wind up paying that much. If you did, I'll take off your hands for $225 (just so you don't feel swindled).

Like I wrote, I only had both versions of Garloo's SON. 

... So who were the biggest toy dealers in the 1980's? What were the biggest toy shows?

CARL LOBEL in Vermont... NOEL BARRETT was selling even then I think... JENNY TARRANT probably still sells, though her specialty was holiday collectibles like Halloween and Christmas... BRIAN MORAN and later his ex-wife used to do long lists of toys for sale... (I bought and/or sold to most of these dealers).  His brother GARY used to repair toys and I think he worked on my Marx Hootin' Hollow Haunted House... I also sold him my Lost In Space robot.  GARY MORAN was one of the best toy collecting experiences I had.  And of course, MARV and FRAN SILVERSTEIN (Marv is gone but Fran remains a dear friend).  MARV's business was known as New Era Toys. 
The so-called Kennedy Show near the airport was huge... I sold there two or three times.
There was also Macungie Toy Show which I think was the same weekend as a car show across the highway... I sold there once and slept in a tent!  (All shows were with MARV or FRAN in those days.) 

[RPM]

Let's not forget Larry and Grace Eisenstein, the mother and son dealers from Jackson Heights, NY. They set up at a lot of shows in the early days in the northeast and were equally known for their once a year character collectible list sent at the tail end of each year. I bought my set of Hasbro/SPP monster binders from them at $10 each. They must of had a least a case of each, until Bruegman came along and bought them out.

[Hepcat]

I bought my set of Hasbro/SPP monster binders from them at $10 each. They must of had a least a case of each, until Bruegman came along and bought them out.

The three Universal Monster binders were by Hasbro. The Weird-Oh binders were by SPP. Did you get both, because hopefully you're not conflating the two?

And when did Bill Bruegman buy out the Eisensteins?

[RPM]

The three Universal Monster binders were by Hasbro. The Weird-Oh binders were by SPP. Did you get both, because hopefully you're not conflating the two?

And when did Bill Bruegman buy out the Eisensteins?

They were Hasbro. I referred to both Hasbro and SPP as there has been controversy as to which company actually produced them which I've always felt was Hasbro for reasons I've defended in posts in other threads.

I bought these binders back in '84 or early '85. Bill bought the remaining ones shortly there after.