Mad Machines Toys
How does a mass-produced die-cast toy car that originally sold for less than a dollar—and fits in a small child’s hand—become a valued collectible trading for hundreds, or even thousands of dollars?It comes down to rarity.Such is the case with Hot Wheels cars, produced by toymaker Mattel starting in 1968 and designed at 1/64 scale of their street-worthy counterparts. In that first year, Mattel zoomed onto the die-cast toy scene, releasing 16 colorful, tricked-out models inspired by custom-built rods and high-performance muscle cars—on the whole, much flashier and fresher feeling than models put out by Brit-based die-cast competitors Matchbox, Corgi and Dinky. Among the early Hot Wheels’ most recognizable features: the sporty red pinstripe on their wheels (“” wheels would be a visual hallmark of the first 10 years of their production) and the shiny, metallic “” paint finish, retired in 1972. Read More:Of course, condition has a lot to do with how much any vintage die-cast car will fetch.
Serious Hot Wheels collectors seek mint-condition toys, with little to no sign of use, preferably in their original paperboard-and-plastic blister pack. It’s unusual to find the so-called “sweet 16” of 1968 in lightly-used condition since the painted tires often wore quickly and the wire axles frequently buckled from use. Even rarer: finding an original model in its blister pack. The same holds true for the other early years of the brand.
When it comes to mass-produced toys, variations make all the difference. When something changes early on in the production process—such as the name or a key aspect of the physical design—the less-produced variant immediately takes on value.
Changes could affect wheels, interiors, windows, graphics, paint shades, you name it. The fewer of a variant that are produced, generally speaking, the higher their value. Perhaps most desirable: early prototypes of popular models that were never produced.Here, five of the most valuable and desirable Hot Wheels castings, most of which are squirreled away in private collections and not available on the open market.
Shop for Blaze & the Monster Machine Toys at Walmart.com.
Mr. Machine is a once-popular children's mechanical toy originally manufactured by the Ideal Toy Company in 1960. Mr. Machine was designed by Marvin Glass - the toy designer - known for many popular 1960s & 1970s toys. The story goes that Marvin Glass was working so hard at the time, his wife said he was like a machine. Soon after her comment, he invented Mr. Machine. Mr. Machine was a robot-like mechanical man wearing a top hat. The body had a giant windup key at the back. When the toy was wound up it would 'walk', swinging its arms and repeatedly ringing a bell mounted on its front; and after every few steps emit a mechanical 'Ah!', as if it were speaking. The toy stood about 18 inches tall (roughly 46 cm).
Mr. Machine was primarily made of plastic. This was unique for its time. Innovations in plastic and injection moulding allowed toy manufacturers to produce parts less expensively than previous manufacturing techniques.[1] Packaged as a building kit, the box contained 44 individual pieces along with a plastic wrench. Once assembled, Mr. Machine was complete with a top hat, bell, swinging arms, and an articulated jaw. The toy's clockwork mechanism of wheels and gears could be seen through its transparent plastic body. Mr. Machine “walked” forward as his arms and legs moved and his mouth opened and closed as its internal gears turned. The toy could vocalize by emitting a mechanical “Aw!”, as if he were talking.[2]
The gimmick of Mr. Machine was that one could not only see all of his mechanical 'innards' through his clear plastic body, but one could also take the toy apart and put it back together, over and over, like a Lego toy or a jigsaw puzzle.
Youda sushi chef same dish combo. Youda Sushi Chef is a challenging time-management game that will test your memory, strategy and time management skills. Like most restaurant time-management games, the customers indicate their order by a speech bubble above their head. You can earn a plate combo for clearing plates in a chain. 6 Plates = x6 (x1 for each after 2). (11) At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see how much cash you’ve earned in Yen. Re:Make 2 same dish combos by Kathb1 on May 24, 14 8:29 AM Once you've got one combo, if you get enough clear plate bonuses, then when all the dishes are jellies you can just make 3 identical dishes and this works, no matter what the customers are asking for.
Mr. Machine was one of Ideal's most popular toys. The company reissued it in 1978, but with some alterations: it could no longer be taken apart (owing to the tendency of very young children to put small pieces in their mouths which could be accidentally swallowed or present a choking hazard), and instead of ringing a bell and making the 'Ah' sound, it now whistled 'This Old Man'. This later version of Mr. Machine was brought back once more in the 1980s. In 2004, the Poof-Slinky Company remanufactured the original 1960 version (using the actual Ideal molds whenever possible), which made the original sounds and could be disassembled, and with the intention of being marketed to nostalgic adults as a collectible.
References[edit]
- ^Coopee, Todd. 'Mr. Machine'. ToyTales.ca.
- ^Coopee, Todd. 'Mr. Machine'. ToyTales.ca.