Toys Archives ~ My Dreams of Disney

Snoopy Plastic Figurine by Schleich

March 5, 2017 by Mike Ellis

Snoopy has a had quite the career. When not sleeping atop his doghouse he takes to the skies in his Sopwith Camel to do battle with the Red Baron. Now that’s exciting, but especially for a dog!

We’d better have a look at this prestigious pooch:

Always on top of something!

Charles M. Shultz created the Peanuts comic strip which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. And although the star of the strip was good ‘ol Charlie Brown, it was his dog that really rose to the top.

Classic Profile

Snoopy joined the comic strip two days in on October 4th, 1950.

Snoopy is a loyal, innocent, imaginative and good-natured beagle who is prone to imagining fantasy lives, including being an author, a college student known as “Joe Cool” and a World War I Royal Flying Ace.

Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It had been developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the earlier Sopwith Pup and would become one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of the First World War.

Snoopy is perhaps best known for his fighter ace persona, wearing an aviator’s helmet and goggles and a scarf.

This little PVC (plastic) figurine was produced by the Schleich company and is a current release available in stores now.

Schleich was founded by Friedrich Schleich in 1935. Its figurines were first released in the 1950s with the development, production and marketing of comic figurines such as Snoopy and The Smurfs. In the early 1980’s they added animal figurines and Muppet characters to their range of products.

So is Fighter Ace Snoopy your favorite, or is Joe Cool more your speed? Either way, you have to agree this is one canny canine!

Burago Disney Character Diecast Cars

February 6, 2017 by Mike Ellis

Burago of Italy has produced many Disney-inspired diecast cars over the years. I’ve found three more to add to my collection, this time featuring Donald Duck and Sulley from Monsters Inc.

The packaging is original but in very bad shape and the cars themselves have seen better days. But let’s have a look while pretending that they are gently-used second-owner vehicles:

Mercedes 190 E

The Mercedes-Benz W201 was the first compact executive car from Mercedes-Benz introduced in 1982, positioned below the E-Class and marketed under variants of the Mercedes-Benz 190 nameplate.

Happy on the side…

Scary on the front!

The W201 enjoyed strong sales in Europe but fared poorly in the United States. Series production ended in April of 1993 after the manufacture of approximately 1.8 million examples. I’m assuming less of this diecast replica were made!

Volkswagen Golf ’98

The Golf is a small family car produced beginning in 1974 and marketed worldwide across seven generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates, such as the Rabbit in the United States and Canada and as the Caribe in Mexico.

Angry on the side…

Angry on the roof! Trust me.

Initially, most Golf production was in the 3-door hatchback style, and this appears to be the one Donald Duck prefers to endorse!

Chevrolet Corvette

Production of the C5 Corvette began in 1997 and ended with the 2004 model year. This Burago version seems to be from this Fifth Generation run, although it could be a Fourth Generation model. Either way, Donald has ramped up his ride a tad!

Angry on the side again…

But absent from the top and hood this time.

For its first year, the C5 was available only as a coupe (as this diecast is), although the new platform was designed from the ground up to be a convertible, which returned in 1998.

These great little diecast models are in the 1/43 scale and have stickers to embellish them rather than paint-on-paint. As mentioned at the outset, these examples need a little TLC as some of the stickers are drying out and peeling. However, I only paid about $3.00 CAN each for them so I think I did alright overall!

Vroom-vroom!

Mickey Mouse Skipping Rope by Arco Toys

October 5, 2016 by Mike Ellis

Skipping is one the oldest outdoor activities for children. Most often little girls will play various skipping games together while the boys look upon the ‘sport’ as sissy. But boys have been known to jump in from time to time!

Skipping rhymes have been recorded in all cultures where skipping is played. Examples of English-language rhymes have been found going back to at least the 17th century. But I think this skipping rope might only be from the 1960’s or 1970’s:

Just a little wear and tear

These have a nice little detail in the handles:

This Mickey Mouse skipping rope was made by Arco Toys:

Given the amount of rope attached to the two handles I have to assume that these would have been made for a child between the ages of 5 and possibly up to 8.

So what skipping rhyme would you use to play with this rope? May I suggest this one based on the Disney character of Cinderella:

Cinderella dressed in yellow, went downstairs) to kiss her fellow, by mistake kissed a snake, how many doctors will it take? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 etc. (Go to 20 then go down to the next line)

Cinderella dressed in blue, went upstairs to tie her shoe, made a mistake and tied a knot, how many knots will she make? 1, 2, 3, etc.

Cinderella dressed in green, went downtown to buy a ring, made a mistake and bought a fake, how many days before it breaks? 1, 2, 3, etc.

Cinderella dressed in lace, went upstairs to fix her face, oh no oh no, she found a blemish, how many powder puffs till she’s finished? 1, 2, 3, etc.

Cinderella dressed in silk, went outside to get some milk, made a mistake and fell in the lake, how many more till she gets a break? 1, 2, 3, etc.

Disney Lesney/Matchbox Cars from 1979

October 2, 2016 by Mike Ellis

I love die-cast cars and especially if they contain a Disney character in the driver’s seat. I found two examples from the same line recently and was able to catch up with them while they were on the ‘open road’:

I think Donald is tailgating!

This line was produced by the Lesney Products & Company Limited for Matchbox. The cars themselves are the usual size for a Matchbox vehicle but the figures are obviously oversized! Let’s have a closer look:

Goofy seems to be driving a Volkswagen Beetle while Donald may be driving a Volkswagen Dune Buggy.

Coming and going

I don’t know how many cars were released in each series but I did find out that Series 1 had Mickey Mouse in a red fire truck.

These are indeed die-cast cars as plastic hadn’t taken over yet back in 1979, and thank goodness! There is one last detail to point out:

Can you read this license plate?

Could it be VB-5 standing for Volkswagen Beetle 5, the ‘5’ relating to its order in the car release schedule? That’s the best I can figure. Do you have another idea?

Collectors Showcase Vintage Magazines

July 30, 2016 by Mike Ellis

There’s nothing I love as much as old collectibles than old magazines about old collectibles! And recently I was able to pick up thirteen issues of Collectors’ Showcase, ‘America’s Premiere Pictorial Magazine for Collectors’. Long name, great content!

Now why are these old and out of date magazines of value today? First, a collector can use them to source and identify hard to find or difficult to classify items. Often there will be articles about specific items giving date of manufacture and company names. Second, if the magazine records prices, a collector can track values over the years. Third, due to the advertising of new-at-the-time collectibles, original pricing can be determined for many items.

And of course, Fourth, a collector just loves to look at old toys!

Hey, it’s Disney!

Being a Disney collector, I obviously like to look for old magazines that feature Disney items, like the one above. Here are a few items I found in these thirteen issues:

How many Disney buttons can you find?

Collectors’ Gallery featuring the Mickey Mouse Handcar

Awesome to see such rare items!

Everyone loves movie posters!

I mentioned earlier that magazines of this type, although mostly out of print today, are also valuable for the advertising spreads within. Have a look at a few of my favorites:

Where: Disneyland Hotel, Embassy Room

Must. Have. These.

Walt Disney World Tencennial products

19,700 hours to make? I don’t want to know how much this cost!

These magazines are packed with wonderful collectibles from everyone’s childhood, no matter what generation you are from. The articles are insightful. The images breathtaking!

And just how much did I have to pay to obtain these windows into the past? They originally sold for $4.00 to $5.00 between 1982 and 1986 but I paid only $1.00 for three so less than $5.00 for the whole batch.

FUN FACT: Do you remember Shields and Yarnell, the pantomime couple from the 1980’s who were on just about every variety show going?

Yes? Well, then did you know that they were sometimes billed as ‘Living Puppets’ and so, as collectors themselves, had a vast collection of marionettes and other puppets, including Pinocchio? It’s true according to the January/February 1982 issue of Collectors’ Showcase!

Snoopy Plastic Figurine by Schleich

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Burago Disney Character Diecast Cars

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Mickey Mouse Skipping Rope by Arco Toys

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Disney Lesney/Matchbox Cars from 1979

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Collectors Showcase Vintage Magazines

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