5 comments about Vintage Toys: Robots and Space Toys.

1. I agree with Wil Overton's review (see above). This is a nicely done book for the tin-litho robot collector I suppose, but if you are looking for a real breadth of coverage on vintage space toys, in my opinion you will probably be disappointed. I am a big fan of rockets and spaceman/alien figures (Space Patrol/Tom Corbett/Rocky Jones, etc.)and found very little in this volume of interest to me. In fact, I bought it second-hand at half the publisher's price and felt it had not been a good purchase; but, then again . . . I was looking for much more than robots.



2. Granted, this is just a pretty slide show, but its done well, and I love looking at these old toys, some of which I had as a kid. The book is really well made, but lacks SUBSTANCE, know that you are buying a picture book and you will be happy with it.



3. ... yes, it has lovely production values with super clear pictures but it also has its faults.

   1) With so may space toys the book could have covered (and remember, this book does not claim to exclusively be a tin toy robot book) there are far too many of the same sort of toy. Many are just duplicates with a different paint job and could have been ditched in favour of a bit more variety, or at least shown in the context of the original toy they were based on. Where are Ideal's Zeroids? How about Major Matt Mason? Surely important space toys? Instead we get Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots twice!

   2) The toys are shown in alphabetical order within their respective decades which means that it's hard to see how trends developed within any ten year span. Sometimes toys are described as copies or alternative versions of existing toys but the original is only found further on in the book because its name is later in the alphabet. So much for their clear, easy layout which is hyped within an inch of its life.

   3) Information is sketchy at best with many discriptions being almost identical and relying only on visual observations of the toy, something which anyone could do. Surely someone can supply reliable information about Japanese tin robot manafacturers? Some information is also incorrect. The UK Smash robot came from an advertising campagin for instant mashed potato not a comedy show whilst toys described as being influenced by real-life rockets are in fact copies of Thunderbird 1 from the Gerry Anderson 60's TV show.

   All in all this is a nice coffee table book with nice photography but as a resource for space toys from the 50's to the 90's it sure lacks a lot. The authors would have been better off doing better research and thinking more about their choice of toys than to constantly congratulate themselves about a page layout that isn't very special at all.




4. Vintage Toys: Robots And Space Toys is an outstanding compendium of 300 space and science fiction toys from yesteryear. Jim Bunte, Dave Hallman, and Heinz Mueller collaborate in offering the history of the companies that made these popular toys and the present day market valuations of each toy cited. Profusely illustrated throughout in full color, specifically designed for ease of use as a reference, authoritative and exhaustive, Vintage Toys: Robots And Space Toys is nostalgic, practical, and an invaluable reference for avid collectors and antiquarian dealers alike.



5. Gorgeous 192 page, up-to-date book featuring more than 400 superb full color very large, sharp photos of more than 300 robots, spaceships and ray guns. This 1999 book uses a great format, with 2 toys per page, complete with a load of information on each item ! One of the best formats I've seen. It covers the years from the 40's through the 70's. A full color photo of the box is even provided with most toys. Topics range from Acrobat Robot, Astroman, Buck Rogers and Cape Canaveral, to Roby Robot, Smoking Spaceman, Space Trooper and Yonezawa items. You can't miss with this reference book.

1 comments about Half-Dolls Price Guide.

1. I don't received the book about Half-dolls. I pay already my card Visa and I don't received my book.
   Please what the problem?
   Heliane C. Fonseca

5 comments about All Aboard : The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company.

1. My grand-uncle, Mario Caruso, was the co-owner and co-founder of Lionel Trains along with Joshua "Lionel" Cohen.
   
   Frank Pettit, chief designer for Lionel Trains and my uncle, had over 100 patents for designs and innovations he created for toys, expecially trains, including the smoke tablet, cattle car, news-stand, a transformer, etc. Amazon lists his biography "It Comes From Within: The Frank Pettit Story." This is an accurate story of the Lionel Trains Corp.
   
   My entire family; mother, father, uncles, aunts, from the Caruso/Pagano family worked at Lionel Trains, located in Irvington, New Jersey during the 1950's, which was the largest toy company in the world. During World War II, Lionel Corp. developed and manufactured instruments for the navy.
   
   The company was bought by the lawyer, Roy Cohn, grandson of Lionel Trains founder Lionel Cowen (Cowen & Cohn are very similar names). Roy Cohn immediately fired everyone and stated that "We are out of the toy business." To this day, nobody knows where the pension fund went. All the money was taken out of the company. My mom and dad, my relatives and others never received a penny of their pension that they worked so hard for.
   
   Read this fascinating history of what was once the largest toy manufacturing company in the world.



2. Simply put, Hollander has written and compiled the highest quality, most comprehensive, and most readable book about the history of the Lionel electric train company that has ever been done. I make that claim while scanning my bookcase holding 45 books on electric toy trains, the majority of them dealing with Lionel, indisputably the penultimate brand name in America, at least where toy trains are concerned.

   Hollander writes of the origin and the evolution of Lionel trains from their beginning around 1900 through their status at the commencement of the 21st century, including their near death in 1969 and their miraculous resuscitation by the General Mills cereal company in 1970. Don't be alienated by the earlier statement that this is a history book. It is in no way a dry rehashing of facts, dates and dollars such as comprise boring histories. On the contrary, "All Aboard!" is more of a love story, for Hollander is truly in love with his subject, and his excitement in telling us about the Lionel legend carries the reader through the book on wings of delight.

   Highly descriptive text leaves us with a wonderful acquaintanceship with Lionel's parent, Joshua Lionel Cohen (who "Americanized" his name to Cowen), shows us the birth of his baby, draws us word pictures of that baby's successes and failures, its grand leaps of inventiveness and its faltering steps of failure in the changing business and economic climate of a century of American enterprise. Along the way, we are presented with copious visual reinforcement (both in color and in black and white) of the story that the text is weaving for us. We see photographs of the movers and shakers of this great company, some of the wondrous trains that they produced, and some of the expert art work that marketed those trains to the boys and fathers (and girls and mothers, too) of 20th century America. That art work, in annual catalogs and in magazine and newspaper advertisements, forged an emotional bond between American youth and the Lionel Corporation that endures today despite changing fortunes and changing ownership. Its effect on our culture has been phenomenal and is clearly addressed in Hollander's book.

   I can levy only two criticisms against "All Aboard!" The first is that I sometimes find the page layout annoying in that many sidebars and notes are included to give us insights into Lionel's executives, competitors, and plans. These are valuable and interesting, but they do interrupt the flow of the main text. The reader must either pause to read the sidebars or else ignore them at first and then return to them later. The second criticism is that the final chapter, which is the only "revised and updated" part of the book since its original release in 1981, lacks the intimate, revealing analysis that gives the rest of the book its finesse. The first eight chapters read as though Hollander had been an insider at the Lionel Corporation for its eighty-one years of birth, growth and turmoil, whereas the ninth chapter, which looks at the technological advances in toy trains from 1982 to 2000, is told by an outside observer who is no more privy to corporate thoughts than are the rest of us.

   If one has already enjoyed the 1981 edition of "All Aboard!", I cannot recommend purchasing the current edition just to have the new chapter. On the other hand, if one has never seen either edition of "All Aboard!", then, no matter what other books he may have read on Lionel trains, he has missed the most definitive and enjoyable book of all, and I cannot recommend Hollander's book too highly.




3. This is one of my best books about Lionel trains. Profusely illustrated with photos of Joshua Lionel Cohen and the people that helped make Lionel a giagantic toy train builder. This is a book you're sure to read over and over.



4. All Aboard! The Story Of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company is the fascinating story of the man who made the electric toy train one of the most popular toys for boys and hobbies for grown men in the last century. Published in part to celebrate the Lionel Train Company's 100th Anniversary, All Aboard! is also a testament to how this producer of toy trains dealt with the competition of electronic games at the end of the 20th century and is experiencing a surge of popularity at the beginning of the 21st Century. Original published in 1981, this new, revised and updated celebratory edition of All Aboard! is welcome and highly recommended reading for toy train enthusiasts in general, and Lionel Train collectors in particular!



5. I have had several copies of the previous edition of this book but kept giving them away to neighbors of mine. It is a wonderful look at one of the oldest and most successful toy companies in the world: Lionel Trains. This book covers everything: humble beginnings, postwar boom, near destruction at the hands of famed veteran of the "Red Scare" Roy Cohn to it's present day owners. If you had Lionel trains as a child or have always loved them from afar I cannot tell you how much fun this book is. With stories on all of the most famous cars and the people behind the genius it's an engrossing read.

2 comments about Hubley Toy Vehicles 1965 (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Other books have covered Hubley toys in their text, but this is the first book devoted entirely to Hubley toys, at least those produced between 1946 and 1965. What it doesn't cover is the early cast iron toys produced as far back as the turn of the century, which is unfortunate since some of the rarest and most valuable Hubleys are those produced before WWII. For what it does cover, "Hubley Toy Vehicles: 1946-1965" provides excellent full color photos, accompanied by informative text and current values.



2. Other books have covered Hubley toys in their text, but this is the first book devoted entirely to Hubley toys, at least those produced between 1946 and 1965. What it doesn't cover is the early cast iron toys produced as far back as the turn of the century, which is unfortunate since some of the rarest and most valuable Hubleys are those produced before WWII. For what it does cover, "Hubley Toy Vehicles: 1946-1965" provides excellent full color photos, accompanied by informative text and current values.

3 comments about The Collectible Barbie Doll: An Illustrated Guide to Her Dreamy World.

1. I have looked through this book and also bought another in the series.It is fantastic,and anyone who is still interested in Barbie at all should not hesitate-buy it today!!!! It reveals hundreds of Barbies from the beginning of her existence,and is so fascinating and you might even see one that you once owned.



2. And illustrated it certainly is! This is the first Barbie doll book I had read and now I am hooked on her world. It tells her story from the beginning and brings it to the present day, all the while illustrating it with dolls from all eras. Although the 2nd edition (which is the one I read) is expanded, I would like to have seen a little more of the late 1980's-present. Overall, if you don't know much about Barbie and would like to find a place to start this book is it!



3. "The Collectible Barbie Doll" is a fascinating read about the world's most-loved doll. From her early beginnings in 1959, through the sixties, right up to now, Barbie has been everything from Ken's girlfriend right through to an astronaut, covers every race from Caucasian to Japanese, and the hair to match. Fennick's book captures all of this, whether the reader wants an unabridged history of the world's most famous doll or just wants to see the wardrobe! This is THE book for the Barbie fan, and it is definitely one for the collector.

5 comments about Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them.

1. I happened upon this book browsing through a used book store. I sat down and started flipping through the pictures and descriptions of familiar, famous toys, and COULD NOT put the book down! I bought it that night, of course, and was even more spell-bound the more I read. I was astounded by Tim Walsh's research; the large, bright photographs; and the intimate history of the development of so many toys that are part of any American children's heritage. Learning that Mr. Potato Head originally came without the potato (children used a real one!), seeing all the variations of Candyland (found my own version: 1970's), and reading about what made the Cabbage Patch Doll craze (4th grade - I remember so clearly!) was fascinating. It was my treat to read every day coming home from work until sadly, I finished it! But, as a 5th grade teacher, I promptly took the book to school and watched with delight my students' reactions as they discovered interesting and arcane facts about toys they all knew about as well (how long some toys have been around got the biggest reactions). It was passed around the classroom for several weeks. I cannot recommend this book too highly!



2. As someone interested in toys and collecting, I've read lots on the subject. But Tim Walsh still told me things I didn't know. The best part is that someone with no interest in the subject will still find this lavish, inviting coffee table book an enthralling read. The reason is the author, Tim Walsh. Most toy collecting books start with no criteria as to what goes in and what stays out of the book. Tim did. One criterion was that the toy had to be created or invented by an outsider. Thus, a lot of well- known toys already didn't make the cut.
   
   The ones that did have stories a lot better than the title, Timeless Toys, makes them sound. By that I mean that this isn't one of those nostalgic "see how much better these simple toys were than all your overdone gadgetry?" books that abound in collecting circles. You might come to that conclusion, but Tim started somewhere else. When he made his own games, he started asking questions about others. Why is the box like that? Why is this that color? Where did they get that name?
   
   Those are the same questions one asks playing with toys. The cynical answers are that marketing research showed that more people would pick up the package if it were blue, and a computer poll of all co-eds showed they liked the letter "Z". But Tim shows, thank heaven, that those cynical answers are wrong. Lots of great toys came from accidents, and many inventors began with a sense of wonder.
   
   Tim doesn't stop there. Those outsiders need insiders to make a toy. Tim covers all that, including the most famous toy designer, Marvin Glass. As with Andy Warhol, the Glass name covered a design team, and Tim introduces some of the faces behind the scenes. Many toys were inspired by other toys, and Tim traces the roots back. His findings usually don't jibe with the urban legends surrounding their creations, and when there are multiple tales, Tim tells them all.
   
   The most interesting parts to me are some that might be overlooked. They are small sidebars showing the origins of a toy and some of the companies that have made it. Often the company names change because the companies are bought by other firms. A decade ago Tyco was bringing back all the classic toys that ever existed, having bought those companies or their toy molds. Where's Tyco now? I wondered, until Tim revealed it was bought by Mattell.
   
   Tim also tells the origin of many toy companies, including one started by two guys named Matson and Elliot. I've read about Wham-O before, and even interviewed an animator who made Superball commercials, but Tim reveals the secret of how Wham-O made so many great toys. Tim also breaks it all down with by decade timelines. He often shows the box art of toys that were revived in various decades. Toy art in the '50s and '60s, much of it done by comic book artists, is a wonder to behold, while the overdone, throwaway art of today really does look like the result of committees on market research.
   
   The bad news is that this 300 page book is only about 75 toys. But that may be a good thing. Those interested might track down Bill Bruegman's Toys of the Sixties or related volumes to read on. Don't buy The Playmakers, though, because Timeless Toys is the new title of the same book. Tim Walsh convinced me that creative souls, even today, even if by accident, may still have a chance. If toys be the fruit of wonder, play on!



3. The author has created an excellent book covering the most popular toys of the 20th Century. As you go through this book, you are going to come across many toys you remember from your own lifetime. While some have faded with time, many are still popular and have entertained ever since they first appeared.
   The book takes a rather wide view of what a toy is; and includes many games,puzzles,and other things that have entertained young as well as those who are young at heart,if not in years.
   The first toy discussed was the Flexible Flyer sled.It brought back a memory to me ,since I had one as a kid.Mine had the straight-runner,and I ran into a gutter grate and punctured my thigh. It seems it happened enough that the runners were rounded.Then, there is the Big Wheel. The kid next door had one and he loved it so much ,he wore completely through the plastic wheels.
   Here, you will not only see great pictures of the toy or game ;but also the story behind its being invented and marketed. You will also learn about the person who invented it,details about patents,how many were sold;and lots of other interesting details. It's highly likely that you will find your favorite toy or game covered.
   At the back of the book you will find an extensive Bibliography. The book covers many games and puzzles.I have been a long time fan of puzzles and if you are interested in them ,I suggest a search under Jerry Slocum,[...]or The Slocum Puzzle Foundation,Beverly Hills,California.
   Overall,a wonderful book that would be interesting to just about anyone who enjoys toys,games or puzzles.



4. As a toy inventor I was surprised when I first saw the book by how beautifully designed it was as well as the extraordinary quality of the photography. On further examination, it greatly surpassed my first impression with its fascinating stories and (truly astonishing), that it got its facts right!
   
   In addition to the fun of seeing all those cool looking toys and taking a nostalgic look back over the last century, it's an historical tribute to American and American immigrant's genius and hard work that has given us all so much pleasure.
   
   treat yourself and your friends to this fine book.



5. Just spend a few minutes with this book and you will jump back to the day. Your first quest will be to find the toys you played with. This is extremely easy to do as the book is laid out in chronological order. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and write ups of the toys of my youth. Some I looked for purposely and others became a surprise reminder of things I had forgotten. The simple pleasure of remembering these things was added to by the stories about how the toys came to be, their inventors, and manufacturers. I have enjoyed this book so far, having only had it for a week or so. I imagine it will give me hours of reminiscing. I also want to go through it with my family and friends and let them tell me about their toys. Overall review would be a top quality book that can be enjoyed by children of all ages.

No comments about Collecting Teddy Bears (Collectors Guides).

1 comments about Selected Writings of John Darcy Noble: Favorite Articles from Dolls.

1. A lovely collection of "Doll Magazine" articles written by one of the worlds most knowledgable doll experts. A very interesting and informative read. You'll find the pages brimming with fabulous rare doll photo's as well.

No comments about Authoritative Guide to Lionel's Postwar Operating Cars (Lionel Postwar Encyclopedia Series) (The Lionel Postwar Encyclopedia) (The Lionel Postwar Encyclopedia).

5 comments about Crissy Family Encylopedia.

1. Can't imagine why any collector and lover of fine dolls would not love this great book.
   I can't say enough good things about Carla Cross' Crissy Encyclopedia. Not only is this wonderful book a sturdy hardback edition, Carla's professional writing style will delight seasoned collector's and "newbies" alike and seems to speak most to that little girl in us that first loved and cherished our dolls in childhood. It's diametrically different from the "other Crissy book" so try it out! Carla is an very accomplished author in many fields, and her work is a refreshing change from those "I, me ,mine" typical vanity-press publications. You'll love it!



2. When I buy doll collector books, I try to make sure they have everything I need to know about the doll in them. Sadly, such was not the case with this book. It had many nice pictures, but as far as being complete and usefull, I'd say it leaves much wanting.



3. Hi - Wanted to clarify a question on the Green Eyed Velvet. Some Velvet dolls had Kerry - colored (or other) green eyes substituted in the factory, in place of her usual purple eyes. It is not unheard of for a company to, very occassionally, substitute a different item during the manufacture of a doll. But it was a very rare occurrence, making the doll a rarity. This is what makes collecting fun! On the other hand, many Velvet dolls had eyes that oxidized to a greenish color, but when plastic eyes oxidize, the color is never uniform and the color is not a true, vibrant green - like Kerry's. To determine whether a Velvet's eyes are oxidized green, or are a true factory sbstitution, the eyes has to be taken apart and cleaned. If the eye remains green after cleaning, it is a true factory substitution. The oxidized eyes will become purple again after cleaning. There have been Velvet dolls who's eyes have been taken out, cleaned, and found to be genuine factory substitutions. These are the dolls that the book refers to. Thanks to the Expert that had the question - Carla Marie Cross



4. This is truly a wonderful book for any collector to own. The photos are sensational and the information far reaching. It has many hi-lights such as personal stories, redressing hints and fab M.I.P photos which clearly show all original accessories. It also shows the back of the original clothes cards with the kicky illustrations that had young children clamouring for more. The warmth and humour that flows thru this book is indicative of someone that truly loves and appreciates these dolls and not that of a megalomaniac who thinks they have the only information in the world. This book is a must for any collector.



5. This book has absolutely beautiful Crissy family pictures. I think a new collector would be in awe and an established collector would be keeping their wish list growing! Filled with interesting information too!