2 comments about Full Vinyl: The Subversive Art of Designer Toys.

1. for those of us into urban vinyl, art toys, designer toys or whatever you'd like to call them - this is an excellent book. with it's coverage of dozens of artists with color photographs and biographies, it makes for a great read to the zealous collector, and that is exactly where the catch lies. for those of you looking for a bit of critticism or some braoder cultural context, i, for one, felt that this book treated the designers with over enthusiasm (not to say out-right FANaticism), and the two or three articles relating to urban vinyl as a phenomena semed more like a gesture then a genuine wish to explore the origins and implications of all these small weird toys.



2. This is such a wonderful, fun, plasticfantastic book! It has great essays from leading toymakers/collectors, amazing pictures and if you're nok hooked on designer toys after this book, I don't know if you ever will be hooked!
   
   There also comes a little keychain with this book... I can't use it though. I don't want to "break the book", but it sure will be nice for someone else!

5 comments about Encyclopedia of Matchbox Toys (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Excellent book. I was looking for this for a long time. Now I can check out my mini cars and find the best cars and prices I can get.



2. As the owner of both the 1997 1st edition and this newer 2004 3rd edition, I am disapointed. In order to fit 7 years of new photos into the same size book, the photos were digitally shrunk and subsequently distorted and blurred. But worse, the 1st edition had 198 pages of photos, the 3rd edition has just 159 pages of photos. Bottom line, this makes the photos tiny, blurred and distorted. Also, the paper stock (thickness) was significantly reduced so although the newer edition has just seven more total pages, the first edition is significantly thicker and heavier. So if you do not collect Mattel Matchbox, purchase the 1st edition (also it does not appear the prices between the 1997 and the 2004 price guide have changed). By the way, the 1st edition is a great book!



3. Its a big book and plenty of clear colour photos of so many examples throughout.covers every era of Matchbox toys.This type of book is superior over the wide but short books printed by this publisher.There is so much information here no matter whether you are devoted collector or just love looking at the old toys you had.This book will please most people.Its good value and high quality.



4. This is a great reference book, full of details and history about evolution of Matchbox toys. If you love Matchbox, this is a must. Charlie Mack is a true expert on the subject, and this is for sure the most complete and updated information about the subject. The only complains are: cover picture is not representative at all. Pictures are excelent but could be larger for the "reg. wheels" and "miniatures", and several rare cars and boxes are ommited (no space probably). However, "Tomart's Price Guide for Hot Wheels" have a much better and contemporary graphic design and many more pictures in a smaller book, and also with more description of individual models.



5. I feel this is a great book. Why? It has very much attention to the details of the hobby. The pictures are helpful. They price guide is quite accurate and good for reference. Mr. Mack did a wonderful job putting this book together. Alot of time and energy must have went into the book and it paid off. I recommend it to new and experienced collectors alike. Great book!

No comments about Toys & Prices 2008 (Toys and Prices).

2 comments about The My Little Pony G1 Collector's Inventory: an unofficial full color illustrated collector's price guide to the first generation of MLP including all ... and accessories released before 1997.

1. The guide is beautifully done, with clear pictures and fantastic organization. There is clearly a lot of research and work that has gone into this labor of love, and it shows. This book is just brimming with valuable information.
   
   It's a great resource to have on hand. For those of us with extensive collections, it really makes all the difference when trying to organize and inventory ponies and accessories.
   
   As someone who owns both of Summer's books, I highly suggest getting one of your own--it's a great investment!



2. The pictures in this book are terrific. They are full color and quite detailed. I especially like that Dream Beauties, petites and little litters are included. Accessories are listed but not always shown but it's a wealth of information. I am really enjoying reading it.

No comments about The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More.

3 comments about O'Brien's Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks 4th Edition (Paperback) (Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks).

1. For Matchboxes, very difficult to find and reasearch based on a proprietary numbering system. Numbering system not clearly articulated in overview. I had to purchase a new "Matchbox specific" guide from another publisher.



2. Information seems to be well organized and spelled out, but was disappointed that there were so few color pictures.



3. I've found most everything I was looking for all in one source! If you like collecting cars and trucks, you must have this book!

5 comments about Dirty Wow Wow and Other Love Stories: A Tribute to the Threadbare Companions of Childhood.

1. When I opened the book, I was drawn in by the sweet photographs of the well-loved "companions". The photos alone tell a story of what each stuffed toy or blanket meant to each child. I LOVE this book, and I think that it make a perfect gift for new parents, empty nesters and everyone in between. My guess is that the Katzes will start to receive photos or letters about companions from around the globe!



2. I agree with the reviewer that said this book was just so-so - I really thought this a great book concept and was looking forward to heartwarming stories of people who remember their toys fondly, and funny pictures of wretched, worn, well-loved toys. However, the authors seem to fall short of the promised delivery on the cover - one of the "toys" was simply a photo of torn up cloth and the entry was called "Rags"...and the "story" was about how children may take to rags instead of stuffed toys. I felt a bit cheated. I would much have preferred real people and real stories about their stuff - maybe a photo of an interviewee and toy today and his/her childhood photo clutching the toy when new. I always loved those photos. But this book doesn't have such things - it seems superficial, more an artsy pretty photo book than a book where real legwork was taken to uncover the stories.



3. This is a darling book of photographs and loving tributes to some of the scruffiest and best loved of childhood "lovies". It's currently getting much attention as my coffee table book and is bringing both smiles and sighs of remembrance to our visitors. I wish only that my own "Lindy", "Andy Pandy", "Ted" and "Snoozer" had been honored among its pages.



4. I so wanted this book to be wonderful, but I found it just so-so. I'm going to return both copies, since I don't feel right giving a friend something I don't treasure. Sorry :-(



5. I received this book as a gift and immediately had to order it as a gift for my sister who turns 65 next week. Her threadbare companion until our family left it in a motel enroute from Chicago to Seattle, was a small down pillow, called her "My My". She was only four years old, I was nine and I can still remember her cries of anguish.
   
   Almost anyone can relate to this charming book.

1 comments about Collecting Antique Marbles: Identification and Price Guide.

1. I is a good reference book for marbles. A bit dis-jointed and hard to follow. Pictures are not as clear as some other referance material but book should be in a marble collectors library.

3 comments about Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World.

1. This is an amazing book! Eloquently written, with great insights into toys as a whole, this book gives a comprehensive overview of the emergence of designer vinyl. Great images!



2. All the cool pictures of toys I can't have are nice. But it's really better than all the other toy books becuase it explains all about toys and how come they are so cool. I know it was for adult level reader but I learned a lot that my friends don't know! It wasn't hard to read and I wish it was twice the size. My only problem is There was not enough Blythe information even though she's on the cover.



3. Ah, what a wonderful invention plastic is! Nearly limitless possibilities, able to be shaped into almost any form, take on any color, and endure across the centuries. As functional as it is fantastic. Of course, it was only a matter of time before artists took this malleable material into their capable hands, and created something that the inventors of the plastic would have never imagined. In this case, it is toys.
   
   "Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World" supposes to tell the story of plastic, and its journey from function to fantastic, from commerce to art. Supposes to, because unfortunately the book seems to have fallen victim to a loss of focus, or possibly a conflict between writer and editor. Instead of this history of plastic, and their connection to Japanese culture, what the writer wanted to write about was an artistic movement called Urban Vinyl, originating in Hong Kong and then spreading to Japan and the US. That's his passion, and it shows.
   
   The first half of "Plastic Culture" is rough. It begins with a very brief history of plastic's invention, and its use in toys across the years. There is some brief connection with Japan, introducing the Kaiyodo model makers who perfected the garage kit. There is a half-hearted section on using toys for marketing purposes as mascots, mainly mentioning McDonalds Happy Meal toys and the Olympics. Trying to swing the story back to Japan, Sanrio is covered with their successful line of Hello Kitty figures and other characters. These articles are all short on text, and heavy on pictures, jumping rapidly from section to section without much logic or interest. Its pretty boring, and not very well researched. Then, on page 43, author Woodrow Pheonix begins the section on Urban Vinyl. And it all changes.
   
   The Urban Vinyl movement began in Hong Kong, with a couple of young talents started taking apart GI Joe figures and putting them back together street-style, dressed in the latest Hong Kong fashions and with an attitude that GI Joe never imagined. These two, Michael Lau and Eric So, exhibited their work at galleries, and inspired other artists to see toys as a medium of expression, rather than just playthings. The movement jumped across the water, to Japan with its ingrained toy culture, and then to the US underground comics scene, where artists like Dan Clowes ("Ghost World") and Archer Prewitt ("Sof' Boy") began teaming up with Asian designers to produce unique figures combining all of their talents and visions. Into this comes Takashi Murakami, famed for his Superflat exhibition and one of Japan's greatest modern artists, who sees the concept of creating original works of art in toys, rather than just reproducing existing works in plastic. Yoshitomo Nara, another prominent Japanese modern artist, follows suit. Its fascinating.
   
   If this book had been called "Urban Vinyl," and started with Lau and So in Hong Kong, then been given enough depth to explore the artistic movement completely, it would have been incredible. Woodrow Pheonix has a real passion for this movement, and a deep insight into what makes it tick and how the pieces fit together. His interviews with Murakami and Nara really made me reconsider the way I see toys, and it was great to here these two giants of modern art put forward such opposing yet complementary viewpoints on Urban Vinyl.
   
   But it wasn't, and so "Plastic Culture" is really only half a great book. That second half is really something, and worth picking up the book for. It makes me want to learn more about Urban Vinyl and hopefully someday Pheonix will get to write the book that he should have. I will be first in line to pick it up.

3 comments about Babes, Beasts, and Brawn: Sculpture of the Fantastic.

1. I should have read the reviews here before purchasing this, but I really hoped to be inspired by this book. It didn't happen, as most of the sculpting pictured here is from early to mid-90s toys, well before action figure sculpting hit its stride. Everything is static and fairly mediocre - which is not a comment on the artist, but that's just how action figures were done at that time.
   
   Not really a worthwhile part of a collection.



2. The reviewer below is actually right, but I did like the book.
   I like Mr. Kiwus works, and I don't think he is just average. He's capable of doing excellent likenesses and very smooth forms.
   However the How-To section is the main reason I bought this book and for that it's a keeper. I mean, it's the only book I know focusing on action figure sculpting.
   Great stuff!



3. Yes, the book is generously illustrated and the how-to section is informative but Mr. Kiwus is an average talent and this book seems to be more about self promotion than the art of toy sculpting. For a look at some truly wonderful sculpture one only need pick up a copy of Toy Fare, Wizard, Previews, Toy Review or any number of related publications. Certainly, Randy Bowen, the father of the mini-bust and comic related sculpture is more deserving of a book reviewing his remarkable career.