Hymie Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Just wondering if anyone can provide any information on this unmarked tin litho sparking wind-up astronaut I bought recently on eBay (mainly for the ancient-looking box), shown in the first photo. The seller knew nothing about the item. Based on some cursory internet research, I have concluded that the toy is German – or was at least sold in Germany (East or West, I don’t know). I’ve included a screenshot from the iCollector.com auction web site that shows the identical toy and box (sold in 2019), and what they imply is an info/instruction sheet (written in German) that came with the toy originally (shown in closeup). Note the odd spelling on the box of astronaut (“ASTRONOUT”) and the enigmatic phrase “WITH RAER,” whatever that means. You’ll see that the site says the toy is Russian-made, but the flyer seems to be written in German. I also found a picture of the toy (with slightly different lithography) in the old Kitahara collection book Robots: Tin Toy Dreams (page 41). The box in that photo (also shown below) has the identical art (although much clearer), but the text reads “Wind-Up Walking Astronout with Razer.” In fact, the toy and box in the Kitahara book look much more Japanese (though the book doesn’t identify a country of origin or manufacturer). Wondering if my toy was maybe some sort of Cold-War era, East German unauthorized appropriation of a Japanese design. Anybody out there have any intelligence on this item? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalRobotHead Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Unfortunately, the box is fake aged and the Astronaut is a Chinese copy of the Japanese original made by Noguchi, the Chinese copy is currently available on ebay for £20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymie Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 I had actually seen the Chinese copies on eBay, but couldn't imagine anyone going to the trouble of faking an old box like this for so little ROI. Live and learn...Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Bad luck. Always look for a robot to be marked somewhere ‘Japan’ or Made in Japan and a trademark. I think there is a topic here on alphadrome about those fakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboCopy Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 The”German instructions” are in fact instructions in Dutch how to knit a child’s jacket with puffy sleeves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6Stelab9 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 22 hours ago, Ranger said: I think there is a topic here on alphadrome about those fakes. Those fakes boxes and aged robots were made by a dutch company called Decotrends. Unfortunately the post written by Blechroboter doesn't seem to be available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 I found some photos., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 More Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Some more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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