Opinions and Idle Speculation Sought

[Hymie]

I have made a very unscientific observation about vintage tin toy robots, and I wondered if anyone else has made the same observation. In my experience, it seems that the larger a robot is, the more likely it is to still have its original box when it enters the collectors' market years or decades after it is manufactured -- not that it's generally likely that any robot on sale will still have its original box, but relatively speaking. If you have noticed this, please offer your theory for the phenomenon. Assuming my observation/theory holds water, I think it's due to one or both of the following: 1) Since it is larger, it is a) generally more durable (often with a sturdier corrugated bottom), and b) less likely to be misplaced or discarded. 2) Kids are more likely to regard the box as sort of a storage case rather than a disposable package.

 

Or maybe I have no idea what I am talking about. Discuss among yourselves...

[robothut]

I have not found this to be true. Few large boxes made it through Christmas day for me. For example, there are lots of Robot Commandos out there but few boxed ones, lots of King Ding robot but very few boxed ones. Lots of Big Loo robots and almost no boxed ones. Well, the lists go on.

[Hymie]

Point well taken, sir. 

 

And I thought of a glaring contradiction of my own: The box for an Alps Mechanical Television Spaceman is (like the robot itself) quite small and also relatively flimsy, but those robots are frequently (if not usually) seen paired with their original boxes. Oh well, so much for idle theories...

[zebedee]

I got given a horikawa plastic radar robot for one Christmas in the 70s and I kept it in the box for years until we moved house in the 80s and I gave all my toys to oxfam and after trying to find it again I became hooked on robot collecting and finally after years and lots of ££££ spent on other robots I finally found a mint in box example but the cardboard was thinner, so I think it's down to what sort of child had the toy. 

[Hymie]

Yep, I was a very sensitive child , and I was very fastidious about taking care of my toys. Moreover, my dad was actually sort of hit-and-miss antique collector -- including more than a few toys, and he had the presence of mind to rescue a lot of my stuff and put it away for me, on the theory that I might be similarly inclined once I grew to adulthood. As a result, I actually still have quite a few of my own childhood toys (Matchbox cars, Tonka trucks, slot cars, even an original box or two). Unfortunately, though (as I have lamented in a previous post), I never got a robot! Working feverishly these days to make up that deficiency!

[Dirk]

Hello Hymie - welcome aboard!

In general, I don't think there is a direct connection between the size of the box and the number of boxes that can still be found. However, the Dux Astroman box, for example, is so sturdily constructed that you don't tend to throw it away. On the other hand, I never knew exactly where the boxes of my Matchbox cars ended up; I suspect my mother threw them away immediately after I got the new car out of its "garage"...

 

There is a connection, however, which stems from the fact that toy retailers often had to order a minimum number of toys from the manufacturer - and this number was 12; so 1 dozen! Very small toys often came in just one box - like this Robot 7 from Nogushi. The Mechanical Spaceman from Alps mentioned above also came in a dozen box, but was still individually packaged...

 

[Hymie]

Thanks for the reply, Dirk. Very informative -- and some great pics. I'd like to order a case of each (at the original 1960s wholesale price). Can you arrange that?

[Dirk]

Quote

I'd like to order a case of each (at the original 1960s wholesale price). Can you arrange that?

Sure ... just take a seat in Johns wonderful machine and take the right direction... 

[Hymie]

John does a lot more for that machine than Rod Taylor ever did...

[steve]

I would think a larger box would have been more difficult to store and would have discarded earlier.

[K-9]

This is a wonderful box Dirk - in retrospect it would have been well worth it back in the day to have purchased a dozen Robot-7s simply for the box!

 

[robothut]

So many variations and makers of the Robot 7.