SarasotaRobby Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I just saw this little guy go by on ebay. I figured he'd generate a lot of interest at the end and I was right. Anybody know the story on him? I can make out " & CO" on his base. I was guessing Johillco?? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&autorefresh=true&hash=item483e869beb&item=310286654443&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=Mu0%252FimebzsAJBQCkFOKG5RP%252FS5s%253D#ht_500wt_1156 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martijn Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 hey I was following it too, forgot all about it, good price a very nice old robot, my best guess it is made out of lead, and I can't remember I saw it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimK Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 He looks a lot like this guy from the Buck Rogers comics. JimK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 . He can be found in Blast Off!, page 62, where he is pictured with five other figures in the Buck Rogers set. The caption reads: "The Britains, the Cream of Wheat premiums from 1936. Mekkano Man, Dr. Heuer, Buck, Ardala, Wilma, and Killer Kane." This photo shows a slightly different color combination of Mekkano Man; yellow cap, claws and feet with red legs. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martijn Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 wow that preceeds lilliput as first mass produced robot toy (although not being tin) or are there even older toyrobots (apart from maybe meccano made robots)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I was watching it too. I decided I didn't need it when it passed $70 and I realized it was just two and a half inches high. It's a great looking and wonderfully peculiar piece. Regarding the last comment, I still think that the lilliput was closely based on those early Meccano or Erector robot models--tall, thin, and rectangular. The Erector/Meccanos were widely distributed and advertised about ten years (I'm not certain it was both at the same time} earlier. The proportions are all there and even the idea of the many rivets. And there wasn't really any other similar precedent. Even his name makes sense in relation to their relative sizes. I constantly run into old Japanese tin toys that were based on American, German, or English toys. Even lots of originally wooden American toys got knocked off as Japanese tin. Of course, the Japanese ones are nearly always the ones I want to own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robotnut Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Great little Robot... Just imagine, they used to put free lead toys in boxes of cereal. It's a wonder anyone survived... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 1936 and this toy has already taken on the conventional appearance we have come to except. That is amazing. Not anything like the the wizard of Oz tinman. Could there be others from or before this time period ? I mean this thing looks like it was designed in the 50's ! Interesting high pivot point on the legs. As if a working model had been built allowing a more centralized CG pivot point for ease of bending over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Eagle: There are illustrations f rather conventional looking robots in science fiction magazines dating back to the Twenties. The form had been established for a while, though I guess it wasn't until at least 1936 -- this instance -- that any robots were made into toys. (Unless we know of anything earlier!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 . On 1/12/2011 at 7:27 PM, dratomic said: (Unless we know of anything earlier!) How about this 1935 Robot Questioner, Doc?: It, too, reminds me of Lilliput. The real question is: Is this a toy robot or a robot toy? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I suspect this is the first robot: American, tin 1930s. It's possibly a prototype that we discussed years ago, but you can see it's the Buck Rogers robot just like the Britains one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 again fixing lost photos the only way I can . The robot being discussed in this post is the one in this set of metal Britains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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