"As a collector, i tend to gravitate towards obscure, vintage toys that aren't exactly based on any existing licensed character. These odd toys from old, small companies really allow the creativity of the designer to show. Without a specific character to represent or a brand identity to uphold, lots of older companies cranked out loads of no-name, weirdo toys to sell to all the small town gift shops, party supplies stores and dollar stores. Searching for toys like these is a lot more fun than trying to complete a popular toy line where there is a known, finite number of items produced. With the weird obscure stuff, the hunt is literally never ending and involves a lot of stumbling around, both online and in the real world. You never know what undiscovered thing you've never seen will pop up, or where it might be."
"I spend a lot of time digging around at flea markets, combing through ebay auctions, and staring at pictures of other collectors' collections. So when I find something that i have never seen before, very it's exciting. To make this entry easier on myself, I selected my top 5 favorite toys that I have never seen anywhere else. Not at a toy show, not in a picture online, nowhere. Toys I can't find any info about. If you've ever seen these before or know anything about them, I'd love to hear from you!"
PS He also plays in the punk bands Puberty Wounds (pubertywounds.bandcamp.com) Splashin' Safari (splashinsafari.bandcamp.com) and Good Shade (http://goodshade.bandcamp.com/)
5) "Dinosaur" Hong Kong
"i've always loved the made-up creatures included in packs of dinosaurs. One of my earliest favorite toys was a Rust Monster I got in a pack of dinosaurs at Ames when I was about 4 years old. Many of these creatures made their way into D&D monster manuals, and in recent years they have (sort of annoyingly) been given the name "chinasaurs." As awesome as these toys are, there are basically only a handful of different ones, and most of them are easy enough to find. That's why when I found this one I was shocked. Not only is it very clearly not a classic dinosaur, it is also not a creature I have ever seen."
"Also, as you can see, it's a good deal larger than the normal sized dino-creatures, and is even bigger than the creatures that came in the tougher to find "Cretaceous Times" set."
4) Flocked Bootleg 'Outer Terrestrial Creatures' Ornament
"i first learned about Outer Terrestrial Creatures a little over 6 years ago through the excellent Weirdo Toys site, and they quickly became one of my favorite lines. I have loose examples of every color variation of the figures and packaged examples of every quantity variation (1, 3 and 6 packs) and almost every series name variation (Outer Terrestrial Creatures, Ugg Family, Lil Gremlin Monsters...the only one that I know of that i'm missing is the Fuzzy Wuzzies 6 pack.) Let's just say I went a little overboard. So there I was, sitting on this collection for a couple years, thinking i'd seen it all. When all of a sudden an ebay listing pops up with a very familiar looking alien. Only this time, he's a bit larger, made of hollow plastic, flocked magenta, has sticker eyes and has a gold cord for hanging on your christmas tree. A bootleg, flocked octopus alien tree ornament. This is what toy dreams are made of! I can only dream that the other 5 creatures were also made in this fashion, and are out there waiting to be reunited with this little guy."
"Here he is next to Okky, his inspiration. I am still shocked that the process of turning this random bendy alien toy into a flocked ornament ever happened."
3) Unknown Rubber Monster
"I picked this little guy up at a toy show a few years back. Made of the same soft vinyl as Glo Friends toys and about the same size, but of course has no markings, not even a "Made in China." To me, he looks like the perfect mash-up of My Pet Monster and Mantenna from Masters of the Universe. Not only have I never seen this toy before, but i've never even seen another toy that is similar enough to possibly be from the same series."
2) Cell Phone Mouse
"I got this round little squeaky mouse as a freebie in a trade years ago. I had no idea I was getting it, i've never seen it before or since, and I don't even know exactly why i love it so much. Just something about a fat red mouse gabbing away on a cell phone makes me happy I guess. Holding his hand up like he's just having a normal conversation, explaining something. Maybe I love him because he reminds me of all of the bootleg, cheap squeak toys i would toss around in the yard and send down creeks when I was little. The cell-phone just steps up the comedy and brings him straight into Banjo-Kazooie character territory for me. Most people don't understand why I love this guy so much. I just know that he's one of my favorite toys."
1) Banthrico Monster Bank
"Banthrico is a company that is well-known for making metal coin banks of old-timey cars, buildings and animals, NOT vinyl banks of colorful, awesome monsters! When i saw this my eyes popped out. It was amazing to find a monster bank I had never seen or heard of, and especially one that is so clearly modeled after the muppets. Vintage licensed foreign, obscure, and bootlegs muppets stuff is one of my favorite things to collect. It's not a huge bank (about 6 inches tall) but it's pretty wide. Basically, just a perfect sculpt, perfect color, perfect size. No markings besides "Banthrico-Chicago," so I have no reason to believe it's based off of a licensed character. Just an amazing toy I feel lucky to have in my collection."
