Top 5 Toys - Martin Harris

Melbourne based fine artist Martin Harris sent in his Top 5 List this week featuring some classic vintage pieces.. You can definitely see how his collection of toys has influenced his paintings over the years - make sure you check out his artwork here.

5) Wolf soft vinyl toy with real cloth costume made by Bandai (circa early 1960s)

"The wolf is part of a set, which included three piglets, and is extremely rare even in Japan! He is a character from a children’s TV show called 'Boo Foo Woo' produced by NHK-TV (The title refers to the names of each of the three piglets). I don’t know much about the show because it was only screened in Japan. It fascinates me that they have basically taken the theme of the Three Little Pigs and set it in a Mexican styled town."

4) Dr.Seuss soft plastic toy (with attached rabbit fur?) made in Japan for the US market by Poynter toys.

"There were 6 different designs, each with two different colourways. I first bought this exact toy when I was a child, at my local toy store. It was very cheap! But of course at the time I did not realise that these toys were based on several Dr Seuss illustrations, which appeared in Liberty Magazine (1930s?) and were made without a license or approval from Dr Seuss resulting in legal action to have them withdrawn from the marketplace."

3) Okozeruge soft vinyl doll made by Bandai Japan (circa 1973)

"A fish like creature from a TV show, BAROM-1. I love everything about this toy! It was the first vintage toy I purchased. And the most expensive!"

2) Chibull (or Tiburu) by M1-Go

"I first saw this character in an old Ultraseven photo book which a friend of mine had in his collection. It stood out from all the other monsters (kaiju was not what I referred to them at the time as I did not have the knowledge!). I was completely mesmerised and fascinated with it’s visual appearance. Then I stumbled across a book titled SO CRAZY JAPANESE TOYS in 2003. Inside I found a photo of a soft vinyl Chibull! They had actually made a toy of this character. I had to have it! I searched and finally found it via agents in Japan. It was my very first soft vinyl kaiju toy! I was hooked from there on. It opened up a Pandora’s box for me and it felt like I was reliving my childhood with all these exciting new toys to discover. I also realized at this point on that M1-Go was a company I held the highest regard for. They are at the top of the Kaiju tree as toy makers in my opinion!"

1) Camel Train series (and Zoo Choo series) by R&L Australia

"These take me right back to my childhood and the thrill of finding a prized free toy in the cereal box! These were all designed, created and manufactured by R&L in my hometown Melbourne, Australia, and exported to other countries like the US and UK in the early 1970s. Each toy came in packets of Corn Flakes, Coco Pops and other cereals. These made a huge impression on me as a child and I’ve portrayed some of these characters in my paintings. At no more than 3cm in length they are micro size marvels of wonder!"