PIPPIN’S OLD TOYS CALLS IT A DAY…
If you were a halfway-serious toy collector, and found yourself with idle time in Brisbane in the years from 1986 to 2006, then the only place for you to visit was Pippin’s Old Toys. Named after a particularly frisky hobbit (well before he had an agent & manicurist), this shop’s unusual & eclectic range of old playtime-wares (from Abba jigsaw puzzles to wind-up Zeppelins) was sourced the world over, using just a telephone… there was no Information-Superhighway back then, kids! And, like most unique shops, its stock was a reflection of the personality of its owner. At best cheeky, at worst weird, John Graham always left an impression, especially when sharing his passion for toys. The shop-front reigns passed to talented store-manager Mark Fraser in the New Century, while John continued to scout the globe for all things funky, especially in the fascinating toy marketplace of Japan. But things don’t always go as planned…
In early 2006, the 1930’s building that housed this Toy-Lover’s Paradise went on the market. Seeing this as a sign, John decided to close the store at the end of June 2006, with plans to make the move to the world of dot com. However, after closing, John’s caring duties for his elderly parents soon became the most important part of his life. Despite contentment with his new role, John regrets that the planned Pippin’s website cannot be. Instead, over four-hundred and fifty boxes (and we mean BIG boxes…) of vintage toys & related collectables, many held in storage from his personal collection, and unseen for more than twenty years, are to be released to the public for genuine sale on Sunday, 26 April 2009. And, to whet your mutual appetites, here are JUST SOME of the highlights of this literally ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ event, courtesy of Albion Antique Auction Centre:
VINTAGE TIN TOYS – An enviable selection of original BOXED TIN ROBOTS, including a KO SPARKY & a Japanese-market SUPER-ASTRONAUT with rare robot head… Loose robots abound, like wind-up JUPITER, battery ENGINE, & the odd-looking DOOR ROBOT… A near mint boxed, battery-op BLUE BATMOBILE… Super-rare Aussie DIE-CAST PLANET GUN, in sturdy working order… A PRISTINE-MINT-BOXED MODERN TOYS X-7 SPACESHIP with original Kobe Japan toy-store price-tag… MARS RIFLE ray gun, in excellent working order… A very unusual Italian Disney PLUTO air-activated toy with bakelite pump & original box… tin wind-up 1930’s dancers LEHMANN OH-MY & HAM-N-SAM MINSTRELS… HTF novelty 1950’s tin battery toy GORILLA WITH SMOKING PIPE, near mint boxed… An AMERICAN AIRLINES DC7, boxed with all inserts, rare printed instructions and metal tool… An unusual tin & plastic HAWKER-HARRIER JUMP JET battery-op, near mint boxed…
ACTION FIGURES – Rare carded KENNER STAR WARS figures, including two UNPAINTED PROTOTYPE ERRORS… Weird-n-wacky 1990’s SIMPSONS toys & figures, including the original MATTEL series, many rare & mint-in-packet… One of the largest collections of Playmates’ SIMPSONS action figures you’re likely to see for sale in one place… Hundreds of carded figures, dozens of boxed playsets, including hard-to-finds like Professor Frink, Snake & HANK SCORPIO offered in MULTIPLES! A great opportunity for the beginning collector, market seller or online dealer to stock up cheaply… and ‘cheaply’ also applies to many of the action figures in general, with properties such as STAR TREK:TNG, STAR WARS, Disney, GI-JOE & ROBOTECH for sale in bulk lots to suit all budgets… Japanese-exclusive vintage TRANSFORMERS, like talking vinyl action figures by Takara, with both members of this rare set (Hotrod & Galvatron) being offered near mint boxed AND working, plus an equally rare and equally near-mint-boxed set of twenty-two DECEPTICON DECOYS… The one & only Governator, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, in his biggest and first toy incarnation, the legendary COMMANDO large action figure, near complete… dozens of early ACTION MAN & GI-JOE 12-inch dolls, from Painted-Hair to Eagle-Eye, many in HTF original outfits… Bulk lots of KENNER SIX-MILLION DOLLAR MAN & BIONIC WOMAN dolls & accessories, some boxed… Playmates TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, the original 1988 set of four, near mint on card, box fresh… THUNDERBIRDS aplenty, from a boxed MATCHBOX TRACY ISLAND to rare Japanese-exclusive figures & novelties… DAKIN 1970’s TV FIGURES, including mint in bag… Kenner STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, loose & boxed… and lot after lot of MIXED VINTAGE LOOSE FIGURES & accessories, from MEGO to KENNER and back again…
CHARACTER TOYS – Four of the famous Disney SEVEN DWARVES, this incarnation straw-filled, joined and plush, by CHAD VALLEY… a set of three outrageous SPUMCO THREE STOOGES dolls, near mint… A boxed CHiPS TV large plastic motorcycle… A pair of Japanese-exclusive PLANET OF THE APES tin wind-up robots, near mint boxed… A Tyco TRANSFORMERS ELECTRIC TRAIN SET, near mint boxed, never used… Very rare 1960’s PRINCE PLANET POSTCARDS, Japanese-domestic market only, near mint… Carded ASTRO-BOY TARGET GAME, 1970’s… Early French MICKEY MOUSE ALARM CLOCK, boxed… A tea-chest full of Japan-only GERRY ANDERSON toys & memorabilia, such as 1960's BANDAI WIND-UP SPV & MSV, both mint on card, and from the virtually unknown 1960's CAPTAIN SCARLET ANIMATED SERIES, a rare 'karuta' card game, unused...
DIECAST TOYS – Bulk lots of early LESNEY diecast cars… Boxed NRL Team cars… A MINIC SHIPS Naval Harbour set, unused shop stock… rare TM ENGLAND 1930’s cast waterline BATTLESHIPS, highly detailed… the list goes on...
LEAD FIGURES – BRITAINS KNIGHTS & LIFEGUARDS, both boxed… Rare cast DCMT BRISBANE ANZACS… Bulk lots of original farm, soldiers, zoo, etc… High-quality character repros…
EARLY BOARD GAMES – Rare & near mint 1962 SYDNEY-TO-HOBART YACHT RACE board game, never used… A 1920’s PLOPITIN novelty parlour ball game, boxed… A 1930’s Gotham USA BIG SHOT BAGATELLE, boxed, never used… Rare AUSSIE-RULES, CRICKET & RUGBY games… Bulk lots of 1960’s & 1970’s classic games, most in great order, like DRAG STRIP, BUCKAROO, SQUATTER, MAGIC ROBOT, BATTLING TOPS & STEADY-EDDIE… Dozen-upon-dozen of cool TV & MOVIE games like LOST IN SPACE, RAWHIDE, SKIPPY, BATMAN, KNIGHT RIDER & A-TEAM, to mention but a few…
PLASTIC KITS – AURORA WOLFMAN & MUMMY, REVELL FLIPPER, AIRFIX HO-OO WILD WEST, AIRFIX HO-OO SHERWOOD FOREST, all near mint boxed... A very rare 1970's DIAMOND-EYE TV Super-hero HONDA cycle motorized kit, by AOSHIMA, plus many more Japan-only issues…
SLOT CARS – Vintage boxed sets, including TYCO, KENBRITE & SCALEXTRIC… 60’s Japanese built-ups, boxed…
VINTAGE CHILDREN’S BOOKS & ANNUALS – Hundreds of HTF TV & Movie character kid’s books, most in bulk lots, many near mint… Gerry Anderson 1960’s annuals, including THUNDERBIRDS, CAPTAIN SCARLET, SUPERCAR & the rare UFO, most rich with colour photos… rare early pop-ups & punch-outs, including DAN DARE & DISNEY… TV COWBOYS galore, including BONANZA, ROY ROGERS, CHEYENNE, RAWHIDE & GUNSMOKE… COMICS, including early AUSTRALIAN… Dozens of high-quality ORIGINAL JAPANESE MOVIE PROGRAMMES, like MOONRAKER, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, DIRTY HARRY, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, BLUES BROTHERS, and many more…
ODDBALL NOVELTIES – a complete BLUE FANTA YOYO STORE DISPLAY, never used… Japanese boxed CAMERA LIGHTER with telescopic stand… Wide variety of SUPER-8 COMMERCIAL HOME MOVIES & CATALOGUES… Many vintage TV & Movie BUBBLEGUM CARDS, including SEALED TRADE BOXES… 1930’s figural glass XMAS LIGHTS… Less-than-wholesale repro tin toys, all near mint boxed… early TV TIMES & TV WEEK magazines… |
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