Hippo Toys Apollo Rocket - Orange HP with Friction Motor

Here's an interesting rocket I picked up recently. It's a Hippo Toys Apollo rocket in orange HP with friction motor from ca1969 and is 13" (33.02cm) L. I know nothing about Hippo Toys but do know that this was bundled along with other manufacturers toys in a Montgomery Wards space set from that year so at the very least I can narrow it down to when it was made. Other than the friction motor, this is a very simple toy and a wonderful space ship from the Apollo Moon Landing era even if it is a caricature. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

I know, I know, not even close to being historically or technically accurate, but I had a rare few minutes of  'me time' and wanted to play some

Marx Tin-litho Wind-up Sparkling Tank

Here's another neat tank from Marx. This wind-up tin-litho toy features a sparkling mechanism and my particular sample runs like a spooked cat, sparkling all the way. This version of the tank features an unadorned turret dome and is a bit more common. A harder to find - and more expensive - version of this tank features crew members lithographed on the dome. The windup mechanism seen in the photos was in common use by Marx I believe well into the '50s and larger versions of it were used on planes and vehicles. The key does not come off (a really good feature for people prone to losing things like that) and measures 5 3/8" (13.65cm) L x 2 1/4" (hull width only, not including key) (5.71cm) W x 2 1/4" (5.71cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

For comparison are the tank I featured yesterday next to today's featured tank

Marx No. 5 Tin-litho Wind-up Rollover Tank

Here's a nifty tank I picked up last year. It came with a Marx 6" train flatcar but the flatcar was the wrong type for this tank (the tank was attached to the flatcar by a blob of putty! anywho, the putty was easily removed so no problems) so I decided to just feature the tank today. This was designed to be a rollover tank: wind it up and it runs for a little followed by the plate on the underside raising up and flipping the tank over. My sample, like so many of these older wind-up toys, works to an extent. It does roll forward and the plate pops open and begins to raise the tank up but the spring has weakened such that there's just not enough 'oomph' to flip the tank over. It measures 4 3/4" (12.06cm) L x 2 1/2" (hull only not including key) (6.35cm) W x 2 1/4" (5.71cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina