TRAIN TIME: USPS Trains & Locomotives Post Card Series 1999 - Card 9

The Southern Pacific's Daylight is one of the most beautiful trains in the world. Here we see the Daylight in all her 1938 finery. Enjoy!

U.S. Metal Toy Mfg Co #56 Cottage Lollipop Holder

The last time Toys & Stuff looked at one of the U.S. Metal Toys terrific little buildings was shortly after the blog started back on Nov 2, 2010. At that time we featured the Church coin bank. These little tin-litho buildings were made as either coin banks or as lollipop holders like today's featured building. I've seen at least five different litho patterns, all of which use the same stampings (the only difference being the holes in the roof for either the bank or lolly holder) but I've only got four in my collection. Enjoy!

1992 McDonald's Batman Returns The Penguin Roto-Roadster

Today is the third vehicle in the 1992 McDonald's Happy Meal Batman Returns promo, The Penguin Roto-Roadster. It's a nice little caricature toy with an over-sized Penguin sitting in a stylized Penguin-mobile and as one rolls the car back and forth, the umbrella in front rotates. Enjoy!

Gearbox Toys 2006 Buck Rogers Spaceship (Meeting The Mongols 1929)

Changing pace this week from Flash Gordon, here's one of Gearbox Toys Buck Rogers spaceships they had made in 2006. The design is from a 1929 Buck Rogers comic strip and actually reflects a popular spaceship design of the early 1900's, that of essentially a bullet shape with truncated wings (when you look at the drawing and look at the toy it reminds me of those kiddie rides that you put a nickel into and it bucks up and down). The toy itself has a rotating rear ray gun and detailed control panel. It is somewhat selectively compressed and a tad chunky but is faithful to the overall design. What struck me was how the Space Ship was equipped with a rearward facing gun and gunner - exactly the same as the World War I aircraft which preceded this drawing by eleven years. Just a couple of days ago I had watched William A. Wellman's classic silent movie 'Wings' about two World War I fighter pilots. The movie was released in 1927 and I couldn't help but feel how much current technology influences art. In this case of course 'current' meant 1929 but it was an interesting reflection of the times. Enjoy!

1992 Pteranodon Post Cereal Premium

We're coming close to the end of the Post Cereal Flintstones 'flats'. Our next to last entry is the Pteranodon, another happy-go-lucky entry in the line. Enjoy!