Toy Robots

Greetings from the PurplePatty.com Community! In the late 1940s to early 1950s robots were manufactured as friction or windup. They were very colorful lithographed models made from tin, with most using recycled material. The introduction of the battery-powered robot came about in the mid 1950s. Most robots were manufactured in Japan where they produced hundreds of models. It was in the late 1960s when plastic replaced the lithographed tin robot.

The popular designs of robots was driven by the science and entertainment of the time. The atomic age of the late forties brought about the Japanese Atomic Robot Man. The fifties were driven by movies like Destination Moon and Forbidden Planet, which featured Robbie The Robot. The sixties brought on television programs such as Lost In Space, Robot with the famous phrase, "Danger Will Robinson."

Many of the maker's marks on robots actually represent the importer or distributor, not the manufacturer. Because of the great popularity of collecting robots with prices in the tens of thousands of dollars, reproductions started to become a huge problem in the late 1990s. This also included Chinese and Taiwanese robots made in shapes that never existed in the collectible robot line that also started to flood the market. This is a collectible line that you just don't buy on the spur of the moment. You need to research thoroughly in order to authenticate any robot collectible you may be tempted to buy.

Here's to a day full of Shopping and Smiles!

From your Super Shopper,

Purple Patty