Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Flying Things
The Topps Flying Things series (70's) consisted of fragile funny planes that came unassembled inside a nicely illustrated package, and sold for dirt cheap. Once put together, you threw it into the air, and if you were lucky you got about 20 seconds of actual play out of it before the ultra flimsy, lightweight material shattered into pieces on the driveway, or against a tree. This of course didn't stop you from buying a couple more and continuing on with the best other 20 seconds of your life. Here are two 90's knock-offs I recently aquired in a trade, and for anyone interested, I have noticed some originals available on ebay as I posted this.
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These are actually not Topps originals, but more recent knockoffs (I got mine like this in the early '90s). Note the more contemporary choking-hazard warning. At one point Playing Mantis Toys was going to do slightly higher-quality repros, but I don't think it actually happened. Another brand of foam gliders still available is an assortment of half assorted breeds of birds and half Gatchaman aircraft. I wish our Chinese friends would bootleg the Marvel ones, but I guees that's a bit much to hope for.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Devlin, I was looking at one Flying Skeleton on ebay currently and noticed the package is much different than mine, the name actually printed across the wings.
ReplyDeleteMe-thinks the "Flying Scissors" toy and subsequent bad ideas put into kids' heads will be an oddity for folks in the 25th century to ponder. Personally, I think it's a damn fine idea!
ReplyDeleteI loves them!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll put them in one of my comic stories soon! They have an irrestible charming that I can't ignore. You said ebay, mmh?
these are really kool! i had a halloween-themed one for a while, think i got it in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteI believe my brother had these or something similar. Low tech fun can be the best!
ReplyDelete