Vintage Toy Daleks (Various, 1960s & 1970s)

In a universe filled with peril, one word inspires fear above all others... Dalek! Not a robot, but an alien mutant encased within a heavily armed and armored battle suit, the Daleks have one mission: Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!

For more than 40 years, these psychopathic little racists have waged war against The Doctor, the hero of Britain's Doctor Who television series. Terrifying enough to send kids scurrying behind the sofa, Daleks were nonetheless one of the most popular characters to emerge from the show. It's no surprise, then, that toy companies in the United Kingdom were quick to capitalize on the public's desire for all things Dalek. A seemingly endless stream of toys flowed into -- and then quickly out of -- stores.

Doc's collection of vintage toy Daleks.

There wasn't ever any question as to whether Daleks would end up in my own collection. They're an iconic piece of science fiction history, and one of the few really great alien toys. Seriously, I've got astronauts, I've got rockets, I've got a heck of a lot of ray guns, but aliens? There just aren't too many out there. And what's a space toy collection without aliens?

But I don't need all of them, so the question quickly became, Which ones do I like? After some heavy research -- remember kids, you can never do enough research! -- I decided that a few stood out from the pack.

1. Mechanical Dalek (Cowan, de Groot Ltd, a.k.a. "Codeg," 1965)

One of the rarest Daleks, this tin-and-plastic wind up toy rolls in a wide circle while his dome and eye stalk slowly scan left and right. It's a surprisingly eerie mechanism, strangely lifelike. If the Dalek weren't a mere six inches tall, it'd probably be kind of scary!

This is the first vintage Dalek I bought, and it fell into my lap right when I decided to add the toys to my collection. I bought it from an eBay seller in the U.K., and thought I was getting the toy along with its original box -- an expensive purchase, but worth it. I don't regularly collect the boxes for toy robots, but I figured that the Daleks were (more or less) affordable enough to allow for the indulgence.

Sadly, when the toy arrived, I realized right away that the box was a fake. A good fake, to be sure, but a fake nonetheless. The inside of the cardboard was the wrong color, and a supposed pen mark on one panel was in fact part of the box's artwork; in other words, the original box had a mark on it which was scanned into a computer. When the reproduction was printed, that mark was printed along with it. A dead giveaway.

I figured I was pretty much screwed, but I contacted the seller anyway to see if I could get some of my money back. Amazingly, he refunded half the purchase price -- exactly what I'd hoped for. So a satisfying if not completely perfect ending: I bought a loose Mechanical Dalek for a fair price, and got a nice reproduction box as a bonus.

He knows you're out there... You can run, but you can't hide!

This is definitely my favorite of the vintage Daleks. I love the abstracted, simplified design and the tin body. And as I mentioned above, the action's top notch. It's a toy with personality, and that's something I'm really attracted to when looking for pieces for my collection.

The Mechanical Dalek also comes in black. It's even rarer than the one I've got. While I'd like to pick it up, too, I'm happy with the blue one. For now...

2. Bump-And-Go Dalek ( Louis Marx Co., 1964/1965)

This 6.5-inch toy was one of the first Daleks produced. It features a bump-and-go action and a flashing light inside its dome. It was made by the British division of Marx Toys.

This is a toy that pops up on eBay quite often, though it's rarely complete. Not surprisingly, the eye stalk, plunger, or gun is usually missing -- and sometimes all three are gone, leaving a strange, sad looking Dalek.

The Marx Dalek was released in four versions. In 1964, it came in two separate colors: silver and black, and featured a larger ball at the end of its eye stalk (this is the version I've got). In 1965, Marx kept the silver and black colors, but shrunk the ball down to a more proportionate size. The color of the base was also changed, I believe. Oh, Marx also changed the box for the toy's 1965 release.

Marx actually put this toy out once more in the Seventies, this time changing the colors to red and yellow. The box was dumbed down, losing its amazing artwork and instead featuring a photo of a couple kids playing with the toy. Despite the strangeness of it all, I really do like the red and yellow Daleks, and will probably try to snag them in the future.

I spent a long time searching for my silver toy before finally finding one at the right price. It was being sold by an eBayer in the United States. He hadn't listed it in the U.K. auctions and it didn't get the number of bidders these toys usually attract. Oh, and unlike my Codeg Mechanical Dalek, this one really did include its original box! Score!

Interesting bit of trivia: When filming a battle scene for an early, black and white episode of Doctor Who, the special effects artist used a couple of these Marx Daleks as models in wide shots.

3. Friction Dalek (Louis Marx Co., 1965)

This smaller version of the early Marx Dalek looks substantially the same, but stands only 4.5 inches tall. It lost the bump-and-go action, as well as its light up dome; now it zips forward after being revved along the floor a couple times.

While not the fanciest of the toy Daleks, I've always appreciated the small scale. They just look cool... a pocket sized, galactic serial killer. How cute!

The small Dalek was released in two colors, silver and black.

4. Talking Dalek (Palitoy Bradgate, 1975)

I love this toy! Seriously, any toy that talks is tops in my book. These squat Daleks use a small record in their bodies to say a number of different phrases. It's the same technology that powered Ideal's Robert the Robot in the 1950s and, later, those "The Cow Says 'Moooooo'" toys. Vinyl tech -- just awesome!

These fairly common toys came in red or silver. They can't move on their own, but do have posable suction arms, guns, and eye stalks. The record is activated by pushing the button on top of their heads.

Maybe he won't notice me... Crap!

I was able to snag a silver talking Dalek, mint in box, pretty early on. I decided I wanted the red one with the box as well, but try as I might, I just couldn't find one. Then, I got clever...

A junker appeared on eBay, and even though the toy was missing all its limbs, it had a great looking box. At the same time, a beautiful, loose example of the toy popped up. So I figured I'd bid on the one with the nice box, which ended first, and then swoop in to pick up the loose Dalek. Voila, a complete set!

My plan started off strongly with me winning the example with the nice box for a very comfortable price. Part A: Success! And then...

Then I forgot to bid on the loose toy!

To say I felt like an idiot would be an understatement. Part B: Ultra Fail!

Okay, maybe he won't notice me... Crap!

Ultimately, I ended up winning a mint, boxed example a week or two later. It didn't cost too much money, even taking into account the extra box and junker Dalek I'd picked up during my ill-fated journey into the Land of Too Damn Clever For My Own Damn Good. So all's well that ends well, right?

Right.

Before wrapping up this epic post, I want to mention a great reference book: Howe's Transcendental Toy Box, Second Edition, by David J. Howe & Arnold T. Blumberg (Telos, 2003).

This fantastic guide to collecting all things Doctor Who has been a huge -- huge -- help in guiding me through the wild, wooly, often confusing world of toy Daleks. If you're interested in any aspect of Doctor Who merchandise, either as a collector or simply a fan of the show and its history, I highly recommend picking up this book.

David J. Howe also runs a nifty forum dedicated to the discussion of Doctor Who merch. It's called, appropriately enough, Howe's Transcendental Toybox, and can be found at drwhomerch.proboards.com/.

There are still a few Daleks I'd like to add to my collection. They're not priorities, though -- I tend to go through phases, and right now Daleks just aren't in the cards. One of these days, though, the switch in my brain will flip and I'll be on the hunt for the little buggers. That's just how I roll.

Electric Robot (Marx / 1955 / U.S. / 14 inches)

During the 1950s, Japan nearly cornered the market on toy robots. However, the United States did produce a few doozies, including the wonderful Electric Robot.

There's something really magical about this old plastic toy, something that conjures up strong feelings of nostalgia even though I was born decades after it was sold. Maybe it's the simple, plastic construction -- in some ways, Electric Robot's much more primitive than his cousins from the Far East. It just feels like it dropped out of the past, you know?

The toy features a variety of actions, all of which are controlled individually by different knobs and buttons on its back. Not only does the toy roll forward and backward, and have light-up eyes, but it also can deliver Morse code (and there's a handy cheat sheet printed on the back of his head). Electric Robot's arms move up and down by turning the two knobs near his shoulders, and a switch at the back of his base determines whether he moves to the right or to the left. It's all so manual, so interactive -- it's hard not to have fun with the toy.

A knob on the back of the head controls the lights in his eyes; the two knobs on the shoulders move the arms; the button in the center of the robot's back activates the Morse code; the horizontal switch in the middle determines whether he moves left or right; the vertical switch underneath the waist turns the toy on and off. Take that, XBox!

The Morse code key.

There's also a small drawer in its chest which originally held small, plastic tools.

Electric Robot was also sold as Electric Robot and Son. This other version came with a small, plastic, robot child that could hang from the Electric Robot's claw. I never really liked the Son component -- it looks a little too much like a robot monkey wearing a loin cloth. I much prefer the Electric Robot on his own, running solo without a care or responsibility in the world.

The toy also comes in black and red -- more common than the silver version -- and there are two versions of the son as well (corresponding to the color of the main robot). It's not a tough toy to find -- Electric Robot pops up on eBay fairly often -- which means that everyone can have an opportunity to add this great toy to their shelves.

Adventures Into The Land of Robots! Toy Robot Museum & Morphy Auction House

Art lovers have the Louvre. Dinosaur buffs have the American Museum of Natural History. And space toy collectors have the Toy Robot Museum. Guess where I was on Saturday? 

The Toy Robot Museum in all its glory!

I'd planned this trip months ago, and was joined by two other local collectors -- Steve Jaspen (who was interviewed for the Attic's first "Top-Shelf Titan" article, here) and Karl Tate (who wrote the article on Apollo-inspired space toys, here). Chatter about it on Alphadrome brought other collectors from the area out of the woodwork, and soon the Geek-O-Meter levels were rising fast as about eight of us descended on the museum. It was going to be a good day.

Located in Adamstown, PA, the Toy Robot Museum features well over 2500 pieces, from the very old to the very new. Cases line the aisles, stuffed with every color, shape, style, and model of toy robots. The overflow, which includes posters and related ephemera, climb the walls and cling from the ceiling. Robot-themed video games and pinball machines beep, chime, and clatter, competing with the click-click-thwok-buzzzz of a vintage Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots game. 

A case full of classics: two variations of Electric Robot and Son (Marx, 1955), and (bottom) the great Robert the Robot (Ideal, 1954) 

Joe's museum has every version of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. He's even set one up so kids (of all ages) can play with it.

Overseeing it all is the museum's curator, a boisterously cheerful collector named Joe Knedlhans. Catch him in the right mood -- and by that I mean "awake" -- and he'll gladly spend an hour talking about his favorite toys. Joe is an endless font of knowledge, whether he's answering questions about a vintage Robert the Robot or a brand new Wall-E movie tie-in toy. 

The man, the myth, the legend: Joe Knedlhans!

Joe's favorites: Robert the Robot. Seen here are all three variations. Over time, Ideal simplified the toy's design. 

The rare Robert the Robot flashlight.

The equally rare Robert the Robot record. This example has never been played.

Ideal also produced a Robert the Robot tractor. An uncommon, beautiful toy.

Between the toys and their owner, it's absolutely impossible to visit the museum and not have a great time. I love seeing all the robots I'd never necessarily collect, but still think are cool. And in many instances, visiting Joe's has prompted a new appreciation for certain toys. I can think of four robots in my collection that I only own because I had a chance to see them at the museum. Of course, the downside is that every visit to the museum ends up costing me way more than the $2.00 admission price! 

For more on Joe and his Toy Robot Museum, you can watch a video piece I produced, here.

There were other reasons to be in Adamstown on Saturday; besides hitting the museum, we decided to visit Morphy Auctions, which is located just down the road to the south. They were holding their preview for a huge -- huge! -- auction of over 700 vintage space toys, and it was a unique opportunity to check out some of the rarest toys, many with their original boxes. (The auction also includes thousands -- yes, thousands -- of new and vintage Japanese vinyl and die cast character toys.)

Morphy's didn't disappoint, and we were suitably flabbergasted by the cases of toys stretching out in front of us. Robots, rockets, flying saucers, space tanks, futuristic cars -- they were all jumbled together, often without much rhyme or reason, fighting for space and our attention. A riot of shapes and color, I found myself picking over the same shelves again and again, discovering new toys each time. Fun, yes. Exciting, surely. But seriously overwhelming. 

Amazingly, Morphy's wasn't displaying all the toys -- they were still cataloguing everything, and don't expect to wrap up for another few weeks! 

The auction is scheduled for some time in November. As it continues to come together, I'll post more information. Also, look for news -- and a behind-the-scenes article -- about yet another massive auction, this time from Smith House Toys, in the near future. I tell ya, it's a great time to be a vintage space toy collector!

After seeing all those toys at Joe's and Morphy's, I was itching to bring home something for myself. Luckily, the road running through Adamstown is littered with antique stores and I've had some luck in the past, snagging a couple beautiful -- and rare -- space guns for amazing prices. I crossed my fingers, and my friends and I began our hunt.

Sadly, though, our antiquing went nowhere. We'd found some nice toys, but the prices weren't great and none of us felt compelled to buy anything. It looked like I'd be driving home without a addition to my collection after all. (Cue chorus of Awwwwwww. Thank you for that heartfelt show of sympathy...)

My fellow collectors and all went back to the Toy Robot Museum to hang out before dinner, and I decided to poke through Joe's gift shop. It's a small section towards the front of the shop, filled with all sorts of robot- and science-fiction related toys, games, videos, mugs, books, knick knacks, and whatever else you can think of. Joe's also got one special case built into his front counter, and that's where he stores some of the better toys: Vintage stuff as well as higher-end modern pieces. 

And that's where I saw them: A pair of rare Strato Scout Space Phones! Score!

I collect vintage space walkie-talkies (they'll eventually appear in the Attic, I promise) and even though I already own the Strato Scout model, Joe's was a variation I'd never seen before. The price was right -- and, frankly, I like supporting my friends -- so I grabbed them up quick. 

And then I did the smartest thing I've done in a while: I asked Joe if he had anything else lurking in his storage room. See, the last time I visited the museum, I happened to mention that I was looking for an original, first-generation Robert the Robot, and if it wasn't too much trouble, I hoped Joe could keep an eye out for me. Before I'd even finished the sentence, Joe had jumped up and dashed out of the room. He was back a moment later with a beautiful example of the toy, which I bought on the spot.

So I decided to try again. And, like last time, Joe dashed out of the room only to return with another great robot: Mr. Zerox (Horikawa, early 1970s). It's a later version robot, appearing towards the end of the great space toy era, but still one that I wanted pretty badly. I'll write more extensively about it in the future, but for now, here's a shot of the robot and the Strato Scout Space Phones:

The day ended with dinner -- all the visiting collectors plus Joe -- and then one more trip back to the museum (because it's hard to get enough). And then it was time to drive home. 

I'd call it a perfect day all around, and it reminded me that, as much as I love the toys, most of the hobby's fun comes from hanging out with all my friends.

...

Okay, you got me. I'm in it for the toys... But the friends are great, too!