Vintage toys sale looks set to be a killer
Rare examples of vintage 007 and Man from U.N.C.L.E toys are killer additions to a collection of vintage toys that has been amassed over half a century.
The toys, inspired by film and TV programmes of the 1960s and ’70s, are expected to make thousands of pounds when they come up for auction at Ewbank’s in Surrey on May 16.
Put together by businessman Doug Blair over the past 50 years, they include what is thought to be the most comprehensive Man From U.N.C.L.E. toy collection in the UK.
Elsewhere, Starsky & Hutch, The Professionals, CHiPs, Batman, James Bond and Dr Who all feature, with well-preserved individual toys still in their original boxes set to make up to £1,500.
Doug said: “As a kid I would get some of the toys and my friend and I would be out on our Chopper bikes pretending to be Jon and Poncherello (from CHiPs) or Bodie and Doyle (from The Professionals).
“I kept some of the die-cast toys and a few other pieces but didn’t think much of it until the internet started around 1995-97. Then I had a scout around to see what toys were there and I began collecting them. That was at the time when you could still find rare, boxed items online – stuff that was hard to find. You won’t find it there now, though – specialist auctions like this one are the way ahead.”
The 007 and U.N.C.L.E. lots, with their origins in the 1960s, hold the widest appeal, with individual pieces expected to fetch up to £1,500, including one of the rarer toys, a boxed harpoon gun dating to 1965 and inspired by Thunderball, which fires a dart.
Doug made a point of collecting toy firearms linked to the Bond franchise, and several form highlights here. They include several items by Japanese manufacturer Tada, distributed by Lone Star: a c.1965 boxed Thunderball, Special Agent Ricochet gun, estimated at £800-1,000; a c.1965 boxed ‘Tommy Buster’, friction-powered cap shooter, estimated at £800-1,000; and a boxed ‘Multi-Buster’, Tada Atom toys, lacking its scop, carrying an £800-1,000 estimate.
A 1960s boxed ‘Secret 007 Cosmic Gun’ is slightly less valuable because it was an unlicensed issue made in Taiwan, but nonetheless should make £500-600 due to its rarity, while a ‘Book Gun’, from Japan comprising plastic gun, target and pellets, fitting into outer book cover sleeve, is expected to command £150-200, partially because it less obviously resembles a firearm.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. never reached the heights of 007 popularity, but with the chic and stylish performances by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin, and the strong 1960 retro appeal of the costumes and sets, it was as close as the United States ever came to the pre-eminent British Bond.
Workable weapons and action figures also stand out for collectors, as they do with 007. Here a c.1970 boxed cap-firing automatic ‘Napoleon Solo Gun’, which converts into a rifle with a detachable stock and silencer, carries hopes of £800-1,000.
As with Bond and Q, U.N.C.L.E collectables also capitalise on the concept of spy kits – one of the most attractive releases for budding agents under the age of ten at the time. Here two stand out: a 1965 boxed Finger Print Kit and Secret Agent Kit, by MGM, and a c.1965 boxed Secret Weapon Set, by Ideal toys, No 4080-8. Each is expected to fetch £500-700.
“This stuff is just so hard to find because the TV series was an American import – the toys were not so readily available over here,” explained Doug. “The gun sets are probably my favourite things in the collection because they were so well put together. I also love the Counterfeit Spy Outfit sets and the Ilya Kuryakin lighter gun. The designs are amazing. You can’t compare them to the toys today and trying to find them in the UK now is all but impossible.”
Occasionally, lone characters emerge who capture the public’s imagination. In the 1970s they included the daredevil stunt motorcyclist Evel Knievel, whose feats led to numerous broken bones, but also a highly lucrative range of toys – the Ideal Toy Company sold $125 million worth of them between 1972 and 1977.
The collection includes a boxed Knievel figure with Super Jet Cycle and blazing twin pods, as well as the gyro-powered energizer that revved it up. It has hopes of £150-250.
Also, a serious collector of vintage film posters – especially from the Carry On series – Doug has decided to sell his toy collection having just moved house. “I need the space, although I will be keeping one or two things that I just can’t let go of.”
His dedication to the Carry On series started in the 1970s when he lived in Iver near Pinewood Studios. “We used to bump into people involved in the films. Ken Barker, who worked on sound for these and many other films, gave me an original prop, and that fired my imagination.”
The piece Doug has always coveted but never been able to get his hands on is another U.N.C.L.E. collectable: The Thrush gun. “It was only after I decided to sell the collection that one came up. I nearly bought it but there didn’t seem much point if I was selling up anyway.”
The Batman utility belt is another much coveted piece he never managed to acquire.
“You won’t find an OddJob figure or Bond’s attaché case in my collection – I have had them, but they aren’t that rare. What’s on offer at Ewbank’s is the rarest of the rare.”
Ewbank’s Toys specialist Simon Garner agrees and said: “Doug Blair is the Napoleon Solo of collecting in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. field. This is a unique opportunity to buy the best.”