229. Good Cluck Find: MECHANICAL EGG-LAYING TIN CHICKEN

Now this battery-powered tin chicken toy caught my fancy in a roadside shop--only because of its  unsually funny complex features--it pushes a pram containing her bobbling-head chicks, walks with a loud squalk while moving its wings and then stops to lay 2 plastic eggs! Now that's a weird playtime pleaser! I've seen a couple of YouTube videos of similar egg-laying chicken toys--but not like this pram-pushing variety. The condition of this toy is perfect--maybe it's missing 1 egg, but other than that, I see no major mechanical defects. Which leads me to believe that this is a newer toy model, possibly from the 70s? Or even later. I originally thought this was made in Japan, but a reader corrected me--it's made in China (thanks RodC). What a fine feathered find!

228. Holy Wheels! A BLUE BATMOBILE!

 Holy Baloney! Another Japan-made Batmobile from the 60s! And this time, it's the rarer blue model variety.  This battery-powered super car comes with the vinyl caped crusaders, ready to take them to the scene of the crime, complete with light and bump and go action!

This Batmobile was inspired by the campy 1967 TV series, "Batman", starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as the Boy Wonder. There was also a black version of the Batmobile--and I am determined to find that one too.

As you can see, this Batmobile is a bit scruffy with dings and dents and some rusting all over. But that doesn't detract much from the kitschy appeal of this toy, which harkens back to the days when everything was over-the-top, with everyone screaming "Kapowww!! Kablammm! Holy Cowww!" every time Good triumphed over Evil.

227. I, ROBOT: A Horikawa Shoot 'n Walk Robot

One of the most prolific makers of Japanese battery operated toys was the Horikawa company which manufactured and sold hundreds of different tin robots and space toys. Horikawa sold so many different robots in the 1950's through 80's that new variations are being found regularly by collectors--just like this vintage 70s monter, which came literally robot-walked to my doorstep. It's a large, heft robot (16" tall!), noseless, with tin and plastic body. When running on its batteries, it walks, stops, and its chest opens to reveal a deadly set of rocket artillery, which it shoots with matching light flashes and sound effects. Pretty impressive for a 40++ year old robot, no?