888 Gun (Unknown / 1950s / Japan / 2.5 x 3 inches)

While America and various European countries were producing a rainbow of plastic ray guns, Japan's toy companies focused on creating their weapons out of tin. Because the stamping process doesn't allow for complex cuts, rings, or swirls, most of these toys were more simply designed than their Western counterparts. However, the Japanese had perfected the art of lithography, and they chose to use the ray guns as mini canvases, literally covering them in rockets, space men, galaxies, and anything else the designers could think of. Often these were combined with embossing techniques that resulted in toys that, like the 888 gun, were nothing short of beautiful.

The 888, a simple cap gun, remains a particularly uncommon toy. I consider myself lucky to own one, and in fact, it stands today as one of my best pick ups. I found it at an antique gallery down in Pennsylvania, and when I checked the price tag, I was astonished to find the seller wanted about an eighth of what it's typically worth. I put on my best poker face and carried the toy to the cashier, which is when I got my second surprise: Due to an ongoing sale, the toy was marked down another 10 percent! I didn't ask any questions, just forced my face into an even greater study in nonchalance, paid the nice woman behind the counter, and then beat the hell out of there before I lost control and started skipping around the store. 

That same day, I also managed to pick up another fantastic ray gun -- which I'll discuss later -- and a number of rare, vintage paperbacks. Yeah, those are the kind of antique crawls that you remember... 

Sparky Robot (Yoshiya / 1957 / Japan / 7 inches)

Many Japanese tin robot were like canvases for some astonishingly creative lithography. Diminutive Sparky was by far one of the most ornate. Somehow, artists found a way to cram a ridiculous amount of detail in this great, six-and-a-half-inch robot.

The mechanical graphics are striking, like something Wally Wood might have concocted for Weird Science. But what really grabs my attention is the subtle shading on the lithoed "panels"; very few toys display this level of detail, and one of the few that does costs just about $10,000. Considering that Sparky costs a mere fraction of a fraction of that, you definitely get a lot of artistic bang for you buck. 

I particularly like Sparky's face, which looks like a mask. It has a dehumanizing effect on the toy, which I think might have been the exact opposite of what his designers were hoping to achieve. But the haunting, blank expression gives the toy a lot of impact.

While Sparky Robot looked like a million bucks, he relies on a basic, wind-up walking mechanism that causes his legs to move back and forth while sparks fire off behind red gels in his eyes. His antenna acts as an on/off switch -- a nice touch, actually. 

Sparky was available in a number of different color and litho variations: Blue with two types of graphics; silver with two types of graphics; two different khaki-greenish-goldish versions; and an unlithoed silver version. The plain silver toy is the most common; mine is rarer than the other lithographed silver version, and perhaps one of the khaki-greenish-goldish toys. But the rest are really rare, and often sell for a lot of money. I know it's a bit confusing, but if you quickly sketch yourself a little chart, it'll all make sense.

It's funny, I never liked Sparky. I was only familiar with the two more common versions of the toy, and for whatever reason, they didn't get the oil pumping through my tubes. But when mine appeared on eBay and I saw the incredible details, I just fell for it.

Coincidentally, on the day the auction ended, I was editing a very short documentary about toy robots for a grad school class. My partners suggested filming me as I put in my bid and (hopefully) won the toy. But no, I couldn't do it. I've a hard and fast rule in journalism that I never appear in my own stories as anything other than a reporter. Sadly, my friends never got the shot they wanted.

I, on the other hand, did get the toy. So it worked out just fine for me.