What the Walrus Said: Sheer Trash Roadshow October 3

The time has come, the walrus said, to get rid of many things....

It's "Angst Time" again...that time when I look around at the boxes of stuff I've gleaned and collected up to sell and wonder what on earth I was thinking to amass so much junk. Don't get me wrong--it's wonderful vintage treasure in its way--but I've got so much of it and it's really got to go. Most of it, anyway. Okay, half of it. Well, maybe a tenth. 

I'm working on my attitude as well as my clutter.

Today I've hauled some of my mystery items out, hoping someone can help me properly identify them and give me an idea of their resale value so I can get them listed.

By Etsy standards, items must be at least twenty years old before they can be sold on their site. Here are some plastic items I've had sitting out on my "to do" table. I know they're oldish, but are they old enough for Etsy? And, if so, what ought I to charge for them?

The first two are marked Playskool, but without any date. Each is about 3 1/4" tall and has a kind of weight inside that moves and clunks about. (Is it supposed to do that, I wonder?) The little guy that makes me think of Noah has no markings. He stands about 2" tall. Then there's the skinny clown, also unmarked, which stands about 3 3/8" tall. I don't remember what I paid for any of these, but I know it wasn't much. Maybe 10 cents or a quarter apiece, tops.

Next let me show you two cute plastic animal toys and see if you can identify them:

The little dog has no markings, but he is very sweet! He's very like the little unmarked pomeranian-type toys I found about two years ago:

I had four of these, and sold two. The others I have kept, telling myself they'll be nice for grandkids someday, but secretly just because they remind of Peppy and I love to play with them myself! Whatever this Peppy-lookalike is, he has more moveable parts than the little brown dog in the earlier photo.

The elephant is marked. In addition to its "Mini-Circus" label, it is stamped "Bruder" and "Made in Germany" on top, and underneath is says "Elefant". The cool thing about this little toy is that the elephant's head bobs up and down as it rolls along. Too bad I don't have more pieces of the train! Again, I bought these toys for a pittance.

Lastly for now I want to share two ancient Matchbox cars. Oops, excuse me, one of them is a Hotwheels toy. Here they are; please tell me what you think:

Let's look at the Matchbox car first.

Matchbox cars were a love of mine when I discovered them in about the 5th grade or so--we're talking the late 1960s, early 1970s. They used to come in lovely little cardboard boxes and were displayed in the stores like this:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/DTE-1968-LESNEY-MATCHBOX-REGULAR-WHEELS-55C-STORE-DISPLAY-36-MODELS-STORE-STOCK-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMzk0/$(KGrHqV,!p0FCydwG3OGBQ9ZJVkgtw~~60_57.JPG

Addhttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5507912863_79c843eed5_z.jpg caption

Drooling over the many styles available was a favored pastime. Coming up with the necessary 50 cents was a challenge--this was in the day of the 10-cent Hershey bar, so that gives you an idea of the cost back then.

Anyway, enough of the nostalgia. Let's look more closely at the 1957 Thunderbird:

This is actually a bit after my era, being marked 1982 and made in Macau. The ones I collected were made in England, if I remember correctly. But they were similar in that they were tiny replicas of actual cars, not these boring ubiquitous race car jobs they produce now. 

Then there's the ice cream truck, which I bought because it

reminded me of the Mr. Softie truck which drove around the suburbs on hot summer afternoons and warm evenings in Cincinnati, selling soft-serve Dairy Queen-type treats to those of us lucky enough to have the change on hand to patronize them when they came by.

http://home.centurytel.net/bbyrd2100/IceCream_Truck.html

Mr. Softie is one of my nicknames for Mr.Wickham; he has the most wonderful soft, woolly coat, and it's tactile ecstasy to pet him.

Okay, back on topic. This truck is actually a Good Humor truck and not a Mr. Softie, but it will do:

I love seeing the little man inside! This one is stamped 1983, Mattel, and Made in Malaysia.

Okay, I'm closing for now, but if you can offer any information, I'd be most appreciative. I've taken photos for another post about vintage toys, which will be up tomorrow, I think... Check back, okay?