Unpacked my childhood box

And by Childhood Box, I mean the box that consists of pretty my entire "collection" at this point, because I only dug it out this year, which started me on the road that led here. I finally got a nice weekend day free to go through them and get photos. Not an inspirational line up, nothing like the impressive collections I am seeing on this board, only some nostalgic friends. :)

My Schliech, Breyer, and Club Earth are not included here. Schliech and Breyer are packed up separately, and Club Earth I am still working on figuring out (thanks again to everyone helping me on that!). This is just "the rest"!

I do need some help identifying. I found a lot of them on TAW, but not all! Also, if I have anything mis-identified, please let me know.

Safari LTD
This was my favorite brand as a kid (besides Breyer) hands down. I have lost several pieces over the years, and they were too expensive for me to get many of, but I have wistful memories of being in zoo gift shops gazing at them.

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AAA
Again, I had a lot of these lost over time. These were another one I got mainly from zoo (and similar) gift shops!
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Funrise
I want to collect Funrise horses again, I loved the set I had as a kid so much that I absolutely obliterated them.
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Everything else Identified - Ertl, K&M, Empire, Kid Kore, Creata, Play Visions, Toy Major, LSP, Puppy in my Pocket
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Now here's where I need help! These are unidentified sets or individuals. I have seen some of them before (they are all over ebay), but can't seem to lock down a brand name!

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Thank you!! :)


And last but not least . . . all these cheap hard plastic guys that I don't know anything about at all, except that a lot of them were part of a Noah's Ark set (which is why so many are paired). Note that on these, I did a lot of "customizing" as a kid - so if you notice very hand-drawn looking markings or weird blotchy colors, that's why.
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Thanks!

Wow in this box there are many treasures, for example, these nice horses by Funrise.

Playvisions, AAA.....many brands. congrats.

So many awesome splendid oldies! Thank you for sharing them!

How I enjoyed looking through your pictures
So many different ones, and so many beauties, - and so much they have been loved

It is wonderful that you have kept them, and wonderful that you show them to us now .

Can you tell us anything about the gorgeous wolverine ?  It looks quite large , and ever so charming  

I can see any treasures. Congrats

So wonderful that you discovered your old collection- so many treasures, different brands, different species!
Your LPS dogs are so sweet, especially as they are vintage! The modern ones seem to be much more exaggerated than these previous ones- but are still collectibles and very popular it seems!
I love your Puppy in my Pockets too- these models are soooo wonderful! As I said before I love the Collie- usually models made of this breed are sable and white so it's a lovely change to have this tricolour colouring! And you even have one of the Precious Puppies by Topps in that bundle- the one covered with paint, I think he's lost his paint brush though! He's dog number 20, a pointer called Rainbow!
For the unidentified models, I don't know much about non-dog figures, but I think that you have the K&M/ Wild Republic zoo tube: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
And now for the dogs!
That lovely little red dog is a Schleich Mini, a Chow Chow- so definitely a highly collectible model!
The four dogs in the photo below are wonderful, and by Hang Shun Toys! They made a series of 12 different dogs, amazing that you have these three because I think these were only sold for a year (2007-2008) and Chinese brands like this have made some lovely models that I am struggling to find now! The only dog I have from this set is a Golden Retriever- similar style to them but painted orange!
For the cheap hard plastic animals I think you will find they are mostly marked Hong Kong? Here I think we generally just call them vintage Hong Kong models! So the two collies I think are these brands, I have the yellow one who is also marked with Hong Kong! And I think the Borzoi is also by a Hong Kong company, if I remember correctly by a series called Dogs of the World- but I can't quite remember the exact name of the manufacturer!
I hope this helps!

Thank you everyone! Kind words for my "well loved" little zoo!

SUSANNE wrote:

Can you tell us anything about the gorgeous wolverine ?  It looks quite large , and ever so charming  

On TAW, he is listed as the "Toy Major National Wildlife Federation Wolverine" but I don't know anything beyond that! I think I found him at a thrift shop a little later in life, I didn't get him new. He's not huge, but definitely not little - about 5 inches long! I love having him, because my mother's favorite animal is the wolverine, and I haven't seen very many toy depictions of them in my life.

Bonnie wrote:

So wonderful that you discovered your old collection- so many treasures, different brands, different species!
Your LPS dogs are so sweet, especially as they are vintage! The modern ones seem to be much more exaggerated than these previous ones- but are still collectibles and very popular it seems!

Ugh, the new LPS are definitely not my thing, which is fine I suppose since they are not marketed to 36 year olds.    I miss the more realistic proportions of all "cartoon" toys. Most you can't even tell what kind of animal they are meant to be a cartoon of. Same thing with collecting My Little Pony - they've just gone over the deep end, design wise, and they were never realistic to begin with!

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I love your Puppy in my Pockets too- these models are soooo wonderful! As I said before I love the Collie- usually models made of this breed are sable and white so it's a lovely change to have this tricolour colouring! And you even have one of the Precious Puppies by Topps in that bundle- the one covered with paint, I think he's lost his paint brush though! He's dog number 20, a pointer called Rainbow!

Oh, thanks so much for placing that little guy! I had a feeling he wasn't Puppy in my Pocket, but I couldn't figure out what else he would be! I know I had more of both lines as a kid, but they are no doubt scattered across the US now, as I did just as suggested and carried them around in my pockets, haha.

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For the unidentified models, I don't know much about non-dog figures, but I think that you have the K&M/ Wild Republic zoo tube

Ah, thank you! I know they did come in a tube, so I assume that's them! :)

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That lovely little red dog is a Schleich Mini, a Chow Chow- so definitely a highly collectible model!  

Wow, how crazy! I had no idea they made those! I love these itty bitty sizes.

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The four dogs in the photo below are wonderful, and by Hang Shun Toys! They made a series of 12 different dogs, amazing that you have these three because I think these were only sold for a year (2007-2008) and Chinese brands like this have made some lovely models that I am struggling to find now! The only dog I have from this set is a Golden Retriever- similar style to them but painted orange!

Ah, thanks! They do have wonderful detail. Love the dachshund's expression.

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For the cheap hard plastic animals I think you will find they are mostly marked Hong Kong? Here I think we generally just call them vintage Hong Kong models! So the two collies I think are these brands, I have the yellow one who is also marked with Hong Kong! And I think the Borzoi is also by a Hong Kong company, if I remember correctly by a series called Dogs of the World- but I can't quite remember the exact name of the manufacturer!
I hope this helps!

It helped very much, thanks for applying your dog-figure knowledge to my collection. :)

Jill wrote:

Bonnie wrote:

So wonderful that you discovered your old collection- so many treasures, different brands, different species!
Your LPS dogs are so sweet, especially as they are vintage! The modern ones seem to be much more exaggerated than these previous ones- but are still collectibles and very popular it seems!

Ugh, the new LPS are definitely not my thing, which is fine I suppose since they are not marketed to 36 year olds.    I miss the more realistic proportions of all "cartoon" toys. Most you can't even tell what kind of animal they are meant to be a cartoon of. Same thing with collecting My Little Pony - they've just gone over the deep end, design wise, and they were never realistic to begin with!

Quote :

I love your Puppy in my Pockets too- these models are soooo wonderful! As I said before I love the Collie- usually models made of this breed are sable and white so it's a lovely change to have this tricolour colouring! And you even have one of the Precious Puppies by Topps in that bundle- the one covered with paint, I think he's lost his paint brush though! He's dog number 20, a pointer called Rainbow!

Oh, thanks so much for placing that little guy! I had a feeling he wasn't Puppy in my Pocket, but I couldn't figure out what else he would be! I know I had more of both lines as a kid, but they are no doubt scattered across the US now, as I did just as suggested and carried them around in my pockets, haha.

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For the unidentified models, I don't know much about non-dog figures, but I think that you have the K&M/ Wild Republic zoo tube

Ah, thank you! I know they did come in a tube, so I assume that's them! :)

Quote :

That lovely little red dog is a Schleich Mini, a Chow Chow- so definitely a highly collectible model!  

Wow, how crazy! I had no idea they made those! I love these itty bitty sizes.

Quote :

The four dogs in the photo below are wonderful, and by Hang Shun Toys! They made a series of 12 different dogs, amazing that you have these three because I think these were only sold for a year (2007-2008) and Chinese brands like this have made some lovely models that I am struggling to find now! The only dog I have from this set is a Golden Retriever- similar style to them but painted orange!

Ah, thanks! They do have wonderful detail. Love the dachshund's expression.

Quote :

For the cheap hard plastic animals I think you will find they are mostly marked Hong Kong? Here I think we generally just call them vintage Hong Kong models! So the two collies I think are these brands, I have the yellow one who is also marked with Hong Kong! And I think the Borzoi is also by a Hong Kong company, if I remember correctly by a series called Dogs of the World- but I can't quite remember the exact name of the manufacturer!
I hope this helps!

It helped very much, thanks for applying your dog-figure knowledge to my collection. :)

So glad it all helped!  And I definitely agree, some cartoon models these days are so exaggerated that for some it can be tricky to even recognise what animal they are supposed to represent!

Wonderful childhood figures

It's lovely how you've got your original animalsa, rather than having to start from scratch and re-find the ones you remember owning!
I don't think I still have any animal figures from my childhood, I didn't get my first model horse til I was 15 so there's no very played-with herd to dig out of storage, I was already old enough to think of them as collectables and they've been on display ever since!

I know when I was really little I had a bucket of Britains (or Britains knock-off!) wildlife which I did play with in the garden, but reckon they must have got rehomed at a jumble sale at some point - it's got to be nearly 30 years since I last saw them, so they either got sold on, or possibly went in the loft, that black hole of dust and dead mouse bits that nothing stored ever comes back from
Maybe some animals from my childhood are currently in the hands of collectors who love 70s and 80s vintage!

This is quite impressive actually. First, because you saved all these models during these years. Then, because it illustrates the proficuous North American market during your childhood.
We don't see often some of these early Safari models, it was a huge adventure to sort them on TAW. Such an important brand didn't have a single online source for collectors until the Wiki and many figures were almost unknown.
I hope you will provide pictures of the Funrise models for TAW. We have only a few and they are quite fun to sort.
Those K&M AZA models are not easy to get and you have that otter.
I believe among your unmarked, there are a few more from Wild Republic as Bonnie pointed and many Hong Kong figures too. A few very interesting things to be checked later again.

Thank you, everyone!

George wrote:

It's lovely how you've got your original animalsa, rather than having to start from scratch and re-find the ones you remember owning!

I only got rid of anything under duress, or if I destroyed it (which was often), or if I lost it (which was also often, because I had a penchant for burying toys and immediately forgetting where they were). Somewhere in a campground in Wyoming, there is a Funrise mustang buried in a campsite.

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Maybe some animals from my childhood are currently in the hands of collectors who love 70s and 80s vintage!

That's a lovely thought! :) Maybe someone dug up my mustang!

Roger wrote:

This is quite impressive actually. First, because you saved all these models during these years. Then, because it illustrates the proficuous North American market during your childhood.

There were, just, a TON of plastic animals in shops when I was a kid. I guess I was very spoiled that way! It's not that way now. I miss the zoo gift shops of old, when there were bins for each species, with the giant Safari LTD giraffes and tigers and what not on the top shelves . . .

It's mostly plushes now, which I also enjoy, but it just not the same feeling.

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We don't see often some of these early Safari models, it was a huge adventure to sort them on TAW. Such an important brand didn't have a single online source for collectors until the Wiki and many figures were almost unknown.
I hope you will provide pictures of the Funrise models for TAW. We have only a few and they are quite fun to sort.

I would love to! You may have noticed I like getting photos of them. I intend to refurbish and recreate my funrise horse collection (and maybe replace that goat and sheep, they were well loved. The leopard isn't so bad). Perhaps I'll wait to get photos until I have nicer animals to photograph!

A black polar bear
I have several versions/copies of that Britains model, even one in black painted metal, but i have never seen one of plastic.

Dutch Bear wrote:

A black polar bear
I have several versions/copies of that Britains model, even one in black painted metal, but i have never seen one of plastic.

I believe that one was from the Noah's Ark set! I think I had a matching set, or possibly the mate was in the walking polar bear mold. (Or possibly I have both of them because they were a badly matched set, black and white, I honestly can't remember!)

The little group of horses and foals-the pinto and the greys-are by Toy Major as I have them as Appaloosas.Great collection of models.I love the ERTL Percheron-they used to be so easily to find at one point but sadly no longer except in the USA.

Taos wrote:

The little group of horses and foals-the pinto and the greys-are by Toy Major as I have them as Appaloosas.Great collection of models.I love the ERTL Percheron-they used to be so easily to find at one point but sadly no longer except in the USA.

Thank you!