The 1960's
was another great decade for the toy manufacturers but there where clouds on the
horizon as the baby boom era was nearing an end by the 1970's. The early years
were a continuation of the late 50's evolution in the industry led by battery
operated and space toys. The Roy Rogers and Gene Autry toys so popular in the
past were being replaced by army toys. Full scale items like Remco's Monkey
Division included automatic pistols, machine guns as well as hand grenades and
mortars. The emphasis didn't end with outdoor play as there was an abundance of
miniature military toys which include the Tiger Tank, Mighty Mitilda aircraft
Carrier and The Deluxe Redding "Battlewagon" just to name a few.
Marx Toys was still the leader but by 1961 they were running neck and neck with
Mattel toys.
Some of the best known American toys of all time had been produced by Marx and
they came blasting into the 60's with Great Garloo and a few years later Rock Em
Sock Em Robots. Mattel however was growing by leaps and bounds, largely on the
strength of the Barbie Doll, which had been introduced in March of 1959. Mattel
poured in millions of dollars on marketing and advertising and were looking for
ways to cut off the British invasion by Lesney on miniature diecast vehicles.
The breakthough came in 1968 when HOT WHEELS were introduced. That along with a
strong line of products, one after the other catapulted them to the industry
leader. Shootin Shell, Creepy Crawlers, Winchester rifle, Character dolls like
Herman Munster and other TV toys, Chatty Cathy, Liddle Kiddles, Matt Mason and
many more. By 1970 Mattel was way out in front and not looking back as the
number one American toy maker.
Ideal and Hasbro were big players in the 60s continually introducing new
toys to the market. Hasbro's big hit was the 12 inch doll for boys, later
renamed as an "Action Figure", GI JOE
Ideal wasn't taking a backseat to anybody and eventually surpassed Marx
by the mid 60's as well. On the heels of their 50s Robert The Robot came an
even more sophisticated
ROBOT COMANDO. A long line of Batman toys, Toys like The Dick Tracy
COPMOBILE, Motorific battery operated cars, Captain Action, Monster Lab, Mr.
Machine and tons
more. We do mean tons, Ideal was never afraid to try something new and
they likely brought more items to the market than any other manufacturer.
Another big (and growing) influence in the 60s toy market was that of
imports, particularly Japan. "Japanese Tin" as they are commonly referred
to were flooding the market and were
offered at a lower cost. Many sold in five and dime or discount stores
but are now highly respected and sought after. Vehicles, Friction and
Battery operated toys led the way although
there are hundreds of varieties. Linemar, the Japanese subsidiary of
Marx Toys are some of the hardest examples to find and bring the highest
price. Other notable Japanese manufacturers
were Alps, Nomura also known as <TN> , Masudaya -MT or Modern Toys and
Yoshiya KO or simply K.
A short epistle of 1960s toys can not be written without a word
about Lionel. Everyone knows about the Lionel O gauge train and just about
every family in the post war era had one around
the Christmas tree. Although Lionel began very early and pre-war
examples are in great demand it was the 1960s in which they started their
descent. Writing from my own affectionate memories
it is very difficult to realize that Lionel was all but dead by the
1970. Once the undisputed king, Lionel was sold in the late 60's to General
Mills and changed hands several times afterward. They
are still in business but only to a specialized market and limited
productions. The good news is that so many Lionel sets were sold in the
baby boom era that they are popping out of attics and
storage all across the country. Contrary to popular belief, not all the
sets are expensive and if you "yearn to return" to those early years there
should be something in your price range. Of course
we are always buying,
so if you have an electric train set, Lionel , American Flyer or other,
please contact
us.