Sunday, May 24, 2015

At Flashbak: Robot Empire -- Topper's Ding-a-Ling Robots of the 1970s


At Flashbak this week, I also posted about some vintage toy robots of the 1970s: Topper's Ding-A-Ling line.  I discovered these at yard and garage sales of the disco decade, and have loved them ever since.



"In the late 1960s, a toy company named Topper master-minded a toy robot takeover of the universe. In 1970, Topper introduced the Ding-A-Lings: six-inch tall robots with distinct personalities that -- thanks to removable battery operated back-packs -- could walk and move under their own power.

Topper’s robots were designed according to their positions or vocations in a robot world.  There was Claw, who could grab things with giant pincers.  And there was Fireman, who could squirt water from a hose. 


And then there was Policeman, Chef, a boxer named Rocky, and the super-intelligent Answer-Man. 

These tiny robots were colorful and individual in appearance, and they inhabited a fully imagined universe.  For example, Topper manufactured several track sets like the “Super Return Space Skyway” by which the robots could traverse their prospective metropolis. The robots could hook on to the tracks of their space highways, and ride them right-side-up, or upside-down."

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