Randystoyshop

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Randystoyshop

Background

 I've stopped by Randystoyshop on the Net, but never really checked it out. I think I was looking for toy repair people, and his site came up. I'm tempted to keep correcting Randy's store name, but that's the way it's spelled, so I'll just write about Randy and his store. 

    Yesterday, out of the clear blue, I decided to have a look on E-Bay. I've written that it's hard to find those rare toys, so I decided to go visit E-Bay. Was I wrong! I did a search and found several stores. One store didn't want their toys copied and written about, and Randy wrote back and said that was fine. 

    Randy is a diesel mechanic by profession, but he always liked to collect toys. Not just any toys, but those  toys that other collectors looked down on - those "misfit toys" as he calls them. Being a diesel mechanic, I'm sure he has the skills, and still does to repair things. As I even mentioned, Randy repairs toys.  He started collecting toys in the late 1970's and what began as a hobby of collecting turned into buying and selling. By 1987, he had to expand from working in his house to 

adapting an old "chicken coop" into a workshop.  In 1998, the business once again outgrew its space, and Randy decided to move to downtown Noblesville, Indiana. Randy mentioned that that's where many other antique  stores are.

www.randystoyshop.com

(please click on the above address to be redirected to Randy's store)

40° 2' 44" N / 86° 0' 31" W

The Toys

  I was going to show more toys, but I took some time to best show the ones below. I asked Randy if I could improve the images in Photoshop, and remove some rulers that he had for the Japanese Rickshaw and driver, and he said "sure". Once I started, I just had to bring out the fine detail and colours from the toys. And so, I only have 2 fine toys to show you for today.  

   With the Popeye toy below,  Randy e-mailed me to remind me that Popeye is not the 

"correct Popeye" for that tank toy.  The one he added is a "tumble or figure" that was installed. He's still looking for the correct one!  

   I was so interested with the toy, I didn't read what he had written in the description on E-Bay. That was almost like the time I went fishing off Vancouver, B.C. (Canada). My brother, his  wife, and my 2 nieces, and my wife charter a boat for an hour at $ 250.00. I catch the only salmon of the day - a large one, and the captain says "you can't keep it, it's too small!" I went back to look at the toy, but not knowing much about Linemar toys, I couldn't tell that that Popeye was the wrong one.

     The toy below is a superb 1920's  Lehmann (Germany) Masuyama wind-up tin toy. FOr being at least 92 years old, the toys and its original box sure are in great shape.

   You can see  the wind-up mechanism in the above photo. In the 1880's and later, Germany was "the" leader for well-crafted ind-up toys. I mentioned in another post that  Paya, a Spanish company that started  in 1902, by the 1930's rivalled Germany in  quality, craftsmanship, and design. Randy's last name, by the way is Iver, and he also sells on E-Bay. His name on E-Bay is Randystoyshop. He's a top rated seller, and has an excellent reputation on E-Bay. So you can either drop by E-Bay, or his store that  I've written above for you to be redirected.

Thanks for dropping by,

and, as always, have a great part of the day or night, 

wherever 

you may be.

Stacey