Tiny Toy Collection

I like toys. I also like small stuff. I've combined these interests into a collection of tiny working replicas of classic toys. You may be familiar with the "World's Smallest" brand by Super Impulse. Some of my collection comes from them, but more than half comes from other sources. Westminster Toys, Basic Fun, some I've even made myself. Here, I plan to catalog my collection, which you can see some of in my header. Discuss the history of the full-size version, where and how I got the mini variant, and my personal experiences.

[tinytoycollection]

Rainbow Bright from Super Impulse (2024)

tl;dr eh, its Rainbow Brite.

I'm kinda tired as I write this, so I'm gonna be brief. Rainbow Brite is a media franchise started in the 80's by Hallmark, marketed towards girls. I was none of those things, so I know very little.

This was sort of an obligation buy. She's a classic toy, tiny and available. I'll admit they're cute characters, I can see the appeal. I try to keep a wide range of toys in my collecting, from various era and for various demographics. Sometimes, that means buying I toy I would otherwise have no interest in.

I don't know who the cloudy sheep guy is, the packaging didn't have his name. I could look it up, but I'm too busy drilling another hole in my head.

[tinytoycollection]

Optimus Prime from Habsro

tl;dr 3 inches tall and full transformable. What more can I ask for?

Sometimes, a toy in my collection comes straight for the original manufacturers. And sometimes, they're bigger then I'd like.

Super Impulse makes some "World's Smallest" Transformers, but they don't transform. I'm willing to fudge the rules for my collection from time to time, but a non-transforming Transformer is just unacceptable.

This fella, standing at about 3 inches tall, is the smallest working Optimus Prime I could find. And I found him by accident. I was just browsing the toy shelf at Dollar General, and there he was. Oddly enough, all the listings I can find for this specific model are in the UK. But they're pretty cheap to, 7 or 8 pounds. Model number is #A7730, if you want one for yourself.

This is also a rare occurrence of a toy in my collection being made by its original maker. Normally companies license out their brand to Super Impulse or Basic Fun. Its not even marketed as a super tiny version. The packaging sells it as just a regular Transformer. This is the sort of thing I keep a close eye out for when passing through toy aisles.

Sometimes I go looking for a smaller Optimus Prime for my collection, I swear I saw a listing years ago. But after writing this post and looking at the toy some more, I'm happy with it. I might even make some weapons for him.

[tinytoycollection]

Magna Doodle from Basic Fun (1998)

tl;dr You can use these under water. Pretty cool, right?

Since the 70's, Magna Doodle and it's dollar store knock offs have allowed us to draw, write and erase through the power of magnets without needing to twist knobs.

The tech behind it is pretty cool. Each of those little hexagons is filled with an opaque white fluid, and iron filings (much like in a Wooly Willy) rest at the bottom. The stylus has a magnet, which raises the iron to the top. The little lever that erases it has another magnet that pulls the iron back down.

Not only is it full of fluid, it can be used in fluid. Magna Doodle can be used when submerged in water, and is used by scuba instructors to pass messages to students while under water. Granted, its not specifically made for water used, so certain pieces like the screws can deteriorate over time. But in the controlled environment of a diving class, I'm sure its fine.

This keychain from Basic Fun is pretty nifty. The size is smaller, but the size of this little hexagons did not shrink with the frame. Regardless, I can get more detail in drawing on it than I thought. The stylus as a cool feature too, the cord with automatically retract when I click it into its little holder.

I love the big version, and I love the little version. Every kid should have a magna doodle, and every man child with a toy blog should have a miniature one.

[tinytoycollection]

Madballs from Just Play LLC (2017)

tl;dr They gross, cool and from Cleveland, OH.

Originally produced by Amtoy, a subsidiary of American Greetings. I'm not sure of the company's founders would appreciate one of there most enduring children products being gross-out toys.

Actually, the company's founder Jacob Saperstein made his son Irving a company partner at the ripe old age of 9, way back in 1918. Of course the company was just making greeting cards at the time, but its still fun to think such a boy-ish toy came from a company who from the get-go was ran by a kid.

But back to the balls. Here I have Oculus Orbus and Slobulus, both being from the OG series (although Oculus didn't sport the mouth until this miniature blind bag series). The details pretty spot on, for better or for worse.

I don't have much personal history with these toys, but to go back to American Greeting for a sec. The company was founded and is still headquartered in Cleveland OH (specifically the suburbs of Brooklyn and Westlake). In fact the team that developed Madballs called themselves TCFC, aka Those Characters From Cleveland. And guess where I, your toy collecting blogger is typing from.

Thats right: Akron. (Though my family originates from Cleveland).

Sorry if I didn't get too into the toys this time. I do like Madballs, I just don't have much to say.

[tinytoycollection]

Sorry! from Super Impulse

tldr: Technically works, just don't expect a good time playing. (goes for every board game by SI).

Growing up, my mom always tried to get me into board games. Alas I was more interested in video games, but I've grown to appreciate the analog predecessors to Nintendo and Xbox. One game that was always available to play was Sorry!

Sorry! doesn't have much of an interesting history. It was first patented in England by William Henry Storey in 1929. Kinda funny how a "propa Bri'ish gent" would make a board game whose name is an apology. It was based off the classic Indian game Pachisi, which goes back at least 3000 years. Both are race-style games, with the main goal being getting all of your pieces to the end before your opponent.

Now most of these tiny board games are the same, in that they do technically work just not well. Pieces are so small, you'll probably lose one upon opening them out of their packaging. You could breath on the game board and rearrange the pieces more than flipping the table would. I bet one has gone missing as I type this out. No worries, I can probably 3D print one and it would be ready before the end of this sentence.

World's Smallest Sorry! is just a humorous novelty, not something you'd actually play. If you want a more portable variant, I'm sure there's a travel set you can get. But I can't deny it this: it does exactly what it says on the tin. For collectors of working miniatures, it's an easy addition to any collection.

[tinytoycollection]

Mr. Potato Head from Basic Fun (1997)

tl;dr Mini Potato Head from the 90's is AWESOME;

Mr. Potato Head...well he's Mr. Potato Head, he needs no introduction. So instead of trying to do one, I'll move onto this specific unit.

Basic Fun is a toy company who, back in the 90's and 00's, made a lot of novelty keychains, many of which where miniature working replicas of classic toys. Sound familiar? They did what Super Impulse is doing now a full decade earlier. (I remove the keychain bit off all my BF toys. Please leave your rage in the comments where it will be promptly ignored)

Usually, Super Impulse improves upon Basic Fun's design. This is one time where that's not the case. SI's World Smallest Mr. PH has no removable parts, just a rotating face.

This one, by Basic Fun is the real deal. Not only do all the pieces come off, the actual dimensions of each piece, body included, are pretty spot on. It looks just like the full sized version that was on store shelves at the time, which I'm very familiar with. I loved my Potato Head as a kid (I was a huge Toy Story fan) you could throw one at the back of my head and I could tell you which piece was in which spot.

Not only that, Basic Fun made 3 versions. I have the Toy Story version and default green cap with red nose. There was also a Mrs. Potato Head made. All of which can be found fairly easily on second hand sites, used and in package.

My one gripe is that the parts are kinda hard to put in and pull out, probably since this is a keychain and they didn't want them to fall out. Other than that, A++ on this one.

[tinytoycollection]

Classroom Abacus made by Myself (2021)

A counting tool for nearly 5000 years and still a classroom staple today. Whether for teaching math or a simple fidget toy, my goal when making this wooden abacus was to invoke school time nostalgia.

This style of abacus, design for children in math class, dates back to the early 20th in Russia, where its called a schoty. And according to Wikipedia, abaci can represent numbers in the BILLIONS through something called "Bi-quinary coded decimal". It goes beyond my mathematical abilities. I just collect toys.

Now I never used an abacus to learn counting, but I did remember playing with those crazy ones you'd see in doctors waiting rooms. Like this one here (kinda hard to describe without a visual). I also had the Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeon Dice Monsters start kit, which came with 2 miniature abaci for counting crests. I

Thats actually the kind I really wanted to make, but I would find wire thin enough and strong enough, so I decided to make a traditional wooden frame abacus. 5 beads on 5 tracks, each a different color. The frame is cut from some paint stir sticks, and the tracks are toothpicks. Specifically some novelty toothpicks from Hobby Lobby that resemble fishing rods. They're longer, thinner and rounder than your run-of-the-mill deli toothpicks. The beads came from a wood bead assortment, probably also from Hobby Lobby.

If I was to remake this, I'd probably try dye instead of paint. I'd also put more effort into lining up the holes in the frame, I'm sure you can see the tracks bending a bit. But overall, this is a cute one.

[tinytoycollection]

Rock'em Sock'em Robots from Hallmark (2007)

This is one of my favorites, and one everyone likes to point out. Known for being a rather bulky plaything, Rock'em Sock'em is always eye catching.

Even though this toy dates back to the 60's being Manufactured by Louis Marx and Company (who also made Big Wheel tricycles) a precursor called Silver Gloves was seen on boardwalks and arcades as early as 1948.

The packaging for the original toy even gives backstory for our two mechanized melee champs. The red boxer is "the rollicking Red Rocker" from Soltarus II, and weighs in 375 pounds. The blue opponent, the "beautiful Blue Bomber, pride of Umgluck", weighs in at 382 pounds.

I never had the full-size version as a kid, but I did have another miniature version, seen in this ebay listing here (not affiliated). It was a pretty cute thing, but it can be smaller.

As much as I love my tiny version, it has its faults. While they do move and their arms punch, their heads are just on springs. Their blocks or perpetually knocked. But considering this is a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, it does more than what it needs.

It being a Christmas tree ornament also means its rather fragile, but its not made of glass. More like a brittle plastic.

Super Impulse makes their own World's Smallest RSR, but they're just the robots, no ring. Fun 4 All made a keychain that's more similar to Hallmark's attempt and was showcased by now defunct Youtuber Museum of Working Miniatures. it is however very rare. I haven't seen any listings in years and last time I did, it was like $80. But after seeing this video...I may indulge if I ever find one.

But if you want the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament, you can find listings for it around $30, many with original box so it oughta be in good condition.

[tinytoycollection]

World's Smallest® Rubik's Cube

One of the earliest inclusions of my collection, as it was one of Super Impulse's first Worlds Smallest Toys. I think I got this one out of a blind bag. I used to work at a mall, and the FYE there stocked SI's toys. Thats probably what really started my interest in collecting Tiny Toys, so I can't think of a better toy to start this blog off with.

Developed by Ernő Rubik in 1970's Budapest, the professor's goal was actually to create method of "solving the structural problem of moving the parts independently without the entire mechanism falling apart". Only upon trying to solve a scrambled cube did he contemplate its appeal as a puzzle toy. He applied for a patent in 1975, and the rest is history.

My uncle had one when I was a kid, and he taught me the trick of dislodging one of the blocks to disassemble the whole unit. I don't think that trick will work with this one.

In short, its straight up a working 3X3X3 Rubik's Cube. Somewhat stiff, perhaps some cube lube (that's a real thing) would remedy that.