1988 “Transformers Car to Robot†Vending Machine Header Art
A few days ago we looked at Insect to Robot vending machine header art from D.V.S. in 1986. Well, today we get to see 1988 artwork featuring what appears to be those same toys as well as Transformers Car to Robot toys. Only a quarter each? If someone can track these toys down today at that price then I’ll happily pay fifty cents each and take up to $20 worth of the little guys!
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I’d love to actually see these, but vending machine toys seem like they’re often lost to the ages. I doubt many are kept for a long period of time, and there probably aren’t many records about what even existed. Seeing how some of them rip off
King Ghidorah and the like, they’re pretty much bootlegs that were slightly more available to average folks in supermarket foyers.
@Kevin – I’m going to keep my eyes open and keep searching for these vending machine robots. They’ve got to be out there somewhere just waiting to be grabbed and shared with the world.
Phil, I think you’re probably right. For example, my Mom still has a big bucket of toys in her garage from my and my brother’s youth, which contains a random assortment of Transformers, LEGO, G.I. Joe, Happy Meal toys and the like. But when I Iooked through it, I did notice a couple of random vending machine toys. I guess that’s their fate, if they survive the landfill – mixed in with bins of random toys in attics and at garage sales, with little clue as to what they are or where they came from. Anyway, I hope you find them! Although I’m sure they look better in the illustrations that reality. 😀
On a side note, I had an interesting conversation a few months back with a guy selling G1 Transformers at a toy show. I told him I suspected the days of finding G1 Transformers (and other ’80s-early ’90s toys) cheaply at random garage sales was pretty much over, as a.) the high time for that was after Gen X kids went to college and parents cleaned house and b.) most people know to check eBay and find just how much some of this stuff is worth. He said that’s actually not true, and he still gets a lot of his stock from garage sales. And then it hit me, many parents of Gen X kids are probably at the stage where they’re downsizing their homes and clearing out the stuff that’s been collecting in their garages and basements for decades. And who knows how many are bothering with eBay? It might be a garage sale renaissance!