We collect unusual toys, and with a collection of over 20,000 (and rising!) that have been bought over the last 30 years, there is a wide variety of amazing things to share with you!
We don’t do dolls! Our toys might have a fun or unusual mechanism, can be used to amaze or puzzle people, are a bit magical or maybe a bit scientific. Whatever the angle, they have to have something a bit ‘special’ about them.
Nearly all the toys you see here are from Tim’s Toy Collection, and are no longer available in the shops. Many were bought 20 or even 30 years ago!
However we do have a small range of items that can be bought on-line. You can visit the Grand Illusions Toy Shop, www.grand-illusions.com
Hendrik Ball
www.grand-illusions.com
From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ One place Tim has often visited and found quirky and unusual items is Amsterdam in The Netherlands. One particularly nice area is the so-called ‘9 Streets’ which is actually a grid of 3 x 3 narrow bustling streets. With over 250…
From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ GYRO FX – a battery powered base spins up the wheel inside the egg shaped gyroscope. Once up to speed, you can lift the gyro off the base and place it on the table either way up, and it will keep spinning for quite a…
From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim explores a few more of the toys he picked up in Japan, 40 years ago! Mickey Mouse on a wristband – squeeze the two little tabs at the bottom to animate the mouse. What fun! Another wristband, this time with…
From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Another tranche of Japanese toys that Tim bought when he was in Japan in 1986. He is impressed by their ingenuity and the fact that they are so well made. And still working 40 years later! A musical yo-yo that plays a tune when you…
From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the free Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 _______________________________________________________________________ Tim’ stick of dynamite turns out to be a Japanese toy from 1986 – a ball point pen! I suppose you could write an explosive novel with this? A pen that morphs from one shape into another in a very intriguing…
From Grand Illusions. Visit Tim’s Toy Shop, at https://www.grand-illusions.com/ ________________________________________________________ Tim debates the eternal chicken or egg problem with a variety of transformer toys. Of course, as you would expect from Tim, some of these eggs do not change into chickens. One egg becomes an elephant, while another egg becomes a dinosaur. A green egg…