VINTAGE 1966 BATMAN AND ROBIN TOYS - Photo Reference

I just realized the other day that we have not posted any cool Vintage BATMAN Toys in awhile so here we go! SPOILER ALERT: These photos are gonna make you both drool and cry! First up is this Ultra-Rare 1960's ROBIN HAND PUPPET in the original packaging. It was made by Ideal Toys in 1966. This Puppet is kinda hard to find just "loose" but getting it "Mint in Box" is worthy of putting in a Toy Museum!




Next, is another RARE item and it's also kinda fun. This is a 1966 BATMAN AND ROBIN TOY PRIZE Header Card that showed what toy premiums you could win in a Gumball Vending Machine. Wow! They were only 10 cents! I know I would have begged my Mom for a Dime, or two, or three, ha!



Last, but not least, is an ultra super-rare BATMAN TOY that I have to admit, in 20+ years of extremely serious bat-collecting, I have never EVER seen before! This was on evil eBay awhile back and I almost cried when I saw it. It's an extremely weird toy, sort of a thin-plastic BAT-A-RANG on a string! It's shown here still in it's original box & the retro-style graphics are wonderful!! It sold for quite a bit and whoever owns it better take good care of it, ha!




OK, I hope you've enjoyed some of these cool toys. Do YOU have an ultra-rare bat-item or a piece you just completely love? If so, then please shoot us a photo today. Remember: Sharing the love of Collecting BATMAN is what the BAT-BLOG.COM is all about!!

GENE IS BATMAN!! - Vintage 1960's Family Photo

I have a friend on Facebook named Gene who posted this amazing photo the other day ( and you guys know how I totally love vintage family pics ). Well, Gene was really BATMAN back in the 1960's & if you don't believe me then here's some photographic proof! He's shown here in his costume & it looks really cool! This was the 1966 Batman Helmet & Cape Set by Ideal Toys... ya gotta love it!! ( Thanks Gene ). Speaking of Facebook, if you're a member there then please join the Bat-Blog page by clicking the link button down below:

Vintage BATMAN TOYS & COLLECTIBLES Eye-Candy!

The main focus of the Bat-Blog is really about the joys of Collecting Batman Toys. So I thought it would be a good idea to get back to that, ha ha! Up above are some photos of a few really RARE pieces of Bat-Merchandise! The 1st item is from the 1970's & is one of the weirdest Batman Products I have ever seen. It's an unopened package of SILLY-SACKS Wastebasket Liners. Yes, Trash Bags! The company that made these printed DC Comics Superhero Characters on white trash bags, ha ha! I guess it tricked a lot of kids to take out the trash? But overall I think these are pretty cool just on the rarity scale! The next picture is guaranteed to make Vintage Bubble Gum Card Collectors totally drool. This is the original Retail-Display Box for the 1966 Batman TV Series Trading Cards made by Topps. This was a later series where all the cards had color photos of the actors instead of painted illustrations...nice! Now, the last photo is sort of weird but when you think about it, it's a really cool toy! This is a BATMAN Inflatable Swimming Pool Toy that was made by Ideal in the 1960's. It's so cool that it is still in the original package with the header card & everything! OK, I hope you have enjoyed some of these & if YOU have any photos of special Batman Toys that you would like to share then please send them in today. Our e-mail button is always at the top right-hand side of this page!

Great Vintage Toy: The Official 1966 BATMAN HELMET & CAPE By Ideal!

I know we have featured this Classic 60's Batman Toy here before but this one is special because it's a recent find of a Bat-Blog Fan who got lucky at an Antique & Collectibles Store. It's the Official 1966 BATMAN HELMET & CAPE made by Ideal! He told us he found this thing at a shop for $25.00! The box isn't totally perfect but still pretty nice for display. The neat thing about it was that it came complete with both the helmet & cape in great shape! Plus, did I say 25 bucks! ( Thanks for sharing the pics ). I want to invite all Bat-Blog Readers to send us photos of your cool finds. They can be Older Vintage Items like this or something you just bought at the store tonight. Remember: Sharing the love of collecting Batman Toys is the main function of the crazy Bat-Blog!

Vintage Family Photo - Kids Wearing 1960's Batman Costumes!

Here's an extremely amazing vintage family photo from a new friend of mine named Jim. This is him, & another kid, wearing some 1960's Batman Halloween Costumes. Also, the super-great thing about this picture ( besides being very cool ) is that he is wearing the 1966 Ideal Batman Utility Belt...Yes! Oh My God!! I wanna thank Jim for sharing these pictures, they're seriously GREAT! I also want to invite any other readers out there who have cool pics like this to please share them. Ya know, the Bat-Blog is totally about the joy of the Batman Character & photos like this just totally shine...thanks ( Be sure to click on the above photo for a larger, more sharp, version...you'll be glad you did! ).

Reference Guide: 1966 OFFICIAL BATMAN UTILITY BELT By IDEAL

I have a good friend named Chaz who is a major Batman Toy Collector and his main focus is the Vintage Batman Toys made by Ideal in the 1960's. Over the years he has acquired a few different Official Batman Utility Belts ( Ideal ©1966 ) & he wanted to share the information with Bat-Blog Readers. Now, as a collector myself I knew there were a few minor variations. But, not as many as Chaz as discovered, it's crazy! OK, it's gonna be a lot easier if I just allow him to explain the information so this is what he wrote to me recently:



Yes, I found many variations to the Bat-Gun Launcher. One has black holes, some have no bat, with an all gray diamond rigged handle. One has a red trigger with no bat, one has a black nose, etc... There's 7 different versions of the gun. I'm missing one...the one with the red trigger WITH the bat.



The Bat-Signal Flashlight was Red or Yellow vinyl with embossed X's on the body, then there's a hard plastic square body version w/translucent cap and aluminum switch. And the most rare is the metal one with the bat airbrushed to the body and the caps came in purple, black, and red...most Bat collectors don't know that the stub at the top where the ball chain runs through doesn't move...the top part is not a button or switch to turn on the light..it does not move. and there's no switch on the metal lights..so when there was a battery in those for use..they ran dead. so when the battery ran out, the kids tossed it, making it very rare and Ideal switched to the plastic & vinyl flashlights.



I got the purple cap flashlight for just $9.99 on eBay in 2004...the dealer didn't know what they had, it was listed as a Bat Light Key Chain! ...no mention of 1966 or Ideal Utility Belt, as it's an unmarked piece. It was the happiest day of my collecting life..I think. But then I went to the Goodwill Fashions Store in Bensalem, PA and found the black cap metal light for 47 cents! They must have thought it was a Halloween flashlight, LOL!



Oh yes, the white belt is a prototype belt and the raised copyright information on the back, the lettering is different than the final product. And with that belt was the Grappling Hook in translucent white and Batarang also in translucent white and Batcuffs outlined in white..these were never played with, left in pristine mint condition.



One of the sets has a rarer version of the belt, where Ideal cut of the loop that holds the Bat-Rope and in it's place they punched a hole near the Bat-storage pouch, and hung another metal clasp ( like the 2 on the other side ) to carry the rope.



There's 3 versions of the Dummy Transmitter ( buckle decal ) one with squares, and one with dots, and it's got a section factory cut out at the top for your thumb, when you go to open the buckle. Then there's a smoother finish tin foil Bat Radio..which they called it sometimes.



In one pic is the rare silver logo Helmet w/Cape.



There's the Helmet in the package with the header card which is extremely rare, unlike the more common solid box. and behind it is the most recent set I bought in an original box..I have 2 original boxes, one of my boxes has rice paper overlays & light color touch up because it was restored. One of my boxes I reproduced myself ten years ago. I think there could be less than 20 boxes known to exist. I have counted only 15.



The Batman Message Sender ( dart bomb ) came with a black or red dart shaft.



The set pictured in your cool top ten list has the more rare Equipment Set Belt, it is more flexible, the Batrope loop is different and most importantly, it has no puncher holes for staples to mount it to the cardboard insert tray.



Whew! That's a ton of great information Chaz! I know that many serious toy collectors are gonna really appreciate that, I do. This one example of a Vintage Batman Toy is a total classic! For many collectors this Bat-Belt ( in the original box of course ) is the Holy Grail! In fact, I don't have one of these at all & have been looking for years. Thank you for taking the time to take all these photos & write the info down, I really appreciate that, thank you. It's insane how many variations there are!

Vintage Toy Ad: CAPTAIN ACTION Doll with BATMAN Figure Outfit

A good friend named Jimmy sent me this very cool picture of a real-life advertisement from an old vintage comic book ( Click on the above graphic for a larger photo ). It's for a classic 1960's toy called CAPTAIN ACTION! He thought I would like to share it because the ad shows the very cool Batman Outfit. Yes, thank you Jimmy, this is pretty cool! If you have never heard of these dolls, I mean "action figures", then you're missing out on a very interesting piece of vintage toy history. These were made by the Ideal Toy Company & the basic concept was that they sold these "GI Joe-sized" dolls & made different outfits you could buy separately. The "costumes" included Superman, The Phantom, Captain America, Aquaman, among others. They also had another figure, a side kick named ACTION BOY & he had suits too. In fact he was Robin, The Boy Wonder!

Batman Fan Dances The BATUSI!!

Ha Ha Ha Ha, a friend to the Bat-Blog, named Stephen, sent this hilarious photo of himself. He explains, "I won this Ideal Batman Helmet on ebay about a week ago, and it came in today as I was on my way to work...at a comic book store. :) So, here's a picture of me hard at work!" Great photo Stephen, I love it! This classic 1960's toy is awesome! I know my readers will get a kick outta this, I appreciate that. Now... get back to work!

Vintage BATMAN TOYS and COLLECTIBLES Reference Material

As a very serious toy collector I can't express the value of good reference material. What I mean by that is good information on the items you collect. Some main sources are websites ( hopefully this one, ha ha ), ads out of vintage magazines, price guide collectibles reference books, & old store catalogs. Look through a 1966 "Christmas Wish List" Sears Catalog & you'll see what I mean, they are like "p0rn for toy collectors". In some cases they can show you what the original box looked like or what it looked like when complete. I've even seen items in those books that I have never ever seen in real-life & I've been a pretty serious vintage toy dealer for 20+ years. The price guide reference books used to have four full-bookshelf sections at your local bookstore but are now regulated to one shelf, if you're lucky. You can thank eBay for killing off that industry. But, they are still great for reference & real collectors still publish/buy them, thank God. Here's a few examples of some great reference photos. Regular readers to this blog know we publish stuff like this all the time. It's practically the whole reason for this site. I think sharing information about your hobby is like a gift that inspires people to be more dedicated & focused to their "hunt", that's cool. If anyone has some pics to share then please send them in. We're always trying to make the site better & always looking for more bat-memorabilia!

BATMAN AUCTION RECORD? Ideal Utility Belt Sells For BIG Bucks!

Just the other night on eBay this "Mint In Box" Official Batman Utility Bat-Belt by Ideal ©1966 sold for $16,662.62. Yes, you read that right, Sixteen Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Two Dollars & some change!! I'm not exactly sure but I think that's gotta be a record auction price. Either way it's still wayyy outta my price range, ha ha! Now, the 1st picture was so beautiful that I made it a desktop wallpaper ( click on it to see the HUGE picture ). The 2nd pic shows the minty contents...sweet!

Vintage Sixties Batman Memorabilia - Toys & Paper Items

OK, We have been posting a lot of the new photos from THE DARK KNIGHT Movie so we thought we would get back to what the BAT-BLOG is really all about & that's cool Vintage Batman Toys! The 1st photo is a personal favorite, mainly because they are so cute & extremely hard to find in an unopened package, that's the Box of 1960's Batman Valentines Cards. The retro-style graphics on these are really great to see! The next item is pretty RARE also. It's a Batman & Robin Punch-Out Book made by Whitman ©1966. Again, the graphics are great!! It's also kind of funny that you could buy it for 29 cents. If any readers have photos of some of your cool Batman Memorabilia then please send them in to us to share.

1960's SEARS Department Store Catalog Pics of Vintage 60's Batman Toys!

As a vintage toy collector one of the best references for old vintage toys are older department store catalogs. Sears, JC Penneys, & Montgomery Wards are all great choices, especially the "Christmas Issues". Those are usually jam-packed with tons of cool vintage toys. Here's 2 examples right here. The color photo shows a cool Batman Vintage Halloween Costume & another costume set that was put out by Ideal in 1966. The Ideal set has a cape, cowl, & the very-sought-after RARE Batbelt with a lot of accessories! The black & white photo shows a page that featured the 1966 BATPHONE & the 1966 BATMAN PUPPET THEATER which had hand puppets of Batman, Robin, & The Joker! This play set was a Sears Exclusive & the ONLY way to get the now super-RARE Joker Hand Puppet!

BAT-PLANES: Different Vintage Batman Airplanes

With the BAT-BLOG I always strive for variety & there seems to be so many different angles on the many aspects of the character that I can do that. One thing I do is collect pictures for awhile until I see a pattern. Here's an example: Tonight, out of the blue, I noticed I had a lot of pics of many different Vintage Batman BAT-PLANE TOYS. So, here's some examples of Bat-Plane Toys made thru the years. The 1st one is probably the rarest of them all & was made in 1966. It's a beautiful Bat-Plane that looks more like a military cargo plane than a plane he would actually have. The 2nd piece of Bat-Memorabilia is this 1970's Bat-Plane that is really cute. Yes it is, it's the cutest little plane ever, yes it is. This was contributed by a friend at the BAT-BLOG Message Board. I personally don't have this item in my collection & wish I did, it's cool. The 3rd bit of Bat-Nostalgia is a Bat-Plane from Canada, called the BAT-GLIDER. It's actually a Vintage "bootleg" Batman toy put out during the 60's to rip-off the TV Series, kind of funny! The last photo is the extremely hard-to-find Bat-Plane that was an accessory in the Batman Justice League of America Play Set made by Ideal ©1966.

RARE Vintage 1966 BATMAN & ROBIN Hand Puppets IDEAL TOYS

I should NOT EVEN have to write anything for this post, the photos up above says it all! Here's an extremely RARE SET of 1966 BATMAN & ROBIN HAND PUPPETS Mint in the Original Box! These were made by Ideal during the 1960's TV Series craze & you never see this style display box for these. They were also sold in bags with headers cards but I love the vintage graphics on the box...another Holy Grail item for Vintage Batman Collectors to dream about!! Be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for many more pics of cool Vintage Batman & Robin Toys. Ones made by Mego, Ideal, Marx, Transogram, Kenner, etc...

Ideal 1966 Official BATMAN & JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA PLAY SET, Mint In Box!

A good friend to the BAT-BLOG, named JOKERSCROWBAR, recently posted a photo at the BAT-BLOG Message Board of the Super-RARE BATMAN & JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA PLAY SET made by Ideal ©1966. This Vintage Toy is a Holy Grail to many toy collectors & not just for people who collect Batman or Superhero-related items either. It's just an extremely cool toy with great visual appeal! Plus, it's extremely RARE! The original box is really large with a big window to see the contents inside. It came with small plastic figures of the superhero team & many accessories too, like the Batmobile & Bat-Plane! The superheroes included Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, & Flash!

Here's a LINK to that posting with many more photos & while you're there you might as well JOIN THE BAT-BLOG Message Board, it's FREE!

http://com3.runboard.com/bbatblog.f1.t80

ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER Vintage 1960's Captain Action Doll Outfit

In the late 1960's the Ideal Toy Company ventured into the action figure doll market with a line of toys called CAPTAIN ACTION. He was alot like GI Joe except the outfits you could buy were all superhero characters. He had a kid sidekick named ACTION BOY. Action Boy had 3 outfits to buy : Superboy, Aqualad, & Robin, The Boy Wonder! Here's an example of the ROBIN UNIFORM in it's original window-box packaging. I love the classic vintage graphics....awesome!

CAPTAIN ACTION DOLL Batman & Robin Costume Outfits VINTAGE TOY AD from 1967

Today I'm really tired from not getting any sleep because of the holiday stress. So, I'm just gonna post this cool photo that was swiped from a vintage 1967 sales catalog. The pic features a vintage toy ad for Ideal's Captain Action & Action Boy Dolls, outfits, & car!! For younger people who have NO idea who C.A. is he was a really great toy line made by the Ideal Toy Company in the 1960's. Basically he was kinda like a G.I.Joe doll except you could buy "Superhero Costumes" for him to wear & he could be Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Spiderman, Captain America, Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger, etc...He had a sidekick named Action Boy who also had superhero costumes like Robin, Tonto, Superboy, etc...Also featured in the ad is a vehicle called the SILVER STREAK AMPHIBIAN which is extremely RARE & highly sought after by toy collectors. I thought I would share this toy ad because it shows the Batman & Robin outfits which are really cool!! I hope this brings back alot of fond memories for older collectors & newbies should do a little research on this great vintage toy too! As always you can click on the small picture up above for a larger, more detailed, photo!! Be sure to check out the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for many more Vintage Batman Toy news!