Ron Jobson "War in the Pacific" original artwork

Back in October 2011, we had the privilege of selling some of Matchbox and Airfix artist Ron Jobson's original box art, together with some non-commissioned WW2 themed works.

This December we are pleased to once again have some of the famous artist's original, non-commissioned art in our monthly auction. Four pieces on the theme of "War in the Pacific", these works depict British soldier in action in the later years of World War Two.

The catalogue will be online by Friday 29th November - be sure to sign up to our mailing list to have it delivered to your email inbox as soon as it is available!

by James McGreen

Laughing Sailor in Operation (VIDEO)

If you've been to visit Aston's Toy Auctions in the last month, you will have noticed the "Laughing Sailor" on display in our entrance hall. If you haven't seen him working, here's a short video clip:

He's available to buy in our Arne Toy Museum auction on 8th November. You can find him in the catalogue here: http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/astons-toy-auctions/catalogue-id-2891301/lot-19604020

By Kayleigh Francis

Arne Toy Museum Auction [VIDEO PREVIEW] - by Chris Aston

We've been so busy cataloguing this sale that I haven't managed to put aside much time to write about it - but luckily for me other people have!

The sale has been featured in The Antiques Trade Gazette, The Times, The Metro and of course the Collector's Gazette - who have also kindly produced these two videos following the process of putting the auction together.

A third video will follow tracking the auction itself and reporting on prices realised.

I was also invited onto the Alan Titchmarsh show on ITV to talk about some of the toys from the museum collection - you can watch this on ITV player until the 26th October, it's the 27th September episode!

By Chris Aston

Arne Toy Museum Catalogues [AUCTION PREVIEW] - by Chris Aston

Hot off the press!

Full colour glossy catalogues for the very special Arne Toy Museum Auction are now available for £8 each or £10 including UK postage.

Please call Marie Doherty on 01384 250220 or email info@astonstoyauctions.co.uk to obtain your copy.

The auction takes place at our main saleroom on Friday 8th November 2013 at 10am.

More details about the sale can be found on at www.astonstoyauctions.co.uk

By Chris Aston

Dressed for the Death Star! [FEATURED COLLECTION] - by Kayleigh Francis

Star Wars toys are a staple of our monthly toy auction at Aston’s Auctioneers, with Kenner and Palitoy figures and ships always being popular. This month, however, we have some different vintage Star Wars toys to show you…
 
Lot 128 includes two 1983 Acamas Toys costumes, Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper, which are still boxed and unworn.
 


Lot 130 is a classic Don Post Darth Vader helmet. This one is particularly interesting, as it’s a rare first issue from 1977 and still has its sticker attached on the inside.
 


Lot 135 is another item from Don Post, a full size latex Admiral Ackbar mask, released in the 1980s.
 


Lot 139 includes lots of masks! Mostly by Cesar and Ben Cooper, it’s great to see so many of these have survived with their tags intact.
 


Lot 155 is a boxed Palitoy Talking R2-D2. This item was exclusive to Palitoy, so was only released in the UK and can be sought after by collectors.
 


Lot 157 includes a Darth Vader figure carrying case which still has its original colour insert. This one is a first issue, and still has its mail-away shipping box.
 


Last of all, lot 158 includes some ARII Space Convoy model kits. These Japanese bootleg toys feature some great box art, with creatures looking very suspiciously like Star Wars characters – but with claws! These are very hard to find, and even a recent reboot of these kits are demanding a high price on the collectors market.
 


Take a look at our toy auction catalogue for the auction on Saturday 14^th September for more similar items, as well as a whole host of other toys.
 
By Kayleigh Francis

A day at our Toy Auction! [VIDEO] - by Chris Aston

[VIDEO]

A day at our Toy Auction!

 

Thanks to my good friend Bobby Bridgeman who has kindly put this video together for us!

Hopefully it gives a good idea of what a toy auction is like to those of you who have never attended one in person

 

Chris Aston

Super Sci-Fi Lots - SOLD [AUCTION REPORT] - by Kayleigh Francis

We have some very exciting sales coming up in the next few months here at Aston’s Toy Auctions, which I’m sure we will be filling you in on very soon. While we’re busy getting lots ready for our 14^th September sale, I’d like to share with you the hammer prices on some of our sci-fi and TV related lots from our last auction on 17^th August.
 
This very exciting rare Mego Black Knight Jousting Horse Cover, which you may remember from my last blog post, sold for £950 hammer price to a very determined bidder.





Hasbro G1 Transformers always sell well and this Optimus Prime, complete with accessories, was no exception with a hammer price of £70.



Robby the Robot is a sci-fi icon, and this Osaka Tin Toy Institute Tin Age Collection was a very nice model, limited to 2000 pieces. The winning bidder, who paid £220 before commission, expressed his amazement at finding such a wonderful piece here in the West Midlands!
 


One bidder was obviously keen to join the dark side, as this full size Master Replicas Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet fetched £160.


Don’t worry too much, though, as I’m sure Luke Skywalker will be here to help any minute, in his Code 3 Collectibles X-wing Starfighter, which sold for £200.
 


We had quite a few lots of Konami figures, including this lot of Wacky Races models. The bidding raced ahead on this lot, and ended at £180.



We had loads of lovely lots for Gerry Anderson fans. These two Comet Miniatures models, along with a binder containing autographs, sold for £300.
 



This Takara Thunderbird 2 received a lot of interest, and sold for £280.
 


I hope you enjoyed taking a look at some of these prices, the full sale results will be available on our toy auction website shortly.
 
Keep your eyes peeled for some more interesting sci-fi lots in September, including some vintage Star Wars masks!
 
By Kayleigh Francis