Looking for an extravagant gift? Consider the above—a 1950s era Sparky Robot, made by Kobe, Japan based Yoshiya Co, which was one of the major Japanese toy makers from the postwar period into the 1970s. We love vintage sci-fi toys in general, as we’ve shown you here and here, but this one is even cooler because it walks and sparks. It’s about eight inches tall, turns on and off by winding a key, and walks or stands still when you raise and lower its antenna. The electrotechnic action happens inside the robot’s head, and is visible through its eye and mouth openings. What we like most of all here is the box cover art. In classic Japanese style, it depicts the robot as a behemoth visiting destruction upon some unlucky city. It’ll visit destruction upon your wallet too, with a $500 price tag, but still, you know you want it. We sure do.
