‘Unprecedented’ number of toy robots under hammer

More than 200 toy robots dating back to the 1960s are to be sold at auction.

They are being sold by an anonymous collector, who began to buy them when he was a child.

They date from the early 1960s to the 1990s and form part of a collection of science fiction toys up for auction in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

There are robots, space ships, weapons, board games, construction kits and spin-offs from television shows of the period, including Thunderbirds and Lost In Space.

Auctioneers estimate the 400-plus lots will fetch between £20,000 and £30,000.

Richard Edmonds, principal auctioneer at Chippenham Auction Rooms, said: “This collection is unprecedented. I’ve not seen anything like it.

“As a leading toy auctioneers with over 20 years’ experience, we’ve been asked to sell toy robots before but not in this quantity or of this quality.

“We’re expecting a lot of interest from collectors and science fiction fans alike.

“These toys, particularly the ones from the 1960s, are very much in vogue at the moment.

“Whereas once the big thing was Dinky diecast metal toy cars, the people who grew up playing with them are now quite elderly, but the people who grew up playing with Robbie the Robot, Daleks and Apollo Saturn 5 rockets are still very much in their collecting prime.

“Because many of these toys from the ‘throw-away’ age of the 60s are plastic rather than metal, fewer have survived, which adds to their value.”

The collection will be auctioned at Chippenham Auction Rooms on March 2.

Picture: PA. One of the 200 robots for sale.