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 ___________________________________________________ Tim was at a toy fair here in the UK recently, when he ran into an acquaintance who runs a toy wholesale company who mentioned that they had a consignment of vintage, retro, steampunk flying machines in their warehouse, and was…
From Grand Illusions.
From Grand Illusions.
From Grand Illusions. Sign up for the Grand Illusions newsletter, at http://conta.cc/3dplns1 ______________________________________________________ Tim explores toys with a zebra theme. Back in the 1970s, Tim acquired a wind up zebra that still works just as well as ever! Then a felt and fabric covered slinky which is also a zebra. Then we have ‘a zebra…
From Grand Illusions. ‘Tim’s friend Gerard Darby is back with more amazing books – this time it is pop up books! Amazing 3-D bunches of flowers pop out from every page of the first book, designed by Ray Marshall (https://raymarshall.com/portfolio/). Next, a book that celebrates Leonardo da Vinci. Each time you turn a page, another…
From Grand Illusions. A spinning top with a built in LED show… a ‘push toy’ with a nice mechanism, a ‘pull back’ mechanism and an intriguing airplane yo yo; A novelty toilet roll with optical illusions (or iloosions if you prefer!) And finally, one of Tim’s favourite inflatables… a giant sunflower. And not only that,…
From Grand Illusions. Tim starts with noisy eggs, or at least eggs that make a noise! Maracas in the shape of eggs that light up when you shake them. How egg-citing! Chicken Shake is just an egg shaped object. It is also maracas, but without the handle. A silver egg that chimes gently when you…
From Grand Illusions. Pixies, fairies and angels are the theme this week! A miniature pixie automaton from Laurence and Angela St. Leger (https://www.laurenceandangelastleger.com/) who have been making exquisite miniature automata for many years. Their web site is definitely worth a visit. Next, a battery operated Christmas angel that Tim has had for many years. He…
From Grand Illusions. Tim is very fond of kaleidoscopes. At the last count, he reckons he has around 30! Here is a selection of 10 of them, most of which you look into, although the last one is a projecting kaleidoscope, that produces images on an external screen. Whether they have feathers inside, blobs of…
From Grand Illusions. Gerard Darby is back in the Grand Illusions studio, with more of his amazing books! In this video, we look at a few amazing books that he calls ‘Book Art’, since they take the traditional book to new and sometimes surprising levels… ‘Tilt’ is a book about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.…
From Grand Illusions. Tim shows some of his amazing money boxes or coin banks if you prefer. The first launches coins in a spiral, until the coin vanishes down the hole in the middle. Then from Takara of Japan a group of teddy bears animate when you pop a coin in. Then a performing dog!…
From Grand Illusions. How on earth does this safari vehicle work? It is about 40 years old, and there is no electronics of any sort. Yet somehow it can follow a line that has simply been drawn by a wax crayon….
From Grand Illusions. I BET YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BOOKS LIKE THIS BEFORE!! Tim welcomes a friend of his to the Grand Illusions studio – Gerard Darby – who has an amazing collection of unusual books, books that have been ‘altered’ in one way or another, and who has brought along some wonderful examples. A…
From Grand Illusions. Tim is once again finding that the packaging can be more fun than the contents! Then… a Japanese coin bank that contains a powerful illusion. It seems that when you look through the window, you are seeing the whole inside of the box. But when you put a coin in at the…
From Grand Illusions. Tim starts with a couple of metal mechanical toys – a metal bird that seems to balance impossibly on its base, and moves gently in any slight breeze, and a metal rattleback that works really well. The four colour map theorem, states that no more than four colours are required to colour…
From Grand Illusions. Something fishy here… A fortune telling fish that Tim got from a cracker about 60 years ago – and it still works! It tells Tim that he is passionate – about toys. But, well, we already knew that, didn’t we! A zip purse, made from fish skin. Then a couple of Glug…
From Grand Illusions. Tim demonstrates a novel material from Japan that acts as a shock absorber…
From Grand Illusions. From GBP1.50, down to 50p and then down to 30p, Tim reckons he got a bargain with this puzzle. Mind you it was a long time ago – GBP1.50 was real money back then!
From Grand Illusions. Jack In The Box is an origami box with a paper spring! Designed by one of our viewers, called Jaybers, he has also kindly created a sheet of instructions which you can download from this link – https://www.grand-illusions.com/Files/123268/22323335221294.docx By cutting and folding a number of regular playing cards, you can create both…
From Grand Illusions. This Victorian invention allows you to pour out cups of tea without needing to lift the teapot! Certainly a full teapot can be quite heavy, and an advert at the time said it ‘does away entirely with the drudgery of lifting the Tea-Pot!’ The self pouring teapot was invented by John Royle,…
From Grand Illusions. Some amazing physics going on here! Xenon is a heavy and very unreactive gas, over four times heavier than air. Atomic number 54, Atomic Mass 131, it is in group 18 of the Periodic Table, and is a so-called ‘Noble Gas’. It normally boils at minus 108 degrees Centigrade, and is present…
From Grand Illusions. Tim sends out about 180 Christmas cards every year to his many friends all over the world. And naturally enough he gets a lot of cards in return. However, given that Tim always finds a very intriguing and interesting card every year, and he encloses a few pages of interesting things he…
From Grand Illusions. Tim’s friend is certainly keeping an eye on him!
From Grand Illusions. The Magic Match! Having lit the match, the rubber bulb blows out a small cloud of lycopodium powder, which immediately ignites very dramatically.
From Grand Illusions. Lithophanes are normally made from plastic or porcelain, and have been etched or moulded so that they contain an image which is defined by the varying thickness of the material. There is not a lot to see when they are front lit, the image only appears properly when they are lit from…