Sentimental broken childhood toys…

I was digging through an old box of toys this week, full of miscellaneous vintage die-cast cars and other toys. When I started to feel sorry for a lot of these items. The box contains many well-loved toy racing cars of different scales, and other things I held onto from the 1980s. Such as trucks, farm vehicles and more that I remember playing with both indoors and (yikes!) outside in the dirt.

As you’ll probably recall, many toys of the 1980s were manufactured in Hong Kong. So it’s interesting to consider how they differ from the toys of today. On the one hand they were cheaply made – just like a lot of stuff today. But on the other hand, they were better in some ways.

Maybe it was the realistically molded bodies (even if the mold had rough edges). Or maybe the mechanisms inside. Or maybe the use of real sponsor decals.

It’s also worth remembering that just about every toy from the 80s (or earlier) now has at least a little bit of resale value. This applies to model cars, action figures and more.

Over in the action figure community, many collectors now enjoy hunting for the cheap knock-offs of popular lines in the 1980s (Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, etc), almost as much as the original figures. From Brazilian knock-offs, to McDonald’s toys – all kinds of strange things now have some nostalgic value. And while they will never be worth as much as originals, they’re often still fun because they have that “1980s glow” to them. They reflect the era due to the car or character they represent, or just in how they were made.

Even the words “Made in Hong Kong” feel a bit nostalgic these days, don’t they?

Anyway, one of the toys I found in my old toy box was a one I remember playing with a lot – an approx 1/32 scale Porsche 935 ‘Jägermeister’ as seen in the German DRM (Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft) touring car and sports car series of about 1977 or 1978.

It was a mere “pull back” toy made in Hong Kong. But I really loved it as a kid. And it feels quintessentially 1980s now, being modeled on a late 70s Porsche.

Taking it out of the toy box, it was dusty, broken and in about 10 pieces – the body, rear wing, seats, wheels, and pull back mechanism were all apart. And some parts of the car body (like the rear wing) were broken or partially missing. The windscreen was cracked. And the decals had also seen much better days, with some of them misaligned.

Despite all this…

I remember playing with this car a lot! It’s pull-back mechanism powering the car across the floor. And I always loved the orange colour, and how surprisingly realistic it looked for just an unbranded, plastic, made in Hong Kong toy. It was also a toy I had before I owned any R/C cars. Back at a young age when the imagination is so vivid, that even something much simpler… still feels like the real thing to you.

It was like having a nice model of the real thing, but that is also designed for play and not just to sit on a shelf. Much like how the Kenner Star Wars toys were always decent “models” of Star Wars vehicles, but were also designed to be played with – not just sit on a display shelf.

With the car in pieces, I started putting it back together, cleaning every piece, and repairing a few broken parts. Some things can’t be fixed (missing wing, decal wear etc). But it started coming together.

And consider this – a Hong Kong pull-back toy like this from the 1980s, actually had metal gears in the gearbox, instead of plastic…

And what about those ‘Jägermeister’ decals?

Jägermeister of course, is a brand of alcohol. So you won’t find that on any cheap toys at the supermarket these days. These days there are rarely any genuine sponsor logos on toys, or… if they are genuine, they need to avoid using brands that are considered unhealthy for children.

But there is something so cool about early toys, from the time before these rules came into effect. Something more authentic about it.

Anyway, after putting what was left of it together and cleaning it really thoroughly inside and out, repairing some parts, and adjusting some decals…  here is how it looked. And I was quite pleased, given all the neglect it has been through in the past 40 years. There is even a little silver steering wheel inside, which somehow survived despite being the most fragile item of the whole car…

The chrome wheel rims were obviously very tarnished and worn…

So after some chrome restoration work, I then managed to achieve this look…

I cannot fix the cracked window and partial rear wing and faded decals.

But overall I am pretty happy with the 2 hours or so I spent on a forgotten old “made in Hong Kong” pull back model, of such a beautiful and legendary Porsche 935. Because it’s a toy I personally remember so well.

And that’s what this hobby is all about, right?

Googling and searching on eBay, I could not find even a single other photo in the world, of this exact toy. Sometimes, the only way is to restore what is left of your favourite, broken old toys when they mean a lot to you. And even if the end result isn’t that great, this can still be a satisfying little project – as well as very nostalgic.

Have you ever had the urge to fix one of your most broken childhood toys?

As always, happy restoring!