1960s Japanese Revolving Flashing Robot

Appraised on: July 30, 2005

Appraised in: Bismarck, North Dakota

Appraised by: Noel Barrett

Category: Toys & Games

Episode Info: Bismarck, Hour 3 (#1012)

Originally Aired: April 24, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (2:00)

GUEST: It was originally my dad's, and I like to say it's mine, but I have six brothers and two sisters, so I think we kind of fight over it.

APPRAISER: Uh-huh. And you didn't find a box or anything like that?

GUEST: No, no box.

APPRAISER: Well, that's too bad. This is a robot that was made in Japan in the 1960s. There were a lot of different makers, and I think this one was made by a company called R.O. But it's really a little unclear as to who made what, because they all swap parts and they had different names on the boxes. It's battery operated. And it is called the Revolving Flashing Robot. Why? Because...well, he walks like this. But then when you push this button, he revolves and flashes. So, therefore, we call him the Revolving Flashing Robot. And he can do both things at once, I think-- let's see. Oh! No, he can't. He can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I know you were concerned that if it wasn't working we wouldn't have a story. Well, if this were totally not working, for about $35 to $50 we could have it fixed. Which might seem a lot to pay to fix a toy that originally sold for $1.98, but it's worth a little more than $1.98. Now, if you'd only found the box, we would be looking at a robot that was worth about $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST: Oh, boy.

APPRAISER: Because the Revolving Flashing Robot is one of the rare ones. But he's in amazing condition, a little scratch right here, but that's not a big deal. So without the box, I would say, at auction it would bring somewhere between $1,200 to $1,800 on today's market. So, go back, maybe that box is somewhere.