Toy Forum
Toy ID Boards => Toy ID Help => Topic started by: Rachel-Eyes on Saturday 07 January 2012, 07:55 am
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Back in the '90s, there was a series of toys I remember seeing on tv. There were four of them- a pink cat, a blue dog, a green something, and a fourth one that I can't remember. They were made of the same kind of parachute fabric as Puffalumps and had a plastic tube in the middle of their bodies. It was the kind of tube that could fold into itself and stretch out when you pulled it. I have no idea how else to describe it other than that it was made up of sections that would make a very audible click sound when you stretched it in and out, and had a tendency to break. It kind of looked like this.
http://www.notcot.com/images/2010/08/David-Gunter_Spiral-Black-Plastic-Pipe.jpg
The point of the toy was to stretch out the torso and abdomen with your arms, and then click it back together as you please. The concept was very similar to the Slinky dog from Toy Story, but I don't think it inspired him because they both came out around the same time. I got the pink cat for my birthday in 1996, so it has to be around that time. My brother also had the blue dog. The cat's muzzle and paws were white, as well as the dog's muzzle. The dog had pink tints under his ears and on the bottom of his paws. I want to say that they had a tuft of doll hair n their heads, but I might be making that up.
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Sorry to bump this if no one really has a clue at all, but now that I have access to a mouse I can provide a (very crude) drawing. I'm really hoping that just seeing the darned things will spark someone's memory or something.
(http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd386/racheleyes/stretchytubetoys.png)
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I don't think I know these, but those are excellent drawings. I wish that more people would post drawings of what they're trying to describe. :)
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Aww, thanks, zuse. You're sweet. :-*
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So the bodies were like "Whirly Tubes?"
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I've never heard of Whirly Tubes, but if Google is right about them, then I guess I can say sort of. They were similar to that kind of plastic, but the little "sections" are there so that they can be stretched out and compressed. It doesn't look to me like you can compress a Whirly Tube... am I right? They certainly look like them when they're stretch out though. And WTs make sound? Since these would have been connected to plush, no air could get inside of them so there was no way they could make sound except for the little sections moving when you pulled it out or pushed it in.
I don't recall if I mentioned this in the first post, but I remember the plastic getting kind of flimsy over time. My kitty ended up with a few holes and white wear spots from where I had stretched her too hard. My brother was a bit more gentle with his toys and since we're moving soon, we should be getting our stuff down from the attic in a few months. If we still have them, I'll try to post a picture.
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Those remind me of something else I played with as a kid but they were at school. It was a building toy with tubes like that. I think there were also round colorful transparent flat plates with slots in them but those might have been a different set. I forgot what they were called anyways.
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I know that there was SOMETHING that I used to play with that had the kind of plastic that you could stretch out and compress like that, but it most certainly may not be whirly tubes. :D
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I seem to remember that kind of plastic tube being a bit popular or at least common, but I doubt I would have remembered it at all without these plush toys.
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So they were essentially plush slinky's (why has no one else mentioned slinky's yet?!) I got a toy like this in a show bag and it was of Odie from Garfield. It was very cheaply made. Sounds like yours was part of a line though rather than a random good produced for show bags/machines?
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Not slinky. Slinky is just a coil.
I'm thinking it's the same premise as this Animaniacs Happy Meal toy:
(http://www.collectorsconnection.com/imagesh2/43a039.jpg)
(http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/9/3/9/7/webimg/3572732.jpg)
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Not slinky. Slinky is just a coil.
I'm thinking it's the same premise as this Animaniacs Happy Meal toy:
(http://www.collectorsconnection.com/imagesh2/43a039.jpg)
(http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/9/3/9/7/webimg/3572732.jpg)
Oh I see! The Odie I had had a plush covered slinky in the middle joining the two sides (the 'slinky' part was much thicker than with a slinky toy)
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Not slinky. Slinky is just a coil.
I'm thinking it's the same premise as this Animaniacs Happy Meal toy:
(http://www.collectorsconnection.com/imagesh2/43a039.jpg)
(http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/9/3/9/7/webimg/3572732.jpg)
Yes! That's exactly the plastic tube! Funny how you think you know exactly what something is, but when you go to describe it or try to give it a name you simply can't. Thanks so much for the picture!
Mouse, a Slinky is a good guess, and especially since Toy Story and the Slink dog concept sparked a bit of imitators. And I totally know that Odie you're talking about- my cousin had one too! These had to have come out about the same time as the movie though, so I don't think they had anything to do with each other.
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Well I remembered the name of the toy I remembered. They were called Popoids. I wonder if the line you are looking for was an offshoot of these.
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Wardah, I think you might be right! I googled "popoid toy" and found my brother's blue dog.
http://resaleauctions.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=228
However, it might just be the seller making the connection that they are Popoid-like, and not an official name. But at least we have a manufacturer now- they're by Tomy!