vintage tomy "talk to me phone"

picked up this little cutie from an op shop yesterday for a whole $2.50. i bought purely because its tomy, but after having a play, i am glad i got it! he takes a C size battery, and is really noisy. there is also no on/off switch, so have to remove the battery to stop it going, which is a good thing because it means no battery can be left in to leak everywhere.
he has the two kids logo underneath, so i am dating him from mid to late 1970s, or every early 80s. he also has a patent number [31079] but a quick google didnt bring a result.

   


inside, he has a "belt driven" turntable, complete with arm and stylus. the stylus needle was covered in fluff, and there was some around the centre pin in the middle of the turntable as well. i managed to remove both with tweezers and a craft knife. the tweezers couldnt reach the centre pin, so had to use the knife blade to reach to gently scrape the fluff down to blow it out.
   

pressing this lifts the upper "Y" shaped assembly and serves to disengage a gear and also resets the toner arm
   

and finally, heres a video of the little guy in action:
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[Super]

Wow, a belt driven turntable, that is amazing. What a great score. That cord to the handset is in great condition which I would assume would be the first to break. Does the handset come off. I wonder if there isn't something amiss with having to remove the battery to turn it off. Could be that it should remain silent until the dial is turned and after the voice stops so does the phone. Seems odd as 'C' battery's back in that era didn't last as long as todays battery's and something like this if left on, as a child may do, would deplete the power quickly. Any who, its a neat little thing and in English too!

Awesome. I can't believe it is playing a record with a stylus. How is that even stable in a toy?

the handset can be lifted off, and once the casing is apart can be removed entirely. the cord is filthy, but i wont clean it. i consider it patina, lol. i am not sure if its meant to be silent until its played with, doesnt appear that way but i could be wrong.

the turntable is very stable. i guess the top of it has grooves like a record, though the needle glides across the whole thing as the table rotates, as opposed to getting stuck in a groove like on a classic record.

and i added these two from another op shop this morning. had to get them both as the colors of the ducklings have been reversed. strange to get them both at the same time from the same shop. when you pull the strings, they quack a little tune. the wheels are offset so they waddle as they roll
   

[Super]

Awww aren't they cute?