Kenner Can-Am SSP Plastic Car General Mills Fun Group Promotional 1970s Citgo Gas Station Lego Lovers

Image of my Kenner Citgo MIni SSP Can AM Orange  car in my Etsy shop.

Hello little toy plastic fantastic car, what are you? How did I not know you in my youth? 

Recently I was offing my extra stock of  Hot Wheels and Matchbox vintage cars in my Etsy shop, and came across this strange orange car I had gotten some time ago.  Although I refuse to admit being actually old, or archaic, it is true that I am a 1970s child. Even so, one who loved plastics growing up, whom does not remember this at all, and perhaps with good reason.  

I was s. Born in 1973, these cars were made as gas station premiums by Kenner for Citgo gas stations circa 1970-1971ish.  Still, if my older guy buddies that I hung with (I was their shadow), had one of these coveted somewhere in their collection, I am sure at age six or so I would have remembered such a glorious piece of plastic! But they didn't have one, and with good reason.  They were all older than me, and most likely outgrew it, broke or lost the zipper part, or gave it away.  Surely if they had sold it for ten cents at the neighborhood flea I would have remembered it.  By the way, I should thank the kids across the street for that cool 45RPM collection including Blondie's Heart of Glass for $1.00.   

Does that look like a Lego to you? 

Good Design, wait, whut, is that a LEGO? 

What's even stranger is how the car is designed.  It surely at first glance reminds me of having a "LEGO" build onto it, when it's actually some part of the exhaust or something, I wonder if it's designer played with Legos when he was designing the super spiffy plastic engine? I don't know.  Just sayin'. 

From my RetroChalet Etsy shop.

The car is a Can-Am, Mini SSP which is short for Super Sonic Power.! According to the instructions if you whip the little rip cord through, it will turn out 20,000 rpms. I'm not a math whiz by far, in fact I definitely suck at all things math, but I think that may be an overstatement.  Maybe in 1970's advertising terms, the 20,000 rpms is the equivalent of pretend warp speed. 

As for the Can-Am model,  Kenner also produced a green model of the same style, which they had in a Tournament of Thrills kid's playset in the 1970's.  The orange seemed to be a gas station premium, thus the boring cardboard display box I can just imagine these lining up a little plastic cabinet in the gas station and kids screaming at their parents to buy them one. I am NOT sure if this was a mail in car or on site premium.  I do know it originally came with: 

• Rip Cord
• Decal Sheet
• Advertising Memorabilia
• Car

 This is just another fine example of Plastic Fantastic.  Also a great indicator of cool toys we used to get.  

Please visit the following Etsy shop who sponsors my Living a Vintage Life retro podcast, and their cute creations can be found in many colors to fit  the gift needs of even the most hard to shop for :) 

SDIKHERMD Peace Cap on Etsy, available in many colors.  

To hear my vintage podcast, you can tune in below when I talk about collecting Maine country primitives ! 

Youngstown Kitchen Salesman Set Plastic Miniatures

This is a view of the kitchen I built.  Pic; RetroChalet Etsy

Sometimes plastic is so fantastic, look at these wonderful Youngstown Kitchen miniature samples.  Youngstown Kitchens was a brand of steel cabinetry offered by the Mullins Manufacturing Corporation of Warren, Ohio.  It was durable enough for homes but also used commercially in workshops and schools.   As for the plastics, well, they were salesman samples.  I scarfed the set up awhile ago in my travels, and recently put it for sale on Etsy.  .  The samples would be marked with model numbers and/or Youngstown, and/or Mullins the back.

I have a piece of Youngstown in my 1927 home from the 1940's kitchen remodel!  Mine would have been special designed, swap the lower cabinet out for two drawers. I painted mine green.

Many people think they are dollhouse furniture, and I suppose they can be, as they are actually just a tiny fraction of the original size. They were given to salesman of the Youngstown company to go and prey on bored housewives to upgrade their kitchen.  The little suitcases came in varying sizes and had masonite slats to separate the small miniatures.

There were masonite slats separated the furniture in the Salesman cases.  These were called Geneva Visualizers. I assume there were different sizes on the kits.  Courtesy: RetroChalet

The set I had was in a large case, and had slats, though there was so much furniture I often wonder how the salesman could fit it all. Quickly I found out you would have to hide pieces inside of others to get them to fit.  There were 69 pieces of sinks, stoves, hanging cabinets, free standing cabinets, corner cabinets, and even tiny bread boxes.

Needless to say I played with mine all the time. Courtesy: RetroChalet

I have to admit I'm 40 and guilty of playing with my design kit quite often.  It was so fun to build and rebuild a tiny dream kitchen.  I envisioned it in 1940 or 1950.

Here is one of my favorite designs with stove to the far left. Have you ever seen a Youngstown Stove? I had not until I saw it in the sample!   Courtesy: RetroChalet

As for my sample kit, I discovered there were stoves. I had never known that Youngstown had stoves much less produced stoves. It is strange that the two stoves on the right looked like they were only a flat top stove with a cabinet underneath.

Strange no?

I quickly found that over the years only a few more of these complete kits had surfaced. The other set I saw had about 40 some pieces. That was in a longer more briefcase looking kit.  I suppose there were different levels of samples you could order. I often wonder if the salesman would choose his own briefcase and cut the slats to fit his own style?  

Play, play play and design with this youngstown kitchen furniture!

The slats were unfinished Masonite and I suppose you could play in your briefcase and organize your furniture your own way.  I only assume the salesman below sold big time because he had so many variations. I know I would have sold tons of kitchens having so many cool models to built with!  I did go crazy building my dream kitchen!

Youngstown had some great cabinets. There's my sink!

I wonder how many more sets actually survived.  I will sure miss mine. Soon the actual furniture will be gone as well, only a forethought of yesterday. Only the bleak reminders of the old vintage ads we find here, there and in old magazines will be a reminder of these wonderful creations.

I used to build kitchens I found in old ads. How fun!

My Youngstown Story

As for the furniture, the stuff was durable and built to last, out of steel. Fifteen years ago when I first moved into my home, I was on a limited budget and worked a full time job plus had an antique booth on the side.   Every third Thursday in my neighborhood we had bulk trash night. This was where each home owner could sit up to three items out and the city would take it the next day for the dump.  I did a lot of curbside upycling those days.  I have to admit, in the days before "recycling" and "freecycling" I was already snagging my trash to treasure bargains!

I saw craploads of vintage Youngstown's kitchen sinks , add on cabinets, etc. Most often they came with these great black tops. The tops would have some stains but held up incredibly well. I am not sure what material this was, I thought perhaps formica.   Once in awhile I'd see a gem with a special top with atomic designs. I often wondered if this was something the homeowner customized.  Most of the cabinets I found, were in great shape.

Lovely old Youngstown Kitchen Sinks and Porcelain tops!  Pic: retrochalet

Most often the only issues would be on the sinks. There would be rusting inside the cabinet under the sink, due to a home owner neglecting the steady drip of water, which would eventually discolor, rust and weaken the steel underneath. Sinks were porcelain so there were possible chips in the porcelain but the stains in the porcelain were easy to clean with comet!


The major issues with these sinks was replacing the actual faucets. This is because the standard with between the faucets and the spicket are not the same standards as today.  I just went though this with my Youngstown porcelain sink. My husband was glad when the faucet went up, hoping I'd opt for more modern in my kitchen, because every unit I purchased the handles would not fit in the holes. The fact here is most homeowners would not opt to waste time drilling into porcelain and steel, and just rip out their sink and get a new one. Instead, I found a new spigot that I could finnagle and rig from underneath, to fit eliminating my hot and cold faucets altogether. Since I could not find any faucets to line up, I had to opt out of them. What I went through to keep that sink!

Welcome to my Youngstown Kitchen Showroom! Note the tiny bread box! too cute!

Originally the free standing cabinets were the most common to find in the bulk trash. Note this is because the homeowner would build a kitchen and have three to four cabinets in each kitchen. They were also marketed to schools and I know a few classrooms back in the day used them for Home Economics or their Science Labs!   Note from the photo below how many base cabinets there are in one kitchen alone.  Where did all the hanging cabinets go? In people's garages!

The lower cabinets are the ones I'd see all the times in the trash. I think the uppers ended up in garages!

Needless to say back in the day the rounded corner cabinets were scarfed up and coveted from curbside, they had lovely metal trim on them and I can assume were on the more expensive end!  (They had a Deluxe line...)   Sometimes I still see them in antique malls holding vintage items for sale.  I would snag the freestanding cabinets, and resell them in my own antique shop back then.  Soon I noticed, in bulk trash,  there were no cabinets to be had. What happened to them?

Scrap Metal.  Towards the end of my bulk trashing days the circuit was loaded with scrappers in old pickups and I saw everything they had in the back of their truck was metal. Old metal loveseats, old metal lawn furniture,old tools, hardware, metal rods, metal scrap iron, and these Youngstown cabinets on top. I often thought that was silly because the cabinets were on the thin side, but it made them easy targets to go on top their pile of heavy metal and being all metal with the exception of the top, I suppose a truckload would add up quick at the scrapyard.

Later bulk trash was discontinued and I often wonder how many of those cabinets still survive today? Do you know anyone with some Youngstown? Perhaps over time the V-shaped handles have been replaced, but the black rim on the bottom ay be a dead identification give away!

Want to see more on Youngstown, you can view old catalogues for free right here!

Read our Melmac Magazine for great finds and fantastic plastics!

Vintage Plastic Dolls of Nations Kewpie Barbie

Set of Kewpie dolls for sale at retrochalet on Etsy

Children everywhere have been enthralled with the idea of dolls. Most dolls are plastic. The ones above were made in Taiwan and China, circa 60s to 70s.   Before the cushy feel of rubbery plastic, dolls were molded much harder, out of a hard plastic that often would crack or break when they were dropped. Much like the little party favors of yesteryear, the dolls below were hard circa 1950's.

These dolls in the original case, are from stefbodie on Etsy

However, one did not seem to care, as they were bought in the five and dime store probably for less than $1, or used as carnival prizes.  These above would have surely been priced at .29 cents to .49 cents and would have been a nice little doll to keep your tiny one occupied.  Something like this would never be allowed today, due to the fact it would be way too easy to break the arms and legs, which were then held together with rubber bands and/or mere string,

This doll of nations states it's a display only, not a toy, available at VintageCliffs on Etsy

I distinctly remember wherever my grandmother went, she brought me back a doll "Of nations" they were called. Basically these dolls represented "the wives" of different nations, and were all dressed differently. They were meant to never play with she said, but to display proudly that you were such a recipient of some pretty little doll.  Each were molded hard plastic, some with joined arms and legs, others with only jointed arms, and very pretty glasslike (but plastic) sleepy eyes.  They were in gift shops all over, luring grannies like mine to buy them for their adorable grandchildren, or for themselves to collect in a curio.

This rubber cupie doll on Etsy is frm LaVintageBy Miss PJ55

Rubber dolls like the one above were cute,  and often contained squeakies in them. Certainly these were more for the dogs than kids, because over time rubber was not used as much as molded or hard plastic.  Even so, where would we be without plastic dolls?  Plastic dolls are still being made today.

Without plastic, these would be the mere possiblities:

WOOD!

From Etsy shop ThisandThat4U is a wooden carved doll with cloth body!

PORCELAIN!

Vintage Porcelain Doll from Etsy shop Via Dei Navigli

METAL!

German Minerva Doll from City Different on Etsy

So what do you think?   Just not the same as our loveable dolls of yesterday, being wood, metal, or porcelain, now is it?  If you think plastic is not essential in toy making, then how could you look Barbie in the face and tell her that her reign is over?

Vintage Barbie wouldn't look the same in porcelain, would she? Courtesy of Dusty 061996 on Etsy!

What was your favorite plastic doll growing up?  Let me know!

You May also want to  visit my new Retro Chalet wordpress blog to keep up with my latest Retro Finds!

British Toys Out of the Kitchen Plastic

Plastics Out of the Kitchen and Into the Hands of Babes

Although America's melmac dinnerware and kitchen craze was mid forties through the late fifties, and we were making plastic everything, England and Australia were too!

Gorgeous London mottled plastic toy survived all these years, available at Etsy

You can read my previous article about Bessemer Plastics and how Australia was making great kitchen designs. What about England? When one thinks of England we think of china and ceramic tea sets, but what about plastic?

Courtesy of llandr on Etsy

British Cyanamid was indeed using plastics for household wares to toys to picnic ware sets. If you were out at a picnic in your pretty woven basket of goodies, you may find their version of beetleware (named Beatl brand plastic dinnerware) to eat off of. Lovely egg cups and luxury kitchen items all made of high quality melmac, melamine, bakelite, and plastic. Radios, modern designed lamps, and boutique items. It is true in the UK, plastics were everywhere you looked.

This lovely double decker bus was made in England and is available at frenchvintagedream on Etsy

Plastic Toys for Girls and Boys: What Were THEY Playing With?

When you think of your childhood and what you played with, it often brings a smile to your face. Showcased here are some English toys so you can see just what toys were produced in England.

As for the USA, if you ask your dad or grandfather, and they lived in the United States,  most likely during the 30's to the 50's they had toys that were also made in the States. That was the time of Industrial USA.  You would be shocked at the tin toys , cars, trucks, and sand pails with chipping paint they were allowed to play with back then.  Or the electric irons and ovens which really plugged in....now considered a fire hazard that children used to play with. Oh yes, things were much different then.

SouthernBellaVintage on Etsy shows this English toy Abacus by Invicta, made in 1970 only $6.99

Industrialism Vanishes in the USA

My how the times have changed. Enter the 60's and 70's and all the cheap Japanese, Taiwan, or Hong Kong imports. This was the start of a new era, where the US could obtain cheaper toys by not making them ourselves, and our government felt good about that since it helped these other countries by stoking their economies. Not to mention, these items could be purchased for less and sold for more. Unfortunately this idea backfired as  the cost of doing business in the US would soar and our country would go from powerful to poverty.  By the 80's and 90's not much was produced here anymore. Once America had so many doll companies it never had to import a plastic children's doll, but today, flip it over and see if it's not made in China.

Find this vintage plastic baby doll at the shop FrenchVintageDream on Etsy

For the Love of Legos

Adrian!!!! It's Rocky Ornament on alowisheskitsch at Etsy! Sweet Little Lego Man!

The Lego Plastic Block Enigma

I was a 70's kid. I lived in Lego land. I could spend hours playing with those little plastic blocks. I would rather build in Lego land than play with Barbies. What was wrong with me?  I wonder if somehow, they have inadvertently formed me into a plastic junkie.    Truth is, most of us had toys that were plastic, whether it was plastic dolls, plastic cowboys and indians, or plastic trucks and cars.  Maybe even bath plastic boats, or rubber ducks? I just think when you entered Lego land it was more of an addicting little play world.  Build, destroy, build, destroy, build, fall apart, built, bust up, build, rebuild, build bigger....must...build.....ack!

This great and rare vintage Lego set available on Etsy at tarlotoys !

According to Wikipedia, Legos were started by the Danish as wood toys. What?  I can't imagine them not being plastic, can you?  Of course when they figured out how much cheaper it was to produce them in plastic, they switched. Some early examples are museum worthy, and not to mention a pretty penny!

Sport this Lego purse, many styles available at Agabag on Etsy!

Adults Love Legos, If They Say No, They Are Lying

I worked with an ADULT guy at Diamond Comics. I remember him telling me about his Lego creations and how he was going to work at Lego land  Parks some day. Well, he won a contest and low and behold packed up his family to live his dream. Soon I'd get emails of his creations and he was making their displays (of which are huge.)   Imagine my surprise when I realized this guy is getting paid to play with toys ALL DAY LONG.


Now, for those of you who visited such places as Lego land, just admit it. You claim the trip was for your kids, but you really wanted to go and ride that Lego roller coaster yourself. You just won't convince me otherwise.

For the Lego lover, a vintage lego brick ring. how lovely!  At Gr0glmann.Etsy.com

Lego is Freakin' Huge

Just how big is Lego?  It's huge. In fact I think it's a cult. There are forums just for Legos, Lego Wikias, Websites dedicated to making Legos, adults who collect Legos, kids who want to grow up and be the next big Lego Display artist in Lego Land......sigh.  Oh, get this, do you think it's odd that in my spell check program, Lego is listed and auto corrects, but Etsy is not. Goodness!  Speaking of which, on Etsy, as I've displayed above tons of crafters are using Legos in their art. Used and new, Lego is a serious business.  Who would have thought those cute little plastic blocks would turn out to be loved by so many? 

Legos are being used for crafts, like these keen Lego Ornaments, buy them at agabag.etsy.com

Tell me, what are you best Lego memories?

About the Author:
Thanks for visiting Melmac Central aka my RetroChalet blog. I love all things vintage, plastic and retro.  I would appreciate you liking my Facebook page for the Melmac blog here, or even check out my RetroChalet shop on Etsy. Drop me a line below if you have a favorite lego memory <3.

This page was checked for dead links last on 11.22.18
It has been networked to Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter! We would love if you share the folks who have done so!

Plastic Rubber Bendy Bendie Toys Gumby Pokey

Cowboy bendy toys are scary looking, $12 each at RetroChalet.

Little Bendy Rubber Toys for Girls and Boys

According to the Rubber Journal (Vol 139, circa 1960)  Bendy toys, were,  practically unbreakable. This must be true as so many have survived. My husband, almost 50 at the time of this post, remembers playing with the cowboy ones in the sand as a child.  Most that I've found are marked "Hong Kong" on the back.

Rabbit Bendy Toys, $12 each, about 6" tall on Etsy.

Courtesy of etsy

Rubber Journal announced them as "soft and pliable" and said they would "excite the imagination with the many poses into which they can be bent."  The Rubber Journal went onto boast that "Bendability is achieved by a wire moulded into foam rubber, in bright colours readily washable."  Now where they referring to Gumby and Pokey on these novelty bendies that originally sold for less than a buck?

Retrochalet on Etsy has bendies $12 each in a wide variety of poses. Most are marked "hong kong"

So how many of you actually washed these things? I'm not sure what's more exciting. Finding out there was an "official rubber journal" or seeing so many bendy toys involved.

Santa Claus Bendy courtesy of RetroChalet on Etsy

This Post Was Sponsored By: 

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WHy we collect certian things:

Plastic Toy Guns Bang Bang

Novelty dimestore toys, I guess you had to PLAY RESPONSIBLY. Love these vintage toys, which are fantastic plastic. Imagine gussying up your teddy bear lone ranger style...make a cowboy, or use for party favors at your cowgirl birthday party. These tiny cute plastic mini cowboy guns are from yesteryear, I found a case of 'em in unused stock. Some people use them in arts and crafts, others collect them.They are tiny and colorful, approx 3.5" wide by only 3" tall. With Plastic balls that are ammo. Definately not safe by today's standards...

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

Welcome to Plastic Land : The Gay Horse

Welcome to Plastic Land, 
a fake world I created made of the best molded plastics ever. Here everyone gets along. You see, there are no fights over politics. No fights with the rulers of Plastic Land. They are all unpaid volunteers. The townspeople are happy to pay their taxes in plastic coin. The economy is good and there's plenty of plastic money that is housed in an authentic "Plasticville" bank.  When they run out, much like the real world, they just mold up some more.

One of the rulers in Plastic Land, Gigi the Clown. Buy him from DoNotDestroy on Etsy.

They've become Eco Friendly in Plastic Land. Waste products are re-molded into something else plastic so the land is really pretty here. The plastic robots who work in the factories (as the jobs are plentiful) have found a way to recycle pollutants from the air into plastic plant food. Plastic fish swim in plastic ponds and a plastic sun shines down upon the world of Plastic Land. Better yet, Plastic Land has not had to enforce or enact any real laws because everyone's so happy that crime is nill. Gigi the Clown is growing large because he hasn't had much crime to fight lately. In a top secret interview, Gigi hinted, "Sure,we do once in awhile have fake plastic fights or disagreements, but if anyone gets really harmed in Plastic Land, they go the Emergency Plastic Hospital and get all fixed up.  If they don't like the way they turned out, we just re-mold them into something else. No biggie."

Cowboy and Indians can be bought from DoNotDestroy on Etsy.

In Plastic Land you are free to be who you want. Never are there comments about your weight or what type of music you listen to.  You can wear whatever you want when you want. Stay out as late as you want. Date whomever you want. There's no judging based on your plastic weight, chemical composition, color, make or model number, nationality or creed.

Won't you stay awhile with me in Plastic Land?

In fact, I think you were here once, when you were FIVE years old. Do you remember playing with your plastic toys unknowingly worried about the affairs of the real world?  Back then you didn't have to worry about work, or debt, or politics. You played with these little toys without a care in the world and in Plastic Land, it was all good. Oh how did any of us ever leave this place? 

Welcome to reality: Innocence Lost.
Long Live the Plastics Fantastic.

Russ Wallace Berrie Oily Jigglers Collection

Hey, check out these cool little oily rubber guys circa made by Russ & Wallace Berrie.

This picture was sent to me by Erik Sheets, he collects these rubbery guys. With names like Sarge , Hopeless, and Squiry Wormy these oily little suckers can grow on you if you look at them long enough.

Erik says, "These guys were made of an oily rubber from 1965 - 1971. They are about 3 to 4 inches high, not so little! " Erik is missing a bunch for his collection so if you have any for sale or come across any please drop him a line here.    Have you seen them?  Did you have them as a kid? Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

If you have a collection of cool plastics you'd like to share with our readers, contact me! 

Vintage Plastic

MyFunkyJunk offers this vintage plastic Marx figure.

What Makes Plastic "Vintage"

Vintage items seem to be all the rage these days. The rich and famous in fact tend to adorn themselves in what's old more often than what's currently "in style." Although vintage has become a catchword of sorts for anything that is both old and pretty, the term actually has a more specific definition. An item needs to be at least 20 years old in order to truly qualify as a "vintage" piece. In terms of plastics, this means that goods from the '20s through the '70s are vintage classics, while '80s and '90s products will soon enter the fold as well.

 

The Best Types of Vintage Plastic

Particular types of plastic can also be regarded as more vintage than others, particularly in terms of jewelry. Bakelite, Lucite, Catalin, and Thermoset are considered to be among the first rate of vintage plastic materials.

Other valuable items include plastic toy soldiers and plastic lunchboxes. The former collectibles are best known from Louis Marx and Company, known for its creation of well-crafted plastic goods from the '50s through to the '70s. The 1960 "Gunsmoke" Collection and 1959 "Wyatt Earp" line are two of the most prestigious and coveted Marx plastic offerings.

MidwoodVintage offers this vintage plastic lunchbox.

Kitschy lunch boxes made from plastic have also recently become well favored as popular vintage items. This holds true particularly well if the lunch box depicts some well-known pop cultural item from its era. These boxes are typically square in shape, featuring hard plastic in bright pigments like cherry red or lime green.

 

Where and How

You will need to become quite adept at hunting around and showing tenacity in order to land on some amazing vintage plastic finds. Step one is to head to the local antique stores in your neighborhood. Don't just walk in silently; talk with the staff, smile and get them on your side, then inquire about their advice for vintage plastics local to you. Next up, you should head for thrift stores, the nearby Salvation Army, and similar establishments; more often than not, plastic gems hide there, unnoticed yet gleaming all the way. In the spring and summer, check your local papers for upcoming flea markets, which can be another strong way to locate vintage plastics. Last but not least, head to websites such as Ebay, Etsy, and Papernstitch, who regularly stock their pages with vintage finds.

Check out:
Vintage Jewelry Lane,  
The Jailbreak,  
Toy Memories, and  
Cheeky Chicago 
for more information on this topic.

Special thanks to  Jordan @ Article Writing Services.org

Injection Molded Vending Toy Machine Capsules and Cardinal Plastics - How I Love Thee

Capsules from some mini football helmets, they used to be a quarter, now you must pay 50 cents or more for one of these type premiums.

It's those things we see in everyday life that we take for granted in the wide world of plastics technology. How often have you as a child or your kids put money into a gumball style toy machine hoping to get a toy capsule that you love?

Back in my day, I spent all my money trying for a pink once of these. Buy 'em at HeyYoYo.

Pick a winner.

It's these little works of art we take for granted and overlook. I rank them in the same catergory with the plastic Easter Eggs, the little egg shaped capsules that you see with candy in them! Little plastic works of art!

These available from MeanGlean on Etsy.

Hey Kids!  Look at all the pretty colors!  A great marketing technique to get kids to have to have them!  Who cares what's in them!

I was in shock however to read, that a local company by me produces such Gumball Machine Capsules.  Imagine a real live plastics factory right down the road!

CARDINAL PLASTICS - BALTIMORE

 

  Cardinal Plastics, Inc., founded in 1989, is a full service custom injection molder of thermoplastic materials.  

Just like in the olden days of melmac factories and 1950's plastic production companies, this factory runs 24 hours to keep up with the demands of the market.  They make the same capsules I'm talking about here, to the tune of 

TWO MILLION PER WEEK!

Their products website, (Cardinal Distributing) carries vending machines, capsules and the plastic toys that go in them at wholesale prices. So it seems I can launch my own vending machine business for under $300 (that's buying a machine at $130, and filling it with toy capsules) and start making a killing off selling little toys to kids.    They are located on Erdman Avenue in Baltimore, and their contact number is 1-800-368-2062 just in case you should be doing this yourself. 

I'd love to see those capsules being made!

In the meantime, I'll stick to vintage plastics.