^ She's such a looker! One of the greatest modern headers, too:

So goofy in the best way.

Fo' Rei.
ぶたのはな Buta ButaNoHana グロン Guron ウルトラマンタロウ "Ultraman Taro" Ultraman Taro Tsuburaya sofubi toys cyclops

Such a nice colorway!

haha, these guys make a perfect pair!

Ilith the ilithiosaur!
Grumble Toy grumbletoy bird birds Canada Canadian

^^ Cool photo!

^ Ooh nice colors on this one!

Apparently my first toy as a kid from the mid 70s.
Meet Lurid Leonard! ( named by my dad! )

^ Beautiful!

That is great Ian! I am so happy you have managed to hold on to him. I have kept a few things that were around with me since my crib days too (thanks to wonderfully understanding parents), but your Leonard is really something. As appealing - or more so - now even. What a great toy, and the memories and importance it holds for you makes it even more special.

A related blast from the past: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=34549
Can you solve the mystery?

Ah yes, I remember that discussion. To answer your question, yes. Leonard does appear to be an 'Ostie'* though I am not sure how he found his way to Ian's playside. There are a few different colours, and sizes, of these fellas. Yellow and pink seem to be the most common, and some have differently styled eyes. The black one is certainly unusual - still - and I wouldn't mind stumbling across one of those myself. I don't really know if these are all made by the same company or have any necessary connection. They were sort of a generic toy in the genre of typical DDR stuff, which I have a special love for, and are mostly unmarked. You can still find them pretty easily, though in various conditions of survival.

Here is another interesting version of one, a sitting/playing version. Not quite as fun maybe as the 'teddy-bear' style, but a very cool and unique idea for a toy.



* not in the Québec sense :.

Thanks for the input all,

I'm lucky my parents liked to hang on to some stuff too!
( sadly my Micronauts, Denys Fisher Cyborg and suit, plus some other amazing childhood toys have gone )

That cat version is great – never seen it before, thanks.
Sure there's a photo of me with Leonard back in the early days somewhere!

I bookmarked this photo online a while back, which shows off a few variations

^ such beautiful colors on these!

A distant uncle. Pun intended.
Buta ButaNoHana ぶたのはな Goruba ゴルバ チビラくん Chibira-Kun Chibirakun Chibira Tsuburaya

Fading light and shiny teeth.
Buta ButaNoHana ぶたのはな ダストマン "Dust Man" Dustman スペクトルマン Spectreman

I really can't get over how much I like that new Gary. I really need to track one of these fellas down. Not only is the blue-green heartmelting for even an old curmudgeon like me, the head frills, his smoothed out creamy chest, that fang-tinged grin, it all just comes together so well. I really think OMB put a lot of excrutiating analysis and thought into the minor changes, and it pays off. A whole new Garamon and a stunner to look at. I keep enjoying this more and more. Thanks for taking so many comprehensive close-up shots David!

And an extra special shout out for the incredible generous soul whose photographomatron bestowment made this all possible.