it was around the late 1970's very early 80's and my parents used to take me to a mall called the Old Mill which I think was in Mountain View. Anyway, there was one little shop in there that used to sell a couple of different critter type of collectibles that I am trying to find more info on today. One was these little bears or koala bears that were maybe 2-3 inches tall and you would pinch their back and it would make their arms spread open. I think these were sold at other shops back in the day and there was probably more than one manufacturer. The other thing I am looking for is probably going to be much more difficult to find info on. Back in the same time someone was making these little furry mice. I believe they were all posed standing vertically on their hind legs like people would stand. I think they were hand made and each one had a theme, one might have been a doctor, another was a baseball player, etc, etc. They were really detailed with little hats, clothing, and accessories. If anything sounds familiar please let me know!

No one expects...the Mouse Inquisition!

i remember the koalas back in the day.

I remember them perfectly. My sister had tons and tons of them. I think probably my dad even sold them like wholesale deals.

Collected both of these. I can't recall names of either, but my mom may. I used to buy the mice from a store where she worked in the 80s. I bet I still have some of both!

Think I found one of the mice! I had piles of them! One of my early collections for sure!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70659255/sa ... ys-vintage

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem ... 0575462636

http://search.rubylane.com/search/,c=Fu ... 20fur.html

The little mouse factory is getting some hits. Hope this helps!

sorry to be all over this thread but you got me on a tear!

http://www.bidstart.com/makethumbdetail ... w=264&mx=Y

This is the Koala I had (my uncle bought it at a tourist shop in Australia) Is this what you mean?

That is what I remember! Hopefully it'll be what Slack means. I'll try to go to my mom's house and look for my sisters collection.

wow! thank you missy!!!!!! Those are the mice! The koala looks pretty much like it as well but I'm guessing there were several manufacturers. I think I had a bunch of different ones like a koala, panda, and others I don't remember. Is there a tag on your guy from AUS? I am just sooo excited you discovered the mice!! I have great memories collecting them as a kid and I wanted to pick one up to put on the shelf. I remember that little bugger holding the corn nut.. I can't believe it... Thanks again missy!!

I vaguely remember the mice, but the koalas..wow. I had a little rubber Godzilla that grasped things like that. You could feel an alligator clip under the rubber.

The Koala pic is not mine (found online, but its identical to the one I had) It seems like you can still readily purchase these from aussie tourist sites. haha. I had koalas, but definitely lots of other "grabber" guys. I actually have a Pee Wee herman now!

We had the koalas over in the UK too...along with a monkey (i had a black one and a brown one). They seemed to get used as promo items...one of the Monkeys for example had a tee on for a car museum we visited.