MORE than 1,000 toy robots and science fiction-themed toys from the 1920s onwards will go under the hammer in the region next month.
Specialist toy auctioneers Vectis, in Thornaby, Teesside estimates the hoard of toys - which are from a private collector in Yorkshire - will fetch at least £30-40,000.
The pieces are all sci-fi related vehicles and robots, and are being sold in about 350 lots. Auctioneer Andrew Reed estimates that at least half will be bought by overseas collectors.
He said: "We have some tin plate made toys from the US, Japan and China in the 1930s.
"We also have film-related toys including Buck Rogers, Lost in Space, and some from the very original black and white Flash Gordon series.
"Most of them are from the 1950s-1970s when science fiction was really popular, with Forbidden Planet, War of the Worlds, etc, and when the Apollo programme was underway.
"We actually have a miniature of the Apollo moon landing, about 10-11 inches high, with an astronaut.
"The whole collection is really impressive."
The auction takes place on March 15.
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