A toy robot that lay in a Scots loft for decades and was destined for a charity shop has been sold for £8,400 at auction after being identified as a sought-after Japanese rarity.
We previously told how the Radicon robot featured in the McTear's Antiques & Interiors auction in Glasgow and was expected to fetch up to £10,000. On Friday at 10am, the robot - which was produced in 1957 by Japanese toymaker Masudaya - sold for £8,400. This includes a 24% buyers premium.
It was the first to be produced in a member of the Gang Of Five robots that were only available by special purchase in the late 1950s, giving it heightened status. McTear's specialist, James Spiridion previously said that first edition toys "are becoming more and more collectable" and that they were expecting a "lot of interest from collectors".
The Radicon had previously been a family toy for Lee Garrett, from Edinburgh. She said she and her brother "couldn't believe our ears" when they were told the toy's valuation.
She was cleaning her mother's house when she found the robot that she and her siblings played with as children more than 50 years ago and planned to give to charity.
Ms Garrett said: "The robot had been in the loft for decades and it was only when my brother said he had seen a similar toy online that we decided to take it out of the charity box and look into it a bit more.
"We were hoping the robot may be worth a few pounds but when we heard what it was, and the valuation, we couldn't believe our ears.
"We asked mum what she wanted to do with it and she said that it should be sold and the proceeds split between her five children.
"I would like to think that the lucky new owner may get as much fun playing with the robot as we did when we were kids, although I have a feeling it may be kept well out of reach of sticky fingers."
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