# Were there real metal mechanical toy like in the Zathura movie?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 14, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609 "2005-12-14T17:57:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![j2browning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@j2browning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j2browning)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609/1 "2005-12-14T17:57:32Z")

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They showed a toy with a wind-up key and two rockets that went down separate tracks. The show’s intro sequence set the tone with a silly montage of giant gears and bike chains. But did tin toys with gears/chains ever run races?  
Perhaps with race horses?

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**Author:** ![j2browning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@j2browning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j2browning)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609/2 "2005-12-14T18:00:18Z")

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[http://www.aintitcool.com/image/TinGame.JPG](http://www.aintitcool.com/image/TinGame.JPG)

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609/3 "2005-12-14T18:09:44Z")

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[Here’s a photo of me in the mid-1960s with my mechanical tin train](http://pw1.netcom.com/~heliboy/johnny/johnny1.jpg). By the time I came around most toys were made of plastic, but there were still a few tin ones around.

ISTR a tin roller coaster. I don’t remember if I had one, but I may have. Since it was a ‘table’ type toy, as opposed to the train, which is a stand-alone thing you can play with anywhere, I’d say that there were tin toys that were flat like a board game and probably featured mechanised vehicles that ran on them – possibly a racing pair. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen such toys.

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**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609/4 "2005-12-14T19:04:06Z")

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In the early 1960’s one of my cousins had a wind-up tin toy that had two cars riding on parallel tracks. Gravity did most of the work, as all the wind-up mechanism did was pull them to the top of a hill much the way rollercoasters work.

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**Author:** ![flintlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cc9497/32.png) [@flintlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flintlock)\
**Post date:** [December 16, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-real-metal-mechanical-toy-like-in-the-zathura-movie/335609/5 "2005-12-16T20:01:35Z")

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Here’s an old tin race game with a hand crank.  
Not clear what the insides are like.  
Seems pretty simple, no mention of cards, etc. so it might just be a spectator sport.  
[Neck and Neck](http://www.hannaandme.com/productphotos.cfm?MainCat=25&SubCat=174&Product=1820&Page=4&CFID=27069&CFTOKEN=78443835)