WITH the current popularity of films such as Star Trek and Star Wars, and other science fiction blockbusters, it's hardly surprising there is a revived interest in toy robots.

The robot is a comparatively modem toy.

The word is thought to be derived from a Czechoslovakian word, robota, meaning work, and it was first used as far as I can tell in the mid 20th century, in a play called RUR by Karel Capek.

The word was popularised in the mid 50s by a film called The Forbidden Planet, which featured a character called Robbie the Robot and later, other movies such as The Day the Earth Stood Still further popularised the advance of the robot.

Toy manufacturers in the 1950s and of course since, have been keen to cash in on this robotic popularity, and the first examples to hit the toy shops in the late 50s and early 60s were made in Japan.

Surviving examples in good condition can fetch anything from £200 to £1,000, such is the demand among keen collectors.

There are half a dozen manufacturing names to look out for, Colon, Nomura, Yoshia, Horikawa, Alps, Yonezawa and Marx.

These are manufacturers which have a strong collecting following and thus their products attract premium prices.

A maker's name is much more significant than a toy simply saying "Made in China" or "Made in Hong Kong".

Robots can be powered by batteries, or by mechanical friction devices.

The more functions a robot can do the better. While some robots merely shuffle forward, others can do turning movements, wave their arms, make noises, flash lights or even fire sparks.

Robots made of tin plate are most desirable, especially if in good condition, though there is some demand now for the early plastic robots dating from the 1970s and 1980s.

These often turn up at car boot sales for just a pound or two, but serious collectors will pay £20 to £40 each for certain examples so they are certainly worth looking out for. Condition is very important with toy robots for their very nature ensured they were a toy that was played with frequently and suffered a certain amount of surface damage, crashing into the furniture or falling off the table! Collectors really seek near mint condition examples, preferably still with their original box, before they will pay out hundreds of pounds. But some of these early robots do still crop up in attic clearouts, so it's worth keeping a look out.