| History: |
| Kinder Surprise eggs were
first released on the continent in 1972 and then UK in 1974 and are now found in most countries around the world (except the United States, which has banned them for safety reasons). There is no exact figure of how many different toys have been released through the years, as some of the early ones have been lost forever, but there are well over two thousand. |
| Every autumn the toys are changed, and over 100 new toys are released, including character sets. Although some toys are released later in different countrys (such as the Hand Painted ones). |
| There is a German and
an Italian series of toys. The Italian toys are sold all over the world,
German toys are generally sold in Germany. |
| The Italian toys usually have a number on them, such as K99-30, although
this was only started in 1992 (K91 series). All the toys before then would have had either: Castiglioni, Giodi or Pro-Gest or no markings on them. |
| Some older Inslip papers (commonly known as BPZ) are "worth"
more than the toys. |
Design: |
| Each toy can take 2-3 years to be developed and thoroughly tested (not only does the toy need to be safe and fun, it also needs to be desined so that it can be packed into the containers). |
| Two designers Heiri Roth and Uwe Koch have been responsible for most of the designs. Heiri Roth was fascinated about the concept of fitting into an egg a toy much larger than itself. |
| German toys all tend to
have a name associated with them (like most of the Handpainted ones do
elsewhere in the world) but only some have numbers on them. |
| There are 4 main types
of toys in the sets, which are: Handpainted Toys (or MonoBlocks) which are highly sought after, Metal Figures which are also highly sought after in Germany, Puzzles (both plastic and jigsaws) which again are highly sought after in Germany, and finally there are all the other toys. |
Tips: |
| Always keep the paper
inserts from the eggs for your collection. But you don't need to keep
the egg capsules unless the toy needs it in its make-up. Always keep Duplicates
in their shells as this protects them. It may also be an idea to keep
a few of the egg wrappings as if you start trading with people from other
countries, its always nice to throw in a couple. |
| Be aware that some collectors
only collect certain types of toys (HandPainted, Metal). Also some collectors
collect Kinder Surprise packaging, posters and shop displays. |
| If you want to save the box from the Boxes of 3 eggs, the best way to open them is with an iron over the stuck parts for a few seconds until the glue becomes tacky. |
Other Info: |
| What can you do with all
that chocolate? I have found that it works well melted down and poured
over cakes. Or grated and sprinkled on ice cream. |