{"id":287,"date":"2012-11-12T02:07:57","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T02:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deadreal.com.au\/dead_things\/?p=287"},"modified":"2020-10-13T11:16:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T00:16:13","slug":"when-ride-on-toys-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deadreal.com.au\/dead_things\/when-ride-on-toys-die\/","title":{"rendered":"When ride-on toys die"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

I love these discards; broken, worn-out, grown-out. Partly it is the cuteness; the chubby bodies, the tiny monster wheels (if that makes sense), the knobbly controls and handles. Cuteness is all about disproportion \u2013 the gangly legs, the over-large eyes \u2013 that somehow confounds our expectations without appearing too disturbing.<\/p>\n

Partly too it is the colours and the fact that they are not just bright but also faded<\/em>, weathered, worn. It\u2019s odd to think of a mass-produced plastic toy having patina, but that\u2019s what it is \u2013 the surface rubbed smooth by too many trips up and down the garden path, the colours washed-out by long days and nights left outdoors to endure the elements (although some of them look as if they have just rolled off the ride-on production line, barely rolled in fact). Abandonment is fundamental to the life of a toy \u2013 as these bears<\/a> can confirm, and this one<\/a>, and this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ride-on toys are like facsimiles of machines, many times removed. There\u2019s just enough of the basic elements remaining \u2013 the wheels and handles etc \u2013 to remind us of a real machine without ever fooling us into thinking that these might actually work as machines.<\/p>\n

Imagine if they did though. Imagine if everybody got around on personalised carriers pimped with bold, primary colours and big wide seats. I reckon there would be fewer road rage incidents. It would hard to take anybody seriously if all our vehicles were made of pink plastic with orange wheels.<\/p>\n

But isn\u2019t that just it though? The extravagance of ride-on design highlights just how dreary most cars look \u2013 grim, dull, unexciting. Grown-up. No room for frivolity or fun \u2013 leave that to the clowns and kids, or the occasional Variety bush bash.<\/p>\n

Thinking about this particular hobby horse, so to speak, brings to mind a faded memory: a deserted beach, racing along on a quad bike \u2013 bright red, big tyres, wide seat \u2013 leaving tracks in the wet sand, a passenger on the pillion leaning in close, being foolish, having fun\u2026<\/p>\n

Ah yes, where was I? I know there are people who will regard these toys as trash \u2013 just cheap plastic, a symptom of a throwaway society. Much better to buy a solid, well-made wooden toy that will last. I know, I\u2019ve trundled down that road myself. Wood has such a lovely warmth to it. Much more sensible. And grown-up.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a beauty about these abandoned toys though, born of an innocence which sees it as perfectly acceptable to love fluoro-coloured tyres and a big red steering wheel, and heightened by the poignancy of being so easily discarded. They are the transient relics of a moment in time that passes almost before anybody can register the pure sensory pleasure of it.<\/p>\n