Dinky Toys 107; Austin Mini; Stripey The Magic Mini, Candy & Andy Comic Strip

Candy and Andy are just like any other children, except that they are life-size dolls and live with two panda bears called Mr and Mrs Bearanda. They drive around in a Mini called Stripey. What’s not to like?

This very unusual and mostly forgotten Gerry Anderson project featured in the comic TV Century 21. Gerry wanted to have a different style of comic strip, and so decided to have the characters photographed rather than drawn. Despite its unusual style, and strange characters (with no explanation of why two dolls were living with Mr and Mrs Bearanda, nor why they were pandas, nor whether they were adopted parents, guardians, or captors of the doll children), the Candy and Andy comic (called simply “Candy”) ran for 154 issues as well as many annuals and story books.

This Dinky was sourced from a private collection in July 2020.