Tonka Trucks and Trailers from the 50's and 60's

Friday, May 15, 2020
Clouds with Rain
13 C  56 F

Tonka Trucks and Trailers

from the 50's and 60's

The History of Tonka Toiys

from Wikipaedia

"Mound Metalcraft was created in 1946 in Mound, Minnesota, by Lynn Everett Baker (1898–1964), Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. Their original intent was to manufacture garden implements. Their building's former occupant, the Streater Company, had made and patented several toys. E. C. Streater was not interested in the toy business so they approached Mound Metalcraft. The three men at Mound Metalcraft thought they might make a good side line to their other products.

After some modifications to the design by Alvin Tesch and the addition of a new logo created by Erling Eklof, the company began selling metal toys, which soon became the primary business. The logo was based on a University of Minnesota drafting student's sketch by Donald B. Olson, who later became the company's chief industrial engineer. The logo used the Dakota Sioux word tanka, which means "great" or "big". In November, 1955, Mound Metalcraft changed its name to Tonka Toys Incorporated. The logo at this time was an oval, showing the Tonka Toys name in red above waves, presumably honoring nearby Lake Minnetonka. In 1964, Tonka acquired the Mell Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois, allowing it to produce barbecue grills, eventually under the Tonka Firebowl label.

In 1987, Tonka purchased Kenner Parker, including UK toy giant Palitoy, for $555 million, borrowing extensively to fund the acquisition. However, the cost of servicing the debt meant Tonka itself had to find a buyer and it was eventually acquired by Hasbro in 1991.^[6] In 1998, Hasbro began a licensing deal with Funrise Toys to manufacture and distribute Tonka trucks. The deal began with versions of the trucks fitted with electronics for lights and sounds, but grew to encompass the entire brand.

Tonka has produced a variety of toys, including dolls (Star Fairies, Bathing Beauties, Maple Town, and Hollywoods) and other toys aimed at girls like Keypers and aimed at boys like Gobots, Rock Lords, Spiral Zone, and Steel Monsters. It was the original manufacturer of the Pound Puppies toy line, and in the late 1980s licensed products inspired by Maple Town.

Tonka produced video games as Tonka Video Games, including Tonka Raceway, and purchased the rights to distribute and market the Sega Master System after Sega of America stopped competing against the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. However, the Master System's market share declined, since Tonka did not have experience with video games or how to market them. Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights for various properties (including My Little Pony, Magic: The Gathering, Tonka, Playskool, and Transformers) to Infogrames for US$100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for US$66 million in June 2005.

In 2001, Tonka trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York. The Winifred Museum in Winifred, Montana, has a collection of more than 3,000 Tonka toys."

Please click here to redirect to Tonka's history at Wikipaedia

Vintage 1957 Private Label

Tonka United  Van Lines

Semi Truck and Trailer

Length:  23.5" 596 mm

Asking: $ 2,275.00 & $ 63.35 Intertnational Shipping

Tonka Private Label

Stix, Baer & Fuller semi trailer and tractor trailer

Circa: 1962-63

Length: 25" 635mm

Asking Price: US $ 1,195.00 & $ 63.65 Shpping

Vintage Tonka Allied Van Lines

Semi Truck & Trailer

1955:  Dedicated to Cerebral Palsy

Asking Price:  $ 520.00 & $ 63.35 US

The two trucks below are similar in size to the ones that I  mentioned before.

They're  private label, pressed steel toys, circa 1950's 1960's.

I can't believe how time has passed by so fast. 

When I look at dates like the 1950's or 1960's, they are like yesterday to me.

And yet, they're so long ago, since I was born in 1948.

It makes one realize how important it is to take precautions against 

this horrific Covid-19 pandemic!

So please take good care of yourself and your close ones!

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Sometimes I venture into the 1950's

Thursday, August 14, 2014 
                  Cloud and rain

Sometimes I Venture 

into the 1950's

  If you've read enough of my posts, you'll know that my daily schedule is to get up in the morning, go for a coffee and low-fat muffin, walk our dog Buddy, open the computer, check the mail, then start looking for inspiration for the next several posts.

  Yesterday, I was looking on Liveauctioneers, when I saw an eye-catching rubber train from  AmbroseBauerTrains. The Company promotes themselves as "The Nation's Foremost Marketplace of Toy Trains & Toy Train Auctions". If I had the time, AmbroseBauerTrains and the vast archives would keep me busy for the next 20 years writing just about model trains! However, I've learned in my writing a blog, to always look what else an auctioneer might sell, and I've had many pleasant surprises on the AmbroseBauerTrains website finding items that were not train-related.

  I was this beautiful intense orange diesel engine yesterday made by Auburn Rubber. The company had made rubber toys in the 1940's and I discovered them a few years ago on my journey of writing this blog. I even purchased a few Auburn, and other manufacturer's toys to see them "up close". I was amazed at how well made they were, and how thy had lasted for so long. 

Please click here to visit this most fascinating model train auctioneer's website

Of course, whenever an original box, abbreviated "OB" in the description is included, the value of 

any toy escalates.  However, what attracts me to this toy is the ability for the rubber and the mould process to capture small detail. An example (without even enlarging these images) is the windshield wiper blade.

Today rubber toys have mostly been replaced with plastic toys. What I especially like about rubber is how long these toys last. Also, rubber (like plastic) is able to form and contour into small impressions in the mould to which the hot material is poured into.

The wheels are not  that impressive, but they're functional. The toy designers were smart enough to make the sides of the toy low-profile (low to the ground) so that the body covered the black wheels!

Nevertheless, you can see how the Auburn Rubber company was still producing fine toys into the 1950's - a place that I rarely visit, but if I live long enough I will - for my next blog!

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

'wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com