A Beautiful Toy to Introduce You to an Excellent ebay Seller

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

9° C / 48° F

Clear skies with lots of sun 

Introducing a Fine New Store from ebay

I've be been sending out lots of e-mails in order to find new people and companies

 to write about on my blog. I received a fast reply from a couple who have a nice store 

on ebay. Their names are Doug & Judy.

Their company is called 

PowerCoupleDeals

They have lots of  great toys for sale, and their photos and descriptions are well done.

Please click on this line to visit their nice store

Description:

This is a 1920's Hubley (USA) cast iron futuristic 

closed cabin model # 2241.

 It has  a cast iron body with rubber tires

Length:

7 1/8" long (Approximately 7 1/4" from center tip 

to rear corners where the fender sticks out a little more.

In Metric the lengths are respectively  18.09 cm & 14.415 cm

It's a beautiful car that I don't see too often.

I decided to post this very nice Hubley by itself 

as an introduction to them and their ebay store.

I'll be adding another post in the near future.

So thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great time of the day or night, wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

and I can always be reached at 

toysearcher@gmail.com

Oldtoystores on ebay

Monday, March 5, 2018
Cloudy with snow
4C  39.2F

Please click here to visit this fine ebay merchant

I originally published this article on February 24, 2018. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the owner of Fumby Street Motors wrote back to me, and sent me the excellent article below after the photos from oldtoystoreusa.

I've been writing about scale models lately, as well as revisiting people and companies who have helped me out in the past. So when I returned to oldtoystoreusa on ebay, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were selling fine scale models. 

oldtoystoreusa sells wonderful scale models, and the Fumby models below are quite nice.

The models are 1:15 in scale and come in 3 colours. They are green, yellow, and red. Also, the states in the back can come in the same matching colours or in a variation of black. These models are quite nice, and come with a variety of features, that you can read about  after the photos.

 Fumby Street Motors

1957 White WC-22 Stake Truck

1:15 Scale Model

Limited Edition

Date of Manufacture: 2008

Total Production: 1000

Size:  L x H x W:  19" x 6.5" x 6.5"  

48.3 cm x 16.5 cm x 16.5 cm

Weight:  9 pounds 

4.09 Kg

These models come with working steering,  working doors and handles,

working rear suspension articulation, opening hood with full engine detail,

detailed chassis, and operating rear lift gate. There is also an option to

purchase a wood grain bed veneer for the back chassis bottom.

I wrote to the owner of Fumby Street Motors to inform him that I had posted about his fine model trucks. Mr. Clark Wade wrote back. 

Here's what he had to say:

Hello Stacey,

 

"Thanks for the email and the blog.  Apologies for my tardiness in responding.  Was out of town and since Fumby Street Motors is a one man band, no one was minding the store.  Your blog is impressive and really covers a range of subjects.

 

I've attached images of an article that appeared in last November's Toy Trucker & Contractor.  It pretty well covers the Fumby Street story.  My orginal intent was to do a toy truck in the Smith-Miller vein of a truck brand that had not been done before.  Crown Premiums talked me into more detail and I'm glad of it.

 

I have done a number of custom units (as have others) and I enjoy doing them, but I am really slow.  All the trucks came to me fully assembled in the stake bed configuration.  Fortunately I chose the 10 wheel type as it is easier to make a 6 wheel type out of it, than the other way around.  Even though they are fully assembled, I spend about an hour on each one correcting some manufacturing irregularities.

 

I have sold a few in Canada, but these days it costs almost $50 in shipping and I haven't found any way around it.

 

Hope this answers your questions and thanks for the plug."

Clark Wade also sent me an excellent article (below) about the manufacturing of his 

Fumby trucks. Toy Trucker and Contractor certainly did a fine job in interviewing Clark.

You might want to read the article as it is very interesting, and who would know just how much time and effort goes into creating, designing, and producing a nice model

There certainly is a lot of preparation and detail that went into the making of 

these fine Fumby trucks. The photo of Clark Wade with the 

1957 prototype of his 1957 WC-22 stake truck illustrates just how large the model is.

There certainly is a lot  of time and revisions that go into the making of a model.

The photo in the bottom left corner illustrates the many 

different models that Clark's company produces.

For myself, I enjoyed reading about the Fumby Street Motors company,

and I hope you liked the article also.

Thanks for dropping by,

And have a great part of the day or night.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Very Rare Dinky Toys

Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Partly Sunny with Clouds
9 Celsius / 48 Fahrenheit

Some Rare Dinky Toys 

Please click here to visit this fine store on ebay

I've been searching for Dinky toys lately, and came across the ebay store of Mr. Ali Modiri.

He's been selling many Dinky Toys  on  ebay but I didn't  pay attention to his asking prices. 

On the last set of downloads from  ebay I saw the price of one of this toys and was amazed. 

I then decided to check all of the prices and was even  further amazed. The toys on this pay are selling in the hundreds of dollars, while the immediate one below is an exceptionally rare Dinky Toy. The asking price is  $ 3750.00 USD or a best price. 

I do remember when I started to write this blog, that I met an avid collector of Dinky Toys. At the time, he had a garage full these wonderful toys, and in fact several of them were in the hundred's of dollars. I hadn't realized that Dinky Toys could yield such prices.  The person who had that collection was a very knowledgeable collector who had collected for many, many years.

Collectibles are items that people collect, and if there is a demand for them, someone is going to pay the asking price. Even now, Mattel's Hot Wheels are yielding high prices, especially when the original packaging is intact and in excellent condition.

I especially like how Ali takes lots of excellent photos for each of his  ebay listings.

Not only that but the image sizes are great to work with, when I whiten up the foundation and background.

You can clearly see that not all of the Dinky Toys presented today are very old. What's interesting is that some of the later year models in fact are extremely rare and the asking prices are quite high.

The early year models are 2-digit number, while later models are 3-digit.  I don't have any information as to the year of production or circulation of these toys.

So the next time you're at a garage sale, take the time to search for toys. 

You never know what will turn up. And get there early, because the people who do buy and sell

toys do know what they're looking for!

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

Mr. Frederick Pals Revisited

Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Cloudy with Rain
23 Celsius  74 Fahrenheit

Mr. Frederick Pals

(ebay store-historical-cars-and-toys-by-freek2012)

Please visit this exceptional ebay seller

    I've been returning to my old posts and checking to see whom I have written about in the past. I haven't catalogued the individuals, companies, and museums who have helped me out, so it't hard to find people or companies from the past. I forgot about Mr. Frederick Pals, but I certainly knew about his fine ebay store, so when I wrote for permission, having mentioned to  Frederick that I had written about him before, hue remembered me, and granted me permission again.

   Frederick always has a marvellous collection of toys for sale in his ebay store, and this time was no exception. But it's his descriptions and photos that are well done. He usually uses a book of toys behind the toy that he is presenting, and the book usually has a photo of the rare toys that he has up for auction in. But  just when I thought that Frederick couldn't improve on his excellent ebay store, I was wrong. He had started to use an ebay company called inkfrog. Inkfrog is a website that redirects ebay viewers to their website.The website then allows you to look at large-sized photos for your convenience and details. With Frederick having an excellent reputation on ebay, and taking excellent photos, the use of  inkfrog has taken him one step better than what he had before for his  

 ebay store.

Below:

A screen-capture of a "typical" introductory photo of a Frederick Pals toy car.

The book is used to illustrate the authenticity and rarity of his rarer toys.

Above:

A screen-capture of an ink frog page. When you click on the larger single photo, the screen changes to an even larger photo with arrows.The arrows allow you to go backwards to view a previous photo, or forwards to see the next photo. These photos are very large, and allow you, the potential client, to view lots of detail of the toy.

Antique Tin Toy, Burnett Wells London Coupe Tco London England

Length x Width:    6 3/4 " x  2 3/4"  175 mm x 71 mm

Above are images that Frederick took for  both  ebay and  ink frog. I made them this size, but if you double-click on the photo, you will be able to see it much larger.

A screen-capture of another toy presented on ink frog.

The photos were under-exposed, but you could see quite well the details of the toy on  ink frog.

All I did below was a minor exposure correction, and changing the grey background to white.

Antique Tin Toy, Pre War (WWII) SF Paris Race Car France Rossignol

Formula 1, Very Rare.

Length: 8 3/4"  222 mm

 It's a real pleasure when I can screen-capture photos, and only have to very slightly improve upon them in Photoshop. This saves me a lot of time, and I use the time more to appreciate Frederick's fine toys, than to write the post!

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

A Beautiful Kingsbury Trolley

Saturday, December 28,  2013
                (Very Mild and Cloudy)

A Beautiful Kingsbury Trolley

   In 1955, our family moved to a part of Montreal called Outremont. We had outgrown our previous triplex apartment unit,and so we moved. About 1956-58, the City of Montreal decided to retire their streetcars, as we called them here,and modernize to busses. I remember vaguely that the streetcars were made of wood and of course steel, rode on steel tracks,and got their power from overhead electrical lines. When I was in San francisco many years later with my wife Heidi, we rode the trolley and it was a great experience. Of course, with Montreal winters, that experience would have been much different!

   So when I saw the Kingsbury trolley, I know immediately that I would have to post it for today. I have the pleasure and permission to use the exceptional "discoveries" that I always find on Opamerica's ebay store site. They have an excellent sales record and reputation, and  have a broad range of toys in terms of people's interests and budgets. And as a blogger, I like them because they take great photos, and I donlt have to improve them very much.

Please click here to visit Opamerica's wonderful store

Fantastic photo - my favourite.

For those who don't know, I'm also a pro photographer.

I like that slightly-compressed foreground to background view.

 That round shape between the wheels on the left of the bus is the Kingsbury 

wind-up mechanism.  All of the moving Kingsbury toys appear to have this unique mechanism.

The painted blue tires is a small detail,but certainly caught my attention.

And the tires that are still intact after so many years!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday, 

and having a good rest from the day-to-day 

hectic regiment of work.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Come Fly With Me.....

Friday, December 27, 2013
                    (Mild and overcast)

Come Fly With Me.....

    I remember the American Airline motto and song that always appeared on Tv in the 1960's-70's when we used to watch American NFL Football every sunday.  As usual, I was browsing through ebay's website, when I came across this beautiful orange and blue toy. It's a 1941 pull toy from 1941.  Being a toy having been produced during WWII, I would presume that it was purposely made from wood,as metal was in short supply and was being used for the war effort.

    I was fortunate enough to find this toy at Randy's Toy Shop, a fine seller with whom I have the pleasure and permission to use his great selection of toys, and excellent (as usual) photography.  With the photographs, you can see the ingenuity as to how the propellers work. 

Please click here to visit's always interesting e-bay store

   The above low-camera angle photo is excellent in terms of the way it adds a sense of "majesty" to the toy, as well as illustrating exactly how the propellers work.  Metallic coiled spring wires are attached to the axles on the inside of the wheels. As the toy is pulled along by a string (missing), the wire turns two axles inside both wings. Those axles  are connected to directly to the propellers.

There's another photo (above) to illustrate  how the propellers rotate - ingenious!

The design graphics are great! 

What I also like is the ingenuity of the rear support for the airplane - a bent wire.

I like old-style fonts, and the Fisher-Price logo is just that - circa 1941!

Another great photograph with a wide-angle effect.

What's interesting is the fact that the wood is so coarse, and wasn't planed and sanded smooth.

I wonder of that had to do with the conservation of electricity during WWII times, or just was made like that for a "folk-art" effect?

As usual, Randy presented a most -interesting toy with great photography.

What more could we ask for?

Thanks for stopping by,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

 toysearcher@gmail.com

More Exceptional Photos From a Fine Dutch Toy Seller

Saturday, December 20, 2013

More Exceptional Photos

from a Fine Dutch Toy Seller

  If you're reading this earlier than the date that I meant the post to be read, do not worry. Google Blogger has no way to delay posts. I have to wait until Saturday to post. However, if I'm busy on that day, I can't do anything else- so I post earlier in the week,when I have to. This past wednesday, I introduced Mr. Frederick Pals and his Dutch ebay store historical_cars_and_toys-byfreek2012. On that post, I decided to have some fun with Photoshop and adjust the background of the toy photos. 

  Frederick uses books about antique toys for his backgrounds, which is sort of a "trademark": way of identifying his ebay listings. If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll already know that I like to remove backgrounds and foundations (what an item is resting on),and present the item solely against white. However,with Frederick's toys, I decided to keep the background and foundation, but remove the colour. It's not difficult to do and I do that with Photoshop.

Please click here to visit Frederick's fine store

The front view of the car illustrates how the background and foundation appear 

when the colour is removed.

With the above photo, I removed everything but the shadow.

If's amazing what you can do in Photoshop, but I don't want to overdo the effect,

otherwise the effects will overshadow the outstanding toys.

I like how the colour of the Wells truck and wagon contrast

 with the black and white of the rest of the photo. 

The SFC bus wokred well with the Photoshop photo adjustment. I think this toy is smaller than the Wells, so when Frederick framed the photo tightly to enlarge the size of the truck, the book in the back became smaller. Wide-angle lens have this effect. As such, there is a better sense of depth in this photo.

It takes a lot more work to create this effect in Photoshop. However, I'm sure some of you are wondering why I would do this. 

Here's the answer. 

If you search out other toy blogs, there aren't that many very good ones. Also, if you check many blogs, you'll see that many writers stop after a while, or simple post once a week.  I'm trying to create an excellent blog, but I'm having a problem promoting the blog to attract more viewers. So what I do to "plod on", is to try and motivate myself by continuing to search out great sellers, and try to improve the presentation. 

I have increased readership to about 1000 page views every 3- 3 1/2 days. However, Google Blogger let's in referrer spam and sometimes they spam my blog 75 times a day,  and Google does absolutely nothing to stop this. It can be very discouraging sometimes.It's not that easy, and I've stopped a few times in the 2 years or more since I started.   I'll keep writing and see what happens in the  near future. 

So to everyone who has ever visited my blog, I would like to thank you, and if you have friends who might be interested,by all means, please send them here. And, as I have mentioned in the past, if you have ideas as as to what you'd like me to write, or if you'd like to be on my blog, please write.

So to all of my viewers- old and new,

thanks for dropping by.

And wherever you are,

have a great part of the day or night.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com