Old Antique Toys: June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery

June 30, 2011

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. However, when it comes to antique and old toys, this is definitely not the case!

This article today has to do with the original Hubley Chrysler Airfoil Cast Iron Car and a fake.

The Chrysler airfoil was a nice car manufactured by Chrysler. However, it never caught on and production stopped after a short time. However, several different toy manufacturers of the time produced toys modelled after the Chrysler model, and today, this car is still in high demand.

What I don't understand about fakes is why produce them in the first place. Exactly how many people out there would buy the real Hubley Airfoil? And, I would probably say that anyone who would spend anywhere form $ 75.00 - $ 250.00 U.S. for one would most likely have done their homework.

I purchased the "fake" knowing it was a fake to specifically see what a fake looks like. Unfortunately, the seller on E-Bay was somewhat "vague" as to the authenticity of the item.

So lets 's take a look at the real Hubley and the "pretender".

The Blue is Real, and the Red is Fake.

1. More detail in the Hubley.

2. Nickel* in the Hubley frame, steel in the fake.

*I'm not 100% that the metal is nickel, so whomever is more knowledgeable,

would you please verify or correct me.

You can definitely see the nice detail in the Blue Hubley!

Again, more detail in the Blue Hubley,

and the smoother detail.

1. The Hubley uses a rubber tire to hold the chassis (undercarriage) to the

car body, while the fake uses a screw.

3. The Hubley has real rubber tires and wood wheels, while

the fake has a metal tire and painted wheel as 1 piece.

Another image of the Real Hubley.

The fake with the single painted wheel (rim) and tire.

Also notice the screw in the spare wheel/tire that holds the

undercarriage to the car body.

So the next time you're on E-Bay or at a local antique market or store

take a good look at the toy and make sure that this is a Hubley!

One more thing: Do a search for "Chrysler Airflow".

The original car was a real beauty in its' time (1934-1938), but unfortunately most people didn't buy it!

To remind everyone, you can click on any image to get a magnified version that presents better detail.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

The Light Table or Slide Viewer

June 26, 2011

Last year, I had started to photograph different vegetables and nature during the summer. However, I lost interest. I was photographing them on what is called a Porta-Trace.

When I was coming home early today from Dunkin Donuts, I noticed that the beautiful flowers from a huge catalpa tree well starting to fall. The catalpa tree usually flowers about 4-6 weeks after our Canadian Maple tree does. That rekindled my interest for today's instalment.

The Porta-Trace is a light table that emits light through an opaque and thick plexiglass surface. When you place a page that you want to copy along with some tracing paper, the light goes through the 2 pages, allowing you to trace the subject.

I had a small one that I used to use for viewing slides, but that became obsolete with the digital camera.
However, it does make a good light source for certain types of professional or even amateur photography.

This image is direclty from Gagne Inc.

They're the Company that makes the Porta-Trace.

Photo Courtesy of Gagne Inc.

I'll be asking them for permission to use their photo!

What makes it great is that it has a 5500 degree colour temperature that is the same as daylight.

It will normally create silhouettes of 3-dimensional objects, but if you have studio lights that are light-balanced for 3200 degree tungsten, you can use a conversion filter.

The conversion filter (in this case a blue one) will change the colour to emit the same daylight 5500 degree light. In this way, you can light from the underneath and from the top.

Don't worry, if this "mumbo-jumbo" sounds complicated. I'll explain it all below.

Here are some maple tree seedlings. Notice that without a top light source, they do more into a silhouette.

In this photo, I used a top light source to give the cherry tomatoes lighting and a small round white spot called a "highlight".

The image above is lit solely with a top studio light that is 3200 degree in colour temperature.

Since my digital camera was set for daylight (5500 degrees), the photo came out reddish!

Now here is the same photo, but this time I added a filter in front of the light source

to change the colour to daylight.

The filter above is called an 85 conversion filter.

It is sometimes called a "gel" as it is made of a soft heat-resistant plastic.

You can usually find this filter at any pro photography store or pro lighting rental store.

If the light source is "orange", then this blue gel adds additional blue to counteract the orange!

The filter is placed in front of the lens (above) just behind those 4 shapes called "barn doors".

http://www.ltmlighting.com/en/projector/pepper_100-43.html

Photo Courtesy of LTM

I'll be asking them for permission to use their photo!

Hubley Kiddie Racer # 5

Tootsietoy Shell Gasoline Truck

More Toorsietoy Vehicles

A couple of Futuristic Tootsietoy Cars

A Hubley Fire Truck

As you can see from the photos above, this lighting technique offers the e-Bay seller or photographer a different way to photograph their items or products.

All of the above toys were repainted by me.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Vintage Old Metal Toy Airplanes

June 24, 2011

Today's entry has to do with most of the airplanes that I've bought and sold.

Initially I started with Hubley, then Wyandotte, then Marx, then Tootsietoy.

Most of the item, you'll have to accept the fact that parts of a plane will be missing its' parts.

The positive aspect of this is that you may be able to purchase the listed item for less.

I usually add missing parts from purchases from Thomas Antique Toys or Classic Tin Toys.

On certain days, you can even purchase parts from other E-Bayers who are not stores.