Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Every Toy Has a Story
(Part I)
All memories in life and remembered by positive or negative experiences, and toys are no different. Some memories may be even neutral in sensory perception, but they remain nevertheless. Toys are no different. The toys hat I've bought to photograph and then sell have all been purchased for some reason in mind. Perhaps, I had never seen a toy like that, maybe it was the colour scheme, the tactile feeling of the toy, the unique mechanics, the life memory learnings, and so forth.
Today's instalment have to do with the immediate thoughts and reasons as to why I bought the toys that I'm showing today. So I hope you'll like this blog more for the reading that for the toys, but I'm sure most of you will like both!
I'll also add some "extra chatter", as I like to talk (sometimes!), and so writing is just an extension of talking.
The 1950's Wyandotte WY-651 Pressed Steel Convertible
The Wyandotte convertible came in several models, with this one, a wind-up, being one of them. When I purchased this one about 18 months ago, I bought it low, and sold it for a slight profit. Today, this particular one in such great condition would sell for a lot more. D'ont ask why- I don't know!
What I like about this toy is the features - wind-up, trunk, and the hide-away hard top. Another interesting fact about this toy, is that at least 30% of listings always have the windshield or the trunk missing. Right now, of the few toys that I couldn't sell, I have one that is missing both the trunk lid and the windshield. I would restore this toy, but the problem is that the car colours were lithographed on, rather than being painted. Therefore, the restoration is impossible, because painting this toy would look terrible in relation to the lithography. For those who don;t know, lithography is a type of printing, as for a photo in a magazine.
I'll look for the manufacturer's name and year of production and will add that in the future. I purchased this small set at the local Salvation Army. I purchased it for I think $ 10.00, and I liked the detail of the toys. I spent a lot of time photographing it, because at one time I thought I'd try and sell high-quality toy photos. I'm still working on that, as if you haven't hear that beefore.
The materials are plastic, and of course, the train is electric. It was made in Canada,and is "rareA". However, try as I may, I listed this about 5 times on E-Bay , and never could sell it. I decided to return it to the Salvation Army, where I hope someone purchased it for a needy child.
An Early 1960's Hubley Die Cast P-38
About 9" (L) x 11" (W) x 4" (H)
225mm x 275mm x 102mm
I liked this toy for 3 reasons. One - it's beauty. Two, the ability of the landing gear and tires to close into the underbody, and the spinning propellers, and three - for it's history. This toy was modelled after the Lightening P-38 that saw action in the Pacific fighting the Japanese towards the end of WWII.
A Barclay truck and hauler, with 4 slush cars
I had seen these "cute little guys" many times on E-Bay and had to have them. They are slush toys (made in a mould from liquid molten alloys). The reference in the photo are Canadian pennies (Soon to disappear, as the Canadian government figured it's too costly to produce. So now all of our purchase will be "rounded off". You have to know that that really means "rounding up" to the next whole 5 cent unit, never rounding down, but I digress.
This is a Hubley generator truck.
Circa late 1950's-Early 1960's.
I purchased this Hubley because it reminded me of the real trucks that one would see in the same time period. You hardly see these anymore. I also purchased it for the nice detail in the mechanical generator portion of the toy. It's rarer than other die-cast Hubleys, but doesn't fetch a higher prive necessarily.
A Barclay Slush Policeman and Motorcycle
Circa 1940's
I liked this toy because I hadn't seen that many on E-Bay when I purchased it. What got my attention was the simple but elegant design, especially the mixing spokes on the wheels. The other part of this toy's story was the small crack behind the policeman's boot. The seller didn't notice that, but I did. I notified the seller, and got a small reimbursement. I scrutinize my toy listings very carefully, because I don't want returns. I also am a top-rated seller on E-Bay and a Power Seller ,for having sold about 30-50 toys a month, but I've stopped for now.
A 1930's Barclay (?) Slush Toy
I purchased this toy fior its beauty - elegance in its simplicity.
An Early 1960's Hubley Die Cast (White) aluminum, with Cast Iron Engine (Red).
There are about 3-5 different variations of the Hubley racer, and this is one of them. I liked the simplicity of the design, and the combination of 2 different types of shape and metal production.
A Beautiful 1930's Cast Iron Hubley Racer
Of all my favourite toy classifications, I like the cast iron the best. What I like is the "feel" of the toy in my hands. It's heavy, rough or smooth, and in a way primitive. Tis particular one is rarer, and is a good collector's item or a good bidding item for any seller.
A Smaller-sized Wyandotte Pressed Steel Airplane
I liked this toy for its colours and it's simple design. What I like is the fact that specific cuts needed to be made in the stell before it could be pressed in the form. These cuts allowed the part to bend, without splitting the sheet metal, and that allowed for the form of the plane to be shaped. I also liked the front of the plane, which made it appear as an "ugly duckling" to me.
Assorted Tootsietoys
I had purchased a big lot of these toys, and decided to restore (repaint) the back row. Again, all of these toys never sold., even after having been listing individually and collectively for about 5 listings on E-Bay. In the end, I set the price at a bargain-basement level, and someone purchased the lot. I hope he/she faired better than me.
A Marx or Wyandotte Pressed Steel Racer
Circa LAte 1930's-Early 1940's
Another beautiful play toy whose look speaks for itself!
Another Beautiful Hubley Die Cast Racer (Circa 1950's or Earlier)
The Driver is, I believe Nickel-Plated.
This was a toy that I restored (repainted) myself. It's a lot of work to repaint a toy, and not everyone toy collector likes "repainted or restored" toys. When I started to buy and sell, I thought that I could purchase toys in poor condition at low prices, which I was able to. However, restoring them and reselling then at a big profit, was not to be. I usually had to settle for a "small profit". I haven't purchased a beat-up old toy or restored one in a year!
A Beautiful 1950's - Early 1960's) Hubley Tractor
I liked the features and detail of this die cast and pressed steel toy when I purchased it .Also, it was an actual "play toy" that a child could play with in a sand box. Again, at the time, about 1 1/2 years ago, this type of toy was in demand, and you saw more of them on E-Bay. I bought and sold several of them , and they were good sellers. This one was especially in very good condition!
A Cast Iron A.C.Williams Take-A-Part Car
Circa 1930's
I like the take-a-part concept of this toy. The A.C.Williams company was not as popular as the Arcade and Hubley companies at the time. However, they did make nice cast iron toy cars and trucks. You don't see many on E-Bay or at auctioneers on the Net such as Bertoia.
Die Cast Hubley Airplane
Circa 1950's-1960's
For closing, I chose this Hubley 1950's Navy Plane. I like the memory of this plane that I saw in every WWII American War movie. I also like the toy's features. A plastic canopy, the aluminum propeller, spring foldable landing gear and tires, and of course the folding wings. Hubley probably made hundreds of thousands of these airplanes, but to find one in "excellent shape" or with its original box is rare. Again, about a year ago, these were more common on E-Bay than today.
Below is a link to my toy photos on Picasa (A Google Site)
So that's it for today.
Thanks for dropping by,
and have a great morning, afternoon, or evening
wherever you may be.
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