Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Details, Details, Details!
T Reproductions makes 99.99% authentic replicas of original Buddy "L" toys. They either are licensed to do so from whomever owns the Buddy "L" name or plans, or can do so if the company closed down and no one bought the company after. I've never seen one up close,but I would assume T Reproductions have their own decal or identification marks somewhere.
If you examine this photo in the larger size, you will see a fireman at the back of the fire truck. Several things are worth noting. FIrst, many times the original fireman (front or rear) have either been lost or broken,so new replacement are needed. Also, the ladders and ladder supports either go partly missing or the whole set gets lost. Of course, as I've written, there are several fine sellers on E-Bay and the Net that sell replacement parts.
Older and original nickel-plated figures (firemen) or ladders appear to have certain finish probably from age and human oils from the hands that causes them to yellow. Newer replacement are shinier and silver-toned. As well, the new parts may not be nickel-plated.
I was tired yesterday, so I wasn't motivated to post. However, today was different and I came up with the topic for today - details. You have to do a lot of research to know old and antique toys. I'm no expert,so I have to always be researching. Even with catalogues (which I only have 4), I have to look at 4 or more listings of the same item to see what the original item has. So if you want to collect or already are collecting toys, it's important to know what the original toy should have looked like or what parts that it originally came with. So I did a selection today, specifically looking for details that I could have easily missed a year ago, had I not started to write about old and antique toys.
I have to put a big caveat here: As I have never handled or seen most of the toys in "real" and up close, I am writing from all the fantastic photos that I have seen.
T Reproductions makes 99.99% authentic replicas of original Buddy "L" toys. They either are licensed to do so from whomever owns the Buddy "L" name or plans, or can do so if the company closed down and no one bought the company after. I've never seen one up close,but I would assume T Reproductions have their own decal or identification marks somewhere.
These 2 items are Dinky toys. I know for sure that the green coupe is not a Tootsietoy, but the ambulance looks like the Tootsietoy model. The additional grill on both vehicles might fool you.
Again, perhaps Dinky toys have special markings or decals hidden on their undersides which would easily identify the differences between Tootsietoys and Dinky Toys.
Above are 4 Tootsietoy vehicles. Notice how the grillwork and lights of the Tootsietoys are similar to the Dinky Toys. However, from looking at the 2 photos, it appears that the Dinky Toy headlights "stick their necks out more".
The 2 cars above are Wyandottes. I've seen any other toy cars similar to them, but you never know.
They're beautifully crafted, and I always am fascinated how someone could figure out where to make the small cuts in the metal in order to allow a large press to bend and fold the parts.
The long and sleek design, in combination with what appears as exaggerated fenders makes these fine toys from Wyandotte easily recognizable. Also the gauge of the metal is another factor. I have bought and sold a few Wyandotte toys, but not the beauties above.
Here are 2 different items made by 2 different companies. The convertible with the rumble seat is a Hubley, and the road sign is from Arcade. What is interesting to note here is that many smaller and older car or trucks came in sets. These sets would not only have cars or trucks, but they would have accessories such as road signs. Most original cars and trucks that are not in their original boxes will be found at antique shows or garage (yard) sales without the pieces, and most people don;t know they came with them. Naturally,m the sets are much more valuable than the individual parts.
Here are 2 A.C. Williams small cast iron trucks. What's interesting to notice here are the wheels. One truck has what are called disc wheels, while the other had the slats in their wheels. The question here to research is whether both original trucks had one type or both? Both sets of wheels appear to be old and original. Also, the way these toys were made so long ago,they hardy ever broke, unless you dropped them from a high point.
If you are "older" like myself, you'll have remembered who said "very interesting" on a comedy TV show from 1968-1973 (answer at the end of the post). I've seen photos of the plates on top of the stove, and the handle to lift the plates. However, I never saw the smoke stalk that appears in this photo. I'm sure that the smokestack adds additional value to the cast iron stove. I've also seem other photos of pots and pans on the stoves, but can't tell you if these pieces came with the original stove or were sold separately.
Older and original nickel-plated figures (firemen) or ladders appear to have certain finish probably from age and human oils from the hands that causes them to yellow. Newer replacement are shinier and silver-toned. As well, the new parts may not be nickel-plated.
Finally, we have here a nice Arcade Mack Ice Truck. With some models (Arcade made different sizes of ice trucks), the truck usually came with a piece of ice and a pair of nickel-plated tongs. What's of additional interest here is that screw head that is below the drivers elbow. Most of the time, there are no screws in cast iron toys, but here we have one,that I assume holds the driver firmly in place. Was this originally done in the 1920's or 1930's for this Arcade truck, and is the toy more or less valuable because of the screw. Also, is the screw original or a replacement , and is it nickel-plated or a modern-era screw, with different thread pattern?
And you though old and antique toys were simple to get to know?
By the way, the answer to the TV quiz was Arte Johnson on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In circa, 1968-1973. Arte Johnson, I believe played a German WWII soldier or officer and with a German accent would say that after talking to someone!
Very interesting!
Thanks for dropping by,
and as always,
have a great part of the day,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
(toysearcher@gmail.com)
