Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Some Rare and in Excellent Condition Buddy "L" Trucks

Wednesday, August 7, 2013


Some Rare and in Excellent Condition 
Buddy "L" Trucks

   I need to visit James D.Julia more often. I don,t though, as he's not on Liveauctioneers, so I often forget as I'm looking for toys there.  He's an exceptional New England (Maine) auctioneer, and his staff take excellent quality photography. Focus, colour-balance, and best of all - large sized files. Anyway, I just "dropped by and found a small collection of some Buddy "L"  trucks in  exceptional condition  and rare. They were, I'm sure part of one person's collection. The Buddy L's were from June 21, 2013 auction.






I liked the way James D. Julia Inc.  described the Buddy "L" toys like this:
Being somewhat hesitant to use the word "pristine", but this vehicle, as well as several that follow, fall into this category. What's interesting to note is that the "ice blocks" are made of glass, and some of them were in fact described as "chipped". I would assume that plastics and acrylics were not quite perfected back in the 1930's.

To deviate slightly from, but related to today's "substitute" ( I dislike the word "fake") ice cubes, they're made from acrylic. The reason for this is that they don't melt, and they rarely have air bubbles in them. If you go to Calumet Photo, you can see some examples of these ice cubes. Some of the best made ones can easily go for $ 500.00 US for a set. Those are the ones that you see on TV for colas and liquor.

Another interesting fact here is that this truck came with the original tongs, ladder, and hand trolly.


What's interesting to note is that the basic cab is similar on 3 of the trucks  that you see in this post. Also,  the 4 water cans are original, but only one has its original cap.  

 One thing of interest if you've read the descriptions that I copy from auctioneers, is that I rarely include colour. However,in this case, the colours are red, black, and dark green. The green here that I present looks like it has some dark blue in it leaning towards the colour - aquamarine. The problem for accurate colour is that I would need a special step wedge that had both special colours, as well as a grey scale ranging from a pure white to a pure black.

By including this item in the photo, one can then use it in any image-editing software to accurately colour-balance and accurately determine the colours exactly!





"A superlative example about as good as they come. A somewhat deluxe model with stamped steel simulated spoked hubs and rubber tires. When one looks under the truck, they are somewhat shocked by the luster of not only the black paint of the cab but also the deep red paint on the framework and the red of the body. If I could point out one minor drawback, it is the typical problem of all Buddy L vehicles that use die cast gears. Similar in nature to the drive wheels Lionel used on their trains, the pot metal gears or wheels tended to deteriorate with age. Upon close examination, the four gears are basically intact, yet one can see the deterioration, thus rendering the hooks somewhat inoperable. One cannot say enough about this particular vehicle and its condition as well as its desirability. SIZE: 32" l. CONDITION: The only area of true weakness on this vehicle is the 3" steel rod that connected the front leaf springs. More than likely, the child had some sort of metal hook on this bar causing paint loss"*

* Source: James D.Julia - June 21, 2013 Item Auction description 

What's of interest here is to read the information about the gears. Auctioneers that see many toys over a long period of time get to learn about the idiosyncrasies of toys made  such a long time ago, and naturally include this in the item's description.



Notice the painted black-enamel painted metal chains at the back of the truck. Not only did this collector (owner) carefully collect the best that he/she could find, but James D.Julia Inc. shared that bit of information as well.  You don't always see these smaller accessories or details, since the loose items tend to get broken or lost over time.



The red undercarriage that you see on all of these trucks are not the same colour as the reds of the wheels or the bodies of the trucks. You can in fact see that, but in some cases, I got "fancy" with dodging to create a more-stimulating lighting effect on these toys. What's therefore noteworthy is the fact that the Buddy "L" company at the time decided to spend the extra money and time to vary the different shade of hues of red on these toys. The collector collected the best  he/she could find, and these toys still present themselves in their original  majestic beauty as they were some 80  years ago. I don't thing I exaggerated, when I used the word "majestic".

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,
have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be,
Stacey 
(toysearcher@gmail.com)









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