Monday, November 18, 2013
Minic Revisited- Part I
I finished Photoshopping Lloyd RalstonGallery's nice Minic toys earlier in the day. I needed a break, so I went for a snack and decided to see if I could buy a toy. I decided to go to a local toy store and see if I could buy a die cast toy to photograph. I'd like to have manufacturers send me their toys for evaluation and assessment. So I have to start somewhere. I've sent a few requests to manufacturers,but haven't got any replies. So "plan B" was to go to a store, buy a die cast metal toy, photograph it and assess and evaluate. The store that I had in mind moved from one part of a large nearby shopping centre, and my original memory of it wasn't what I expected when I went through the aisles searching for a nice toy to assess. First of all, my the toys (1:43 scale) were plastic, made in China, and cost $ 5.95.
I can't figure out how toys can be made so "inexpensively" (make sure not to use the word "cheap"), ship halfway around the world, and then sell in the store. The store of course has to make a profit, as does the local importer or sales agency for the Chinese manufacturer. These toys looked too "plastic", and the features did not present the parts sharply. I'm assuming that for so low a cost, the quality of the plastic extrusion or mould components just can;t miniaturize the parts to that standard. Or perhaps, you can only do so much with plastic. Of course, I now have to ask myself, what is the difference between resin and plastic? I also looked at the larger scale toys (1:16), but they just didn't present themselves like the very expensive resin "models" or die cast metal models!
So I went to the Target store to see what they sold. They had some Matchbox toys,but they didn't meet my criteria for lots of detail and that metallic finish. Also. I don't think what I'm looking for will be found at the larger department stores such as Target, or our American-owned "The Bay". I've been to a few hobby stores in and around Montreal (where I live), and I've seem the higher-quality "models". For those who don't know, models are more for collectors to place on a mantle for viewing, whereas toys are for playing with.
Returning to the Minic toys, it made me realize what quality and value there was way back then and for most toys up to the early 1950's. Of course, you still can find nice toys, more in the category of models, but you have to pay about $65.00 Canadian plus another 15% in taxes! I originally wrote about Minic toys on December 18 & 19th of 2012. Time certainly goes by fast!
When you visit the Lloyd Ralston Gallery Website, you will only be able to see the toys up to mid-2012. Half of the toy images today were from the Liveauctioneers website, and the photos were of course those of the Ralston Gallery. So you'l be seeing 2 different sizes of photos today.
I plan to make the Minic Revisited Post a 3-part series, with today being pre-war trucks. Tomorrow, will most likely be their pre-war cars. I might even have to add a fourth post, but we'll see.
The sizes weren't presented by the Gallery, but these toys are small! What I particularly like is the artwork on the boxes. Also, many of these toys still work!
The above "Searchlight Lorry" is probably larger than the other toys. Since I don't think that AAA or AA batteries were around before 1940 or slightly later, the toy probably had to use a larger C battery - thus my "educated guess".
It's too bad this brand of toys is no longer around. The owners of the company who had many other companies ( e.g the Hornby trains) got into deep financial problems. As a consequence, the company was liquidated, and sold part by part to many different companies. For those interested in the history of the company, simply type in the words "History of Triang Minic" and you'll find plenty of reference material.
Thanks for dropping by,
and have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be,
Stacey
Feel free to write to me anytime at:
toysearcher@gmail.com
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