Thursday, August 21, 2014
Overcast (Cloud) with 40% chance of rain
Overcast (Cloud) with 40% chance of rain
Some Very Fine Cast Iron
Toy Reproductions
I've always wanted to write about Thomas Toys and their reproduction cast iron toys. This week I had contacted several ebay sellers, but I had no luck. One never returned my e-mail, and the other refused. I decided to simply reply on a highly reliable and excellent auction company by the name of Bertoia Auctions. I didn't expect to see many "reproductions", but I was able to actually find two - it's a good start!
If you ever need an old and antique part, Thomas Toys (Thomastoysantiquetoyparts.com) is the place to go. I had contacted Mr.JUlian Thomas a while ago,but he must have been too busy, as he never sent me a current catalogue to which I would write about him and his company. I'll be writing about him probably later this week or next week.
Julian Thomas worked for GM (General Motors) as a model maker for a while, before there was a downturn in the economy in the late 1970's or early 1980's. He decided to go into business for himself, and gas the expression goes - "the rest is history". Thomas Toys is a family run business, and when I was buying toys on ebay, I would buy some "wrecks" to restore. Some if these were missing parts, and so I searched the Net, and found Thomas Toys. I got to speak with Julie Thomas, Julian's daughter, who is a great help when it comes to helping out.
For the company's 25th anniversary, Julian decided to come out with a series of cast iron reproductions to celebrate the quarter century of being in business. He chose many different models to reproduce (Hubley and Arcade) and sold them. What's interesting to see is that Julian embossed "Repro" on the inside frame of the toys, so as to not "confuse" them with authentic and original toys.
Below are the authentic old toys sold by Bertoia Auctions.
Below, once again, is the original old toy sold by Bertoia Auctions.
You can see how the "contemporary" reproduction compare quite well to the "real" and "authentic" toys. Most experts could easily identify the "real" from the reproduction. However, it's great that Julian Thomas stamped "REpo" or "Repro" on the inside of his models.
Both Julian and his company have excellent reputations, but not all sellers are so honest!
Thanks for dropping by to visit,
and as always,
have a great part of the day,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
You can see how the "contemporary" reproduction compare quite well to the "real" and "authentic" toys. Most experts could easily identify the "real" from the reproduction. However, it's great that Julian Thomas stamped "REpo" or "Repro" on the inside of his models.
Both Julian and his company have excellent reputations, but not all sellers are so honest!
Thanks for dropping by to visit,
and as always,
have a great part of the day,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
1 comment:
We were lucky enough to have made friends with J.Thomas, during our auction days & he gifted us with one of his “Car Hauler’s “, loaded with Motel T’s. Great friend, wealth of knowledge and information, always willing to advise as we learned so much from him!
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