So That's What it Looked Like New!

Monday, February 19, 2018
Overcast with rain
6 C  42.8 F

So That's What 

it Looked Like!

Please click to visit Ron Michaud's ebay website

I decided to visit Mr. Ron Michaud at his ebay store. He's one of the people who have helped me out over the years of my blog. He's always has nice old toys, and in summer, you can tell their his toys from the way he photographs them. He uses his front porch railing to place his toys against his nicely-maintained front garden and lawn.

In winter, I assume, he photographs his toys indoors like the one below. As usual, I whitened the surrounding of the toy to focus more in it. Nevertheless, his photos on a neutral foundation and background are very good. As well, he always presents a lot of photos for each toy that he is selling.

I saw the restored to below, and decided to present it by itself. Ron also happens to have several more restored toys. Even though the toy has been restored, Ron has set a high price for the toy. 

I personally like the restored look, because I try and imagine how a 1930's child might have received this fine toy way back then. Even then , whatever the cost of the toy, it was expensive to buy then,  especially with the Great Depression going on in the world (1929-1941).

Whomever did the restoration did an excellent job, and the toy presents itself very well.

If you visit his ebay store, you'll be able to see other well-done restorations.

Vintage Keystone Packard Sprinkler Tank Truck

Pressed steel with brass radiator cap and rear sprinkler

Circa 1930's

Length: 25"  63.5 cm

So that's it for today's rainy day. 

Of course there is a bright side to today - it's warm and it's not snowing!

Thanks for dropping by,

And have a great day or evening.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Set of 3 Hubley Terraplanes

Friday, January 12, 2018
Overcast and Raining
6 C  42.8 F 

A Set of 3 Hubley Terraplanes

Please click here to visit this fine ebay seller

I was perusing ebay, when I came across some very nice toys. The store on ebay, is Stripe4107, qnd the owner is Mr. Hardy Littleton. Mr Littleton has an excellent collection of merchandise for sale, and his photography is superb. Hardy also happens to have an excellent reputation as a seller on ebay. I found a trio of nice Terraplane cast iron toys in his store, and decided to present them for today's post.

The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan, between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane. They were inexpensive, yet powerful vehicles that were used in both town and country, as both cars and trucks bore the Terraplane name.

HUBLEY 1933 TERRAPLANE YELLOW BLACK ROADSTER  with NICKEL GRILLE

1930'S TERRAPLANE CHROME GRILL ROADSTER 3 7/8" ( 98 mm)  LONG. THIS ROADSTER HAS IT'S ORIGINAL BLACK FENDERS AND A YELLOW BODY .

Rubber tires mounted on wooden rims.

Vintage 1930's Hubley Cast Iron Terraplane Phaeton Car Red & Black

Nice example of a 1930's coupe with a baggage box on the back of the car. I

t features a nickel plated grill.  Rubber tires mounted on wooden rims.

Length:  4 1/2"  115 mm

1930's Patent Pending Hubley Terraplane  Blue & Black Coupe Car

From the 1930's, the patent on the underside of this car saying "patent pending", 

puts this model as one of the earliest of this model .

Rubber tires mounted  on wooden rims

Length:  4"   102 mm

 Thanks for Dropping by,

and as always, have a great day.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Some Beautiful 1930's Coupes from Bertoia Auctions

Friday, August 11, 2017
Clear Skies and very hot & humid
Chance of Thunderstorms
28 C  83 F

Some Beautiful 1930's Coupes

from Bertoia Auctions

     I've been noticing that Bertoia Auctions had changed their written descriptions of their toys. I decided to write to Mr. Michael Bertoia, a partner, and the son of the late founder of Bertoia Auctions, and ask him what had happened. Michael wrote back, and explained to me that there were now 2 types of auctions in 2017. One type  titled "Basics"is an auction that that did not contain much detailed information, such a years and locations.  The more advanced type was titled  Signatures". This one  contains even more written descriptions as the auctions of the past.  I also paid my condolences to Michael on the passing of his uncle, Mr. Rich Bertoia, who worked at Bertoia Auctions, and was a very knowledgeable person about old motorcycle toys. He even had written a book titled  "Antique Motorcycle Toys".

The auction happened to have 3 auction listings, all with very nice car coupes from the 1930's.

Description:

Pair of Marx coupes made of pressed steel 

Length:  8"  203 mm

Battery-operated headlights

Circa: Early 1930's

Set of 3 Plymouth Coupes 

Length:  5" 127 mm

Cast iron with nickel-plated grill and headlights

Have rumble seats

Pair of Champion Couopes with Rumble Seats

Length: 6 1/2" 165 mm

All original cars, except for new tires on the blue coupe

grill is made of nickel-plated cast iron

Circa 1930's.

So that's it for this nice day.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

Toysearcher@gmail.com

Christopher W. Ferrone Helps Out

Sunday April 9, 2017
Partly Sunny
6 C  41 F

 Christopher W. Ferrone Helps Out

    Finally the weather is getting nicer. Up here in Montreal, it was a somewhat average winter. There wasn't as much snow as usual, but in the last several weeks, we had a huge snowfall of  about 17 3/4 inches  (45 cm). And just this week, there was rain all day long for 3 days. Today, it's finally sunny but cool. But this upcoming Monday, it's going to be 20 C (68 F). 

   I received an e-mail from a friend by the name of Christopher W. Ferrone. He's the President of Americoach Systems, Inc. In Chicago (Illinois, USA). When he's not busy managing his company, his hobby is to take old toys and restore them . Sometimes he just restores them without any changes, and sometimes he alters them like the toy that I'm presenting today.

In Christopher's own words

Hi Stacey

here is a new truck and steam shovel I just completed

the truck is a 1930's Wyandotte, and the steam shovel is a 1920's Metal Craft

both were sand blasted and modified

Note the cab of the truck has been extended slightly and a Portal window has been added, check out the vertical exhaust stack from the hood of the truck .

The steam shovel formerly had its own set of wheels, but I thought it would be cool to mount it on the rear for the truck, I fabricated the base mounting system .

Both pieces are base coat metal flake, and clear coat......hardly "period" for the 20's and 30's, but a cool "spin" and a modern look ??

Both of these toys were broken when I got them.  I only buy broken toys, no fun if it is all together ....right ?

again......sorry for the terrible photos......but at least you get to see my kitchen....hahahah!

Thanks for posting all of my work !

I hope you like this toy

thanks

Chris

  When I Wrote this blog 4-5 years ago, I also liked to restore toys, but nowhere near the excellent skills of Christopher. I would remove the old paint, find replacement parts, then re-paint the toy. Christopher, on the other hand is an "artiste". Not only does he restore toys, but he works with broken toys, and even is creative. In the case of today,s toy, it is unique. It's a "creation" from 2 toys put together with Christopher's fantastic abilities. 

   If Christopher hadn't informed me that this toy was a combination of 2 toys, I would have thought that it was an authentic toy from the 1930's, such is the skill of Christopher. I always enjoy receiving

e-mails from Christopher, because Ian always anticipating new "art" from his magnificent abilities.

  His e-mail gave me the impetus (motivation) to write this post and to start writing again.  

 So thanks Christopher for your kind effort to help me out, and I especially liked this most unique toy.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

wherever yo umay be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Reader Asks for Help with a Nice Cor-Cor Train

Friday, February 10, 2017
Sunny and Very Cold
-12 C  10.4 F

A Reader asks for Help with a Cor-Cor Train

Periodically, I get inquiries from readers about what the value of their toys are. And so, that was the case when Debbie Dean write to me about 3 weeks ago. Debbie has a nice Cor-Cor train, but up until today, I couldn't find any results for the value. However, I did find 1 result when I did a Google search  for "Cor-Cor Train". The result was  $ 80.00 US, but the result on iCollector wasn't as nice as Debbie's.

The reason for today's post is to ask you (my readers), if you have one of these 1920's-1930's train sets, and if you might know the value of it. I was surprised at the low value on iCollector because Cor-Cor cars achieve nice dollar values. If you do a search on Bertoia Auctions website, you'll see what I mean.

Below are the nice photos that Debbie Dean sent me. I had to ask Debbie to make the photos larger in size so I could work with them in Photoshop, and present them online. If you ever plan on asking me or anyone on the Net for the value of your toy, a good idea is to also include the sizes of the toys. Also, when sending photos, present nice photos without distractions, and their sizes should be at least 4" x 6" (100 mm x 130 mm) in size @ 300 dpi.

Update:

If you send photos of a toy to me, please give the dimensions (size) to me.

Manufacturers sometimes make toys in different sizes, 

so knowing the exact size of any toy is important

I like how Debbie presented her toys on an almost single coloured carpet. The texture of the carpet also enhances the photo.

So, if anyone out there has one of these nice Cor-Cor train sets, would you be so kind as to send me any information of their value, and I'll pass on the information to Debbie Dean.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Distler Racers

Saturday, January 14, 2017
Clear skies & cold
-12 C  10.4 F

The Distler Racers

Please click here to visit this fine American toy auctioneer

History

"Johann Distler, Nuremberg, Germany, 1895 - 1968. Produced lithographed tin penny toys, comic and erratic action transportation toys. The company "Johann Distler KG" was established in Nürnberg in 1895. Johann started as a penny-toy manufacturer, specialized in lithographed tin toys but his range of products comprised 500 items. In 1917, Distler took on Brown & Mayer as partners. His partners took over when Distler died in 1923. Eventually, in 1935, they sold out to Ernst Volk.

After the Second World War Distler started to produce electric trains and, later, electric toy cars as well. Distler's electric model of the Porsche 356, produced since 1955, was beautifully designed. Distler's also made more simple models, but these were usually sold in department stores. Unfortunately, in the beginning of the 1960s, the company could no longer maintain it's position against the larger brands like the German Marklin, and Trix, and the British Dinky Toys.

The production in Germany was discontinued in 1962. The company was sold to a firm in Belgium (including machines and production rights), where Distler Toys S.A. in Nivelles continued to produce under the Distler brand name until 1968.Distler not only made toys, but also electric shavers." *

*History Courtesy Fabtintoys.com on ebay

Germany, a fabulous oversized tin lithographed racer, striking graphic pipe images 

on sides,bonnet (hood) vents embossed, spare wheel graphics on tail rear, 

seated tin driver, features electric headlights and clockwork (wind-up key) mechanism.

Length:  20"  508 mm

 A bright German-made tin lithographed car with separate side pipes, spare tire 

mounted on side, seated driver, clockwork wind-up by key.

Length:  12 1/2" 318 mm

Circa 1930's

Lithographed tin by Distler of Germany. The design is based on an AUto-Uniobn racer by Bernd Rosemeyer*. Seated driver, clockwork driven by a key wind-up, nice detail to rivet graphics on body.

Length:  13 1/2"  342 mm

Circa: 1930's

*Please click here to visit Wikipedia for a very interesting history of Berndt Rosemeyer

Mermany, lithographed tin, large scale example with separate side pipes, embossed pattern,

seated driver, electric (battery-operated) headlights, clockwork mechanism by wind-up key.

Length:  20 1/2"  520 mm

A well-detailed oversized German-made toy.  

Tin lithographed, with pipes mounted along the sides.

Electric (battery-operated) spot light is hood mounted.

Clockwork mechanism by a wind-up key.

Length:  13"  330 mm

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Pressed Steel Wreckers

Sunday, November 20, 2016
Cloudy with rain
6 Celsius 41 Fahrenheit

Pressed Steel Wreckers

Please click here to visit this outstanding American toy auctioneer

A few days ago, I wrote about cast iron wreckers. While having done a search on Bertoia Auctions website, I had also come across pressed steel wreckers. So today,that's what I'm writing about.

Most of these  1920's - 1930's pressed steel wreckers are relatively large compared to the cast iron toys. The 2 toys at the bottom are from the the 1940's. 

The "real-life" wrecker must have been something very interesting to watch, since so many companies had made their version of a toy wrecker. Also, the wreckers from the 1930's are quite similar in their from part of the truck.