A Trio of Heavyweights from opamerica

Monday, November 6, 2016
Clear skies with Sun 
9 Celsius / 48 Fahrenheit

A Trio of Heavyweights from

opamerica

Please click here to visit this exceptional ebay seller

I haven't written about OpAmerica in a while, when I saw a nice image from them on PicClick.

So I decided to venture over to OpAmerica's ebay store and see what was being offered.  Immediately, I saw a very rare  Lockheed Sirius (below), and decided to check for more airplanes. 

I had a "hunch" (feeling) that if I searched by price from high to low, I'd find some interesting items. Sure enough, there were 3 exceptional and rarer airplanes for sale.  And that's how today's post arose.

OpAmerica is an exceptional and highly-successful ebay store. They have an excellent seller reputation, always have  a very fine selection of toys for sale, and of course (my favourite) take excellent-quality photos in conjunction with well-sized files.

I've decided to let the super photos and well-written descriptions speak for themselves as far as today's post goes. 

Hubley Lockheed Sirius Cast Iron Plane Lindy NR-211 

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I am pleased to offer this Antique Hubley Lockheed Sirius Cast Iron Plane.  Following the famous flights of Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Hubley manufactured one of their rarest and most valuable toys in commemoration: the Lockheed Sirius.  Designed by Chief engineer Gerard Vultree, the Lockheed 8 Sirius was based off of Charles's specifications.  Around 3 feet shorter than the Spirit of St. Louis (the plane Lindberg used for his NY-Paris flight),  the Sirius could travel at 185 mph, 52 mph faster than the St. Louis.  

This particular piece features a two-tone black/orange paint job, with "Lindy" embossed on the left wing; "NR-211" embossed on the right wing, as well as "NR-211 Lockheed Sirius" embossed on both sides of the tail.  The front engine is nickel plated with a small attachment for a pull rope, which is not present.  All Parts, wing sections, tires, and pilots are present, making this plane complete minus the original pull rope.

This rare plane is in good condition for its age, showing moderate paint wear and mild oxidation from age/display.  Paint is at about 80%, with the majority of loss being on the wings edges and the underside.  Original tires are present, but they have hardened and are cracked (see pictures).  Propeller moves well.  Remnants of a Hubley decal can be seen on the tail wing.

Measures about 9" L x 10-1/2" W x 4-1/4" H

(228 mm x 268 mm x 106 mm)

Rare 17" WS Hubley Cast Iron Tri-Motor America Plane 

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I am pleased to offer this Antique Hubley Cast Iron Tri-Motor America Plane.  This version of the America was the largest Cast Iron Plane made by Hubley, and features three prop motors that rotate via a spring drive when the toy is pushed across a surface.  There are two visible pilots in the open cockpit, and right behind them across the large single wing panel are raised lettering of "AMERICA" and two circled stars.  There is also a raised star on each side of the tail wing.

This plane is constructed with a cast iron body and cast aluminum motors/propellers.  The two large front wheels are rubber, and look to be reproductions of original Hubley Tires.  There rear small tire has no rubber but still rolls well.  Plane looks to be all original (with exception to the tires).

This antique Hubley America is in good aged condition, showing some moderate shelf wear from display/age.  Moderate paint wear throughout, with some mild oxidation present throughout the areas of paint wear.  Spring drive works rotating the motors as you push the plane, although the props do stick occasionally.  

Measures about 17" Wingspan, about 13" L, and 5-3/4" H 

( 432 mm x 330 mm x 147 mm)

Antique Arcade The Monocoupe Cast Iron Airplane #357

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I am pleased to offer this Antique "The Monocoupe" Cast Iron Airplane #357 made by Arcade.  This great example of early 20ths century cast iron aircraft was made by the famous Arcade Toy Company.  With a black cast body, orange steel wing, and iron wheels/propeller gear; this beauty will stand out in your collection.  "The Monocoupe" is found in raised lettering on each side of the plane.  On the top of the plane you can see the remnants of an Arcade Toy sticker.  The inside of the plane is marked "Arcade 357".

This Monocoupe # 357 is in good antique condition, showing some moderate scratching and paint wear from play and display.  Mild oxidation is present on the iron section of the plane (prop, wheels, etc).  Front wheels spin smoothly when the plane is moved, rear wheel spins with slight resistance on smooth surfaces.  Wing is a little loose

Measures about 9-1/2" L x 10-3/4" Wingspan, x 3-1/2" H

Sometimes you don't have to write much to say a lot, 

and OpAmerica certainly has done that for me today!

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

Look! Up In The Sky!

Thursday, February, 5, 2015
Cloudy and warmer

Look!

Up In The Sky!

   The new season of auctions will soon start again, so I've been perusing through Liveauctioneers, searching for auctioneers and their upcoming auctions. I came across today's post that way, and the Lloyd Ralston Gallery will be having their auction on  February 21, 2015.  For thosewell-know ho don't know, Lloyd Ralston started this fine auction company and was  well known in the auction community,. Sadly, he passed away quite young. Fortunately, his 2 sons continue the tradition, and his fine legacy.

  When I came across the airplane images that you see today, I know immediately that they would "jump off the screen" - a delineation of the old expression- "jump off the page". You don't see multiple toys presented as a single listing often. However sometimes, it's better to sell a grouping rather than one-by-one. Those who are interested will bid,and hopefully for the seller and auctioneer, the final gavel price will be amenable to all. When you have 400+ listings, time is important. The sellers want to finish in good time, and bidders do not want to wait 4-8 hours for a single item.- at least that's how I've felt at an auction.

Please click here to redirect to this fine American auction company

Most of the toys today and tomorrow's post toys span from 1930-1950 in time, and cross over from the cast iron era into the pressed steel era of toy making. When you see a group of one type of toy, the image is much more interesting, and you can appreciate the details of the toy model.

Initially, I wasn't going to add the listing below, because it had a blimp or dirigible ,which really is not an airplane. But I changed my mind. In photographic composition and image content, sometimes adding something "out-tocontext" makes the photo or in this case the 10 images all the more interesting. As you look at the beginning photos, all of a sudden, you are presented with a blimp! 

I also like the 2 accompanying monoplanes.

I just noticed as I was typing, that I erred - I foot to place a slash for the size 4 1/2".

When you see so many toys of the same  type, and that they are all America, you realize just how many toys were made in the "Golden Years" of the industry.  America searched for people to come to Her, and millions and millions of people from around the world took her up on Her offer. You just have to go to Wikipedia and search for the censuses of America from the 1880's - 1950's to realize just how big America grew in population.

With so many people, the American market was enough for most American manufacturers. 

Even today, trying to find American products in Canada can be almost impossible;e. There's just too much red tape to sell here in canada with a mere population of 33, 00,000 people scattered in the second largest country in the world in  land mass.

I was going to write more, and add more detail to the post, and then decided - nah!

Let everyone just look at the fine set of airplanes and relax.

I also was going to make this a post of 20 images,but that would have diluted the overall quality of the airplanes. So tomorrow, I'll add the second instalment of the collection. I purposely selected the word "instalment". It reminded me when I was a kid in elementary school. On sunday,we'd go to the school auditorium, and there would be serial movies of cowboys or space movies such as Buck Rogers.

The Wyandotte Mystery Planes above reminded me of Buck Rogers. The photo reminded me of those "alien invasions" that you'd see when those bad aliens were coming to destroy our planet! Fortunately, today is going to be cloudy, and I won't have to look up in the sky - to check !

Thanks for visiting, and as always

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com