Showing posts with label Kansas Toy and Novelty Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas Toy and Novelty Company. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2020

A Reconnect with a Friend from The Netherlands

Friday, April 24, 2020
Sun with Cloud
12 C  54 F


A Reconnect with a Friend
from the Netherlands


If you read my blog regularly, you'll have noticed that I've written 5 instalments about Bill Buttaggi and his fine collection of slush (diecast)  toys. While writing about Bill I found a nice website about slush cars. The author of the website is Mr. Pim Piët. Hmmm! That name certainly sounded familiar but I couldn't figure out how I might have known Mr. Piet. I did a search on my blog, but found nothing, so I decided to search for slush toys. Sure enough, a post came up, and the person about whom I had written was Pim Piët!. I just hadn't place his name In the blog section titled "labels". I've since added Pim's name for that post. That post was written on March 19, 2012.  I couldn't believe it ; that was more than 8 years ago. How the time goes by so fast!
Below is the redirect to that post.




I wrote Pim an e-mail, and he remembered me form that long ago. I was happy to reconnect, and he of course let me have his permission to write about his collection of slush toys, and his narrative.

In Pim's own words

Dear Stacey,

It’s nice that you want to write about my website. As you also should know, is that I have made a book about slush mold cars in 2010. Long before some other collectors did make there book.

I believe that Bill Buttaggi did make a beautiful and great book about the Lincoln White Metal Works and his history. And Rodney Hopson of the Kansas Toy & Novelty Co.Both were inspired by my book of an None-American collector. And I’m glad that they made their books on the subject. Because the cars and items deserve a good research of American history.

In the 90th I found my old Dinky Toys racing cars. The cars I was playing with as a child.Because I’m interesting in toy racing cars, I start looking for other ones. And on a certain moment I found the book of Richard O’Briens: Collecting Toy cars and trucks. In the book I found the photo’s of some racing cars, made of slush mold, which looked very interesting to me.Through the internet I met a guy who was selling some of these cars and I bought my first slush mold car.

Then I discovered the Ebay auction site and start looking for some of these racing toy cars. First only racing cars, which were not so easy to find for a reasonable price.And during this discovering journey, I saw all kind of slush mold cars coming by and got interested in some other models.When I started collecting these toys it was very difficult to get information about it. And even a lot of sellers couldn’t tell me a lot about these cars.

The O’Brien book was the only one that could give me some information. Later I met a few collectors who knew more about it and my collecting was slowly growing. Not only racing cars, but also other cars and items of the slush mold toy industry.

After about ten years of collecting 1998 - 2007, I had a small collecting of cars and because there was no good book about the cars I decided to make one of my own collecting. I start to make photo’s of the cars with a little description and made a small book of the collection, which was nice. (more for myself than to distribute)
My collection was still growing and I search for more information, to describe the cars and where they were coming from. (Who made and designed them?) I also had decided to concentrate my collection on slush mold cars and other items, like ships, planes, coaches etc.

In 2010 I decided to make a real book of the cars and photographed the whole collection and make the book you have the link from. In the book there were the cars and I also make pictures of the bottom of the cars and the wheels. The book I made for the starting collector to recognize the cars and where they were made.This book I offered through Blurb.com and later through Amazon.com.

I believe that Kansas, Lincoln and CAW have made the most beautiful toys and castings. With sometimes beautiful designs: Art Deco/Streamline. What interest me the most about these toys is that it are not real copy of an existing car, but an interpretation or fantasy of a car. That gives them their charm.
Maybe it’s good to know that I’m an artist (painter) www.pmptwork.com.


I’m still collecting cars and my collection exist about 300-400 models. And I should make a new book of the collection if I can find the time.It  has become more and more difficult to get a good original for a reasonable price. But we are still looking for some models…….

Hope this will help you.
If you have more questions, just ask.

I’m looking forwards to your article….

Have a good day,
Best Pim

Below is a screen-capture of an exhibition show that Pim had in 2015


Copyright 2020             Pim Piet
Please do not copy without his written permission


That screen-capture was certainly a long one, but it certainly illustrates 
Pim's talent as an artist in terms how he arranged his collection of toy.

Pim also happens to be a very accomplished artist.
I've added a screen-capture below from an exhibition.
Please go to the link below to see a very nice selection of his part work.



I'll be continuing in the next instalment with Pim
and his exceptional collection of this bygone-era toys.

As always,
thanks for dropping by,
and have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.

And please take very careful care of you and your family.
These are very critical times!

You can always reach me at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman




Thursday, April 23, 2020

Pim Piët Continued

Sunday, April 26, 2020
Sunny with Clouds
1 C 34 F


Pim Piët Continued


One of the sections on Pim's website has to do with restoration.
I screen-captured the image, but it's even better if you go to his website.
You'll be able to read the writing much better. 
Screen-capturing from the Internet diminishes the quality of the images as well.



Copyright 2020                  Pim Pier
Please do not copy without his written permission

Pim is certainly most-skilled in being able to restore these slush toys.

So that's it for today.
Take good care of yourself and your family,
and have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.

I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman




Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Bill Buttaggi's Kansas Toys

Friday, April 24, 2020
Sun with cloudy periods
11 C 52 F


Bill Buttaggi's Kansas Toys

This is the third instalment of Bill Buttaggi's
Kansas toy collection

"Kansas Toy and Novelty" was started in 1923 by Arthus Haynes in Clifton, Kansas.  He believed that it was he who invented the slush cast toy when he accidentally dropped a recently poured mold.
Beginning with toy #8, a coupe, the stock number was cast into the side of the car.  This may have been done so that salesmen could peddle them without needing to carry boxes of catalogs.  All toys had metal wheels and many had a metallic lacquer finish.  Unless there were several parts, bodies were all one color with black painted wheels."*                              
 * Description Courtesy of HobbyDB
There's a website by the name of Blurb, that allows people to write a book and add photographs. Below is the author's Blurb page where you can peruse the book, and purchase a copy from him. His name is Rodney Hopson, and there is a lot of history about the Kansas Toy and Novelty Company there.

Many of the Kansas  Toy and Novelty Company's toys had a lustrous paint added to the toy.
Several examples below illustrate this.

Below is the patent for a slush casting device. A reverse mould was made for the  toy
from a higher-melting point metal. The liquid and molten "slush" metal alloy was poured through the top opening of the casting device. Once the metal cooled down enough, the casting machine would open (the bottom drawing), and the new toy would be removed.  At this stage, the toy was "rough, and would have some additional metal attached to the basic car. This "extra" metal would be cut off, and the remaining surface would be smoothed down with sanding.












You can visit Bill Buttaggi's Blurb Book at the address below:


So this another instalment  of Bill's excellent collection of diecast toys.

Thanks for dropping by,
And, as always, 
have  a great part of the day or night,
Wherever you may be.

I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman