A Reissue of an Old Post

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A Reissue of an Old Post

Background:

   If you have been following my blog, you will have read a post titled Blogger Miseries. My blog, Google e-mail, and my personal Hotmail e-mail were spammed for thousands of times. I'll let you read my original post, rather than rewrite the same material. 

   I removed 10 posts that were spammed and sent feedback to Blogger, not that they ever read it. You have to consider that Google Blogger probably has 200,000,000 or more blogs. So I don't think Google is going to resolve a problem where about 200 bloggers write for help or complain on the Google Blogger Help Forums.  Google,s main line is that they really can't do much about spam, and people should never open it up if it in your mail.  Also, Google says that if you don;t open up the mail, and trash it, it's harmless.

  However, I feel that Google should and probably can do something, but they don't or do?

  I sent Google feedback and complaints via their send feedback on every Blogger page. As well, I wrote that from then on, I would remove the visibility of every post from then on that was affected by spam. Mysteriously, within 10 days and 10 post removals to draft mode the spam stopped!

  I've retitled the post and removed the original title, lest the spammers find this post again and start the spam cycle all over again. The reason that I was so irritated was the fact that I was working very hard to reach the 200,000 page view milestone (achieved on August 25, 2014). Sadly for me, I did not achieve that number truly, since there was so much spam. Today, I have  221,425 page views as of 17:33 P.M. EST (Canada), so thais is probably an actual 200,000 less the spam.

  I rethought my strategy, and decided to reissue all 10 posts, but edit them as well, and hide the original name, as I mention before. 

  This post received 7,115 page views, but as I mentioned 1000's were probably spam.

Monday, March 19, 2012

(This post originally appeared on the above date)

The new material appears in this colour type.

     Like today, the toy companies would make model toys based on current "real life" cars.  The  actual  Chrysler Airflow was made for a few years, but production stopped since the car was not a success in terms of sales. There were probably 1000x more toy cast iron Chrysler Airflow toys made than the actual real cars. If you search for Chrysler Airflow> on the Net you will see a truely >gem of a car for that era.

I've written about the Hubley model, so for today, I also include that one as a comparison. The Arcade toy shown today measures 4"(L)x 1 1/2"(W)x 1 1/2"(H) or 100mm x 38mm x 38mm. It's just a bit smaller than the Hubley.

The Hubley Airflow

(Length 4 1/2" or 112mm)

A "reproduction"Hubley-style toy car

There are several characteristics to inform you that this is a fake:

1. The surface finish of the car is very course compared to authentic cast iron toys.

Compare the red fake above to the beige one below.

2. The white wheels are metal, whereas the real toys 

have rubber tires  on wood rims or even metal rims.

3. The Hubley had a special patented system of attaching the upper body to the lower chassis. You can see how this was done in the first large image LOOK AT THE LOWER LEFT PHOTO. THe spare tire goes around the rim of the lower  nickel-plated part. This jus how the 2 parts are held together.

With the fake, a screw on the spare tire hold the parts together.

4. The lower chassis part on a real toy was nickel-plated,whereas the fake is

a cheap cast iron casting.

The Hubley Enlarged

The Arcade Chrysler Airflow

The basic Arcade design is similar to the Hubley however the differences are:

 1. More windows on the Arcade

2. Less-sophisticated grillwork on the Arcade

3. Single Fornt Window on the Arcade, whereas the Hubley is split in 2.

4. The rear window on the arcade is one, whereas the Hubley is split in 2.

Of course, there could have been 2 models of the Airflow!

You can see hw many times this toy had been repainted before I finally received it. At the time, I never even thought of restoring it!  Now that I think why (to myself), I realize that I'm I liked the fact that here was a toy that probably was passed from generation to generation for who knows how many years. With character like that, I won't want to alter the toy in any way, and I didn't

Self-evaluation of this almost 2 year old post:

When I look at this post, I realize how much I've changed my writing and my photos. Of course, I don't buy and sell anymore,  but I have 1000's of my own photos that I have not used before.I use many more photos in each post and I write more, although I'm sure a few of you (my readers) think I ramble on or talk too much! 

Also, at the time 2 years ago, I liked to use more dramatic lighting on the toys. whereas today, most of the photos that I use had simpler lighting. As well, I have removed most backgrounds and foundations (what something sits on ), but left a few shadows.

The best judge of this blog would be my readers, so if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear from you. You can write to me at my address below, and I will keep your name confidential.

Thanks for dropping by, and have a 

good morning, afternoon, or evening wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Replacement Parts for a Small Hubley Airflow

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Replacement Parts 

for a Small Hubley Airflow

   The last toy that I purchased was a Hubley cast iron Airflow. The original car was made by Chrysler, but wasn't a success. Production only lasted about 3 years. But it was a beautiful car, and if you do a search through my blog, or go on the Net, you will see just how beautiful this car was.  Ironically, almost every one of the major toy manufacturers of the time (e.g. Hubley, Arcade, Kingsbury for example) made these Airflow toys, and the total number of these toys was probably at least a million or more!. Any one of the Airflow toys is one of my favourites just for its elegant design.

  I ordered replacement parts for this Hubley (5"/125mm in length) since it came with the parts missing.

Part I - The Hubley with missing parts

The toy came with 3 hubs and a few white tires, but I decoded to replace everything.

If I didn't, the combination of old and new would look out of place and irregular.  

However, in the end, I kept one old red wooden hub. I'll explain the reason for that at the end.

The above part is the underneath chassis. It was a patented designed past that allowed the wheels to be attached to it. The attachment of the underside chassis with the frame was quite unique. By attaching the rubber tire to the red wooden hub at the rear of the car (the spare tire), the 2 parts stayed together. You'll be able to better understand and see what I'm talking about with the next sequence of photos.

Part II - The ordered missing parts

The left part of the photo is the back of the car. The 2 rims are loose and can fall off. 

However,when they are attached together into the car, the rear fenders that completely cover the tire hold them in place. The reason the rear tires and hubs can fall off is that the axle is not hammered at either end.

The front axle is id different. It is rounded at one end to keep both hubs and tires on the axle. The reason, is because there axles are exposed, so that unless the ends of the axles are carefully hammered with a ball-head hammer, they can fall off.

I had to carefully drill through the hubs to slightly widen the diameter of the holes through their centres. I then used a small amount of ayer to soften the wood, and carefully moved the wooden hubs along the axle. 

To get the rubber (they might be silicone-rubber combinations) tires on to the  wooden red hubs, I warmed them up slightly and used a mild soap to slip them on the axles. I then carefully fired any excess water so that the ere would not be any dripping. However, the wood hubs are painted quite well, and there wasn't any dripping of paint from the water.

The 2 photos above show you how the 2 pieces of the cast iron car fit together.

Once the rubber tire is placed on the metal "hub) at the back of the car, the 2 parts of the car are firmly attached together. The larger diameter white tire acts like a nut to firmly hold the car together.

The idea is so simple, but unique - hence the patent to Hubley for the idea and design.

For now, I'm leaving the well-aged and scratched and rusted toy "as is". You can see what a beautiful toy this was and still is. Hubley made many different sizes of this car, and they all are great. There was even one with a battery and front headlights. That is one of the more expensive and sought after Chrysler Airflows.

If you look at the last photo, that red hub is the original. I left it there because I didn't want to chase breaking one the the replacement wooden hubs by drilling, and then getting then on to the front axle. As it turned out, the work was much simpler.

Of course, an easier way would have been to simply buy a new front axle altogether. 

But then again, I like a small challenge. What fun would there be if I replaced every part on this 80 year old toy?

Thanks for visiting,

and have a great day, 

wherever you may be,

Stacey

You can contact me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Beautiful Small Hubley Chrysler Airflow

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A Beautiful Small Hubley

Cast Iron Chrysler Airflow

     I've written before about this toy, however, I have a feeling that readers don't go back all the way in this blog, which today has 162 posts. I purchased this Hubley in the last several weeks at a good price, so I thought I'd present it to you.

    This cast iron Hubley is modelled after the Chrysler Airflow that was manufactured from 1937-1939. It's a beautiful car in real life, however it was never purchase in a large-enough volume to keep production going. In 1939, Chrysler stopped production.

Dimensions:

4 1/2" (L) x 2" (W) x 1 7/8" (H) 

114mm x 51mm x 48mm

Weight:

7 ounces or 200 grams

I've presented the underside of this Airflow first in order to explain the unique and patented design of  the toy. If you look at the photo below, notice the spare tire in the back of the car. When you remove that tire from the nickel-plated metal,the car can be taken apart in 2 pieces.

1 part consists of the nickel-plated frame with the axles and tires, and the other part consists of the salmon-coloured chassis. I didn't take the tire off, as it's very old and dry, and wanted to preserve all of the parts "as is" so to speak. However, when I've had this toy at other times, and had to replace the tire, I spent a lot of time just assembling and disassembling the toy. I'm sure children whose parents could afford such a toy, probably purchased 2-3 of these toys in different colours,and children would disassemble and reassemble the cars.

This toy is called a pull toy because a small string was attached to the front of the car through the small hole in the front bumper. A child them would pull the toy around as he walked.

Imagine that! A child playing with a toy by pulling it.

Times certainly have changed!

I have to finish up now, as I have a birthday party for my nephew.

I'd give him this toy,but it has lead paint, and I do';t think a 10 year old would appreciate a toy like this at his age. He spends hours on those Ipods and  computer hand-held devices, so I don't think he'd  be interested in pulling a toy along the sidewalk! Perhaps,when he's a lot older, I'll give him one!

So thanks as always for taking the time to come to my blog.

Also, have a great time of the day, wherever you may be

and enjoy the season whether you're in the northern hemisphere where we'll soon be having summer, or the southern hemisphere, where you'll soon be having winter.

Photographic Lighting for Toys

January 19, 2011 
Blog # 2


I've never created a blog or blogged, so I might as well go all out and add a second article today. It will be all about photographic lighting, although in this blog related to toys.

I taught pro photography for close to 32 years, and the change from film to digital was humongous! I was a purist film person, but now, I would never dream of going back to film. Digital truly is a revolutionary invention that has remarkably changed mankind forever.

If you look closely at the above stagecoach image, you'll see 2 shadows, which are from 2 lights. I use a brand of light called LTM, but even the sun and a reflector will do.

There are usually at least  2 lights used in photography. The main light create the direction from where the light is coming from, and also create 3d (form) or shape (2-D or silhouette).

The fill light adds light into dark area of the photo that the main light does not hit. In doing so, detail is shown in these areas. Don't worry if you're not catching on yet. I  will add much more detail and explanations in the future, so that you will better understand this important topic.

The fill light is positioned high, and can be softened ( with diffusion material), so that its' shadows do not conflict with the shadows of the main light. The fill light is also weaker than the main, so that shadows still exist, but the detail is seem much better.

In the stagecoach image, I've labelled the 2 lights by their shadows, so that you will know that 2 lights were used.

You can see 2 shadows for this item  of a horse and a seated racer called a "sulky". What is important when using multiple lights is to make sure that the fill or any other light (non-main) does not present its' shadow too boldly. The reason for this is that we live on a planet with only 1 light source - the sun, hence, artificial lighting must also follow that course or "rule".

Here's another image below.

The lighting  in these 3 images all are the same. The reason for this is that I sell antique and vintage toys on E-Bay, so it's convenient for me to use the same lighting , which is set up in part of my house.The main light is positioned at about 11:00 o'clock, while the fill light is positioned at about 7:00 o'clock and very high. Positioning the fill light high allows its' shadow to fall behind the subjects and be hidden. This then allows the main light's shadow to be most prominent.

The Search Starts

January, 19,2011

Hello everyone

Welcome to a new blog on antiques. I just retired, and by a chance of luck came upon almost unused (2) sets of Meccano . For those who don't know, these are what are called "erector sets". The old antique sets were made of metal, and the nature of the toys was to construct. They were invented in Great Britain, and geared towards the young, although today, many "young-of-mind" collectors search out these items.  The sets came with various lengths and shapes of metal, various colors, nuts and bolts and small tools to have the pieces join.

You can imagine how elated I was when I came across these sets. Below is the other set.

These 2 sets were produced in the 40's and 50's. Their red and blue piece colours identify them from that era. Anyway, someone found these here in Montreal, I purchased them, and then e-mailed a few people from a Meccano club in England to check out the demand. 1 person eventually bought the item, and it now has come back to reside, actually in Ireland.