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In this interview, Vintage Cars Slot author Philip Lespinay talks about his collection of automotive toys in Japanese tinplate He discusses manufacturers such as Marusan, Bandai, and the Alps, and how to export these toys Tin gave a boost to the economy of Japan post World war from Lespinay is accessible via its website.
I used to have a huge collection of diecast scale 1 43rd Dinky Toys, Corgi Toys and things like that I had until it got to the point where the collection was interesting to me In 1990 , I sold it all to a collector based in Los Angeles Dinky toys with the money, my wife and I decided to start investing in tinplate toys I bought a lot of them, sold some, and continued to improve over the past 20 years we have built an important collection.
Most of the pieces in the collection are of tin toys made in Japan Some were made in Germany and in France a few Hardly any of them were made in the United States where Tonka, Smith-Miller and others companies have made casting toys under heavier pressure or pressed steel US toys were rather plain looking, but the Japanese have a completely different direction toys had all the accessories of the real car, and they had the air so that's what we decided we collect a lot of research and chose we wanted.
In general, 99 percent of all Japanese toys are undesirable, but those who aren t are very rare and expensive We were lucky to get what we have without paying too Like all collectibles in the 70s, 80, and 90, some have gone and some crashes and the economy at different points that we really did not want t care because they were already paid for by the sale of toys Diecast We liked them and collected.
Collectors Weekly When the Japanese began to produce tin toys.
Lespinay Industry of Japanese tin-toy began in the 1880s with cheap copies of European toys, primarily German at that time, Germany absolutely dominated the world of toys Japanese began making rudimentary models of ships of the Russian-Japanese war, more novelty items in 1905, they made models of the first automobiles and lithographed folded sheet steel hand in 1914, they tripled their exports of This trend continued in 1930, and the quality of their toys really improved while German toys declined.
The power friction ATC 1958 Buick measures 14 inches long, involved lots of chrome, and came even more colors than those presented here.
The US was producing large, heavy, pressed metal toys, most commercial vehicles, they started making toys gross motor cast iron after World War Between the wars and during the Great Depression, the industry US toy was squeezed by costs and lower retail prices for models 5 and 10 cents produced by TootsieToy dominated the market at that time.
In 1939, some Japanese companies like CK or Kuramochi Co produced great and wonderful models of American cars such as Graham-Paige, Packard, Buick, Chrysler and Plymouth simple but efficient engines powered watch these toys electric lights, although they had them in three sizes, from four to 12 inches, and they're now in demand.
Collectors Weekly Do you have two Japanese tinplate before and after World War II.
Yes Lespinay In fact, we started with the collection of tin toys from Germany before 1914 and German toys before 1939 and the postwar toys Initially, we had a lot of pre-1914 classic toys by Märklin and Carette We had large limousines, boats and things like that, but we quickly realized that the people who collect these things were dying elderly and values were down instead of so up we sold it all.
Then we focused on the postwar American car manufactured in Japan or German car made in Germany, because we thought they to become future classics between 1950 and the early 60s, automotive technology and beauty peaked, but in toys, things went downhill as the tin has been replaced by plastic.
Collectors Weekly How the Japanese toy industry get back on its feet after World War II.
Lespinay The US military put the Japanese toy industry back in business The Japanese had no money and could not afford toys, therefore a huge toy export industry was established They revived some of companies before the war and created new industry workforce was mainly composed of women, who gathered pieces at home and took them to the final assembly at a local factory.
A good example of this model was Marusan Company Ltd. In 1952, it produced one of the most beautiful cars ever made toys, the 1951 Cadillac, in different versions and colors was made of something like 175 pieces Each piece of real car is on the toy dimensions are slightly different from the real car and more like toys, but they look wonderful toy is about 12 inches long are powered by some friction, some electrical sensors He was a great seller, so this toy even comes auction all the time it was a good starting point for Japanese industry.
German toymaker Schuco made the bear mechanical stuffed in the 1920s, but after the war, they have gained a reputation for their tin cars.
Marusan product all kinds of toys Today they are plastic Godzilla monsters and robot toys They're one of the few first Japanese toy companies survive today, many other briefly hit the jackpot, but didn t last Marusan continued their production Cadillacs and started making Chevrolets and other cars Although their latest toys were very good and are appreciated by collectors, they never quite reached the level of this first Cadillac.
Yonezawa, another large company in the 1950s, has produced thousands of toys, including Cadillacs powered friction that are up to 18 inches long They have a classic 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood, a four-door sedan.
They pressed the body in one piece with a separate roof, with windows celluloid front and rear, they rarely made toys with side windows, and then the stamped metal parts to the part of barrier WINDSCREENS, rear window frame, side trim, door handles and the bottom plate on the side of the car, they're not models, and they are not re toys because they're too nice they sold thousands of these toys, but many adults purchase for themselves.
Collectors Weekly What are your favorite pieces from this period.
Lespinay I have an incredible example of Marusan toy that I bought from a 92-year-old woman there about two years in 1958 Marusan is a Ford Fairlane two-door model is so a hybrid of 56 and 57 Fairlane in three versions cream and blue two tone, cream and yellow, cream and red is about 14 inches long, and it is stamped metal handcrafted and painted or plated nickel.
The woman bought a 57 Ford Fairlane true when she was much younger One day she found a model of his car and bought even as she made the toy on the shelf in his house and never touched it eventually put it on eBay, thinking she might get a few hundred dollars she paid for 4 new, and sold it to me for 4400 it was a third of the standard value of this toy auction previous, so it was a real bargain.
I have quite a few toys in my collection that came from people who in good Much of my prewar TootsieToy Lasalles of diecast collection and Grahams had someone not too far from me in Huntington Beach, California This guy is 90 years old, and he and his brother bought a lot of toys when they were children in the 1930s, they had lead soldiers, TootsieToy cars, and a huge collection of various other toys in perfect condition.
Collectors Weekly Do you think the children were budding collectors.
Lespinay It was very unusual for children to be buying toys just to recover during the depression era these toys cost 10 cents, while they played with, but these toys are absolutely mint for some reason, in 1939 they were wrapped in paper, put in shoeboxes, and never saw the light of day until 2008.
In 1957, a Lincoln Continental Linemar Marx could be taken for 2 to Woolworth It featured 63 games, set up by Japanese women on an assembly line.
I bought a lot of them direct from auction after I contacted the son of the man I ended up helping to identify a large number of parts, so he sold me a lot of them at a good price for us both in his collection of TootsieToys, we found a few colors that I never knew.
One of the few tin before World War toys we have is a Carette limo Around 1910, Carette made a series limousines in three sizes, each with a small driver They range from tin lithographed cars with wheels rubber for vehicles completely painted heavy metal hand made many CARETTE variations on a wide range of prices.
One of my favorite is a gray limousine Carettes medium with a tin driver behind the wheel and a tin lady riding in the back, it was very dusty but in good condition when I was cleaning the cabin, j 'I found a small, three--By letter three inches in the back seat it was addressed to Father Christmas and had a stamp canceled three or five hundred on it a little girl had written the letter in pencil asking Santa for the car toy, she d seen in a toy store window.
Collectors Weekly What was the industry of tin-toy like after the war.
Lespinay As in Japan, toys also became a big export industry in Germany The US military put the prewar companies like TippCo, Distler and Märklin back in business The US is the largest market for German and Japanese toys.
In the mid 1950s, both German and Japanese economies recovered from the war, they began to make models of domestic cars to use in their own country, the Germans began to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche while the Japanese began to Toyota and Nissan.
The Toyopet Crown Bandai established as automotive toy manufacturer postwar, Japanese tinplate.
It is very difficult to find in tin toys of Japanese cars in many cases, they're more expensive than the big American cars they did to export Japanese cars aren t always interesting or detailed, but they re still sought.
ATC Asahi made a nice 14-inch 1962 Chrysler Imperial in black, red and long royal blue black and red are much rarer than blue, but they're all expensive a new record of 28,500 was reached on this car mint particular in its original box there less than a year in an auction online, I think online Sotheby sold one in the 1990s to 25,000 many of these toys sold $ 15 000 to 25 000 over the last 20 years.
I had two of the blue I was paying for a 5000 and 6500 for the other is powered by friction, so it has a kind of inside flywheel system, you speed up the wheels on the ground, drop -The, and go.
It is very detailed There is no doubt that he is an Imperial 62, although the proportions are incorrect in the 1950s or even before the war in the 1930s, the automobile magazine advertising has never used photos ; he always drawings or paintings of elongated cars they had exaggerated forms, more Hoods It is the look that the Japanese copied to their toys.
Collectors Weekly were also exaggerated colors.
Lespinay some extent, for example, this beautiful 1951 Cadillac Marusan was also made in white, black, red and gold The Japanese took the idea of that color film Judy Holliday The Solid Gold Cadillac; they sold a good number of gold Cadillacs for kids Most people have been played with and destroyed, so they're hard to find.
Much gray Cadillacs survived because adults have purchased another rare variation is the power, which is pale yellow with a green roof The car had electric lights, front and rear, with batteries under the chassis There Version of its cable remote control, and a free version duration.
Marusan also made a 54 Chevy Bel Air powered friction in two colors gray body with a black roof and a red body with an orange roof, these cars are relatively common because they were very popular You can often find them on eBay, but the electric version, the battery version, is very rare it sells easily five times the price of a friction version in the same state.
This vintage Distler Porsche was done in Germany after the war Today, Distler toys are produced in China.
Things began to change in the 1950s injection molded clear plastic replaced celluloid the stamped windshields and rear windows s plastic was introduced to these cars the steering wheels were more tinplate In 1963, the Japanese and the Germans had difficulty selling tin as plastic toys resumed So the Japanese have begun to replace, for example, tin hubcaps on their wheels with chrome plastic with it all the charm and the value went the sophisticated collector has no interest in these toys.
The last major tinplate toys were made around 1963 is also when the biggest were made Bandai, which began in the early 50s and is still one of the largest toy companies in the world, has some very large 1963 Cadillacs They made four-door sedan or convertible, possibly to add functions such as hoods that opened or a key on the dashboard fuel a kind of mechanism Those who became more like toys rather than half of models they were before because they were directed to children, they are not as popular with collectors.
Weekly collectors who were some of the other manufacturers, and next to Bandai Marusan.
Lespinay At that time, Yonezawa was also in the company, they made the biggest car toys, including a 22 inches long, 62 Cadillac Although these cars have a tin body, they have less detail that small cars.
Collectors generally that want tinplate cars that are at least 12 inches long, but they do not want the biggest I have some great, and I love them, but they're not as detailed Most of Japanese production was smaller scale, about eight inches long or so there are zillions of those on the market.
A company called Japan Alps, now electronic printers for computers, is a toy company in 50 years have made a series of long 15 inch Packard automobiles Some of these models have a small tin driver at the wheel They also sold a non-luxury version at a lower price then they had a version with more details the center line and color.
in the box on eBay for 17,000 I still was bidding to 12,000 a year and a half, someone sold a mint Packard Alps; that's how I wanted it was an exceptional toy Most toys sold on eBay are in the 20-to-30 range, although some go for between 150 and 200 In fact, I did buy a large Cadillac the other day for 2500 because it was an exceptionally rare and new color in the box, I'm not made of money, but I needed that car, because it is better than the one I had Sá constant updating of the collection that's what we do.
Collectors Weekly there were designers toys known tinplate.
Lespinay On my website you can read about Matsuzo Kosuge Japan He was a master stamping thin metal into shapes and making body in one piece, without dividing the actual sheet.
A manufacturer of Japanese prewar tinplate toys was remarkable CK or Kuramochi Co who made American car models as seen Graham-Paige here, Packard, Buick, Plymouth and Chrysler.
Before the war, he designed beautiful models of American cars from manufacturers such as Packard, Graham-Paige and Buick They had a size from four to 12 inches long Many of these toys ended up being given to the war effort for metal, many of them were destroyed because they were Japanese, and the anti-Japanese feeling in the country was very high.
After the war, went to work for Kosuge Marusan, where he made the beautiful Cadillac 1951 Ford 57 I mentioned earlier, he was one of the greatest creators of toys ever.
The Japanese have also made many motorcycles tin toys of very high extraction rates, like the pre-war motorcycles German toys These are strictly tin, and they are many, they are more expensive.
Collectors Weekly What were some of the largest German companies.
Lespinay Schuco has all kinds of toys before and after the war they started making mechanical toys in 1920, including stuffed mechanical bear They made small cheap cars before the war and a series 1957 beautiful convertibles Mercedes-Benz after the war, I think they went out of business in about 1970.
Another company, Distler, lasted a little more Gama, who bought both Schuco and Distler, although a replica of the toys, which are now made in China They cost a few hundred dollars each and are obviously designed for adults .
Märklin did the same, and created new toy Now there are so many reproductions out there that it's beginning to affect the value of old toys people are competing among themselves to sell these replicas on eBay but collectors do not want them.
An exception would be the two-door Cadillac Brougham, 1957, air suspension, stainless steel roof Marusan done it a few years ago, they came in three different colors and sold nine for 250 days, they could cost you as much as 600 because they were a limited edition.
Collectors Weekly participants-Japanese companies specialize in different cars, like Ford or Chevrolets, for example.
Lespinay Yes It depended on the license agreement they could get Yonezawa did a great toy car that won the Indy 1952 500 JC Agajanian, who was very famous in racing circles, belonging to the true car when a young man named Troy Ruttman was the driver then Yonezawa did a great toy and put both names Agajanian Ruttman s and s on it for a while, it was distributed in the United States, but went Agajanian ballistic and had to recall and destroy the toys because they hadn t learned permission to use his name.
The Marusan 1951 Cadillac Series 62 featured an electric motor as well as head and electrical taillights.
The Company Yonezawa immediately reissued the same toy without the name or Agajanian Ruttman and called Champion Racer He said Indianapolis-style side they sold a bunch of them and they're all over eBay usually go between 1200 and 2000, according to their condition they're beautiful, are about 18 inches long and have rubber tires and a tin driver I one of the Agajanian These are very rare.
Other companies that make Chevys or Cadillacs quickly learned that you had to have allowed, for example, Cadillac demanded that the Alps stop doing his Cadillac convertible 1951, when the Alps made some changes and reissued the toy.
Some companies specialized in Cadillacs, Chevrolets in other Japanese company named Ichiko specializing in Buicks The first they did was 58 He was two-tone orange with cream roof They also made a gold one with a roof This pale blue was from 1959 to 1963.
So Ichiko made Buicks and Cadillacs, Chryslers and Buicks made ATC and Marusan was a bit of everything Fords Cadillacs and Chevrolets Chevrolet toys are finding the hardest, while fords are the most common Bandai made a lot of them between 56 and 62.
Another company, Haji, made a series of Fords eight inches long between 1956 and 59 They also Sedans, Coupés two-door convertibles All these companies, especially Bandai did many European cars, too Saabs, DKWs , Renaults, they were called MGs cars in the world, and they were sold in the same type of box with a single illustration These are some of the easiest to find toys.
In 1980, Amar Toys, an Indian company, has produced a crummy-looking copy of a 1954 Pontiac Asahi There are literally thousands of these damn things all over the Internet, and people selling them represent falsely often they re still today you can buy in New Delhi for 2, but they try to peddle the next 20 or 25 Some have been announced as pre-war at a cost of 4,000 each.
Unlike some Japanese toy companies, Marusan did a little of everything, Fords, Cadillacs and Chevrolets Chevys a 1955 Bel Air is seen here are the most difficult to find.
Here Sá best story in 1959, a company in Japan called Suda made a 1959 Buick Electra four-door sedan He had a flat roof with a wraparound window and large fins on the back that was one of the last cars designed by Harley Earl of General Motors I think this model was one of the few toy cars this company ever made is large, more than 17 inches long that I've never even seen one in a book.
Then there about a year ago, it was shown on eBay Bidding was heavy, but I got it for 2200 The seller turned out to be a woman in Alabama She found the toy car and thought it was the most wonderful thing she d ever seen, but she needed to sell because his company was buying and selling dolls and toys she said it was the hardest thing that she d ever sold in her life, she was happy to know that he went to a collector who really cared about him.
Collectors Weekly How do you take care of your toys.
Lespinay Sometimes rust eats the toy under the paint, if you need to buy these toys in good condition and keep them in glass cases with moisture absorption boxes These are the only precautions you need to take .
Collectors Weekly How important are the original boxes.
Lespinay boxes are very important Sometimes the value of the box is twice the value of the toy itself, especially the very large boxes for large cars because very few of them have survived the toy boxes Japanese are generally beautiful because they're interesting and graphically made to appeal to children collectors like this.
Collectors Weekly have been some artists known for the design of boxes.
Arnold Motorcycles include a rider who leads the motorcycle, then dismantled.
Lespinay Well, it is very difficult to know who made that some of the paintings on the boxes are signed, but so far no one has really done research that I'm starting to do it myself because I want to write a book about our collection I've got some friends in Japan that will help me.
It is the same with German toys Märklin always had beautiful graphics on their boxes, however, many Distler boxes are simply light gray while others have colorful illustrations illustration box becomes a very big thing now.
Collectors Weekly have been most tin toys made in production lines.
Lespinay It's hard to say what happened in Japan, because even the Japanese don t know we women pictures assembly 51 Cadillacs in Mr. Kosuge store, which was subcontracted by Marusan to make these cars you can see a picture on my site There are 8 or 10 assembly black women Cadillacs They worked eight or 10 hours a day assembling these toys because the demand was so great that there is much work manual on these parts.
Collectors Weekly Do a lot of people collect these cars or is it fairly specialized.
Lespinay There are many collectors in Japan and France, but not as much in the UK They're more Dinky Toys Britain has never been a major producer of tin toys of good appearance There is also toy collectors in Mexico, South America, and Australia.
In the US there are probably about 100 or 150 collectors who are as serious as I am there better collections than mine in the U S, but the people who own these collections are presidents of large companies and things like that they're more discreet; they disseminate their interest t I n periodically not have this problem; I'm not just a little guy.
All images in this article courtesy of Philippe Lespinay.
Looks like a fantastic collection Phillippe I love these Japanese tin cars of all kinds, but a special part of my collection Jaguar Mobilia devouted 50 of them, they are my favorites for you.
Great item thank you for sharing it with us.
A very old neighbor helped me as a child Recently we sat down and talked to his beloved 1950 Cadillac Series 61 Seadan that beauty Do you have any suggestions where I could buy a toy model for him, I'm in Rhode Island.
Hi Robert, If you talk about getting one of these Caddies Marusan 1951, I can help, but there are other options much cheaper, but not nearly as good as a Swiss concern was a nostalgic box and 51 Caddies plastic along three other basic models produced in the early 1980s apparently tooling moved to China where they were still produced in the last few years, if not now everything depends on your budget please me Contact directly so I can help you go and use the contact homepage PdL.
Recently, my wife and I went to an estate sale in Dallas, Texas, we found a ALPS 1952 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible, gray in the Toy original box is marked Cadillac, but was played with and is missing left headlight, Caddy emblem hood, a hub cab and friction motor does not seem to work is there any companies that manufacture replacement parts or would be better to just sell the toy is maybe on ebay Thanks for any help I'll post some pictures on the show and tell gallery.
Hi Mark, many it several years ago, one of my friends made parts for the Alps Cadillacs I remember he did the bezel of the lighthouse, I'll ask him if he left these parts and he would like for her to get the maximum value of such a toy, it would be better to spare parts while informing the buyer therefore, it must be done very well the person doing the work should know what to do if the owner of the toy is not smart enough, then sell the toy with the replacement parts in a small plastic bag and allow the purchase agreement with it.
I read your intervirw online with collectors that I enjoyed as I rushed slot car in the 60 70s both here and in England, where I was stationed in the Air Force I have one of your slot car body it's original container racing slot iMiss 80 years old and I build also collect both plastic and cast iron cars and other nascar I have a small collection of models als old corgi.
Mr. Lindsay, Thank you for the kind words There is no age limit for the sake of what's fun in life, you'll be pleased to know there are still plenty of racing going slot and a form of retro racing is becoming very popular in the US You can check this on a wonderful week full of very obstinate enthusiasts who have reignited the hobby to the level of 1968, and it is great fun of course 'please also take a look at where we maintain a slot car museum containing almost everything that was done in the day in the United States regards.
Tin Asahi 1962 Imperial LeBaron is the king, not queen, Marie Thank you.
Dear Sirs, I am very interested to know if the Kuramochi Company has never made sewing machines toys I have with Japanese letters and were told that mean Kuramochi Is this company still exists and that someone one knows if and when they made sewing machines mine toy is made of cast iron Thanks for any reply Rita.
I Japanese toy car tinplate 18 1960 cadillac in perfect condition and I am in need of a hub cap for it if someone could help me let me know thanks steve laperle.
I bought a asahi1962 Imperial to a car show, it is decent, but it needs taillights, a set of headlights, hood ornament and mirrors Know someone who can manufacture these parts, it has scrapes and scratches Should repainted or just retouched.
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