T in a Circle

The big three SWORD toy companies, in order of importance, are first and foremost, Century/JR21; second Tarheel and third, T in a Circle.

Although far less prolific a SWORD toy company than the first two, T in a Circle made replicas of two SWORD vehicles with beautifully painted box art, the Moon Bus and Moon Prospector. I am also aware of mould crossing between T in a Circle, Century 21 and Tarheel and examples have appeared previously on the blog.

Exactly what T in a Circle stood for is still largely a mystery. The only other toys that they made, which are known to me are the wonderful Hydrofoil (Woodsy collection) covered recently on this blog and two flying saucers listed below. No real clue is given on the Hydrofoil, Moon Bus or Prospector boxes as to the company's full identity other than a location most likely having been in Hong Kong. However, as we know, like JR21 and many other European/US toy companies, 'made in Hong Kong' or 'Empire made' did not mean that a company was mainly based there.

It has been suggested by blog reader Arto that the T is short for Toys Are Fun. However another recent line of enquiry, based on information found on the excellent Alphadrome Toys Database, is that the symbol stands for Tai Hing Metal and Plasticware Fty (Factory) Ltd. Blog reader Paul Vreede has discovered that Tai Hing is also the name of an area of Hong Kong so there could very well have been many firms with this name in the 1960's. The 2 toys listed on the Alphadrome Database are flying saucers 1 and 2.

There is online a modern toy company indeed called Tai Hing Plastic Products Co with a T in a Circle -type logo! I have sent them an email asking about their history and possible link to the old T in a Circle brand but as yet no response from them, so the mystery remains unsolved for the moment.