An ITC Model Craft Company History Video by Max's Models

Hi Woodsy

Max from Max's Models has just put out a new company history video on ITC Model Craft, the Hobby Division of the Ideal Toy Corporation. This is his first company history video for some time.

Ideal produced kits from the 1950s, up until about 1963/64. Many of them extremely complicated and expensive working models.

After ITC retired from the kit business, the remaining models were sold off by the Ringo Toy Corporation, of either Maspeth or Jamaica, both of which are in the borough of Queens, New York City. Some of these Ringo kits were lacking certain vital components.

Some ITC kits were also sold in Britain by Kleeware. In more recent times, many of the old ITC kits have been re-issued by the American company Glencoe.

As this is a company history video, not all of the ITC kits get a mention, and some are only included at the end. 

Well worth a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8NEqbcMxUE

Paul Adams from New Zealand

RAISE THE ROOF

I picked up this roofless plastic car in Germany.

The original should look like this [seen on Ebay]

So in the name of completeness I finagled a new roof out of some old plastic for my own.

A lick of black and away we go!

An unusual toy from the glorious year of 1976 by toy icons IDEAL.

This Mobile Mo is just one of a whole fleet of Micro Mighty Mo's. 

Did you ever have one?

                                                                         Image; Ebay

MY FIRST GREAT DEAL: THE CURSE OF THE COBRAS AND MORE!

 

Cor! Seeing these instructions for IDEAL's Curse of the Cobras game took me right back to when I first started collecting old toys circa 1990. 

I bought this big boxed game from a work colleague, who's son was selling all his old toys. It was the first great deal I'd made and my colleague and her son were chuffed with the fifty pounds they got.

I got this game, two Dinky FAB1's, a ton of small plastic toys, some board games and a Green Hornet Black Beauty.

It set me off on the road I'm still on now 35 years later!

Alas, the Curse of the Cobras has long gone. I recall fixing some parts and printing out the instructions from the net, probably from Board Game Geek, which I used a lot back then. These are the scans from the time. Happy Days!

Do you remember your first great deal?

Das Train and Toy Fair

 After whizzing round a morning car boot, ee visited an Eisenbahn und Spielzeugboerse today, a train and toy fair in the local Vestlandhalle.

It was 5 Euro admission and 90% trains and the rest die-casts.

Here's the sort of thing that was on offer (individual toy pics from the net)

Lots and lots of old boxes Maerklin trains

Including huge XXL train sets

A gorgeous Ichiko Oldsmobile Police car at 35 Euro.

It was a large spacious hall.

With Faller plastic biuldings

Between the boot sale and the toy fair I netted this meagre but interest pile for 6 Euro.

Two Speed Kings, two knockoff wrestlers, two Hot Wheels and a strange orange car.

The orange was my favourite item. It says No Mobile and Ideal 1977. It has inertia drive too. A gorgeous plastic thing but it remains a mystery.

Keighley Capers

 A mooch round Keighley brought us face to face with Darth Vader!

He'd assembled a motley crew for his voyage round the junk pile.

In another shop we saw these not too old badges. Action Man and Thunderbirds Are Go. The modern reincarnations. Not for me.

This brought back scenty memories. My older brothers always got Tabac or Pagan Man at Xmas, when they were young men. Did you wear cologne readers?

This is Talc! Just noticed.

The big toy firms like Marx and Ideal liked to dabble in little cars. Here's an Ideal one. A Trans Am?

And there's always a bus when you don't need one!

You got one of these plastic souvenirs?

THE EVEL HEAD

I've often wondered: are Major Matt's and Evel Knevel's helmets are interchangeable?

From different companies and decades its unlikely but from memory the figures seem a similar size. Maybe Evel and Matt have similarly sized heads and therefore helmets? Maybe the figures can fit into any of each others' toys too?

As I'm without Matt and Evel can anyone test this theory out? Pics below, Matt top, Evel bottom.

DERRY DARING TV AD 1975

 Ideal's Derry Daring was their mid-70's homage to female stunt motorcyclist Debbie Lawler.

Capturing the whoosh of the Evel Knevel craze, Derry 's daring didn't last long sadly, cancelled in 1976, but her hey day was immortalised in colour TV ads.

Here's the Wheelie Car one courtesy of You Tube.

Do you remember Derry?

Did you have some Evel?

IDEAL'S 1964 MONSTER LAB

 

My own Monster Lab toy is locked away in the attic.

Its an amazingly big and clunky plaything straight from clicking heart of the Monster Craze.

Here's a short dark clip of how it works from another monstrous owner.

Do you have a Monster Lab?

Vintage ITC Sales Film

Hi

             I just found this on You Tube, a  1960s vintage Ideal Toys and ITC kits sales film. It states that they were sponsoring the Maverick TV show, and using it to promote their toys and kits. The ads are included in the film. Jaw dropping and mouth watering. Given the fact all the toys work, I can not imagine many would survive today intact.

What do you think?

Ideal - ITC Hobby Kits Vintage Sales Training Video - YouTube

Paul Adams from New Zealand

MR. REMBRANDT: THE DRAWING DROID

Reading my beloved Board Games books by Desi Scarpone I saw a game I'd not noticed before. Mr. Rembrandt by Ideal from 1970.

I've never seen Mr. Rembrandt in the flesh and on first impressions I thought the robot involved in the game was the famous Mr. Machine, also by Ideal.

Looking closer I see its a different plastic robot and one capable of drawing. Mr. Rembrandt is a mixture of a toy robot and spirograph. How cool is that! 

Besides pictures on online auctions like the ones shown I also found this video footage of the artistic droid. What do you think of this toy game?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l54N4zzK5dk

Ideal Phantom Raider

Hi,

          Here is a short You Tube clip of the Ideal Toy Corporation Phantom Raider from 1964. A large, battery operated cargo ship. Over two feet long. At the flip of a switch, the hull extends, and three cargo hatches open, revealing depth charges, missiles, and a bank of torpedos. All can be fired. The toy is capable of forward and reverse movement, and it rocks from side to side as it moves.

Ideal Toy Corporation Phantom Raider 1964 - YouTube

Here is the TV ad for the toy.

Commercial: Phantom Raider - YouTube

Thought it might be of interest.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

 

 

IDEALLY YOU'D HAVE A BIG DOME

 

I saw this Ideal Emergency Truck online and thought yes, I like that dome!

Its such a big red dome for a fire engine!

It immediately calls to mind any number of domed space toys but its the Space Command Tank that Rob C sent in pics of that really rings a bell!

Can you see a resemblance readers?

THE TOUGH GET GOING!

More Ideal 6x6 High Risers!

This time on the telly!

You Tube has these ace old 80's TV ads for the hill-climbing behemoths. Wow!

Hercules and Mammoth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiPFoMrelM8

The Power Cruiser - its massive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCusuHZ1RRA

and Crunch Canyon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU7Vbj88GLs

Talk about mega!

Eighties kids really had ATV's coming out their ears!

Where there any toy ATV's in the Sixties and Seventies?

HIGH IDEALS

I think I'm in love with Ideal's 6x6 High Risers.

Part of the 80's monster climbing wheeled toys craze, I'm only just now coming across this particular line by old chestnuts Ideal.

I've pictured just a few of the range here that I've gleaned from old auctions.

Here's the blue Power Cruiser.

The Samson XTV Explorer.

The 6 x 6 Seeker.

Two military vehicles, which I don't know the names of. You?

and a rather blurry box backing card, which seems to show 4 designs.

Do you know your High Risers?

IS MERA A SEA-MONKEY?

Seeing this box art from Ideal's Mera the Super Queen I was immediately struck by a memory of another illustration of underwater family bliss .....

This!

Yes, its those crazy Sea Monkeys advertised in the back of Marvel and DC!

Own a bowlfull of happiness!

Did you have any instant pets like this?

ideal thunderstreak: what an amazing toy!

I 've never seen this toy before and can't believe how versatile it is on land AND underwater!

Anyone have one?

Courtesy of You Tube

DURHAM SIDEWINDER 'ASTROID' ROBOT

A recent addition to my Zeroid collection is this Zerak lookalike from Durham Industries, thanks to a heads up  from the mighty Wotan.

As you can see this cheap knock –off toy is pretty much the same dimensions as an original Zerak, apart from the moulded tracks which hide a clockwork motor. It should also be noted that the quality of the plastic is well below an original  Zeroid toy.

It appears Durham also did cheap clockwork copies of the other Zeroid robots, using the miss-spelling - ‘Astroid’ as a collective name for them.

Their simple gimmick was you wound them up using the sidewinder key. This gave them a forward motion, along with a rotating head. The head movement worked by means of a long rod attached to a simple gear wheel  running up from the motor.

Comparing the two toys you’d think that Durham had just gone out and bought an Ideal toy, and just taken moulds of most of it.

The ‘Astroid’ even fits snugly in Zerak’s control station, much to Zerak’s annoyance.

IDEAL MONSTER LAB! IT'S BIG!

This is the Monster Lab by IDEAL from the 1960's. I didn't have one as a kid - not sure if they were available in the UK? - but I treated myself to one about ten years ago. Its housed in a huge colour box, second only in size to my Topper Johnny Seven One Man Army box!

Anyways, I've never managed to get mine to work but I found this short clip on the Tube. You'll see that Big Frankie glides around the Lab, sparks of electricity flash and his iron mask flies off revealing a hideous face! Bit like me in the morning!

Anyone else got any monster toys readers?

IDEAL SPACE FIGHTER TRANSPORT AND CO

 

 

Occasionally I come across these two American space toys by Ideal in cyberspace. This time I've stopped and wondered what they are. I have the impression that they may be important in the development of US space toys.

 

 

The yellow Space Fighter Transport reminds me of the Seaview from Voyage to the Bottom of The Sea for some reason. It's split window bay is straight from those classic Spaceways stories from the 1950's.

 

 

The clear tear-drop ship is far more elusive to place. It looks a complex and fragile toy as I imagine that the clear canopy comes away to reveal the spacemen inside. All in all I do like the look of them both but as they are outside my British childhood I can't put them in context.

 

 

Does anyone know where the story behind these American beauties?