Will's Tin Boat

Hi Woodsy

Following Ed's pictures of his Hess lithoe'd tin battleship, here's the sail version.

Enjoy.

Will O.

I'm a Rocket Tin

Paint tins were essential kit back in the Sixties. No self-respecting boomer would be caught without a tin tray of watercolours.

And so it was in East Germany too. This Varia paint tray is just wonderful with those rocket and satellite illustrations. 

Did you have a tin of paints readers? 

Ed's Antique Hess Battleship

Woodsy,

There are more boats out in The Cave than you can shake a stick at and not all of them have been photographed yet - especially the larger ones!

So, I thought you would be interested in the oldest boat (and the oldest toy) in The Hoard: a tin-litho 'Battleship' from the firm of Hess in Germany. 

The boat was sold from 1890-1910 and features a very early form of friction motor. Reportedly, it was also offered by Carrette.

From the Las Vegas Shipyard

Ed

Meet me at the Turnpike

I've said before that the Sears Bandai line are some of the most beautiful tin toys ever.

I mean look at the cruising lines of these Turnpike trucks. They're so Thunderbirds! 

Do you like them? Got any?

Ed's Lever Action Tin-Litho F-104

Well Woodsy.

I met with a bit of frustration trying to locate that lever-action F-104 I recently commented about.

I have one in green (as shown in your photo) as well as a silver one. Yet - apparently, I never took photos of the green version as they're nowhere to be found on the computer - and I would need to mount a full-blown excavation into The Cave to locate it. 

Anywho, here's the same jet in silver.

From Vegas Air Field

Ed

PLANES

I picked these up last month, a bundle of old metal planes and copters.

The green jet is Japanese tinplate, the rest are cast metal.

The small headless plane at the bottom is a cap banger I think.

Most of the cast models have the names of the planes on the undercarriage.

An interesting bunch.

Guardians of the Universe Car

Not sure what to make of this Super Car. I think I like it.

The box art reminds me of a neat Seventies LP record cover!

The name Guardians of the Universe is a good one. There's a definite He-Man vibe to the driver! G -Man! 

The graphics detailing is cool as well.

This was on auction. I think it's tin but can't be sure. I see this general toy vehicle as a tinplate car everywhere. What is it? What make of car?

Arto's Sears Super Sonic Jetliner

Re. your blog post on the subject, I sent you these photos of my orange Sears Super Sonic Jetliner back in 2022. 

It came up here in Finland, in great working condition and with a survivor original box. It is an imposing, sizeable toy in its 62 cm long box.

Sad news, the Suomenlinna Toy Museum which featured my space toy exhibition back in 2017 has closed down after 40 years. Still reeling from the shock.

https://www.hs.fi/helsinki/art-2000011053511.html

Arto

Helsinki Base

Rocket Man! ED's Apollo-X Moon Challenger

Woodsy,

I'm pleased to finally present this toy. 

The T.N. (Japan) Apollo-X Moon Challenger.

I bought the rocket years ago all by itself, without a box. A few years after that I was able to buy the box which had a really rough, piece of junk rocket in it. 

While the box too was a bit rough, it was serviceable. Then the toy promptly sat on the shelves for years until this week when I got off my keester and photographed it. I tried putting some old batteries in it, but it wouldn't move.

 Then, I cleaned the contacts, put new batteries in and off it went! It works like a charm as you can see by the recently uploaded YouTube video.

T.N. (Japan) Apollo-X Moon Challenger Space Toy 1960s

There is one unusual glitch though. 

When I bought the rocket, the 'L'-shaped riser bar was flush against the underside as it should be, and the capsule was fully retracted as well. However, after running, the capsule and riser bar both cycle and cause the rocket to go up and down as it should ....... 

BUT, when the capsule retracts the riser bar remains fully extended and now the rocket won't fit in the box.

From Vegas Rocket Base

Ed

Will's Unmarked 007 Secret Agents Car

Hi Woodsy, re big cars, here's a rip-off Bond car that looks more like the Man from Uncle car.

At 14 inches long and battery-operated, it's a bit of a beast!

Will O

UK

Ed's Antique Marx Tin-litho Jalopy

Woodsy,

Here's my Marx tin-litho Jalopy from ca.1927. 

Apparently, cars like this were not unusual back then and Marx made several variations. The car features an early version of a friction motor and does work!

From Vegas Used Autos

Ed