Antique Week Tonka's

 Just after Xmas, I received a comment on an old blog post I had created a few years back on the short lived Tonka Totes line.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2020/02/tinkering-with-tonka.html

Tonka Totes were the companys attempt to break into the market shared by Hot Wheels, Zylemex and matchbox, with small fast rolling vehicles, as opposed to the usual lumbering pressed steel construction trucks, they were famous for.

Totes are plastic cars on a steel chassis, with nylon bearings in the wheels, not unlike Mattel cars, to allow them to run faster. Designs covered dragsters, utility and hots rod vehicles and each came with a small launcher or a belt clip, so they could be carried around easily - hence the name.

Eric Bryan, a writer for Antique Week - a stateside broadsheet for collectors, asked if he could use the shots from the blog, for an upcoming article, but as the resolution was too low for print purposes, I offered to do a dedicated shoot for the magazine instead.

The January 31 issue of Antique Week has just been published and Eric kindly sent me a proof of the article, shown below. It makes very interesting reading and has expanded my limited knowledge of the toys even more!

Images courtesy of Eric Bryan / Antique Week magazine

The High Rev Snowmobile Race Set

Lincoln International released this amazing Snowmobile race slot set, which I saw on Worthpoint.

What a fabulous idea and very James Bond!

Snow and action just went together back in the 007 Sixties and this will have tapped right into that vibe.

I love the artwork!

I would have loved a slot set like this. You?

WILL'S TRICK

Mine's called a trick truck!

Will Os

UK

KEEP ON TRUCKIN' WOTAN

I just adore futuristic vehicles. 

Brought up on a diet of Hot Wheels, Major Matt Mason and Spacex, my appetite for the streamlined trucks and cars of tomorrow has never diminished, ever since I got my first Mattel Deora in 69. 

Since then, I've pursued many a neat toy or model from this genre to supplement my space toy collection. 

Some of the designs are what George Lucas often referred to as vehicles which were just 'off camera' at the time filming was going on and both he and Kenner made a quite lucrative line of Expanded Universe Star Wars items using this idea. 

Similarly, these toys could easily have been part of the reserve SWORD fleet, carrying supplies around the base or shuttling casuals to the launch pad. 

First off, here are some of Eldon's fab Command Cassette line. 

Each has a small blue cassette in the front, with a series of pegs beneath, which can be 'programmed' to affect internal gears and make the truck follow a preset route. Eldon also used a similar device on a larger scale in its Computer Truck. 

The sleek, lines and enclosed cockpits are very reminiscent of Hot Wheels styling and also remind me of some of the cars and trucks from Joe 90 and Captain Scarlet.

Finally, my most recent acquisition, the Quadrilex 'Tomorrow Truck'. 

A strange truck with futuristic features and an almost General Motors feel about it. The monochrome box has a very fifties look to it, but the styling is definitely early sixties. It actually featured in an episode of Thunderbirds, virtually unchanged!

Bill

An American Toy Fair

Here is a look around an American collector's fair from 2021. There are some amazing things on display, many of which I have never seen before. Toys of all sorts, kits, die-casts, and vintage advertising. What can you see?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub4JU7x-lWI

Paul Adams from New Zealand

GM GAS TURBINE CAR 1964: ITS A BLAST!

I was blown away by this! 1stDibs auctions listed it as

"General Motors gas turbine concept model, The Bison Series, Possibly by Syd Mead or Tom Semple . The vehicle was built and shown at 1964 World's Fair."

I've also seen it described elsewhere as a Derek Meddings design from Thunderbirds! Does something like this appear in the show?

Do you like this design readers?

It would make a great die-cast toy!

WALL WALKERS: WE FEEL YOUR PANE

 Blimey I remember Wall walkers from 1970 and this short clip on YT brought it all back! I was always amazed that such flimsy light things could actually create enough suction to keep it stuck to a window but they do. Somewhere I still have a wall walker. 

Not sure if they walked down a wall but they certainly managed windows.

Do you remember walking down windows?

LILY LEDY CAPITAN BOY

Check out Mexico's famous toy house Lily Ledy's Capitan Boy range on someone's patio. Do you like Billy Blastoff?

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