Not of this earth
Tudor Rose, Kleeware and
Popular Playthings were all
pioneers of plastic, the new
wonder material of the 1950s
and a game changer as far
as toys were concerned. The
toys produced by these manu-
facturers, along with their
Hong Kong subsidiaries, have
really come into their own of
late. What really interests me
about the British space toys
is their American links. Many
were copies of toys by Marx
and Pyro and it’s the ‘bread-
crumb trail’ that makes the
research so intriguing....
These toys have a devoted
band of followers, who collate
and share information. This
is what led me to the brilliant
Alphadrome robot and space
toy database or danefield.com.
It’s a mine of information, with
photos and write ups on some
incredibly rare and covetable
models. Many of the early ex-
amples were sold without boxes
or branding, which can make
identification very difficult.
The little, five-inch-long,
blue space car illustrated here
was part of a consignment of
unsold warehouse stock
discovered recently. It was
originally offered in a choice
of colours: silver, red and the
blue (as featured). The work
of an unknown British firm, it
was clearly based on a model
by the American firm, Premier,
albeit with some modifications.
It was, apparently, also
available with a friction motor.
Judging by the persistence of
enthusiasts when it comes to
research, I’m sure this one won’t
remain a mystery for too long!On trial
Some models gain a reputation
built on years of conjecture
and un-pooled knowledge.
This Dinky Toys model is one
of them. The No. 30v Electric
Dairy Van is well known in
its Express Dairies and NCB
liveries of cream and red or
grey and blue. Introduced
in 1949, it enjoyed a long
production run, being
finally deleted from the
range in 1960.
The grey and maroon
version is rare, so much so
that it only made it into the
price guides recently. Indeed,in Philippe Salmons’ excellent
Dinky book it was believed
to be an early colour trial.
However, Vectis Auctions
has sold at least two examples
over the years and some have
shown up in the online
collectors’ forums, too.
I bought this care worn
example very cheaply,
as I rather suspect nobody
thought it should exist in
these colours and therefore
questioned its authenticity.
The general consensus now,
however, is that this was a
legitimate production run
scheme. It’s certainly not
an unattractive colour
combination, so the reason
for its short-lived run will
remain a mystery. I believe
there’s possibly more
information still to surface
here – it’s definitely one
to watch!Postscript
Books and magazines such
as this are excellent reference
points and I’ve personally filed
lots of articles away for future
reference. It can be refreshing
to sometimes read a 30-year-
old article that appears toshed ‘new’ light on a subject.
The internet can also be a
marvellous resource for
tracking down rare items
and making new discoveries.
Becoming a member of a
specialist online forum will
allow you to trade information
with fellow collectors world-
wide. Likewise, eBay’s many
international sites are good
for spotting things you never
even knew existed; be careful,
though, as viewing these
new-found treasures can
become addictive, not to
mention expensive! For
international research,
Google translate proves
a very useful tool. Add a
little common sense into
the mix and you’ll be surprised
the results you can yield.
There’s something so
satisfying about research
and if it can bring one drop
more to the pool of collectors’
knowledge that can be no
bad thing either.
Now then, Watson, can
you tell me who made this
road sign?The little British five-inch-long plastic space
carries no marks identifying its manufacturer
but is clearly based on a model by the
American firm Premier.Can anyone
identify the
firm that
manufactured
the road
sign shown
centre?The ultra-rare livery on this No. 30v Electric Dairy Van (usually found in
Express Dairies cream and red or NCB grey and blue) has now been
acknowledged as a legitimate production run colour scheme rather than being
created for a factory colour trial as originally thought.MC