European die-cast and tinplate

The post WW2 era became the golden age of 1/43 scale die-cast models, their shape slowly evolving from toys to precise models. many companies competed for the honor of having the most realistic models on the market. Dinky Toys resumed their operation in both England and France, the French models being especially sought after. Corgi Toys, Spot-On, Marklin, Tekno, CIJ, JRD, Solido, Mercury and other businesses flooded the market with multiple offerings. The collection used to have over 5000 models but has been reduced to a representation of it all, so as to leave space for the larger tinplate toys. What was retained is what Philippe & Kathryn liked best.

Left: Tekno Austin-Healy "100", Triumph TR2 and MGTF next to a pair of very rare Dinky Toys # 129 MGTF models in their rare US driverless issues. The Citroen "11" models are French-issue Dinky Toys.

Right: the five Buick Roadmaster by Dinky Toys France, including the rare coral and black as well as cream and metallic blue issues.
 

Left: These Corgi Toys and Solido models were signed by their actual drivers, some of them unfortunately no longer with us. In the background, a Marx Cooper-Climax and the rare prewar Dinky Toys filling and service station with a Lindstrom tinplate windup sedan and a Tootsietoy 1940 Ford "Woodie". In the foreground, 1960's medals and lapel pins relating to motorcycle racing from France, Spain and the USA. The red Ferrari Monza was the last toy ever signed by the late Phil Hill before he was too ill to do so.

Right: The big fire truck by Schuco is partly die-cast, partly pressed sheet-steel and was issued in 1955. Everything on it actually works, the mechanism as precise as a Swiss watch.
 

Left: German buses by TippCo, a splendid all-metal engine (save for the brittle engine block made of early plastic) by Gesha. Everything works including spark plugs, gearbox, clutch, valves, pistons etc, when the crank is turned. Near it are a few scarce French die-cast 1950's models. On the lower shelf are a very nice and very scarce Bandai 1956 Toyota Crown, an Austin Cambridge built under license in Japan and more Schuco Mercedes-Benz 220S coupes.

Right: A group of French and British-built heavy steel coupes ands roadsters by Meccano are flanked by the first two French Dinkies (series "22") issued in 1935. The black and silver cars are by Tootsietoy and are scarce 1939 issues of their Jumbo series. The royal blue Dinky is the ultra-rare "24C" Town Car issued only for 2 years from 1934. The Comet tin airplane is by Yonezawa, the 11" 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air by Marusan.
 

In the early 1950's a company in Germany called Kollner and trading under the name Prameta produced some beautiful die cast toys that were pure jewelry. The bodies were  polished, then either painted or nickel plated. The windows were then painted. A crude VW Beetle was followed by a splendid 1947 Buick, seen above. The Prameta 1947 Buick is truly a splendid machine, capable of performing complex maneuvers through its wonderful cam-driven mechanism. The model was 6" long, seemingly in the 1/28 scale, and was fitted with a elaborate mechanism that once wound with a special key molded in the shape of a policeman, allowed for different patterns such as a figure-8 or oval circuit, followed by a period of idling, this all done by cams and gears. The chassis was molded with sectors of adjustments and two adjusting levers. The front lever adjusted the patterns while the one at the tail adjusted the tightness of the curves and idle speed. Below left is a painted version of the Buick, this one fitted with black tires. Remnants of the original box can be seen.

The company also produced small quantities of dealer cut-out display models allowing one to see the complex mechanism, shown here on a 1952 Opel Kapitan standing on its platform next to another product of Prameta, a 1952 Jaguar XK120. Amazingly, this beautiful Jaguar is one of the very few toys retained from Philippe's youth, and he must have liked it a lot as it does not have a SCRATCH on it! These toys were very heavy for their size, nearly 14oz each. The automatic steering also controlled the trafficators on each side as well as the front searchlight.

At right is the Opel on top of its original and rare box, nearly crushing it under its hefty weight. The other and last model made by Prameta was a Mercedes 300 "Adenauer" sedan. Seen here is a painted version in an attractive cream color. Prameta cars are not rare nor too expensive, but they can be if pristine, especially the painted versions. Philippe always had a fondness for them because he thinks that they exude so much quality. While they were toys designed primarily for children, Philippe is quite sure that more adults bought them because so many survived in mint condition. They were simply beautiful and looked good on an executive desk at the office.

Kollner was purchased by another company called Postell-Pritzguss in 1956 but a downturn in the German economy forced bankruptcy.
Aren't you glad that plastic took over a few years later?

After WW2, TippCo resumed toy manufacturing with more peaceful items. Its motorcycle and sidecar lines are well known, and these two examples in the collection are in pristine condition and still wear their original windshields, that they often miss. The police motorcycle is of an especially large size at over 12".
 

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