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CharbensYY posted some photos of slushcast and asked for help in identification. I didn't want to hijack that thread but I have three that I've been unable to track down. All three are like to be of American manufacture. I believe that the 1st is an actual lead zeppelin, the others are more likely to be zinc. I would guess the last is post-war because of the wheels.

Bernie wrote:I believe that the 1st is an actual lead zeppelin...

I bet this toy went down like a lead balloon! (Sorry, too good an opportunity to miss.)

Did it play the immigrant song when it arrived. ......sorry but if it's good enough for the cat hearder

Hi Bernie, some interesting vehicles you have got there.

The Graf Zepelin is either made by Barclay (yes them again!), or by 'KANSAS'.

The pale Blue touring coach is Barclay.

The 2 door coupe car is a bit harder for me because it does look like Barclay again, (as many toys of this period do!), but with the filled-in windows and Black smooth wheels I tend to think it may be by CAW, this is Charles A Wood, active from 1925 to 1940, then C&H Mfg. Co. was formed in 1940 by Rod Hemphill, the last CAW employee and some toys were produced with a few of the moulds from CAW.

Hope that is of some help.

GHOSTHUNTER.

Thanks Ghosthunter. I need to get a reference book on Barclay. I have one that a lists some of their releases but may not be complete and it lacks pictures of most. After your ID, I went back but couldn't find any listed. A more definitive book would be helpful to me since I collect many diecasts from before the Fifties boom and Barclay was a popular brand. From the fuzzy pictures in that book, it seems like the coupe with black wheels could have been part of the Barclay car carriers. Hard to tell. There were a lot of companies copying each other and many toys intentionally don't have a manufacturer imprint because the distributors didn't want store owners buying direct.

The zeppelin has received a lot of admiration. Up through my 30s, I had to recover it from the pocket of a visitor on at least three occasions.

Thank's Bernie. Yes, Barclay were a prolific toy producer as their products turn up in many collecting circles and you tend to get an overall picture of what they make and correct, a lot of items do not carry manufacturer names or 'Brand' names as a lot of the product lines were handled and marketed by wholesale or distributor companies.

I like the story about the Zeppelin. If you can see evidence of some damage at the very front tip as if a small ring had previously been cast there for hanging this toy on a Christmas tree, this suggests it is very likely to be by 'KANSAS' as their toys were made for this purpose (they are called Kansas Toy and Novelty Co.), and most of what they made from this period has a little 'O' ring on top or at the very front for this very purpose.

GHOSTHUNTER.

GHOSTHUNTER wrote:I like the story about the Zeppelin. If you can see evidence of some damage at the very front tip as if a small ring had previously been cast there for hanging this toy on a Christmas tree, this suggests it is very likely to be by 'KANSAS' as their toys were made for this purpose (they are called Kansas Toy and Novelty Co.), and most of what they made from this period has a little 'O' ring on top or at the very front for this very purpose.

GHOSTHUNTER.

No ring on the front. But I spotted it in this eBay auction today http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOOTSIETOY-OTHE ... 1868451446 Still no clear identification but I'm inclined to go along with your Barclay identification. That one looks like it's lost the bottom section that holds the wheels. In a miracle among auctioneers, this person seems to have valued their junk fairly ($9.95). I've seen single cars that are broken in half with almost no paint and they're asking $40. Even in outstanding condition that's a hell of a lot of money to ask for something that sold for a quarter.