A tangent to vinyl toys
Posted: Sun May 24, 2020 2:28 am
Not really sure how one would classify vinyl, or rubber, toys. Tomte's (of Norway) advertising that they were "furniture friendly" might read nicely, but when an eight year old slams one into a highly polished table top, Mother knows almost immediately. But, took a tangent from the searching for the matchbox, HO sized (roughly) models when some of these toys kept popping up, but when quickly passing by, realised that they didn't all look alike. So, stopped and gathered photos and started to note the differences for fun.
Though incomplete, I believe, I found almost identical Series II 109 pick-ups.
From Tomte in the Sixties, which are easy to identfy from the passenger sitting in the rear box of the pick up. Passenger is in a bit of a precarious position, as the number of toys where the passenger's head is missing is high. The bonnet mounted spare is black and sits on a peg. In theory a real spare, unlike all of the rest
Next up was MiniFlex of Hong Kong. It sports a bonnet mounted spare which looks to be a military bar grip, sunk about two thirds of the way into the bonnet.
Vinyl Line of West Germany made yet another. Spare on the bonnet is more pronounced, and comes in two mslightly different castings. With a tool box marks in the casting, and without. (Tool box in the back of a 109 pick up or station wagon is in the wheel well, towards the rear. Really, you just have the top that opens exposing a space within the rear box.
Found a couple of other outliers. "Miracle Mart", which is close to MiniFlex, but different details on the underside (Taiwan, rather than Hong Kong), and "Mini Scale Model Cars", which I could find nothing n beyond a photo of the toy in a box with six other vinyl cars.
Oh, Plasto of Finland makes a vinyl Range Rover if you like that version of the British Leylnd product line.
Just a Saturday diversion. BTW, where do these vinyl toys sit? Trying to find any history on how these toys arose is difficult. Well, cheap. Colourful. Save (or were considered so_
Regards,
Dixon
Though incomplete, I believe, I found almost identical Series II 109 pick-ups.
From Tomte in the Sixties, which are easy to identfy from the passenger sitting in the rear box of the pick up. Passenger is in a bit of a precarious position, as the number of toys where the passenger's head is missing is high. The bonnet mounted spare is black and sits on a peg. In theory a real spare, unlike all of the rest
Next up was MiniFlex of Hong Kong. It sports a bonnet mounted spare which looks to be a military bar grip, sunk about two thirds of the way into the bonnet.
Vinyl Line of West Germany made yet another. Spare on the bonnet is more pronounced, and comes in two mslightly different castings. With a tool box marks in the casting, and without. (Tool box in the back of a 109 pick up or station wagon is in the wheel well, towards the rear. Really, you just have the top that opens exposing a space within the rear box.
Found a couple of other outliers. "Miracle Mart", which is close to MiniFlex, but different details on the underside (Taiwan, rather than Hong Kong), and "Mini Scale Model Cars", which I could find nothing n beyond a photo of the toy in a box with six other vinyl cars.
Oh, Plasto of Finland makes a vinyl Range Rover if you like that version of the British Leylnd product line.
Just a Saturday diversion. BTW, where do these vinyl toys sit? Trying to find any history on how these toys arose is difficult. Well, cheap. Colourful. Save (or were considered so_
Regards,
Dixon