Re: Diecast

Posted by packardsix1939 On 2022/6/14 21:34:02
You might want to look for some vintage toys. The new 1948 Packards attracted quite a bit of interest from toymakers of the era and some really nice ones were produced. Here are some examples from my collection. All of these toys are over 70 years old.

The yellow car in the first photo was produced by Conway. The headlights light up from a "D" cell battery. There was powered version of this toy which had a spring wound motor. The grey car is a die cast model by a company called MasterCaster. Reportedly, these were made for Packard dealerships as a promotional tool. I've seen these in other colors, including gold for Packard's Golden Anniversary in 1949.

The Marx company was once the world's largest toymaker. During the 1940's they produced three different 22nd series Packard toys, the Fire Chief car, the Dick Tracy car and the flip-top convertible. The Fire Chief and the Dick Tracy cars were very similar to each other and use the same molds. Unfortunately, my Dick Tracy car is in rather poor condition and is missing its windshield and the driver. The smaller flip top model had an upper portion that was lithographed tin with the lower body being plastic. The upper portion could be flipped so that the toy could be played with as an open convertible or with the top up.

The Hubley Company of Lancaster, PA was a leading toymaker for many years. They actually started out in the 1890's making cast iron toys, but switched to die cast in the 1930's. They also introduced plastic toys after World War II. In 1949, they introduced a series of plastic toy cars modeled after the 22nd series Packards. These were sold in play sets that included multiple cars and apparently were not sold as individual units. There were three versions: a Fire Chief car, a taxi and a standard sedan. One such play set included four Hubley Packards on a die cast toy car carrier known as the Hubley Motor Transport. Hubley marketed the Transport toy for a number of years, but perhaps reflecting Packard's decline, in 1952 the cars were replaced with Cadillacs. In the 1960's, Hubley would become known in the car hobby for producing an excellent line of die cast metal kits of vintage cars, including Model A Fords, 1932 Chevrolets 1930 Packards and 1932 Duesenberg SJ's. I loved these models as a child and credit them with sparking my enthusiasm for antique and classic cars, especially Packards.

Finally, here is another Fire Chief car by a company called Saunders. It only sort of looks like a Packard, so I'll let readers decide if you think it should be included.

Hope you enjoy these photos from my toy collection.

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jpg  48convertibles_conroy_mastercaster.JPG (115.11 KB)
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jpg  detail48marxconvertible_topup.JPG (112.85 KB)
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jpg  detail48marxconvertible_topdown.JPG (107.07 KB)
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jpg  48sedans_Hubley.JPG (108.91 KB)
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jpg  packardfirecheif_saunders.JPG (112.18 KB)
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