I thought it would be nice to start a thread about old, interesting and rare toys. They after all period pieces which small members of the family would have in their households whilst the parents would drive the real thing...
My first offering is this very early KDF toy manufactured by the well-known German company Märklin who still make model trains and have recently gone back to producing cars, including a VW split window beetle.

As far as my research goes, this crude zinc toy was made between 1939 and 1942, to promote and generate interest in the new KDF which the German people were encouraged to save for. The number plate is IIIA-9 from the old Reich car registration system and the bumper overriders are claw-shaped, obviously pre-dating the banana type. It even has a supplementary number plate at the rear stating KDF and the number plate light, although somewhat inaccurate, looks earlier than a pope's nose. The rear left-side tyre is the only original one left.

These are extremely fragile and exposure to heat and humidity is known to make them spontaneously crack and deteriorate over time. Although sporting its original blue-grey paint, I got it with missing side windscreen pillars and both broken ends to the front bumper. These I carefully reconstructed using Milliput and then matching the original colour to blend the repairs in.

Märklin also produced a smaller version of the KDF at the time in their 'Pico' range. I shall post pictures of one such model as I receive it in the near future. :wink:  KDF.01a.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.  KDF.02.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.  KDF.03.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.  KDF.04.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.  KDF.05.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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Here is the small version of the KDF by Märklin, also from the same era.:wink:

Here is the small version of the KDF by Märklin,from the 'Pico' range, also from the same era.
It also carries the letters 'k.d.f' on the front number plate. This one is of the same colour
as the large model, pictured next to it in comparison. :wink:

This is on of the rarest and most sought-after Oval-window toys. Made by Lion Cars of Holland around the mid-50s, this was the first die-cast 1:43 scaled toy from what became their ever-growing range of model cars. Lion Toys as they came to be called still exist today, I believe, but they now produce models of trucks and lorries.
There are similarities with the Oval made by Märklin in Germany at the same time although the Lion Car is more basic in detail. Both have screws to fix the floorplate to the bodies and polished metal wheel with rubber tyres.
This Lion Car was a bare shell and I repainted it to exactly match a colour in which the toy was originally available.:wink:

Märklin returned to producing a Beetle, well after the end of the war, in the form of this Oval, also made around 1955, and the similarities in kind with the Lion Car are striking, even if the design differs and is much finer on the Märklin. Even the base plate principle is the same as on the Lion Car.
Next to it is the rather more uncommon update which Märklin made in the early 60s. They simply enlarged both front and rear windows, added some indicators on the front wings but left the W decklid. Curiously, the 60s model is much more difficult to find than the Oval. Toys made in Germany in the 60s are most often stamped with 'Made in Western Germany' rather than earlier ones which simply have 'Made in Germany' on them, as seen on these two variations. They are both in original paint, or what's left of it in the case of the Oval! Thanks JD for the Photobucket tip.:beer: :wink: