My collection of old toy cars and trucks
Discussion
While I do have a few proper scale models of the full size cars in the garage , most of what sits in the toy box are...well..toys. I have always liked the old tinplate windup stuff, especially those with mechanical complications. The OH is at our house in Arizona. leaving me free to speed toys all over the kitchen as they desperately needed a careful cleaning. The oldest come from 1934 and the newest are about ten years old.
SCHUCO
Built in Nuremberg, Schuco was prominent in both windup and battery powered toys, though the latter are no longer made.
They had several lines. These cars here were built between 1935 and 1955, though some modern versions are still available. They often did tricks like rolling over and righting themselves, playing music etc.
You can tell the age by looking underneath...prewar, US Zone Germany, West Germany etc....
The most famous Schuco is the Mercedes GP car. This is an original one from before the war. They are still built
They also build much more complex cars that had various functions;
This one has a functional gearbox:
After the war they got into battery powered toys which were very heavy and expensive. This Schuco Fire engine cost about a week's wages for a German worker in 1951
There was also a tipper:
A few years ago they made a very limited MAN Diesel which was a modern version of the original
They also build some very complex cars:
The green Mercedes 220S Hydro car had a fluid drive:
While the battery powered 230SL and 220 convertible had functional floor shifts:
They did a lot of variants on the 190SL. These suffer from warping of the windshield which was frameless:
They also make occasional figurines scaled to the 1:87 little cars:
Next I will cover Marklin
SCHUCO
Built in Nuremberg, Schuco was prominent in both windup and battery powered toys, though the latter are no longer made.
They had several lines. These cars here were built between 1935 and 1955, though some modern versions are still available. They often did tricks like rolling over and righting themselves, playing music etc.
You can tell the age by looking underneath...prewar, US Zone Germany, West Germany etc....
The most famous Schuco is the Mercedes GP car. This is an original one from before the war. They are still built
They also build much more complex cars that had various functions;
This one has a functional gearbox:
After the war they got into battery powered toys which were very heavy and expensive. This Schuco Fire engine cost about a week's wages for a German worker in 1951
There was also a tipper:
A few years ago they made a very limited MAN Diesel which was a modern version of the original
They also build some very complex cars:
The green Mercedes 220S Hydro car had a fluid drive:
While the battery powered 230SL and 220 convertible had functional floor shifts:
They did a lot of variants on the 190SL. These suffer from warping of the windshield which was frameless:
They also make occasional figurines scaled to the 1:87 little cars:
Next I will cover Marklin
Marklin made some amazing stuff, but its impossibly expensive to get originals. In the nineties they built some limited runs of trucks and cars , a few of which had been built in the thirties, and most of which had been designed but never built.
The huge fire engines weight about ten lbs. They have functional pumps that will shoot water, and electric lights:
They also briefly reproduced the Maybachs:
A few racers were also built:
This is a Mercedes 770 built in 1937 by TippCo in Nuremberg. Originally Jewish owned, the owners fled Germany and one of them , a chap called Marx founded Mettoy in Wales which eventually became Corgi. A 1:43 Dinky is shown for scale:
The huge fire engines weight about ten lbs. They have functional pumps that will shoot water, and electric lights:
They also briefly reproduced the Maybachs:
A few racers were also built:
This is a Mercedes 770 built in 1937 by TippCo in Nuremberg. Originally Jewish owned, the owners fled Germany and one of them , a chap called Marx founded Mettoy in Wales which eventually became Corgi. A 1:43 Dinky is shown for scale:
Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 4th December 15:36
Magnificent John said:
Wow!! Firstly thank you for taking the time to share, some of them models are amazing, especially the ones with working gearboxes!! Fascinating stuff!! 
The modern stuff is far more accurate but these were for kids and have a lot of period charm to them...I have always liked mechanical stuff. They used to be pretty cheap years ago but eBay fixed all that quickly......
RDMcG said:
The green Mercedes 220S Hydro car had a fluid drive:
While the battery powered 230SL and 220 convertible had functional floor shifts:
I want these toys really badly. There is something about the working functions that gets me and my love of mechanical stuff. Plus the 230SL and 220SE convertible just look right, maybe not perfect scale models but they have a certain something. While the battery powered 230SL and 220 convertible had functional floor shifts:
fourwheelsteer said:
I want these toys really badly. There is something about the working functions that gets me and my love of mechanical stuff. Plus the 230SL and 220SE convertible just look right, maybe not perfect scale models but they have a certain something.
That's the big deal for me...they also have a much stronger relationship to my youth than modern scale models [f the same cars,no matter how perfect they are.Ray Singh said:
Superb - Really cheered me up to see those today.
Nice to see the history 'made in western germany'.
How do the Mercs with gearbox work? They look amazing....
The rarer ones say " US Zone Germany". The gearboxes shift conventionally ( no clutch). The older clockwork ones have an open gate but the battery powered cars have some form of linkage. Of course they are utterly impractical as you have to pick them up to change gearNice to see the history 'made in western germany'.
How do the Mercs with gearbox work? They look amazing....
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