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History Of Tin Toy Manufacturers A-B

Looking for the history and links to a Toy Manufacturers?

 

 

 

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Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain,

 the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix"

even if made by another manufacturer.

Founded in 1939, Airfix was owned by Humbrol from 1986 until Humbrol's financial collapse in 2006 As of 2007, Airfix is currently owned by Hornby

Airfix was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. The brand name Airfix was selected to be the first alphabetically in any toy catalogue. In 1947, Airfix introduced injection moulding, initially producing pocket combs.

 Airfix website http://www.airfix.com/

 

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ALPS made battery-operated mechanical toys, and the company produced some of the better quality Japanese toys throughout the post-war years. Many of its toys had multiple actions; for example, a convertible car would not only move forward and back, but the top would also roll down and go back up. This ingenuity ensured the toys' popularity, and for a time, they were in great demand. However, despite their success, ALPS abandoned toy making some time in the early 1970s to become a manufacturer of consumer and industrial electronics. The company remains in the electronics business today.

American National Co.

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Toledo, Ohio, from early 1900s
 "Raise the Kids on Wheels"
 Founders Walter, Harry, and William Diemer mainly produced scooters and bicycles. They produced sidewalk toys including pressed-steel trucks, competing briefly with Keystone and Buddy "L" in the late 1920s.

 

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Arcade Manufacturing was incorporated in 1885 and originally occupied a one-story building on Chicago Street in Freeport. The company grew and prospered, becoming well-known for producing high-quality cast iron coffee mills,

spring hinges, cork extractors and stove dampers. 

But the Arcade Company is probably most famous for its cast iron toys. Their toys included doll houses and furniture,

 cars, trucks, buses, planes, farm vehicles and pint-sized farm tools sturdy enough to use in an actual garden.

Arcade toys are collector's items today and the Stephenson County Historical Society has the largest collection on display in North America.

Source and Link    http://www.stephcohs.org/arcade_structo_toys.htm

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Bandai was founded in 1950. Some of the early tin plate toys are highly collectible. In the 1960s Bandai expanded to include export sales. Bandai's racing car set, which first appeared in 1962, became a huge success. Since the 1980s, Bandai has become the leading toy company of Japan.

 

 

Bassett-Lowke

Northampton, England 1899 to date. The first to recognize the quality workmanship of German toy train manufactures (i.e. Bing, Maerklin, Carette, and Ismayer) and to commission specific British designs. Bassett-Lowke also innovated the mail order catalog of toys concept, mailing its first edition, with tipped-in photographs, in 1899.

website http://www.bassettlowke.co.uk/

 

 

 

Bing

Bing was a German toy company founded in 1863 in Nuremberg, Germany by two brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing, originally producing metal kitchen utensils. They began toy production in 1880 and by the early 20th century, Bing was the largest toy company in the world, Bing's factory in Nuremberg was the largest toy factory in the world. Although Bing produced numerous toys, it is best remembered today for toy trains

  web site http://johno.myiglou.com/bingsteam.html

Brimtoy Wells

Founded 1914, England

Brimtoy manufactured -in collaboration with Bing-, numerous toy cars. and merged with Wells, in 1932, to become Wells-Brimtoy, became Wells Brimtoy, Ltd. Production ceased in 1965.

William Britains Ltd.

Established by William Britain in 1845 at Hornsey (north London). One of William's sons developed the art of producing lead figures for which the company became famed with its wide range of military models and farm animals.

The brand is now owned by Ertl, which uses the Britains' name for its collectables ranges.

[source: modelcollector.co.uk]

Boomaroo Toys

 Boomaroo made a range of metal toy vehicles and other toys in competition
with other Australian manufacturers such as Wyn-Toys and overseas toy companies such as Buddy-L. They were listed as Boomaroo Products Pty Ltd in Sydney from 1954 to the 1970s. By the mid-1960s they had become associated with Artlay Manufacturing Company Pty Ltd.

Web site Boomaroo Toys