Scenic items and materials for use in model railway layouts, dioramas etc.
Tinplate toys from around the world.
Clifford Toys was established in the early 1960s as a brand under which a wide range of plastic toys from various Hong Kong manufacturers could be distributed. Many of these were scaled-up replicas of contemporary Dinky and Corgi toys, and often featured friction motors and moving parts.
New Zealand's Lincoln Industries was formed in Auckland around 1946, and ventured into toy production in 1948. In the late 1950s/early 1960s they launched a range of diecast toys similar - very similar - to Lesney's Matchbox 1-75 range. The company expanded and became Lincoln International, with manufacturing in Hong Kong. During the 1960s and 1970s a wide range plastic toys and models was produced, including licenced toys from Batman and the various Gerry Anderson TV series; these are particularly in demand by collectors today.
Louis Marx and Company was founded in New York City in 1919 by Louis and his brother David. They produced a large, diverse and hugely successful range of toys in tinplate and later in pressed steel and plastic, ranging from yo-yos to dolls' houses and including mechanical and constructional toys. By the 1950s Marx had three manufacturing plants in the USA and several in other countries including Japan and a UK plant in Swansea, Wales. Eventually, Marx was hit by competition from lower cost Asian toys, and in 1972 Louis sold the company to Quaker Oats who also owned Fisher-Price. Subsequently in 1976 the Marx division was sold off to Dunbee-Combex-Marx, already owners of the UK Marx subsidiary. They went into liquidation in 1980, bringing the Marx company story to an end, although the Marx name lives on as a brand used by indirectly related companies.
Telsalda was a UK company that commissioned and distributed plastic toys from various Hong Kong manufacturers could be distributed. Many of these were replicas of contemporary Dinky and Corgi toys, scaled-up and equipped with a friction motor.
Founded in 1938, Timpo is an abbreviation of 'Toy Importers Ltd', and as the name suggests, the company was initially concerned with importing toys. Timpo turned its attention to manufacturing at the outbreak of war in 1939 when importing was no longer possible. The first hollow-cast lead items began to appear during the war years, but it was not until 1946 that the main Timpo range was established, using moulds purchased from other companies. From 1950 Timpo began producing its own range of figures, notably toy soldiers, which were manufactured in plastic from 1954. Timpo ceased trading in 1978.
Brimtoy originated in 1923 when British Metal Toy Manufacturers Ltd, established in 1914, was reborn as Brimtoy Ltd. In 1932 Brimtoy merged with A. Wells & Co. Ltd, itself a tinplate toy manufacturer established in 1919. Trading as Wells-Brimtoy, the company had dual manufacturing locations in Walthamstow, London and Holyhead in Wales. The Brimtoy brand continued to be used for train sets and the Pocketoys range while the Welsotoy brand was launched in 1955 for other ranges. The company continued to trade until 1970 when it was taken over by CMT Group.
Based in the UK in Blandford, Dorset, Wend-Al was one of several manufacturers of toy figures that started up immediately after World War II, but differed in that its products were cast in aluminium instead of the more prevalent hollow-cast lead. Wend-Al's initial production was based by agreement on moulds from the French firm Quiralu, but it soon started producing models of its own which covered subjects including zoo, farrm and circus as well as a version of the popular early TV character Muffin the Mule. However, due to increasing competition from plastic models, Wend-Al ceased production in 1956.
Plastic figures from other or unidentified manufacturers.
