Another common vehicle up through the 1970s was a realistically detailed 1934 Ford coupe. One popular toy was a late 1940s (or perhaps pre-war) Cadillac sedan that sometimes came decorated as a taxi. Hubley made simple diecast metal toys all the way through the 1970s. Up through the 1950s, the emphasis was on children's toys, though some of these so-called toys could be fairly sophisticated, like the eleven and a half inch long Indian 'crash car' cast iron motorcycle complete with parts and accessories, or a fairly complex tow truck. In good condition, Hubley's 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr pulling a trailer can bring in several hundred dollars (see O'Brien, 1994 for a more detailed history of Hubley vehicles). A couple of earlier examples were a detailed 1934 Chrysler Airflow, a 1934 Ford coupe, and a 1930s Studebaker. Construction, farm, and fire vehicles were commonly produced, as well as motorcycles. The Hubley Manufacturing Company made accurate metal replicas of many popular American cars and trucks, with some foreign models also represented. Hubley offerings may have represented too broad of a competitive brushstroke, however, as the company was pretty much out of business by the mid-1970s. The company also dabbled in plastic promotional models. In 1965 was acquired by the Lido Toy Company (Wall Street Journal, August 5, 1965). One such toy was their Tic-Toy clock with visible interior gears (see Coopee 2017). In fact, the company suddenly tried to compete with a variety of market segments all at the same time, pitting itself against other metal kid's toy maker, kit manufacturers, and British diecast producers. Then, colorists used a variety of hues highlighting important details ().īy about 1960, different lines were introduced to distinguish toys for younger folk from products for older hobbyists. Painters applied a base coat (usually white or cream but sometimes black) to cast figures whether toys or doorstops. Rough edges would be filed away and the mold ready for mass production casting. Cast iron heated to 3000 degrees was poured into the sand mold and, when cooled, the form would pop out. Pressing this form into finely compacted sand created an impression for molding. For a particular toy, bookend, or doorstop, metalworkers would first carve a wood form, or hammer out the basic design in metal. Hubley's casting process involved several steps. Household objects such as doorstops and bookends were also produced, but automobiles, trucks and airplanes gradually became Hubley's mainstay. Foreshadowing the post-war diecast boom, and perhaps in an attempt to steal some of Tootsietoys' thunder, new mazac and plastic Hubley toys were now called Kiddietoys - a name which was used at least until the mid-1950s (Richardson 1999, p. 67). In the late 1930s, the company began shifting to diecast zinc alloy (mazac) molding similar to Tootsietoy which had been doing toys in diecast since 1933 (Johnson 1998, p. 96 Richardson 1999, p. 67). Hubley's was especially known for its many motorcycles, which were creative and often included sidecars or hooked to delivery vans that said, for example, "Say it with flowers" on the sides (Richardson 1999, p. 46). Early toys were known for their complexity a delicate 11 inch long Packard Straight 8, a five-ton truck that came complete with tools, a road roller that came in five different sizes, a steam shovel with working arms and shovel, and Chrysler Airflows with take-apart bodies (Richardson 1999, p. 46). Hubley's main competition in the early years was Arcade (Richardson 1999, p. 46). The first Hubley toys appeared in 1909 and were made of cast-iron, with themes that ranged from horse-drawn vehicles and different breeds of dogs, to tractors, steam shovels and guns (Smitsonian Institution, website). The Hubley Manufacturing Company was first incorporated in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by John Hubley.
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