For many, many years toy manufacturers have been making children's versions of real cars, trucks, and even tractors. Never exact copies or models, these still were often based on a recognizable brand. Can you spot the "real thing" that inspired the dime store versions pictured here? I will even give you a hint by naming the toy company! And, yes, the toy companies continued production on these into the following decade.
Good try, gentlemen, especially Jack. See if these pictures jar your memories.
Okay, the Dodge Airflow was a true curiosity. Chrysler/DeSoto introduced that streamlined failure in 1934 and modified it for '35 and '36. The Chrysler abandoned it. But the Dodge Truck folks saw the machining was available and wanted to build some special trucks. for mostly '38 and '39, only on order, Dodge Trucks built a variety of bodies on their version of the Airflow chassis and front end. The largest number of the few hundred that were built went to oil companies as specialized tankers. Texaco may have had the most. Remember this one?
I don't collect trucks but I would love to have a 1:24 model of this Texaco tanker.
Marx put out some nice looking plastic pieces.....static except for the rear door...........many can be found on fleabay
JB; I have only one Marx oldie, which I love. It is the 52-3 Mercury Woody wagon in light blue, around 1:12 scale I would say....mint and boxed. It's still packed away with most of my models. I stumbled across it years ago at a craft fair.
@jack-dodds I have,somewhere cleverly hidden,another plastic Marx truck.....1935 Sears Delivery Van.......overhead rear door and working headlights.....looks like this (Not my pictures)
@jack-dodds I have,somewhere cleverly hidden,another plastic Marx truck.....1935 Sears Delivery Van.......overhead rear door and working headlights.....looks like this (Not my pictures)
Very nice JB. As I say, I have only the Mercury so I know very little about Marx models.
That Texaco tanker? I found this one here, but I think there's another even more similar. You might look on eBay. Happy hunting!
I just looked at their site, using "ERTL Texaco Dodge Airflow Tanker Truck Bank." There were about a dozen listed, usually in the $20 range. I'm not sure about scale.
That Texaco tanker? I found this one here, but I think there's another even more similar. You might look on eBay. Happy hunting!
As indicated in various web resources, that particular Texaco tanker is the "Doodlebug" designed for Texaco by famous industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, with a chassis designed and built by Diamond-T Trucks in Chicago. The body was fabricated by Heil Trailer in Milwaukee. It appears that a small number of these were built for service.
