Straco Express Layout, Part 59 - Rising Above One's Station

I don't often find things for the Straco Express layout at the York Train Meet. But every now and then something turns up. This time, I found a new -- well, newer -- train station.

I've had the previous train station since 2012 (see Part 17). The one I bought at the meet was in much better shape.

The graphics were different, but that wasn't surprising. I knew that Bandai changed them for different train sets.

What was a surprise was the actual shape. I had assumed that this new station would be the same as my old one. Not so.

Getting a rise

The two stations were similar, and served similar functions. Both were battery packs that served as power sources for their trains.

Both had basic on/off/reverse lever controllers. The differences were in the details.

My Aero station had the switch added to the front of the station (above). The new one had a lever attached to the side (below).

Different, yet the same

The new station also had a thicker base. Both use the same canopy shelter, though. And what I found most interesting is that both kept the same general graphic design. Both suggest that there's an arch for passengers in the middle of the building.

I like the way height of the new station. It lines up nicely with the Nomura passenger cars. I don't know yet which Bandai set this station came with. Yet.

Layout construction:

• Pegboard: $4.95
• Flathead Screws: $0.40
• Molding: $2.49
• SilClear: borrowed from a friend
• Green Paint: leftover  from another project
• Wood Screws: $3.60
• Felt Pads: $1.99

Power Pack: $5.90
Small Houses: $3.00
Testor's Gray Paint for road: $1.29

Bandai Areo Station: $8.99
Bandai Station: $10.00
2 tinplate signs: $1.00
4 tinplate signs (with train) $5.99
Cragstan HO Light Tower $20.49
4 nesting houses $4.99
Tinplate gas station: $5.00

Vehicles:

• Two Japanese toy cars: $2.00
• A.W. Livestock truck: $4.99
• Taxi: $2.99
• Ambulance: $2.99
• Two Japanese patriotic cars: $6.99
• Haji three-wheel sedan $3.00
• Haji three-wheel tanker $5.00
• 1950's sedan $2.99
• LineMar Police Car $9.00
• LineMar Pepco Truck $8.50
• LineMar Bond Bread Van $8.00
• LineMar Fire Engine $4.95
• LineMar Dump Truck $12.99
• LineMar GE Courier Car $10.98
• LineMar County School Bus $9.99
• Nomura Red Sedan $5.00
• Nomura Police Car $2.52
• Nomura lumber truck $3.48
• 6 Nomura vehicles $16.99
• Shioji Express Truck $10.00
• Shioji Covered Truck $12.50
• Shioji Dump Truck $9.95
• Shioji Shell Tanker $10.50
• Orange Sedan $10.99
• King Sedan $9.95
• Indian Head logo sedan $4.99
• Indian Head (?) convertible $18.00
• Yellow/red Express truck $9.99
• Red limousine FREE

Total Project Cost: $300.30

Collecting -- and collecting information 22

Part of my interest in post-war Japanese toy trains and small vehicles is this: there's virtually no information about these toys at all. Lionel trains, Gilbert Erector Sets, Marx Play Sets have all been carefully researched and documented. And the same is true for the more popular Japanese tin toys. There are multiple reference works about Japanese space and robot toys, and the large-scale car models put out by Bandai, Alpine, and others.

Not so with the low-end toys I'm interested. in. For me, part of the fun has been in the acquisition of information about these toys (rather than the toys themselves). Recently a colleague sent me some photos of a set he had found.

It's actually the surviving components of two identical sets thrown into the same box. But that box is most interesting. The train set was made by Bandai -- the equipment and track bear their brand. I knew that Bandai marketed their own products in the US (as they do today), and also supplied products for Cragstan, an importer of toys in the 1950's-early 1960's. 

Some very helpful info is here -- on the box, that is.

Cragstan imported train sets made by Nomrua and Yonezowa, and -- apparently - by Bandai, too. 

The box is helpful, as it has an inventory printed on it. So I now know what the set actually consisted of. And it's helpful because it explains why the Bandai rolling stock had plain, single-color bodies. All the other manufacturers lithographed details and road names on their cars. 

But this set was designed as a blank slate. A set of road name stickers came with it, so you could decorate the engine and cars as you chose. When I see these pieces come up for auction, many have stickers still attached. And now I know why. 

I still don't know precisely when the set was offered, but the graphics suggest early 1950's. Why? Because the image is "borrowed" from the Lionel 1948 catalog. In the book, the artist made a mistake and made the body of the Santa Fe diesels black instead of silver. The images were correct for the 1949 and later catalog. 

Bandai copied the image from the 1948 catalog, and therefore made its diesel with a black body instead of a silver one. 

I think we can say the Cragstan/Bandai box art was "inspired" by the image
in the 1948 Lionel catalog (lower) -- as the Santa Fe never had any
diesels in that color scheme.

Japanese Tin Toy Vehicles, Part 2

I've been spending the last few months researching the subject of postwar Japanese tin toy vehicles for a talk my father volunteered me for. I've documented some of my research adventures in the Collecting -- and Collecting Information series.

I gave my presentation before the Capital Miniature Auto Collectors Club. The talk provided a background for the toys, made between 1949 and 1963, along with examples from my surviving childhood toys. Also on display was the Straco Express layout, which showcased smaller Japanese toy cars from the period.

Part 1 features the final version of the talk in written form, subsequent parts include galleries of the toys actually discussed.

The Golden Age of Japanese Tin Toy Vehicles 1949-1963
A Presentation for the Capital Miniature Auto Collectors Club, Washington, DC

The major companies (for which we have examples) 

Two examples from Bandai's "Automobiles of the World"
series. These 8" long vehicles had friction drive.

Bandai
Bandai was founded in 1950 and is still in business today. During the period we're discussing (1949-1963)  they produced a series of 8" models entitled “Automobiles of the World.” There were over 100 models in the series, including the Mercedes Benz and Nash Rambler I owned as a child. (click on images to enlarge)

Originally this Mercedes Benz had a soft plastic hood ornament. Otherwise,
this early 1960's toy is intact and in good condition.

Note the construction details on this Bandai Rambler. All the metal
parts are held in place by hand-bent metal tabs -- including
the luggage rack.

Three of the 6" Model A Ford series by Bandai.
These were originally purchased at Montgomery
Wards in Northern VA in the 1960's.

Bandai also made a series of Model A’s. We have three examples from that series here. A common practice was to use most of the same parts and make a variant of the model – which was cheaper than making an entirely new car. As you can see, in the case of these Model A’s, a truck body was swapped out for a car body, or a convertible up top was substituted for a convertible down top. Careful examination of these models will reveal the parts common to all three.

The Bandai Model A convertible pickup. Because the toy was made up
of many different parts, it was easy to substitute a few and
create a new toy. The tabs holding the folded down roof are same ones
used to hold the extended roof in the model below.

The Bandai Model A convertible pickup. By changing just one part and
the color, Bandai created a new toy.

The Bandai Model A four-door convertible. There is a version of this with
police markings. Bandai also made a version with the top down. And
used the same chassis for a panel van version as well.

Part 1: The Golden Age of Japanese Tin Toy Vehicles 1949-1963

Part 3: Haji and Masudaya

Part 4:  Cragstan and Shioji

Part 5: Line Mar and Marx
Part 6: Nomura and others (Marusan, Yonezawa, Alps, Ichico, ATC)