Japanese Tin Toy Vehicles - Part 1

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.

Tonight I gave my presentation before the Capital Miniature Auto Collectors Club, and it went pretty well. 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, and Parts 2 and 3 include galleries of the toys actually discussed. And with these posts, I can finally bring this topic to a close -- I hope.

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

A Brief History 
After World War II, one of the main tasks of the occupying U.S. military was to rebuild the Japanese economy. In order for manufacturing to resume, there had to be a demand for goods. Toy production was one of the earliest industry to resume peacetime production. As this effort was guided by the U.S., America seemed a logical and ready market for inexpensive Japanese goods  -- and so it was.

Early products were marked “Occupied Japan.” Because of their primary market was the US, Japanese toy companies modeled mostly American vehicles. Sometimes these were scale or semi-scale models. In other cases, the toys were simply inspired by elements of American cars.

Often these generic models were just that – generic toys. But sometimes there was a reason. Yonezawa, for example, came out with an accurate model of an Indy 500-winning car. When threatened with legal action, they changed the car to make it less realistic. Alps had a similar run-in with Cadillac. Japanese companies soon learned who they had to make licensing deals with and did so, allowing them to create very detailed tin models.

The Golden Age of Japanese Tin Vehicles 1949-1963 
The period we’re focusing on spanned the early 1950’s through the early 1960’s. By 1950 several Japanese toy companies were in full production, and there were American distributors importing them – sometimes under their own brand – for sale. By 1963 competition from Hong Kong and the increasing use of plastic as a cheaper and safer material than tinplate signaled the end of the era.

In the early 1960's Matchbox cars produced by Lesney in the UK were becoming popular in the States. Japanese toy car makers soon moved to compete in with their own diecast models. When Mattel's Hot Wheels arrived on the market, tin cars virtually disappeared from the shelves. Japanee toymakers either made 1/87 scale diecast vehicles, or larger ones made entirely from plastic.

As beautiful as some of the Japanese vehicles are, they were never meant to be anything but inexpensive toys. Mostly they were sold in dime stores, department stores, and drug stores. By the mid-1960's Japanese makers had moved up in the market with their diecast lines, and Hong Kong had becomes the source for cheap toys. Eventually Hong Kong would be superseded by Taiwan, and then eventually by China.

Basic Construction 
Japanese toy cars of the era were primarily made of stamped tinplate with colorful lithography. The pieces were shaped and cut in stampers, and held together by bent tabs. Most were hand-assembled in factories, predominantly by women. Generally, the only non-metal parts were clear celluloid front and back windows, headlights, and rubber tires.

By the mid 1950’s plastic—rather than metal -- steering wheels and hood ornaments became common. As time when on, more of the smaller tinplate parts were replaced by plastic ones.

Many models had friction motors. Some were free-wheeling, and a good number were battery-operated. Most often the latter cars were powered by a battery/pack controller wired to the vehicle. Some cars had “mystery action” which meant they changed direction when they bumped into things – those vehicles had built-in battery compartments.

A beautiful example from Line Mar. The rearview
mirrors didn't last long, though (you can still see the
hole in the cab where the driver's side mirror was
mounted.)

Collecting Japanese Tin Toy Cars
As with other types of Japanese toys of this era, such as robot and space toys, and mechanical toys, a large part of an item’s desirability and value rests in the box. The boxes were generally made of inexpensive and very thin cardboard, and often discarded. Many were brightly decorated with attractive graphics, which is part of their appeal.

Boxes can also affect the condition of the vehicle. Cars that were put back and stored in their original boxes are more likely to retain the small, delicate detail pieces that otherwise get lost or broken off (such as the rear-view mirrors on the Allied Van at right - click on image to enlarge).

The boxes are valuable for another reason -- as sources of information. Many companies didn’t put any markings on the toys themselves – only the boxes. So having the box helps identify the vehicle (especially some of the more fanciful designs) as well as the company who made it.

One has to be careful using the box information for reference, though. Sometimes the box only has the brand of the distributor, or has it displayed more prominently than the makers’. You’ll see sometimes toys identified as Cragstan, Franconia or Straco pieces, when these companies were actually just imported by these firms. And there’s not always a one-to-one correspondence between importer and manufacturer. Cragstan, for example, imported toys built by Nomora, Shioji, Bandi, Haji, and some other companies.

Part 2: Bandai
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)

Collecting -- and collecting information 7

The mysteriously named Aero Station. I only
thought I knew where it came from.

Sometimes it takes a while to collect all the pieces of a puzzle. That's what the Collecting - and Collecting Information series has been about. Learning about a subject with a paucity of source material. The Straco Layout, Part 16 Station-Aero I wrote about a piece of a Bandai train set I had acquired. It a battery power pack/controller designed to look like a train station.

I knew that the piece was made by Bandai -- it said so in the lithography. I also had seen the station with a complete Bandai train set in its original box, so I thought I knew how it had been originally sold. (click on images to enlarge)

I originally thought the Aero Station
came from the Atomic Armored
Train Set.

Still the name "Aero Station" on the roof seemed odd. It was clearly a train station and not part of an airplane play set. So why "Aero?" Originally, I thought it was just a case of the manufacturer picking out a cool-sounding English word without completely understanding its meaning.

The name fits. It's clear this is the source for the
Bandai Aero Station.

But I was wrong. Because I recently ran across an offering for a very rare Bandai train set -- the Aero Train. And then it all made sense. The GM Aerotrain was a streamlined passenger train introduced in the mid 1950's. The Bandai toy pictured at right is actually a fairly good representation of the train. And it makes perfect sense that the Aerotrain should let off passengers at.... an Aero-Station.

It seems logical that this set, probably introduced shortly after the prototype, was one my Aero-Station was designed for. Does that make the other set fake? Not necessarily. The station could have been used for other sets as well, perhaps as a way to use up extra stock.

In any event, I now have a better idea of the date of the piece, and why it's labeled the way it is. Another example of how one can piece together information from source materials.

CCC 047 Larysa Kuzmenko

When it comes to classical music, it's very easy to have tunnel vision. The Consonant Classical Challenge addresses part of it by focusing on living composers. But even looking at current composers, it's easy to think only in terms of Europe and the United States. Canada, like most countries, has a rich classical music tradition  -- just one that her neighbor to the south seldom hears about.

Canadian composer and pianist Larysa Kuzmenko is widely respected in her country. Her solo piano works are often programmed in recitals. Although she hasn't written a symphony, she does have a number of outstanding works for orchestra that deserve a wider audience.

Behold the Night, based on passages from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, is a good example. Kuzmenko's music is tonal in nature, although it often ranges far beyond simple major or minor key relationships. Listen for the effective use of modal harmonic progression in this work.


Kuzmenko is a pianist, so its not surprising that her piano concerto would have a solo part that was technically challenging. But she's also a talented composer, so the fireworks serve a purpose -- and that purpose is coherent musical expression.


The Prayer for Strings is a shorter work that really shows off Kuzmenko's melodic gifts. It's a heartfelt work that would be an excellent addition to any orchestral program, I think.



Larysa Kuzmenko's music should appeal to both adventurous and more traditionalist listeners. Her works might be framed in the common language of classical music, but there's a fresh perspective that draws the listening in. It's unfortunate that there's not more of her music available. Everything I've heard by her has been of the same quality as the examples in this post.

I'd really like to hear her Concerto for Accordion...

Recommended Recording  
3 Concerti

Collecting - and Collecting Information 6

Judging by the photo, these two Cragstan/Nomura trains
are virtually identical. In reality, though, there are
some important distinctions.

Although some things can be researched online, there's nothing like hands-on examination for learning. In this series, Collecting - and Collecting Information, I've been chronicling my adventures in accumulating knowledge about a topic that there seems to be little information about -- Japanese toy cars and trains. I'm doing the research for a talk my dad volunteered me to give, and it's a topic I know little about. But I'm learning more, teasing out information a little at a time.

In 2010, I posted The Straco Express and the Mystery Train(s). I didn't know much about the Japanese tinplate train I had as child, and was hoping someone online would. They didn't. But since that time, I've learned that the train I had was imported by Cragstan, and manufactured for them by Nomura, probably around 1961. (click on images to enlarge)

And recently I learned something else -- this particular model was made earlier, and underwent some design changes along the way. I found a similar set online and purchased it. The cars had different graphics, and I was thinking of making a longer train.

Placed together, it's easier to pick out the newer boxcar. Note the
difference in the style of the graphics.

When they arrived, I was surprised to discover that they had a different coupler arrangement. Instead of the simple eye and hook of my set, this one had a complex open box and ratchet setup. It's a little difficult to tell from the photographs, but these cars were older than the ones I already owned. In addition to the difference in patina, the lithography also has more of a 1950's rather than 1960's graphic design to them (actually, I think they more closely resemble 1940's commercial art).

A simple hook (left) vs. a complicated ratchet-and-box
coupler (right). No wonder Nomura made the change!

In all other ways the cars are identical, so this was probably a running change. And it makes sense. The newer couplers are simpler, so they're easier to make and they require less material. A definite cost savings.

So now I know a little more about this Santa Fe set. And the information wasn't readily apparent from the photos of the train. Only after I had the train in hand and could do some side-by-side comparisons was I able to see a little of Nomura's history.

The Straco Layout, Part 28 - Relaying the Rails

Trouble ahead! Those screws holding down the
tracks cause more than one derailment.

Read all the installments of the Straco Express layout project here.

With the increase of vehicles on the layout, I've been referring to it as the "Straco layout/display." One of its functions is to serve as a static display for the Japanese cars I've collected. But the other is to be an operating toy train layout, with trains moving along the track.

It's important to remember that these Japanese rains were designed to be inexpensive toys -- not realistic (and reliably operating) scale models. The track is substantially taller than standard HO gauge track, and the wheel flanges are significantly bigger as well. As you can see from the two images at right, there was a lot of variation between manufacturers. Both cars fit on the track, but the wheels on both have enough room to let the trucks slide back and forth as they travel along the rails.

Wheel detail from a Straco Express car. Note how
much distance there is between the left flange and rail.

And that was the problem. Initially, I knew I had to be careful where to put the screws, and came up with a simple pattern that held the rails together and kept them securely on the board (Part 7, Laying Down the Rails). Unfortunately, while I thought I had allowed enough clearance for the wheels, I actually hadn't. If you look carefully at video showing all three trains, you'll see the cars -- and engines -- bouncing along as they occasionally hit a screw head.

Wheel detail from a Cragstan car. Both the right and left
flanges have gaps between them and the rails.

With featherweight cars and locomotive pickups that only marginally conduct electricity, that was a big problem. After only a few circuits, either the cars would jump the track, or the engine would stop because it lost contact with the rails (and didn't have enough momentum to carry it past the screw).

So I've relaid all the track, taking the screws out from between the rails. In the process, I've also doubled the number of screws used, since I had to secure both sides of the track (the screws on the center ties are offset to prevent slippage).

Before: Those screw heads just got in the way.

There was a big improvement in performance. Electric contacts work better, and cars stay on the track for more circuits. And with these toys, that's significant. Maybe it's time to make another video to demonstrate.

After: Nothing to interfere with the wheels as they
wobble back and forth.