Lamley's toy car historian ranks his 10 best additions in 2020
Lamley Awards 2020: Find it, buy it and no regrets – Doug Breithaupt’s Top Ten Additions to the Collection in 2020
Rare Pennies – Penny Toys from Italy
Going way back to the beginnings of 1/64.
Automotive Icons of the 1950’s and 60’s
Drawing out the classics of decades past.
Hard Body by Tootsietoy – toy cars with full features
July 5, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt When someone mentions Tootsietoy, most of us picture simple one-piece toy cars with basic wheels. In a previous story, I reviewed these basic cars beginning with the first small-scale die-cast car made by Tootsietoy in 1911. With the introduction of the Hard Body brand name in the late …
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And the winner is… Tomica
June 27, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt One of the best things about sharing our common hobby of toy cars is that even after 35 years of collecting, the surprises keep happening. Almost every time I share a story with readers, someone provides comments that enlighten me and often send me in search of models …
A Study in Studebaker
May 17, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt While the Studebaker story begins with the production of wagons that carried families across America in the 18th and 19th Centuries, this toy car review only covers 13 years. A brief history of Studebaker follows before we get to the discussion of the miniature versions. There are plenty …
Little Cars that Made a Big Impression
April 14, 2020 by Doug Breithaupt In the second half of the 20th Century, five small cars from five different countries made a huge contribution to history of the automobile. Even full-sized, these cars did not take up much space individually, but multiplied by millions, they changed the way that the world moved. The focus …
The Mysterious Models from Muky of Argentina
April 10, 2020 by Doug Breithaupt How often has any toy car collector wished that they could have a time machine to go back to 1968? Just one trip back to the corner drug store of the late 1960's would allow us to grab up all the original Hot Wheels the time machine could hold. …
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Metropolitan
April 6, 2020 by Doug Breithaupt The Metropolitan is not an American car. It was built in England by Austin, has a British engine and was a captive import car for Nash, Hudson and later, AMC. It was sold in the U.K. after 1955 as an Austin Metropolitan. The design, however, was American. Offered from …
Formula One Grids from 1975-83 – Polistil’s F1 Racers
March 26, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt (Find Polistil F1 Racers on ebay) In 1960, an Italian company called Politoys began producing toy cars. They started in plastic but moved to die-cast after a few years. By 1967, they decided to compete in the small-scale market. They also decided to change their name to Polistil …
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Road Champs – wrapping up the review
March 15, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt (Find Road Champs on ebay) You have allowed me to post two chapters of the Road Champs story here on the Lamley Group, and I have posted three more on the Tales of Toy Cars Facebook blog. There is one more needed to complete my review. 1982 Chevrolet …
Silvia finds a new beau… Hot Wheels
March 3, 2020, by Doug Breithaupt The Nissan Silvia has always played third fiddle to the Z Cars and Skyline or GT/R models. Now that Hot Wheels is close to exhausting all the low hanging fruit in the Japanese/JDM vehicle orchard, the Silvia has become the ripe for picking. Hot Wheels has not neglected the …
More Road Champs – The Japanese Cars
February 17, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt The overwhelming lack of comments on my last Road Champs contribution to the Lamley Group should have probably convinced me to change the subject for this week. However, since it is not possible to have any less response and I’m enjoying this subject, I’ll press my luck. It …
The Toy Cars that Jack Built – Road Champs
February 9, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt Who of us has not fantasized about owning a die-cast toy car company? A few friends who have had the opportunity to work for such a company might advise, "be careful what you wish for" but most of us would still jump at the chance. If you read …
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The Beginning – 109 Years and Counting
February 2, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt It all started in 1911. Every toy car in our combined collections can trace their history back to this date and a single model. The Dowst Manufacturing Company was based in Chicago, IL, and produced a variety of items including buttons, cuff links and toys. They found the …
The Big Picture in Little Cars or the 30 Years Greatest Cars Cycle Theory
January 25, 2020 - by Doug Breithaupt Those of us who are part of the world-wide toy car collecting community recognize the names of many of our fellow collectors. We are most likely to have connected electronically through forums, blogs, or webzine comments. Some have traveled in Europe, the U.S., Asia, or elsewhere and met …
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