Lledo 1032 Olympics Coca-Cola Delivery Truck

Today is the last day of the 2012 Olympics in England and I hope everyone enjoyed the games. We started this thread with a Lledo die-cast delivery truck and we'll end it the same way - fitting as well because Lledo is an English firm. These trucks were made as promotional items for the 1996 Games in Atlanta and are the only two from Lledo with graphics for the 1932 Olympics that I'm aware of. Today's truck appears to be a Ford Model T whereas the truck featured earlier was a Model A. Enjoy!

1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village Physician's House Box

***Before we get to the blog proper, one of our readers says he's having difficulty in viewing the blog. It's probably easier to let him explain:

"ed...i think there is a slight problem with your site...i'm not a techno person...but my guess is it's in the host/server(?)...

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Is anyone else out there experiencing similar problems?***

Okay, on to the show...

While we still have one more 1932 Olympic themed toy to feature tomorrow, today marks the last of the Helm's Bakery Olympic Village boxes made by the Standard Paper Box Corp. of Los Angeles. This building marks a departure from the others in that it doesn't look like something out of a Ma & Pa Kettle movie. The sign on the front door reads "Dr. Jones Physician" and its California Bungalow, stucco-sided design really does look contemporary to the times. Athletes need doctors to administer to their varied injuries and it is the just what our Olympic Village needs. There are slits on the roof that appear to be used for separate dormer pieces but they don't look as if they've ever been used. Except for the Grain and Milling company which looks like it should have had a water wheel, none of the other buildings have separate pieces other than the basic box construction (four walls and a floor made from one sheet of cardboard plus a separate roof piece as the box lid). The building measures 7 3/4" (19.7cm) W x 6 3/8" (16.2cm) x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) H. Enjoy!

Below is a Model Power O-gauge figure standing in front of the door. As you can see, the buildings are just the right size for an O-gauge layout.

The slots for the dormer don't appear to have been used

1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village First Church of Olympic Village Box

Our fifth building of the 1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village series is up next - the First Church of Olympic Village. Although the Church has that same small town rustic feel, as does the other buildings in the series, it could very well be used for any village, rustic or modern. There doesn't appear to have been a steeple on this church, only the suggestion of one by the flap coming out of the roof at the front of the building. The building measures 4 7/8" (12.4cm) x 7" (17.8cm) D x 5 3/4"  (14.6cm) H. Enjoy!

1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village Hotel Box

Today we present another building in the rare 1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village series of boxes, the Olympic Village Hotel. You've got to admit, after looking at this building, how laughable it is to see how the Olympics were portrayed back in the day. I guess Helm's thought it was 'cute' to portray the world's first Olympic Village as a rustic, almost backwoods kind of place, when in fact it was a bold first attempt at providing modern facilities for the athlete's in 1932. My building is a little rough and clearly, the way in which it was constructed, unfortunately doesn't allow me to take scans of the parts. The Hotele measures 7 3/8" (18.7cm) L x 6"D (15.2cm) x 5 1/8" (13cm) H. Enjoy!

1932 Helm's Bakery Olympic Village Model Cabin Box

Today we forgo Train Time to bring you a special Olympic Toy

Wow, do we have a treat for you paper village aficionados - an Olympic Village from 1932! First of all, I cannot imagine how rare these must be. Since starting on my toy collecting path about twenty years ago I've never come across any more of these buildings. I have six buildings and haven't a clue if there are any more in the series as, quite frankly, the Internet doesn't seem to have any info on them either. The real Olympic Village made its first appearance in the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles. All the buildings I have are constructed as boxes and made by the Standard Paper Box Corp. of Los Angeles. The way in which they're made precludes me from taking a couple of them apart and scanning their pieces, plus they are also a little fragile and I'm afraid by taking them apart I would wreck them.  In size, they are quite compatible for 3-rail O-gauge layouts and perhaps that was their original intent??? The Model Cabin measures 8 3/4"W(22.2cm) W x 4 3/4" (12.1cm) D x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) H.

The building featured today - the Model Cabin - is the only one in the set to offer up the best clue as to who was selling these - Helm's Bakeries Ltd. Also notice the sign on the front door which reads "Olympic Village Model Cabin Mayor McTodd". Who is Mayor McTodd? I find no reference to him in regards to the 1932 Olympics.  Other questions that I have are:

-My boxes don't exhibit the kind of staining one would associate with baked goods being hauled around in them. Were these originally meant to hold baked goods?

-Were they given away with purchases or did one have to order them from the bakery?

-Were they only available in the Los Angeles area? (my guess would be 'yes' but I can't prove it)

From what little I've read, the International Olympic Committee is very protective of it's image and copyright and not just anything can pawned off as a licensed product. All the buildings in this set are quite rustic and look like something out of a 'Ma & Pa Kettle' movie, quite unlike the modern real Olympic Village built for the 1932 games. It was probably because of people playing free and loose with the name 'Olympic' and offering goods quite opposite to the image the Olympic Committee was trying to portray that caused their strong stance. In any case, without further ado, let's begin our tour of the Helm's Bakery 1932 Olympic Village. - Enjoy!

A nice touch - the windows on each end open to reveal a person behind them

A look inside the flap where the girl is printed

A view of the box construction technique