Marx Tin-litho Official Fire Chief Car

I've been a bit busy lately trying to scan the family photos and boy, are there a lot of photos - thousands, probably over 10,000 - and that would not be an exaggeration. Bettina's been doing a great job showcasing her wonderful photo's while I'm busy with scanning. VIELEN DANK MEIN SCHATZ! :-) But I think I can squeeze in a quick post here and there.

Today's nifty '50s toy is the tin-litho Official Fire Chief's car from Marx. This car was offered with a wind-up motor or with a friction motor and was offered as separate sale or with their massive two-story tin-litho Fire House. We're showcasing the friction motor car which would have been included in Marx's large tin-litho Fire House featured back on Dec 30, 2011. When I got my station it was missing this piece and now the set is complete - I think :)  All of the ads I've seen for the fire station shows a fire truck being included with the set however, every one of the original MIB sets I've seen included this Fire Chief's car. The car measures 7 1/2" (19.1cm) L x 2 7/8" (7.3cm) W x 2 1/4" (5.7cm) H. Enjoy!

Here's the Fire Chief's car shown next to some Cragstan pieces for size comparison

Japanese Tin Rescue Truck

Two days ago we posted a really cool tin-litho fire house from Marx, the General Alarm Fire House. The vehicles I got with it were not the correct ones as the toy was made in 1938 and the two accompanying vehicles were late '50s to probably mid-'60s. Here's one of those vehicles, a nice little Rescue van measuring 3 1/2" (8.9cm) L x 1 1/2" (3.8cm) W x 1 3/4" (4.4cm) H. It has a fire engine red body with maroon roof, a friction motor attached to the front wheels, and an opening rear door.

China #MF900 Police Car

Here's a little something I picked up the other day from an old friend of mine, a nice little tin-litho Police Car from China. I have absolutely no clue as to who the manufacturer is but it appears to be '70s or '80s vintage. The car measures 5 1/2" (14cm) L x 2 1/2" (6.4cm) W x 2 3/8" (6cm) H and has a whip antenna which might lead one to believe it's an R/C car, but it isn't. The friction motor is in the trunk and as one rolls the car smartly along, sparks fly from the trunk into the passenger compartment that, when viewed from above, makes a real nice display in the translucent red plastic dome. It's a terrific addition to the Fire and Emergency vehicle collection. Enjoy!