Toys & Stuff was fortunate enough to pick up this vintage Ideal Ambulance, a perfect fit for Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday's. The number molded underneath the vehicle is '1-1900' but what is unusual is that the number '9' was clearly molded backwards :-) Compared to today's toys, the ambulance is rather plain-Jane but for those of us who grew up in the '50s this would have been just fine. The vehicle itself is little more than a hard plastic white panel van with black wheels and a red cross on the roof but is representative of the real-life ambulances of the time which were in fact modified vans versus today's purpose built vehicles. Back on on August 26 Toys & Stuff featured a small Ideal fire truck measuring 3 5/8" (9.2cm) L. This ambulance is larger at 5" (12.7cm) L and twice as high. Size-wise it would look just right next to Hasbro's 'Fearless Firemen' burning building (see the 17 Oct 2010 post) but would overpower the dinky fire engines that came with that set. This ambulance is a great toy from a simpler time. Enjoy!
