Thomas Toy Road Roller / Grader - OD HP

Somehow I've seem to have gathered a lot of Army construction related vehicles. I've already got a couple of smaller road rollers (or road graders, whichever you prefer) but this one is a bit larger measuring 4 1/4" (10.79cm) L x 2 1/4" (5.71cm) W x 2 5/8" (6.66cm) H. I don't know if this was patterned after a real life road roller or if it was generic but the toy appears to be of '50s origin. Judging by the sticker on the side of the motor housing there apparently was a pull-back motor installed at one time but that's long since gone. I would say that this thing would fit in nicely with 54mm / 1/32 scale Little Green Army Men and would make a nice construction display like let's say either after the battle rebuilding or jpreparing the training grounds with new roads. I know, I know, it's not terribly exciting but units like the Army Corps of Engineers and construction battalions play a vital role in the military and even in the aftermath of natural disasters. I'll be pulling out a few more of these larger sized Army vehicles as well as continuing our look at the smaller stuff as we did in the past year so hang in there readers, more to come! Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

'THOMAS ROLLER'

Banner U.S. Army Road Grader - OD HP

Okay, it appears that through all this little plastic Army vehicle collecting a common thread has become apparent. It seems toy makers of the '50s were out to re-create the Army Corps of Engineers! I mean, why else would there be sooo many construction related vehicles offered? Oh sure, there were tanks and armored cars and stuff but what a plethora of miscellaneous construction gear there was back then- holy moly! And here we have one more example from Banner, the U.S. Army Road Grader from the early 1950s. I was hopin' to wrap up this series of small plastic military vehicles before Christmas but things just keep popping up in fleabay or found in my miscellaneous boxes of toys. This particular toy I've had for a while but it got co-mingled with my 'civilian' vehicles and I just now re-discovered it. 4 1/4" (10.79cm) L x 1 5/8" (4.12cm) W x 1 1/4" (3.17cm) H. Enjoy! Der Spielmeister Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Manoil Road Grader - Red HP with Trailers

Here we have yet another nifty '50s vehicle, this time a road grader for your miniature construction site. The toy is from Manoil, who many collectors associate with those gorgeous sleek, streamlined die-cast cars made before WWII. After the war they turned to plastic and this is just a couple of their offerings. The grader is quite diminutive at 3 1/4" (8.3cm) L x 1 3/8" (3.5cm) W x 1 3/8" (3.5cm) H and is marked 'P11' underneath. The trailers are 2" (5.1cm) L x 1 3/8" (3.5cm) H x 1 1/8" (2.9cm) H and are marked 'P13' underneath. The grader is interesting in that it's made from a fairly thick plastic with heavy duty metal axles and hard rubber wheels. Quite a stable little toy! Hope you all Enjoy our  Photos ! Fritz and Bettina Berg :)