Sun # ST05 'Master' Truck - Army

Over the past couple of months I have been preparing a bunch of photos of what we call 'space' or 'futuristic' cars and this year, hopefully, I'll be able to show them here. Let's start the new year with a vintage futuristic vehicle made by the Sun Rubber Company of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. 

The Sun Rubber Company was founded in 1923 by John T. McLane, Joseph L. McLane, and T.W. Smith, Jr. The firm's first product was a tiny doll-sized hot water bottle followed by a small rubber doll. By 1935 autos had joined the line but, like other companies, toy production ceased with America's entry into WWII. It was during this time the government asked them to produce child-size gas masks which were eventually designed by Walt Disney himself and took the shape of Mickey Mouse. Production resumed after the war but apparently toys stopped being made in 1955 while other products took their place.

The truck featured today was probably produced during the Korean War when interest in military toys hit an uptick. The truck was painted in silver trim and there were several brightly colored schemes available and measures 5 5/8" (14.3cm)  L. One of the problems associated with collecting Sun toys is actually identifying them as such as they are easily confused with toys made by the Auburn Rubber Company. As a matter of fact, this truck was bought on eBay by a seller who identified it as Auburn. Enjoy!

Auburn #524 Rescue Vehicle

Well, as luck would have it, I managed to pick up another Auburn Fire and Rescue vehicle for our Fire Engine and Rescue Vehicle Friday, the Auburn #524 Rescue Vehicle. Our vehicle looks like it got a little too close to the flames! It has some silver paint loss, not uncommon for Auburn, and it's a tad dirty, also not uncommon for Auburn but is still a nice addition to the collection. Now, not to blow my own horn or anything but I have several 'collector' books which feature Auburn, and none of them have shown pictures of all the Auburn vehicles featured in this Blog the past couple of months and certainly none of them have featured as many photos of each item!

Now for a little collecting philosophy. Seasoned collector's will tell you to buy your collectibles in the very best condition you can. Buy them in Excellent or Mint and always buy with the original box. Well, that's a wonderful thing if you're independently wealthy - one of the Haves, but what about the rest of us - the Have Not's? I decided a long time ago that sometimes it's not fiscally possible to buy the very best but to go ahead and buy the item in lesser condition for now and upgrade later when funds are available, as long as you don't shell out a ton of money for items in used condition. But BEWARE - there are far too many sellers who think their vintage toy is 'rare and valuable' - BULL! Just because something is old doesn't make it valuable. Even 'rare' doesn't make an item valuable - if there's no demand for an item it doesn't matter how rare it is, it's just old junk. Also, buy what you like without the expectation of making money. If you're able to sell off some of the lesser condition collectibles for a profit that's great, but with the economy being as sour as it is, it may not always be possible. Collecting should be fun and half of the fun is in the hunt. Please don't stress out over money. Sometimes the cheapest way to involve yourself is through reading Internet blogs and websites where you're  at least able to view some of these cool things. Hope you enjoy!

Auburn #533 Fire Engine Assortment

Well, as promised here's the Auburn Rubber Company's #533 Fire Engine Assortment. I had to buy a couple of figures to make the set complete but it was worth it. As a fatter-of-mact, I believe my set was a 'put-together' set - one in which there may have been pieces original to the set box, but the remainder were simply extras the seller had and just threw them in. I'm comfortable with the vehicles being appropriate for the set but can't really say what combination of colors were included in regards to the figures - were they all color matched, were the firemen one color and the policemen another??? When I bought this set it actually had a whole bunch of duplicate figures of different colors. I also cannot say definitively when the set was released although I would be comfortable in making an educated guess of late 1950s.

The first photos show the recently acquired figures - Policeman w/Billy Club, and Policeman blowing whistle - followed by the set box and contents.. Enjoy!

This photo was taken prior to obtaining the remaining policemen.

Auburn #576 Police Car - Orange

Today on Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday we feature, well, a re-run of sorts. It's the same Police Car as featured n 8 April but this time in orange. When purchasing these, look for both rear fender antennas to be present as they are often broken off.  The silver detailing on our featured car is still largely intact which is always a plus as it is fairly easy to rub off - especially when trying to clean it. Enjoy!

Here's a Marx 35m Policeman standing next to the Police Car for comparison

Auburn #518 Utility Truck

Today's Fire Engine and Emergency Vehicle Friday offering is kind of iffy. We're continuing our look at the Auburn Rubber Company's line of vehicles and our featured vehicle, the #518 Utility Truck is sold by many people as a fire truck simply because it's red and the detailing on the side resembles ladders. Really, this is basically just a utility truck, but that's OK because fire departments had a variety of utility trucks in their service and so we'll just go with that. I have seen this same truck offered in other colors besides red but I don't have any - yet  :-)  The silver detailing on my sample is fairly intact on one side but worn off on the other, but the truck itself is in fairly decent shape. Enjoy!