By Mike Randall, Photos by Tom Hannig
Note: This feature is in the Dec. TT&C 2014 issue.
Note: This feature is in the Dec. TT&C 2014 issue.
The majority of these larger Tootsietoys from the 1940s and 1950s feature L and B Model Macks. The trucks to the far left were called Reos, but they look more like U-70 or U-90 Autocars.
 Mike Randall holds three Arcade cast-iron AC Bulldog Mack toys from 1925 thru 1928.  Just one-third of Mike Randall’s collection.  The 1969 International Harvester Payhauler 350 quarry dump gets weathering touches after sitting out in the elements after 40-plus years.  This 1959 Mack B-75 West Coast road tractor is Mike Randall’s favorite model built to date and possibly his favorite in his collection. | I’ve always been fascinated by trucks, whether it’s big trucks, small trucks, early fire apparatus or toy trucks. My toy truck collection has really grown since I was featured in the October 2009 Toy Trucker & Contractor. At that time, my collection count was at 1,230. Now, my collection is up to 2,033. On Aug. 16, I hosted an open house and received my 2,000th toy truck that day, a moment I will treasure forever. I collect toy trucks of all sizes and scales. Some collectors try to stick to a certain scale, but I have no preference. My collection is very diversified, including many different toy manufacturers. I like collecting toy trucks from local trucking companies in central and upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as old motor freight company toy trucks such as Consolidated Freightways, Carolina, Red Star, APA, Roadway and Horseless Carriage. On the cover The scene on the cover is “Christmas 1929,” which was the start of the Great Depression. The featured toys are two 1929 AC Bulldog Macks. One is an original complete pedal car fire engine and the other is a dump truck. Both were manufactured by the Steelcraft Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The smaller toy is a 1929 AC Bulldog Mack Bell Telephone truck which was made by the Arcade Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Ill. The other toy pictured is a very rare 1929 A.C. Gilbert erector set that is all original and complete. The A.C. Gilbert Company was founded by A.C. Gilbert in New Haven, Conn., in 1911. In the early 1960s, the A.C. Gilbert Company was purchased by the Gabriel Toy Company of Lancaster, Pa. In 1967, the A.C. Gilbert Company filed bankruptcy. The Structo Company, founded in 1908, also of Freeport, Ill., supplied the A.C. Gilbert Company with the truck’s hood, fenders, wheels and the body, which happens to be an old White Truck. Arcade Manufacturing Company was founded in 1868, when its first toy, a miniature box coffee mill, was made. Arcades were known for their heavy and dependable cast-iron toys during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. I remember purchasing the Bell Telephone truck at the Hershey Car Show Flea Market in 1993. The toy trucks I am holding in the picture are larger Arcade AC Bulldog Macks from 1925 to 1928. In 1946, Arcade was purchased by the Rockwell Manufacturing Company of Buffalo, N.Y., but ceased operations in 1953. I purchased all three of the large Arcade Macks at the 2005 National American Truck Historical Society Truck Show in Auburn, Ind. The Structo Company built some impressive toy trucks also. Also pictured are some good examples of the four early 1950s Structo toys, especially the car carrier that is complete with four Structo Cadillac Coupe de Villes.  Want to read the rest of the story? It's available in the DECEMBER TT&C 2014 magazine! Download here: DECEMBER TT&C 2014 Call (701) 883-5206 or (701) 883-5206 to purchase or order online at: http://www.toytrucker.com/past-issues.html |
RSS Feed
