Kaiser-Frazer toys

[Gordie]

For those of you that enjoy your Henry J's in hot rod style there are several options.  In addition to at least ten different variations of the Hot Wheels toys which are just under three inches long there are six different "Gasser's" made by Sunstar.  In addition to the four versions that they make of stock Henry J's with or without an opening trunk  they have created six different modified versions.  There is "Horrid Henry" in blue, "The Phantom"  in gold, "Wild Weasel" in blue,  "Hiper Henry" in brown,  "Fist Full of Dollars" in white and "The Missing link" in orange.  No, I did not make up those names and I don't know what the differences are in the models other than the name and colors.  Sun Star models are extremely nice in stock form and are ten inches long and beautifully detailed.  The "Gasser" versions all go for over $100.00 each on eBay and are limited editions and I don't know how long they will be available.  I don't have one and I am still trying to get one each of the stock versions as they are extremely nice and come in original Henry J. colors.  If I had to choose one Henry J model of all the choices the Sunstar would be it.  I have seen the stock versions for as little as $39.00 on eBay and for that price they are a real bargain.

Another 1951 Henry J gasser is on eBay and it is quite nice.  It is a large 1:18 scale and is 9 1/2 inches long and is made of resin  It is well detailed and painted but nothing opens or moves as it is a static model for display only.  This one I think is a bargain at $25.00 including shipping.  The seller is bblackway and they come in several colors.  I am very pleased with my red one.

[Gordie]

The Holidays are close at hand so what should we buy ourselves or a good friend in the way of a gift?  There have now been over 100 Kaiser-Frazer toys, models and kits recorded since that first Tootsietoy 1947 Kaiser hit the dime stores in 1946.  They and many others show up on eBay or at toy shows occasionally but are few and far between.  We are lucky because some very nice models have been made recently and are still available on line.  For the early cars not much is available except for 2 1/4" plaster or plastic models that need to be assembled and painted.  There are Stoney Mountain kits for '47 Frazer Manhattan #SM631, '49 Frazer #669 and a '49 Kaiser Virginian #668.  Sylvan makes a  '47 Kaiser #V159.  These run about $8.00 plus postage.  For the 1953 cars Brooklin makes '53 and '54 Kaisers in several variations including police cars and taxis and they cost about $80 and are in 1:43 scale or about six inches long and are quite realistic,  Highway 61 makes an outstanding two door model in 1:18th scale or about 11 inches long and they are approximately $100 and come in various colors  as well as two tones and with or without wire wheels.  There are a couple of Argentine Carabella's available for a low price but very expensive postage.  For Henry J's there are at least three different models made by Brooklin, Goldvarg and Neo in 1:43 scale.  All are very nice and differ in small details and retail for about $100.  The nicest are made by Sunstar in the larger size and in several varieties and colors.  These can be found for about $50.  For Darrin's there is Brooklin in 1:43 scale and they come in Pine Tint or red and cost about $150.  The very best Darrin model in my opinion are the models made by Automodello and they were advertised several times in our Bulletin about a year ago.  They come in all four Darrin colors and have a removable half top, sliding doors and are beautifully made.  They run about $300.  For more details about these and other Kaiser-Frazer toys and models read through the earlier posts.  If you have difficulty finding any of these on line let me know and I will try to help in locating them.

[Gordie]

After looking for that scarce '49 Frazer Manhattan 1:43 scale model by Conquest Models for a year I spent a lot of money and bought the one in Russia which I am still waiting to receive.  While online I discovered another a week later and it was located in Pennsylvania.  The seller was breaking up a collection and he not only had the '49 Frazer in a different two tone color combination but he also had a '47 Kaiser model made by a sister company named Madison Models also from England.  I had never heard of the model and when they arrived I was very pleased with two nice additions to our growing list of Kaiser's and Frazer's to add to our collections.  There is a Kaiser or Frazer toy or model for about any year of Kaiser's production years including Henry J's, Allstate's and Darrin's.

[Gordie]

Another of the scarce Madison 1:43 scale 1947 Kaiser sedans painted in Lambswool Cream appeared on eBay and sold with postage for about $190.00 after 27 bids.  I don't think that many of these were ever made and a lot of people wanted this one.

[Gordie]

When Santa visited me this Christmas he dropped off a couple of Darrin toys that were new to me.  One was a red Brooklin 1/43 scale model that I noticed had a different license plate configuration than the green one and I wondered if there were other differences other than the color.  Apparently not as I could not find any but it does have a different Brooklin model number.  The other Darrin is a seven inch long white resin model with no identification but has chrome plastic wheels and black rubber tires with "Goodyear polyglas f70-15" molded on the tire sidewalls.  Also it is the only Darrin model or toy that I have seen that says "Kaiser Darrin" on the rear trunk and appears to be longer in design than a real Darrin.   Do any of you toy collectors have one like this and can tell me who made or sold this model?

[pjkaiser]

Would you show the pictures of the two cars you mentioned?   I would like to see them, as I have something similar.

[Gordie]

I am not very computer literate and do not know how to send pictures but the Darrin's can be seen on eBay.  The Brooklin Darrins are common but the model is item #264091331159 of the sold items under toys and models.  How many of us have Kaiser, Frazers and Willys toy collections?

[Gordie]

I found another Kaiser Darrin  model in Australia that was made by an English company called Mikeansue from their Americana series.  They made un-built kits in 1:43 scale with all metal parts and the Darrin has the drivers door molded in half open position.  They offered many American cars but they were made in limited numbers and a few are offered on eBay as built or un-built kits in red boxes.  Unless you want one of every Darrin model known, which isn't very many, this one is a lot of work and a similar Brooklin model is presently available in the same size in either green or red color without having to assemble and paint the model.  The Brooklin's are quite nice for around $150.

[Gordie]

There has not been very much new on eBay  for toys and models.  A Banthrico wind-up Henry J promotional model was available last week and the last time I looked it was at around $200.00 but I do not know what the final price was.  It was a nice maroon colored one.  For those of you that like race cars there is a nice 1:18th scale 1960 Roger Ward Kaiser Aluminum sponsored dirt track race car recently available on eBay for around $50.00 plus postage.  They are very nice models with a removable hood which exposed the motor and it is a well built model.  There are several available on-line at this time.  A different model kit of a Darrin was on-line recently.  They are made of resin and are nice looking models.  This model was made by Enchanted Land Coachbuilders of Tucson AZ and the one I saw was built in red color with black interior and wire wheels.  They are made in 1:43rd scale and are about 5 1/2 inches long.  Darrin and Henry J owners are lucky as many toys and models were made of both over the years.  Many are readily available but some take years to locate.  It is a real challenge to try to find one of each!

[Gordie]

A nice red Henry J Banthrico wind-up promotional model just sold on eBay for a little over $200.00 plus postage.  They do not show up very often and the values seems to be between $200-300 consistently.  The Lincoln Line models seem to show up a little more frequently than the ones made by Banthrico.

[Gordie]

Thiere used to be a one man model toy company named Miller Memorabilia and he used to be at Hershey every year.  He made and sold resin and plaster models of many make of cars and kind of specializied in Hudsons and off beat cars.  I once owned a three wheeled Dale prototype car and he even had a model of that.  His models were either kits or fully finished and he also made models of Kaisers, Henry J's and even a Allstate.  The models that I have seen of the Kaisers were made from molds from the 1953 Banthrico metal models  that were once available from Kaiser-Frazer dealers.  They looked almost like the Banthrico models except that they were almost solid resin and did not have see thru windows.  A recent auction on eBay had a variation that was made by Milller but was cast very thin and had open windows but no interior features.  The Allstate and Henry J models were made from the molds of the Lincoln Line plastic promotional models and I have never seen one for sale or on an auction..  If we keep looking there are probably other Kaiser-Frazer toys and models out there waiting to be discovered.

[Gordie]

Another 1:43 scale Brooklin model has been spotted.  This is supposedly one of ten made and is a replica of a 1953 Kaiser Michigan State Police car in blue.  That makes about four different police cars and at least three various taxi versions.  This one is priced at over $200.00 plus postage.  Those kind of prices kind of take the the joy out of it but it is a new one for the growing Kaiser-Frazer toy and model list.

[Bob G]

I have a Miller model of a '52 Kaiser. As noted above it is solid resin with some attachments or deletions. You were able to make it as a '52 or '53 by adding attachments or sanding off some items.  Painted  it black just like my first Kaiser a '52 Manhattan.

[Gordie]

That is interesting.  I have been able to find three of the Miller models, one as a kit and one with the thick resin and solid windows, and one with thin resin and open windows.  All were copied from a Banthrico '53 Kaiser promotional model.  The thinly cast one has "53" painted on the inside of the roof.  All had the '53 style headlight rims and those could be ground down and the upper quarter panel trim removed to make it look like a 1952.  What add-on parts were included with your kit?  Apparently his models evolved as he found different ways to improve them.  Some have wire wheel type wheel cover and some have regular wheel covers.

[Gordie]

For those of you that enjoy your Henry J's in hot rod style there are several options.  In addition to at least ten different variations of the Hot Wheels toys which are just under three inches long there are six different "Gasser's" made by Sunstar.  In addition to the four versions that they make of stock Henry J's with or without an opening trunk  they have created six different modified versions.  There is "Horrid Henry" in blue, "The Phantom"  in gold, "Wild Weasel" in blue,  "Hiper Henry" in brown,  "Fist Full of Dollars" in white and "The Missing link" in orange.  No, I did not make up those names and I don't know what the differences are in the models other than the name and colors.  Sun Star models are extremely nice in stock form and are ten inches long and beautifully detailed.  The "Gasser" versions all go for over $100.00 each on eBay and are limited editions and I don't know how long they will be available.  I don't have one and I am still trying to get one each of the stock versions as they are extremely nice and come in original Henry J. colors.  If I had to choose one Henry J model of all the choices the Sunstar would be it.  I have seen the stock versions for as little as $39.00 on eBay and for that price they are a real bargain.

For those who collect the Hot Wheels Henry J "Jaded" drag cars there is a new to me, brown and white "Team-Drag Racing"  car in the  package #02 of '04 so it is fifteen years old but I found one on eBay for about $3.00.  There must be at least twelve different ones if you want them all.  They are probably the least expensive Kaiser-Frazer models available.