1952 Marusan/Kosuge Ford Customline Coupe In Original Box
Fabulous tin litho friction drive Ford Customline Coupe fresh from the Kaufman (Owner KB Toys) collection. Grades near mint and comes complete with original box. The actual name on the box is "Hit Friction Car". Incredibly realistic in every detail it's nearly identical to the actual car. "Customline" was the series name assigned by Ford. This title was also printed on the narrow body molding on the box. The underside chassis is stamped with both Marusan and Kosuge trademarks into the metal. It's a 2-door coupe and all tin litho inside and out. The body has enclosed rear wheel wells and is lithoed deep jet black including the chassis. The interior has double benchseats striped in pale yellow, white and maroon. The dashboard is detailed with integrated steering wheel. Floor matting is cross-hatched in black and white. It has a split front windshield and a triple split rear windshield. It's loaded with chrome plated parts; all in perfect condition. This includes thick wrap-around front and bumpers with separate front grille, front and rear split windshield frames, headlights, taillights, body side molding, side vents, door handles, rear license plate frame, and a large soaring hood ornament; all chrome plated. It also has plated/lithoed hood and trunk ornaments. The wheel centers are also chrome plated and have red lithoed hubs and narrow whitewalls. The tires are solid black rubber. The front and rear windshields are the original factory celluloids. The motor is rear-wheel friction drive and works great! The box has a fantastic cover illustration which shows the "modern" family speeding across the nation. In the left background are the New York City skyscrapers, while the right has the Golden Gate Bridge. It's marked only with the Marusan trademark in the lower right corner. For some unknown reason it also shows an excited monkey standing on a swing seat just above the front hood. The theme of nation-wide travel was carried onto the front and rear aprons. They show the same set of three images. On the left it's the mid and south west represented by Mesa Verde Trail and the flat plains. In the center is California St. in San Francisco and on the right Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania Avenue. The box bottom is correctly stamped BLACK indicating the body car color. One of the covers side aprons still has its original price sticker from Martin's. Size: 10¼". Date Sold: Nov. 2010
Price Sold: $ 923
