c.1950 Nishimura Friction Animal Truck In Original Box
Multicolored tin litho friction drive "Animal Truck" manufactured by Nishimura, Japan. First toy I've sold from this small company. Early 50's toy in excellent++ to near mint condition complete with original box. Toy is characterized by it's imaginary appearance and coloration. Lower half of truck cab is solid red with black door lines. Front grille is blue, white and black. Headlights are embossed and colored orange. Upper truck cab is yellow, white, blue, with solid white roof and windshield frame. Note that windshield is the old style split frame with a vertical divider in the center. A large siren was lithoed on the hood and interior details were also included. It also has a large wrap around chrome plated front bumper. The trailer section is solid black. The animal section above it shows several circus type critters hanging and gazing out the windows. The roof was lithoed as an orange and purple scalloped canopy. Six different animals are shown on the sides with two more on the roof. It has a rear door with handle that opens and closes. The bottom side of this section was plated with a brass colored finish. Tires are solid black rubber with white litho metal centers. The left rear corner of the truck trailer was lithoed with the Nishimura "S.N." diamond logo. The friction drive motor connects to the front axle and it works well without any hesitation or grating. The box was beautifully illustrated in full color. It's actually a very nice illustration which more accurately depicts a real speeding truck. It's shown traveling over open ground with mountains in the background. Giraffe, bear, elephant, and mule are shown in the rear section of the truck with their heads sticking out of the windows. The long side panels show the truck completely empty and is less accurately illustrated. The Nishimura logo was printed on the lower right corner box cover. Sold: 9¼" Sold: Feb. 2008
Price Sold: $ 79
