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When it comes to model trucks, the two biggest names are probably Tonka and Buddy L. Tonka, founded in 1947 as Mound Metalcraft, has long been famous for its steel construction toys, including trucks, dump trucks, wreckers, semis, cranes and tractors. The company changed its name to 'Tonka' in 1956, which supposedly meant 'great' in Sioux. Tonka was later bought by Hasbro.
Buddy L. was founded by Fred Lundahl, who made steel toys in his spare time for his son and his son's friends. In 1921 his company, the Moline Press Steel Company (later Buddy L.), began making toys full time. They made trucks, cranes, cars, and trains, mostly out of pressed steel (and wood during WW2)...
Other companies like Marx, Structo, Keystone, and Kingsbury also made pressed tin and steel trucks, mostly inspired by Buddy L. models, which are typically the most valuable.

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Juergen Sinkels stunning collection of German tin-plate toys circa 1900 to 1930. Features high resolution, almost-l… [read review or visit site]

Ron Sturgeon's excellent gallery of fancy model cars and other vehicles. Nice high resolution shots with classy mus… [read review or visit site]

Daniel Beckett's gallery of over 6000 collectible diecast vintage toy cars from the 1960s through the 1980s. Includ… [read review or visit site]

Paul Chenard's impressive collection of vintage model race cars (mostly European) including Hotwheels, Dinky, Match… [read review or visit site]

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Mr. Nascar's enormous model car database for collectors, enthusiasts, and builders. With hundreds of user-contribut… [read review or visit site]

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