WYANDOTTE TOYS ANSWER MAN
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WYANDOTTE TOYS ANSWER MAN
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About My Service
Name and Location: Gary Konow, Caledonia, Mich.
Hobbies and Interests: Wyandotte Toys Collector
Author: Wyandotte Toys Are Good and Safe
A History, Reference, and Price
Range Guide
The first edition is sold out, but the second edition is now available on CD ROM, too big to publish in hard copy--19 chapters, 1,500 entries, 300 ads and catalog pages, all the Wyandotte patents with their elevations, over 3,000 graphics, most of them in color, current price ranges. Send check or money order for $24.95 plus $6.00 shipping and handling ($30.95 total) to:
Wyandotte Toys Publishing
c/o 594 - 145th Street
Caledonia, MI 49316
Michigan residents must add 6% sales tax ($32.45 total).
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About Wyandotte Toys
All Metal Products Company was a pressed metal toy factory that flourished from 1920 to 1957. Their formula was to manufacture high quality toys using mass production techniques and cheap raw materials, e.g., scrap metal from the auto industry.
In their first decade, the "toy factory" made toy guns: pop guns, water pistols, and air rifles. Their slogan that decade was "Every Boy Wants a Pop Gun." By 1927 they became the world's largest manufacturer of toy guns. They got out of the air rifle business in 1929, but they continued to dominate the toy gun market through the remainder of their history, producing pop guns, clicker pistols, dart guns and pistols, cap guns and a variety of plastic pistols.
In 1929 the company diversified their product lines and expanded their consumer base, adding a handful of girls' toys and a wide range of planes, cars, and trucks that made them world famous all over again. They changed their slogan to "Wyandotte Toys Are Good and Safe."
In 1936 they added lithographed novelty toys. In 1937 they introduced spring driven motors that propelled some of their vehicles and led to a wider range of wind-up and lever-action novelty toys. During World War II, when they were deprived of steel for manufacturing, they produced wooden toys and die-cut cardboard "build your own" play sets. In 1946 they took over Hafner clockwork trains. In 1948 they added to their pressed metal products die-cast and hard molded plastic toys in order to keep up with their dime store and bargain basement competition.
Steel shortages and high labor costs in the 1950s eventually led to the demise of All Metal Products Company. They abandoned the city of Wyandotte, Michigan, in order to get closer to the steel mills and take advantage of cheaper labor in Ohio. Even so, under poor new management they ran three years in the red and went bankrupt in 1956. Attempts to salvage the company in 1957 failed.
The glory of Wyandotte Toys lives on in the toys themselves. They are durable, long lasting, and there are quite a few collectors giving them tender loving care.
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Got a Question about Wyandotte Toys?
If you want to know more about Wyandotte Toys and their manufacturer, All Metal Products Company, I should be able to answer your questions. I can help you identify Wyandotte Toys, tell you when they were made, let you know if they are authentic (with the right wheels, labels, and accessories), and appraise their value these days. I may even be able to help you find the Wyandotte toy or toy part you are looking for. These services are free. Just send me an E-Mail message at Ggkonow@aol.com.
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My Favorite Products
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