About The Toys

Ron started collecting the toys in the 80’s. We’ll let him tell his story:

When I started collecting toys, I was already in love with Mercedes, and other fine European marques. I decided then that I would aspire to own every Mercedes toy made, I was so naive. It didn’t take me long to realize that buying new toys was like pitching an ice cube into the ocean, hoping to cool the ocean down. I quickly moved to only buying antique toys. Through the years, that focus narrowed even more, to specific manufacturers, like Tippco, and models that were interesting, like race cars or open cars, or those steeped in history or loaded with provenance. As in business, I wasn’t afraid to pay a little too much for something I really liked, or that was exceedingly rare. Soon those looked like great buys, as antique toys continued to increase in value. In the 90’s, I accumulated about 60 antique real cars, but decided to sell most of them in 1999, after I sold my chain of junkyards to Ford mtr. Co. The big cars were a pain in my rear, and the toys were easy to store and enjoy, with ever increasing value and no expenses. In the 90’s, I started buying automotive art, including paintings and bronzes, if they engaged me, although my first love is still the toys. I hope you will enjoy the collection; it’s been my pleasure to open it up to my friends on display here at my business, and now to the world with this web site. Today the collection is approaching 3000 pieces. I am known for the Driving School Models, and have perhaps the largest collection worldwide. Automotive enthusiasts and gearheads love these, they are extremely engaging for those with technical appreciation, for their exquisite detail and accuracy. Please visit that portion of the site.

Please email Rodney, my museum “curator”, if you have any questions, corrections, or perhaps a toy to sell that is rare. I haven’t sold any toys to date, so I am not pursuing and sales from the museum at this time. Thanks again, and as my old friend and famous toy collector Al Marwick (1920-1999) said, “The fun is in the search.”