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The Hubley Manufacturing Company produced a wide range of cast-iron toys, doorstops, and bookends. Toys, particularly motor vehicles and cap guns, were also produced in zinc alloy and plastic. The company is probably most well known for its detailed 1:25 scale metal kits of 1930s cars. Starting in 1960, Hubley participated for a couple of years with Detroit automakers as a plastic promotional model maker. Many Hubley toys are now sought-after collectibles. ==History== The Hubley Manufacturing Company was first incorporated in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by John Hubley. The first Hubley toys appeared in 1909 and were made of cast-iron, with themes that ranged from horse-drawn vehicles and different breeds of dogs, to tractors, steam shovels and guns (Smitsonian Institution, website). Hubley's main competition in the early years was Arcade (Richardson 1999, p. 46). Early toys were known for their complexity; a delicate 11 inch long Packard Straight 8, a five-ton truck that came complete with tools, a road roller that came in five different sizes, a steam shovel with working arms and shovel, and Chrysler Airflows with take-apart bodies (Richardson 1999, p. 46). Hubley's was especially known for its many motorcycles, which were creative and often included sidecars or hooked to delivery vans that said, for example, "Say it with flowers" on the sides (Richardson 1999, p. 46). In the late 1930s, the company began shifting to diecast zinc alloy (mazac) molding similar to Tootsietoy which had been doing toys in diecast since 1933 (Johnson 1998, p. 96; Richardson 1999, p. 67). Foreshadowing the post-war diecast boom, new mazac toys were now called Hubley Kiddie Toy (Richardson 1999, p. 67). Household objects such as doorstops and bookends were also produced. Automobiles, trucks and airplanes later became Hubley's main focus. Hubley's casting process involved several steps. For a particular toy, bookend, or doorstop, metalworkers would first carve a wood form, or hammer out the basic design in metal. Pressing this form into finely compacted sand created an impression for molding. Cast iron heated to 3000 degrees was poured into the sand mold and, when cooled, the form would pop out. Rough edges would be filed away and the mold ready for mass production casting. Painters applied a base coat (usually white or cream but sometimes black) to cast figures whether toys or doorstops. Then, colorists used a variety of hues highlighting important details (Collectics.com). By about 1960, different lines were introduced to distinguish toys for younger folk from products for older hobbyists. In fact, the company suddenly tried to compete with a variety of market segments all at the same time, pitting itself against other metal kid's toy maker, kit manufacturers, and British diecast producers. In 1965 was acquired by the Lido Toy Company (Wall Street Journal, August 5, 1965). The company also dabbled in plastic promotional models. Hubley offerings may have represented too broad of a competitive brushstroke, however, as the company was pretty much out of business by the mid-1970s. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hubley Manufacturing Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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