Real postwar Lionel automobiles?

The baby blue was real and came out in 1955 in some sets. I don't know about the yellow and white you mention.

Rob

quote:

Have these off colors ever even been verified as authentic Lionel production, and not a Madison Hardware thing?

It is possible to tell Madison Hardware autos from authentic Lionel ones. Most guides mention that the Madison Hardware autos are a slightly different length. But what good is that unless you have a known car handy for comparison?
IMHO the Madison autos aren't molded with the same crispness as the originals. In addition, the chassis and windows do not fit all that well.

I thought that the dark yellow one was generally called "mustard yellow". Never heard of "dark white". 

I've seem folks offering the "Madison Hardware" automobiles in all sorts of odd colors.

I used to buy the autos directly from the NYC Madison Hardware store for $30 per dozen. I purchased a number of them over the years. Never saw any odd colored ones there.

Yes, CW, mustard. I couldn't think of it earlier. I've got some older Greenberg books, but none of them cover these cars.

Thanks also Old Rob. I'd never heard that the baby blue was 55 production. I'd always guessed that they would've been later. Something where factory inventory fell short on green, and the "blue" was close enough to fill some orders.

Here is a jumping-off point:

Tandem Associates

I bought a 6424 a few years back with a couple of repro cars, which are slightly shorter than the real deal, so I'm agreeing with CW on that.  The best way to start your research is to (fun!) get a 6414 with original cars - from someone you can trust.  Use these as the baseline for other cars (again, to CW's point).  I love the auto carriers, but WILL NOT purchase or bid on anything that has a "funky" colored car, i.e., olive or lime green, unless I can get it really cheap and like the weird cars.  What are other "funky" colors?  Here's the fun part - research the web and ask around.  Those repro cars I mentioned are gorgeous.  They're a dark red (a funky color), have the Lionel logo on the bottom and are a couple of millimeters shorter than the real thing - it's obvious they're not a rare, fund-my-retirement variation.  They're also well made.  The guy I bought it from did NOT misrepresent them, either.  I think I gave $15.  Oh, nice, new looking tires can be a give away.  I look for faded tires with no sheen; metal axles old and weathered looking, maybe a little rust.  Have fun!!

Carlton 

The Tandem site has a mistake in the very first sentence -- the 6414 was introduced in 1955, not 1956. Take everything at that place with the usual grain of salt.

Martin

quote:

The Tandem site has a mistake in the very first sentence -- the 6414 was introduced in 1955, not 1956. Take everything at that place with the usual grain of salt.

The same can be said about all the price guides. They have mistakes too.

Folks should know that reproduction automobiles continued to be made after Madison Hardware closed their doors.

I am under the impression that these are the cars that came in a number of odd colors. I purchased a set of four dark brown post-Madison Hardware reproduction cars. At the time I think they were $15 per set.

I don't think the automobiles were made by Chicago Line Toy Co. / Parts for Collectors. This company offered their dies for sale around 1996. The automobile dies were not among those listed. If someone knows who made (or makes) them, I'd be interested to know.

The same can be said about all the price guides. They have mistakes too.

And "ringers".

I have some "real" autos form the post car era.  The Madison cars are shorter that the PW ones.   There is a real PW mustard color car.   I have one that came with the 6424 flatcar with the stubs on the end of the car.