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Click here to go to my page with the motorcycle toys that I have for sale.
Last year I began to find pre-50's toys at local flea markets in Germany, and on eBay. I've slowly become hooked. I'm particularly fond of German clockwork (spring wound) toy motorcycles. Nürnberg, Germany was once the center of the toy universe, and it happened to fall into the U.S. Zone of Occupation after WWII. Hence, tin toys produced in the the post-war timeframe bore the mark "Made in US zone Germany". (The marking of toys with this statement ended in the 50's.) Since I was born into a US soldier's family, in Munich in the 50's, I guess you could say that I was "Made in the US Zone" too. It all is too coincidental! So it is natural to see my attraction to these tin toy motorcycles. They may not all be BMWs, but they are good enough for me!"
Thank you to everyone that has sent me an email. This is a great way to meet fellow Beemerphiles. If you want more information on a specific toy, just drop me an email and I'll tell you the scale, manufacturer, etc. I can also tell you where I got it, if it is readily available, or if I have an extra that I might part with.
I'm anxious to meet other collectors out there. I'm always looking to expand my collection and help other collectors as well. Let me know if we can help each other out! You can send me an email by clicking here.
I've started implementing an entirely new format. I'm going to group the bikes by model (K Bikes, R1100RS, R1100RT, R100RS, etc. I'll try to add a little information about a particular manufacturer if I can.. Just click on the BLUE HIGHLIGHTED name of each model type for a group picture of every motorcycle I have of that type.!
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Single cylinder R26 1:24 scale R26 from Micromodelli of Italy. Comes in its own plastic case.
Herpa VW van with R1100RS 1:87 scale van and BMW R1100RS combination from Herpa of Germany. This one also has a hard plastic display case. K1200RS bikes 1:18 scale K1200RS from Majorette of France. Three versions are out now. I have some extra Red ones (see sale page). The Checkered Yellow are around, but I've only seen one Blue. French R100 Police Escorts 1:24 scale R100s from Cofalu of France. Plastic 'route security' escorts. Quality is really poor, but one is in original box! With riders too! One in military green, the other in black. Rare K1 and K100RS 1:15 scale K-bikes from Polistil. These are extremely rare because Polistil went out of business the year they were produced. Not many made it to market, if any. These are courtesy of Roberto R1100RT Polizei and Carabineri and an R100RT Police bike 1:10 scale bikes from Guiloy. The Carabineri version is custom made in Italy. These are courtesy of Roberto too. R1100RS Carabineri Police Bike 1:12 scale R-bike from Globo (Italian Importer). R1100RS Polizia Police Bike 1:12 scale R-bike from Globo (Italian Importer). Marx WWII R75 w/sidecar 1:30 scale plastic BMW from Marx Toys, maker of plastc toy soldiers. 1960s?. R75/5 Polizei-Motorrad 1:8 scale plastic model kit BMW from Revell of Germany. Early 70's. |
| German Tin Motorcycles 1
German Tin Motorcycles 2 These have become the pride and joy of my collection over the last few months. I've found some very nice clockwork motorcycles over here, to include several Tipp&Co (Tippco), Arnold, Huki, Georg Fischer, PN, and Technofix. In the pictures you'll also see some clockwork tin motorcycles from Paya (Spain), SFA (France), and even a couple of 1950s Russian motorcycles too! My favorite is still the Arnold "MAC 700" with the mounting and dismounting rider... |
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| Lineol Composition Motorcycle w/two soldiers My oldest and rarest find. Lineol and Elastolin were two German companies that made toy soldiers in the 20's and 30's. They were "composition" toys because they were made of a mixture of animal glue, sawdust, flour and other sundry stuff which was molded onto a wire frame. Hand painted. Very fragile. Finding them with both riders is difficult. This one was made in 1939. | |
| Elastolin Plastic Soldier and Motorcycle Elastolin has made toy soldiers right up into the 70's. Not sure if they still are now. This motorcycle is from the early 1960's and is called a Bundesheeres. It is an updated West German Army version of their older German soldiers. |
| BMWs with Riders A group photo of all the bikes I have that came with a rider. I definitely am willing to pay a premium to get the rider with the motorcycle. Just makes it more complete. |
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PMA 1:24 scale BMWs
PMA 1:18scale BMWs Pauls Model Art BMWs were once the official producer of BMW models sold through the dealerships. Not sure if they are now. Many have been showing up on secondary markets that are not near the quality of the ones available through dealer catalogs. Be careful what you purchase! They come in 1:18 and 1:24 scale models. In my opinion, the 1:18 scale PMAs are the much higher quality models! |
| R100RT, R1100RT, R100RS, R100CS and R100 1:10 scale and 1:18 scale models from one of the best diescast motorcycle producers in the world. |
| Britains BMW twins (1971-1979) 1:32 scale models from one of the leaders in diescast motorcycles from the 70's. Britains is particularly know for their metal soldiers, but their bikes are very sought after. My favorite is the BMW racing sidecar combination. |
| R75/5 models both sidecar and solo 1:15 scale models from one of my favorite companies. Large and solid, they are old style toys. Unfortunately Politoys (founded 1960), which became Polistil (1970), which was bought by Tonka(Polistil) in the early 80's, went bankrupt in 1990. It is rumored that their production dies were bought by BBurago in 1993. Some say that BBurago has chosen to continue the car lines, but not the motorcycle production lines. Last produced in 1989-90. |
| Aircooled twins and 2 K bikes 1:18 scale? models from one of world's leading toy companies. I never would have thought I'd see so many BMW playmobil bikes, but we are in Germany! Ever since we started going to fleamarkets, I've been finding them all over. My favorites are the late 60's and early 70's police BMWs. Still made in Malta. |
| 7 Preiser Sets 1:87 scale Preiser is a German company that makes accessories for small scale trains. Their figurines are well known in the railroad worlds. Since I'm not a train collector, I believe that these are in "HO" scale. Not sure, but the are very detailed for the size. | |
| 7 sets Herpa Miniatures 1:87 scale Herpa is another German company that makes accessories for trains sets, and is a world renowned miniature manufacturer of cars, and airplanes. They are all plastic. | |
| 2 Marks BMWs 1:160 scale I don't know much about Marks, other than I've never seen anything smaller in motorcycles. These are "Z" gauge? I honestly can't tell if they are Zundapps or BMWs because they are so small. | |
| Miniature Collection (Marks, Preiser, Herpa, Micro Machines) |
| All varieties of K Bikes Popularly know in Europe as the "Brick". Introducted in 1984 and immediately recognized by Motorcyclist magazine as the "Motorcycle of the Year" for it's innovation and technological daring. A heretical bastard to BMW purists (Airheads.... Simple, and proud of it!). Nonetheless, a beautifully understressed engine design that will deliver hundreds of thousands of miles to the serious riders. I know, I have two! |
| All varieties of R1100RTs The R1100RT is the hybrid of a sport BMW and the full luxo-tourer. Popular with police organizations worldwide for its rider protection and performance. These are from Guiloy of Spain (1:10 scale) and Pauls's Model Art (1:24 scale). |
| All varieties of R1100RS The R1100RS is the most popular of the R1100 (oilhead) engined BMWs. Everyone seems to make one of theses as toys. My favorites are the Polizei, Red Cross and ADAC (German version of our AAA) versions. Revell made a great 1:12 version that is getting harder to find. Rarest is the "Battle of the Legends" version. |
| All varieties of R100RS The R100RS was the most scientifically sculpted bike in the world when it was introduced. Designed in a wind tunnel, it offered unparalleled rider protection and an incredibly low wind drag coefficient. I still consider it the classic BMW. My favorites are the Matchbox Superkings series (with riders). |
| All varieties of R100RT The R100RT was the more gentlemanly of the versions. Complete protection with a more refined seating position. These are from Guiloy of Spain (1:10), Britains of England (1:24), and PlayMobil!. |
That's it for right now. I'm in the midst of completely re-working this page. As with all things in life, this is a hobby right now. My real job keeps me busy most of the time. I will continue to post new group photos over the coming weeks. Please check in from time to time and see what's new. I still have about a hundred bikes that I haven't had the time to group and photograph yet. Next update, the unfaired Airheads!
Or go back to our Munn Family INDEX PAGE for information (and pictures!!) about our "semi-permanent" vacation in Europe!
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since 26 April 99! Thanks for stopping by!
