Hubley ca. 1925 Cast Iron “Crash Car” Indian Motorcycle *SOLD*

Hubley ca. 1925 Cast Iron “Crash Car” Indian Motorcycle 

We have for you a highly desirable ca. 1925 cast iron “Crash Car” Indian Motorcycle that was manufactured by Hubley Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, PA.        

The black rubber tires are still intact, but as per usual with toys of this age, they may have petrified, discolored, warped, and/or cracked. We did not notice any issues that affect desirability. The wheels roll as they should. It comes with all of the original accessories in the back. The two axes are in the back of the crash car and not displayed on the sides as they should have been (sorry). The driver is original. Decals and paint are in great condition for a toy of this age. 

This piece is in great all original condition with no breaks, restorations, repairs, or touch-ups. This piece shows the usual patina, fading, dust, chips, scuffs, surface rust, scratches, missing accessories, and wear that are to be expected from age and play. This is approximately 11 ¼” L. We encourage you to examine the photographs to further determine condition and quality.     

A brief history of Hubley Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania:   

The Hubley Manufacturing Company was first incorporated in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by John Hubley. Their slogan was “They’re Different”. They were occasionally known as Lancaster Brand Iron Toys which manufactured electric toy train equipment and parts. In 1909, they purchased the Safety Buggy Co. factory and moved to the site. The first Hubley toys appeared in 1909 and were made of cast iron, with themes that ranged from horse-drawn vehicles, fire engines, circus trains, different breeds of dogs, tractors, steam shovels, horses, banks, and cap guns.   

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 scale metal kits of Classic cars in about 1:20 scale. 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. Hubley’s main competition in the early years was Arcade as well as a bit from A.C. Williams.   

By the 1930s autos became the headliners. By quickly converting to cheaper smaller toys during the Depression, they avoided financial woes experienced by many other toy companies. Iron shortages in WWII and commitments to fill war contracts did stop the toy division in 1942, until after the war.   

As of 2019, Wikipedia tells us, “Perhaps Hubley’s diversification in the 1960s overtaxed its profits, weakening it financially by the 1970s. Hubley was purchased by toymaker Gabriel about 1969 who continued to make its regular kits and diecast kids toys through the 1970s. A series of colorful but rather unexciting generic make diecast toy trucks were available in a variety of forms (dump truck, tow truck, etc.) up until about 1980. Gradually, the Hubley name was downplayed in favor of Gabriel.   

Around 1980, Hubley was acquired by CBS Toys which later sold many dies to Ertl and Scale Models, both of Dyersville, Iowa. For example, the Hubley Ford 4000 tractor was reproduced by Scale Models, up through the 1990s and perhaps later (Scale Models 2010). In the 1990s, some Hubley vehicles like the school bus were also reissued with minor variations from the original casting.   

Ertl has now stopped production of all of the original toy dies and molds purchased from Hubley. As a result, all remaining Hubley/Ertl metal kits are fairly rare. They can be purchased from auction websites as well as from collectors and older hobby stores.”