Loading

Fire truck:Buddy "L"Llil Buddy Fire Truck #

Moline Pressed Steel Co.1977

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play
Rochester , United States

Made by the Moline Pressed Steel Company of East Moline, Illinois, Buddy L cars, trucks, and other vehicles could withstand whatever punishment a youngster might inflict. In fact, the toys made of heavy-gauge steel could carry the weight of an adult. In the 1910s, the Moline company had produced full-sized car and truck fenders; when it began producing toys, it used the same materials and methods of construction for its toys as it had used for the full-sized auto parts. Within a few years of introducing the Buddy L line of toys, the Moline company stopped production on car parts altogether and concentrated exclusively on making playthings. By 1930 Buddy L vehicles used a lighter steel; and during the years of the 1940s when the war effort took the country's available metal, the company produced toy cars and trucks made of wood. Though Buddy L vehicles of the mid-20th century and after are smaller and made with more plastic than the models from the 1920s and 1930s, the toys remain in production to this day.

Show lessRead more
  • Title: Fire truck:Buddy "L"Llil Buddy Fire Truck #
  • Creator: Moline Pressed Steel Co.
  • Date Created: 1977
  • Location: East Moline, IL
  • Subject Keywords: land transportation, fire
  • Type: Transportation Toys
  • Medium: metal, rubber, plastic
  • Object ID: 112.3747
  • Credit Line: Gift of James A. Cameron III
The Strong National Museum of Play

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites