This popular tin Oval VW from the mid to late 1950s was produced by Tokyo Plaything Shokai Co., Ltd., or also called T.P.S.
Tokyo Plaything Shokai Co., Ltd (initially Toplay ltd) was founded in 1956 in Tokyo, Japan and ceased to exist in or around 1975. The company logo with the 3 fingers symbolises the 3 company founders; Yoshio Udagawa, Yukio Miyakawa and Yasuo Kushida. They mainly produced lithographed colorful tin toys. Like other Japanese manufacturers, they also produced for different US toy importers, like Linemar, Cragstan and others. These toys and their boxes often (but not always) did not carry the TPS name or logo, which makes it difficult to identify them.
Tin body with cut out windows and good details of front and rear hood, door seams and rear oval window with 10 stamped recessed air louvers. Tin body parts include headlights, hood trim and windshield trim. Tin chassis with or without tin bumpers and a friction motor and rubber tires with hubcaps. Chassis stamped JAPAN and the original box is marked with a PLAYTHING insignia. Sold in the USA under several names such as BIG DEAL TOYS. Some chassis are marked CRAGSTON and some versions have the VW hubcaps. Similar to the KOSUGE Oval VW and the UNKNOWN OW METAL 02.
