1946 Die Cast Truck Set

Four in One Truck ~ 1946

Midgetoys First Product Original Set and Box

This is the first product made by Midgetoy in 1946. Two brothers, Al & Earl Herdklotz, took their business (A&E Tooling) from WWII tool making forming their own product line of die cast toys. This was their first product. (To See the Midgetoy Story, Click Here) They stashed away 1 dozen of these sets in the original store box. This set is from that dozen.

After the war they decided to make small die cast toys. Their first toy was a rubber wheeled, 3 inch long 1940’s Chevy flatbed truck chassis that included 3 “snap on” modules that converted it into a dump truck, a stake side truck and a tanker truck. The Flatbed truck and all 3 modules were packaged in a small box, 7 inches by 6 inches, 1 ½ inches high. The toys nestled in a die cut “nest” that fit firmly into the box bottom, and the top fit down over the bottom half. It had simple graphics. The Midgetoy Elves hadn’t been thought of yet. The box featured pictures of the four versions of trucks that you would get and said, ”Midgetoy Four in One Truck Set”. Each side had a picture of a different version of the truck on it.

The set was a big hit, and propelled Midgetoy to the top next to Matchbox for small die cast toys. Below are close-up photos of each of the modules that made up the boxed set.

This is the 1940’s Chevy Flatbed truck

This is with the Dump Truck Snapped on

This is with the Stake Side Truck snapped on

This is with the Tanker Truck Tank snapped on

The Herdklotz brothers decided to specialize in only inexpensive toys, “For the boys on the other side of the tracks”. The whole set was a very popular toy after WWII.

They quickly followed it up with the Futuristic Car, then the Buck Rogers Space Ship. This ”Four in One” set was made for 2 years until 1948. A second “short” Reproduction batch was made in the early 1990’s for collectors and packaged in a smaller open “Tray” style box, but the tooling was old and rusty and the quality was not the same.

This original set is for the serious Die Cast Toy collector. You get the original set in the original package as stashed away by the brothers in the late 1940’s. Perfect Condition! Only a dozen of these sets were saved. When the few I have are gone, They are gone for good!

Included is a Certificate of Authenticity Signed by the Herdklotz Brothers.

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