Can’t afford the real thing? Then try collecting vintage toy tanks
If like me, you cannot afford a real tank or do not have the necessary mechanical skills and means to look after one, there is another option to tank ownership – collectable vintage toy tanks. You can regularly find them for sale online at popular auction websites. They usually range in price from £30 to £300 depending on condition, rarity and if there is a box included. You may be able to find a bargain in a charity shop or at a car boot sale.
What I find strange is that some of the toy tanks with a real historical story are often the cheaper ones. For example, I recently spotted a piece of ‘trench art’. It was a World War One British Mk V male tank metal money box. The bottom was engraved “Made by F Matern, Berlin, 217 POW Coy”.
On the side of one of the sponsons was the engraving “From Dad”. The top of the roof cabin came off to reveal a slot into which coins could be deposited. To get the money out again, the whole roof came off. You can imagine a father trying to keep busy by constructing a toy to give to his child when he gets home.
Surplus to requirements, brass shell cases were often turned into vases or umbrella stands. Some we…
