I have a friend who is a toy collector of some note.

He has asked me if I've ever come across a UK company called "Kleeware" - now long since defunct but he's trying to find out when they were operational.

They produced a range of model building kits called "Littletown" but he doesn't know when. 

He also mentioned "Bachmann Plasticville"  - anyone heard of them ?  The name "Plasticville" suggests maybe they were marketed in the States rather than UK ……………….. :hmm

Can anyone help please ?

If you google ''Bachmann Plasticville'', you get loads of results for old model buildings, links to items on ebay, a Wikipedis topic on it, etc, etc.

Does you friend have internet access? Not such a daft question, as everything is on the web if you know how to look for it.

Also:

Kleeware - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Kleeware

Kleeware  is a brand of plastic toy developed and marketed by the company O &  M Kleeman in the 1950s in the UK. The range of toys was extensive and  included soldiers, boats, cars, model houses and dolls.


Bon courage,

Bill

Thanks Bill and yes, he does indeed have internet access - he's well respected world-wide in the toy industry having run the Hong Kong arm of a major UK company before he retired.  He's got a massive collection of vintage toys going back years - amongst which are 3 unopened No 10 Meccano sets resplendent in their wooden boxes.

I suspect he was just asking me because he has some of their stuff and wanted to know the exact dates  for both Kleeware and Plasticville maybe with some feedback from railway modellers.  Kleeware were particularly well known for dolls house furniture.

There is indeed lots on the web about both companies but neither of us has been able to find the exact dates - the closest we've got is the years they were operational.

Bachmann still produces the Plasticville, U.S.A. range to this day, in both kit and readymade form and in multiple scales. You can find the currently-made products in the range on their website. Both the kits and readymades are easily found in hobby shops here in the 'States.

The initial range, which was advertised in late 1946 and available beginning in 1947, was largely O-S hybrid (S-scale buildings, O-scale doors) to go with Lionel and American Flyer's main product lines, although Bachmann soon developed HO kits as that scale grew in popularity and would later develop downscaled versions of those for N-scale.

So the active date for Bachmann's Plasticville range would be 1947-present.

Many thanks for that Brendan - interesting to hear they're still producing them in the States.

I just happen to have a Plasticville "house under construction in an unopened box. Please tell me Peter, am I a millionaire

[user=98]Kevr[/user] wrote:

I just happen to have a Plasticville "house under construction in an unopened box. Please tell me Peter, am I a millionaire

Probably not, unless it's an old old release and you put it up for auction on evilBay.

[user=98]Kevr[/user] wrote:

I just happen to have a Plasticville "house under construction in an unopened box. Please tell me Peter, am I a millionaire

I've asked the question Kev but don't order the Roller just yet …………………….. :cheers

p.s.  Good to hear from you - are you OK ?

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

[user=98]Kevr[/user] wrote:

I just happen to have a Plasticville "house under construction in an unopened box. Please tell me Peter, am I a millionaire

I've asked the question Kev but don't order the Roller just yet …………………….. :cheers

p.s.  Good to hear from you - are you OK ?

Maybe a very small Roller Kev - I'm told around £25 to £35 is the current value ………………I'll bet far more than you originally paid for it !!  That's the problem with "modern" mass produced items - no matter how good they are, there are thousands of them around.  That's probably why Bachmann and Hornby do "limited editions" now ……………to attract the collectors.

Hi Peter. I have now settled into my new Prison Cell, sorry Flat . My layout is laid out on the baseboards, but it is not fastened down yet. It is similar to my last layout but a bit smaller. I don't have any pictures yet but when I have them I will post them on here. With regard to the plasticville house under construction I have two. One No 45004 ready built in a big box and another No 45191 which needs building. According to the pictures they are the same house.