Hubley Set of 2 ca. 1950s Colt .45 Toy Cap Guns for Sale

Hubley Set of 2 ca.  1950s Colt .45 Toy Cap Guns

We have for you a set of replica Colt .45 cap guns manufactured by Hubley Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

This is a set of ca. 1958 Hubley long-barreled 6-shooter Colt .45s, marketed for older kids and often described as “man-sized” due to their significantly larger size compared to the Fanner 50. These impressive cap guns are complete with no missing parts. Both triggers function properly, and the cylinders turn smoothly. One cylinder is loaded with faux bullets, while the other is empty. Both are approximately 14″ L. Comes as shown.

 

 

A brief history of Hubley Manufacturing Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania: 

The Hubley Manufacturing Company was first incorporated in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by John Hubley. Their slogan was “They’re Different”. They were occasionally known as Lancaster Brand Iron Toys, which manufactured electric toy train equipment and parts. In 1909, they purchased the Safety Buggy Co. factory and moved to the site. The first Hubley toys appeared in 1909 and were made of cast iron, with themes that ranged from horse-drawn vehicles, fire engines, circus trains, different breeds of dogs, tractors, steam shovels, horses, banks, and cap guns. 

The Hubley Manufacturing Company produced a wide range of cast-iron toys, doorstops, and bookends. Toys, particularly motor vehicles and cap guns, were also produced in zinc alloy and plastic. The company is probably most well known for its detailed scale metal kits of Classic cars in about 1:20 scale. Starting in 1960, Hubley participated with Detroit automakers for a couple of years as a plastic promotional model maker. Many Hubley toys are now sought-after collectibles. Hubley’s main competition in the early years was Arcade, as well as a bit from A.C. Williams. 

By the 1930s, autos became the headliners. By quickly converting to cheaper, smaller toys during the Depression, they avoided the financial woes experienced by many other toy companies. Iron shortages in WWII and commitments to fill war contracts did stop the toy division in 1942, until after the war. 

As of 2019, Wikipedia tells us that, “Perhaps Hubley’s diversification in the 1960s overtaxed its profits, weakening it financially by the 1970s. Hubley was purchased by toy maker Gabriel in about 1969 who continued to make its regular kits and diecast kids’ toys through the 1970s. A series of colorful but rather unexciting generic make diecast toy trucks were available in a variety of forms (dump trucks, tow trucks, etc.) up until about 1980. Gradually, the Hubley name was downplayed in favor of Gabriel. 

Around 1980, CBS Toys acquired Hubley, which later sold many dies to Ertl and Scale Models, both of Dyersville, Iowa. For example, the Hubley Ford 4000 tractor was reproduced by Scale Models up through the 1990s and perhaps later (Scale Models 2010). In the 1990s, some Hubley vehicles, like the school bus, were also reissued with minor variations from the original casting. 

Ertl has now stopped production of all of the original toy dies and molds purchased from Hubley. As a result, all remaining Hubley/Ertl metal kits are fairly rare. They can be purchased from auction websites, collectors, and older hobby stores.”