Well.... how the worm turns !
Yesterday nada!!! Today Mucho ! lol ...
While not a huge collector of reproductions I relaxed the rules a little for a 1980's Paya re-issue of their cute little mining train .
In the early 1980's the Paya family turned over the struggling toy plant to the employees in a last ditch attempt to keep their history alive . The company then decided to reproduce a small range of their original toys in limited numbers rather than bear the expense of retooling for new products . one of these re-issues was the 837 mining train ... now you will see PLENTY of these cute little locos singly on ebay and in stores , but beware because most of them are NOT made in Alicante in Spain , but were cloned by the chinese... and because there is no Paya Hermanos these days to dispute the trademark , the clones bear both Paya and the PH logo!
The Chinese clones are also a bit smaller than the re-issues I believe ?
So is it a reproduction when a toy is made by the same company, using employees of that company who's father and grandfathers worked there in an unbroken tradition , using the same tooling, and traditions as the original ??? Its a curly question lol ....Which is why I am happier with the term of Re-Issue for the Allicante made toys , and reproduction/fake for the chinese ones ... The Chinese ones also have a shockingly cheap mecanism and plastic axle keepers on the front axle , while the Paya Originals and re-issues have brass ones
But enough of politics and semantics and to the crux of the matter ...
Set # 556
Annnnnd it didnt stop there .. same seller also had a not too bad Marx 999 ... so it had to come to me as well
Single reduction motor with plain rivet front . Yet to do any real research/dating , those in the know feel free
Aware it should have the tinplate tender yes? but hey it was cheep enuff