© 2009 Scherbak Ship Models. All rights
for text and pictures reserved
Tin boats are magical toys. They were once manufactured
to strike the imagination of the children, but their charm holds a nostalgic power, that keeps many adult busy collecting
them.
Their appearance and development coincides
with the era of great ocean liners and battleships from late 19th to mid 20th centuries.
The toy ship market of this time
was dominated by German makers such as Marklin (Märklin), Bing, Carette, Fleischmann, Arnold, Falk, Plank etc. They manufactured
whole a range of magnificent ocean liners, battleships, riverboats, pleasure yachts, gun boats and submarines which could
realistically float and move in the water with their miniature wind up or steam powered motors.
Boats were fantastically designed to be
played with, often with oversized moving parts ( guns, anchors, life boats, steering wheels), emphasized masts and flags,
attractively painted, often accompanied with brave tin sailors … No wonder
they were remarkably desirable toys to those fortunate children whose parents could afford them, no wonder they remain a most
wanted collector’s items today.
Pictures on this page show some charming tin
boats from our collection or that were sold to our customers.
See antique toy
boats and nautical toys offered for sale in our "Antique Toy Boats" section .
