 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The “Tippmobil Motor” on left compared to the Hess Dynamobil on right. |
The Hess Dynamobil (modified) lives on with Tippco When Hess went bankrupt in 1934, it appears some of the tooling, parts, patents, etc., were sold to Tipp and Co. There are at least three toys which carried some semblance of Hess manufacture; The Tippmobil Tractor which is almost identical to the Hessmobil tractor; The Tippmobil Motor, a flywheel cranked motor with very different outside construction and graphics; An unnamed sedan with the same unmistakable cranked flywheel motor as the Hessmobil. The motor and tractor can be seen in the 1937 Tipp & Co. catalog. |
|||
 Tippco, Krauss and successors flywheel motors grouping |
Hess competitor - Krauss and Company Hess was not the only manufacturer to have success with the flywheel motor toys. Wilhelm Krauss Company and its successors produced flywheel motor powered toys for many years. At one point, Hess filed a lawsuit against Krauss claiming patent infringement for which Hess won judgment. Below are a few examples over several decades of production. Krauss named their devices “Centrimotors” and even produced a flywheel powered vehicle named “Centrimobil”. Their toys were available as individual flywheel motors as well as in combination with many different accompanying accessories. |
|||
 Krauss and successors Centrimotor mounted with accessories. |
Centrimotor flywheel motors by Krauss with the far left “Tippmobil Motor” made by Tipp & Co. No markings on this piece but the 1937 Tipp catalog labeled it the “Tippmobil Motor”. Tipp took over tooling, parts, etc., from Hess after bankruptcy and continued to make toys from some of Hess’s ideas and parts / tooling. Included were this motor, the “Tippmobil Tractor” and an unnamed sedan with Tipp styling of the period but with Hess flywheel motor. The 1937 Tipp and Company catalog lists these toys. Two very early “Centrimotors” and accessories in the background with windmills and painted bases. Green base toy by Keim. |
|||
 |
Wahnschaffe offering of Hess Dynamobils combined with other manufacturer’s toys A. Wahnschaffe was a toy distributor in Nuremberg, Germany in the early 1900s. Apparently they were able to convince toymakers to combine their products to make unique offerings for Wahnschaffe’s customers. This ad from the very early 1900s shows Hess Dynamobils coupled with other manufacturer’s toys to offer “Wahnschaffe Special Models”, exclusively from Wahnschaffe. I do not have any of these in my collection presently, but “Moko” (Moses Kohnstam), another Nuremberg toy distributor of the time, appears to have done the same thing. In my collection is a Moko branded baseplate with Hess Dynamobil and the remnants of what was once some other manufacturer’s product. Founder Moses Kohnstam was an European distributor of German-made toys. Under the Moko trademark. J. Kohnstam Ltd. was established in London in early 1920 and helped launch Lesney Products. ... He also sold the toys using his own brand name, “Moko”. Wahnschaffe had 5 offerings with different accessories attached to the Dynamobils: Item number 8025 was a trip hammer, stamp hammer and transmission. Item number 8026 was a conveyer machine. Item number 8027 was a balloon carousel. Item number 8028 was a trip hammer. Item number 8029 was a mill. (not illustrated)
|
|||
 |
||||
