Cragstan is a toymaker from the United States that produced toys in the post-WW2 Japan. It is still unclear if the company was based in the US or in Japan, but the fact is that Cragstan toys are maed in Japan, and were intended mostly for importing then to the US.
Cragstan also had an Israeli company to produce die-cast cars for them, and this company was Gamda Koor (a.k.a. Sabra).
Gamda apparently started in 1962 recasting toys from the British company D.C.M.T. (Lone Star Toys). Koor, was a separate brand owned by the Israeli Trade Union, joined Gamda creating Gamda-Koor in 1966. Among their early production, there was a line of American Cars in 1:43 scale called Super Sabra Cars intended for export. The series comprised 24 models between 1969 and 1972, and they were numbered 8100 to 8123, although many of them were available in stock, police, ambulance, taxi or other decorations.
Some of these models were decorated with decals referring to Israeli Army, national hospitals, national ministries,… or even the United Nations logo, but these were intended only for the internal market.
The same Super Sabra Cars models for the international market were sold rebranded as Cragstan in boxes that remind of the American flag, and renamed to Detroir Seniors (in the plastic chromed bases they were marked Detroit SR). With a budget price 1.49 US$, Cragstan wanted to compete against other more traditional brands like Corgi Toys and Dinky in the U.S.A.
The only two cars I own by Cragstan and also the only two Israeli cars I have are the two I am showing here, which are the same in two different decorations.
The Chevelle Station represents thee model from 1964 to 1967 in its station wagon version. It is a beautiful car not only in its standard sedan version, but also this is rare one.
I date it 1970, because the Super Sabra Cars were in production between 1969 and 1972, and it is unclear if the Cragstan rebranding happened straigtaway in 1969 or more probably a bit later.
FACTS AND FIGURES
- Name: CHEVELLE STATION DETROIT SENIORS (No. 8100)
- Scale: Aprox. 1:43
- Year: 1970
- Company: Gamda-Koor for Cragstan (Israel/ U.S.A.)
- Size: approx. Around 10cm
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