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It was the spring of 1979. Smith-Miller,
Incorporated, which had made trucks of about 1/16 scale under that
name as well as "Smitty Toys" and "M.I.C." (derived from Miller-Ironson
Corporation), had been defunct for about 23 years. Each day the
current owner of the remains of the company assets would walk
through what had been the Smith-Miller plant in Los Angeles to an
area at the rear of the building. There he operated a separate and
different type of business. He probably did so without realizing or
caring that the work benches, boxes, barrels, crates and even
rafters contained toy trucks and parts sought by hundreds of persons
around the country. There was an occasional inquiry about the
defunct company, probably not enough to indicate how collectible
Smith-Miller trucks were or might become. However, there was one
local resident that seemed to show considerable interest, especially
in getting needed parts for trucks he owned.
Fred Thompson, a Los Angeles area resident,
had bought Smith-Miller trucks as a kid. He still had several and
needed parts to restore them. Unlike today, original or replacement
parts for Smith-Miller trucks were not available. Not to be
deterred, Fred called information in Santa Monica where he thought
the company had last been located but with no luck. For some reason
that he cannot explain or remember, a few weeks later he called Los
Angeles information. After considerable time spent by an unusually
cooperative operator, she found a listing for Smith-Miller,
Incorporated in the white pages. The owner had maintained a phone
for the inoperative company. Fred had located the former
Smith-Miller factory!
After several calls for an appointment, Fred
was finally able to get into the factory. The factory was easy to
spot, because the sign still hung over the door. Thereafter, he made
recurring trips to obtain parts for his trucks. On occasion, he
would express to the owner an interest in obtaining the remnants of
the company.
In the spring of 1979, a "toy deal" unlike few
that had preceded or have followed was being concluded. Fred
Thompson, the heretofore restorer of Smith-Miller trucks who had
found the former company four years earlier, was going to buy it!
Not just the leftover trucks... not just the parts... the whole
company! The cardboard boxes... the sign over the door... the
factory photos... the dies... the company name... the whole company!
Smith-Miller, Incorporated, former producer of
arguably the finest toy trucks ever made in the United States or
anywhere else, now had a new chief executive officer, owner and
employee. This might sound great and even overwhelming; it was
overwhelming for several reasons. Fred was faced with a
manufacturing plant that looked as it had the day it ceased
operations except for the layers of dust and dirt on everything.
Work benches contained toy trucks in various stages of assembly.
Nearby were the parts needed to complete the trucks in process, and
elsewhere were quantities of parts from formerly produced trucks.
All of this stuff, literally tons of it, had to be moved,
inventoried and stored. The deal did not include the building.
What became the stock, materials inventory and
tooling for the resurrected Smith-Miller Corporation was moved to
several locations with reasonable attempts to inventory the
holdings. While plans for the future were being considered, the lure
of immediate profits by reselling his acquisition was dismissed by
the new owner. Interested buyers seemed likely to use the assets to
reproduce formerly issued Smith-Miller trucks. That prospect did not
appeal to the toy collector instincts in Fred. As a result, to date
no Smith-Miller trucks have been reproduced or reissued. Rumors to
the contrary still persist but are simply not true.
Fred Thompson decided that two courses of
action would best benefit the company and Smith-Miller truck
collectors alike. These were to first sell the Smith-Miller trucks
in production and in stock and then to make new trucks of at least
equal quality that had never before been produced.
When the company ceased production in the
mid-1950's, two models of trucks were in production. These were the
#21 Fire Truck (of MIC style) and the yellow GMC Coke truck. The
paint and decals had been applied many years ago; the trucks simply
needed to be assembled. Here one of Fred's first production problems
arose. The twenty-some year old tires had hardened to the point that
mounting them on wheels had become nearly impossible. To remedy this
situation, Fred had the original maker produce new tires using the
original compound from the original molds. This problem was
overcome; the trucks were assembled from the remaining parts on
hand; and original boxes were folded and secured to hold the
new-old-stock trucks to be sold. (The only known way, to my
knowledge, of differentiating between one of the factory leftover
trucks and former production ones is by the tires. It really doesn't
matter anyway.)
As Fred was moving his newly acquired
corporate assets, he discovered a modest quantity of previously
produced trucks. Most of these had not been sold, probably because
they had not passed final inspection for reasons that would not
exclude them from collections today. For example, I obtained an
otherwise mint example of an M.I.C. lumber truck with one problem.
There was a scratch in the paint on the right fender about one half
inch long; it appeared to have been caused by a headlight that
slipped during assembly. A second example was a B Mack P.I.E. that
was found in the rafters. This truck was sold to a collector in the
East and immediately returned because it had an extra spot weld in
the trailer roof and bulldog hood ornament. I subsequently purchased
the truck and later had the opportunity to thank the wary first
purchaser. (No, none of these trucks remain, zero. Don't call or
write, at least not in an attempt to score one of these old stock
trucks. They are all gone.)
The second course of action was to make new
Smith-Miller trucks. The new trucks had to be at least of equal
quality and ones that might have been formerly made had production
not ceased. In regard to quality, keep in mind that Smith-Miller
made toy trucks, not collectibles or models. Minor flaws were not
unusual on the original trucks. As examples, LF Mack cabs almost
always show file marks, and most show results on the hoods and
grills of deteriorating dies. Crooked and missing decals are not
unusual, and the paint may sometimes contain a run or a thin spot.
Fred Thompson and the Smith-Miller Corporation
of today have produced 48 different toy trucks. These newer trucks
have all been serially numbered limited edition issues. They are
made from new-old-stock parts, replacement parts made form original
dies and/or to original specifications and newly manufactured parts,
which are made to exacting standards. The trucks are hand assembled
and packed and shipped in the best and probably most secure
packaging available.
The approximate year of issue (approximate
because Fred was not absolutely certain for some of the trucks) and
descriptive information for the limited edition trucks thus far
produced.
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