Erie Northrup

[soslipstream]

Good Morning All,

My son Luke (into 7th grade) spied this airplane at a Antique Mall yesterday. It looked nice enough to invest but when I got home my research was dismal. It is Erie and it is Northup. It seems complete but the few pictures that I have seen dipict these with a silver bottom and not pale green. The NC registration numbers on the wings appear to be carefully stamped on the wings. It looks intact and does not appear to be ever taken apart so the green appears to have been applied before final assembly

Any information would be appreciated.

Best Regards, Tom

[grwebster]

Your son Luke has a superb eye. That is a very rare toy.
That is a totally original Northrop Alpha {or Gamma} by Erie, prewar, suberb condition and original registration and colors. The Gamma is a similar aircraft but had a bigger engine and other design difference
All of the Eries are rare but that one, two-tone painted, is in my experience, the rarest one.
All Erie aircraft date after 1936.
They also used the wing casting with a new top casting to make the Northrop Delta.
Also a smaller Lockheed Beta with twin open cockpits and a Boeing 247.
These aircraft were all red, two tone, silver, or chromed.
The Erie B-17, rather a YB-17 early protoype of it, had a changeable red or yellow nose and some variants had a wire frame for carrying the B-247 piggyback style.
There is a boxed set of all the aircraft and two vehicles, all chromed.
We have an Erie expert here on the forum, Jose Heraud, see his post
ttp://www.miniatureaircraftcollectors.c ... erie#p1820

[soslipstream]

GR,

Since this is not my balliwic, what would this be worth and where would you recommend I consider selling this airplane?

Thanks,
Tom

[grwebster]

It is not well known, so I expect someone on this forum would be a potential buyer, I have it but I would pay 125$ for an example in that near mint condition, and with original prop and hub, too, from what I can tell.
Then of course you have an established ebay rep by now and if no one here shows any interest, put it on ebay

[soslipstream]

GR,
Thanks, Tom

[Flyingtiger10]

HI Tom:

GR is correct in his comments.
The Gamma plane that you have is the rarest of the Erie series.
Your color scheme is quite common, though, but it seems to be
in great shape. It was sold with a cast three blade propeller as
yours, and stamping the registration numbers after the paint job
was typical.
The other color combinations are gray and red, blue and red and
yellow and red, harder to find. But the rarest is a red fuselage
and chromed wings, no registration markings.
The price quoted by GR is adequate, if you get the appropriate
interested collectors bidding on eBay.
Erie Metal Specialties, was a rogue manufacturer of diecast toys
from the mid-thirties,trying to compete with Tootsietoys.
It was created as a spinoff of the Parker casting company, of Erie, PA.
Unfortunately, after patent disputes with the Dowst Brothers of Chicago,
it was forced to close three years later. So, their toys are rare and
hard to find. As they are not well known, demand is low.
But casting is very precise, done to relative accurate scales, and
used the 'drip-method' paint job, with basic color paints available
at the time: silver, red, yellow, green, gray, blue and copper or
silver chrome finishes. This way, blobs of paint appear many times
that may look as a repaint, but that are factory originated.
The aircraft designs were chosen by the manager himself, based
on the advanced Northrop and Boeing models of the times. And
that would not conflict with Tootsietoy choices. But are the only
ones that have been cast by any toy manufacturer.

Hope this helps.
Jose Heraud.

[soslipstream]

Jose,

Thank you for taking the time to educate me on the Erie toys/models. It is unfortunate that they could have survived longer as their airplanes have impressive detail for a "fast cast" operation.

I have come across others Erie models but the landing struts tend to be broken at the axle juncture and have passed on them. Are there any techiques that can be used to restore or partially restore such damage?

Many Thanks,
Tom Sanders

[Flyingtiger10]

Glad to hear, Tom, that I could be of assistance.
Unfortunately, in the repair area, I am not that
qualified.
If you try to fix the landing gear with a metal glue
the problem is that the wheels may not turn.
Unless you don't mind this.
It is a common problem of pre-war diecast alloys, that
can break easily, including wings and other parts.
For a more precise(and onerous) repair, some collectors.
introduce tiny pin(s) or metal joint(s) into the broken parts
and try to attach them with a drop of 'crazy glue'.
Maybe a specialized repair hobbyist has a better solution.
That may cost you a bit more, but can obtain a better result.

Cheers, Jose.

[soslipstream]

Jose (and others needing a repair),

Your repair recommendation is aligned with my experience. Instead of Cyanacrylate (CYA, Crazy or Super Glue) I would also consider using JB Weld which is a two-part metal epoxy. Using the inserted pin method makes sense to strengthen the site before adding the JB Weld for "sculptural effect". The wire size should be .015" diam. music wire for stiffness. It does take a very fine drill (a miniature drill press is best) to bore out the holes. The next best technique would be to solder on some very small brass plates to become the "skeleton" and the JB weld become the "skin". I may try, on small fix, doing the skin with the music wire and solder alone to flesh-out the dimensional area. I will photo document this and present the process if successful.
The downside is that when finished, the model will need a repaint

As for the issue of using CYA, I have some recommendations when affixing an axle/wheel into place.
1) With a toothpick, oil the axle and slide the wheel into the center.
2) Using a toothpick or .020 wire, drizzle accelerator (for CYA glue) and "paint" the ends of the wire where it contacts the model's casting. Do this for every point to receive the glue.
3) Using only Medium Viscosity CYA, dab the end of a another .020 wire into a pool of glue and methodically paint the area that is to be glued and build it up slightly.
4) Add more accelerator then more CYA glue to slowly build up the juncture or joint.
5) Intermittently, rotate the wheel and add more oil if needed.
This should suffice in securing the axles without locking up the wheel.

Best Regards,
Tom Sanders