The Vintage VW Model and Toy Club is to serve as a central location for vintage Volkswagen Toy model enthusiasts owning or having interests in this hobby. We are currently listing all info we have: we uploaded information we have on VW split window beetles, oval window beetles, busses, convertibles and we added a restor version section. This however is an ongoing process!
In furtherance of the basic objectives, we have established this web site to serve as an international networking point for our members to promote goodwill and fellowship to provide and/or obtain information on the VW model and toys. Another objective of this site is to identify and catalog all the manufacturers, colors and differences of the Vintage VW Models and Toys.
A website or a book like this can NEVER be complete. We however aim to share all information we have on these models with you. In return, we ask all our readers to share information they have on these models or even models we have not yet listed with us. By doing this, the website can become a focal point with all information we can find on our wonderful hobby.
We invite all persons interested in vintage Volkswagen Models and Toys to join the web site club. It is free! This allows you to meet enthusiasts with similar VW interests and to provide the resources of sharing and exchanging information to help you enjoy your vintage Volkswagen Model and Toys hobby to the fullest. So join, and start sending us information and pictures to support this information. Please make sure that you own the legal rights of the pictures you send us or that you have proof that the pictures may be used by you to be published on the website.
Jozsi Toth Profile
My love for the VW beetle started at the age of 9. My father used to work far from home and came home long after we were supposed to go to bed and sleep.
He had a beige 1966 VW beetle. In those times (1967) few people around owned a car, so it was easy to recognize by the sound of the engine which car was driving by the house. And of course the sound of the beetle engine was unmistakable. In 1976 I went studying at the university of Amsterdam and bought a 7 year old beetle for the sum of 200 Dutch guilders. I used the beetle for almost 6 years, before I sold it again. I loved this car!
After my studies, I decided to look out for a really old beetle: a split, It took until 1989 before I found one. To make a long story short: I owned several split VW beetles and a 1950 Karmann beetle convertible, which I all sold. The reason is that I bought a 1952 VW Dannenhauer & Stauss convertible, which I also sold in 2017 as I did not drive it enough.....
I always particularly loved the hunt for cars and parts and before long I enjoyed the hunt for VW split beetle toys as well (produced till the mid 1960’s). Bob warned me upfront that I would get bored by just limiting to split beetles as they are so hard to find. I was and still am stubborn, so I kept my focus on split toys. And I did not regret it! In the last 30 years, I was able to collect a very nice and large collection of splits.
From the beginning, I also made sure to collect and register all information I could find on those toys. Bob’s booklets were the first sources of information that I used in those times. Back then, it was quite difficult to find the correct information. In the last 20 years, it is much easier (though time consuming) due to the existence of the World Wide Web and easy contact to fellow collectors. Apart from the reasons we mention on another part of this website to start this venture, an important personal reason for me is the fact that I was often annoyed by the nonsense people told and published about their models. In many cases it is just sales talk, but in many other cases it is just clear that many people don’t have access to trustful sources of information. There are several books published on VW toys, but none is nearly complete and all share the fact that they contain many mistakes and omissions. By starting this interactive website, we hope and trust that we can –together with you- contribute to building solid and true knowledge on the split and oval beetle models and toys. I am looking forward to your comments and contributions!
Robert Gilmore Profile
I have been interested in vintage Volkswagens for over 35 years now and still enjoy all aspects of the hobby. It all started while in the US Army stationed in Germany in 1969. My friend owned a 1949 Split Window VW and I helped him work on the car as he was planning on taking it back to the USA when he got out of the Army. While driving in the German countryside, I pulled into a gas station and while there, I noticed a strange looking Volkswagen Convertible parked along the side of the gas station but did not know for sure what it was. I only knew that it had the same type dashboard as my friend’s 1949 sedan so it must be old. Over the next few months, I kept going back to the gas station inquiring about the old VW and over time, the owner sold it to me although I still did not know what this car was. I found myself working on it to get it ready for shipping back to the USA and liking the car more and more. After the car was in the USA, I started the search for information about the car only to discover that it was a 1949 Hebmuller Convertible number 14-00258. In the process of looking for original parts, I started meeting other vintage VW enthusiasts and friendships started to develop. The restoration of the Hebmuller VW was completed in 1972. I enjoyed driving it to the VW shows and became really hooked on vintage Volkswagens. I used the Hebmuller to open doors with VW dealerships for club sponsors and meeting places. In the quest for uniting the vintage VW enthusiasts, I started a local VW club in San Diego and later teamed up with Bill Pickering in 1976 and we establish the world wide Vintage Volkswagen Club of America. The Hebmuller was a cover car feature in the April 1975 issue of VOLKSWAGEN GREATS magazine and I was asked to write VW articles for the magazine. That started my interests of photographing and writing vintage VW articles and I am still writing articles for several VW magazines.
Also in 1975, a VW friend in Europe gave me as a gift a little red plastic Split Window Volkswagen toy car. I just became fascinated that there were vintage VW toys produced back then and decided to start collecting them, but limiting the collection to only the vintage production Split and Oval Window Volkswagen era toys (produced in the pre-1960s). My collection has about 1000 VW toys setup in 4 display cabinets. I am also interested in displaying the VW toys along with accessory toy items such as gas stations, signs and garages.
Over the last few years, I have become more interested in looking for old beater vintage VW toys using the online line auctions. It seems that if there is an old rusty and dented VW toy, collectors do not want it for their collection because of its condition. Now, if the rusty and dented VW is restored, collectors still do not want it because it is not in original condition. So what I am interested in doing and have the talent for is to not only restore the rusty and dented VW but to also do a conversion that was never produced by the manufacturer. I call this a restor-version project that has special color and decal themes applied to the Volkswagen. It takes many hours and processes to complete a restor-version project, becomes a labor of love and therefore the restor-versions are personal to me. I have brought back the life into over 100 old beater VW toys as restor-version projects and I only wish I could get my hands on an endless supply of VW beater toys.
Along the way, I have met many enthusiasts in the Vintage Volkswagen hobby and have developed several everlasting friends in which we all share our interests.