Made in Hong-Kong, but designed where ? Part II

Part II

(Read Part I here)

The kitchen is not the only piece that was copied from Marx by Blue-Box...



The famous Marx cream plastic fireplace :

Marx 1964 fireplace in the 1/16th scale

Blue-Box's take on the same fireplace (but in a much smaller scale, as often) :

Blue-Box simplified copy in the 1/24th scale

And here is the Redbox version of the Marx one (often in an identical scale to the original) :

Blue-Box didn't only copy American makers... They also had their eyes on what Germany was producing...

Here is the Blue-Box version of the Modella Kitchen (in pink !)

The kitchen packaging reads "Junior Homemaker's Dream Kitchen"... Blue-Box often recycled other makers series titles :
- for example "Dream Kitchen", either from Deluxe Reading, USA and its kitchen for 1/6th dolls / or from Mattel, USA 1964 "Dream Kitchen/Dinette" for Barbie ;
- "Homemaker", either from Plasco, USA or from Marquis, Australia ;
Just adding a "Junior" mention to it - also often found in other brand's toy series titles of the time, such as baking sets for example ...

Even the cleaning bucket, basin and brush were inspired by another brand, English this time (Addis) :

Blue-Box

Addis 50s set

Blue-Box released this kitchen in lots of different colour schemes... never quite identical to the original Modella one but dangerously close sometimes...

All the Blue-Box colour schemes...

Here is the original Modella kitchen in its original box:

Boxed Modella kitchen from Astrid's stream

And here is the Blue-Box copy :

Boxed Blue-Box kitchen

The Modella Box :

See Astrid's stream here

And here is the Blue-Box box...

Blue-Box held on to that model right into the 80s repackaging it again and again... (And with the 50s Brimtoy England kitchen series title "My Dolly's...")

80s Blue Box kitchen

More similar than this, it doesn't get !

You have just read Part II of II of an article written by Ysé

An exclusivity Tilt-Top Magazine - © Peinture Fraîche