Howards Collectibles Maintained by:   opanonna( 600) Welcome to our eBay Store featuring Meccano, Erector and Marklin construction sets; Lionel and MTH trains; Madame Alexander Dolls and other toy related items. Please add us to your list of favorite sellers and visit often. Thank you for your business.

Back to previous page  Howards' Collectibles My favorite Erector Set, a 1931 8 1/2 Locomotive set My name is Ted Howard.  Although I have spent my professional career as a banker, I have always enjoyed my hobbies.  Most favored among them is collecting toy construction sets and toy trains, both of which began in early childhood.  Over the years I have become fairly well known in the collector circles and I guess I can be classified as somewhat of an expert in these areas.  I have accumulated well over 1,000 Gilbert Erector sets covering every year of production from 1913 though the current date, as well as sizable collections of Meccano, Marklin, American Skyline, and Girder and Panel construction sets.  My Erector set collection has been featured in GQ Magazine and Classic Toy Trains.  A small part of it filled the Whitney Museum in New Haven, Connecticut, for an A.C Gilbert heritage exhibit.  Other parts have been on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of History and Technology in Washington, D.C. for the past 15 years.  I have consulted for Meccano, France, when it purchased the Erector trademark from CBS Toys and have numerous published articles.  Many years ago I began to write a pictorial history of Erector sets based on my collection.  Unfortunately, my real job got in the way.  Thankfully, a fellow collector, Bill Bean, rose to the ocassion and has published a beautiful pair of historical guides on Erector sets which I helped edit.  My Lionel and MTH train collection is also quite extensive and could also fill a museum.  I have always supported my hobbies by buying and selling either duplicates (I try to buy at least two of something I like) or items I may not collect myself but know something about.  Ebay has made that part very easy,  I am also creating a design-it-yourself site called myownspecialtouch.com where I use some of my toy images (like the one here) to create personalized gifts which will be featured in my ebay store. FeedBacks User:rldlsmit( 870)  Date:Nov-04-09 16:43:49 PST Praise: a great transaction-As advertised-Very Fast shipping & well packed AAA+++ User:conductor_retired( 52)  Date:Nov-01-09 18:22:29 PST Praise: Good service User:hdav0903( 88)  Date:Oct-29-09 08:46:49 PDT Praise: fast shipping, as described, perfect a+ User:wavehog42( 222)  Date:Oct-28-09 22:35:50 PDT Praise: Carefully packed, arrived in good condition, thanks User:frogpole( 5 )  Date:Oct-23-09 07:54:57 PDT Praise: I will be happy to buy from this seller again. User:rescuedogsrgreat( 2668)  Date:Oct-23-09 04:07:03 PDT Praise: Prompt payment. Very good to do business with!! A++ User:jerome4j( 446)  Date:Oct-07-09 19:07:51 PDT Praise: item as described, good communication, fast shipment ,A+++ seller User:toothpickboy( 927)  Date:Oct-07-09 18:15:01 PDT Praise: Very pleased! Thanks! Five stars X Four User:toothpickboy( 927)  Date:Oct-07-09 18:15:01 PDT Praise: Very Pleased! One of the best! Five stars all the way! User:rainbow-duck( 67)  Date:Oct-05-09 16:46:51 PDT Praise: Thanks great items and great service, Now I need 2, 3, 5, 6 To see all feedback for this member, go to the Member Profile page.

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