LIDO TOY SOLDIERS, FIGURES AND ITEMS FOR SALE
TOY SOLDIER HQ INC - WEB SITES
TOY SOLDIER HQ INC - MAIN PAGE
TOY SOLDIER HQ INC - MAIN SALES PAGE
TOY SOLDIER HQ INC - USA 1/32 SALES LISTS
TOY SOLDIER HQ INC - HOW TO ORDER
LIDO
From O'Briens book Collecting Toy Soldiers 3rd ed. we learn that;
Lido was formed in 1947 by the nephews (Seymour & Effrem Arenstein) of William Shaland the biggest importer of toys in the country.
1964 Lido was sold to Bala
1965 Bala liquidated remains bought by Gabriel all but 50 molds melted
1973 Seymour Arenstein bought the 50 molds and started JOY TOY
1990 Joy Toy sold to Strombecker
Strombecker owned Tootsie Toy which is why you see ex Lido GIs and large swivel cowboys and Indians in Tootsie Toy header bags.
TIME CONTINUES TO MARCH ON AND NOW WE SEE;
2004 November Strombecker and Processed Plastic merged and the new company took Tootsie Toy as it's name with Processed Plastic as the controlling partner.
2005 February Tootsie Toy sold Durant plant with the Tootsie Toy molds.
2005 July going out of business with all remaining assets to be sold including the Processed Plastic plant.
Lido Howdy Doody puzzle.
Lido Cowboy whistle.
Lido Crockett knife.
- 25.00 Header Card Bag, Wild West, No markings but I think these are Lido pieces. Contents, swivel cowboy (broken swivel), 3/4 inch horse, buffalo, steer & 4 fence pieces.
NONE - Lido or Ajax Indian & horse puzzle, HP many color variations. About 30mm in scale.
Lido made and sold many plastic toys and novelties including; bubble pipes, puzzles, cars, boats, knickknacks, cereal premiums and figures. Following is a list of the known figures made by Lido. It can get get confusing as they made and wholesaled figures to Lucky (flats), Ideal and T.Cohn among others.
MINI TRANSPORTATION
Note card on right was sold by Lido succesor Gabriel Industries (see logo below) circa 1965/66.
25.00 294 Western Wagons, 5 wagons with driver and team. Same wagons as above left but vehicle colors may differ.
NONE - Set # 254 Racing Cars, blister card with four multipiece Indy race cars.
NONE - Set #262 Old fashioned Vehicles, blister card with five multipiece cars.
NONE - Set #268 Vehicles of Yesteryear, blister card with five snap together soft plastic vehicles.
NONE - Set #323 Vans Plus Working Traffic Light, blister card with four vans and traffic light.
NONE - Set #304 Vehicles of the "Good Old Days", blistercard with five snap together vehicles.
NONE - 2662 Old Time Transportation. 10 Vehicles in 7 models including two fire trucks.
NONE - 3662 Antique Motorama. 20 Vehicles in 7 models. Rubber bands degraded so use new ones. Large box is 20 x 15 inches.
NONE IN STOCK
NONE -#303 Historic Sailing ships.
NONE Big Dan's Construction Set. NONE IN STOCK
NONE - 272 Roadway Construction Set, MOC as seen above.
Prehistoric Mammals
There are eight prehistoric mammals that were included as Nabisco cereal premiums and at one time were attributed to Lido. They were not made by Lido. They are early Nabisco premiums were made in silver but Banner ran the mold in candy colors.
SEE PREMIUMS PAGE FOR AVAILABILITY
Medieval Items
Large 3 inch Knights
Lido made three different three inch knights and two horses. The accessories used are the same as used for the 54mm knights.
5.00 EACH 3 INCH KNIGHTS
Hand held out to the right, shield pointed to the left; NONE.
Hand out to the right shield pointed down; NONE.
Hand held down to the right; NONE.
5.00 Walking 3 inch knight horse; NONE.
5.00 Running 3 inch knight horse; NONE.
Extremely hard to find Lido castle play set box made in 1955. As the box had cut outs to be used in making the castle very few survived.
The best selling line of figures made by Lido were their 54mm knights. Popular enough to be copied by other smaller companies. The knights were sold in small, medium and large bags and blister cards as well as a nice boxed set sold through comic book ads.
1.00 EACH Mounted Knights. Some tines with paint
LD1 Shield x body; 1 silver, 6 metallic blue, 7 yellow, 1 bronze, 4 gold, 2 orangered, 1 red, 1 green, 3 blue, 1 black.
LD2 No shield; 1 gold, 5 blue, 1 silver.
LD3 Shield on left arm; 6 yellow, 7 metallic blue, 4 blue, 5 silver, 1 gold, 3 bronze, 2 metallic red.
3.00 Knight horse running, HP; NONE, SP; 3 black.
3.00 Knight horse walking, HP; NONE, SP; 8 black, 3 silver.
3.00 EACH Weapons/flags;
Flag; NONE.
Lance with pennant; NONE.
Lance no pennant; NONE.
Halberd; NONE.
Three point spear; NONE.
Ax; NONE.
Mace; NONE.
Foot Knights (the factory sometimes put a bit of paint on these);
Guard sword pointed down; NONE.
Blowing trumpet; NONE.
Ax overhead; NONE.
Striding, shield forward, sword back; NONE.
Standing, shield forward sword pointed up; NONE.
Sword overhead; (SWORD MAY BE BENT DUE TO WHERE THE INJECTOR HOLE WAS IN THE MOLD); NONE.
NONE - Four piece small castle, soft plastic. LEAVE ASSEMBLED AS THESE CAN BE FRAGILE. ()
We are unsure if these small1 1/2 inch knights were made by Lido or how they were sold.
2.50 With trumpet; NONE.
2.50 Striding with shield forward ans sword back; NONE.
2.50 Sword on head; NONE.
2.50 Guard with sword pointed down; NONE.
2.50 Ax held overhead in both hands; NONE.
Transogram knight picture courtesy Rick Koch.
Mounted Lido copy knight maker unknown.
LD1 Variation with star on shield, paint, yellow. NONE IN STOCK
LD2 Variation with star on shoulder, paint, white.NONE IN STOCK
5.00 Transogram mounted knight; NONE.
5.00 Transogram foot knight looking to the left; NONE.
5.00 Transogram foot knight with halberd; NONE.
5.00 Transogram foot knight facing forward; NONE.
The knight pictured were made by Transogram circa 1956 and was sold with other Lido inspired knights as part of a "Make a Sand Castle" set. To be used at the beach or in a sand box the set had the castle gate, towers, windows, other pieces + knights and horses. NONE IN STOCK
Photo courtesy Jessie Sanders.
3.00 Sword overhead; 6 red, 1 blue.
3.00 Hands at hips; 5 blues, 8 greens, 4 red, (2.00 PAINT; 1 red, 1 green).
4.00 Shooting bow; 1 red, 3 blue, (2.00 STRING SPLIT; 1 red, 2 blue).
4.00 Front long wall with gate.(NONE)
4.00 Short side wall. (NONE)
4.00 Rear long wall. (NON E)
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE FIGURES
This picture shows the six poses and seven colors that Lido made for the Revolutionary War lineup. Blue, red, green & yellow are more common while light brown (tan), gray & redbrown are harder to find.
2.50 EACH AWI Figures
LD15 Walking with Colonial flag; 2 red, 10 green, 6 blue, 1 redbrown.
LD16 Advancing w/ rifle; NONE, (1.00 SHORT RIFLE TIP; 1 yellow).
LD17 Mounted shooting rifle; 3 red, 1 green, 2 yellow.
LD18 Kneeling shooting rifle; 10 green, 7 yellow, 1 gray.
LD19 Mounted Officer with sword; 1 yellow, 1 tan.
LD20 Drummer; 7 red, 4 green, 9 yellow, 9 blue, 1 tan, 3 gray.
OUT OF STOCK - LD106 Horse for above mounted figures.
4-6 Inch Rev War figure with horse. - NONE IN STOCK
12.00 4-6 Inch horse; NONE.
Photo shows mold catalog shot circa 1964 when Lido was selling off their molds. Picture of actual 4-6 inch Zorro courtesy Eric Johns.
12.00 54mm Zorro w/ sword pointed down with black horse. (NONE)
12.00 3-4 Inch Zorro with black horse. (1)
7.00 3-4 Inch Zorro figure.(NONE)
7.00 3-4 Inch black horse. (NONE)
10.00 4-6 Inch Zorro. (2)
8.00 4-6 Inch black horse. NONE IN STOCK
5.00 Smaller Davy Crockett 45mm, both hands up; 1 green.
6.00 Larger Davy Crockett, 70mm, both hands up; NONE.
5.00 Smaller Davy Crockett 45mm. right hand at waist; NONE.
6.00 Larger Davy Crockett, 70mm, right hand at waist; NONE.
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR FIGURES AND ITEMS
NONE 3-4 inch ACW mounted figure.
Photo courtesy Jesse Sanders.
There are several shades of both blue and gray. Some figures MAY have a bit of red paint. Some grays look more like silver.
1.00 LD39 Mounted officer w/ sword and pistol; 11 blue, 21 gray, 3 silvergray.
1.00 LD40 Bugler; 12 gray, 13 blue.
1.50 LD41 Advancing rifle at high port; 4 blue.
2.50 LD42 Mounted shooting rifle; 2 blue.
2.50 LD43 Advancing rifle forward; NONE.
1.00 LD44 Bayoneting overhead; NONE.
OUT OF STOCK - LD106 Horse for above mounted.
AMERICAN WILD WEST FIGURES AND ITEMS
The early Lido, Ajax & Archer mounted cowboys and Indians were based upon or copied from Bergen Toy & Novelties(Beton) as were their horses. We find it hard to tell who made what so will list all of these early hard plastic mounted figures here. Lido also wholesaled these figures to T.Cohn throughout the 1950s and early 1960s for inclusion in T.Cohns western themed playsets. These figures were also copied in Hong Kong. Other poses certainly exist that did not make the photo.
Early hard plastic mounted western figures;
HARD PLASTIC UNLESS NOTED SP = SOFT PLASTIC. MAY BE by Archer or Ajax ans I can not tell them all apart.
2.00 Cowboy with small lasso up; NONE.
2.00 Cowboy with larger lasso up; 1 red with blue paint.
2.00 Cowboy with lasso down; 1 chaps painted brown, rest silver chromed, 1 silver chromed.
2.00 Cowboy pistol pointed to the side; 1 gray with paint, 3 yellow with red paint SP, 2 red with green paint SP, 1 cream with red paint SP.
2.00 Cowboy pistol pointed up; NONE.
2.00 Cowboy with rifle; NONE.
2.00 Indian with bow; 1 faded chromed.
2.00 Indian with rifle; NONE.
2.00 Indian with spear; 2 light green with red paint.
2.00 Indian with tomahawk; NONE.
Lido's early plastic wagons had metal tops.
6.00 General Custer wagon top. (NONE)
5.00 Plain white wagon top. (2)
Also early in the 1950s Lido put the above series one foot figures in their sets and wholesaled them to T.Cohn. The number of poses increased form 8 to 10 or 12 by 1953.Other companies may have made them as well. Early figures are in hard plastic while a few later examples in soft plastic exist with the kneeling figures now having bases. Some of these figures seem to have been copied or based upon metal Lincoln Log figures.
2.00 Cowboy standing shooting rifle; HP; NONE.
2.00 Cowboy kneeling shooting pistol; HP; 1 gray swirl, 1 red, 1 green with copper coloring.
2.00 Cowboy kneeling shooting two pistols; NONE.
2.00 Cowboy standing shooting pistol; HP; NONE SP; 1 yellow.
2.00 Cowboy kneeling shooting rifle; HP; NONE.
2.00 Cowboy holding lasso up; NONE IN STOCK.
2.00 Cowboy holding lasso down; HP; 1 red, SP; 1 yellow.
2.00 Indian brave with tomahawk; HP; NONE, SP; NONE.
2.00 Indian chief walking with rifle; HP; NONE, SP; NONE.
2.00 Indian kneeling shooting rifle; HP; 1 red, 1 copperized SP; NONE.
4.00 Indian crawling; HP; NONE, SP; 1NONE.
Lido also put "metallic" coatings on plastic figures to make them look more like their expensive metal cousins. Fifty years later the survivors are often found much duller than the original bright finish used.
NONE
6.00 1 "gate" BAR L piece + 4 fence sections, HP. (4)
NONE - Stagecoach with original box. Hard plastic, MISSING instructions.
In the mid 1950s Lido designed a new more detailed set of western figures (series 2) also about 45mm in size. A few early ones can be found in hard plastic but most are found in soft plastic. Metallic colors were used as Post cereal prizes. This mold survived the 1964 massacre and was used by both Joy Toy (1972-1990) and Tootsie Toys (1990-2005).
1.00 LD21 CB Rifle x body; 4 blue, 10 yellow, 13 green, 16 red, 1 very very pale pink, 2 white.
2.00 LD21 CB Rifle x body; 1 silver,
1.00 LD22 Pioneer with knife and rifle; 5 red, 5 yellow, 1 green, 2 blue.
1.00 LD23 CB Shooting rifle; NONE.
1.00 LD23 CB Shooting rifle; 3 red, 5 yellow, 4 blue, 11 green.
1.00 LD24 CB Kneeling w/ pistol; 4 blue, 4 yellow, 4 green, 5 red, 2 orange, 1 white.
1.00 LD25 CB with rope; 2 red, 3 green, 7 yellow, 3 blue. 1.00 LD26 CB Shooting pistols; 11 green, 6 blue, 4 yellow, 5 red, 1 orange, 4 very very pale pink.
2.00 LD26 CB Shooting pistols; 1 silver.
1.00 LD27 I Chief kneeling shooting rifle; 2 red, 13 blue.
1.00 LD28 I Crawling w/ tomahawk; 4 green, 1 blue, 1 white.
1.00 LD29 I with rifle, waving; 9 red, 4 blue, 6 yellow, 3 green, 2 white, 3 waxy white.
1.00 LD30 I Chief holding bow and arrow; 9 red, 9 yellow, 13 blue, 4 green, 1 orange.
1.00 LD31 I Buffalo headress walking with spear and shield; 10 red. 6 blue, 1 green, 3 yellow, 1 white.
1.00 LD32 I Chief walking with tomahawk; 5 blue, 8 green, 3 yellow.
Shrewd marketing was one of the keys to Lido's success. Packaging western figures in a space theme sold at two of the popular themes of the late 1950s.
NONE - 772 Western Space Satellite. Still sealed but shows wear from being 50-55 years old. Very unique marketing.
NONE - Tootsietoy (Strombecker Corp) 1995 reissue of Lido cowboys and Indians.
Premier copied six of the Lido later cowboys and Indians for their western bagged sets. Only the horse and the first two cowboys are their own poses. See premier sales list for availability.
Lido made smaller 45mm swivel figures and then larger 3 inch (70/75mm) versions. Each had accessories. The figure molds were saved and were run by both Joy Toys and Tootsietoy.
- NONE - 541 Western Frontier, swivel action Figures + foot figures, horses, accessories & fencing.
10.00 SWIVEL ACTION RIDER; Indian with horse and bow MIP, (original price - ten cents).
1.50 LD35 Small cowboy + horse. (17)
1.50 LD36 Small Indian + horse. (4)
2.00 LD37 Large cowboy + horse. (7)
2.00 LD38 Large Indian + horse. (NONE)
2.00 Large Feather Lance; NONE.
2.00 Small Feather lance; 5 red, 2 green, 1 yellow, 1 blue.
2.00 large Indian spear; NONE.
2.00 Small Indian spear; 2 green, 1 yellow.
2.00 Large coiled rope; NONE.
2.00 Small coiled rope; 3 red.
2.00 Large rifle; 1 blue.
2.00 Small rifle; 1 green, 1 yellow, 4 red.
2.00 Small pistol; NONE.
2.00 Large bow; NONE.
2.00 Small lasso, 1 green, 1 red.
2.00 Small bow; NONE.
2.00 Small tomahawk; NONE.
- NONE - Big swivel cowboy fits 6 inch horse.
NONE - Swivel cowboy & Indian blister card, Made in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong expressly for Lido, figure color may different from picture, 2 figures, 2 horses, 4 accessories & 4 fence pieces. ()
NONE - 4-5 Inch swivel Indian, MIB.
We believe Beton/Bergen made the first of the running style horses as seen above and was then copied by Lido, Ajax, Archer and others. As this horse was found in the T.Cohn "Superior" western playsets it became known as the "superior horse". The bucking horse also probably originated with Bergen/Beton. Lido then made their own western style horse that was also included in AWI & ACW sets.
3.00 Lido "Bergen style running horse", HP; 1 tan, 1 white, 1 black.
3.00 Lido "Bergen style bucking Horse", HP; 2 black, 3 gray, 4 brown, 3 white, 1 silver, 1 graybrown, 1 brown with swirls, 1 black with red swirls, SP; 1 lighter brown.
1.00 LD106 Western horse, many colors. (40)
2.00 Larger horse for large swivel figures. (8)
3.00 French Foreign Legion Mounted w/ pistol; 6 red, 11 green, 2 yellow.
3.00 French Foreign Legion Mounted w/ sword; 6 yellow, 6 red.
3.00 French Foreign Legion Bayoneting; 14 red, 12 yellow, 6 lighter green.
3.00 French Foreign Legion Shooting rifle; NONE.
3.00 Arab Mounted w/ sword and knife; NONE, (1.50 SHORT SWORD; 1 blue).
3.00 Arab Mounted w/ rifle; 5 blue, 2 darker green, 5 green, 2 yellow, 1 red.
3.00 Arab Shooting rifle; NONE.
3.00 Arab Standing with knife overhead; NONE.
The Desert FFL troops got their own "military style" horse and the Arabs got a camel. These were made in the same mold.
5.00 Military horse; NONE.
6.00 Desert Camel; NONE.
Many Lido figures were used as cereal premiums. The following are all in sealed cellophane bags.
5.00 Foreign Legion mounted with pistol; NONE.
5.00 Foreign Legion mounted with sword; NONE.
5.00 Foreign Legion bayoneting; NONE.
5.00 Foreign Legion shooting rifle; NONE.
5.00 Arab mounted with sword & knife; NONE.
5.00 Arab mounted with rifle; NONE.
5.00 Arab shooting rifle; NONE.
5.00 Arab standing with knife NONE.
Military Items
These first series GIs were made and sold by Lido. They also wholesaled them to T.Cohn (Superior) who sold them in their (Captain Video) Space Port playsets. The figures wholesaled to T.Cohn were made in metallic colors and were unpainted. These date from 1951, and the older ones are hard plastic. Many colors were used as can be seen above. Hard plastic figures may have factory paint
4.00 EACH NON ARMY GREEN COLORS, 3.00 HARD PLASTIC PAINTED ARMY GREENS, 2.00 EACH UNPAINTED HARD OR SOFT PLASTIC ARMY GREENS
Standing paratrooper;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green painted, 3 army green straps painted red, 4 unpainted
SOFT PLASTIC; 5 army green.
With knife overhead;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green with paint, 8 army green, (1.00 army green knife gone),
SOFT PLASTIC; 1 yellow.
Standing rifle down leg; HARD PLASTIC; 10 army green, 1 army green with wear,
SOFT PLASTIC; 3 bright greens, 3 army green, 14 blue.
Throwing grenade;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green painted, 7 army green,
SOFT PLASTIC; 4 army green.
With rock overhead in both hands;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green painted, 9 army green,
SOFT PLASTIC; 3 army green, 3 yellow, 1 red.
With flamethrower;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green painted, 1 army green,
SOFT PLASTIC; 6 army green, 5 red.
Kneeling with rifle;
HARD PLASTIC; 1 army green painted, 1 army green,
SOFT PLASTIC; 3 army green, (2.00 SHORT TIP; 3 army green).
Walking with pistol;
HARD PLASTIC; NONE,
SOFT PLASTIC; 1 red, 6 army green.
NONE - No.56 Army Mobil Unit, bagged card with all 8 small military items Lido made. Soft plastic.
8.00 Small SP (30mm?)jeep, ammo trailer & cannon.
3.00 Small 30mm jeep, earlier hard plastic with rubber wheels. (NONE)
2.00 Small 30mm? jeep, soft plastic. (NONE)
2.00 Small 30mm? ammo trailer, soft plastic.(1)
3.00 Small 30mm cannon; NONE.
2.00 Small 30mm cannon; NONE.
2.00 Tiny tank, turret rotates.(NONE)
2.00 Tiny Jeep, HP; 1 army green, SP; 1 army green, 1 bright green.
2.00 Tiny one piece tank, HP; 1 army green, SP; 4 army green.
1.00 EACH
Submarine; NONE.
Cruiser; NONE.
Battleship; NONE.
Destroyer; NONE.
Cargo ship; NONE.
PT Boat; NONE.
Pictured actual size, most are copies of Empire/Caldwell planes.
1.00 DC-3; 2 green, 1 red, 1 yellow.
1.00 Navion; 3 blue, 2 yellow.
1.00 F-96 Jet fighter; 9 blue, 6 yellow, 1 red, 6 green, 1 army green.
2.00 C-69 Constellation; 1 yellow.
1.00 X-2; 1 green, 4 army green, 2 red, 2 blue, 2 yellow.
Pictured actual size. I think the first plane represents a Hughes H-1 racer from the 1930s and the fourth plane represents a YFM-1 Airacuda "pusher" airplane, but welcome any information to the contrary.
2.00 Hughes H-1 Long nose racing plane; NONE.
2.00 P-36; NONE.
2.00 P-38; NONE.
2.00 YFM-1 Airacuda; NONE.
2.00 B-17; NONE.
2.00 Two engine plane DC-3?; NONE.
These were sold by Lido and also wholesaled to and then sold by T.Cohn. In later years after Lido was out of business the mold may have been used by HG or Dimensions for Children in their 1980s playsets.
5.00 45mm tank. (1)
5.00 Jeep, 1st version with plug in steering wheel.
2.00 Jeep, 1st version MISSING steering wheel.(1)
3.00 Jeep, 2nd version revised no steering wheel. (1)
5.00 Cannon, 1st version spring shooting. NONE
2.00 Cannon 2nd version, non-shooting. NONE
4.00 Ammo trailer. (NONE)
NONE - Jet fighter, lavender HP.
One of the nicer 54mm items Lido made was this pontoon bridge. Sold in some of the early 1960s playsets it was also used in civilian road construction sets as well. Railings are fragile and subject to damage and are often missing.
NONE - Pontoon Bridge.
Picture courtesy of Greg Liska.
8.00 Japanese running with sword & pistol, tan. (NONE)
8.00 Japanese in cap crouching shooting rifle, tan. (NONE)
8.00 Japanese in cap running with rifle across chest, tan.(NONE)
8.00 Japanese holding binoculars low in right hand, left hand pointing up, tan. (NONE)
8.00 Japanese in helmet shooting rifle, tan. (NONE)
8.00 Japanese with grenade, tan. (NONE)
8.00 Japanese with knife and box, tan. (NONE).
8.00 Japanese in helmet running with rifle, tan. (NONE)
5.00 EACH Lido WWII Germans
Made in several shades of gray.
Officer with pistol. (NONE)
Running with rifle in left hand. (NONE)P> Holding rifle over head with both hands. (1)
Rifle in left hand, pineapple grenade in right hand. (NONE)
Advancing with light MG at waist. (NONE)
Throwing potato masher grenade. (NONE)
Kneeling with flamethrower. (NONE)
Kneeling with panzershreck(bazooka). (NONE)
NONE - Mid 1950s 10 cent grab bag with three GIs.
Lido made the above second series 10 GIs without bases in 1957. The first four poses are similar to Marx 60mm figures and the prone figure is hard to tell apart from the Marx version. We suspect the mold maker made figures for both Marx & Lido and reused some master sculpts changing a few details like adding webbing to the Lido helmets. In 1958 Kelloggs had a set of GIs made for cereal premiums and they must of also hired the same mold maker who used his old Lido & Marx master-sculpts to make the toy soldiers.
1.00 EACH Your choice of poses.
20.00 15 GIs in 10 poses, greens. (2)
Lido wholesaled the GIs to T. Cohn who sold them in playsets using green soldiers as good guys and gray soldier as enemy.
GI standing with rifle x waist, gray.
GI holding rifle over head, gray.
GI waving left hand, pistol in right, gray.
GI shooting pistol, gray.
GI shooting rifle, gray.
GI crouching to the left with rifle, gray.
GI throwing grenade, gray.
GI shooting tommygun, gray.
`GI advancing with bayoneted rifle, gray.
The first four harder to find GIs in the picture above were never made by Lido. As they came with "Lido" poses as cereal premiums it was once thought that they were made by Lido. It turns out that a mold maker made figures for both Marx and Lido in the early 1950s and in 1958 when approached by Kelloggs to make a set of GIs to be used as cereal premiums he simply reused master sculpts that had been made for the production of the Marx and Lido molds. The above four poses have never been found in Lido packaging. It is not easy to tell them apart from the ones made for Marx.
Harder to find GI
Wounded GI.
TICO copies - - LIDO - - THE TOY HOUSE -
TICO TOYS, Ray Plastic (Rayline) and others made copies of Lido's toy soldiers. The Toy House was a Midwest distributor who sometime repackaged other makers items under their own name further confusing identification.
-
GI with pistol.
GI With submachinegun.
GI running with rifle x waist.
GI with handie talkie.
GI with minesweeper
GI Shooting rifle.
GI throwing grenade.
GI with flame thrower.
Lido made several series of space figures in different scales. The two larger figures in the photo above are about 4 inches (90mm) in scale and were sold as "Futuremen". The middle size figures about 50-52mm in scale were both sold by Lido in header bags and as cereal premiums and wholesaled to T.Cohn for the space port playsets. The three smaller figures about 40mm in scale were also sold in small header bags among other packaging. Lido would sell the different scales of figures in flat window box sets as well.
90mm Future men
12.00 Grag the Robot; NONE.
8.00 Captain Video wearing helmet looking to the left, HP; NONE.
7.00 Smaller figure with shorter space rifle; NONE.
9.00 Longer Space rifle at waist, looking forward, HP; NONE.
NONE - Helmet.
54mm Spacemen
5.00 `Right hand out, may be missing weapon I think, HP; 1 silver.
8.00 Hands at waist; NONE.
8.00 Holding ray gun down in left hand; NONE.
- NONE - Blue device at waist, rarest Lido Alien mold.
50-52mm Aliens
These were wholesaled in hard plastic (HP)to T.Cohn for inclusion in their Captain Video playset. Also sold by Lido who wholesaled them for uses as cereal premiums.
8.00 Robot with dumbbell; NONE, (3.00 DUMBBELL REMOVED; 1 red SP).
8.00 Alien standing wearing gas mask; 1 red SP.
8.00 Alien walking sideways; NONE.
8.00 Alien walking with 2 prong spear; NONE.
8.00 Alien with two pistols; NONE.
8.00 Alien pointing, pistol up in other hand; NONE.
8.00 Alien shooting ray gun rifle; NONE.
8.00 Alien with beak, ray pistol at waist; NONE.
35mm Space Figures
6.00 Shooting raygun in both hands; NONE.
6.00 Crouching, device pointing down in right hand; 1 dark gray.
6.00 Alien with beak, pistol at waist; NONE.
6.00 Alien walking sideways; NONE.
6.00 Spaceman weapon low in left hand, right hand up; NONE.
6.00 Spaceman hands at hips; NONE.
6.00 Alien with two prong spear; NONE.
6.00 Alien with two pistols; NONE.
6.00 Alien holding device pointed up; NONE, (2.00 MISSING DEVICE; 1 blue HP).
6.00 Alien standing in gas mask; NONE IN STOCK.
6.00 Robot with dumbbell; NONE.
6.00 Alien with pistol pointed up and other hand pointing forward; NONE.
NO BOXED SPACE VEHICLES IN STOCK
NONE - Yellow troop transport with wheels, blue & red attachments, soft plastic. ()
NONE - Large red space ship with blue mast, soft plastic. ()
NONE - Blue atom cannon with wheels, green & yellow attachments, soft plastic. ()
NONE - Blue rocket tank no wheel style, yelloe & red attachments, soft plastic.
NONE - Yellow pursuit ship no wheel style, green & red attachments, soft plastic.
8.00 Small rocket ship with wheels; 1 blue SP.
15.00 Small space missile launcher, green & yellow soft plastic. (1)
5.00 Small missile, soft plastic; NONE.
We find these in blue, white and gray colors.
NONE - 552 West Point Cadet card with 5 of the 8 figures it originally came with.
3.00 EACH Lido Cadets
West Point Cadets with shako hats;
LD63 Mounted with sword on shoulder; NONE.
LD64 At attention, rifle at side; 1 gray, 2 white, 1 blue.
LD65 Saluting; 2 blue, 4 gray, 6 white.
LD66 Marching with rifle, wearing overcoat + brim hat; 1 gray.
LD67 At attention with flag; 4 gray, 2 white.
LD68 Marching with sword on shoulder; 5 gray, 5 white, 1 blue.
LD69 At attention holding rifle at port arms (x chest); 1 gray.
LD70 Marching with rifle on shoulder; 1 blue, 6 gray.
Naval Military Academy Midshipmen wearing dress hats with brims
LD71 Midshipman saluting; 2 blue.
LD72 Midshipman at attention rifle at port arms (x chest); NONE.
LD73 Midshipman Officer in overcoat; 1 BLUE, 3 white.
LD74 Midshipman at attention, rifle on shoulder; NONE.
LD75 Midshipman at attention with flag; NONE.
LD76 Midshipman officer at attention; 1 white.
LD77 Midshipman at attention, rifle at sid3; NONE.
LD78 Midshipman at attention; NONE
CIVILIAN FIGURES & ITEMS
There are two distinct groups of baseball players (thanks to Rick Koch for sorting them out). The first group was made about 1956 for Nabisco to be used as cereal premiums in yellow and the darker blue as seen above. When making his figure guide Tim Geppert listed them as made by Lido as they looked very similar to other Lido figures. I had the chance to speak with one of the Lido owners and he told me Lido had nothing to do with these figures and the reason they looked like Lido figures was that Nabisco hired the same mold maker used by Lido so ended up with figures that looked like Lido figures. This mold continued in use after the cereal premium offer by various owners with the figures being made in many colors including; gold, silver, gray, waxy white and finally aqua blue and a flatter white as seen above. In addition a variation of the squatting catcher exists with upraised finger . The final reissue of these figures does not include this pose so either this cavity was replaced at some point or there is another mold out there somewhere. The ReMarx company made reissues in the 1990s and thanks to Jim McGough of CTS who acquired one of the ReMarx warehouses we were able to determine that the mold had 36 cavities making two sets of 18 figures in 15 poses. The crouching infielder was in each set four times with four different uniform numbers (4,5,7 & 12). As ReMarx bagged figures still on the sprue as they came off the mold it was found that one set had two number 4s & 5s while the other set had two 7s & 12s. Bill Murphey of Excalibur Hobbies ran the mold in several colors in the 1990s as well. The mold's current location is unknown.
2.00 EACH EXCEPT CAMERMAN
A - Umpire indicating "safe"; 3 blue, 1 white, 2 gold.
B - Catcher # 10, mitt up; 1 blue.
C - Mitt on ground ready to scoop up ball, #6; 1 blue.
D - Pitcher in windup #8; NONE.
E - Standing mitt up in left had #3; NONE.
F - Dropping the bat #1; NONE.
G - Infielder crouching #4; 1 white, 1 blue.
H - Infielder crouching #5; 2 blue, 1 yellow.
I - Infielder crouching #7; 1 blue.
J - Infielder crouching #12 3 blue.
K - Umpire hands out; 2 blue, 2 white.
7.00 L - Cameraman; NONE.
M - In batting stance #2; NONE.
N - Both hands overhead with mitt & ball #18; NONE.
O - Plate umpire; 3 yellow, 3 blue, 2 white.
P - Base runner #16; NONE.
Q - Sliding base runner #9; NONE.
R - Twisting trying to catch the ball #11; 2 blue, 1 white.
15.00 REISSUE 18 figure set (may be a duplicate in the 4 infielders; 1 green.
LATER REISSUES 1.00 EACH;
A - Umpire indicating "safe"; 3 aqua, 1 blue .
B - Catcher # 10; NONE.
C - Mitt on ground ready to scoop up ball, #6; NONE.
D - Pitcher in windup #8; 1 aqua.
E - Standing mitt up in left had #3; 1 blue.
F - Dropping the bat #1; 1 NONE.
G - Infielder crouching #4; NONE.
H - Infielder crouching #5; 1 blue.
I - Infielder crouching #7; 1 aqua.
J - Infielder crouching #12 2 aqua, NONE, 1 aqua, 2 blue.
K - Umpire hands out; 3 aqua, 1 blue.
L - Cameraman; NONE.
M - In batting stance #2; NONE.
N - Both hands overhead with mitt & ball #18; NONE.
O - Plate umpire; 3 aqua, 1 red, 1 blue.
P - Base runner #16; 1 blue.
Q - Sliding base runner #9; NONE.
R - Twisting trying to catch the ball #11; 2 blue.
Lido did make a series of baseball figures about 1958. Their figures were sold in bags and on cards. Lido went out of business in 1964 and many of their molds ended up being scrapped. Bill Shalland a toy importer and co-owner of Ajax toys got the baseball figure mold and made reissues in the 1970s. His packaging was marked WSNY (William Shalland New York).
The Lido figures were made with bases (platforms) for better stability. The example of a retail bagged card in the above picture has been provided by Jim McGough. The Lido figures were made in gray and white. Over the years many copies of these figures were made in Hong Kong including perhaps some by former Lido owner Effrem Arenstein's new company Toy Innovations based in Hong Kong that was known for making copies of other toy figures.
25.00 12 Lido baseball players in all 12 poses (1 white)
2.00 EACH OLD GRAY & WHITE FIGURES
HONG KONG COPIES marked in recess under figure base
PLEASE NOTE SOME HAVE FACES, HANDS AND OR NUMBERS PAINTED OR BE DIRTY
S - Batting legs closer #9; 1 white, 1 gray. (1.00 HONG KONG COPY; 3 red).
T - Plate umpire; 3 white, 2 gray, 1 black with hint of green.
U - Batting legs farther apart #3; NONE.
V - Pitcher in windup #14; 4 white.
W - Base umpire; 1 black, 1 tan, 2 gray, 4 white.
X - Catcher squatting #10; 1 gray, 2 white.
Y - Running mitt up looking forward #11; 3 white. (1.00 HONG KONG COPY; 1 purple).
Z - Hands in mitt over head #16; 11 white, 1 lighter gray, 1 darker gray. (1.00 HONG KONG COPY; 3 red, 3 purple, 1 yellow.).
AA - Just threw the ball #7; 6 white.
BB - Running mitt up looking right #1; 2 white, 1 gray.
CC - Crouching mitt on left hand #8; 1 white, 1 gray.
DD - Sliding touching base #6; 2 white, (1.00 NO BASE; 1 gray, 1 redgraywhite, or HONG KONG COPY; 1 pink/white).
EE - Standing hands up, mitt on left hand #4; 3 white. (1.00 HONG KONG COPY; 1 blue)
There are two slightly different sizes of hockey playser. Lido made at least one of the series and perhaps Ajax made the other as they shared mold makers. Photo of bagged, carded set courtesy Michigan Toy Soldier Co.
3.00 EACH
#1 Goalie; 1 blue.
#2 First stick down; 1 lighter blue.
#2 Second Stick down; 2 blue, 2 red.
#3 First, Stick down; NONE.
#3 Second, Stick down; 1 white, 1 gray, 1 red.
#4 First, Stick to the right; 1 white.
#4 Second, Scooping with stick; 1 gray.
#5 First, Stick to the right; NONE.
#5 Second, Stick to the right; 1 white, 3 blue, 4 red.
#6 Stick to the right; 1 blue.
#8 Stick down; 1 dark blue, 2 blue, 1 gray, 3 white.
#9 Getting ready to shoot; 2 white.
#11 Stick up; 5 white.
NONE.
FARM ITEMS
12.00 #565 Farm blister Card, Made expressly for Lido in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, circa 1960, 9 animals (poses vary) & 3 or 4 fence pieces. (3 IN STOCK)
NONE IN STOCK - 459 Farm Animals, headercard bag with 8 animals, circa 1955-60.
NONE - 551 Old header card, says UNBREAKABLE but some of the white animals are broken. Also includes fence sections and a blue barrel.
NONE - Truck, Tractor, Trailer bagged card, with Hauler truck, tractor, trailer & animals.
15.00 Tootsietoy 6100. From the 1990s ex Lido, then ex Joy Toys and now Tootsietoy farm animals, 24pc.
In the 1960s Lido made a few playsets including the farm set as seen above. The hard plastic barn seems to have been based upon the Plasticville barn and the implements are the same ones as seen in Marx sets. The chicken coop is a copy of Auburn (Auburn marked the bottom of their chicken coops, Lido did not)and the chicken bar crate is a copy of Hubley (Hubley hard plastic, Lido soft plastic). Set contents seem to have varied.
NO FARM PLAYSETS IN STOCK
15.00 Box, Has tear in front and one small hole in bottom, still C-6.
8.00 Cab to animal hauler truck, red with black wheels.
10.00 Chicken coop (Auburn copy); 1 red with silver bottom.
8.00 Chicken coop (Auburn copy); green NO BOTTOM.
10.00 Chicken crate, yellow with gree lid.
4.00 Scraggly tree (REL copy), brown. (NONE)
The fowl are solid but the larger farm animals have hollow insides and are very similar to the series 1B Ohio Art farm animals. Fowl 1.00 Each
Rooster; 3 silver, 5 light greenish.
Chicken; NONE.
Duck; 7 yellow.
Some Ohio Art animals have a number up under the hollow belly while the Lido animals have a letter of the alphabet. The fowl mold seems to have been lost in the mold scrapping but the larger animal mold survived the melt down and these animals can be found in Joy Toy and Tootsie Toy packaging. The fence seems to be a copy of Payton.
1.50 Cow; 9 white, 3 brown, 4 gray, 3 black.
1.00 Cow; 20 green, 7 red, 3 blue, 2 darker blue, 1 silver.
1.50 Horse; NONE.
1.00 Horse; 1 green, 5 red, 5 yellow, 2 blue, 2 darker blue.
.75 Colt; 1 gray, 1 dirty white, 2 brown.
.50 Colt; 1 green, 19 yellow, 3 blue, 2 darker blue.
.75 Calf; 1 gray, 4 white, 1 dark tan.
.50 Calf; 2 green, 3 red, 3 darker blue, 4 yellow, 1 silver.
.75 Pig; 2 dark tan, 1 black, 12 gray.
.50 Pig; 14 red, 1 purple red, 3 green, 1 silver, 6 yellow, 2 blues.
NONE - Sheep;.
NONE - Sheep;.
NONE - Fence, brown.
The Lido farm implements are the exact same grouping as used by Marx although the Lido pieces are bigger (60mm) and made of soft plastic.
6.00 Bottom plow; NONE.
6.00 2 Wheel wagon; NONE.
5.00 Harrow; NONE.
5.00 Scoop; NONE.
6.00 Corn Planter; NONE.
5.00 Stone boat; NONE.
12.00 Tractor; NONE.
WILD ANIMALS
These were sold on blister cards and in headcard bags + those in silver and gray (and perhaps brown and white) were u8ses as cereal premiums.
Wild Animal Blister Card, About 12 animals. NONE IN STOCK
- NONE - Lido No.564 Jungle Land blister card. Hong Kong.
10.00 1950s Lido grab bag with 3 animals including green lion. Used as apremium?
10.00 1950s Lido grab bag with 3 animals including green giraffe. Used as a premium?
2.00 EACH SOFT PLASTIC & 4.00 EACH HARD PLASTIC ANIMAL BELOW
Hippo; SOFT PLASTIC; 2 silver HARD PLASTIC; 1 redpurple.
Elephant; SOFT PLASTIC; NONE, HARD PLASTIC; NONE.
Gorilla; SOFT PLASTIC;2 silver, 2 white, 1 blue HARD PLASTIC; 1 redpurple.
Moose; SOFT PLASTIC; 1 white, 2 red, 1 brown, HARD PLASTIC; NONE.
Bear; SOFT PLASTIC; NONE HARD PLASTI,C; NONE.
Camel; SOFT PLASTIC; 2 red, 2 brown, 1 silver, 1 blue, HARD PLASTIC; NONE.
Lion; SOFT PLASTIC; 3 redbrown, 1 brown, 1 silver, 1 red, 3 white, HARD PLASTIC; 1 redpurple.
Buffalo; SOFT PLASTIC; 1 blue, 1 green, HARD PLASTIC; NONE.
Rhino; SOFT PLASTIC; 1 white, 3 red, 1 brown, 1 silver, HARD PLASTIC; 1 graygreeen MISSING HORN.
Giraffe; SOFT PLASTIC; 2 green, 1 red, HARD PLASTIC; NONE.
OUT OF STOCK - Zoo fence piece; .
A picture from the Lido mold catalog shows their magnet dog. The magnet was placed inside the forelegs and either another magnet or steel/iron ball inside the plastic ball. Pictures of an original boxed example courtesy Susan Davis.
NONE - Magnet dog as seen, NO BALL.
Plug together and interchangeable to make many odd shapes.
We have been informed by Mr. Effrem Arenstein the founder of Lido Toys that these goofy animals were not made by Lido. Greg Plain has identified them as being made by Kenner.
NONE Hippo.
NONE Zebra.
NONE Elephant, NO TAIL.
NONE Giraffe, NO TAIL OR HEAD.
NONE Lion.
NONE Crocodile.
NONE Camel.
OUT OF STOCK - LIDO No.55 Trucks. Four soft plastic about "HO" scale trucks with rubber wheels with backing card sign cutouts. Circa early 1950s.
Like Empire Plastic, Ideal, Wyandotte, Pyro and other early makers, Lido made small hard plastic sedans. Mold cavity numbers under the cars indicate that there were eight cavities in the mold, but all produced the same car as seen above.
OUT OF STOCK - Hard plastic sedan;.
NONE - Old carded set of tools.