Ultra-Rare Model Car Is Star of DFW Elite Toy Museum

    DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX, January 18, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In an age when anyone can shop for cars simply by touring the local dealerships, or even surfing the Web in their pajamas, it can be difficult to imagine a time when salesmen had to promote their products at county fairs, trade shows, and town squares.

But those days are brought back to life with one glance at the exquisite salesman's model of a 1920s Star Car recently acquired by DFW Elite Toy Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas. At 3 feet long and nearly 2 feet tall, this exacting scale replica is not merely a valuable artifact of a bygone day, but also a superb exemplar of the model maker's craft.

"The purpose of these manufacturer's models was to drum up sales," says Museum owner Ron Sturgeon, "but to do that, they had to be beautiful, functional, and meticulously detailed."

This particular model is all of those in spades, right down to the working convertible top, powered by an electric motor. And after more than 80 years, this Star Car remains in pristine condition, just as car buyers and onlookers would have seen it during the Jazz Age.

But although its glossy finish and chrome trim haven't lost their luster over the years, the model's provenance has not survived entirely intact. In the 1920s, there were two Star Motor companies, one in the US, a subsidiary of Durant Motors, and another in the UK (where the American Star Car was marketed under the Rugby badge).

If this is an American model, the square-topped grill dates it to after 1923. Determining the year for the British Star is more difficult, however, because the British Star Motor Company did not embrace the kind of standardization typical of US marks like Durant or Ford. Yet despite this, the two companies' touring cars were still quite similar.

"We would love to nail this piece down to a precise model and year," explains Rodney Ross, the toy museum's curator. "In the past, we've actually been able to establish the provenance of other items with help from antique car owners, toy collectors, and other automotive enthusiasts, so we're hoping we can do it again for this truly remarkable and historical piece."

To learn more about the model, visit http://www.dfwelitecarclub.com/toy_museum/. To see it in person, stop by DFW Elite Toy Museum inside DFW Elite Auto Rental at 5940 Eden in Fort Worth. The museum is open from 9 to 5 on weekdays and 9 to 4 on Saturday.

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