A select convoy of hefty construction, delivery and cross-country transport trucks rumbled through Milestones suburban Cleveland auction gallery on Jan. 10 and 11, signaling the start of an event that would achieve an impressive $938,000. The Ohio companys New Years Toy Truck Spectacular featured 1,000-plus rugged big-boy toys of the 1920s through 1970s, most of them coming from a single lifelong private collection. The pressed-steel trucks quality, condition and rarity, the trifecta that all toy vehicle collectors seek, kept bidders engaged, with particular interest shown in the special subsection of new/old store stock with crisp original boxes. The Buddy L convoy was led by an elusive green, red and black Water Service Truck with rubber tires, headlights, and bumper. The side of its rounded water tank displayed signage that read Buddy L Tank Line. Similar identification appeared on the rear of the tank, with the addition of Built By Moline Pressed Steel Co. / East Moline, Ill. With all-original paint and in overall excellent condition, it far outdistanced its pre-sale estimate of $3,000 to $4,000 to command a winning bid of $18,600. Also from the exalted Buddy L toy firm and sized similarly to the Water Service Truck, a doored 1930 to 1932 Baggage Truck boasted vibrant yellow paint on its stakebed, rubber tires with red hubcaps, headlights, and a bumper. It was graded excellent and showed only small areas of touch-up on the truck beds left side and some minor touch-up to the fenders. An exceptional truck that captured collectors attention from the get-go, it breezed past its pre-sale estimate of $8,000 to $10,000 to apply the brakes at $16,380. A handsome 1954 Tonka G Fox & Co. / Hartford delivery truck presented in all-original condition with attractive Bristol blue paint overall. As its intact decals testified, the G Fox department store had been serving Connecticut since long before the Civil War - 1847, to be exact. In fact, G Fox was the largest department store in the United States until its 1965 sale to May Co. In excellent condition, the 12-inch-long delivery truck no doubt evoked nostalgia with some bidders who remembered the days when department stores delivered purchases to ones home. Against an estimate of $1,000 to $1,500, it sold for $8,610. Youngsters of the post-WWII era, not unlike children of today, especially loved toy sets that came with lots of imagination-stirring accessories. A 1956 Tonka #B-206 Trailer Fleet Set certainly filled the bill with its Cargo King Truck and Trailer (manufactured in 1956 only), Livestock Truck and Trailer, Log Trailer with logs, and animal figures. The example offered by Milestone was all original in its 25-inch-long partitioned box with insert. Graded excellent, it attracted multiple bidders who drove the final price to $5,520 against an estimate of $1,500 to $2,500. In the 1930s, even younger boys and girls were able to join in on the fun of playing with toy vehicles, thanks to sets like A.C. Williams Austin Car Hauler. Housed in a glossy, brightly-colored pictorial box, the immaculate set auctioned by Milestone contained four manageably-sized cast-iron vehicles, three cars and a semi-truck to haul them, with an included attachable car-carrier. Graded excellent-near mint, this unusual find in extremely nice condition sold for $3,075 against an estimate of $800 to $1,200. The only thing thats more fun than a big, authentically-modeled pressed steel truck is an example that you can ride on. The auction included a Roberts #501 Wonder Bread Rider Truck with instantly-identifiable images of Wonder Bread packages on both sides. The toy appeared never to have been played with, was in excellent condition, and retained its original cardboard box identifying its contents by exact name. Entered with a $600 to $800 estimate, the truck delivered the goods with a selling price of $3,000. For further information, call Miles King at 440-527-8060 or email info@milestoneauctions.com. All images courtesy of Milestone Auctions.