Category:Astra Pharos Ltd
Toy Brands and Manufacturers |
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Astra Pharos Ltd |
1930s - 1950s |
1939: Quarter-mile-beam searchlight [image info]
1939: Astra Anti-Aircraft Station [image info]
1940: Quick-Firing 3.7 inch Anti-Aircraft Gun (Astra Pharos model 18) [image info]
1947: Astra Pharos searchight [image info]
1950: Astra Traffic Lights [image info]
Astra Pharos Ltd manufactured metal toys from the 1930s to the 1950s, and had a rather specialised niche market in model searchlights and artillery.
The Astra searchlights
Quarter-page adverts for the Astra toy searchlights were a regular fixture in Meccano Magazine, and one might have been forgiven for thinking that these were all that the company made. Astra produced fixed searchlights, wheeled searchlights, highly directional "quarter mile" searchlights, and eve a searchlight mounted on a gauge 0 model railway flatbed truck, with a central pickup roller that allowed the light to be powered directly from the track's third rail.
Astra artillery
The demand for model field guns increased with the advent of World War Two, and Astra produced a range of model of contemporary mobile gun emplacements - including at least one with a searchlight! The Astra gun and rocket artillery models typically included the ability to fire small projectiles, and worked with or without caps – Astra had some serious competition here with Britains Ltd. and other manufacturers.
Other Astra models
Although Astra seems to have tried to break out of the confines of functional army-related models, their other products seem to have been less successful. There was a range of traffic lights and railways light-signals, but they were rather "chunky"-looking, and while a "heavy" look was ideal for large guns and heavy equipment, it didn't always translate well to other models.
Addresses
- Astra-Pharos Ltd., Landor Works: Askew Road, London W12
- Astra Pharos Ltd., 239 Earls Court Road, London SW5 – 1947 advert
Links and References
- David J Booth, The Toys of Astra-Pharos (DJ Booth, 2007) ISBN 0955636108
- ASTRA PHAROS 1935-1960 (talkmodeltoys.com)
- Astra-Pharos 0 Gauge, London, UK (binnsroad.co.uk)
- Astra-Pharos brand (hobbydb.com)
Pages in category ‘Astra Pharos Ltd’
The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total.
Media in category ‘Astra Pharos Ltd’
The following 18 files are in this category, out of 18 total.
- 20mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft Gun (Astra Pharos).jpg 1,600 × 1,386; 163 KB
- 20mm Oerlikon Anti-aircraft Gun, profile (Astra Pharos).jpg 1,600 × 1,536; 178 KB
- 3-7 Anti-Aircraft Gun, Astra Pharos model 18 (MM 1940-07).jpg 3,000 × 1,900; 523 KB
- Astra anti-aircraft station ad (1939-08).jpg 746 × 973; 193 KB
- Astra Pharos Limited, box lid label, detail with address.jpg 1,941 × 1,423; 530 KB
- Astra Pharos Limited, box lid label, detail.jpg 1,944 × 1,105; 453 KB
- Astra Pharos Ltd - lettering, 1947.jpg 1,456 × 275; 53 KB
- Astra Pharos Ltd - The Real Thing (MM 1947-11).jpg 1,532 × 2,160; 300 KB
- Astra Pharos Ltd, logo, 1947.jpg 1,375 × 648; 94 KB
- Astra Pharos model searchlight, Selfridges (MM 1947-11).jpg 1,488 × 2,092; 432 KB
- Astra Pharos quarter-mile beam searchlight ad 1939.jpg 558 × 738; 160 KB
- Astra Pom-Pom Gun, box lid.jpg 2,400 × 1,037; 642 KB
- Astra Rocket Gun, box lid.jpg 1,795 × 2,400; 1.07 MB
- Astra searchlight models (MM 1938-11).jpg 1,170 × 1,495; 505 KB
- Rocket Gun (Astra Pharos).jpg 1,600 × 1,473; 241 KB
- Rocket Gun, Astra Pharos (MM 1948-08).jpg 1,474 × 2,030; 272 KB
- Rocket Gun, profile (Astra Pharos).jpg 1,600 × 1,141; 186 KB
- Traffic Signals, Astra Pharos (MM 1950-01).jpg 1,495 × 2,094; 268 KB