Hiddenworth North East Lighthouse Online Auction Part 3!
online only auction•8 day sale •sale is over
Dates
Sale Starts
Fri
Oct 13
8am
2023
Sale Ends
Fri
Oct 20
2023
Important Sale Dates
Online Auction Bidding 10/13-10/20 starting at 8:00am. ITEM BIDDING STARTS TO CLOSE AT 6:00PM AND RUNS THRU 8:00PM. Each item has a countdown clock attached to it, which provides you with the most accurate time left. You'll want to set a reminder on your phone of the time left on a certain item(s) you are bidding on.
Pick-Up Day Sunday, 10/22 10:00am-4:00pm. An email will be sent to all winning bidders at the conclusion of the auction with pick-up details, including the address and times for pick-up, which is scheduled for Sunday, 10/22 from 10am-4pm. Please check your junk/spam email file as well for this communication.
SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AT THE EXPENSE OF THE WINING BIDDER
Bidding Process
The online auction bidding is a "hard close" process, similar to Ebay, as opposed to a "soft close" process used by other online auction platforms, which extends the time if there is active bidding towards the end. There is no time extension using this particular platform. The bidding ends when the allotted time for each item expires, which is displayed under each item, Also, entering a maximum "max" bid doesn't necessarily mean you will pay your maximum bid. The system will automatically keep bidding on your behalf against other bidders up to your placed "max" bid for convenience purposes.
-Bidding Example
You are bidding on a lamp and place a max bid of $58.00 towards the end of the auction. The auction ends on the item and you win the item for $39.00. This means the next highest bidder had a high bid of $38.00, however you were willing to go up to $58.00. Your maximum bid doesn’t automatically jump to that amount when you place the bid. The bid only is increased if there are other bidders actively bidding on the item. Your maximum bids are hidden from other bidders, essentially creating a level playing field.
Sale Background
Greetings!! Join us online at the lighthouse in North East for Part 3 of the auction, highlighting many of the toys, collectables and fun offerings that Mr. Lantzy has either designed, consulted, manufactured or collected over the years as inspiration.
He was involved with many of the most iconic toys produced during the 70's and 80's in different capacities, including Transformers, Cabbage Patch, Smurfs, Disney, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pound Puppies, Go-Bots, Tonka and the Marx Big Wheel, which was inducted into the Strong Museum of Play in 2009.
Below, is a fascinating story from the Erie Times(March 14th, 1982) about the toy company and the process that is involved to produce toys:
Out on Hathaway Street in Girard where the Marx Toy Company used to design and manufacture toys, two former Marx workers are doing their best to make Northwestern PA, once again, a major center of toy design.
Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy, the owners of Cook Lantzy Corporation, the company that produces White Diamond Models, are designing and making models of toys and other items for major manufactures both in the U.S. and overseas.
Back in 1979, Cook was in charge of the research and development section of the old Marx plant. He began to hear rumblings of financial troubles for the company and he and a few friends talked about going into business for themselves.
Cook says Phil Lantzy worked for him at that time and he recognized Lantzy’s talent as a pattern maker.
The workers at Marx knew they had a lot of talent and good ideas and decided to design their own product around those ideas and present it to buyers in the major toy markets. Some of their ideas were received and sold, either sold outright, or else sold for less cash up front, but with the provision that Cook Lantzy would receive royalties on future sales.
After their initial year, 1980, though, the business began to change. When people saw their product at the sales and toy shows, they were impressed with the quality of their work. Cook Lantzy was asked to design and make models for other companies and the balance of business began to shift from their own product to products for other people.
Customers of their designs and models aren’t just toy manufactures. Cook and Lantzy have also done work with kitchen utensils, mail boxes and other products. They have leased part of the old Marx Building in Girard and Cook says that business has been good. Since their first year, their annual volume has increased by about 250%.
The work that’s done at the Girard facility starts with an order from a manufacturing company. They generally tell Cook Lantzy what they’d like to have. From there, artist renderings are drawn up and then there’s what’s called a “bread board” or mockup, a very crude operating device so the company can see what the toy or other item does and how it will look and whether they are happy with it.
If the company likes the idea and the bread board, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with a "White Diamond" model. This is the final model that looks and works just like the eventual product will, if it's decided to go ahead and produce the item for sale. The White Diamond is generally shown at toy fairs or regional sales meetings. Major toy and discount store chain representatives from all over the country get a look at the model and decide whether they think it'll sell in their outlets.
If the item is popular at the first meeting, the company may order from 6 to 12 additional models to be shown at fairs and meetings around the country and even overseas. After that it's all up to how popular the item is with the children and parents who will have to spend the money to buy the product.
Cal Cook is quick to add that development of an item, especially when it moves or contains some other action module, is not cheap for the companies. He said that most large toys cost $100,000 or more before the first one is sold and even tiny items may cost $50,000 to develop and tool before the manufacture gets a penny of income back from them.
"People", said Cook, "have a tendency to underestimate how complicated they(toys) are. They're as complicated as making an auto or wristwatch."
The expenses start with the artist renderings and pattern, which may cost several thousand dollars to produce. At that point, if the buyer doesn't like the idea, the money is simply down the drain.
If the pattern is accepted, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with construction of the actual working model. That may cost two or three times as much as the pattern, depending upon how complicated the mechanism turns out to be.
Sometimes the manufacturers want Cook Lantzy to be idea men. Other times, it's just their technical skill that's required. Cook said that if the company comes with a complete drawing, there is no real argument. You do it just as the drawing shows.
Cook also pointed out why those drawings, mock-ups and models are so expensive. "The tolerances are in the thousandths of an inch. They're just as intricate as any watch. Everybody here has to know every facet of the business, from the original concept to what the production people have to put together on the line. It all has to be designed into the toy. The better you know all those details, the better the product."
Safety, is another thing that has to be built right into the toy, according to Cook. "There are reams and reams of material(on safety)-a book put out by the toy manufacturer's association and another by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It pretty much spells out what you can and cannot do."
Safety requirements call for careful measurements of any holes in the product to make sure little fingers can't get caught. There have to be impact tests on the materials used and careful attention is paid to getting rid of sharp edges and making sure that the product isn't so small that it can be swallowed. Cook admits that safety is a necessary ingredient, but because of those safety requirements., he says, design does take a little longer and the production tooling is definitely more expensive.
He says that tooling is the major expense the manufacturer has to pay before a product is released. That expense, however, comes after Cook and Lantzy have shown off their White Diamond model and the manufacture has decided to go ahead with production and marketing.
Cook and Lantzy now have, besides the owners, three other former Marx employees working full time and two others, also veteran toymakers, who are available on a part-time, will call, basis. Those seven workers have done models of toys for manufacturers all over the country. They've created kitchenware for a European manufacturer and they've done several mechanical designs for people in the Orient. Their products, according to Cook, "are designed inside for mechanical people and tool people and outside for design people."
Their designs range in size from tiny toys, only inches in any direction, to a huge, three foot square waste disposal device. Their singular largest effort was something that was done for an Italian manufacturer. It was a 5-foot high display and was carried around at a huge Manhattan toy show by a Playboy bunny.
The company has sculpted, made molds and cast an untold number of Disney figurers as well as licensed figures like Smurfs, the Hulk, Spiderman, and others.
Even though business seems to be good, Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy would like to make their White Diamond Models for more people. Cook says the company, so far, has had a few orders from Erie area manufactures.
"We'd like to do more," he said, "for companies in this area."
Have fun bidding on this unique auction and thanks for looking. Good Luck!!
PA License TRA000102
Online Auction Bidding 10/13-10/20 starting at 8:00am. ITEM BIDDING STARTS TO CLOSE AT 6:00PM AND RUNS THRU 8:00PM. Each item has a countdown clock attached to it, which provides you with the most accurate time left. You'll want to set a reminder on your phone of the time left on a certain item(s) you are bidding on.
Pick-Up Day Sunday, 10/22 10:00am-4:00pm. An email will be sent to all winning bidders at the conclusion of the auction with pick-up details, including the address and times for pick-up, which is scheduled for Sunday, 10/22 from 10am-4pm. Please check your junk/spam email file as well for this communication.
SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AT THE EXPENSE OF THE WINING BIDDER
Bidding Process
The online auction bidding is a "hard close" process, similar to Ebay, as opposed to a "soft close" process used by other online auction platforms, which extends the time if there is active bidding towards the end. There is no time extension using this particular platform. The bidding ends when the allotted time for each item expires, which is displayed under each item, Also, entering a maximum "max" bid doesn't necessarily mean you will pay your maximum bid. The system will automatically keep bidding on your behalf against other bidders up to your placed "max" bid for convenience purposes.
-Bidding Example
You are bidding on a lamp and place a max bid of $58.00 towards the end of the auction. The auction ends on the item and you win the item for $39.00. This means the next highest bidder had a high bid of $38.00, however you were willing to go up to $58.00. Your maximum bid doesn’t automatically jump to that amount when you place the bid. The bid only is increased if there are other bidders actively bidding on the item. Your maximum bids are hidden from other bidders, essentially creating a level playing field.
Sale Background
Greetings!! Join us online at the lighthouse in North East for Part 3 of the auction, highlighting many of the toys, collectables and fun offerings that Mr. Lantzy has either designed, consulted, manufactured or collected over the years as inspiration.
He was involved with many of the most iconic toys produced during the 70's and 80's in different capacities, including Transformers, Cabbage Patch, Smurfs, Disney, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pound Puppies, Go-Bots, Tonka and the Marx Big Wheel, which was inducted into the Strong Museum of Play in 2009.
Below, is a fascinating story from the Erie Times(March 14th, 1982) about the toy company and the process that is involved to produce toys:
Out on Hathaway Street in Girard where the Marx Toy Company used to design and manufacture toys, two former Marx workers are doing their best to make Northwestern PA, once again, a major center of toy design.
Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy, the owners of Cook Lantzy Corporation, the company that produces White Diamond Models, are designing and making models of toys and other items for major manufactures both in the U.S. and overseas.
Back in 1979, Cook was in charge of the research and development section of the old Marx plant. He began to hear rumblings of financial troubles for the company and he and a few friends talked about going into business for themselves.
Cook says Phil Lantzy worked for him at that time and he recognized Lantzy’s talent as a pattern maker.
The workers at Marx knew they had a lot of talent and good ideas and decided to design their own product around those ideas and present it to buyers in the major toy markets. Some of their ideas were received and sold, either sold outright, or else sold for less cash up front, but with the provision that Cook Lantzy would receive royalties on future sales.
After their initial year, 1980, though, the business began to change. When people saw their product at the sales and toy shows, they were impressed with the quality of their work. Cook Lantzy was asked to design and make models for other companies and the balance of business began to shift from their own product to products for other people.
Customers of their designs and models aren’t just toy manufactures. Cook and Lantzy have also done work with kitchen utensils, mail boxes and other products. They have leased part of the old Marx Building in Girard and Cook says that business has been good. Since their first year, their annual volume has increased by about 250%.
The work that’s done at the Girard facility starts with an order from a manufacturing company. They generally tell Cook Lantzy what they’d like to have. From there, artist renderings are drawn up and then there’s what’s called a “bread board” or mockup, a very crude operating device so the company can see what the toy or other item does and how it will look and whether they are happy with it.
If the company likes the idea and the bread board, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with a "White Diamond" model. This is the final model that looks and works just like the eventual product will, if it's decided to go ahead and produce the item for sale. The White Diamond is generally shown at toy fairs or regional sales meetings. Major toy and discount store chain representatives from all over the country get a look at the model and decide whether they think it'll sell in their outlets.
If the item is popular at the first meeting, the company may order from 6 to 12 additional models to be shown at fairs and meetings around the country and even overseas. After that it's all up to how popular the item is with the children and parents who will have to spend the money to buy the product.
Cal Cook is quick to add that development of an item, especially when it moves or contains some other action module, is not cheap for the companies. He said that most large toys cost $100,000 or more before the first one is sold and even tiny items may cost $50,000 to develop and tool before the manufacture gets a penny of income back from them.
"People", said Cook, "have a tendency to underestimate how complicated they(toys) are. They're as complicated as making an auto or wristwatch."
The expenses start with the artist renderings and pattern, which may cost several thousand dollars to produce. At that point, if the buyer doesn't like the idea, the money is simply down the drain.
If the pattern is accepted, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with construction of the actual working model. That may cost two or three times as much as the pattern, depending upon how complicated the mechanism turns out to be.
Sometimes the manufacturers want Cook Lantzy to be idea men. Other times, it's just their technical skill that's required. Cook said that if the company comes with a complete drawing, there is no real argument. You do it just as the drawing shows.
Cook also pointed out why those drawings, mock-ups and models are so expensive. "The tolerances are in the thousandths of an inch. They're just as intricate as any watch. Everybody here has to know every facet of the business, from the original concept to what the production people have to put together on the line. It all has to be designed into the toy. The better you know all those details, the better the product."
Safety, is another thing that has to be built right into the toy, according to Cook. "There are reams and reams of material(on safety)-a book put out by the toy manufacturer's association and another by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It pretty much spells out what you can and cannot do."
Safety requirements call for careful measurements of any holes in the product to make sure little fingers can't get caught. There have to be impact tests on the materials used and careful attention is paid to getting rid of sharp edges and making sure that the product isn't so small that it can be swallowed. Cook admits that safety is a necessary ingredient, but because of those safety requirements., he says, design does take a little longer and the production tooling is definitely more expensive.
He says that tooling is the major expense the manufacturer has to pay before a product is released. That expense, however, comes after Cook and Lantzy have shown off their White Diamond model and the manufacture has decided to go ahead with production and marketing.
Cook and Lantzy now have, besides the owners, three other former Marx employees working full time and two others, also veteran toymakers, who are available on a part-time, will call, basis. Those seven workers have done models of toys for manufacturers all over the country. They've created kitchenware for a European manufacturer and they've done several mechanical designs for people in the Orient. Their products, according to Cook, "are designed inside for mechanical people and tool people and outside for design people."
Their designs range in size from tiny toys, only inches in any direction, to a huge, three foot square waste disposal device. Their singular largest effort was something that was done for an Italian manufacturer. It was a 5-foot high display and was carried around at a huge Manhattan toy show by a Playboy bunny.
The company has sculpted, made molds and cast an untold number of Disney figurers as well as licensed figures like Smurfs, the Hulk, Spiderman, and others.
Even though business seems to be good, Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy would like to make their White Diamond Models for more people. Cook says the company, so far, has had a few orders from Erie area manufactures.
"We'd like to do more," he said, "for companies in this area."
Have fun bidding on this unique auction and thanks for looking. Good Luck!!
PA License TRA000102
Seller only accepts major credit cards.
Important Sale Dates
Online Auction Bidding 10/13-10/20 starting at 8:00am. ITEM BIDDING STARTS TO CLOSE AT 6:00PM AND RUNS THRU 8:00PM. Each item has a countdown clock attached to it, which provides you with the most accurate time left. You'll want to set a reminder on your phone of the time left on a certain item(s) you are bidding on.
Pick-Up Day Sunday, 10/22 10:00am-4:00pm. An email will be sent to all winning bidders at the conclusion of the auction with pick-up details, including the address and times for pick-up, which is scheduled for Sunday, 10/22 from 10am-4pm. Please check your junk/spam email file as well for this communication.
SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AT THE EXPENSE OF THE WINING BIDDER
Bidding Process
The online auction bidding is a "hard close" process, similar to Ebay, as opposed to a "soft close" process used by other online auction platforms, which extends the time if there is active bidding towards the end. There is no time extension using this particular platform. The bidding ends when the allotted time for each item expires, which is displayed under each item, Also, entering a maximum "max" bid doesn't necessarily mean you will pay your maximum bid. The system will automatically keep bidding on your behalf against other bidders up to your placed "max" bid for convenience purposes.
-Bidding Example
You are bidding on a lamp and place a max bid of $58.00 towards the end of the auction. The auction ends on the item and you win the item for $39.00. This means the next highest bidder had a high bid of $38.00, however you were willing to go up to $58.00. Your maximum bid doesn’t automatically jump to that amount when you place the bid. The bid only is increased if there are other bidders actively bidding on the item. Your maximum bids are hidden from other bidders, essentially creating a level playing field.
Sale Background
Greetings!! Join us online at the lighthouse in North East for Part 3 of the auction, highlighting many of the toys, collectables and fun offerings that Mr. Lantzy has either designed, consulted, manufactured or collected over the years as inspiration.
He was involved with many of the most iconic toys produced during the 70's and 80's in different capacities, including Transformers, Cabbage Patch, Smurfs, Disney, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pound Puppies, Go-Bots, Tonka and the Marx Big Wheel, which was inducted into the Strong Museum of Play in 2009.
Below, is a fascinating story from the Erie Times(March 14th, 1982) about the toy company and the process that is involved to produce toys:
Out on Hathaway Street in Girard where the Marx Toy Company used to design and manufacture toys, two former Marx workers are doing their best to make Northwestern PA, once again, a major center of toy design.
Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy, the owners of Cook Lantzy Corporation, the company that produces White Diamond Models, are designing and making models of toys and other items for major manufactures both in the U.S. and overseas.
Back in 1979, Cook was in charge of the research and development section of the old Marx plant. He began to hear rumblings of financial troubles for the company and he and a few friends talked about going into business for themselves.
Cook says Phil Lantzy worked for him at that time and he recognized Lantzy’s talent as a pattern maker.
The workers at Marx knew they had a lot of talent and good ideas and decided to design their own product around those ideas and present it to buyers in the major toy markets. Some of their ideas were received and sold, either sold outright, or else sold for less cash up front, but with the provision that Cook Lantzy would receive royalties on future sales.
After their initial year, 1980, though, the business began to change. When people saw their product at the sales and toy shows, they were impressed with the quality of their work. Cook Lantzy was asked to design and make models for other companies and the balance of business began to shift from their own product to products for other people.
Customers of their designs and models aren’t just toy manufactures. Cook and Lantzy have also done work with kitchen utensils, mail boxes and other products. They have leased part of the old Marx Building in Girard and Cook says that business has been good. Since their first year, their annual volume has increased by about 250%.
The work that’s done at the Girard facility starts with an order from a manufacturing company. They generally tell Cook Lantzy what they’d like to have. From there, artist renderings are drawn up and then there’s what’s called a “bread board” or mockup, a very crude operating device so the company can see what the toy or other item does and how it will look and whether they are happy with it.
If the company likes the idea and the bread board, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with a "White Diamond" model. This is the final model that looks and works just like the eventual product will, if it's decided to go ahead and produce the item for sale. The White Diamond is generally shown at toy fairs or regional sales meetings. Major toy and discount store chain representatives from all over the country get a look at the model and decide whether they think it'll sell in their outlets.
If the item is popular at the first meeting, the company may order from 6 to 12 additional models to be shown at fairs and meetings around the country and even overseas. After that it's all up to how popular the item is with the children and parents who will have to spend the money to buy the product.
Cal Cook is quick to add that development of an item, especially when it moves or contains some other action module, is not cheap for the companies. He said that most large toys cost $100,000 or more before the first one is sold and even tiny items may cost $50,000 to develop and tool before the manufacture gets a penny of income back from them.
"People", said Cook, "have a tendency to underestimate how complicated they(toys) are. They're as complicated as making an auto or wristwatch."
The expenses start with the artist renderings and pattern, which may cost several thousand dollars to produce. At that point, if the buyer doesn't like the idea, the money is simply down the drain.
If the pattern is accepted, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with construction of the actual working model. That may cost two or three times as much as the pattern, depending upon how complicated the mechanism turns out to be.
Sometimes the manufacturers want Cook Lantzy to be idea men. Other times, it's just their technical skill that's required. Cook said that if the company comes with a complete drawing, there is no real argument. You do it just as the drawing shows.
Cook also pointed out why those drawings, mock-ups and models are so expensive. "The tolerances are in the thousandths of an inch. They're just as intricate as any watch. Everybody here has to know every facet of the business, from the original concept to what the production people have to put together on the line. It all has to be designed into the toy. The better you know all those details, the better the product."
Safety, is another thing that has to be built right into the toy, according to Cook. "There are reams and reams of material(on safety)-a book put out by the toy manufacturer's association and another by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It pretty much spells out what you can and cannot do."
Safety requirements call for careful measurements of any holes in the product to make sure little fingers can't get caught. There have to be impact tests on the materials used and careful attention is paid to getting rid of sharp edges and making sure that the product isn't so small that it can be swallowed. Cook admits that safety is a necessary ingredient, but because of those safety requirements., he says, design does take a little longer and the production tooling is definitely more expensive.
He says that tooling is the major expense the manufacturer has to pay before a product is released. That expense, however, comes after Cook and Lantzy have shown off their White Diamond model and the manufacture has decided to go ahead with production and marketing.
Cook and Lantzy now have, besides the owners, three other former Marx employees working full time and two others, also veteran toymakers, who are available on a part-time, will call, basis. Those seven workers have done models of toys for manufacturers all over the country. They've created kitchenware for a European manufacturer and they've done several mechanical designs for people in the Orient. Their products, according to Cook, "are designed inside for mechanical people and tool people and outside for design people."
Their designs range in size from tiny toys, only inches in any direction, to a huge, three foot square waste disposal device. Their singular largest effort was something that was done for an Italian manufacturer. It was a 5-foot high display and was carried around at a huge Manhattan toy show by a Playboy bunny.
The company has sculpted, made molds and cast an untold number of Disney figurers as well as licensed figures like Smurfs, the Hulk, Spiderman, and others.
Even though business seems to be good, Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy would like to make their White Diamond Models for more people. Cook says the company, so far, has had a few orders from Erie area manufactures.
"We'd like to do more," he said, "for companies in this area."
Have fun bidding on this unique auction and thanks for looking. Good Luck!!
PA License TRA000102
Online Auction Bidding 10/13-10/20 starting at 8:00am. ITEM BIDDING STARTS TO CLOSE AT 6:00PM AND RUNS THRU 8:00PM. Each item has a countdown clock attached to it, which provides you with the most accurate time left. You'll want to set a reminder on your phone of the time left on a certain item(s) you are bidding on.
Pick-Up Day Sunday, 10/22 10:00am-4:00pm. An email will be sent to all winning bidders at the conclusion of the auction with pick-up details, including the address and times for pick-up, which is scheduled for Sunday, 10/22 from 10am-4pm. Please check your junk/spam email file as well for this communication.
SHIPPING IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AT THE EXPENSE OF THE WINING BIDDER
Bidding Process
The online auction bidding is a "hard close" process, similar to Ebay, as opposed to a "soft close" process used by other online auction platforms, which extends the time if there is active bidding towards the end. There is no time extension using this particular platform. The bidding ends when the allotted time for each item expires, which is displayed under each item, Also, entering a maximum "max" bid doesn't necessarily mean you will pay your maximum bid. The system will automatically keep bidding on your behalf against other bidders up to your placed "max" bid for convenience purposes.
-Bidding Example
You are bidding on a lamp and place a max bid of $58.00 towards the end of the auction. The auction ends on the item and you win the item for $39.00. This means the next highest bidder had a high bid of $38.00, however you were willing to go up to $58.00. Your maximum bid doesn’t automatically jump to that amount when you place the bid. The bid only is increased if there are other bidders actively bidding on the item. Your maximum bids are hidden from other bidders, essentially creating a level playing field.
Sale Background
Greetings!! Join us online at the lighthouse in North East for Part 3 of the auction, highlighting many of the toys, collectables and fun offerings that Mr. Lantzy has either designed, consulted, manufactured or collected over the years as inspiration.
He was involved with many of the most iconic toys produced during the 70's and 80's in different capacities, including Transformers, Cabbage Patch, Smurfs, Disney, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Pound Puppies, Go-Bots, Tonka and the Marx Big Wheel, which was inducted into the Strong Museum of Play in 2009.
Below, is a fascinating story from the Erie Times(March 14th, 1982) about the toy company and the process that is involved to produce toys:
Out on Hathaway Street in Girard where the Marx Toy Company used to design and manufacture toys, two former Marx workers are doing their best to make Northwestern PA, once again, a major center of toy design.
Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy, the owners of Cook Lantzy Corporation, the company that produces White Diamond Models, are designing and making models of toys and other items for major manufactures both in the U.S. and overseas.
Back in 1979, Cook was in charge of the research and development section of the old Marx plant. He began to hear rumblings of financial troubles for the company and he and a few friends talked about going into business for themselves.
Cook says Phil Lantzy worked for him at that time and he recognized Lantzy’s talent as a pattern maker.
The workers at Marx knew they had a lot of talent and good ideas and decided to design their own product around those ideas and present it to buyers in the major toy markets. Some of their ideas were received and sold, either sold outright, or else sold for less cash up front, but with the provision that Cook Lantzy would receive royalties on future sales.
After their initial year, 1980, though, the business began to change. When people saw their product at the sales and toy shows, they were impressed with the quality of their work. Cook Lantzy was asked to design and make models for other companies and the balance of business began to shift from their own product to products for other people.
Customers of their designs and models aren’t just toy manufactures. Cook and Lantzy have also done work with kitchen utensils, mail boxes and other products. They have leased part of the old Marx Building in Girard and Cook says that business has been good. Since their first year, their annual volume has increased by about 250%.
The work that’s done at the Girard facility starts with an order from a manufacturing company. They generally tell Cook Lantzy what they’d like to have. From there, artist renderings are drawn up and then there’s what’s called a “bread board” or mockup, a very crude operating device so the company can see what the toy or other item does and how it will look and whether they are happy with it.
If the company likes the idea and the bread board, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with a "White Diamond" model. This is the final model that looks and works just like the eventual product will, if it's decided to go ahead and produce the item for sale. The White Diamond is generally shown at toy fairs or regional sales meetings. Major toy and discount store chain representatives from all over the country get a look at the model and decide whether they think it'll sell in their outlets.
If the item is popular at the first meeting, the company may order from 6 to 12 additional models to be shown at fairs and meetings around the country and even overseas. After that it's all up to how popular the item is with the children and parents who will have to spend the money to buy the product.
Cal Cook is quick to add that development of an item, especially when it moves or contains some other action module, is not cheap for the companies. He said that most large toys cost $100,000 or more before the first one is sold and even tiny items may cost $50,000 to develop and tool before the manufacture gets a penny of income back from them.
"People", said Cook, "have a tendency to underestimate how complicated they(toys) are. They're as complicated as making an auto or wristwatch."
The expenses start with the artist renderings and pattern, which may cost several thousand dollars to produce. At that point, if the buyer doesn't like the idea, the money is simply down the drain.
If the pattern is accepted, then Cook Lantzy proceeds with construction of the actual working model. That may cost two or three times as much as the pattern, depending upon how complicated the mechanism turns out to be.
Sometimes the manufacturers want Cook Lantzy to be idea men. Other times, it's just their technical skill that's required. Cook said that if the company comes with a complete drawing, there is no real argument. You do it just as the drawing shows.
Cook also pointed out why those drawings, mock-ups and models are so expensive. "The tolerances are in the thousandths of an inch. They're just as intricate as any watch. Everybody here has to know every facet of the business, from the original concept to what the production people have to put together on the line. It all has to be designed into the toy. The better you know all those details, the better the product."
Safety, is another thing that has to be built right into the toy, according to Cook. "There are reams and reams of material(on safety)-a book put out by the toy manufacturer's association and another by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It pretty much spells out what you can and cannot do."
Safety requirements call for careful measurements of any holes in the product to make sure little fingers can't get caught. There have to be impact tests on the materials used and careful attention is paid to getting rid of sharp edges and making sure that the product isn't so small that it can be swallowed. Cook admits that safety is a necessary ingredient, but because of those safety requirements., he says, design does take a little longer and the production tooling is definitely more expensive.
He says that tooling is the major expense the manufacturer has to pay before a product is released. That expense, however, comes after Cook and Lantzy have shown off their White Diamond model and the manufacture has decided to go ahead with production and marketing.
Cook and Lantzy now have, besides the owners, three other former Marx employees working full time and two others, also veteran toymakers, who are available on a part-time, will call, basis. Those seven workers have done models of toys for manufacturers all over the country. They've created kitchenware for a European manufacturer and they've done several mechanical designs for people in the Orient. Their products, according to Cook, "are designed inside for mechanical people and tool people and outside for design people."
Their designs range in size from tiny toys, only inches in any direction, to a huge, three foot square waste disposal device. Their singular largest effort was something that was done for an Italian manufacturer. It was a 5-foot high display and was carried around at a huge Manhattan toy show by a Playboy bunny.
The company has sculpted, made molds and cast an untold number of Disney figurers as well as licensed figures like Smurfs, the Hulk, Spiderman, and others.
Even though business seems to be good, Cal Cook and Phil Lantzy would like to make their White Diamond Models for more people. Cook says the company, so far, has had a few orders from Erie area manufactures.
"We'd like to do more," he said, "for companies in this area."
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PA License TRA000102
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