Tiny Giant Antique Bus by SSS International
Good thing I have the box for this toy. Without the box I wouldn’t be able to tell you who made it.
This is a Tiny Giant Antique Bus by SSS International of Japan. It’s a friction powered bus. That means you rev it up by rolling on the floor or table and then letting go once the wheels are spinning.
Dayton made some really cool friction toys in the period 1895-1920, but all the ones I’ve had so far were beat up too badly to keep. Fortunately, these Japanese friction toys are much more common and easy to find in great shape.
When I buy these toys, I always make sure all the hubcaps are there. For some reason most of the toys end up loosing hubcaps.
Anyway, back to this little toy bus. Not really much to say about it. It’s marked “Made in Japan” on the dashboard.
Here’s another picture:
SSS made a whole series of these Tiny Giant friction automobiles. If there are currently any on eBay, links will be below this line.
Vintage Friction SSS International Auto Carrier
 | US $30.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 3:25:48 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
574: SSS JAPAN FRICTION TIN CAR AND CAMPER
 | US $10.00 End Date: Saturday Sep-13-2008 19:00:00 PDT Add to watch list |
SSS TOYS HOUSE TRAILER FRICTION CADILLAC RARE BOX !NR!*
 | US $15.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Sep-14-2008 9:26:18 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
TIN FRICTION TOY POSTAL SAVING TRUCK BANK SSS JAPAN
 | US $8.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Sunday Sep-14-2008 13:00:00 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
