Jo-Han
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Wikipedia: Jo-Han
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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Jo-Han page on 23 September 2018, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Jo-Han was a manufacturer of plastic scale promotional model cars and kits originally based in Detroit. The company was founded in 1947 by tool and die maker John Hanley a year before West Gallogly's competing company AMT was formed and about the same time as PMC. After changing ownership a few times, Jo-Han models were sporadically manufactured by Okey Spaulding in Covington, KY, but apparently none have been offered for several years.
Originally called Ideal Models, Hanley's first products were mid-1950s model aircraft and other promotional items. Some of the early projects included scale model kitchen sets and a training model of Chrysler's fluid drive transmission. This awarded Hanley a contract to produce models for Chrysler.
During the 1950s, the U.S. automakers were commissioning models of their cars from suppliers that included AMT and Jo-Han. Automobile sales people realized that, as one slogan of the time put it, “the little ones sell the big ones”. The promise of a free toy car for the kids would entice families into showrooms to view the latest car designs and take them for test drives.
Contracts with General Motors soon followed, and Jo-Han produced Pontiac models for the 1955 model year. Over time, Jo-Han became known more for Chrysler models, though Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Studebaker (often Larks), and American Motors were also well represented making Jo-Han a strong competitor to AMT and later to MPC. Oldsmobile and Cadillac models appeared through the 1960s and 1970s, including the 1962 Oldsmobile compact Cutlass F-85. Their last promotional model made was the 1979 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.
Eventually the company name was changed to Jo-Han Models because of the already existing Ideal Toy Company. The new name reflected the first two letters of the founder's first name and the first three letters of his last name. Similar to how AMT simultaneously used the SMP brand name, Jo-Han's 1955 Pontiac Star Chief two door and four door sedan promotional models also continued to use the Ideal name during the transition, but this was the last year for the Ideal name.
| Type & Item # | Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Model Kit - C-3562 | '62 Plymouth Fury Hardtop | USA Oldies, 1:25 scale,  |
| Model Kit - C-3862 | '62 Oldsmobile F-85 Hardtop Cutlass | USA Oldies, 1:25 scale, |
| Model Kit - C-4263 | '63 Oldsmobile Starfire Hardtop | USA Oldies, 1:25 scale |
| Model Kit - C-4460 | '60 DeSoto Adventurer Hardtop |  |
| Model Kit - GC-234 | 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Sports Roadster | Classic, 1:25 scale |
| Model Kit - GC-2864 | '64 Dodge Super Stock Drag | 1:25 scale, "Re-Charged" |
| Model Kit - GC-3100 | Maverick Pro Stock | "Tinker's Toy"  |
| Model Kit - S-1004 | Pro Street Rambler | 1:25 scale, 1966/1967 Rambler American |