The early days of aviation took place on airfields; as their name suggests, these were fairly flat grassy areas from which these marvellous flying madmen took off, with varying degrees of success, in their odd-looking machines; newspapers of the time featured photographs of these events on their front pages.
The craze for lighter-than-air flight was widespread amongst young people; toy manufacturers therefore offered not only aeroplanes but also elements of the aviation environment, right down to simulations of an airport.
From the 1910s to the 1960s, from America to Asia via Europe, the toy industry was brimming with imagination.
Germany
Bing
Aeroplanes flying over a hangar
1925–1930, lithographed sheet metal, spring-driven mechanism in one of the aeroplanes, the propeller turns, 23 x 80 cm
Einfalt (Technofix)
Airport
1945–1948 (US Zone), lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, the aeroplane rotates, rises and falls, 18 (h) x 41 x 47 cm
International Airways
1964, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, the aeroplane rotates, rises and falls, 12 (h) x 23.7 x 73 cm
Fischer, Georg
Aircraft and hangar
1931, lithographed sheet metal, push-along toy, aeroplane: 7 x 10 cm, hangar: 6 x 10 x 12.5 cm
Gescha
Airport
Early 1960, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 23 x 50 cm
Hoch & Beckmann
Aerodrome
1954, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, the aeroplanes rotate, 31 x 52 cm
Airport, Shell, with his box
1954, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 2 aeroplanes rotating in one direction, 2 in the other, H: 28.25 x 13.5 cm
Kellermann
Hangar and aeroplane
1928, lithographed sheet metal, push-along toy, hangar: 5 x 9 x 10 cm, aeroplane: 5 x 8 cm
Plank
Airfield
1914, le hangar en tôle lithographiée, 8 x 12 x 11 cm, les sujets en métal blanc peint
Tipp & Co
Aerodrome
1924–1928, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, the aeroplanes rotate as they rise and fall, 8 (h) x 27.5 cm
Tücher & Walther
Aéroport Paris
1998, painted sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 12 x 35 x 20.5 cm
Berlin-Tempelhof
1998, painted sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 17 x 35 x 35 cm
Espagne
Carrasco y Viuda e Hijos de Marsal
Aeroport
Late 1940s, painted sheet metal and wood, box 37 x 37 cm
Aeródromo balancín
1945–1950, painted sheet metal, clockwork mechanism inside the aeroplane, 14.0 (h) × 43.5 cm
Aeroclub infantil
Circa 1950, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 26 x 46 x 54 cm
Etats-Unis
Automatic Toy
Futurmatic Airport
Mid-1950s, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 4 x 39 x 39 cm
Liberty Playthings
Liberty Airport
Late 1920s – 1930s, lithographed sheet metal, painted wood, spring-driven mechanism, 6.5 x 22 x 29 cm
Marx
City Airport
1935–1938, lithographed and painted sheet metal, battery-powered lighting, 12 x 28 x 43 cm
Municipal Airport
1929–1935, lithographed sheet metal, painted sheet metal, aeroplane: 11 x 11.5 cm, hangar: 8.5 x 14 x 15.5 cm
Futurmatic Airport
Licensed for the UK market
Années 1950, tôle lithographiée, mécanisme d’horlogerie, 8 x 39 cm
Wyandotte
City Airport
1934, lithographed sheet metal, battery-powered lighting, hangar: 28 x 40 x 29 cm, aeroplanes: 11.5 x 10 cm
France
Fauvel, Henry
Aerodrome
1960s, sheet metal, painted wood, battery-powered lighting, 19 (h) x 79 x 30 cm
Gaspard & Gaubier
Aero-club
1950s, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 8 (h) x 33 cm
Aerodrome
Circa 1955, painted and lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 17 (h) x 60 cm
JML
The “Canari” and his hangar
Lithographed sheet metal, spring-driven mechanism, the propeller turns. Aeroplane: 19 x 22 cm, hangar: 12 x 23 x 20 cm
Hangar and aeroplane
1930s, lithographed sheet metal, spring-loaded mechanism in the aeroplane which rolls along the ground and then takes off; aeroplane: 22 x 21 cm, hangar: 12 x 23 x 20 cm
Joustra
Airport
1954, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 11 x 25 x 37 cm
Grande-Bretagne
Skybirds Buildings
Airport
Dinky Toys vehicles
1930s, painted wood, painted sheet metal
Japon
Masudaya, Modern Toys
Toy Land Airport
1950s, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 6 (h) x 22 x 35.5 cm
Nikko Gangu Kogyo
American Airways
The pushback vehicle appears to be following the aeroplane as it takes off
1960s, lithographed sheet metal, battery-operated, the arm moves up and down, height: 40 cm, 26 x 44 cm
Yonezawa
International Air Terminal
Mid-1950s, lithographed sheet metal, friction-driven mechanism, rolls along the floor, propellers turn, 27 x 23 cm
Russie
Lenin Memorial Factory
Aéroport
Licensed under Joustra
1960s, lithographed sheet metal, clockwork mechanism, 12 x 23.5 x 34 cm