It was 1943 when Alvin and Earl Herdklotz formed the A & E Tool and Gage Co. Their first products included precision tooling such as gauges that measured the contours and shapes of airplane propellers. With the end of World War II, there was no more defense work and they decided to manufacture die-cast toys at their factory in Rockford, Illinois. These toys" were designed to save on production cost and were more basic then the more established die-cast toy makers such as Tootsietoys.
Midgetoy also offered a wide variety of Military die-cast toys. These toys included the late 1940's Army howitzer, Army utility trailer and Army 6x6 truck. Midgetoy also produced a number of Military Airplanes including the Wing Span 4 inches, F-86 Sabre Jet (1948), Wing Span 3 3/4 inches, ArmyB-57 Jet Bomber (1950), Wing Span 3 3/4 inches, Navy Cougar Jet Plane(1952), Wing Span 3 3/4 inches, Navy Cutlass Jet Plane (1949) and the Wing Span 4 5/8 inches, Army 707 Jet Cargo Plane (1955). Midgetoysometimes produced sets that were available in both Military and Civilian versions. The 1971 Ford Torino was available in many styles including Army M.P.Car, Police Car, Fire Chief, Taxi and the "Dukes" car with the ConfederateFlag. Midgetoy now offers many of their sets in Beautiful Displays "Showcase Sets".
By the late 1960s the price of zinc alloys had increased sharply because zinc was needed for military purposes (Vietnam war) and Midgetoy was forced to cease production of much of the lines of toys they had been making sofar. It was during this period that the 'Mini' line, which is of interest to 87th scale collectors, was introduced. The 'Mini' line consisted of smaller, simple die-cast toys in which less metal was used and these could thus be sold at a lower price. During the 1970s the company completely concentrated on the Mini line, the models were packaged on blister cards and were also available in a variety of sets.
In 1981, the company was sold to a group of investors but since no new products were introduced at the time the company rapidly lost it's marketshare. In 1983 the Herdklotz brothers bought back the company but found that the machinery was in such a bad state that it would be difficult to restart production and decided that it would be best to sell off the remaining inventory.