1.  1952 Johnson 25 HP motor.  Very rare. This is the very first toy outboard that K&O ever made.  It looks exactly like the 1953 except notice that there is no remote steering bracket just like the real motor! Also the tiller handle is pointy at the end and the 1953 is more rounded.  This was the first of the K&O name brand motors.  This motor was also made with no decals.  I'm still looking for that one.  You can see it in the original instructions.  These motors came with their own electrical clips.  Neat box is also hard to find.

2.  Johnson 1953 25 HP Engine.  Looks like the 1954 but notice the lower decal is totally different.  It says "Sea Horse 25" across the bottom.  Also, notice there is a notch in the metal bracket just under the cowl and towards the rear of the motor.  This motor has the remote steering bracket just like the real motor which got it for the first time!  This is a rare motor.  The third picture shows the 1953 lower leg but with a 1954 cowl.  This is not rare since K&O probably used up their stock of 1953 lower units when the 1954 model came out.  Notice that the 1953 lower unit says "Made in Japan" and 1954 below says "Japan."  Also note that the tiller handle grip is rounded on the end whereas the 1952 has a pointed end.

3.  1954 Johnson 25 HP motor.  This motor and the 1954 Evinrude are probably the easiest to find.  Millions were sold and also Johnson and Evinrude gave them out as Christmas presents to their dealerships, sales representatives, etc.  Very common motor.  The lower unit says "Japan" on it and not "Made in Japan."  Thanks to Joe Cain for the first picture.

4.  1955 Johnson 25 HP.  First toy Johnson with the new cowl style.  The white paint, however, on most of these motors is chipped so it's hard to find one in mint condition. Many are repainted or touched up.  The white paint was not of the best quality although the green paint holds up very well. Thanks to the eagle eyes of Doug Kelm who noticed that this is the wrong box for the 1955!  It's actually a 1954 box.  This motor probably did come with that box, though, because K&O was famous for using their left over boxes, decals, parts, etc., on later models.  Thanks Doug!

5.  1956 Johnson 30 HP.  Another very common motor.  In my experience, I run across these more than any other motor.  They were sold on boats as well as individually and many millions were sold.  Again the white paint tends to chip easily so be careful of repainted motors.  The round decal on the cowl says "30" in the circle.

6.  1957 Johnson 35 HP.  One of my favorites since I love the 1957 motors of all manufacturers.  Very common motor.  The white paint tends to chip also but not as poor a quality as the 55 or 56.  Nice box that matches the cardboard carton the real motors came in.  Thanks to Joe Cain for the picture with the emblem.

7.  1958 Johnson 35 HP.  This is a rare motor.  It's the first year K&O started making two motors for the same manufacturer.  This is the smaller version and is only four and a half inches tall. It's much harder to find than the bigger motor below.  The transom brackets are not very strong and break easily if you tighten the clamps too much. The white on the real motor is a very bright white but on some of the K&O motors  the white has yellowed quite a bit.  Thanks to Joe Cain for the second picture.

8.  1958 Johnson 50 HP.  Called the "Port Hole" motor because of it's four holes in the rear of the cowl. Not a rare motor but highly sought after because of it's unique looks.  A really cool looking motor with a cream and gold paint job.  This is the first year that OMC made V-4 outboards.  Pretty neat box. Thanks to Joe Cain for the great pictures!  The last picture is of a real "Port Hole" motor at the 2007 Clayton Antique Boat Show.

9.  1959 Johnson 35 HP.  Not rare, but not common either.  For some reason, not as sought after as the 1958 motor.  This is the smaller version for 1959 and is four and a half inches tall.  Neat part is the decal in the chrome band on the cowl that says "Sea Horse 35"  Can be bought for a reasonable price.  It came in a very colorful box.

10.  1959 Johnson 50 HP.  The larger V-4 version for 1959. Note the original box it came in. Again, for some unknown reason these motors can be bought at a reasonable price because collectors aren't in love with them, I guess because they are a bit dull looking in white.  Chrome band has a cool decal that says "Super Sea Horse 50" on it.

11.  1960 Johnson 40 HP.  EXTREMELY rare motor.  Considered one of the hardest motors to find.  All 1960 K&O motors are very rare but this is probably the rarest.  This is four and a half inches tall.  Looks like the 1961 and 1962 motors except for the side decal which has the word "Johnson" and the sea horse emblem on the same line, whereas the 61 and 62 have the Sea Horse emblem above the Johnson name.  Notice that the decals have yellowed a lot, this has happened to all the K&O motors. Some people think the decals have a gold background but it's nothing more than the decal backing turning yellow.  Also, this motor has a circular decal on the top of the cowl instead of a line.  This motor was often put into the 1959 Johnson box like this one was.  I guess K&O had left over boxes from the year before.  Thanks to Joe Cain for the first three pictures.

12.  1960 Johnson 75 HP.  Again, Extremely rare motor but not as rare as the 40 HP version.  Notice that the Johnson and sea horse emblem are on the same line not like the 1961 and 1962 motors.

13.  1961 Johnson 40 HP.  Very rare but not as rare as the 1960 and 1962 40 HP motors.  Almost exactly the same as the 1962 except for the front and rear decals which have the number "40" on them. Colorful box.

14.  1961 Johnson 75 HP.  Very rare but not as rare as the 1960 and 1962 versions.  Looks the same as the 1962  except the front and rear decals have the number "75" on them instead of the five stars.  Thanks to Joe Cain for some of the pictures.

15.  1962 Johnson 40 HP.  Called the "4 star" motor because the front and rear decals are red and black and have 4 stars on them which distinguishes them from the 1961 motor.  Extremely rare.  Thanks to Joe for pointing out that there are only 4 stars on this motor and not 5!

16.  1962 Johnson 75 HP.  This motor has 5 stars on the front and rear decals which distinguish it from the 1961. From the side there is no way to tell the difference between it and the 1961 motor.  Only the front and rear decals are different. Extremely rare.  This is the last year for the K&O die cast metal motors.  A nice motor to have since it's large and impressive looking.