The Columbus 46 (gumball vendor) was a post war machine, and was mostly aluminum, with the exception of the bowl, which was the old standby, cast iron. Columbus, Northwestern, and other manufacturers moved away from cast iron and porcelain after the war, when aluminum became more readily available. It was lighter, cheaper and easier to make, rather than the tedious process of coating the unwieldy cast iron with porcelain. It has a very nice original globe and original paint on the midsection, but not the red, although it is smooth and heavy, almost like porcelain. It has the barrel locks, but by the mid 40s a lot of machines were using the less expensive Master padlocks. About 14" tall. Thanks to Dan Davids, "Mr. Northwestern", for his help with the description. - Scott
