Some
History on the term diecast
Diecast
(or die cast, or die-cast) toys were first produced early
in the 20th century by manufacturers such as Meccano (Dinky
Toys) in the United Kingdom and Dowst Brothers (Tootsietoys)
in the United States. The first models on the market were
basic, consisting of a small car or van body with no interior.
In the early days it was common for impurities in the
Zamak alloy to result in metal fatigue; the casting would
crack or decompose for no apparent reason. As a result,
diecast toys made before World War II are difficult to
find in good condition.
Lesney
began making diecast toys in 1947.
Their popular Matchbox
1-75 series was so named because there were always 75
different vehicles in the line, each packaged in a small
box designed to look like those used for matches. These
toys became so popular that "Matchbox" was widely
used as a generic term for any diecast toy car, regardless
of who the actual manufacturer was.
The
popularity of diecast toys as collectibles developed in
the 1950s,
as their detail and quality increased. Consequently, more
companies entered the field, including the Corgi brand,
produced by Mettoy, which appeared in 1956
and pioneered the use of interiors and clear plastic windows
in their models.
In
1968,
Hot Wheels were introduced in the United States by Mattel,
to address the complaint that they had no line of toys
for boys to balance their line of Barbie dolls for girls.
Hot
Wheels quickly gained an important niche in the diecast
toy market, becoming one of the world's top sellers and
challenging the Matchbox 1-75 series in popularity.
During
the 1960s
various companies began to use diecast vehicles as promotional
items for advertising. The idea that children can play
a large part in a family's decision as to what products
to buy came into wide circulation. In addition, by the
1980s
it was apparent that many diecast vehicles were being
purchased by adults as collectibles, not as toys for children.
Companies such as McDonald's, Sears Roebuck, Kodak, and
Texaco commissioned toymakers to produce promotional models
featuring their names and logos, or licensed their use.
One early example was an American Airlines London bus
produced by Matchbox, an idea other some airlines quickly
copied.
Beginning
in the mid '70s
trucks and other commercial vehicles took a lion's share
of the diecast market. Matchbox started the trend when
they re-launched their Models of Yesteryear range. They
made a score of different versions of their Y-12 Ford
Model T van, along with other trucks
in colorful liveries such as Coca-Cola,
Colman's Mustard, and Cerebos Salt. They also made promotional
versions for Smith's Crisps (potato chips) and Harrod's
department store. Some models were made exclusively for
certain markets and immediately became quite expensive
elsewhere: Arnott's Biscuits (Australia) and Sunlight
Seife (soap, Germany) are examples.
Corgi
copied this idea when they expanded the Corgi Classics
line in the mid-'80s, producing more than 50 versions
of a 1920s
era Thornycroft van. Some collectors disparaged this development
as "collecting paint," as the castings were
identical; only the decorations were different. Other
collectors created what they called the "10-Foot
Rule" when the collecting of minor variations of
the same vehicle got out of hand. The idea was that, if
you couldn't differentiate between two versions of a model
from 10 feet away, it wasn't worthwhile to collect both
of them.
Despite
their popularity, many diecast manufacturers went belly-up
in the 1980s. Meccano (Dinky), Matchbox, and Corgi all
went bankrupt within a three-year span, which essentially
reflected the economic climate in the UK at that time.
It had become virtually impossible to manufacture in England
and compete on the world market. (Mattel had also long
since shifted most of their production from the USA to
the far east.) Matchbox was purchased by a Hong Kong conglomerate
named Universal Holdings, which moved production from
England to Macau. Later (1997),
Mattel bought Matchbox, essentially making Hot Wheels
and the Matchbox 1-75 line sister brands. The two brands
continue to sell under their own separate names.
Meanwhile,
Corgi had been acquired by Mattel, which moved the office
from Swansea, Wales to Leicester, England, and moved manufacturing
to China. Matchbox also bought the Dinky Toys name, long
after the Liverpool factory was closed. Manufacturing
resumed in China. In a series of subsequent shifts, a
group of Corgi executives bought back the Corgi Classics
line from Mattel, and portions of the Matchbox line were
sold to an Australian company named Tyco (no relation
to the Tyco line of HO scale trains, originally made by
Mantua Metalworking in New Jersey, USA).
Effectively
from the ashes of Matchbox's bankruptcy arose Lledo, a
company created by former Matchbox partner Jack Odell.
Odell believed that British collectibles for British collectors
could still be profitably produced in England. Lledo took
over part of the Matchbox factory in Enfield, Essex and
introduced their "Models of Days Gone" line
of diecast vehicles in 1983. The first series of Days
Gone models included re-makes of some of the most popular
and respected first and second-generation Matchbox Models
of Yesteryear. Lledo models were very popular collectibles
in the '80s, leading to a period of diversification (incl.
the Vanguards line of classic post-war British vehicles),
but by the '90s they were eclipsed by other brands, and
by 2002
Lledo went broke. Parts of their line were purchased by
Corgi, which moved production to China.
In
addition to trucks, Corgi produced hundreds of versions
of their 1/64
scale Routemaster bus in the '80s and '90s. Like other
collecting and promotional model trends, it started as
a trickle and soon became a flood. Many versions were
made to be sold exclusively in the stores whose advertising
appeared on the buses. Harrods, Selfridges, Gamley's,
Hamley's, Army & Navy, Underwood's, and Beatties were
among the British stores employing this idea. A South
African chain called Dion was one of the few overseas
firms to follow suit.
Then
1/76 scale buses became very popular in Britain in the
late '80s and early '90s, with competing lines from Corgi
(the Original Omnibus Company) and Gilbow Holdings (Exclusive
First Editions, or EFE) fighting for the market. The 1/76
scale fits in with British 'OO' scale model trains.
By
the 1990s NASCAR
enjoyed increasing popularity and a large number of racing-related
diecast cars and trucks, painted in the colors of the
different racing teams, appeared from various manufacturers.
Racing Champions was a leading brand of such models, but
there were many others.
In
addition to cars, trucks, buses, agricultual implements,
and construction equipment, diecast aircraft and military
models were popular. While Dinky had made such models
decades earlier, new companies entered the field in the
'80s and '90s. One producer was Dyna Flites, which went
bankrupt in the 1990s, but their market share was quickly
taken up by their competitors, including Schabak, Gemini
Jets, Herpa, and Dragon Wings.
Model Scales
1:18
scale - large models often targeted at adults
1:24
scale - very common size sold in toy stores - similar
to G scale model trains, which are 1:22.5 scale
1:43
scale - made popular by Dinky and Corgi, popular with
collectors - similar to O scale model trains
1:48
scale - aircraft sold in this scale to match plastic
model kits - same as O scale model trains
1:50 scale - trucks, buses, construction equipment, promotional
models, military vehicles - similar in size to O scale
model trains
1:64
scale - Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars are nominally
this size, as well as truck and tractor models - same
as S scale model trains
See also: List of scale model sizes, Scale model
Accessories
Items such as toy restaurants and filling stations are
sometimes sold separately from the cars, to be used as
playsets. Toy raceways are also sold for use with die-cast
cars, which have become more complicated in recent years,
usually involving loops and complicated curves. Also produced
are luggage bags made specifically for children to be
able to travel with their cars.
Facts
and trivia
British die-cast toy fans were particular in that they
called every die-cast model, no matter what company they
were produced by, a "matchbox".
Two of the die cast toys that have become important collectors'
items are the aforementioned American Airlines London
Bus, and the Rocky car, produced in 1979 after the release
of Rocky II.
List
of die cast toy brands
Action
American Highway Legends (AHL) - see Hartoy and Tonkin
Altaya
AUTOart
BBR
Bburago
Bandai
Bang
Brooklin Models
Brookfield Collectors Guild
Buby
BuddyL
Classic Carlectables
Code 3
Conrad: Germany maker of construction, truck and bus models
in 1:50 scale
CMC
Corgi
Crown Premiums: Manufacturer of diecast promotional cars
and trucks
DG Productions
Diapet: Japanese cars, mostly in 1/40 scale.
Die Cast Promotions (F.F. Ertl III)
Dinky Toys
Dragon Wings
Ebbro
Efsi
Eligor
Ertl
Exclusive First Editions (EFE)
Exoto
First Gear
Gear
Box
Gemini Jets
Golden Wheel
Guisval
Hartoy
Herpa
Hot
Wheels
Husky/Corgi Juniors/Corgi Rockets
Ixo
Jada
Toys
JLE Scale Models (Joseph L. Ertl)
Joal
Johnny
Lightning
Jouef
K-Line
Kyosho
Liberty Classics
Lion Car
Lledo: Models of Days Gone, Vanguards
Lego
Maisto
Majorette
Matchbox
Minichamps
Motormax
Motorworks
MTH RailKing
Norev
NZG: German maker of construction models, trucks, buses
in 1:50 scale
Penjoy
Plasticos Argentinos
Precision Engineered Models (PEM) - see Hartoy and Tonkin
Quartzo
Racing Champions
RCCA
Revell
Red Line
Rextoys
Road Champs
Schabak
Siku
Solido
Spark Model
SpecCast
Spot-On
Team Caliber
Tekno
Tomica: Japanese diecast about Matchbox size.
Tonkin
Trax
Trofeu: Made in Portugal 1/43 scale.
UT
Models
Winner's Circle
Winross
Vitesse: Wide range of 1/43 scale European and Japanese
cars.
Yatming
Von Dutch
Additonal
Resources
Understanding
Scale
1:18 Scale
Diecast
Directory
See
ALL 1:24 scale diecast model cars
(in stock and out of stock)
See
only IN STOCK 1:24 scale diecast model cars