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A Matchbox sized Corgi Jr. Mercedes-Benz 240 Diesel Taxi. The Husky name was rebranded "Corgi Jr." about 1970. By 1970 the exclusive marketing contract with Woolworth had come to an end and realising that the Husky range could now be sold alongside Matchbox in a variety of outlets the series was re-launched as Corgi Juniors to integrate it into the Corgi Toys family, and the existing Husky ...
Morestone cars in the 1950s were painted a variety of non-metallic colors, and often were two toned paint. Their wheels were most often plain silver metal. 1960s Budgie cars and trucks were reminiscent of Matchbox, though slightly smaller, with less detail, and simpler with plain paint and no windows. [ 9 ]
A 1953-55 Lesney-Matchbox Road Roller, one of the first toys to be produced under the Matchbox name. The Matchbox name originated in 1953 as a brand name of the British die-casting company Lesney Products, whose reputation was moulded by [2] John W. "Jack" Odell (1920–2007), [3] Leslie Charles Smith (1918–2005), [4] and Rodney Smith.
A range of 1:43 scale cars was offered. Some of these were a bit more crude than the smaller sized cars. For example, a late 1970s Toyota Celica fastback was a bit more rough and toy-like than other Playart offerings. Some offerings were in plastic. Cars in 1:20 scale (or about 8 inches long) were also produced.
Cement Mixer (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 3 [note 1] Caterpillar Crawler (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 8; Caterpillar Bulldozer (1948), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 18; Milk Float (1949), later scaled down to become Matchbox no. 7; this was the 1st toy made in Lesney's second factory at ...
By 1966, more than 100 million Matchbox toys were sold each year. Odell retired in 1973 but returned in 1981 when Lesney ran into financial problems. [2] The company was declared insolvent in 1982 and sold to Universal Toys. [1] He founded Lledo, a small vehicle model manufacturing company, and was active in that business until 1999 when he ...
In 1992, Tyco purchased the Illco Toy Company, bringing Illco's extensive line of toys based on the children's show Sesame Street to Tyco. [4] In the mid-1990s, as a bigger toy company, company headquarters was moved to Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. It purchased the Matchbox brand of scale model cars, in 1992. [5] [6]
Gave rise to Corgi. Also made first HO slot car line (Playcraft Electric Highways), which was later manufactured and developed by Aurora. MG Model Cars-Micro Machines – Tiny plastic cars about 1.5 inches made by Lewis Galoob. Micro Models – New Zealand maker of Australian marketed vehicles. Micro-Racing – 1:8 off-road buggies