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, Dowst Brothers (TootsieToys) in the United States and Fonderie
de précision de Nanterre (Solido) in France. 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 alloy to result in zinc pest;
the casting would distort or crack for no apparent reason. As a result, diecast
toys made before World War II are difficult to find in good condition. The
later high-purity Zamak alloy avoided this problem.
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 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. Because they looked fast and were
fast (they were equipped with a low-friction wheel/axle assembly), 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.
Although this practice has been used by Meccano (Dinky Toys)
as far as 1934, 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 some other 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 Harrods
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.
1:24 Diecast Model of the Honda Valkyrie
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.
In the seventies, Japanese toymaker Popy (owned by the
larger Bandai toy company) created a line of die-cast toys based on the popular
Super Robot anime series of the period. The line was named Chogokin, meaning
"Super Alloy", after the futuristic metal robot Mazinger Z was said
to be made of. The line was meant to give kids a sense of the weight of the
super robots in the cartoons, in a similar manner to Popy's other line, Jumbo
Machinder (known in the West as Shogun Warriors), and the name gave the
children the idea that their toys were made of the same stuff as the
"real" robots. The line proved popular, with some figures imported to
the west. In the late nineties, Bandai created the Soul of Chogokin line of
adult collector figures featuring metal parts, as a callback to the original
Chogokin toys, and then the smaller but similar Super Robot Chogokin line.
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. A new company called Oxford Diecast acquired the former Corgi factory in
Swansea and commenced manufacture for themselves and Corgi. 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).
A die cast Yamaha motorcycle model in 1:18 scale
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,
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.
Oxford Diecast developed a range of promotional stylised
vehicles and maintained its manufacturing base in Swansea until 2000 when it
relocated its production to a plant it owned in China. As such is was the last
large scale producer of diecast models to manufacture in the UK, although it
choose to own and build its own Chinese factory rather than outsource
production entirely.
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 in the
USA, and a large number of racing-related NASCAR 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, agricultural 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-Flytes, which went bankrupt
in the 1990s, but their market share was quickly taken up by their competitors,
including Schabak, GeminiJets, Herpa, and Dragon Wings.
In 2005 Oxford Diecast entered the scale accurate
market with range of vehicles in popular British railway scales of 1:76 and
1:148. This and a radically enhanced product in its 1:43 scale range meant the
company rapidly grew sales and UK market share, becoming the dominant player within
5 years. Licensing agreements with BBC TV for the Top Gear programme and UK
Haulier Eddie Stobart followed as they expanded into licensed product.