Diecast & Vehicles

The term die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the die casting method. The toys are made of metal and plastic, the metal used commonly is ZAMAK (or Mazak), an alloy of zinc and aluminium. Zamak is also referred to as white metal or pot metal. more...

Home
Action Figures
Beanies
Construction Toys & Kits
Diecast & Vehicles
Anson
Auto Art
Bang/ Box / Best
Benbros
Britains
Brooklin
Brumm
Budgie
Burago
Cararama & Hongwell
Charbens
Code 3
Collections/ Bulk Lots
Conrad/ NZG
Corgi
Crescent
Danbury Mint
Detail
Dinky
Dragon
EFE
Eligor
ERTL
Exoto
Ferrari
Franklin Mint
Gearbox
Guisval
Herpa
HotWheels
IXO
Jada
Jadi
Joal
Johnny Lightning
Kinsmart
Kyosho
Lledo
Lone Star
Magazines/ Books/...
Maisto
Majorette
Matchbox & Lesney
Maxi Car
Micro Machines
Minichamps
Muscle Machines
NASCAR
Newray
Norev
ONYX
Other Diecast & Vehicles
Oxford Diecast
Polistil
Revell
Rio
Road Champs
Road Signature
Saico
Schabak
Schuco
Shell Classic
Siku
Solido/ Verem
Spark
Sun Star
Teamsters
Tekno
Tomica
Tonka
Tri-ang
Trofeu
Unbranded Vehicles
Universal Hobbies
Vitesse/ Quartzo/ City
Welly
White Metal/ Hand-Made/...
Toys & Games
Wargames & Role-Playing

The most common die-cast toys are scale models of automobiles, aircraft, construction equipment and trains, although almost anything can be produced by this method.

History

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. 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.

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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org