Matchbox (toy company)

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Image:Matchbox Gowings van.jpg Matchbox is a die cast toy brand currently owned by Mattel, Inc. Matchbox toys were so named because the original models were packed in boxes similar in size and style to boxes of matches and the Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a genericized trademark for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand. In the 1970s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard "blister packs" used for other die cast cars, such as Hot Wheels, although the box style packaging was re-introduced for the collector market in recent years, particularly successfully with the release of the "35th anniversary of Superfast" series in 2005.

The Matchbox/Lesney factory was a major employer in Homerton, East London, although in 1990 the company relocated to Rugby in the West Midlands.

1 History
2 75 (1-75)
3 Scales of models
4 Die-cast series
5 Matchbox Collectibles
6 Model kits
7 Other
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] History

The Matchbox name started in 1953 as a brand name of the now-defunct British Lesney toy company, which had been founded in 1947 as an industrial die casting company. Lesney had been started by Leslie Smith (March 6, 1918 - May 26, 2005) and Rodney Smith. The two men were not related by blood; they had been school friends and served together in the Royal Navy during World War II.

Shortly after they founded the company, Rodney Smith introduced to his partner a man named John "Jack" Odell, an engineer he met in his old job at D.C.M.T. (another diecasting company). Mr Odell initially rented a space in the Lesley building to do his own diecasting products, but he joined the company as a partner in that same year.

In late 1947 they received a request for parts to a toy gun. As that proved to be a viable alternative to reducing their factory's output during periods in which they received fewer or smaller industrial orders, they started to make diecast models (a clone of a Dinky Toys road roller) in the next year. However, seeing no future for the company, Rodney Smith left the company in 1951.

In 1953, with the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II, a great shift came to Lesney. First, they produced a replica of the Royal State Coach, which sold over a million units. More important to the company's future success, however, was to be a toy that Mr. Odell designed, surprisingly, for his daughter: her school only allowed children to bring toys that could fit inside a matchbox, so Mr. Odell crafted a scaled-down version of a Lesney green and red road roller. This toy ultimately became the first of the 1-75 miniature range. Additional models — mostly British at first — continued to be added to the range throughout the decade, including cars such as an MG Midget TD, and, later, a Vauxhall Cresta, a Ford Zodiac, and many others. As the line grew, it also gradually became more international, including models of Citroens, VWs, and American makes. To make such miniatures, the designers took detailed photographs of the real models, even obtaining some original blueprints. This enabled them to make models with surprisingly high levels of detail. As mentioned above, as the one defining factor was that each model had to fit in a match-box, the idea was born to sell the models in replica matchboxes — thus yielding the name of the series. It also resulted in the description (either derogatory or admiring) of the models' scales being "1:box" (as opposed to more "serious" scales such as 1:87, 1:64, or 1:43).

In the earliest years of the 1-75 series — well before the series actually numbered 75 models — Lesney was marketed by Moko (itself named after its owner, Moses Kohnstam). Boxes in that era mentioned this, with the text "A Moko Lesney" appearing on each. Lesney gained its independence from Moko in the 50s, leading into a period of growth, both in sales and in size. Early models did not feature windows or interiors, were made entirely of metal, and were often about 2" (5 cm) in length. By 1968, Matchbox was the biggest-selling brand of small diecast model cars worldwide. By this time, the average model featured plastic windows, interiors, tires (often with separate disc wheels), and occasional accessories; spring suspensions; opening parts; and was about 3" (7 cm) long. Some even featured steering, including the pressure-based AutoSteer system debuting in 1969. The line was very diverse, including many trucks/lorries, tractors, motorcycles, and trailers as well as standard passenger cars.

In addition, three (four) further series were introduced. The Models of Yesteryear were renditions of classic vehicles from the steam and early automotive eras. These were often about 3½-4" in length. Accessories included gas/petrol pumps, garages, and the like. Finally, Major Packs were larger-scale models, often of construction vehicles. This series was effectively folded into the King Size series, which was then diversified to include passenger car models in a scale similar to that used by Corgi and Dinky.

However, the main focus at Matchbox continued to be their smaller cars. Other brands, including Husky/Corgi Juniors, attempted to compete with Matchbox, but none were particularly successful until American toy giant Mattel introduced the revolutionary low-friction "racing" wheels on its Hot Wheels line of cars. These models, although less true to scale and often featuring fantasy vehicles, were painted in bright metallic colors, were fitted with racing-style "mag" wheels and slick tires, and marketed aggressively and with numerous accessory products, such as race track sets and the like. In 1969, the bottom effectively fell out of one of Lesney's key markets, the USA (the other major market, the UK, was also under attack).

Lesney's response to this was relatively quick — but not quick enough to avoid major financial worries — creating the "Superfast" line. This was effectively a transformation of the 1969 line to include low-friction wheels (at first narrow, since the company needed time to retool the series to accommodate wide tires), often accompanied with new colors. This led at first to a strange but interesting line of fast-wheeling cars, trucks, and trailers, basically complete in 1970. Racing track sets and the like were also released to allow children to race their cars. Starting in 1970 and particularly in 1971, new models appeared with wider tires, and older models (including trucks still in the line) were retooled to fit slicks. The King Size line was similarly updated, including a division into Super Kings (mostly trucks, but also with mag wheels) and Speed Kings (cars). A short-lived series of rechargeable electric cars, called Scorpions, was released as well, to compete with similar products from Hot Wheels (Sizzlers) and Corgi (ElectroRockets).

By the mid-70s, Matchbox was again a force on the world market, having completed the transition and having even updated its line to include some (controversial) fantasy vehicles. The 1-75 series was also amended to include the Rola-Matics (featuring mechanical parts that moved when the vehicle was moved) and Streakers, the latter an attempt to compete with Hot Wheels' newest innovation, tampo-printing on the vehicle itself.

In an attempt to reap more benefits from the regained popularity of the Matchbox brand, a last period of great expansion started with the introduction of multiple new lines, including the Sky Busters aircraft series (incl. current and historic private, commercial, and military planes), Battle Kings military models, Sea Kings naval models, Adventure 2000 science fiction models, and the Two Packs series, which revisited the traditional Matchbox idea of a model and an associated trailer. Unfortunately, early marketing concepts of metallic-painted tanks and bright-colored ships were not consistent with market demands, and the models, many of which were quite well-made for the money, were generally not successful. (Second editions of the Battle Kings and Sky Busters series were painted in very realistic colors and were well-received, but by this time, general economic factors were seriously affecting the ability of the company to make a profit on toys manufactured in England.) Of these series, only the Sky Busters and, to some extent, the Two Packs survived over time. The Convoy series of articulated truck-trailers (mostly American) was an offshoot of the Two Packs line and continues under various guises to this day.

Due more to the economic climate in Britain at the time than to the lack of success of the Matchbox brand — all of the core series continued to sell very strongly — the company was in difficult financial straits by the end of the decade. Following in the footsteps of their English counterparts/competitors Meccano and Mettoy (Dinky and Corgi), Lesney Toys went bankrupt on June 11, 1982, and went into receivership. The Matchbox brand name was then sold to Universal Toys, although some of the Matchbox tooling became property of Jack Odell, who continued to market Matchbox-like products under the Lledo brand name. Although no longer British-owned, Matchbox toys still felt British, with limited production in England continuing until the mid-1980's, and the re-using of many old Lesney castings. By 1992, Universal was also seeking a buyer. In May 1992, they sold the brand to Tyco Toys, whose toy division in turn was bought out by Mattel in 1997, uniting Matchbox with its longtime rival Hot Wheels under the same corporate banner. In 2002, Matchbox Sky Busters made a comeback, but with Continental Airlines as the only major airline to sponsor the product. In the same year Matchbox also came out with a line of cars to celebrate its 50th anniversary. "Ultra Heroes", a series of fantasy vehicles, were introduced in 2004 as part of a "Hero City" theme. These toys proved to be unpopular, though, and the line was soon discontinued. The next year, Matchbox, with a new team in charge, based in El Segundo, California, started the return to the company's roots of selling realistic looking, well-detailed models, most of which were based on real prototypes. The return of the pre-2001 Matchbox logo, albeit without its classic quotation marks, marked the return to this philosophy.

[edit] 75 (1-75)

Lesney decided that models in the core series would be numbered, and that the series would only ever comprise 75 models at any given time; when a new model appeared, one of the existing models was discontinued, its number being reallocated. This meant that display stands only had to accommodate 75 models. This limit was violated for a few years in the 1990s, but appears to have since returned.

The actual numbering of the 1-75 series number on the individual models (numbers were cast onto the baseplates) was discontinued in the Universal years. This was in part due to the new concept of offering country-specific lines of models for many of the key markets, which led to the same castings being used under different numbers in different markets. In recent years (Mattel), a sequential casting no. (e.g. MB687) — unrelated to any 1-75 number used in any market — is cast onto each baseplate. The relevant 1-75 series number is printed on the blister pack or box.

[edit] Scales of models

Matchbox cars are primarily made in two sizes. The smaller versions are often classified as 1:64 scale (though they range from smaller than 1:100 to larger than 1:64) and measure about 2.5 inches, or 6.5 centimeters, in length. Toy stores most often stock these models. Matchbox has also manufactured cars in 1:43 scale, labelling them "Super Kings" or "Speed Kings" (or, later, Models of Yesteryear or Dinky), which measure about 3.5 inches, or 9 centimeters, in length. This was the same scale as Corgi or Dinky. Matchbox's designers favored this larger size because it permitted more detail. The 1:43 cars are still made, but are primarily marketed as collectibles, rather than as toys.

[edit] Die-cast series

1-75 (also called the regular series, Superfast series, 75 series); numbered 1-75
Accessories; numbered A-#
Models of Yesteryear; numbered Y-#
Major Packs; numbered M-#
King Size (later Super Kings and Speed Kings); numbered K-#
Scorpions (non-metal, rechargeable battery powered cars)
Sky Busters; numbered SB-#
Two Packs; numbered TP-#
Battle Kings; numbered K-# (starting with K-101)
Sea Kings; numbered K-# (starting with K-301)
Adventure 2000; numbered K-# (starting with K-2001)
Convoy; numbered CY-#
Dinky (Matchbox bought the brand in the 90s); DY-#

[edit] Matchbox Collectibles

Starting in the Universal era and continuing until Mattel purchased the brand, a growing awareness of the adult collector led to multiple series being produced specifically for that market. The idea was not new; in the '60s, Lesney had first realized the potential for adult buyers of its products and had marketed gold and silver-plated versions of its Yesteryear series mounted on pen stands, ashtrays, and similar items.

Initially, the series revolved mainly around 1-75 or Convoy models, usually produced with a high level of tampo or mask-spray detailing and with rubber tires and "chrome" wheels. Later, the Models of Yesteryear, Dinky, and Convoy series were used as a basis for creating collectible "mini-series" of models, which were generally offered only by mail order. The idea was quite successful, leading to the creation of many new, high-quality castings over a relatively short time span. Tie-ins with major brands (Texaco, Campbell's Soup, Coca-Cola, Hershey, etc.) increased the attractiveness of the series. However, to finance the new castings, prices continually increased, while castings were re-used for multiple purposes, sometimes rather far from realistic. Thus, although Matchbox Collectibles offered great quality models, there were also numerous dubious series.

Although the main scales tended to hover around 1:43 (1:50 or 1:100 for truck models), eventually there were even 1:24 automobiles. Airplanes and tanks made their returns as well. However, the timing of these latter series was almost as poor as in the '70s, as when Mattel bought the Matchbox brand, development of the Collectibles series was effectively halted. Some models continue to be marketed via major retailers such as Target in the USA, but the "golden era" of Collectibles appears to be past.

[edit] Model kits

Although Matchbox is best known for its die-cast cars, around 1972 it bought the AMT Corporation, the dominant American plastic model kit manufacturer, and set up its own plastic kit division in the UK. Concentrating on 1:72 scale military aircraft and 1:76 military vehicles, it competed with the then-dominant Airfix company. The Matchbox kits had a distinctive appearance, the parts in each kit were produced in two or three colours compared to the single colour plastic of Airfix. The boxes were also more colourful and included clear windows so the contents could be seen. Matchbox also continued AMT's extensive line of 1:25 scale cars and trucks. Other kit ranges included 1:32 and 1:48 aircraft, 1:700 ships, 1:32 cars, 1:12 motorcycles, and the still well-known 1:72 'Flower' class Corvette. The Matchbox kits were well made, with modern tooling and techniques, but critics felt that the kits were too coarsely detailed in comparison with other models on the market, and too "toy-like". Yet they were still just as complex and time consuming to construct as any other kit, which limited their appeal to more casual model builders. The company was unable to fully satisfy either the casual or serious model building market, and was one of the first companies to abandon model kits when the hobby started its decline, selling AMT to the Ertl Company and shutting down its own kit division less than ten years after starting it.

While the Matchbox-branded kits were not a success, the same was not true of the AMT line. By the 1970s AMT had 20 years' experience tooling car kits, and the only difference European ownership made was a somewhat broader selection of subject matter than had been seen from them before or since.

The Matchbox model kit molds were acquired by Revell Germany in the early 80s, which continues to sporadically re-issue the old Matchbox kits, now under the Revell label.

[edit] Other

During this time, Matchbox also tried its hand in the die cast airplanes area, under the name Matchbox Sky Busters. Sky Busters produced plane models for such airlines as Aeroméxico, Air France, British Airways, Iberia, Lufthansa and Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Matchbox also produced in the late 70's slot cars called Powertrack or Speedtrack which featured working headlights. Other slotcar sets from Matchbox included a lane changer (which allowed cars to switch lanes)and a Race and Chase set which featured a police car and chased car which could jump and u-turn.

Action Toy lines from Matchbox included Ring Raiders, Parasites, and Monster in My Pocket. They ceased devloping such lines when were absorbed into Tyco.