A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to gain momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.
A velomobile ; velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. Velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and tricycles, but with a full fairing and are not to be confused with purpose-built mobiles for speed records. Fully faired vehicles with two wheels, generally called Streamliners. Streamliners have set many speed and distance records.
Pashley Cycles is a British bicycle, tricycle and workbike manufacturer based in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The company was started in 1926 and still manufactures bikes in the UK.
There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheels — typically two, three, or four — and by their specific use. Adjectives used to describe the tasks to which the bicycles, dicycles, tricycles, or quadracycles are put include cargo cycles, freight cycles, box cycles, carrier cycles, and so on. Sometimes they are also called cycletrucks, which uses a sense of the word 'truck' predating the automobile.
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1919 to 1980. They made many types of toys including tin toys, toy soldiers, toy guns, action figures, dolls, toy cars and model trains. Some of their notable toys are Rock'em Sock'em Robots, Big Wheel tricycles, Disney branded dollhouses and playsets based on TV shows like Gunsmoke. Its products were often imprinted with the slogan "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"
K-Line Electric Trains is a brand name of O gauge and S gauge model railway locomotives, rolling stock, and buildings. Formerly the brand name under which Chapel Hill, North Carolina–based MDK Inc. sold its products, K-Line was then acquired by Sanda Kan, a Chinese toy manufacturer that formerly acted as K-Line's subcontractor. Sanda Kan had licensed the use of the K-Line brand and intellectual property to Lionel. More recently, the Lionel license expired, and Sanda Kan sold the dies to several other companies, with some going to each of Atlas, Bachmann, and RMT.
Lincoln Logs are an American children's construction toy consisting of square-notched miniature lightweight logs used to build small forts and buildings. They were invented around 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, second son of well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Lincoln Logs were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999. They are named after U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, who once lived in a log cabin.
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a U.S. hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Criteria for induction include: icon status ; longevity ; discovery ; and innovation. Established in 1998 under the direction of Ed Sobey, it was originally housed at A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Oregon, United States, but was moved to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, in 2002 after it outgrew its original home.
A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die-casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other machined metal parts. Wholly plastic toys are made by a similar process of injection molding, but the two methods are distinct because of the properties of the materials.
Monogram is an American brand and former manufacturing company of scale plastic models of cars, aircraft, spacecraft, ships, and military vehicles since the early 1950s. The company was formed by two former employees of Comet Kits, Jack Besser and Bob Reder.
Army men, or plastic soldiers, are toy soldiers that are about 5 cm (2.0 in) tall and most commonly molded from low-density polyethylene plastic, which makes them durable and flexible. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores and supermarkets. Army men are traditionally solid green or tan and almost always dressed in modern military uniforms and armed with 20th-century weapons. 'Jumbo' army men are a less common secondary scale with 4.75-inch (12.1 cm) soldiers made by the same process.
A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as handbikes.
Topper Corporation was a United States toy and board game manufacturer based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The company, founded and run by Henry Orenstein, a holocaust survivor, produced toys under several brand names including: Johnny Lightning, Johnny Seven OMA, Dawn doll, and Suzy Homemaker.
The Auburn Rubber Company was a rubber products manufacturer best known for its line of children's toys. It was probably the largest producer of rubber and vinyl toys in the world, though Norway's Tomte Laerdal, Finland's Plasto, and Sweden's Galanite were major European producers.
G.I. Joe is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse. The name is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from the more general term "G.I.". The development of G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term "action figure". G.I. Joe's appeal to children has made it an American icon among toys.
The "Best of the West" was the generic series name used by toy manufacturer, Louis Marx and Company, from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s to market a line of articulated 12-inch action figures featuring a western play theme. The focal character in the series was the iconic cowboy action figure named Johnny West.
Marusan (マルサン) is a Japanese model and toy company. It is known as the first Japanese plastic model manufacturer and also famous for selling PVC kaiju (monster) character toys during the 1960s. Its headquarters were located in Taitō, Tokyo.
Cyclops is an Australian manufacturer of toys, primarily known for children's pedal cars. The business was founded by John Heine Sheet Metal at Leichhardt, New South Wales in 1913. The name Cyclops was registered in 1915 and the company continued to grow during the 1920s and the Great Depression. In 1946 the company name was officially changed to Cyclops Pty Ltd, but it was taken over by a British company after World War II.
